I’ll say this again - my last post is in no way a criticism of Lady Gaga. She’s currently 24, two years/albums into her career; Madonna released her fourth album Like a Prayer at 31, 7 years after she debuted. So yes, they’re both Italian-American, (kind of) from New York, make rather intelligent pop music, have provoked/inspired the world with their fashion sense and have huge gay fanbases - but the similarities are superficial. Their functions in the broader world are similar, but their methods are totally different. Expecting one to do or be the other is ridiculous, but Gaga, I hope, may one day reach a similar level of greatness.
I’m actually not trying to comment on either of the two - more the part of their two fanbases that doesn’t overlap. My generation, including myself just two years ago, has a big gap in knowledge when it comes to Madonna. And many who grew up with Madonna see Gaga as a plagiarist - but swap everyone’s birthdates around, and I guarantee the wannabes of the ’80s would be the little monsters of today, and vice versa. Problem is, if Gaga really did put out Like a Prayer tomorrow - the exact same song and video - everyone under 25 would shit themselves. And yet, it’s existed longer than us - long enough that it has a reputation - but the shitting isn’t happening!
Lady Gaga Is Not The Messiah™: helping Generation Y little monsters shit themselves since 2010!
Madonna sings Like a Virgin in 1984 - the original provocative VMAs performance.
Seriously though: you cannot truly understand Lady Gaga without knowing what came before. Luckily, if you like one, you’ll almost certainly like the other! Under 25 and a huge Gaga fan? Start with the holy bible of pop music, The Immaculate Collection. Check out the videos! I myself have written at length about Madonna, in my opinion the single greatest popstar of all time, in the hope that, like me, not every clueless 20-year-old has to stay that way!
You might think we have it good with Lady Gaga right now in 2010 - and we do! But she’s not the be-all and end-all - don’t let it stop you from rediscovering the classics… Who knows, in another 10 years, you might be reminding the kids about that Germanotta chick while Lola Leon rules the world.
