Lady Gaga: "I can’t commit to being an adult—I’m not ready.”
With the time off from work during the holidays, I had the chance to catch up on my pop culture reading and came across this Vanity Fair piece about Lady Gaga,"In Lady Gaga's Wake." In it, we see Gaga in her parents' Upper West Side home, making pasta sauce for the journalist who is interviewing her. Here, the line between public and private life evaporates:
The apartment is a cozy triplex, with a large beige sofa and many framed family photos on the piano. There is a dining table by the open kitchen, a garden off the living room where Cynthia grows fennel, arugula, Italian parsley, rosemary, and oregano, and where there are small fig, olive, and lemon trees. And, at the kitchen counter by the sink, chopping cherry tomatoes in half for a spaghetti sauce she prepares from scratch, is Lady Gaga. She is wearing a black lace Chanel dress, extra-high Louboutin stiletto heels, glass earrings, full makeup, and a Daphne Guinness-inspired black-and-white wig. Just another Sunday afternoon at the Germanotta home.
Gaga removes the pink ribbon from the box of macarons I have brought from the newly opened Ladurée bakery, on Madison Avenue. She puts the Ladurée box on top of the Dunkin’ Donuts box already on the counter and ties the ribbon around her hairdo. She then proceeds to take me on a tour of the apartment. On the top floor are her parents’ bedroom and the bedroom she shared with her sister, Natali (who, now 19, attends art school in the city), where the red air mattress is on the floor. I note that there are no doors on the bedrooms—her parents could have heard everything she and her sister said growing up. “Yes,” she says, “and I heard them too.” (Later that evening, when we’re at the hotel for a lengthy chat, I ask, Why the air mattress on the floor instead of this suite with the room service, the marble bathrooms, the magnificent views of Central Park? “I’m in hotels all the time,” she says, “and they’re cold. None of this really matters to me. When I can, I’d much rather spend the time with my parents.”)
So the twenty-five-year-old mega-star--otherwise known for flashing her privates in the music video for "Telephone," sporting an all-meat dress at the VMA awards, "natter[ing] on about her [private part]," and frequenting Berlin sex clubs—is actually a down-to-earth family girl?
Maybe it's not such a tough sell. Lady Gaga is the iconic star of this age, and of my generation, because, among other things, she represents being in a state of arrested development. That's why she'd rather be home with Mom and Dad, where she's still the daughter—still the child—than at her hotel. Elsewhere in the interview, when she's questioned about taking the big step of buying a house, Gaga says, “I’m not going to pay millions of dollars for something. I can’t commit to being an adult—I’m not ready.” That's a telling admission, especially coming from someone who made $90 million this year and is the richest female singer on the scene. To Gaga, being an adult is the antithesis of being vital and not the accumulation of knowledge, experience, and wisdom, things that might otherwise enrich a life, even the life of Gaga.
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Dec '10
Re: Lady Gaga: "I can’t commit to being an adult—I’m not ready.”
Lady Gaga honestly clinging to adolescence is a far sight better than Britney Spears prematurely pretending to be a grown-up wife and mother.
It seems also that Lady Gaga has a certain grounding that tells her being with her parents for a spaghetti dinner is a better way to pass her time than renting a $5,000 a night hotel suite and reducing it to rubble. (Though I don't know whether she passes the time when she's away from New York doing the latter.)
Re: Lady Gaga: "I can’t commit to being an adult—I’m not ready.”
Holy cow!
Roberto is comparing her to a pornographer? Aaron is calling her dishonorable?
Y'all are some harsh music critics!
It's music, people. You like it or you don't.
No need to perform random acts sociology.
Mar '11
Re: Lady Gaga: "I can’t commit to being an adult—I’m not ready.”
I don't think any of us are ready to be an adult - it just kinda happens, and then it is all downhill after that...
Mar '11
Re: Lady Gaga: "I can’t commit to being an adult—I’m not ready.”
Tommy De Seno: Holy cow!
Roberto is comparing her to a pornographer? Aaron is calling her dishonorable?
Y'all are some harsh music critics!
It's music, people. You like it or you don't.
No need to perform random acts sociology. · Jan 5 at 1:51pm
Tis true, brutish critics and incurable curmudgeons the pair of us. Despite my legions of admirers though I imagine she will somehow manage not to lose sleep over the potential for lost sales.
Re: Lady Gaga: "I can’t commit to being an adult—I’m not ready.”
Roberto
Tommy De Seno: Holy cow!
Roberto is comparing her to a pornographer? Aaron is calling her dishonorable?
Y'all are some harsh music critics!
It's music, people. You like it or you don't.
No need to perform random acts sociology. · Jan 5 at 1:51pm
Tis true, brutish critics and incurable curmudgeons the pair of us. Despite my legions of admirers though I imagine she will somehow manage not to lose sleep over the potential for lost sales. · Jan 5 at 2:10pm
Ha! Very funny!
Aug '10
Re: Lady Gaga: "I can’t commit to being an adult—I’m not ready.”
