It is an occasion few and far between when I come back to this blog, but when I do, it's to say something I mean. I was going to come back to speak up for Sammi, then Ronnie, and then I dove off the GW bridge because of both of them and an NYC fireboat rescued me.
But this is to speak out for "Born This Way," Lady Gaga's triumphant, flamboyant, and unabashed return to the airwaves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4a8QtvOkBQ
Gaga hyped up "Born This Way" so much that I was sick of it before it came out. I thought her countdown on Facebook was pretentious and stupid, and I wanted little to do with the single. But it's kind of like Gaga's my long lost cousin. I met her once and briefly long ago on the Lower East Side outside Rockwood Music Hall, shaking her hand as she stood with brunette hair, in a sequined bikini and a hair band t-shirt, holding a cigarette in her other hand, and now I feel an obligation to lovingly watch and adore her. So I listened to "Born This Way" while simultaneously nodding during an unrelated conversation with my boyfriend. I was bored by the song, but I bought it out of duty.
Then I listened to it at the gym. I was motivated to stay on the elliptical for another 20 minutes. And I listened to it on the way home, and I listened to it on the way to dinner.
"Born This Way" is, like so many media outlets are wont to claim, exactly like "Express Yourself."* It's empowering and adrenaline-pumping. It makes me feel like I am the most precious person in the room, and that's OK by me. It actually reminds me of Michael Jackson's "Black or White," or like George Michael's "Freedom '90," but who gives a shit? It's a good. fucking. song.
Forget the unsightly horns and the disturbing facial prosthetics. Forget her self-righteous presence. Forget the cringe-worthy latex costumes. Gaga is an artist and she writes songs you can't help but celebrate. Are they the best songs I've ever heard? No. They won't beat "Like a Rolling Stone" in a genius competition. But god damn if they don't make me feel positively amazing about myself.
Paws up, Mama Monster. I'm pre-ordering the new album.
*When I YouTubed this, there was a sidebar ad for "Born This Way." Coincidence?
