Don't call my mom, dont read my blog, Alejandro

So it's been a week since I posted my thoughts on the Alejandro video and all of Soldout has been watching the interwebs for other people's thoughts.  Besides OMG-ace-of-bass-madonna-blah-blah. 

This is the definitive Alejandro-Madonna post. 

This is one of the MANY Ace of Bass comparison videos from youtube. 

MOVING THE FUCK ON!

I personally think the song itself is about a loner teenage girl getting hit on by latino dudes... but the video is a totally different story.

Here's Soldout's roundup of the more interesting commentary on the video.

Madison Moore’s take via Thought Catalog

Fave/thesis quote: So take note, all: if you mess with Lady Gaga, she will release her army of gay dudes in high heels on you and fire at you with her boob gun.

Second Fave/thesis quote: The depressed mood, robotic dance moves and black clothes channel Janet Jackson and “Rhythm Nation” as well as Metropolis, the 1927 German sci-fi by Fritz Lang. That’s the thing about Gaga and her references: so many pop cultural references get scrambled into a single shot that she’s not “ripping off Madonna,” as so many other bloggers will say. She’s doing Ace of Base doing Madonna doing Janet Jackson doing Metropolis doing a gay porn film.

Alejandro Fashion cheat sheet from her stylist Nicola Formichetti

Fave/thesis quote: ALEJANDRO BY LADY GAGA –FASHION CREDITS!!!!

The Advocate tells us it’s ‘bout GAYS!. but Sable Verity of The Sable Verity Social Commentary actually explains why and how:

Fave/thesis quote:  If you didn’t “get” Lady GaGa’s “Alejandro” video, you may just have missed one of the most intense artistic translations of at least one of the greatest social issues of our time- gay rights. She does this by pointing out two areas where discrimination against gays and lesbians is overt; the military and the church.

Image from Sable Veitey’s blog

Collin Kelley, occasional Soldout contributor shares his comments in an entry titled "The Lady Gaga Backlash" on his blog, Modern Confessional

Fave/thesis quote: The "Telephone" video was fun, but overblown. The decision to release "Alejandro," Fame Monster's weakest track, and pair it with a beautifully filmed, but overly-serious set of images that seem to have no correlation to the song, despite Gaga's message that the video was a tribute to her gay fans, was also a miscalculation. And, yet, for all the accusations of "Alejandro" being a Madonna rip-off it's still one of the most compelling, talked about music videos to come along in years.

Resident Soldout writer Kristin shares her friend Ashly's "Explaining the Video" on Buzznet.  Kristin sums it up: "short but hilarious."

Fave/thesis quote: ...I think I just came. 

And how could we leave you without a frame by frame analysis on CelebBuzz?

Fave/thesis quote: 07:05 -- One of the leather Nazis is just staring at her, looking really mad. No idea why. Is it because she isn't dance-molesting him, too?

And, some final commentary from an unexpected source, Marley's high school BFF Hannah who left these comments on facebook:

Okay, don't have any links for you, but you hit a fair amount of the things I've been thinking about for this video. There's really no way to get around the German looking uniforms, although I keep thinking about the Spanish names, which leads me to South America, and Nazi's hiding there? But I don't know where to go with that. And I'm thinking ... See Morefor the nun stuff, that the Catholic church did nothing during WWII, and that she may be visualizing that "See no evil, hear no evil..." with the overwhelming of the Catholic symbols by stripped soldiers. And, ps., I'm going to start using the term "awesomesauce."

Or it's just Militant-Gay Steam Punk. Those army boots? Giorgio Armani.

(She clearly read Nicola's fashion credits!)

Connecting the latino Alejandro with the German-themed video... Hannah gets a gold star!

So! That's what we found with a little googling and tweeting.  Whatchu got for us? 

Update on Jun 30, 2010 by Marley

Oh Hai NPR! Welcome to the Alejandro discussion.  May I take your order?  Ok, that's 1 "It sounds like Ace of Base" and would you like a side of "Gaga vs Madonna" and a large diet "this video sucks" ?  Make it a combo?  Yeah, I know those are all a little stale.  Hm? Oh, I see, you're on a strictly-intellectual diet.  you'd like to try the new  six-degrees of producers who produce pop songs?  And I see you've brought your own self-righteous hater-commenters?  Oh great! Well, enjoy the discussion! Come back soon and don't call my name!

Comments

[zack smith]

Gaga's torrent of references illustrate another way in which she is the Lady Kanye: she's the mirror by which society examines itself. We look to her to see whatever we want reflected back at us: our love of Latino men, our fear of Nazis, our need for totalitarian control, our desire for religious metaphor, our steel and sweat visceral arousal by machine-guns/breasts. Gaga is all things to everyone, and there's no one more important in music right now. (Besides K3$ha.)