catherine!

how many credits are you taking next semester? Hmm?

that I don’t find some way to incorporate Mean Girls into my day.

So I did not get a lot of sleep last night. I don’t really know why, but whatever. I had to go to Writing so we could have oral presentations on our papers. As I was very tired, I was not looking forward to this. However, my group and I actually had fun talking about the papers. I think it was mostly because we only have two classes of Writing left and everyone was in a good mood.
Then came Logic. I had an epiphany last night that my teacher wasn’t actually stupid, but taught the course so well that it seemed ridiculously easy. Everyone else seems to complain about the difficulties with Logic but my teacher made it easy. I wrote that down on my course evaluation and also (in the spirit of Christmas) volunteered to take the evaluations to Heller Hall for her! Consequently: I realized just how nice my teacher is. I stood up at the front and waited for people to turn their sheets in and people kept coming in late (Like 25 minutes) or wouldn’t listen to me when I told them to just put it in a pile. It was really rude and I have a new found appreciation for my Logic teacher. I almost feel bad for calling her ‘Moron’ instead of ‘Maran’ but at the same time, my wit makes me lololol.
I traipsed my ass over to Heller Hall (a ridiculous 30 feet away from the building I was in), turned the evaluations in, and then realized that I was in the same building as the History Dept.! I went up to the 11th floor, had a charming dialogue with the head of the department, and left the building officially a History Major! Now I’m thinking I will minor in Economics because I actually enjoyed that class a lot in high school. I dropped Rock Music from 1970 to the Present (bullshit) and signed up for Microeconomics (Actually, this happened last night but I wanted to keep the flow)!
Finally, after I was almost home, I picked up an issue of the Minnesota Daily. I only wanted it for the crossword but I saw an ad that piqued my interest. Apparently you can get your bartending license at 18 in the state of Minnesota and make a good bit of dough. I know it’s unrealistic to expect this at the beginning, but you can make up to $20-30 an hour! So I might (actually probably) go to the Minnesota School of Bartending over the summer so I could work at a bar and make some dough! 

The only thing I regret about this morning is that I got so wound up that I couldn’t take a nap :( Sadsad.

Forgive me, but I’m really paranoid about this because this essay is worth 30% of my grade
and just ughhh…ENJOY
The Fame Monster

Setting: the 2009 Video Music Awards. People are on the edge of their seats waiting for the next performer, Lady Gaga, to take the stage. She starts out with an a cappella version of one of her previous hits which soon turns into a bloody rendition of her song “Paparazzi”, reminiscent of  The Phantom of the Opera. She sings live, she plays the piano, and puts on a spectacular show for the audience. Yet, Youtube.com is still flooded with accusations such as “oh the horror. who thinks this thing is a good preformer must be as mad as she/he is [sic]” (“Lady Gaga Paparazzi”)  or “Ok uhm, sure. Too bad these days the word “talent” is portrayed as freaks like this and “music” of people talking all about sex and weed [sic]” (“Lady Gaga Paparazzi”).  Who knows how many times these people have desecrated an artist that actually has talent because that artist is a bit strange? Those hostile to Lady Gaga are ruining the integrity of her music. However, fans of Lady Gaga that find her to be a serious artist shouldn’t fight this, as hard as it sounds. Instead, they must work on getting Gaga out of the spotlight and adopting a passive role with those who belligerently dislike her music. Only then can the integrity of her music be saved.

Step one to making sure Lady Gaga is remembered for her music, not her questionable fashion choices: get her out of the media spotlight. It seems strange to ask diehard fans to essentially stop supporting an artist, but it will save her from being labeled as the mainstream’s artist du jour. Lady Gaga was accepted to the Tisch School of the Arts[1] at New York University, can legitimately sing (occasionally in French!), and learned how to play the piano by ear at four years old (“Biography”). We’re not talking another Milli Vanilli[2] here. Yet, from the time that Gaga first stepped into the spotlight to the present, she has been called gimmicky more and more. The more she is pictured in the media spotlight, the more of her eccentricities are shown to the public. Imagine that you created something really great and you were really passionate about it. You go out to show your friends, teachers, etc. However, you soon find that the only thing people are focusing on is the shirt you’re wearing. Supposedly, you’d feel like a joke. Now consider Lady Gaga: when talking about her “Fame Monster” album, Lady Gaga was quoted as saying: “While traveling the world for two years, I’ve encountered several monsters, each represented by a different song on the new record: my ‘Fear of Sex Monster,’ my ‘Fear of Alcohol Monster,’ my ‘Fear of Love Monster,’ my ‘Fear of Death Monster,’ my ‘Fear of Loneliness Monster,’ etc (Kreps)”. There is some serious thought behind this album, but how are people supposed to realize the symbolism of her music when they’re just thinking about how she prances around without pants? The general public isn’t going to be discussing the meaning behind songs; they’re just going to be talking about how she wore what looked like a tumbleweed as a hat. The masses tend to take things at face value and by doing so, demean Gaga’s music. They will take her for a loony than a legitimate artist. The only way to remedy this is to get Lady Gaga out of the public eye.

Now, Lady Gaga fans might be asking themselves: “Well, how are we suppose we do that?” Well, you have to know your enemy: the media. Has it given Lady Gaga beneficial exposure? Sure, but the damage it has the potential to do to her as a serious musical artist outweighs the benefits. My personal narrative illustrates the major issue at hand:

I really should have known better than to play a Lady Gaga song in the presence of a pretentious indie[3] music snob. Nevertheless, it was my car; my car, my rules. As “Poker Face” began to play, the music snob offered her commentary.

