On PS22 and Music

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZnSwGCliB8&] If I had one criticism of PS22 and their teacher, it's that he is probably not teaching proper singing or performance techniques to them at a young age. Its common thought that this creates 'bad' habits that will influence the art in a negative way, later.

I was thinking that as I watched this.

And then I thought, "so what?"

There are probably many many children singing in children's choirs around the globe inside of Universities, etc. that don't enjoy the music they sing. I think I'd argue that that fact is more destructive to the art than something like PS22 is.

When musicians come to hate music, it might be one of the saddest days on earth.

If anything, performances like these are creative, unique, and stretching across boundaries. Right? I can see some of these kids rushing over to their friends' house after school and being super jazzed to load up YouTube and show their friends what they did at school that day.

These are kids. And they're excited about what they're doing.

That's the future of America, I think. Creativity is key. Technology (because it is simply an embodiment of creativity) is key. Fine arts (because they are simply embodiments of creativity) are key. The study of maths and sciences (because they are products of creativity) are key.

And so when I cringe to see the kids moving their bodies so much, I have to stop and think..."how proud are these kids of their work?" or "how much will the enjoyment of this experience influence their lives in the future?" You can experience the excitement within the last few seconds of the video. Sheer joy.

Because in the end it doesn't matter if they're singing Mozart or Lady Gaga (though it might be nice for them to understand both forms of the art); they're singing. They're practicing. They're performing. And they're enjoying it.

And, better yet, they're doing what they do...well. We don't have enough of that in today's world.

It's cool stuff. It really is.

-B

I really don't like the song that much, despite its catchiness. Gaga wrote the song with her dad taking shots on the piano after her grandfather died. I just don't, quite...get it. It doesn't speak any sort of message that I would consider life changing, and I don't think the lyrics are very poetic at all. Also, the music video was ridiculous.

Regardless, though, the act of singing it is moving something inside of these two groups. It's weird to think that something's moving inside of these groups when the lyrics to the song suck. But, you know, perhaps that speaks to the power of music within the soul. It probably does.

I'm On The Edge...of Stupid.

Gaga's got a new video. It's brilliant. So deep.  So inspiring. So well-written. So perfectly executed. [vodpod id=Video.11139720&w=425&h=350&fv=]

She's received quite a bit of negative press for this one(But that's not that different for her, is it?).

In all honesty, she can do whatever she wants.  If she chooses to write a song while taking shots with her dad on the piano after her grandfather died, then tell everyone that the song is about her grandfather (ought to be sentimental, right?), then dress in scant leather and basically have sex with poles and brick walls for the video; she has the right to.

But here's what I think happened:

• Someone offered her some kind of drug.
• She took it.
• She thought, "I'm GaGa; I can do anything and get away with it"
• Then she looked at a friend next to her and said, "what if I just dance without planning anything and we make it into a music video and then I sell it and get huge publicity for it."
• Then her friend said, "Stephanie, I think that's a terrible idea."
• Then GaGa said, "Great, let's do it; I'll do it naked."
• Then her friend said, "But that song's about your Grandfather!"
• To which GaGa replied, "He'd be proud."
• They filmed it ten minutes later (no need for elaborate set design).
• The next day, the drugs wore off.
• GaGa realized how bad it was.
• So she decided that if she blamed it on a creative director, people would think it was brilliant.
• So she did.
• But he had Twitter.  And he corrected the whole world.

Thus, ladies and gentlemen, we get the current product displayed above.

I never knew Elton in his crazy days. I came to really appreciate his work later in life. I liked his eccentricity, but I liked his music more.  I wonder if the same thing will happen with artists like GaGa to my kids.

God, I hope not.

Oh, GaGa.

-B

The Gospel of GaGa

This morning, I watched Lady GaGa's Monster Ball Tour on HBO. I missed it the first time around and thought quickly enough to TiVo it for the second time.  Thank God HBO shows specials like MTV shows reality shows. If you are a fan of creative use of costumes, lighting, dancing, video, and curse words...you'll enjoy the show.  It is well done.

I feel like my feelings toward her "Judas," however, are more real than I might have expected.

As far as I can tell, GaGa exists for one purpose: to let everyone know that they should be who they are (and be proud of it) because God made them who they are and it's ok to be who you are because people told her she was nothing and then she went and became a star, and Superstardom should be the key to all good things so people should want to be like her and follow her.

Throughout the show (in which she constantly encourages the audience in regards to the aforementioned point of her existence), other than GaGa, one figure remains constant on stage.  It's a shirtless, long-haired electric guitar player who she readily refers to as Jesus, Jesus Christ, or Jesus Christo. To be fair, he kind of looks like what we typically think Jesus looked like (throwing away the notion that Jesus might have looked a lot like Osama bin Laden). In fact, at first I thought that that was why she called him Jesus.

But...it seemed to move from being a joke to being real.

I've heard many people discuss whether or not GaGa's message of "love all" is really the message of the Gospel or not.  I've heard people advocate that GaGa is spreading her own Gospel. I've expressed before how much I think the sexuality of her performances and videos depletes the value of her message.

I think one thing is clear: I think GaGa senses a sense of calling to be the voice for those who have been afraid to be themselves in this world.  I think she feels a need to speak up for those who have felt "oppressed." I think she thinks she is spreading the Gospel (however we are to define that word).

The problem for me, though, still lies in her follow through.

Everyone should appreciate who they are and who God made them to be: awesome.  People who feel attracted to members of the same sex should be able to live lives that aren't based in hiding those feelings: great. People should want to make something of themselves, especially when they've been told over and over that they will never be anything: fantastic.

But, why the crotch grabs? Why the F words? Why the suggestive nudity?  Why the mocking of religious attire and practice?

There's no doubt in my mind that Lady GaGa is extremely talented.  If it's not in her singing, then her dancing, If not in her dancing, then in her writing.  If not in her writing, then in her work ethic.  If not in her work ethic, then in her creativity.  If not in her creativity, then in her sense of "call."

She's got what it takes to make it.

But she's one of those rare artists that come along and gains rare stardom...and tries to use that fame and voice to speak a message. So her potential is not just for fame, her potential is for change. Imagine a world in which this potential is used in a proper way!

If her message were based in love and life, she'd have something. But it isn't.

She wants to be a voice for those disrespected by culture...but she cares more about those people following her than the purpose of the message. It's a fake-out, to the highest degree.

She has a voice that many in the church wish they had.  She even speaks some of the same language that they'd like to. But she's doing it in the wrong way. The potential for change is lost, ruined, and destroyed. Instead...she doesn't influence culture in the way that the Gospel is supposed to. She influences culture in the way that she wants to.

And because of that, I'd ask her to stop calling that guitar player, "Jesus."

-B

She's good, but she used to be better. Just watch:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM51qOpwcIM]

I Had To Jump...

...off of the GaGa train. First, it was this.

Then her new single, "Judas" came out. I don't know exactly how I define "antichrist" but I'm starting to believe that GaGa is getting scary close.

I've  sifted through these lyrics over and over trying to find a different way to interpret it. Can't. Do. It.

She mixes all kinds of stories centering around Jesus to point to (I think) the fact that she is in love with some sort of sin. I get that. But I think it was poorly timed with Holy Week (I'm sure that's exactly why they did that) but I think she has mixed a few too many things with a story I'm not positive she has complete understanding of.

Proof point: "In the most Biblical sense, I am beyond repentance."

Hopefully someone can enlighten my interpretation of the song. I'd like to a hear a non-biased interpretation that finds her point among the trash mixed in.

I choose not to post the lyrics.  Find them yourself.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAWpkZSCMXU]

-B