Lady Gaga meets Howard Stern

I'm not the biggest Lady Gaga fan, although I do respect her as this generation's icon for gay youth and how far she goes in living up to that, even if the execution often leaves me rolling my eyes.  She may only be an amalgamation of David Bowie, Grace Jones and Madonna, at least she's out there trying to be interesting in a field of pop stars with nothing to say, no individual style, and very little talent.  If I was 14 again, she'd be exactly who I would be looking up to as a hero, if not a role model, the way I did with Madonna when I actually was 14.  And I do happen to be crazy about a few of her songs.

I am however, a huge Howard Stern fan.  Aside from everything else he may be (or may have been at one time), he really is one of the best interviewers around.  I knew that if/when she finally came in, that he'd be able to get a great interview out of her.  And he did.  That was no surprise.  What did surprise me is the performance she gave in the studio:  a stripped-down piano and vocal version of her latest single, "The Edge Of Glory."  It was really quite moving, especially after she told the story of how she was inspired to write it. 

That's the first clip here.  As it's of such terrible sound quality, stop listening at the 2:36 mark and skip to the second video for the actual performance.  Kudos to Howard for getting such a great interview out of her and cutting through most of the fake bullshit.  And kudos to Gaga for opening up to him and also putting on a great performance.  If you're a fan of either, try to seek out the entire interview.  I think the whole thing is somewhere on youtube.

My TV - Back from the Dead?

I think I'm going to start watching TV again.  Ten years ago, I could have told you what was on every channel in every time slot every day of the week.  I haven't really watched much of anything in about three years.  I barely even turn the thing on.

The last shows that I tried to commit myself to were Aaron Sorkin's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" and "Heroes".  The good will that I and every other viewer, critic and exec. felt toward Sorkin's "West Wing" evaporated from "Studio 60" very quickly.  I didn't watch "Heroes" during its initial first season run but picked up the DVD box set in anticipation for season two.  I loved the first season.  I watched the truncated second season as it was happening.  That pretty much soured me on committing myself to tuning into a weekly show.  I still keep up with "Heroes" on DVD, but I haven't picked up the final season yet -- but based on its previous history, I can tell you it probably isn't good and that its plot and character arcs are exactly the same as the 3 preceding seasons.