While the article also contains mouthwatering photography from Terry Richardson, Strauss goes beyond the basics of the genre to expose a vulnerable, intelligent side of Gaga and delve into the mindset of one of the world's biggest stars.
I particularly liked how he begins the piece by describing her dressing room, segueing into a plug for her latest single and then finally surveying the chaotic state of her private life. " Her grandfather is in hospital, her father recently had heart surgery and she was just told by doctors that she is at risk of developing lupus, an autoimmune disease that killed her aunt before Gaga was born," is used to establish the fast pace of the article and imitate the speed and stress of Gaga's world.
Short, sharp sentences such as "her success is the ultimate misfit's revenge" add to the article's witty, bullet-speed appeal. Another device which caught my attention was the use of records to mark shifts in time with "Billy Joel spinning on the record player while we talk in Nottingham" and "Bruce Springsteen's 'Born to Run' on vinyl in Birmingham" used to show Gaga's varied taste in music as well as the movement of her tour across England.
The work seamlessly flows from a narrative style to a question and answer format- a technique I hope to employ in my own writing. An example of the movement between the two styles is evident in the passage " After the break-up, she promised to herself that she would never love again and would make him rue the day he doubted her. And this may be the origin of her transformation from Stefani to Gaga. And so I ask " do you think that all that love you directed towards men now goes towards your fans instead?"" This creates an easy-to-read movement between Strauss' observations and the formal interview while providing background information on the subject and the basis for his questioning.
Lastly, what I most admire about Strauss' work is his ability to let the subject define themselves through quotes, rather than by describing their personality for the reader. He ends the piece with Gaga asking him to "use the stuff that's going to make me a legend. I want to be a legend. Is that wrong," which in my opinion perfectly exposes her drive, deliberate provocation and love affair with fame.
Below: Images from the article.
Lastly, what I most admire about Strauss' work is his ability to let the subject define themselves through quotes, rather than by describing their personality for the reader. He ends the piece with Gaga asking him to "use the stuff that's going to make me a legend. I want to be a legend. Is that wrong," which in my opinion perfectly exposes her drive, deliberate provocation and love affair with fame.
Below: Images from the article.