“Oh, this song is so stupid. Listen to the chorus!”
“What about it?”

“She’s totally saying ‘Butt-fucker face!’ Listen!”

“Uh, no, she’s not.”
“No! She totally is!”

“No, she’s just repeating ‘poker face’.”
“Oh, maybe it just sounds like that when you’re high. Whatever, it’s stupid.”

Do Lady Gaga fans really want these people listening to the music? Is Lady Gaga being exposed to anyone with a pulse worth people turning around spouting this garbage? Even those who aren’t out to berate anyone who likes Gaga aren’t helping the cause. These people will take “Just Dance” as an anthem for getting drunk at a party, rather than a song about dealing with the bad things life throws at you (“I Wrote Hit”). I made a mistake in playing “Poker Face” in the presence of an indie music snob, but Lady Gaga fans can learn from my mistake by removing her from popular culture. They can be creative with their methods, but one of the easiest is to get the attention of the public off Gaga and onto some other unassuming artist. Let’s use up-and-coming rap artist, Asher Roth, as an example (If the fan has some moral objection to doing this to Asher Roth, they can choose someone else. This technique is very forgiving.). The fan must do everything in their power to get Asher Roth everywhere. They have to request his music any chance that they get. A perfect opportunity to do this is on college campuses across the country as he has a song entitled ‘I Love College’ that the kids just go crazy for (Cudworth). The fan must wear shirts that proclaim their adoration of the rapper and constantly update their Facebook statuses with his lyrics. It may not be an instant transition, but one of two things will eventually happen. One: the public will latch onto your unassuming artist, you can fade into the shadows, and the secret listening of Lady Gaga can begin. Or, two: People will get so sick of the artist that they will move on to some other artist on the charts. Either way, Gaga fans win.

However, what to do about those who don’t listen to the radio? Our good old friends, the indie kids need to be dealt with differently. They are a whole different species, immune to the effects of popular music. They seek fans out and berate them for enjoying the fruits of mainstream music, without actually taking a good look at the stuff (“Lady Gaga Sucks”). What is a Lady Gaga fan to do? They must swallow their pride and take the passive route. It is going to be difficult for Lady Gaga fans to take the slander spewing from these kids’ mouths  but the more they keep trying to stand up for the Lady,  the more the indie kids will relish in defaming her. In theory, you could just avoid these negative kids and the world would be a happier place. However, let’s get real. Undoubtedly, you will come into contact with someone hostile to Lady Gaga. Though you might have an arsenal of Lady Gaga knowledge at your disposal, you shouldn’t fire away. A better tool for every Lady Gaga fan to have in his or her arsenal is a general knowledge of indie music. Some bands that indie kids usually go for include: Passion Pit, Portugal the Man, and Conor Oberst (Indie Rock Cafe). Lady Gaga fans, even if the music isn’t their cup of tea, should be able to reference a few obscure songs. Then, when the opportunity presents itself, strike up a conversation with an indie kid and find a way to work your knowledge of little-known artists into the conversation. Inform them of how you’re just, dare I say it, gaga over Conor Oberst’s newest record. Once again, two outcomes will come about from this technique. The most favorable outcome would be that indie kids will believe that Lady Gaga fans have good taste and respect their choices in music. However, one of the biggest appeals of indie music is that it is music that few people listen to (“(Why) I Listen”). The more probable outcome would be that the allure of the indie band you brought up will fade away and indie kids will be too busy scouting some new, obscure band to bother with the affairs of Lady Gaga. Both outcomes have their merits and leave the integrity of Lady Gaga intact.

So many artists are misunderstood in their time and as such are the victims of mockery. Lady Gaga fans can’t let her be remembered as some weird fame whore from 2009. Sadly, this means that fans will have to scale back support for an artist that they really like. Will it be difficult for fans to pretend that they don’t like an artist nearly as much as they really do? Will it be rough for them to put up with the slander spewed by the general public? Yes, but it is for the sake of Lady Gaga’s music and as the Lady says: “Baby, when it’s love if it’s not rough, it isn’t fun” (Gaga).

[1] The Tisch School of the Arts is a college at New York University and is one of the best art schools in the country (“Dean’s Message”).

[2] Milli Vanilli was a popular music duo in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s that didn’t write their own songs or play any instruments; turns out, they didn’t sing either (Boese).

[3] ‘Indie’ is a term used to describe people who deviate from mainstream culture (“Welcome”).

This song is beautiful.

and after all the drinks and bars that we’ve been to,
would you give it all up?
could I give it all up for you?

and after all the boys and girls that we’ve been through,
would you give it all up?
could you give it all up?
if I promise, boy, to you

that I’ll never talk again
and I’ll never love again
I’ll never write a song
won’t even sing along

I’ll never love again
so speechless
you left me speechless, so speechless
why you so speechless, so speechless?

will you ever talk again?
oh boy, why you so speechless?
you’ve left me speechless

some men may follow me
but you choose “death and company”
why you so speechless? oh, oh.

I have to finish: looking over my Lady Gaga essay, reworking my essay on Truman’s farewell address, and (hopefully) practice my Italian oral (lol) exam but my partner needs to e-mail me back ngggh.
Luckily- NO CLASS TODAY.

I still have six days. SIX FUCKING DAYS until the ETA of my Dexter seasons. I should probably just kill myself right now because I can’t imagine how I will wait this long.

Y SO SRS