king with no crown
So, due to a bout of insomnia, last night I uploaded my fic to AO3:
clari_clyde.
I’m a little unnerved that all of them now have a date of April 17, 2011 since a lot of these were written a long time ago. If anyone knows how to change that, let me know. I’m also tempted to make a work skin, but I’m a little lazy.
And you can see how many hits, kudos and bookmarks your fic have generated? That will either boost or kill my ego. O.O
But I must admit, I really like the posting interface. Much more intuitive than FF.net’s.
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Yesterday, I was linked to this little gem: Jesse Jackson Jr. calls out iPad as job killer. At which I lol’d louder than when Bon Jovi said that Steve Jobs killed the music business.
Just the iPad, Mr. Jackson? The Kindle which sells more ebooks than the iPad isn’t a job killer? And Amazon.com wasn’t threatening bookstores already before launching its ereader? And what of Barnes & Noble’s Nook or Borders’ Kobo?
Okay. I believe the internet was already changing the book business the same way it was changing the music business. An explosion of fat pipes made people less willing to spend time to acquire media. Why drive to a store when you can click a few buttons and expect it to arrive at your doorstep. Or better, click a few buttons and download the thing.
Anyways, I find it interesting that while book and music sellers are complaining about technology, guess who’s not? the book and music buyers. That should be a hint there that it’s not the product, it’s the sellers.
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On Friday, I first heard Lady Gaga’s “Judas” and well, I have to admit, I think the production values are a little sloppy with this one, it’s a little too cacophonous to me. I wonder what a stripped down remix - or maybe just her with nothing except her voice and piano - would sound like because I do like the melody.
But apparently the video, which will be released on Tuesday meaning no one has seen it yet, is stirring up controversy among Christian groups. And I just want to say - and I say this as a Catholic and as a creative writing student - it’s not about you. No really, you’re not the center of her world.
If she had used greek and roman gods as archetypes to illustrate co-dependent and abusive relationships, no one would bat an eye. Yet, because she uses biblical figures to stand in as those archetypes, she gets criticized for mis-appropriation and blasphemy? There’s nothing wrong with looking at religious figures when trying to make sense of non-religious situations because that’s what religious people do all the time whether it’s looking to Jesus for strength in a time of persecution or to Jesus again when contemplating toast.
I’d argue that because Christianity is so ubiquitous, it’s no longer the domain of Christians alone. Out-group appropriation happens. It happens to myths and legends regardless of their source cultures. It is happening to the English language. It happens to cultures too. It happens to religions too. It happens. I don’t think the question is whether it should / shouldn’t happen. But whether it happened with the correct context.
And while Mary Magdalene is either a saint or revered apostle depending on your brand of Christianity, she’s a sinful adultress / prostitute in pop culture. And that’s not Lady Gaga’s fault; blame that on Pople Gregory the Great and medieval Christian art. So, in the song lyrics, Mary Magdalene and Judas as stand-ins in a dysfunctional relationship isn’t inappropriate, I think, given the history of how they have been portrayed in Christian culture, her in particular.
Also, I like the revisionist history regarding Madonna (warning, pic at top nsfw). Somehow, I think that because she was a Catholic, or even that she was a Christian, that the controversy around “Like a Prayer” is being revised. Because if she were atheist, buddhist, muslim, or whatever else, I think Lady Gaga would be compared with her instead of against her. Just an instinct.
Lastly, if she set out to purposefully upset Christians, then why Tuesday? Why not Palm Sunday, Good Friday or Easter Sunday?
For reference, the lyrics to “Judas” and remember, there’s no video - yet:
Oh, oh, oh, oh,
I’m in love with Judas, Judas.
Oh, oh, oh, oh,
I’m in love with Judas, Judas.
Juda-Judas, Juda-Judas, Juda-Judas, Juda-Gaga.
Juda-Judas, Juda-Judas, Juda-Judas, Juda-Gaga.
When he comes to me, I am ready,
I’ll wash his feet with my hair if he needs.
Forgive him when his tongue lies through his brain,
Even after three times, he betrays me.
I’ll bring him down (Bring him down, down)
A king with no crown (King with no crown)
I’m just a Holy Fool,
Oh baby he’s so cruel,
But I’m still in love with Judas, baby.
I’m just a Holy Fool,
Oh baby hes so cruel,
But I’m still in love with Judas, baby.
Oh, oh, oh, oh,
I’m in love with Judas.
Oh, oh, oh, oh,
I’m in love with Judas.
Juda-Judas, Juda-Judas, Juda-Judas, Juda-Gaga.
I couldn’t love a man so purely,
Even prophets forgave his crooked way.
I’ve learned love is like a brick you can,
Build a house or sink a dead body.
I’ll bring him down, bring him down, down,
A king with no crown, king with no crown.
I’m just a Holy Fool,
Oh baby he’s so cruel,
But I’m still in love with Judas, baby.
I’m just a Holy Fool,
Oh baby he’s so cruel,
But I’m still in love with Judas, baby.
Oh, oh, oh, oh,
I’m in love with Judas.
Oh, oh, oh, oh,
I’m in love with Judas.
You.
In the most Biblical sense,
I am beyond repentance.
Fame hooker, prostitute wench, vomits her mind,
But in the cultural sense,
I just speak in future tense.
Judas kiss me if offenced,
Or wear an ear condom next time.
I wanna love you,
But something’s pulling me away from you.
Jesus is my virtue,
Judas is the demon I cling to. (I cling to)
I’m just a Holy Fool,
Oh baby he’s so cruel,
But I’m still in love with Judas, baby.
I’m just a Holy Fool,
Oh baby he’s so cruel,
But I’m still in love with Judas, baby.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, (Judas)
I’m in love with Judas, Judas.
Oh, oh, oh, oh,
I’m in love with Judas, Judas.
Juda-Judas, Juda-Judas, Juda-Judas, Juda-Gaga.
(Gaga, Gaga)
