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Lady Gaga before Lady Gaga (Stefani Germanotta) or WOW

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You can hear in the acoustic versions of her songs how much she enjoys the music and how much talent she actually has. Actually, I feel like this whole Lady GaGa thing is just her way of punking the pop industry.

I'd be game for an album of just her and a piano.
 
Souldriver said:
Meh. I'm not so fond of her "let's yell or go crazy" and "I'll sing every note different from the original song" shtick. Sure, it does showcase her talent, but that doesn't make the song anymore beautiful. I actually would like to hear her sing Viva La Vida just like Coldplay, as in: they same melody. I'm sure she'd do a great job cause she has an awesome voice, and I'm positive I'd like it more than the original Coldplay song. Now..not so much.
the melody to that song straight is very, very monotonous, specifically the verses. it works because of Chris Martin, she sort of had to change it out of necessity more than anything (structural flourishes not withstanding).
 
fastford58 said:
You can hear in the acoustic versions of her songs how much she enjoys the music and how much talent she actually has. Actually, I feel like this whole Lady GaGa thing is just her way of punking the pop industry.
Yup, I agree. Seems like a really roundabout way to get the opportunity to show off her piano/singing skills in front of a worldwide audience. Props to her for that, if that's the case.

Either that, or it's just part of her schtick -- like "I'm too bored with my own music to perform it the same way every time."
 
Rez said:
the melody to that song straight is very, very monotonous, specifically the verses. it works because of Chris Martin, she sort of had to change it out of necessity more than anything (structural flourishes not withstanding).
Poker Face says hi. :P
 
RubxQub said:
I love how every live performance video I've seen of her has been 100% actually sung instead of lip-synced...and the vocals are always above average to amazing.

So good.

...as for Stefani Germanotta (as I've said before), I have no interest. Give me the crazy GaGa. She's more fun to look at and still has the insane talent (and can be hot depending on the camera angle/outfit) :lol

On the other hand, it's still a sad statement about music nowadays that we're all supposed to be impressed that somebody actually sings live on stage.
 
Phreak47 said:
On the other hand, it's still a sad statement about music nowadays that we're all supposed to be impressed that somebody actually sings live on stage.
True, but she doesn't just sing, she brings something new visually as well as having a fantastic singing voice.
 
Rez said:
the melody to that song straight is very, very monotonous, specifically the verses. it works because of Chris Martin, she sort of had to change it out of necessity more than anything (structural flourishes not withstanding).
I disagree. It's not as if Chris Martin is rapping on the track right? :lol It might not use all notes on the musical scale, but it's still a melodic song. Gaga "mixed it up" by changing every note of the song, changing the timing/structure and putting in some other quirks. It's a nice experiment perhaps, and it being a live video shows that she's talented (which I suspect is the main reason why everyone is gushing over it), but it doesn't make for a beautiful song imo.
 
Shurs said:
One of my favorites, as well.

I like Gaga's new single, and I think she's undoubtedly talented, but I don't see myself listening to her regularly in the future. I'm sure I'll search her in Youtube every few months to she what she's up to. Though I don't listen to much "pop" music, I don't understand why people associate a negative connotation to the genre. In general, Indie Rock is just as poppy and, many times, is less inventive than "pop" music.
high five my man
 
Her voice is pretty okay, I guess. I don't find it particularly amazing or anything.
 
qcf x2 said:
Wow, I wish I could see (hear) what you guys are seeing. She looked good back then at least.
I wouldn't mind this, would you?

gaga.png
 
fastford58 said:
You can hear in the acoustic versions of her songs how much she enjoys the music and how much talent she actually has. Actually, I feel like this whole Lady GaGa thing is just her way of punking the pop industry.

I'd be game for an album of just her and a piano.

If I had that much talent I'd go around besting others, too. I wonder how long she'll hang onto the pop crown before she ventures into other genres. It's exciting to think about.
 
Just watching like 20 of her live performance videos. I hate pop music...but damn, I like her songs. They're catchy as hell. And she can sing live.

Fuck it. I'm a fan.
 
Souldriver said:
Meh. I'm not so fond of her "let's yell or go crazy" and "I'll sing every note different from the original song" shtick. Sure, it does showcase her talent, but that doesn't make the song anymore beautiful. I actually would like to hear her sing Viva La Vida just like Coldplay, as in: they same melody. I'm sure she'd do a great job cause she has an awesome voice, and I'm positive I'd like it more than the original Coldplay song. Now..not so much.

I pretty much never listen to the radio, so I hadn't heard that Coldplay song. So when I listened to the original -- right after hearing that cover -- it felt kinda unerwhelming in comparison. Look, I'm the first guy who'll admit that I'm not a big fan when singers showcase their voices by taking them out as much as they can every second, but in this case I think the melody worked perfectly.
 
ItsInMyVeins said:
I pretty much never listen to the radio, so I hadn't heard that Coldplay song. So when I listened to the original -- right after hearing that cover -- it felt kinda unerwhelming in comparison. Look, I'm the first guy who'll admit that I'm not a big fan when singers showcase their voices by taking them out as much as they can every second, but in this case I think the melody worked perfectly.
Funny how I think there wasn't a melody in the Gaga version. She just played around with the original song, causing it to lose all consistency in melody. :)


Diff'rent strokes...
 
Why does the nose "before" brunette Gaga pic look exactly like the supposed "after" pic?

And the transformation she's gone through is pretty drastic. Totally different person, but I'd like to think of it more as she was dumbing down her interests to appeal to what she thought would get her the record contract. Character or not, she seems to excel and fit much more naturally with this "persona."
 
Souldriver said:
Funny how I think there wasn't a melody in the Gaga version. She just played around with the original song, causing it to lose all consistency in melody. :)

Diff'rent strokes...

