Lady Gaga

When Lady Gaga first told a gay magazine she was bisexual at the end of 2008, she was still a rising star. "Just Dance" had just begun switching over from gay club anthem to mainstream radio hit, and sure, she could probably benefit from using her sexuality as a point of interest about her.

Since the original statement, she's been back and forth on the statement. In December 2008, she told Popeater: "I'm really free-spirited about love and sexuality, which I think is apparent in my music, and even the visuals, which are all very androgynous" but that she didn't want to label herself."

Then in February 2009, she kissed a female cop in her music video for "Love Game" and shortly after, "Poker Face" became a huge hit, featuring lyrics about women like "bluffing with my muffin" and switching between pronouns from he to she.

The forthcoming Kanye West and Lady Gaga tour/collaboration/alliance/bizarro-pop-Voltron makes sense for so many reasons. Primarily: Kanye and Gaga are both famous because they do weird things in public. Do you like their music? Do you not like their music? It doesn't matter! What did you think of the weird thing? Did you think it was weird? Because, if so, they have succeeded! And even I, an earnest unpacker of Meanings for lo these many blog posts now, have to admit that I enjoy Kanye and Gaga primarily because they make Meaning effectively useless.

Ah, the VMAs! Pop spectacle at its finest! If, by "finest," you mean "most spectacularly overhyped and therefore ripe for viewer disappointment." Which is what I mean, actually, so I'm good. And today, in my quest to provide you with the least timely post on the VMAs EVER, I present you with three defining moments. Which is most disappointing? That is for you (by which I mean "me," since I am writing this blog post) to decide!

 

 #1. KANYE WEST IS YOUR DRUNK UNCLE

Pop is big, loud, silly, and commercial. Which is exactly why it deserves your attention.