Interesting Google Interview with Lady Gaga

Whether you love or abhor her music, you cannot deny her iconic presence on the world stage.  She has tremendous influence in pop music, culture, and fashion.

I like this interview because it shows how technology – and specifically YouTube — has democratized 'fame' and allowed the masses to rise to wealth and acclaim or notoriety (i.e., Rebecca Black).

It's a very long interview but I actually sat through the whole thing.  (The downside to this video is that the interviewer is quite annoying and keeps fawning over Gaga; fake laughing at every single comment Gaga makes.)




I didn't know this prior to the interview, but her new song "The Edge of Glory" is a tribute song to her deceased grandfather and it refers to the moment right before you pass from this temporal world.  I think it adds a whole new dimension to the song, which I had honestly heard on the radio and didn't care for much but am now curious to see the music video.

"Glee" — Born This Way

I just finished watching the hour-long special episode of Glee, 'Born This Way,' and I'm so impressed by the writing.  It dealt with so many taboo topics like the trend for adolescent Jewish teens to get rhinoplasty, self-hating Asians who have no Asian sex symbols in the media to look up to so they resort to wearing blue-colored contacts to emulate their idols, and gays and lesbians staying in the closet to avoid social ostracization.

In this fun scene, the Glee cast convinces Jewish Rachel to cancel her nose job appointment by singing a number about Barbara Streisand, who famously refused to fix her deviated septum with rhinoplasty.



This scene doesn't deal with any of the aforementioned topics, but Darren Criss' voice is just so mellifluous here:



This is the closing number, where the cast performs Gaga's "Born This Way."  It's significant because you see them wearing t-shirts displaying their personal hang-ups.  (Santana wears "LEBANESE" because Brittany is slow and meant for it to read "LESBIAN.")

I'll close with Tina Cohen-Chang's words in the episode (originally said by Gandhi):
"Be the change you want to see in the world."