Music: Gen Y’s Most Outlandish Ladies
Rihanna and Lady Gaga produce hyper-provocative music. So, naturally, I purchased both albums when they dropped on the same day. (Mind you, I don’t even remember the last time I purchased an album, let alone a song. I usually just stream from Last.fm or YouTube.) There is just something about Rihanna and Gaga that mesmerizes me.
I am admittedly, yet not entirely, shamefully obsessed with Gaga’s and Rihanna’s new music videos. So are a few other people: as of writing this, there are 49 million views on Gaga’s Bad Romance.
The common themes that run rampant throughout both albums are death, dying, anger, loneliness, fame, love and sex. And sex. And more sex.
So what (if anything) does this say about our generation? Are we sadistic maniacs who like to watch women crawl half-naked out of coffins (Gaga) and try to break out of straight jackets and handcuffs while wearing 4-inch heels (Rihanna), and talk about shooting themselves with a pistol (Rihanna), and say things like “I want your disease” (Gaga)?
No, we are not.
Then why do we love their music so much? It does not make any logical sense.
Ah, my friends. Logical. Gen Y is not logical.
We’re not only obsessed with their music; we’re obsessed with them. We’re obsessed with their outlandish nature: the lifestyle, movie-star experiences, celebrity status, and visual appeal.
The latest two videos, Rihanna’s Russian Roulette and Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance, are no other than mini-cinematic masterpieces. Watching Gaga prance around in Alexander McQueen claw-like high heels and Rihanna play with a pistol alluding to her death (or perhaps suicide) is Gen Y’s version of a 120-minute movie. Listening to provocative and borderline-obscene lyrics and watching extraordinary music video productions is the same as going to an Rated-R movie (no pun intended).
The amount of pleasure, escape, and buzz created around each of these ladies’ 5-minute songs is almost ridiculous. Successful artists need the whole package now, as just good music doesn’t cut it anymore. It has to be what I will call “the works”, which is the underlying reason that their success is so rampant: they know how to not only penetrate our ears, but our lives, aspirations, fantasies, and minds.
Finally, in an evolving culture where sharing is a more important phenomenon perhaps than the actual content that is being shared–it pays to be outlandish. Produce a mainstream song with a marginal music video and you’re as good as being #10 on TRL.
Very few artists in our generation succeed on the merits of their music. But compare those who engage in “the works” to those who don’t. There is a definitive threshold, and I’ll let you take a gander at who is on which side.
Oh, and Lady Gaga is Gen Y’s Madonna. Mark my words.
UPDATE: As of first submission of this article on December 23, 2009, the New York Times the following day, on December 24, 2009 released an article on Lady Gaga. The article has uncanny similarities to this piece and affirms appeal of Gaga.
Image: BenYupp
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by edwardboches: Gen Y insights re music, lifestyle, celebrity status, visual appeal. All in 1 short blog post #tngg http://bit.ly/4MBoRv by @sarahmerion…
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[...] have thought this cohort would become a realistic generation, but this does not appear so. Sarah Merion wrote a blog on Generation Y heroines, naming Lady Gaga and Rhianna as such role models, whose [...]
I have never considered myself to be a pop-music listener. However, this year my friends have been listening to Lady Gaga non stop and there is something appealing about her music. It’s something that you can dance and sing along to if you’re by yourself or when you’re with friends. It has even gotten to the point that my friends and I learned most, if not all, of the dance moves from the Bad Romance video.
Both Rihanna and Lady Gaga are showing us something important about more than just Millennials. We all are always looking for the next person who is going to push the envelope farther than the last one. Whether or not you like either one of these artists it is hard to deny their impact on our culture. Also, I completely agree with the Lady Gaga is the new Madonna statement. Back in the day Madonna was provocative and different and in a way, Lady Gaga is Gen Y’s version of Madonna.
You make excellent points in this article, and I agree with McKenzie. Today’s pop music is nothing like what we listened to in the 90′s (Remember NSYNC and the Spice Girls?) and Millennials love that. Lady Gaga and Rihanna give off that badass vibe that our generation craves. Millennials think they are invincible, and the music gives the same message. I love Lady Gaga because she’s crazy and produces awesome music. She knows how much of an impact her presence has on our culture and gives what the public wants.
I agree, I’m smitten with Gaga as well (though not as much Rihanna). I’ve never been plugged in to music but she’s somehow gotten in to my brainspace. The beat, the woman behind the music, the artistry–it’s incredible the amount of effort that is put into her performances.
I disagree with the idea of Gen-Y loving Gaga and Rihanna because they aren’t logical. For me personally, I respect the fact that these women care enough about their craft and themselves to create visually amazing videos, write fantastic, outlandish and zanny songs, and stretch out imagination. Their ability to stand out when it seems so many artists just blend together gains my respect and makes me want to watch their video one more time, if just to add another view.
You make excellent points in this article, and I agree with McKenzie. Today's pop music is nothing like what we listened to in the 90's (Remember NSYNC and the Spice Girls?) and Millennials love that. Lady Gaga and Rihanna give off that badass vibe that our generation craves. Millennials think they are invincible, and the music gives the same message. I love Lady Gaga because she's crazy and produces awesome music. She knows how much of an impact her presence has on our culture and gives what the public wants.
I think more than being Gen Y's version of Madonna – I'd have to say she's Gen Y's Michael Jackson. She's evolutionizing pop music and performance in a way that hasn't been seen for a long time. Not since, well, Michael Jackson.