The idea seemed good in principle, but it was hard for me to judge. I had never heard Lady Gaga.
Oh, I'd heard OF her. I haven't been trapped in a bomb shelter for the past two years. I knew she was really really famous. I just couldn't identify any of her songs in a lineup. And from what I'd heard, I didn't think I was missing out.
* * *
Coming up in the '80s, one of the great disappointments of my life was discovering that the music of my generation sucked. Boomers got the Allman Brothers, Pink Floyd, Joni Mitchell, the Beatles, the Stones, David Bowie. What did I get? The Gogos. Hall and Oates. Madonna.
So it's not like my dismissal of the trendy stuff is something that developed as I aged out of adolescence and early adulthood. I've always been at odds with it. The difference is in how distant it feels now. I mean, I may not have cared for early-'80s Madonna, but I knew Madonna. ("Holiday-eeee ... It would beeee sooooo nice") She was everywhere. I couldn't have gotten away from her if I tried, and I'm pretty sure I did try.
"Poker Face" was number one on the charts for months. I listen to the radio. How could I possibly have missed it?
* * *
At precisely 4 p.m. today, I queued up the "Poker Face" video on YouTube and lost my Gaga virginity.
I didn't like her. I didn't hate her. And about five minutes after listening, I couldn't have told you how the song went.
Am I as out of touch as I fear? Or are today's biggest hits just that forgettable?
