Bark + Bite

Concert Review: Lady Gaga rocks Washington D.C., rails against Don't Ask Don't Tell

Photo credit: Wireimage.com

Lady Gaga knows that she makes fun, cathartic pop music that allows her "little monsters" to sweat and dance the night away, leaving their worries behind. It's a role that she takes as seriously as President Obama does his job as leader of the free world. But even Gaga recognizes that she has to be more than just a pop singer "dancing around in a bra and underwear." And so intermingled with the spacey disco beats of her chart-topping hits such as "Poker Face," "LoveGame" and "Bad Romance," are raucous, shrill protests against social injustice. Her main target? Don't Ask, Don't Tell. She admitted in concert to alternating between wanting and not wanting to be a political figure, but ultimately decided she needs to stand for something or risk standing for nothing.

During the ballad portion of her show, Lady Gaga shared with the audience that she'd spent time with military men and women and was heartbroken over the disruption and rejection DADT was wreaking on their lives. She spoke of two female soldiers who were booted from the military for being lesbians. One had 12 years of service behind her in the military, the other a young student at West Point. As Gaga recounted their personal tales, the frustration came out in her voice. She was pissed about the ridiculous waste of it all. But sensing that perhaps her outrage was spoiling the party atmosphere a bit, Gaga said, "I don't mean to be a political asshole, but it's [DADT] f**ked up, isn't it?" The crowd roared in agreement.

Lady Gaga has a new title: Twitter Queen

DJ Khaled really should've called on Lady Gaga for the "All I Do Is Win" remix because Stefani Germanotta dominates everything that she touches. Lady Gaga recently surpassed Britney Spears as the most-followed celebrity on Twitter, and in celebration of her ascent to the throne, she addressed her beloved subjects in a YouTube video.

Look at all that glitter and that fancy Twitter emblem. She even adds production value to her YouTube videos. This woman breathes art. Her sugary sweet delivery seemed almost like an audition for a role as Glinda the Good Witch in an update of the classic film The Wizard of Oz. Who knew Gaga could be so nice? Nonetheless, it a pleasant flip from her usual dry, sarcastic and teeth-baring New York disposition.

But what is up with her vow to never to "never partake in celebrity online shenanigans"? Ugh. Seems like she's following Beyonce's lead and avoiding the drama, cat fights and beef that erupt on Twitter between celebrities and other celebrities and more commonly, celebrities and their followers. No wonder Gaga didn't clap back at Katy Perry for that tweet about blasphemous imagery. Come on, Gaga, a little celebrity shenanigan here and there never hurt anybody. It just fueled a multimillion dollar industry built on documenting and distributing the hot messiest of celebrity shenanigans worldwide. See? There's nothing to worry about.

Chasing Lady Gaga: The Fame album is two years old and still kicking

Illustration by Yamino for Bark + Bite

There are currently two words that can send waves of thrill and titillation in the hearts and minds of music industry suits and pop music fans alike: Lady Gaga. For music execs, Lady Gaga is a shining light in an otherwise gloomy, shrinking industry. For fans, she's a pop messiah, born to entertain, excite and inspire them.

The 24-year-old pop star from New York is in the middle of her second worldwide tour and reaping the bountiful rewards of her debut album, The Fame, which was released exactly two years ago. As of this week, the album sits at #13 on the Billboard 200 albums chart after having spent an unbelievable 94 weeks on the chart. To date, Lady Gaga has sold over 13 million albums and over 51 million singles from The Fame and its EP spin-off The Fame Monster worldwide. And with Gaga talking of a new album early next year, don't expect her or her little monsters to be disappearing anytime soon.

Given all of the success, all of the acclaim and all of the attention, some might forget that Gaga's victory over pop music didn't happen overnight.  As they say, it's been a long time coming.

No David Bowie collaboration for Lady Gaga, but new set of producers on deck

Is Elton John the only old timer willing to provide some tender love and care to the Princess of Pop, Lady Gaga? First, Gaga's former idol Grace Jones drew her fangs and practically hocked a loogie in Gaga's face, calling her an imitator in several interviews and vowing to avoid collaborating on anything with Ms. Pokerface. Now David Bowie, another oft-cited inspiration for Lady Gaga, has similarly struck down rumors of collaboration with the singer, though he was at least a lot nicer about it than Grace, offering no biting dismissives. SOURCE: MTV.com

Bowie's official website has denied rumors that he would lend his legendary croon to a song reportedly titled "Vinyl." The statement, written by the site's news editor, read in part: "When this tall story first surfaced a few days ago it was denied as a hoax in an update to the same article, and we thought that would be the end of it. I guess some folk see what they want to see though."

