Who Gaga Really Is - SXSW

[oheyitso 2,493]

I've never seen Gaga at SXSW in 2014, tonight was my first time. Really today and the last few days have been a time where I've been stressing and worrying about things (like most of us here, I'm sure), so I decided to watch SXSW because it's something that had so much controversy around (I've only seen parts of Swine) and I never fully gave it a chance.

At the time, like a lot of people, I had given up on Gaga. In 2013, I was around for Applause, I made an HMV poster for the release ( it got into top 9), but by 2014, I was annoyed, angry and confused at what had happened to the hope I had for ARTPOP and its success. I didn't care about whether it was popular or not, I was a 13 year old kid who was exploring the world, I don't care for the chart success ( I know the truth about what happened now, anyway )

But watching the show tonight, I realised that this was Gaga at her most vulnerable and her most torn, but perhaps more importantly, her most real. She blew all the boundaries. I read a comment on the performance of Swine that said that Interscope couldn't control her anymore, she had rebelled against the pop world and the industry too much, she had won the battle against conformity. On the other hand, they couldn't let her go, she's too talented, as shown, she could ride on a pig whilst having an artist throw up coloured drink onto her, and yet, even today, she could still have another #1 album, sell out arenas, and perform at the Superbowl only 3 years later. 
 

However, really, none of this mattered. This was Gaga at her roots. Her creative roots, clear by her working with Millie, she would push all boundaries to show people what her art really meant. Her personal roots, where she was with the people who made her, Lady Starlight and The Dirty Pearls, all those of The Lower East Side, showing how you should never give up on who you are. Whether you become a Gaga, with fame and money, a Starlight or a Dirty Pearl, who many people haven't heard of, you will always find happiness if you are true to yourself. Most importantly, this was Gaga as herself. Stefani Germanotta. This was who she is. Unafraid, rebellious, bold, new, different, honest and talented. Truly talented.

 

It's funny that it seemed as if Gaga didn't want to play pop music, she didn't want to suggest she was famous anymore, or that she was anyone other than the rock girl, who jumped off the stage with her famous friends and wrote music to anyone who would listen in the 2000's. 

 

 

What makes all of this even more ironic, is that the only thing people remember this performance for is the controversy. Under all this emotion, all this feeling, all this relation with the crowd, she was still ignored by me, the media, the world. 

Only someone who is THAT talented would still be praised and loved by people all over the world, after every rebellious act she did, every barrier she broke in the world around us. But what Gaga, ultimately, is trying to say, is that it's not because she's was successful and became famous, it's because she stayed true to herself and her talent.

Her music is a guide for us all to follow. 

"They're not going to care how famous I was, they're gonna care about what you leave here on this earth, your footprint, they're gonna care about who's lives you saved, people that you touched... they knew they weren't alone... be that for each other right now. Don't give up, don't let the machine and technology take you into a place where you don't belong, stay right here on the Earth, we need you. We need you to have crazy thoughts in your head.. dreams.. fight for them everyday, don't not do it because you think it'll never happen, don't think that it can't ever happen because it can. I promise you. It's happening to me right now"

Watch here 

Spoiler

maybe I'm looking into this too much and idk maybe no one will read but im tired and I enjoyed it 

 

[Chromatislaps 34,758]

Swine at SXSW is iconic  if she had released a music video with Millie Puking on ha and riding the mechanical bull, it would have gone viral  

[Trepadation 5,566]

7 minutes ago, oheyitso said:

I had given up on Gaga.

 /thread

 

[RouboRoubo 511]

 Honestly this was the performance that made me feel so happy for her even with all the things that had gone wrong during the era.

She was hurt but also strong, loud and free for all the reasons you mentioned.

[PerfectIllusion 6,616]

I loved that performance, messy and memorable  got people talking like she always does

[The Child 18,997]

The only thing I disliked about this performance was when she said **** you pop music this is ARTPOP, it sounded way too pretentious, like hey my album is above pop music and all.

Ironically, it's also my favorite part of the performance. 

[oheyitso 2,493]

2 minutes ago, Trepadation said:

 /thread

 

 

I came back though, that's the important thing.   

[Trepadation 5,566]

Just now, oheyitso said:

I came back though, that's the important thing.   

 if people never left, it wouldn't have "flopped" but I guess

[gagzus 14,463]

I loved this performance because of it's dark and angst filled message it's kind of funny and a little sad that everyone was screaming about how ugly the performance was and how it was "promoting bulemia" when she literally is singing a song that explicitly alludes to rape and she even basically mentions it before the performance. It's meant to be messy and angry and distraught because like the song the visuals match the feeling of being raped and (as I said in an analysis of the song on hear about 2 years ago) the song feels like it's inspired by the mental feeling of being drunk, drugged, raped and violated. So the visuals showed that too

[Ryusei 60,798]

I didn't know there was a recording of the full show I gotta check it out too 

[Mikey Monster 1,561]

Love ur perspective! I think that her swine performance at SXSW was one of her most powerful yet. It was her saying "**** you for trying to put me in a box your gonna be really ****ing sorry!" People will look back at Gaga and they will know she was an artist that truly stood out from the rest. ❤️❤️❤️

[FGGrayson 9,670]

yall traitors who turned against Gagz on her most fragile & flawless era because she wasnt slaying in charts smh

[FGGrayson 9,670]

3 minutes ago, CrazyMonster said:

The only thing I disliked about this performance was when she said **** you pop music this is ARTPOP, it sounded way too pretentious, like hey my album is above pop music and all.

Ironically, it's also my favorite part of the performance. 

mess... that was one of the ICONIC moments of the era

[oheyitso 2,493]

1 minute ago, Trepadation said:

 if people never left, it wouldn't have "flopped" but I guess

 

Hey, I bought the album thank you very much. 

Sometimes I think LM  didn't help the whole ARPTOP 'flop' thing, the album has sold 2.5 million copies and + Gaga literally doesn't care if people think it flopped. She loved it, so leave it be. 

 

[oheyitso 2,493]

2 minutes ago, Martin Garrix said:

yall traitors who turned against Gagz on her most fragile & flawless era because she wasnt slaying in charts smh

 

I didn't leave because she wasn't 'slaying the charts', I left because I was a 13 year old kid who didn't understand why she didn't ever release any more videos, or didn't support her album. I understand now, I was young.