(Pre-Script: Check out today’s guest post (by yours truly) at the always excellent Almost Four Stars!)
I recently got into a small tiff on another blog with someone about Lady Gaga. I didn’t realize it at the time, but evidently we were arguing about whether or not said Lady is a “musical genius.” And the argument evidently also eventually resolved itself in her favor, after the other party located this video:
I don’t know if I’m qualified to proclaim someone a “musical genius,” and even if I were, few people whose musical output lies entirely in the twenty-first century would receive that title from me. Lady Gaga may or may not be a musical genius– she’s definitely a respectable songwriter thus far– but the only thing the above video proves is that she used to be a catastrophically bad (or at least, very immature, as she was 19 when this video was taken) lyricist. My favorite is at the end (around 6:57), where the judge proclaims, “Norah Jones, look out!”
I would like to submit, for your approval, a photograph of another budding artist at the age of 21: Continue reading →
