Lady Gaga/Headscratchers


 * In the "Telephone" video, Gaga and Beyonce go "far, far away" and never come back. The problem? They're celebrities in the video. Gaga is shown on the cover of newspapers and magazines, and right before Beyonce's part, the DJ says that the song being played is "Telephone." They can't just go and hide, especially not with the getup they're wearing.
 * They'll figure something out in the finale of the trilogy.
 * The one that won't happen cause she's had four videos in between?
 * Why doesn't she just turn her phone off? We gots voice mail...
 * Taken from the Fridge Logic entry: Because "the phone" is in her head. Yes, really. In an interview, when asked about the song, she explained that the phone and the person on the other end of the line was the voice in her head urging her to keep working herself to the point of exhaustion, making it so she can never relax or have fun.
 * Or maybe she was lying, as there's nothing lyrically that even points to that direction.
 * "I should've left my phone at home / 'cause this is a disaster," ...so she actually means she should have left her head at home them? Yeah, sorry, she's pulling that explanation out of her etc.
 * "I should have left my worries at the door/because I'm letting my neuroses ruin my fun"? I honestly don't think it's hard to make her explanation work.
 * Or, if you want to take a different meaning, whoever's calling her won't stop just because she turns it off. They'll leave endless messages, call her friends and they won't give up. She's trying to spell it out so they'll get it.
 * And have you ever been confronted by someone over flat-out ignoring their calls? Not fun.
 * Or, yet another possibility, she has to leave the phone on just in case there is an emergency with a family member or another friend, and the person calling is just being annoying.
 * What's up with her covering one eye in half of her photos?
 * She also tends to make a circle with her index finger and thumb (as in the hand sign for "O.K.") and hold it up to one eye. It could be a "Carol Burnett"-esque ear tug to a friend or family member.
 * I always thought the OK sign thing over her eye was a shout-out to David Bowie. He used to do a similar thing, except with his hand facing down, and considering how Gaga has borrowed from Bowie before...
 * It's also possibly an unconscious thing she does because she has certain insecurities. I have noticed that one of her eyes is a little 'off'. Perhaps she does it without realizing?
 * If I'm not mistaken, these gestures are meant to be construed as having some sort of connection to the Illuminati and, more importantly, being incorporated into the "Gaga mythos" she's building.
 * Wait, she's claiming (as part of her act, but still) to be associated with the Illuminati? I thought that was just something that some wacky conspiracy theorists came up with.
 * It is. I haven't seen anything involving the Illuminati till like this year, so it seems like they just came up with it now. I think she's taking the wacky idea and rolling with it. In turn, the theorists actually think there are Illuminati.
 * I'm the poster who brought up the Illuminati. You will notice that I said "meant to be construed". As in, I don't believe she herself is involved with that, but that it is meant to evoke some Illuminati leanings. I don't buy the conspiracy theory either; I just thought she was being clever and trying to mess with our heads a bit by evoking the all-seeing eye.
 * That was my brother's theory and I think it's true. It seems a bit in-character for her.
 * "Conspiracy Theory" is an all-purpose shutdown to dismiss any idea of the utilisation of media for underhanded propaganda. She isn't using Illuminati symbolism for provocation: her videos and outfits are WAY too blatant and WAY too heavy on this for it to be only promotional material. Along with Jay Z, Kanye West, Rihanna, and to a lesser extent Kesha and Katy Perry, she is among the increasing number of artists that now use Masonic and Illuminati symbolism in their videos, which they didn't do in earlier videos.
 * Either it's just me, or the chorus of "Heavy Metal Lover" is ripped off from the Iron Maiden tune "When the Wild Wind Blows". Before anyone says this is coincidental, do note that she has said Maiden is her favourite band.
 * Why does everyone assume that she and Jo Calderone are the same person? Everybody seems to be running with this idea but I find it hard to believe. I mean, there is very little evidence--only a few coincidences. Plus, she never ever said anything about it.
 * Please explain her real skin color and hair.
 * Wigs and make-up.
