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I'm regrettably late to the party on Lady Gaga's music videos. This can best be explained by my utter confusion during the premiere of her latest creation, "Telephone." Expecting a video that ran a tad longer than the song's official runtime or included some chaotic costumes we've all seen the Gaga adorn on awards shows and other TV appearances, I found myself at a loss for words when what unfolded in front of me was unlike anything I've seen in a music video.

A week ago, I was of the mindset that music videos were dead. Heck, MTV, the empire formerly known as Music Television, doesn't even play ‘em anymore. Having watched Gaga's "Telephone," however, I realize we're far from that point, especially when talent like Gaga releases a music video via the Internet that has already been streamed over 17 million times in mere days.
It's only March, and Gaga's "Telephone" is the best music video you'll see this year. Here's why:

The video turned a pop song with superficial lyrics into a meaningful anthem that is as unforgettable as Michael Jackson's "Thriller"

Had Lady Gaga adapted to video the lyrics to "Telephone" like Christians do the Bible (read: too literally), the music video to "Telephone" would have looked something like this: Lady Gaga in a swanky club, drink in one hand, cell phone in the other. While Gaga leads the conga line on the floor, her new squeeze repeatedly tries reaching her by cell. But Gaga is having so much fun that she can only say: "Sorry, I cannot hear you, I'm kinda busy." Smash to the boyfriend, who pouts on his king-sized bed while sipping champagne, dialing Gaga and getting a busy signal. And repeat, repeat, repeat. When she's "sippin' that bubb," Gaga best be "sippin' that bubb." When she says, "Tonight I'm not takin' no calls, ‘cause I'll be dancin'," you better believe Gaga is takin' no calls, ‘cause she's, well, dancin'.

What we actually get is a totally different scenario. Here's the gist: Gaga is thrown in jail, strips down to her skivvies, makes out with a supposed asexual, dances around in a bikini, gets bailed out of jail by Beyonce, poisons a diner's clientele using a deadly recipe (1 oz. rat poison, 1/2 oz. meta-cyanide and other ingredients) and then flees the scene in Tarantino's Pussy Wagon with police in hot pursuit.

Though the video will leave you scratching your head as to how the images are related to the lyrics, it's worth noting that the two have nothing to do with each other. While "Telephone" the single is about getting crunk in a club, "Telephone" the video is about murdering a sizeable crowd and excitedly dancing in little to no clothing. The two are mutually exclusive.

The point here is that Gaga could have taken the easy road like most working music artists by translating her superficial lyrics into a forgettable video. Instead, Gaga firmly cemented her catchy "Telephone" into popular culture by creating a totally unique-to-Gaga music video. We've all seen artists dance to their material. Hell, Beyonce and other groundbreaking popsters (Justin Timberlake included) are guilty of it. What we haven't seen, though, is captured in nearly every frame of Gaga's "Telephone." When you think of "Telephone," you'll be thinking of the video to "Telephone." And that's exactly Gaga's point.

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