Scheiße

“I don’t speak German but I can if you like, ohw yah.

Ich schleiban austa be clair,
Es kumpent madre monstère.
Aus-be aus-can-be flaugen
Begun be üske but-bair.
Ich schleiban austa be clair,
Es kumpent üske monstère.
Aus-be aus-can-be flaugen,
Fräulein üske-be clair.

I’ll take you out tonight,
Say whatever you like.
Scheiße, scheiße, be mine.
Scheiße, be mine (scheiße, be mine).
Put on a show tonight,
Do whatever you like.
Scheiße, scheiße, be mine.
Scheiße, be mine (scheiße, be mine).

When I’m on a mission
I rebuke my condition:
If you’re a strong female
You don’t need permission.

I, I wish that I could dance on a single prayer.
I, I wish I could be strong without somebody there.
I, I wish that I could dance on a single prayer.
I, I wish I could be strong without the scheiße, yeah.
Without the scheiße, yeah.

I don’t speak German but I wish I could, ohw yah.

Ich schleiban austa be clair,
Es kumpent madre monstère.
Aus-be aus-can-be flaugen
Begun be üske but-bair.
Ich schleiban austa be clair,
Es kumpent üske monstère.
Aus-be aus-can-be flaugen
Fräulein üske-be clair.

Love is objectified by what men say is right.
Scheiße, scheiße be mine,
Oh shit, be mine (oh shit, be mine).
But high-heeled feminist enlisting femmes for this,
Express your womenkind,
Fight for your rights (fight for your rights).

When I’m on a mission
I rebuke my condition:
If you’re a strong female
You don’t need permission.

I, I wish that I could dance on a single prayer.
I, I wish I could be strong without somebody there.
I, I wish that I could dance on a single prayer.
I, I wish I could be strong without the scheiße, yeah.
Without the scheiße, yeah.”

[ Scheiße - Lady Gaga ]

Scheiße is easily one of my favourite Lady Gaga songs. It’s deadly catchy, blends a whole lot of influences and has extremely clever lyrics, both in the messace conveyed and in the use of the fake German monologue (if you have something to say about it, I’ll be glad to discuss it in the comments). Scheiße is also one of Briar Rose’s favourite Gaga songs, as it’s very meaningful to her. No wonder, thus, if I wanted her to model for it.
This photo really went through much tribulation: the idea is perhaps about one year old, but due to several circumstances it had to wait until now - which did really help, as I finally have a full-frame now. Briar Rose and I discussed the idea and the styling months ago, agreed on the details, but missed most of the occasions to shoot it. Finally, we made it happen and it came out almost exactly how I imagined it, but definitely conveying the message and feelings I wanted it to have.

The differences between the original idea and the final outcome are basically two: first, I wanted a brick wall as the background, but eventually the fence worked much better than it would have; secondly, you can’t unfortunately see the top underneath the leather jacket, which was supposed to be part of the concept. There were other shots that showcased it, but I opted for this one because it has the perfect feeling even without it. The idea was to have a lacey, childish top hidden by the leather to symbolize the tough skin women have to grow in today’s society as opposed to the desire for the freedom to be feminine, but Briar Rose’s expression and pose alone do convey this feeling. Despite the outfit, she’s not a prostitute or anything like that, she’s just a woman who’s trying to shield her own womankind from the world by looking harsh and dangerous.

Anyways, we can’t really stay serious for too long, so enjoy our parody of Llama del Rey’s Ride thingie, which unfiortunately is pretty much the total oppposite of Gaga’s empowering, stand-strong, pro-woman message.

Starstruck

“Groove, slam, work it back,
Filter that, baby, bump that track.
Groove, slam, work it back,
Filter that, baby, bump that track.
Groove, slam, work it back.
Space Cowboy, just play that track.
Gaga in the room, so starstruck,
Cherry-cherry-cherry-cherry, boom boom.

Rolling out to the club on the weekend,
Styling out to the beat that you’re freaking,
Fantasize on the track that you’re tweaking,
Blow my heart up.
Put your hands on my waist, pull the fader,
Run it back with original flavor.
Cue me up, I’m the twelve on your table,
I’m so starstruck.

I’m so, I’m so
starstruck,
Baby, ‘cause you blow my heart up.
I’m so starstruck,
Baby, ‘cause you blow my heart up.
I’m so starstruck,
Baby, ‘cause you blow my heart up.
I’m so starstruck,
Baby, ‘cause you blow my heart up.

Baby, now that we’re alone, got a request:
Would you make me number one on your playlist?
Got your Dre headphone with the left side on,
Wanna scratch me back and forth back and forth, uh-huh.
Put your hands on my waist, pull the fader,
Run it back with the original flavour.
Get the breakdown first
Up until the chorus to the verse.

Hey, lil’ mamma, like really-really, is that him?
I haven’t seen you before and you’ve got all them big rims
Into that cash flow, I’m a fan of you, don’t trip,
Shawty say, hand over you signature right here
Like it’s just a dotted line, and I’m supposed to sign.
How she at it, a fanatic, and I think it’s going down.
She so starstruck, the gal all stuck,
I should have had an overdose, too many Starbucks.
Ain’t never seen a baller, paper that’s that taller,
Stunners that let their top back on their Chevy Impalas.
Hummers and all that fully loaded with two spoilers.
What did you call that when you showed up with two dollars?
But that’s another chapter, son of a bachelor.
All on me, just spotted a baby actor,
So please swagger, they’re gonna dagger,
Got what she want, shawty happily ever after.”

[ Starstruck - Lady Gaga ]

I might have stated it repeatedly, but even though I kind of consider myself a Little Monster now, I still have a quite scarce feeling with Gaga’s debut album, The Fame. Out of what she’s done so far, it’s perhaps the most canonical work, with really good songs beside banal or even shallow ones. Although I already have at least sough ideas for such songs as Paparazzi, Just Dance and LoveGame, and love others such as Poker Face, I Like It Rough and Again Again, I find it difficult to relate to most of the other songs from that period and therefore draw inspiration from theme, whereas most of the ideas for The Fame Monster and Born This Way are already fully sketched up in my head.
Nevertheless, when inspiration strikes you can’t ignore it, and this was the case with Starstruck. In this case, it was the star-shaped ceiling light at my friend Mari’s house that gave me the inspiration. I immediately asked our friend Valentina to pose for me, which she accepted, and the photo was quickly taken. There were quite a lof of funny moments, as both of us had to climb on ladders and she was a bit afraid of that, with Mari and her flatmates helping us to keep balance, but when we succeeded it was even more satisfying.
So, her expression, the headphones and, of course, the star-shaped light she’s staring at are all meant to represent the song lyrics and the concept of being starstruck. The shiny bracelet she’s wearing is a fashion detail I thought woud add a nice touch to the photo, which it did. I’m quite happy with this photo and I discovered Valentina is really photogenic, so I’m now looking forward to working with her again soon. Also, I’m glad I got such an idea for this song, as I was afraid it would be harder to represent because it’s not among my favourites.