The lyrics, the piano..? They're pretty much the same theme throughout the song :)

I dunno, I'm just a sucker for how the lyrics/vocals almost roll into the next verse with the piano and into a short crescendo, kinda (I don't know musical terms, so don't laugh if I'm totally off!).

I just wanna stress once again that I'm not liking it because it's showcasing her talents or whatever. I'm usually more partial to less trained vocalists or the ones that stick out due to a different type of voice. The typical wailing and shit that goes on in a lot of songs with skilled vocalists is just plain boring to me. There's some of that in this song as well, but I didn't think it took over the melody.
 
Hated Just Dance
Liked Poker Face
Loved Paparazzi
LOVE Bad Romance

She keeps getting better and better, in my opinion. I wasn't a fan at first, thought she was too much of an attention whore with her fashion crap, but now I'm a huge fan, I must admit.

As for the "real" Lady Gaga, I think shes way smarter than what you might expect of her. She knows exactly what she is doing.
 
Fantastical said:
Hated Just Dance
Liked Poker Face
Loved Paparazzi
LOVE Bad Romance

She keeps getting better and better, in my opinion. I wasn't a fan at first, thought she was too much of an attention whore with her fashion crap, but now I'm a huge fan, I must admit.

As for the "real" Lady Gaga, I think shes way smarter than what you might expect of her. She knows exactly what she is doing.
Kinda liked Just Dance
Poker face was annoying
Loved Paparazzi
Don't like Bad Romance
 
Another "it was better before it was popular thread." Weeee.

lady_gaga_nose.jpg



Err, she looked better before?


Edit: And all the links the OP posted sound the same as any of the acoustic versions she has of her songs.

Poker Face acoustic.

Christ, gaffers would say the "before" Jenny Craig models look better if they thought it made themselves appear more elitist.
 
Souldriver said:
I disagree. It's not as if Chris Martin is rapping on the track right? :lol It might not use all notes on the musical scale, but it's still a melodic song. Gaga "mixed it up" by changing every note of the song, changing the timing/structure and putting in some other quirks. It's a nice experiment perhaps, and it being a live video shows that she's talented (which I suspect is the main reason why everyone is gushing over it), but it doesn't make for a beautiful song imo.
he's following a very simple, simple melodic line that really only works as well as it does because of his voice, in my opinion. The chorus is a whole other can of worms, but the verses, as someone who has accompanied a handful of singers over the past year who insist on singing that song (against my will, though I do like the song), works, in my opinion, because of his voice. You're basically left to essentially sing along a line and end each phrase with a little vocal flourish, which is kind of hard to pull off convincingly (simple is nearly always harder with vocalists for some reason, I'd imagine -- if its anything like the piano -- its because its so exposed).

I mean, she could have sung it like that, but if she was looking to impress people or make her performance stand out as something more than "just another cover of a Coldplay song that is good but not great", playing around with the melodic structure and even the general contour of the damn thing is sort of... unavoidable. Unless you have a charming British accent, I guess. ;)

Souldriver said:
Funny how I think there wasn't a melody in the Gaga version. She just played around with the original song, causing it to lose all consistency in melody. :)


Diff'rent strokes...
good improv is melodic. it takes a whole lot of skill to effectively do it. I thought she was successful, but I guess its subjective.
 
I wasn't really a fan of Lady Gaga till I watched her perform on SNL. Girl can sing. I've been fascinated with her lately.

Something about her, her personality, her singing talent, her crazy wardrobe? I think she's pretty hot. I can't see myself bumpin' her music in my car, but I definitely listen to it on my MP3 player.

I'd hook up with her in a heartbeat if I had a chance. ;)
 
BobFromPikeCreek said:
She's a very talented person who was smart enough to dumb her music down for the fucktard pop-crowd.

Before I saw that accoustic version of one of her songs I would have disagreed with you.

That said, I think I agree.
 
Honestly, I've never heard her music, but I did dismiss her because she looks like a freaky, shitty pop singer. She's very talented!
 
CharlieDigital said:
Wow.

I'd buy that. A bit of Norah Jones, a bit of Allison Sudol. Amazing.

I'd hit it, too.
Check out Speechless on The Fame Monster. It has some of the soul of these performances.
 
adamsappel said:
Honestly, I've never heard her music, but I did dismiss her because she looks like a freaky, shitty pop singer. She's very talented!

Yeah she is pretty good. She has done a good job with the crazy persona too. She is pretty level headed out of character compared to about pretty much any other pop singer.
 
OMG so much talent in all the videos posted... holy fuck I really thought lady Gaga was a production of the recording companies turned nuts but this stuff is so good ... the vocals ... I am now a lady Gaga fan :(
 
BobFromPikeCreek said:
She's a very talented person who was smart enough to dumb her music down for the fucktard pop-crowd.

I wouldn't say it's dumbed down. It's the same piece as before just overproduced into a pre-mixed Ibiza dance hit.

When I hear her songs my mind actively tries to remove all that extraneous stuff and I try to imagine what it would sound like with just her at a piano. I'm doing that with Tegan and Sara too. It's apparent that they write the songs the old fashioned way and that's what I try to focus on when I listen to them.

It's kinda weird how the only way to make a album these days is to pretty much give your raw song to a DJ and let them add a bunch of sound effects and soaring beats.
 
I don't even follow Lady Gaga, or much popular music and even I knew she was a former child musical prodigy. How is this a revelation to anyone?
 
legend166 said:
Popstar has obviously phony persona, news at 11.

Well, besides her obvious pop influences, she claims to be heavily influenced by stuff like David Bowie and Queen. In that context, the theatrics make a lot of sense.
 
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