Listening again to Judas by Lady Gaga, I have decided to express myself a little about this song and the video. At this point, most of my friends will probably give up on me and wonder if I have lost my head this time. Why in the world would I take any time at all to discuss something like this video?
For one thing, I think we in the classical world, working hard to help future musicians, cannot ignore nor should we ignore mass popular appeal. We need to address, consider it, reject it if necessary, embrace it at times, and mostly exam it. We also need to wrestle with several concepts that popular music presents, especially the overall sound, style, and texts. Do we need to spend all our time analyzing this music and discussing why it is popular among youth? Likely not. There are too many things to learn in the musical world and residing on one song or one type of music is educationally weak. Yet here is my analytical side coming through as I struggle to understand the appeal of this song. Mostly I have to wonder if this song is "good" for society? Bad for society? Or simply another song with little lasting value?
Lady Gaga is a fine singer with an diverse voice, full range, and lots of vocal energy. She sings with a slight reedy quality that is engaging and has a bluesy approach that is captivating. Her lows and highs are well-balanced and her hint of an unusual accent gives her a personal connection--almost as though she is communicating to individuals in a small setting. Her voice is pleasant and likeable.
She is also a fine song-writer with interesting ideas, nice melodies, rhythmic pulse, and harmonies that while a little predictable are several notches above most popular music heard on the radio today. I really enjoy the opening chorus idea, moving into the verse later. I also enjoy the moment of note repetition that then soars to a singable melody. She has an innate understanding of melody, of when to sustain and when to move quickly. Her band is terrific and aside from the non-stop pounding of the beat and the roar of guitars (both things that bore me after a few minutes), they seem to work well together and serve the best of the music. Overall Lady Gaga is a good musician, maybe not on the par with Stevie Wonder or even Elton John but maybe getting there someday.
As a dancer, she is average and a little awkward. Michael Jackson was amazing for sure. Lady Gaga is not. She almost looks uncomfortable dancing and gyrating about on stage and she struggles to keep her motions in sync with the others and with the music. Somewhat leggy and gangly, she is much more comfortable behind a piano where her fingers do the dancing. More on this later.
The stage antics. These are overall okay, sort of creative at times with funny costumes (remember Cher and Elton John!), eggs, fire, risers, face paint, all designed to get your attention. None of it appeals to me, but I suppose in our visual world, most successful performers need a visual gimic. I wonder if she comes up with this stuff or if her managers sit around trying to think of the next crazed look. Not sure. Her presentation is highly energized, creative, and a little unique at this time demonstrating that she is not inhibited at all and holds back very little in her concerts. This again gives her a connection to everyone present as though she is willing to share her musicianship with all the individuals in the room.
Now as far as the song Judas goes, I think it is an okay song. It sounds to me like a sidewise version of Bad Romance, the same structure, same minor chorus, the same guttural sounds of roaring and uhhhing. The catchy phrases are similar and it is easy to dictate on paper the melodies being sung. It is a fun, energetic song that interests me a little for its musical content. The words are another matter. What do they mean? Is this offensive to a Christian? At first I thought so, but further examination and I am not so sure. They seem nonsensical to me, so I am not sure what the purpose is? Are we supposed to laud and respect Judas for his betrayal of our Lord? Or are we saying he is a demon and we should filter out demons in our lives? I honestly cannot tell what any of this means. Because of that, I have decided not to be offended, but to remain confused!
I would prefer Lady Gaga not try to mix religious icons in her performances (of course, she does so to push the envelope and get attention), but I suppose that for me I just simply do not take her presentation very seriously. I like her voice and like parts of her music, but am somewhat indifferent to the other things.
If you are now curious, simply go to Youtube and search for Lady Gaga Judas and you will find several videos.
What I look forward to is the day she stops the junk on the stage, goes to the piano and begins to sing the old ballads from the 40s-70s! That is when we will hear the magic in her voice.
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