Lady GaGa

Hmm. Maybe I'm about to put my head on the chopping board, and perhaps I'll lose some readers as a result. Perhaps. But this blog's all about music; new and old, major and unsigned. So, in keeping with that theme, I must divulge a soft spot for Lady GaGa. Let me explain. There's not a lot of music I don't like. Personally, I'm not a fan of the new-age electronic pop courtesy of Florence, La Roux and the likes, but I can appreciate the inspiration from the huge 80s movement and bow to their overtaking of the British charts. Really I'm all about rock, in it's purest and simplest form. Whether it's hair metal or nu-metal, if it's got driving guitars or huge anthemic vocals I'm there. And inbetween, of course there's jazz and folk and blues and... well the list is long.

I've never been a fan, however, of the current music charts; the modern rappers and pop princesses; preened boy/girl band outfits and indeed a lot of the slightly older indie stuff along the lines of The Kooks, Kasabian, Razorlight etc. This is purely my opinion. But mainly, it's the girls. Sure, the videos are fun to watch, but if you're not writing your own music and really putting something into it, then it's not for me, and indeed a lot of 'real players'. I believe that the music industry in general is in a dire position and those of you who read my post on Rage before Christmas will know that only too well. However, in my opinion, Lady GaGa, although on the surface perhaps seemingly not much different (other than to look at of course) is in fact a real pioneer for pop music right now. Ok, the videos are the same as the rest, the albums are over-produced and the singles over-played. However, when stripped down to her roots and singing whilst accompanying herself on piano, I love what she's doing. She writes her own songs (and indeed for Britney and the Pussycat Dolls) but the difference is she can actually sing live, and in fact sounds better when doing so. Her voice is raw and always passionate, her arrangements exciting and never true to the radio-edits and I'm glad she scooped three Brit awards tonight in her respective International categories. Many similar popstars would wither in front of a festival crowd without their safety nets of auto-tunes and backing tracks, but there is something special about Lady GaGa. She can play a lot of instruments and grew up surrounded by music; now evident in the passion her live performances exude. Of course, the quirkiness and fashion sense only add to her mysterious persona, creating for herself an even more original being that can only add to her appeal. She dares to be different and, unlike Lily Allen or Kate Nash who have wowed festival crowds in their own rights, I think last summer she proved to a lot of people that she is in fact more than just another female popstar beside her cousins Rihanna, Beyonce and the rest. Ok, her music isn't as ground-breaking as most of the 'real' bands of past and present, but for her status I think she's due a lot more credit than perhaps her underrated stereotype is deserved.

So there, I said it. Lady GaGa is cool.