The scanned document that popped up last Thursday, which bears the hoax-y title "confirmation of recorded music," also lists Gaga collaborator RedOne as one of the album's producers and engineers. Also named on the fake list are famed R&B producer Teddy Riley and his daughter Taja, as well as former Gaga collaborator Fernando Garibay (Pussycat Dolls, Britney Spears). Song titles cited include "Hooker on a Church Corner" and "Scream Loud."

"The rumor that David Bowie has been working with Lady Gaga seems to have taken off," continued the statement on Bowie's site. "The hoax was started by some bright spark or other with the above forgery ... However, in a nutshell, the suggestion that David Bowie is producing and participating in the production of Lady Gaga's next album is untrue and a hoax."

So much for that. Maybe Gaga can call up Sting and Cyndi Lauper if she wants the old school crowd on her new album. They seemed to really fancy her twisted brand of pop art.

In other Gaga news, Lady Gaga was interviewed for i-D Magazine and excerpts from the interview quote Gaga as saying she's bringing a whole new production team to the new album.

Though she's had a close, hit-heavy relationship with RedOne, Gaga promised that she's updating her sound on the still-untitled album with a slate of new producers who she's declined to identify.

"I will never tell because as soon as I tell, everyone starts working with them," she said of her new album's production team. "So all I can say is that nobody knows who they are. They're all new."

While she doesn't explicitly say that producers like RedOne and Darkchild won't be on the new album, it sounds like the new team will, at the very least, be in the forefront. Even though Gaga and RedOne have created magic together and established a palpable chemistry, Gaga is right. Everybody and their mother is chasing after him now that the industry has seen what he achieved with Gaga. RedOne just wrapped up with sometime-Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger, for christ's sake. Gaga had no choice, it's time to expand her horizons.

Lady Gaga is no fan of La Migra

Photo Credit: Wireimage

Where there's a protest, there's Lady Gaga, willing to lend her loud voice and her weighty name. The singer, who wears her politics on her sleeve, is largely known for her outspoken remarks in support of gay rights. She marched in Washington in solidarity with her gay fans and she has repeatedly spoken out against "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in concert. But now Lady Gaga has set her sights on Arizona's controversial immigration bill.

During a stop in Phoenix, Arizona of her "Monster Ball" tour, Lady Gaga took time out to touch on the pressure she'd received from fellow musicians to pull out from the Arizona gig in protest of the state's hotly-contested law.

"I got a phone call, from a couple of really big rock 'n' rollers, big pop stars, the big rappers and they said, 'We'd like you to boycott Arizona because of SB1070.' And I said, 'You really think that us dumb, f*cking pop stars are gonna collapse the economy of Arizona?' I'll tell you what we have to do about SB1070. We have to be active. We have to actively protest. And the nature of the 'Monster Ball' is to actively protest prejudice, and injustice and that bullsh*t that is put on our society, because you're a superstar, no matter who you are, no matter where you come from and you were born that way!" said Lady Gaga.

Lady Gaga's got a gun

Gaga, watch where you point those things. In her continuing quest to court controversy and infamy, Lady Gaga posed for the cover of "Rolling Stone" magazine in nothing but a gun bra and a thong. Are you not entertained?

Any fans who may be growing weary of Gaga's darker turn aren't in for brighter days anytime soon. Gaga only plans to crank up the gloom for her next album. SOURCE: Rollingstone.com

As for the subject matter of the music, Gaga says she's moved on with writing songs about her quest for fame to crafting tunes with an angry, perhaps political bent. "Why are we still talking about 'Don't ask, don't tell'?" she says. "It's like, what f**king year is it? It makes me crazy! And I have been for three years baking cakes — and now I'm going to bake a cake that has a bitter jelly. The message of the new music is now more bitter than it was before. Because the sweeter the cake, the more bitter the jelly can be."

Gaga, you're in danger, girl. One of the pitfalls of pop stardom is taking yourself too seriously. That's not a call for more vapid, empty-headed music that the likes of Ke$ha would record, but it's important to remember that entertainment is the largest part of your job.

