Lady Gaga

Iceman is rarely stopped in his tracks when it comes to popular music/culture. Today I was sent a link to watch Lady Gaga’s new video: Telephone. I can only really say a few things that aren’t obvious.

1. Rarely is a pop song actually good AND has an amazing video to back it up.

2. Rarely can music videos ‘barrow’ 3rd party creative content from someone like Tarantino successfully, and tastefully (as if Tarantino content can be described as ‘tasteful’); meaning that it fits into the general creative concept of the video as a whole.

3. Great move for Beyonce from a creative credibility stand point. Taking a backseat in a ‘rival’ pop product’s video is a great was to maximize creative awesomeness, gain new audience exposure, and create something memorable. It also shows camaraderie and appreciation of peer content.

4. Pop music is often quite competitive in American culture and Ice believes that people can smell the difference between a purely money-making-collaboration and an honest one like shit on a shoe. This video leaves me with the impression that Gaga invited Beyonce on board and she affectionately obliged citing creative interest. Smoking Cigarette Sunglasses, Coke Can hair curlers?!? Who wouldn’t want to be in that video?

5. This video is like pop culture on speed (which is poignant for Gaga’s overall creative thesis). The sheer creative flow that gaga possesses is probably as boundless as anyone in history (big statement alert!). Her public persona is pure showbiz; the outfits, the videos, the interviews and the performances: all show biz. I get absolutely zero gauge on who she is in reality but what I do think is that she is not going to burn out offstage/personally. I believe she is in complete control of her brand of lunacy and that her craft is truly a modern day masterpiece.

6. She uses all Medias creatively and seems to have captured her audience not so much by the shock value but by the sheer vehicle of curiosity; the WTF factor in perfect effect.

7. Watch this video; it is in my opinion, the most comprehensive piece of Multimedia-Artwork I think I’ve ever seen in 9 minutes (humbling even Michael Jackson’s videos). For a song and dance, she is the real deal. Lady Gaga is not to be underestimated because a) she doesn’t look like she’s happy to be along for the ride, she looks like she in the driver’s seat of a single seated sports car, eyes fixed with the pedal to the metal. And b)she possesses an obvious discipline which seems to run through her core which (I think) ads a truly credible element to her work.

Bravo.