If you ask me, she's just trying to be the next Marilyn Manson. The only difference I see is that while Manson probably had some kind of abstract message behind his image, Gaga just saw what that image did for him and decided to copy it outright. I don't get the same artistic vibe from Gaga, just a whole bunch of "LOOK AT ME! LOOK! AT! ME! MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!"
Watch this:
Then this:
You see what I'm getting at? When Manson was asked about the weird shit he did, at least he'd be able to offer some kind of explanation for it, which shows that even if his overall image was outlandish and a little bit fruity, it was the result of a culmination of elements with actual thought behind them. Gaga, on the other hand, just has an image that she forces down everyone's throat. She wears stupid outfits, has pointless music videos which illustrate exactly jack shit, and the only reason I bother pointing this out is because it's been done before by someone who had a message to get across, which makes it painful to watch someone strut into the limelight doing the exact same thing just because they know it works.
Is it a new trend in the music industry to rip off others and sell a product based solely on image (and don't pretend the music's any good, she's on par with Cher at best)? No, absolutely not. But it pains me to see people regard her as eccentric and artistic when she's really just an attention whore. Bear in mind, I really only like a few of Manson's songs, but I respect the fact that he most certainly did establish the image that Gaga is mercilessly exploiting in the most pretentious way imaginable.
EDIT: also, Marilyn Manson could probably convince me that he doesn't have a penis. That's another difference between the two.