 * Why is Lady Gaga considered musically serious than other comparable pop singers just because she knows an instrument? Many others do, even though they might not play the piano in concert.
 * Perhaps it is the fact that she taught herself how to play by ear at age four, was classically trained, was set to join Julliard at eleven (ended up going to some Catholic-based art school instead), and has mastered some pretty difficult, Rachmaninoff-esque pieces.
 * Four words. Two sentences. "Self-Esteem." The Offspring. If you don't find any odd similarities between that & another song...
 * Holy shitballs, you're right! I'd say it's more because of how the songs are structured. Her chant runs through the entire chorus. Dexter, IIRC, recorded the massed NA-NA-NAH because they were going to have the Epic Riff on acoustics for the intro, but the vocal version worked better. So, the similarities aren't that obvious because with The Offspring it's just in the intro and then *EPICRIFFHEADBANGAGE*.
 * Two words: Agent Orange. Also, Offspring ripped off The Beatles with another one of their hits, "Why Don't You Get a Job?" Similar?
 * "Loving you is cherry pie." What the hell? What is up with that rhyme scheme? The first time I heard it, I though I heard wrong. "Cherry pie"? Why not "paradise"? It makes a hell of a lot more sense and doesn't completely throw off the song for me!
 * It's a Shout Out to the Warrant song of the same name. It's also a shout out to when Gaga would perform at rock and roll type bars pre-fame.
 * Cherry pie is an indulgence. "It's so good; I'll have one more slice. Oh my G-d I'm not sure whether I can stop." The fruit inside--hidden underneath a plain-brown crust--all those cherries are a luscious, brightly-glistening red: saturated, redder than red, almost too sweet. Too much of a good thing? Food porn? (Not to be confused with the collector-frenzy and cooking-show Tropes.) You might as well ask: what's a meta phor?
 * Maybe it's a combination of the common phrase "Easy as pie" and "cherry" as slang for virginity, which is also a reference to the Warrant song mentioned above.
 * Why does Beyoncé sometimes feel like she lives in Grand Central Stay-shun? (Yes, I know she's a guest artist, but "Telephone" is still one of Lady Gaga's songs and was co-written by her)
 * I guess you wouldn't be able to relax much and would always be rushed if you lived in a train station?
 * Because nobody I've ever heard refers to it as "Grand Central Terminal."
 * It's normally shortened to just "Grand Central" by locals, but "Grand Central Station" is incorrect (unless referring to the nearby post office, as noted below).
 * Also, it's hard to find anything that rhymes with "terminal".
 * Well, there is a post office called Grand Central Station. Maybe hearing the telephone all the time is like being flooded with mail all the time.
 * Because it'd be constantly full of people and noise and incredibly hard to relax or hear yourself think?
 * I'm a huge Lady Gaga fan, but I'm still confused about the "Born This Way" video. There's a promise for an epic plot, and then, suddenly... no plot. I think the cinematography, choreography, and song are all quite good, but... I don't know.
 * Here's something I don't get. In this interview she compares herself to John Lennon, saying she is never happy with her work, even if she calls it a masterpiece. Then she says here that her album is going to be the greatest of the decade. If the former is true, how can she have the balls to say the latter?
 * Some days she feels like Noel Gallagher? Noel goes around all the time blowing his own horn and then unloads mountains of vitriol on Be Here Now...
 * Why does the record label insist on only releasing her albums with the cursing censored? Some of us are actually able to handle swear words just fine.
 * I've heard this is her doing. It's a good plan. Release the censored version first, while the album is hot, and then release the uncensored version later while no one is paying attention. WMG on my part though.
 * Does anyone honestly believe that Gaga's celibate? I dunno, with a decent portion of her songs being about sex, love, and/or relationships, the idea of her being celibate is about as comprehensible as hearing that the Village People are secretly active members of the Westboro Baptist Church.
 * Celebrities lie. I'm sorry to have to be the one who told you.
 * It is possible she is just being edgy with her songs, because that is apparently true art, but does not actually mean to make any social or political message about it.