V Magazine just sent us some stuff for their new issue, “The New York Issue.” Who best to represent New York in all of its glory? Marc Jacobs and Lady Gaga of course. But they couldn’t just do interesting photos of Marc and Gaga, of course. They had to do Gaga as the Statue of Liberty, of course. Now, I was on board for Gaga being a representation of NYC, but to place her as Lady Liberty – ugh. Listen to the reasoning:
Quote from editor STEPHEN GAN:
“Just as the Statue of Liberty was France’s gift to America, Gaga is, to us, New York’s greatest gift to pop culture and fashion. She embodies everything V is about, and is also a beacon of the city’s creativity and hope. Exactly one year after her first V cover (the first fashion magazine cover she was on), we decided to do the NEW YORK issue, and she was the first person who came to mind to represent our great city. In the year that’s passed, she has become a bonafide genius and we can safely declare her our muse. Above all, a New York issue should celebrate people who’ve done great things. We at V are grateful Gaga came along to put the New back in New York!”
[From V Magazine]
Okay. Sure. Maybe V readers will applaud this decision. You know I love Gaga and everything, but I would like to see a moratorium on Gaga magazine covers until she puts out her new album. It’s only a few months away – can we all agree to wait until January? Please? Oh, and there’s this too:
Lady Liberty in a shopping cart. Sure, it’s New York. V Mag also sent some of the other photos from their tribute to New Yorkers. I just loved this one because of Chloe Sevigny’s face… my goodness.
Photos courtesy of V Magazine.
That is the best I think I have ever seen her look.
i know you all love this lady, but i really do not get it.
the music isn’t all that great and she doesn’t really have much to say, in terms of actual lyrical content, and she works with a team of songwriters, so it isn’t even all her doing. ahh well, some things will forever remain a mystery to me.
OMG Fabulous. I am crying fashion tears today. Yay. Ahhh I love Lady Gaga so much.
To be fair Lady Gaga is so New York everyone here loves her and there are like 200 people walking around this city in Statue of Liberty costumes so its not sacrilegious, but the statement is a little over the top.
they did quite a job on her nose…wow!!
I once saw a picture of Gaga with Queen Elizabeth II – and I wondered which one was more of a bastion of the establishment. I decided that it’s Gaga these days. Creativity my flat skinny white you know what.
She simply takes from everyone who has come before her who she perceives as being well recieved by the masses and carrying a certain level and type of social status. She takes from some others, but when they lack this “iconic” status she craves she does not acknowledge them (for example, Kerli, Roisin Murphy and Dale Bozzio).
I’ll admit that there is a certain skill and merit in garnering attention and popularity in order to give one’s self a platform be heard, but the thing is… that’s all she is, she doesn’t offer you anything more.
Of what value does she REALLY offer to the world? Apart from taking people out of their misery for the 3.40 minutes one of her plastic pop songs lasts?
There is nothing else to be said about “Lady Gaga”
Arent those the shoes she was photographed busting her ass in? LOL.. Overrated Gaga..
hahah, sevingny looks like she is in line for the ladies room and is using every ounce of mental and physical control she posesses to keep from crapping her pants. the photo editor who picked this shot must really hate chloe.
Christ, those boots are definitely not made for walking.
I will never understand what people see in this chick. Her name alone irritates me.
I’d have a lot more respect for these ‘artists’ if they’d keep their clothes on a little more. Yeah, ok, we get it, you looooooove to show off your bod. I don’t see ANY reason why she needed to be in her underwear for this shoot. It’s just tacky.
On her as a musician – she sucks. Her voice is manufactured and not at all incredible. She doesn’t write her own lyrics or music. She has nothing important or useful to say about anything, but rather resorts to constantly talking about herself and her alter ego. Seriously, enough. It’s pure lack of real talent masked by ludicrous costumes and a face that I really just wanna slap for being such a petulant imbecile.
