Review: "Alejandro" by Lady Gaga

I make no secret of the fact that I like Lady Gaga. She seems to me a magnificent performance artist, and the very bizarre nature of so many of her shows seems designed to startle, upset, disturb.

Her latest music video, "Alejandro", is a case-in-point. Frankly I'm partly amused and partly disappointed at some of the response to it. Before actually seeing the video (on YouTube) I saw/listened to/read reviews to the effect that it made no sense, was about nothing, etc.

Then I saw the video.

It begins with this woman surrounded not only by social convention (a public parade, herself literally being in a window, a funeral) and clearly isolated via technology (she's almost a Borg in some ways). And then the music begins. She sings of being unable to be with Alejandro, nor with Fernando, amid images of intense sexuality and sensuality. Mind you, we're not talking porn or anything like it. Lots of an lots scantily clad young men, in and out of bed, embracing her and each other, dancing in a way that suggests intercourse/foreplay/afterglow, etc.

Much has been made of the religious imagery used, as if that were somehow unique or odd. C'mon folks--Madonna did "Like A Prayer" how many years ago? For that matter, is it really much of a surprise to discover the link between the sensual and the divine? Nun erotica is just as much a genre as lesbian vampires or women-in-prison. This is news? Really?

As for meaning, seems like a straightforward portrayal of someone struggling with sexual desires in a place (like here and now) where such are the inspiration for intense guilt. The narrator (Narratrix? Is that a word? Methinks it should be) is trying to suppress her feelings, which of course tends to make them stronger. She goes in public and finds her imagination turning a bunch of soldiers into her own male harem. As a nun, she exults in the feel of her costume and the submission of the calling. Surrounding herself with machines, the touch of those machines only make her more aware of her own body. Everything reminds, invokes, inspires her own complex feelings and urges that she doesn't understand and as yet cannot really handle. Rather than a storyline, the song functions like a poem (which in some sense is precisely what it is) -- not teaching a lesson but capturing a moment, a feeling, a paradox, or a situation.

The answers, if any, lie in ourselves. Lady Gaga is an example of an artist with strong opinions, but whose art does not in fact tell you the audience what to think.

Bravo.

I know that we are young
And I know that you may love me
But I just can't be with you like this anymore
Alejandro
She's got both hands In her pocket
And she won't look at you
(won't look at you)
She hides true love
En su bolsillo
She's got a halo around her finger
Around you
You know that I love you boy
Hot like Mexico
Rejoice
At this point I've gotta choose
Nothing to lose
Don't call my name
Don't call my name
Alejandro
I'm not your babe
I'm not your babe
Fernando
Don't wanna kiss
Don't wanna touch
Just smoke my cigarette, hush
Don't call my name
Don't call my name
Roberto
Alejandro
Stop Please, just let me go
Alejandro Just let me go
She's not broken
She's just a baby
But her boyfriend's like her dad
Just like a dad
And all those flames that
Burned before him
Now he's gotta firefight
Gotta cool the bad
You know that I love you boy
Hot like Mexico
Rejoice
At this point I've gotta choose
Nothing to lose Don't call my name Don't call my name Alejandro