I've got your Lady Gaga right here....

[Fuji Vice]

I’ve got your Lady Gaga right here. Yes, that is the title of this thread, and no, it has absolutely nothing to do with Lady Gaga. Instead it is about an artist who truly inspires and creates, at just as feverish a pace as the supposed “innovator†Gaga. That artist is none other than Janelle Monae, whose excellent albums Metropolis: Suit 1 (The Chase) and The ArchAndroid (Suites II & III) easily eclipse anything the aforementioned “Lady†has done in her career. When looking at innovation, creativity and originality, the discussion on current stars begins and ends with Monae. Clearly she is one of the brightest talents in the music industry today, and with a little luck, she will begin to get more of the respect that she richly deserves.

Let’s take a look at a few of her most recent songs, from the album The ArchAndroid. Some of you may know the wonderful tune “Tightrope†from the car commercial that it has been making the rounds in. Others may be listening to it for the first time, but I think we can all agree that it is undeniably catchy and damn good at that.

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Next up is Faster, another excellent tune which pretty much whips anything Gaga has attempted in her career and can certainly be called original in its use of standard themes.

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Subtlety is a key to a great artist, and Monae knows it. Here she channels the sirens of the 60’s on Sir Greendown, a wonderful piece of music that harkens back to much simpler times.

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Finally I would like to point out the awesome Cold War, generally performed by Monae on the talk show circuit and an anchoring song on the album.

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I am sorry, but anyone who can sit and say that Lady Gaga is original has obviously not heard this woman. Instead of going into a full blown review of the album I will simply state that it has more imagination, more conceptual detail and more style than virtually any other prog rock or other genre concept album that I have ever heard. Monae is clearly an innovator in every sense of the word, while Gaga is nothing more than a pretender who is coasting on shock value rather than depth.

Janelle Monae is also an excellent role model for young girls/women, preferring to create her own signature clothing style that generally involves wearing a tuxedo, which accentuates her looks as opposed to wearing dresses made of meat in order to provoke reaction. Here is a quote from Monae in regards to her image and artistic freedom.

"I feel like I have a responsibility to my community and other young girls to help redefine what it looks like to be a woman. I don't believe in men's wear or women's wear, I just like what I like. And I think we should just be respected for being an individual…. I've been in Vogue, now, and different publications, which is cool, because I think that it just shows a different perspective of how women can dress."​

If that isn’t more of a positive message than “I was born this way†then I don’t know what is. Clearly I will be met with disagreement here and that’s fine, if you want to continue to believe that Lady Gaga is some big trendsetter than that is perfectly fine with me. However you cannot deny that when comparing the two, Monae is easily the better artist, the more acceptable role model and certainly the more unique and individual entertainer.

 

[Naitch]

G-d damn it: a common annoyance, it says that I must spread reputation around before giving it to you again, DLP. Bravo, my friend. Whilst there's elements of Gaga I enjoy, Monae is a truly positive role model and deserves her spotlight.

 

[NovaRoad]

It's so nice to hear stuff like this. The jazzy, groovy rhythm section pulls at my heart strings I'm sad to say I never even heard of Janelle until this thread, so boy am I glad I visited this thread. I, too, cannot rep you without spreading the love around apparently, otherwise I so would.

 

[Fuji Vice]

Thanks guys, don't worry, the comments mean more to me than the rep. I'm just glad that Naitch shares my opinion (no sorprendio mi amigo) and that Nova has now been exposed to this truly great artist. I hope more find their way in here and check her out because she deserves it.

 

[Drew]

Ya'll can give me the reps instead >,>


Anyways...good stuff Fuji. Like others, I haven't heard of her before, but I quite enjoyed it.

And it's not that Gaga is bad, or even not very good...but she's just getting to the point where she's overhyped, and EVERYONE is acting like everything she does is just so damn great.

 

[Fuji Vice]

And it's not that Gaga is bad, or even not very good...but she's just getting to the point where she's overhyped, and EVERYONE is acting like everything she does is just so damn great.

Therin lies the problem. Just because everyone is talking about it doesn't mean its good. And yes, she most certainly is not bad, its just that people are so blinded by the marketing machine (I should know, Mrs. Fuji is a marketing exec at a major record label) that they lose sight of what is truly unique and passionate. Gaga is nothing more than a pop singer, singing pop songs and drumming up exposure through outrageous acts. Monae is a true innovator who doesn't have to rely on cheap theatrics to entertain and enlighten. Which is probably why she isn't as well known as Gaga. Maybe if she wore a meat dress? No, she never would, and THAT is why she will always be better than Gaga, in my eyes at least.

 

[Naitch]

I saw Gaga on the front page of the national newspapers the other day, wearing nothing but a body stocking and some S&M heels. I like many of her songs, and think that someone writing their own music and lyrics is positive, but the more I see her essentially getting her tits out to ensure she grabs headlines, the less and less I rate her as anything of a role model.

 

[TroyTheAverage]

Listened to a couple of the songs earlier, and I am wowed. She has an amazing voice and the music is complimentary to it. I'm actually digging this. I'm kind of shocked.

 

[Fuji Vice]

I'm glad you liked her Juice, that was the purpose of the article. She is definitely talented and as I say, superior to GaGa in every way. Plus, as Naitch mentioned above, with GaGa seemingly doing everything in her power to NOT be a role model, perhaps more will look to Monae for that.

 

[Fuji Vice]

Bumping this thread to offer a different opinion of Lady Gaga since I don't want to write it all out again.