To be fair Lady Gaga is so New York everyone here loves her
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Not this New Yorker. There are definitely things more NY than her… like my Brooklyn boys, Type O Negative (RIP Pete)
Hmm. When I first saw that picture I thought it was Peaches Geldof.
Is that gum? Gross.
ok it’s safe to say there a quite a few people out there that don’t get it as well, phew.
i was getting worried.
thanks bb for the breakdown…
She looks like Avril Lavigne in that top picture. Gross.
@Liana Agreed! I’m a New Yorker and I can’t stand Lady Gaga.
I love Lady Gaga, I think she’s so talented and cares a lot about her fans. Her shows are AWESOME, and you’ll find yourself more than once singing one of her songs, even though you hate them. The cover is kind of… too much? But it has to represent NYC, so yeah I guess it’s ok. And her as Lady Liberty? it doesn’t surprise me, it’s not original at all.
scotchy – I totally “get” Lady Gaga/Stefani believe me. I feel as if she’s in the same soul family as me or something LOL. If anything I “get” her all too well.
That doesn’t mean I approve of everything she does though.
What an unattractive mag cover, GG with her clothes off again, though admittedly her face looks the best I’ve seen it. Crying fashion tears alright but not for the same reason as @loveang.
ha , alright then, i guess i stand alone in my inability to really understand what is fantastic about this entertainer. i do appreciate your assessment, it allows me to begin to understand the phenomena a little better.
@scotchy – you are not alone. My (borrowed) assessment:
She is but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets her hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
My understanding is that her fan base, by and large, probably wouldn’t recognize that prose. Yet would rush to call hers ‘art’.
I’m so over Gaga’s FrankenTranny shoes.
i am willing to accept my lot in life as the only person in the world who finds this woman to be a total dud-a moron-a nonevent-and extremely unattractive to boot. unoriginal-a madonna knockoff both in sight and sound…..yuck!
With you on this one scotchy, pookie, and Brooke; more people on this site can’t stand her and her “music.” I would like to know what her pr budget per month is that is keeping her in the spotlight, because it’s certainly not the quality of her music when there are so many other better female artists, not media whores, out there. As has been mentioned many times, you seldom see people in the daily course of life singing or humming her music because its crap not worth the time of day. Quick, what are the actual lyrics to bad romance – I liked the vid and song lets dance, but thats it – her music is quite unremarkable and in 10 years will be forgotten. As I recall, there was a contrived group called the SPice girls 10-15 years ago, as big at the time as Caca is now – anyone recall the last time you heard a Spice girls song or cover – that’s Caca’s fate, but she’ll have made more money.
@Liana
OMG!!! I know! I only found out about Pete’s death a month ago!!! I was so shocked. I used to dream of him back when I younger and listened to that kind of music 🙁
First Quorthon(Bathory) and now Pete…my two dream boys…both gone….so sad.
They really went overboard with the photoshop on her face.
OVERRATED!!!
@grumbles_I feel the same way!
marc jacobs…so f%cking hot! in such great shape at 47…he will soon embody my new phrase: ’50 & fine!’.
gaga looks glorious as per usual. her bod kills. she’s my ‘ab-inspiration’ in the gym. 🙂
Forgive me for saying this, but for a split second I though Avril Lavigne was on the cover of this magazine. The girl pictured looks so different from Lady Gaga. I just don’t see HER on this cover. Photoshop? I see that. Lady Gaga? Nope.
does anyone else think she looks like peaches geldof?
Oh BARF!
That magazine is kissing her ass, bad.
@Scotchy – the reason Gaga is a ‘phenomenon’ right now is because she has a certain sense of autonomy about her – at least apparent autonomy. She gives the impression of being contrived yet at least self-contrived which is what people crave after Britney, the Spice Girls ect. Could be all the work of people behind the scenes for all we know, but her image is of someone who’s her own person rather than a puppet (for good or for bad).