The parallels with Gaga and Sinatra are many. Good management of the talent is one of America's notable achievements. You gotta mix it up though and make them just bad enough to get the rebellious thing going, that way you can get all the kid's money . Cross selling is bigger now with multiple media within single companies. If a record company owns a newspaper, you just might see a story about the singer.....
Now let's see how Mattel handles the Kardashian Barbie doll. Is Ken ready for hard-core ? (no links no way !)
Edited on Jan 5 at 3:40pmNov '10
Re: Lady Gaga: "I can’t commit to being an adult—I’m not ready.”
Tommy De Seno:
Y'all are some harsh music critics!
It's music, people. You like it or you don't.
No need to perform random acts sociology. · Jan 5 at 1:51pm
I have to agree. The first record I ever purchased was Madonna's "Like A Virgin" and that I had a crush on Paula Abdul while in high school. I turned out OK.
At Christmas, we had our 3 1/2 year old sing a couple songs from the Catholic pre-school that she attends. My brother and sister-in-law, not wishing to be outdone, asked their daughter to sing a Lady Gaga song. My daughter hadn't a clue what it was her cousin was singing.
I just smiled at my brother and congratulated him on her singing talents. I didn't admit I didn't know the song. Trying not to be a know-it-all big brother is a New Year's resolution.
That and keeping my glass house intact.
Edited on Jan 5 at 6:11pmRe: Lady Gaga: "I can’t commit to being an adult—I’m not ready.”
Lance
Tommy De Seno: It's music, people. You like it or you don't.
No need to perform random acts sociology.
As someone who puts his musical tastes out there for all to see on a daily basis, I have to agree with you. Whenever issues like this arise I do well to remember that the first record I ever purchased was Madonna's "Like A Virgin" and that I had a crush on Paula Abdul while in high school.
At Christmas, we had our 3 1/2 year old sing a couple songs from the Catholic pre-school that she attends. My brother and sister-in-law, not wishing to be outdone, asked their daughter to sing a Lady Gaga song. My daughter hadn't a clue what it was her cousin was singing.
The glass house remains intact.
You will find Lance that no matter how tightly you hold your daughter's musical tastes, with each passing year she will loosen your grip until it's gone, and you will be doomed to a house full of Gaga, Death Metal and Rap (like me).
Nov '10
Re: Lady Gaga: "I can’t commit to being an adult—I’m not ready.”
Tommy De Seno
Lance
Tommy De Seno: It's music, people. You like it or you don't.
No need to perform random acts sociology.
At Christmas, we had our 3 1/2 year old sing a couple songs from the Catholic pre-school that she attends.
You will find Lance that no matter how tightly you hold your daughter's musical tastes, with each passing year she will loosen your grip until it's gone, and you will be doomed to a house full of Gaga, Death Metal and Rap (like me). · Jan 5 at 5:53pm
After listening to Rudolph over and over for the past month and a half, a little Danzig and Jay Z sounds like a nice change of pace for me! Note that I haven't a clue who would be more contemporary artists of her liking. Please allow me to pay homage to her passing fancies. Ask her to recommend a tune that I can post as a Song of the Day and provide the reason why she thinks it so good. I am sure she is growing up to be a wonderful girl/ woman. This will be a nice lesson in moderation.
Aug '10
Re: Lady Gaga: "I can’t commit to being an adult—I’m not ready.”
Lance/Tommy As much as you try ( my daughter knew every word from Pet Sounds) but at 13 was listening to Lil Wayne .
Jul '10
Re: Lady Gaga: "I can’t commit to being an adult—I’m not ready.”
She has the endorsement of Johnny Rotten, so far be it from me to gainsay. But every time I've heard one of her songs, I have always guessed it was by someone else.
Re: Lady Gaga: "I can’t commit to being an adult—I’m not ready.”
Lance
After listening to Rudolph over and over for the past month and a half, a little Danzig and Jay Z sounds like a nice change of pace for me! Note that I haven't a clue who would be more contemporary artists of her liking. Please allow me to pay homage to her passing fancies. Ask her to recommend a tune that I can post as a Song of the Day and provide the reason why she thinks it so good. I am sure she is growing up to be a wonderful girl/ woman. This will be a nice lesson in moderation. · Jan 5 at 6:20pm
I will ask my daughter Lance, but she may surprise us. She goes to a Performing Arts High School, and was shocked this year when no one in her class but she knew Simon & Garfunkel.
Proof, I hope, that some if my influence is still inside her battling for the heart and soul of her musical preferences.
Re: Lady Gaga: "I can’t commit to being an adult—I’m not ready.”
This conservation is fascinating to follow! Tommy, I mostly agree with you. I'm a fan of Lady Gaga's music (her songs are damn catchy), but I cannot stand her persona, which I think is totally phony. Every time she speaks or tries to impart her politics or wisdom upon "her little monsters" (the condescending term she uses to describe her fans), it makes me cringe. Why can't she just shut up and dance already?
Edited on Jan 6 at 10:50am