During that year, something changed. At the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Lady Gaga’s performance felt alternately baffling and hysterical. But a mere three singles…
The tranny caption was way harsh, Tai. But I like the new Tumblr and look forward to your viewpoint.
However, I must disagree that “Born This Way” sounds like a generational anthem in the making. Of course, I haven’t heard the entire song yet, so my take is an extremely premature one that I might regret. But the problem with the song so far is it doesn’t seem to go far enough. Born what way, exactly? Now we all know where Lady Gaga stands; she’s a champion of the gays and the freaks and the outsiders and the “little monsters.” So the problem isn’t that we don’t know what the hell Lady Gaga is talking about, but that there’s little artistry in such vagueness. Our best lyricists aren’t the ones who rely on the audience to fill in the blanks, but the ones who can evoke their stories/feelings/emotions from scratch.
As is, what separates Gaga’s song from, say, Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful”? Nothing, except our extra-musical knowledge of what Lady Gaga stands for. If “Born This Way” does become a generational anthem, it will be because the timing is just right for such a song, and not because Gaga is doing anything special artistically.
Does she deserve credit for recognizing that the timing is right for such a song? Sure. But as music critics, do we take that into account when evaluating her work? That question is a little trickier. Personally, I don’t think so. There’s too many futurists and fortune-tellers in music criticism today who will tell you that a particular work is worthwhile because of some influence the work will/should have, conveniently ignoring the weaknesses of the work itself. But “I’m beautiful in my way / cause God makes no mistakes / I’m on the right track / baby I was born this way” is weak songwriting, and the song’s potential as a generational anthem will never change that.
I think it’s fair to say that I’m fairly optimistic about Gaga’s future; she’s only ever improved artistically, and though she has a long way to go, nothing seems to suggest otherwise.
You’re right in that Born This Way recalls Beautiful (which is a much better song than anyone remembers), but to me, it couldn’t have been more obvious what it addresses, and not just as implied by Gaga’s extramusical work - seriously, what rhymes with “way”? Either way, deeply personal music always draws from, without relying on, the listener’s knowledge of its context - like Rihanna’s last album, which simply can’t (and shouldn’t) be heard without considering the Chris Brown incident, or even an album like Funeral by the Arcade Fire, informed as it was by relatives’ deaths. It’s certainly not a bad thing.
I’m sure you’re not implying it needs a rewrite to anything as unsubtle as “I was born gay”, or “I was born with the right to have sexual relations with any gender I wish” - but pop music is universal by definition, not exclusive. The way it’s written is, I think, very much part of the reason I (will?) empathise with it as strongly as any gay man.
Likewise, Gaga’s not an empty vessel for a societal movement; I don’t believe anyone else in music has the conviction to will such a song to life without coming off as contrived. That we could hear it in her voice from that chorus alone is enough for me.
I’m not willing to speak definitively, or even speculate further when there’ll be at least two full verses and a chorus to fill in your blanks - but we can both hope 2011 proves you wrong.
(also, expecting Lady Gaga, two years into her career, to live up to Prince at his peak isn’t exactly fair!)
