Rated R

No matter what happens, I find myself relating more to and also more appreciative of Rihanna's music than Lady Gaga. Regardless of how production-processed either artist is, Rihanna's music comes across far more genuine and personal than Lady Gaga's always-fun-but-non-committal beats. Rihanna, on the other hand, has had to suffer through public embarrassment and is so much more human in her music, whether she wrote it or did not.

Part of what I find appealing in music is not just that I like the music itself, but that I like the artist behind the music and feel that I can somehow relate to that artist in some way. Now, why I would relate to Rihanna in any way is not something I myself will make public, but suffice it to say that I connect much more to Russian Roulette than Telephone. At the same time, the fact that an artist is popular in itself will make me admire them more, because what they do is popular. Rihanna, for example, came back from what happened to her and turned her experience into something meaningful that she could share with others in spite of what happened. Lady Gaga, on the other hand, is a packaged and processed post-Madonna (mixed with Ace of Base) machine. Quite talented for a pop artist yes, and extremely popular I'll give her that, but she is impossible to relate to on a human level in any way. A friend of mine criticized her for capitalizing on her experience (hey there Sun!) but I actually admire her specifically for that. The best way to take advantage of a bad situation is to profit off it and the very fact that she chose to do so (or at least listened to her production managers) is something I admire.

Rated R is one of my favorite albums of the past year. Song for song, it's loaded with a song for almost every emotion someone could possibly have after going through what she did. Vengeance, anger, hurt, regret, remorse, spite, sexual curiosity and ultimately emotional catharsis. There's also subtle musical continuity-"Firebomb" plays like the devastating fallout from telling your boyfriend to shut up and drive.

The reason I'm writing an entry about pop music is that I find myself appreciating pop music intrinsically for being popular. Done right, pop music can have much more positive impact than a concerto simply because it can affect a greater number of people because it is reachable to these people. Pop music-pop culture-simply reaches more people and is an amazingly powerful tool that can be harnessed. Lady Gaga knows this, and she certainly is more influential in this respect than Rihanna. She's much better for listening with friends, but I admire Rihanna more for taking greater risks in her music while Lady Gaga has me feeling almost blasé at this point.

Update: It should be noted that both Lady Gaga and Rihanna surround themselves with men in their videos. However, Rihanna chooses to surround herself with traditional, masculine men, despite her experiences with that type of person. Lady Gaga goes the opposite route, favoring effeminate, flamboyant, or homosexual men. Again, I find Rihanna's approach far more intriguing.