Okay kids. Tonight at 11:30pm EST is the official debut of Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” video, featuring Beyoncé. It’s evidently a nine minute sequel to her super fabulous “Paparazzi” video, which weighed in at seven minutes. Who’s excited about this? Duh, we are. To get prepared, here’s the video for “Paparazzi.”
It’s kind of like watching the most recent Harry Potter movie to get ready for the new one when it comes out. READY, SET, NERD.
Lady Gaga at the VMAs
I know, I know, I’m the last person in the entire universe to get on this bandwagon*, but still: damn, who the fuck is Lady Gaga, and what fucking planet is she from? Her songs are absurd dance explosions, her fashion is already the stuff of legend, and her videos are like super-condensed tiny little films that reference everything from Hitchcock to Minnie Mouse.
*Thanks, Marla!
They combine the superglam pop fashion sensibility that’s come to dominate celebrity culture since the passing of grunge (see: Gwen Stefani, Beyonce) with the grotesque, disturbing, Uncanny Valley sensibility that was once found in the videos of Marilyn Manson. You can find any of them on youtube yourself, though (I particularly recommend “Paparazzi” and “Bad Romance”), so instead I’m going to show you a couple of things that you might not see otherwise.
Lady Gaga is a fantastic songwriter, of course, but that superslick production almost disguises what a talented musician she is. For all the vocoder she employs, woman has got a pair of LUNGS. Check out this video of her playing piano and singing a stripped-down version of “Paparazzi.”
I never thought I’d say this, but I’m kind of desperate for another Justin Timberlake album to come out.
Remember in 2006, a few months before FutureSex/LoveSounds came out, when we all heard “SexyBack” for the first time? And we were like, “wait, who is this?” And then someone was like, “Duh, it’s Justin Timberlake.” And we were like, “WHAT THE FUCK.” It sounded so different, so much more mature and sexy and gritty than anything he’d done before. More »
And it’s only 20 seconds in length! I just saved you 161 minutes and 40 seconds. You’re welcome.
Betty Hutton
Have I ever told you about how much I love Dinah Shore? She’s pretty much my favorite vocalist in the entire world, but that’s a subject for a different post. I was listening to a “Best of” compilation of hers the other day and noticed a track that I hadn’t paid much attention to before, called, “‘Murder,’ He Says.”
Dinah Shore – “‘Murder,’ He Says”
It’s from early-on in WWII, and written by Frank Loesser, best known for How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying and Guys and Dolls on Broadway, and a number of Tin Pan Alley hits. Shore’s version was pleasant enough to catch my ear, especially with the opening line:
Finally found a fella
Almost completely divine
But his vocabulary
Is killing this romance of mine
His… vocabulary? Is that anything like a girl’s “Personality”?
Dinah Shore — “Personality” (20s sample)
I did a youtube search out of curiosity, and unearthed what is perhaps one of the greatest clips ever committed to film: a version of “‘Murder,’ He Says” recorded by a 22-year-old Betty Hutton, for benefit of the troops: More »
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