In real terms, she’s providing no more value to society than Paris Hilton. Her ‘music’ is hardly art but catchy, distracting fluff. Listen to any of her songs objectively and it could just as easily be a Britney or Miley song. But this sense of self-actualization makes people want to believe she’s more.
M’eh.
… and I don’t think of Mark Ronson when I think of New York, either.
Her music isn’t art? Of course it’s art. You just don’t happen to like it. Once we start deciding what is and is not art according to personal taste, we step on a slippery slope. I don’t like Nagel paintings wouldn’t say “it’s not art” just because it doesn’t suit my style.
Did she get a nose job or not?? I need to know!! 🙂
I could really care less about LG’s marketing “genius” and her “fashion” is really just an extension of 70’s “postmodern” pastiche, and really the only thing remarkable about her look is its mutability.
That being said, her music, her lyrics in particular, are really way more brilliant than most of us will ever know. A lot of people think smart lyrics means some douche recycling quasi-political cliches and/or agreeing with common sense platitudes regarding the wisdom of experience in love or some other nonsense. Gaga sings about shifting scopophelic positions (Dance in the Dark), primary narcissistic ambivalence (Bad Romance, etc., and “masking” feminine mystique (Poker Face) . . . and that’s on her “brainless” hits. She also builds complex classical allusions and even references Hitchcock joints without anyone even noticing. Listen to her contemporaries try to be provocative with super-sexual lyrics that really, if you think about it, aren’t really very erotic at all, and talk to me about stupid. As far as intelligence goes, there may never have been a pop star as psychologically astute with a better sense of what creates the effect of “individuality” in our contemporary culture.
ITA duggy. Dance in the Dark is my favorite example you brought up. That is a profound song and it’s imagery expands with repeated listening, which is my personal hallmark of a great song.
@Jover the song is called “just dance”. This is the second or third time I’ve seen you call it “let’s dance” instead. I agree with you that she sucks, but it kind of weakens your position that you’ve given her music an actual chance if you can’t get the name of the song right. Also, I (sadly) do know a lot of the lyrics to Bad Romance. That song is EVERYWHERE! Part of the reason I resent this chick so much is because her total media saturation has made it very difficult NOT to know the words to Bad Romance. She’s so over exposed; if she were a photo she would come out as a white washed blank page. Ok, end of rant.
Marc Jacobs is so gorgeous!
I hate those stupid clip-clop boots Gaga wears. But is it wrong that I would like to see them on Amy Winehouse trying to walk down the street?
I’m sorry Detriotgirl I’m more than willing to admit my error; I’ve heard this song so many times its lost all effect and I’ve fixed the wrong title in my brain; Lady Gaga has appeared on more mag covers this year than all other female singers combined it seems; this is beyond the typical pr blitz; its self-indulgence and narcissism. If Gaga is the great profound and revolutionary artist some say she is, then her art should have longevity and she should be played 20-40 years from now. The guitar gods (Hendrix,Page,Santana,Clapton, etc.) are played by every kid (my son included) that plays guitar – who truly believes gaga will have this kind of longevity – one test of true art.
all music is art. There is a lot of art I think is crap, but yet, it is art. Lady Gaga has some songs I like, but I can’t stand the artifice. I tend to like my music more stripped down, bare, and not as prettily packaged.
In EVERY picture she always opens her mouth, what is up with that?
Those stupid boots make her look like a double-amputee victim.
Is something art or not because it doesn’t meet some outer higher standard? Yes and no.
If I spat on a piece of cardbord and called it art is it?
Yes. The definition of art should be as broad as possible to encompass the huge variety of people, cultures, tastes, etc. Whether or not it is good or bad is up for debate, of course.
If I spat on a piece of cardbord and called it art is it?
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If you consider it art and present it as art, then it is art. Of course, I don’t have to like it.
I don’t get how she can end to look like this when the truth is she is UGLY.I guess make up lights and photoshop can do wonders
hahhaah, nice. but statue of liberty? seriously ?
“She’s” pretty much a moron, that’s all.
Lady Bunny is from Atlanta!