So many wonderful Lady Gaga performances and interviews on YouTube. Do you wanna see them on your larger TV screen? Do you wanna keep forever on DVD, cos you know sometimes videos get removed from YouTube? Well here’s how you can do so for free by downloading two awesome pieces of software.

1. Get Freecorder from http://www.applian.com/index.html
   Freecorder is a Firefox extension that inserts a Download drop down box when you view a YouTube video. You can then select a size and format and Freecorder will automatically save the video as a file.
   
2. The second app is Freemake which you can get from http://www.freemake.com/free_video_converter/
   Freemake allows you to insert multiple videos including videos saved from YouTube with Freecorder, and then either convert to another format or burn to a DVD.
   

Enjoy watching Lady Gaga performances!

…. and yes this will work with video content that does not contain Gaga but playback won’t be as fun!

Its no secret that I’ve been a Lady Gaga fan since watching the first 10 seconds of the Just Dance video. I followed all of the early GagaVision videos that used to be released every Thursday in 2008. There is a statement that Gaga made in GagaVision Episode 3 that struck a chord with me – “Do you know how many things I’m gonna make?”. This is in response to the attention the now famous Disco Stick was attracting at early performances. Watching the video now in July 2011, it is evident that Lady Gaga has plans to invent and build lots of props for her shows. You can see how ambitious and creative she is going to be from this early stage in her career.

What does Lady Gaga have in common with Madonna? Clue – Its not what you’d think.

Both Madonna and Lady Gaga have a loyal fan base. A fan base that spans age groups, is willing grow with the artist and allow the artist to experiment.

Lady Gaga’s “Little Monsters” however are also a Monstrous Marketing Machine. “Little Monsters” are responsible for trending topics on Twitter and promoting songs till they go to No 1 on iTunes. Check out this timeline of tweets lead by @gagadaily aimed to get “Telephone” to No 1 after the video release:

… so Lady Gaga you have the best fans ever!

“For A Moment” is a poem that was included in the liner notes for “The Fame”. I love the poem – its about finding your own identity and brings a deeper meaning to “The Fame”, a concept album about pretending to be famous. I believe the poem to be written by Lady Gaga but I am not sure why she writes her name as “Joanne” before “Stafani” because her real name is “Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta”.

I publish this poem below because I believe that most Lady Gaga fans bought the digital version of “The Fame” as a result have never read “For A Moment”. If you like the poem I encourage you to buy “The Fame” as a CD and get the booklet with lyrics.

For A Moment
by Joanne Stafani Germanotta

Yesterday, I took a walk in the rain
The cool refreshing droplets splashed on my checks.
I walked,
And walked, And walked,
Not knowing where I was going.
The trees swayed as a chilly spring
Gently caresses their branches.
A cute white rabbit scampered
Across a wide open field.
He stopped in front of me in a
Patch of emerald.
He had a quizzical look on his furry little face.
He wiggled his ears,
Crinkled his nose,
And scratched his whiskers like
An old man.
I started to laugh.
He ran off into the distance
Looking like a pearl in a patch of seaweed.
The cool refreshing droplets splashed
On my cheeks.
I walked,
And walked, And walked.
Not knowing where I was going.
I saw a family of ducks on a lake.
I stopped to look,
Mama duck first,
And all the little ducks gliding
Behind her in single file.
They were dancing to the music
of the rain tapping on water.
And then I was my reflection on the mirror-like surface of the lake
And for a moment…
I was the only living creature around.
The cool refreshing droplets splashed
On my cheeks. I turned,
And walked, And walked.
Knowing where I was going.

It was Saturday morning. I was home watching MTV. I’m not sure what show I was watching, but new videos were being shown. They all seemed a little too boring. …then it happened, a new artist was introduced. Her name was Lady Gaga and the song was called Just Dance. The song and video were completely original – great beat, fresh lyrics and the singer had an unusual and memorable voice. Lots of mirrors balls and poses were also a good sign! At 10 seconds into watching the video, I realized that Lady Gaga would be the next great pop icon. I compared the song to Madonna’s Everybody. I even blogged about it – the post now serves as proof of my prediction. Admittedly I should have been more sure of myself and not used the word ‘perhaps’ – you’ll be pleased to know that ‘perhaps’ has been removed from my vocabulary.

Lady Gaga has since just about taken over the world. It is now Feb 2010, and I start a new blog dedicated to Lady Gaga called Monster Plan. Monster Plan is not a news site. Monster Plan is a blog by a fan, reflecting on being a Lady Gaga fan and providing social commentary. Enjoy!