Music: The monster in the mirror

It's easy to hate pop stars. More often than not, musicians (and I use that term lightly) at the top of the charts fall predictably into one of two rather deplorable categories: the gorgeous yet ultimately vacuous puppet of some hidden industry slime bag, or the talented but egomaniacal wannabe world hero (i.e., Britney or Bono).

Sure, Gaga may not be the first superstar to break out of this mold, and the flak she's caught for recycling some of what Madonna and Grace Jones did years ago is not entirely unwarranted, but what separates Gaga from the rest of the pack of pop stars with actual talent, integrity and creative independence is the overarching concept that she puts forth. Lady Gaga is not a person. She is a character. And as an all-encompassing concept piece about fame, celebrity, sex and gender, she's the music industry's first real meta-celebrity.

When Lady Gaga (née: Stefani Germanotta) first exploded into our cultural consciousness it was difficult to see the concept behind the music, the videos and the many outrageous looks. At first glance she appeared every bit the prototype young, sexy, female performer that the industry continues to spit out ad infinitum. Her first single, "Just Dance," rose to the top of the charts based on sex appeal and a simple, catchy dance track with little pretension of any message beyond glorifying the party life.

But even in this relatively innocuous song, the Gaga thesis is artfully implanted. The almost whispered refrain, "Half psychotic, sick hypnotic, got my blueprint it's symphonic," says more about what she's up to than most MFA graduates are able to convey in their artist statements and curriculum vitaes combined.

In the two years since her debut album, "The Fame," was released, Gaga has continued to expound upon this same conceptual impetus, even naming her follow-up release "The Fame Monster" in obvious acknowledgment. What's perhaps most surprising in all of this is that the consistent push of one basic message has not yet sapped it of its intrinsic value.

Gaga's ability to continuously create new and exciting evocations of this theme has only bolstered her creative cachet. Her music and her art choices have grown wilder and even more aggressive. At the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Gaga outshone even the boldness of Kanye West's ridiculous grab for attention with some of the most fantastic art-direction choices in recent memory, from the assassination theatrics of "Paparazzi" to the unforgettable red lace costume that showed off her nearly naked body while completely obscuring her face. Few artists have displayed such an uncanny ability to lure popular attention while delivering an essentially subversive statement.

As much as there is to say about Lady Gaga's musical merits -- she writes her own songs; she was educated at the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts at NYU; she wrote for major artists such as Akon, Fergie and the Pussycat Dolls before breaking out as a solo act -- it's everything else she brings to the table as a performer that makes her one of the world's more fascinating artists. Her flair for theatrics, her avant-garde fashion sensibilities, her calculated total marketing experience, this is what makes her special. And if you think for even a second that her upcoming performances at Xcel Energy Center will resemble anything close to typical pop fare, you're merely validating her every point about the ignorance of our culture's consumption of popular art.