Lady Gaga has the design sensibility of a first-year community college liberal arts student. Which seems to be good enough to mindfuck the pop culture consuming masses. But maaaaaan is it boring.

Oh, I like a couple of her songs. But her art is clearly what you would expect from a shallow mindless pop star.

Sadly, she maybe around for many years to assist with the dumbing down of the gay masses.

Makes me so tiiiirrrrred..... Oh the inanity!

Face it, you just hate Italian women.

Hateing Lady Gaga is like hateing hipsters. Your hate may be genuine and you may even have a point but it will always read to me as trying to be hipper than thou.

Ew. And I thought her music was shit.

As long as she keeps dressing like that, she's just fine by me.

Gaga is here to stay and people are (always) talking about her. She's laughing straight to the bank. Gay culture is by no means dumb. We just play the game every now and again. You go Gaga and we love you!

@1: How many "community college liberal arts students" are going to recognize Dadaism when it bites them in the bum?

@OP: Also, I'm not much for Lady Gaga, either, but how is simulating weirdness different from producing weirdness? Is simulated weirdness not actually weird? Just a bit baffled, I guess.

@9: I can't speak for Ms. Graves, but I do agree with her sentiment, as I understand it. I would describe Lady Gaga's shtick as "simulated weirdness" because it's clear that she's trying to be weird, unique, original, thought-provoking, etc., but what she does just isn't that strange or interesting. It's weird-lite, like performance art that's been dumbed-down for mass consumption. Also, every first year art student knows what Dadaism is. Her "art" piece is boring and unoriginal.

There is little more boring than pretentious performance art by boring self-absorbed college students and their post graduate selves.

Hats off to Gaga for making it interesting to enough people to make a living off of it instead of forcing her friends to buy the fucking tickets to be polite!

I like her musice a lot and also find her stage shows boring. So?

Finally, what @5 said: "Hateing Lady Gaga is like hateing hipsters. Your hate may be genuine and you may even have a point but it will always read to me as trying to be hipper than thou."

Haters are gonna hate, you pressed basic bitch.

You're cool for being so ~above~ her.

Check her credentials: Lady Gaga is arguably the most famous person in the world right now, and she's on our side. Fuck you if you think her art is bad. There are millions of people who disagree with you, so, choke on it if you don't like it =)

For real though, guys? I'm definitely a Gaga fan, but speaking just for this "Armitage Shanks" piece alone, it's just a very basic retread. I find it a bit troubling somehow that she is getting creative credit for the idea, but good god damn I love this bitch's clothes!

Oh, and @5, learn how to spell "hating," for fuck's sake.

14: let me guess. you're over 40.

No, @15, he's probably just watched some music from Europe at some point.

From a US perspective it's new, but it's not really new from a Euro perspective. Mostly recycled Euro stuff. Good, though.

If you don't like someone, why go out of your way to give them press? Your very dislike, for some people rabid hatred, pushes her further into the limelight. She was recently noted by "Time" as having greater influence over culture and media than even Oprah.

As Zero Mostell famously said after being investigated by the House Un-American Activities Commitee: "There's no such thing as bad publicity."

Let it go, all this justification of dislike just sounds pathetic and adds the glow of controversy to her fame.

Will in Seattle and Blip: I am open to you providing examples of whatever art it is you think she is ripping off.

Do you have comparisons?

Do you have ANYTHING to support your claim that she is ripping people off?

Aside from the catholic/Madonna imagery in her last video, and some basic Grace Jones homages (Grace was never even relevant anyway!) will you please substantiate your claims?

If you can't, will you please just STFU and not be such a pissy pants?

Grandpa Blip:

First of all, the autograph on this particular piece reads ""I'm not fucking Duchamp but I love pissing with you".

Further, the reason I brought up age is because us young guys completely understand when you daddies get protective of your favorite artists of yore....yes, you are protective of your personal divas (Madonna, Gwen, Brit Brit, whomever) but the fact is that each element of pop does not die when once used. Sure, Gaga is playing off of things advanced by previous provocateurs. But she actually writes her own shit, and sings it live each time she performs it. She uses actual gay imagery, and says things about being gay *on television, on tour, and online*.

If your reservation is that Lady Gaga plays off of other peoples' style too much, you are being really old-fashioned and really shut down about the progression of ~pop~.

Do you understand that we've got a freak on our hands who is reigning supreme on the charts right now? How can people be so blaze about this?

Anyway, I didn't mean to totally "stan" this thread (look it up because you probably don't get it) so I'll slink off now.

Blip, I'm sorry babe. It wasn't my goal to make you wrong.

If culture is to be mass-produced, I'm on the side of Lady Gaga making it all fucking crazy and weird and Geiger and shit =)

Do you understand that we've got a freak on our hands who is reigning supreme on the charts right now? How can people be so blaze about this?

For us over-40s, it's just because Madonna did it 25 years ago. I wanted to like Lady Gaga, but her videos and music disappointed me. Don't take it so personally. You're welcome to love her, and roll your eyes when the kids go gaga over her rip-off in another 25 years (and you will).

Oh, and it's blasé, kiddo, not "blaze".

24: Madonna still lip-syncs, and she co-opts her gay audience while not doing a damn thing for us. Your Madonna is mum on gay rights, rights for her audience.

And no, I won't be such a bitch to new artists like you people are...My generation having been a product of the Internets era rather than the MTV era, we will be more open to new artists pushing and expanding on previous ideas... rather than being ascared, angry, and proprietary about having blond hair.

@18, but what would we put on Slog?

PS to Irena: the cobwebs on your pussy ache for music better than Cher and Madonna. You should really look in to that.

Lady Gaga is but one point on a long continuum of pop music. In its most basic form, what she's doing has been done by others before her, and will be continued by others after her. She's achieved incredible success in her field and is beloved by millions. Sit back and enjoy it, maintain a casual indifference toward it (which is pretty much where I'm at now), but no point in hatin'. No point at all.

Oh, StillNon, do you realize how much you sound like a snotty teenager? Get over the Sturm und Drang. It's so highschool.

And seriously, Cher and Madonna? Come on. I don't listen to them for the same reason I don't listen to Lady Gaga. If you really want to listen to some good music, you should try expanding your range beyond the top 40. There's more out there than corporate rock, you know.

Last last thing, I swear:

@29 - You are absolutely right: Top 40 usually sucks. That's why, in my humble but young opinion, it's mildly neat that she stands out as bi, interesting to look at, and relatively vocally talented. Sorry for getting so worked up.

I definitely missed out on potential inspiration that happened the first time around, so all of it is new to me.

I regreat the disrespect and being so bratty... See ya!

blip @20 ftw. My "references" are from many long (6-8 weeks) vacations in Europe, when I don't stay in English speaking hotels and live the way most people there do. A lot of the imagery reminds me of stuff I'd see from Spain, Italy, and France. Nothing wrong with that, it's just what it is. And a refreshing contrast from the usual pablum we get here.

a last point, at least Gaga is bi, as opposed to Madonna who isn't but pretends to be for PR reasons.

This is just a straight dude's opinion here, but Lady Gaga > Madonna simply because she comes across as genuine underneath all the artifice (which is really her being genuine as well) and actually does speak out for teh gays, whereas Madonna just seems like an opportunistic bitch and certainly holds her gay fans at arms length. And I am old enough to remember Madonna through all her phases. What do you know, I agree with StillNon.

Forgiven, StillNon! And @33, you make a good point. Lady Gaga embraces her gay audience, where Madonna only loves herself. So I understand why people would defend her so fiercely.

As far as videos go, she definitely kicks Madonna's ass.

LADY CACA!