Way Behind

So this is how I know I'm really REALLY old.  My nephew asked me if I had seen the new Lady Gaga video.  I thought he meant "Alejandro" which I had seen.  But, no.  the latest from Ms. Germanotta is one called "Born This Way."  Is that the one she did on an awards show earlier this spring where she arrived in an egg?  I don't watch regular television and so I miss quite a bit.  But, if that was a stunt, I thought it was pretty clever.  And since Cher doesn't show up in outrageous outfits anymore...hey, go for the entertainment factor I say.  I have yet to decide if I am a Gaga fan.  She makes me giggle sometimes, but other times I just want to smack her.  I like how she has her own production team and seems to be staying true to her own vision.  I hope that's an accurate assessment and not just me wishing for a strong female role model for the younger young women.  Anyway, I googled the video for "Born This Way."  Very flashy and, as my daughter warned me "much, much birth imagery."  I also thought it was wwwwwaaaaaay overproduced and couldn't help but wonder how many  hungry homeless folk could have been fed for how many days on the costume budget alone.

Snazzy, right?  The chin eyeball is a bit freaky; but that seems to be the point.  I watched it twice and, even to these elder ears the tune sounded familiar.  Of course!  The original Material Girl did "Express Yourself" which makes Gaga's latest sound like cloning on crack.  This is the second reason I know I am really old:  This is a GIGANTIC controversy on the musical interwebs.  Tribute?  Ripoff?  You make the call.  Personally I don't care.  What I am surprised that nobody pointed out are the clear "Alien Resurrection" moments.

                                

I mean...doesn't this look a lot like the oily, dirty group scene toward the end of "Born This Way?"  The birth of evil at the beginning, well that's the Alien Queen with better lighting.   And the Gaga heads in jars!  Oh, yeah!   Ripoff?  Tribute?  Why aren't Sigourney Weaver's people raising a ruckus?

Personally, I would not want to piss off Cher, Madonna, or Lt. Ripley.  But I've got to hand it to the latest gal of the moment.  Gaga has tapped something.  I don't know what it is and I don't know if it's any good.  I wish she'd take some time off.  Back in the day it was called being a bit too full of yourself and got this old gal sent to her room.  That's how I know I am way too far behind.