Lady Gaga's obviously doing something right for financial success. I can't speak intelligently about her strategy since I've been in the dark, really. I can understand disliking her. I don't think she really has a good enough sense of humor to pull off her antics. I remember Marina blogging about her before, saying that she didn't like Lady Gaga at first, but that she grew to at least see just how smart she was at achieving the success she was looking for. I'm sure I'm butchering Marina's sentiments a bit, but yeah.

I'm gonna have to disagree with you all about Lady Gaga. It seems like people can't get past her outward appearance and focus on her talent. I think she's a decent enough songwriter, and a pretty damned good piano player. OTOH, for the same reasons you don't like Gaga are the same reasons I can't stand Amy Winehouse...and supposedly, she's respected for her "talent".

We should put GaGa and Winehouse in a jar, shake it up, and make them fight!

First scratch them up with a garden rake then add vinegar to the jar. It enhances the fighting spirit.

I hear you though Mary. I do try to look past the gimmicks and try to judge people on their musical talents but what turns me off sometimes is that there are soooo many young musicians out there of equal or superior talent that will never get a break because they don't live somewhere like LA (LA is no reference to Gaga, I don't know where she lives) or are not willing to lower themselves to wearing meat to get attention. I don't doubt her ambition or smarts to climb the ladder but it's hard to concentrate on her piano or voice after seeing so many visual images that stick in your head.

I'm not immune to gimmicks though. As a kid I was a big KISS fan so there is all the ammo you need to dispute my arguments.

Mary, I have to agree with you about Lady Ga Ga. I am not a big fan of a lot of the new artists today however she is definitely a talent. Did anyone see her on Saturday Night Live last weekend with Justin Timberlake? She is actually quite funny. BTW, a good friend had the opportunity to meet her last month at a private function and said she was very nice and a lot of fun. I still have the iPhone video however not allowed to share.

I agree, Rock Head. I think Lady Gaga (Stephanie Germanotta...to make her seem more human! HAHA!) seems like a likable person in all the interviews I've seen of her. Ditch the gimmicks, and I think people would like her. I actually think she has the talents to reinvent herself BACK to Stephanie if she wanted...but, then people would call her a sell-out. You can't win in the pop music industry. Hate her or not, "Bad Romance" is a freaking AWESOME dance song.

All this pop music talk....putting on some Led Zep...ahhh! that's better....well, well, well...so I can die easy.

Nellie McKay - Home Sweet Mobile Home

I only listened to it a couple of times when I bought it. Revisiting, and I'm enjoying it.

Listening to Donora's self-titled album again. I like it more than I liked it the other time I listened to it. Good stuff.

Hey, I missed this until today. Not blowing you off - I just skim the forums these days.

I'm afraid the speakers didn't get much of a test; they played pop/soft rock/ambient music at low volumes as background music. But what I was able to hear sounded pretty good.

The main thing I noticed sonically had to do with the irregularly shaped room. An irregular corner caused the sound to seem as if it was coming from there instead of the adjacent corner, where the speaker was. Trickery.