Ga-ga for GaGa

So it seems that in the midst of all this financial crisis, all we need to do is "Just Dance". I am of course referring to Miss Joanne Stefani Germanotta, a.k.a. Lady GaGa, whose aforementioned single has reached number one in four countries.

Having initially discovered GaGa (I'm sorry, but its a rubbish pseudonym, why couldn't she have gone for something more serious like, I don't know, Morrissey) back in early 2008, she was promoted as a sort of hipster version of Madonna. There are two things that are wrong with this.

1. Madonna isn't something to be deemed uncool, she's bloody brilliant and anyone who says otherwise I'd love to see prancing around in their underpants at 50.
2. Its a bit unfair on Lady GaGa herself. A bit like saying that Russell Brand is the new Oscar Wilde.

The point is, everything would be a whole lot simpler if we just accepted GaGa for who she is, that is, brilliantly perfect throwaway pop. I'm not sure when it became a sin to hate pop music. Looking back, I can't see much wrong with the likes of Joy Division and Ian Dury populating earlier chart placings, when did it become so uncool to get to the number one spot? Looking around in popular music today, the "guilty pleasures" like Rihanna, Madonna et al seem a much better proposition than say, Scouting for Girls, whose songs are akin to have someone crap in your ears and then grin childishly.






















Lady GaGa in full on Donatella Versace mode

I'm not entirely sure what my point is here. Maybe it's that because being commercially successful has become so uncool, an entirely new sub-genre of pop has been created. Namely, pop-that-is-intent-on-selling-a-shitload-of-records-but-will-claim-to-be-alternative-anyway type pop. Its because of this new leap of mediocrity that something like The Kooks exist. Alarm bells should've been ringing in the record-buying public's ears when the lead tosser (sorry, singer) said he'd previously dated Katie Melua. This is a woman so bland that she probably regards the Boden '09 Winter catalogue as daring, and buying a child travelcard as living on the edge. And yet they've sold millions of records.

Anyway enough of this, I'm off to listen to an exclusive collection of Small Faces B Sides, only available on limited edition vinyl, ta ra.