Madonna learned this the hard way after "American Life," her brittle, fumbled attempt at a political album, failed spectacularly. The follow-up to that album had her dancing in a purple leotard to ABBA samples. Lesson learned.

Gaga should be careful to avoid losing sight of why people fell in love with her in the first place. Yes, her differences made her individuality shine, and the bloody "Paparazii" performance at the VMAs was iconic, but controversy is not a limitless well. The public will grow tired of the same old tricks. In fact, Gaga's toying with violent imagery and stoking political fires seems quite M.I.A.-ish. See, they have quite a bit in common. More than Maya would like to admit.

Lady Gaga toys with dark militarism, religious imagery for "Alejandro" video

If you were hoping for a sun-filled, warm, Latin-inspired video to accompany Gaga's third single, "Alejandro," from "The Fame Monster," look elsewhere. Opting to largely ignore the lyrics of the song, which details a tortuous love affair with an addictive, yet ultimately poisonous Latin man, Gaga instead goes for dark militarism, homoeroticism and a bra that doubles as weaponry. Whatever happened to shooting a fun, flirty music video on the beach?

Lady Gaga channels Madonna in new interview, looks exhausted

Fame changes everything. And even though Lady Gaga appears to be riding the fame wave her own way and on her terms, the wear and tear of pleasing millions and millions of people around the world is beginning to show.

Shedding her usual outrageously decorated headpieces and accessories, Lady Gaga wore pin-curled hair and a minimalist, all-black ensemble reminiscent of Madonna's "True Blue" era for an in-depth interview with SHOWstudio.com, a fashion web site based in London. This interview was unique in that it was crowd-sourced, featuring questions entirely from fans, both famous and non-famous. Below are some of the quotables and highlights from her interview. SOURCE: ONTD

Lady Gaga thinks her peers are lazy, doesn't care if fans download illegally

All work and no play should be making Lady Gaga cranky, but according to her, she'd have it no other way. The pop star, who is still on her never-ending Monster Ball tour overseas, spoke with Caitlin Moran of the TimesOnline.co.uk for a dizzying, thrilling article that features missed flights, discussions of lupus and religion, her new album and an excursion to a sex club in Germany. But even though Gaga's life might seem like Halloween every day, she takes her art very seriously and wishes other artists in the industry were as committed as she is. SOURCE: TimesOnline.co.uk

The conversation turns to the music industry. Gaga has an endearingly schoolmarmish belief that most acts are “lazy”.

“I hate big acts that just throw an album out against the wall, like ‘BUY IT! F*** YOU!’ It’s mean to fans. You should go out and tour it to your fans in India, Japan, the UK. I don’t believe in how the music industry is today. I believe in how it was in 1982.”

While on this huge, technically complex, sell-out world tour, Gaga has written and recorded the majority of her next album: “I don’t understand bands who say they’ll tour for one year, then record the next,” she exclaims at one point, going Thatcher again. “I make music every DAY!”

Christina Aguilera takes light dig at "newcomer" Lady Gaga

This is the kind of stuff that stan wars are made of. The slightest hints of condescension and snarkiness from one pop star to another will launch a full scale war on message boards, blogs and Twitter. Especially when the star being jabbed is the most in-demand female pop star at the moment: Lady Gaga. In an interview for "Out" magazine, Christina Aguilera took a light jab at Lady Gaga, dismissively calling her a newcomer and saying, "she's fun to look at," as if she herself isn't known for her wacky, wild and out-there costumes. SOURCE: ONTD

Rivalry's nothing new to Aguilera, who spent her childhood dominating talent shows in the metropolitan Pittsburgh area and her early adolescence jockeying for position on "The Mickey Mouse Club" against littermates Britney Spears Justin Timberlake. Her late teens and 20s passed locked in a dead heat with her former BFF, Britney. But, as it relates to Lady Gaga, one might think comparisons to be especially odious. "Oh, the newcomer?" Aguilera chuckles. "I think she's really fun to look at."

So Xtina's not even bothering to address Gaga by name at this point, huh? While it's difficult to dismiss the condescension in the remark, Christina has tried to otherwise avoid putting Gaga down in the media. But still, this isn't going to do anything to help relations between IraGa and IraXtina. War has already been declared and gifs, PhotoShop creations and videos have already been fired up.

UPDATE: Christina is addressing the drama head on. She posted a note lauding Lady Gaga for her achievements and bashing the media for "pitting" her against Lady Gaga. SOURCE: ChristinaAguilera.com