Hooray for mainstream pro-LGBTQ music! What do you think of Lady Gaga's new single?

What I love about Lady Gaga is that she’s aggressively open-minded. Regardless of how much if it is associated with self-promotion, it’s the kind of message that is awesome to exploit commercially.

When I say “aggressively open-minded” I mean that it goes beyond “I’m going to accept ideas as they come to me” but rather “this isn’t being said or done – I don’t know if I agree with it but I’m going to do it loudly and see if it works for me or in general.” That’s admirable.

And the entire album has been described by her as her “anthem album.” I’m as excited as a school girl.

I’m not a fan of mainstream music because it is so vacuous, so I’m glad she’s using her popularity to release some progressive messages.

It’s a well done song and it will be a huge hit for her.

I suppose it’ll resonate with some queer people but certainly not at all. It doesn’t do it for me, though.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir – That means you’re not really queer. ;-)

^^the definition of “arbitrary distinction.”

@iamthemob I see. Ah well.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir – Because, you know, like all members of a minority, I speak for all of my people when I express an opinion about what it means to be a member of a minority. ~

@iamthemob Somebody’s gotta do it.

I think she is DOPE. This song’s alright….not her best.

All I could really understand was the Village People bass drum track and I think I discerned a few words. Or maybe all of them. Were there more than ten unique words in the song?

Still, it must be a feat of some skill to put “gay, transgender, bi” into a phrase that can actually be sung!

I’m supportive of the message but the music just doesn’t do it for me.

Yawn.

I read that it was a fraud.

@YARNLADY – What do you mean by “fraud”?

See the Yahoo news page for the latest report.

Ok – but what was it that you read about it describing a “fraud”?

The word “fraud” is particularly strong – it seems a little drastic for something people seem to think sounds like a rip-off

Type “is lady gaga a fraud” in your search box for a list of articles.

@YARNLADY – You mean into yahoo news, like this?

Really, I’m asking what you remember reading – what it was in relation to. That was what I was getting at. I’m asking from information from you, not yahoo.

I do know, you know, how to perform one of them internet searches there. ;-)

I don’t see how the articles I found have anything to do with her new song. I was able to find a few articles from September 2010 about how Lady Gaga apparently copied the style of a few different singers, and how she’s supposed to have skipped out on a former boyfriend/producer… But nothing about the song I asked about.

Edit: Okay, after a little more digging, I found that several critics are comparing the song to Madonna’s song “Express Yourself”. There are parts which sound similar, but it’s not a “fraud”, I don’t think. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what Madonna has to say about it.

All right, after that circuitous aside, does anyone else have anything to say about the single, or it’s pro-everything message?

Perhaps one of the most interesting things, for me, with all the complaints of the song being a rip-off is that it’s compared to most often “Express Yourself,” but also “Vogue,” “Like A Prayer” and “Material Girl”. Of course, underlying all of that criticism is the fact that, at her best, Madonna songs often borrowed from each other (as well as strongly from the rest of the pop music field of the past).

If it sounds like all those songs, it’s partially because those songs all sound like each other at points. And Lady Gaga, for me, has always seemed to clearly wear her influences on her sleeve…that doesn’t mean what she does isn’t an improvement.

That’s all a matter of taste, of course.

I want to love it but it’s yet to grow on me. I love Gaga but this sounds far too much like Madonna’s Express Yourself for me!

@Leanne1986 – I totally hear that – it’s funny, though, because it sounds way to disco to me to really sound like “Express Yourself.” ;-)