Sunday, January 15, 2012

Madonna calls Gaga's music "reductive"

 Madonna does not have much good to say about Lady Gaga
I remember Madonna taking a jab at Gaga earlier last year.  Then Madonna’s PR people came out said that she wasn’t talking badly about Gaga.  I called it BS, because they didn’t want the backlash from the Gaga fans.  For years, many of Gaga’s critics have stated that Gaga is just a remix version of Madonna.
This all came to a head when Gaga released “Born This Way”, and it had an uncanny similarity to “Express Yourself”.   
Now, Madonna has really leaned into Gaga.
From NBC Chicago, ((I certainly think she references me a lot in her work. And sometimes I think it’s amusing and flattering and well done,” Madonna told ABC News’ 20/20 in an interview aired Friday night.
http://www.nbcchicago.com/entertainment/music/Madonna-Lady-Gagas-Born-This-Way-is-Reductive-137348988.html#ixzz1jT3FuERO))
Ouch.  Please note the “sometimes I think” in the statement.  Madonna uses her words very carefully, thus meaning that she doesn’t always find it amusing. Madonna has been very protective of her image and isn't always nice to people that copy it.
From NBC, ((“When I heard [“Born This Way”] on the radio, I said, ‘that sounds very familiar,’” Madonna said. “It feels reductive.”
When ABC interviewer Cynthia McFadden asked whether that was a good thing, Madonna smiled coyly, took a sip of tea and said, “Look it up.”))
I looked up “reductive” and this is the definition of the word from dictionary com. ((the act or process or an instance of reducing, the state or condition of being reduced, a form of an original resulting from a reducing process, such as a copy on a smaller scale ))
Man, that's is a low blow, but I like it. I really don't like Madonna as a person, but she does have a point here. However, I can see the other side of the issue with Gaga's fans. They probably see Madonna being a bitter old woman that's jealous of the attention that Gaga's gotten. However, Born This Way relies too heavily on the techno-junk to even be a good copy of the original.
And, I have my own problems with Madonna, but she is in the right in this story. (However, she won't stay away from making movies, even though everyone tells her she can't act or direct.)
I have agree that Born This Way is a reductive version of Express Yourself. I'm fine with remakes and remixes, I just want Gaga to admit it.
Both songs certainly make for some nice mashups.



With that guy from Good Burger?  

2 comments:

Sarah said...

How can Gaga not reference Madonna? She probably grew up listening to her like all the other children of the 80's. It's inevitable that people would compare them--Gaga pushes boundaries like Madonna did, they both wrote pop and are blonde and like to provoke the establishment and status quo.

Gaga seems to be a smart marketer, and I would assume the video was deliberately done that way to remind you of "Express Yourself".

It would be nice to see Gaga go completely on her own with her next big song/video, but comparisons between her & Madonna are inevitable.

I wouldn't go quite as far as to call myself one of her little monsters, but I enjoy her tunes for dancing around in the kitchen cooking, and like that she supports LGBT rights.

Semaj said...

I completely see your point, I like perhaps one of her songs, not the rest.

For me Gaga is very clever, because she knows how to track trends, like Madonna did before marrying a director, but I also know that she truly knows how to sing without the strange suits and euro-techno beats.

She has a voice,instead she stings in this mono-toned voice behind those beats. I remember seeing her singing a song without all the goofy outfits and it was just her and her piano. I know that will not make her millions and she's aware of this too.

And, believe me, I don't like Madonna as a person (with her fake British accent)and strange face-lifts. She is not a nice person.

 
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