By Rachel Krueger
When it comes to pop cultural infections, the only thing worse than hearing “Born This Way” AGAIN (again from when I heard it this morning, but also again from when I heard it in 1989) is getting a facebook notification that Jodie just bought me a cow and would I like to feed that cow or buy Jodie a cow in return. And ze “hide all Farmville updates” button, eet does nozzing!
Now unignorable force will meet ubiquitous object on May 17th when Lady Gaga’s GagaVille Farm launches. A Farmville spinoff, GagaVille will allow couch-farmers to facebookplant such WACKY materials as crystals and unicorns. Plus there will be sheep riding motorcycles. Sheep! On motorcycles! How droll, because sheep are not people. Look at you, thinking outside the box of who can ride motorcycles.
The GagaFarmers will also be able to harvest songs from Lady G’s as-yet-unreleased album but seriously, guys. You’ll be able to hear it about 20 minutes later (and every 20 minutes following), and without descending to the depths of the Ville, from which I hear there is no return.
It’s difficult not to see this as another attention-grabbing stunt, for which her Ladyship is (in)famous. Her fame-mongering has been compared unfavorably to fur-and-feather-and-face-paint-wearing pop-tart, Ke$sha, but at least Ke$ha mongers her fame shamelessly and doesn’t try to pass her antics off as art. I’m not sure how much longer I can take boob-tape X’s as a symbol of sexual censorship.
And the whole enterprise also reeks verrrrry slightly of corporate-shillism, only it isn’t even like letting Home Depot buy one of your songs to hawk its Burnt Sienna. This is like hiring Home Depot to play your zippy new tune, “Burnt Sienna.” There’s a reason, Gag-ling, that this sort of thing has, as you say, “never been done before.”
But then, this also might stick it to the man in a way I do not foresee. I have been wrong before. So what say ye, readers? Is this innovative or desperate? Ironic or obvious? Subversive — or soulless?
Oh thank god, another non-member of the Church of Gaga. This is a HUGELY corporate gimmick, and also an unnecessary one because it’s not like Lady Gaga actually needs any help selling her albums. They should do this with an artist that needs it. That would be charitable and nice.