The onslaught of Lady Gaga has been fast and ubiquitous, and her Vanity Fair cover has the publicity machine working overtime. We love you, Gaga, but if you want to keep the love alive, you need to take a break…. The thing about Gaga is that there’s been a full-court press to capitalize on her momentum since the beginning. There was hardly any lapse between “albums,” she’s been touring non-stop, and she’s constantly in the news either talking about her penis or x. It’s Gaga, Gaga, Gaga, all the time…. Lady Gaga: You’re hereby convicted of overexposure. Your sentence is six months of solitary confinement. Now, please, just go away.
Once upon a time, KGON radio here in Portland had a marketing campaign whose slogan was, “IF IT’S TOO LOUD, YOU’RE TOO OLD.” I’m now beginning to grasp the meaning of that slogan. I’ll freely admit that I don’t “get” Lady Gaga. It seems as if she’s everywhere…and frankly, I’m finding it all rather tiresome.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not an expert on anything Gaga. I’ve heard perhaps three of her songs (full disclosure: “Bad Romance” is on my iPhone), and from what I can tell, the woman has a formidable set of pipes. What I want to know, though, is why not just be Stephanie Germanotta? Did she not think that she could be a commercial success without becoming a parody of herself? Did she think that the only way she could attract attention was by becoming too flippin’ weird for words? Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing, of course.
I understand the concept of performance art, and I get that part of Lady Gaga’s shtick is shock and controversy. Pushing the edge of the envelope when it comes to reason, good taste, and decency in rock and roll is as old as the genre itself. Self-promotion isn’t far behind, but what seems to have been missed in this case is the understanding of the very fine line between incessant self-promotion and tiresome overexposure. I rarely even pay attention to anything relating to Lady Gaga, and I’m rather tired of her. I’m sure she’s a wonderful, caring human being just looking to make a few bucks while she still can, but I think we’d all benefit if she went on sabbatical in Tibet for a few months.
Jeebus, take a break (and give us one), willya??
