First review of Madonna track - the hype begins...

[Daneeeboy]

To be honest, I too couldn''t give a fuck about lyrics.  I think her most heartfelt performance is Don''t Cry For Me, and we wall know those aren''t her lyrics.  American Life had some great lyrics, mixed with some terrible ones.  Usually in the same verses.

I Love New York is a particuarly bad song lyrically.

I don''t really care though, because although she has some stonkers, she does turn out a few okish lines here and there.  What I''d REALLY REALLY like is Madonna to be working with the new wave of writers/producers/acts like those responsible for Hadouken!, Klaxons, New Young Pony Club, The Gossip, Patrick Wolf... and maybe some Xenomania...

[brandnewlover]

I agree (to an extent). Although I like the Gossip and others that you mentioned, that''s not really the route I would prefer her to take. But at least that would be forward thinking in musical terms. Going to Timbaland and Timberfake does seem like a step backwards (I''ve posted on here multiple times my extreme dislike of anything Timbaland touches, yes even Maneater, so take that as you will....). The Madonna of old would have jumped on Calvin Harris months before Kylie and should have seen Groove Armada coming (though, in fairness, their last album was as BORING as the new one is AMAZING). Maybe it''s time she went WAY uber POP to buck the trend and have Alexander Bard produce her new album....that kinda risk is more what I would expect from her.

[Daneeeboy]

Ok, this thread is far too entertaining, but I''m working on something and this is a good distraction...

I dunno, I think Madonna''s edge is that she can take outside influences - like RnB, Hip-Hop, Disco, Gospel and mixing it with a melody to make pop.  I thnk Alexander Bard would break Madonna.  It''d be too pop to handle.

[andifeel]

American Life is still my favourite Madge album, ROL second, Confessions third. Not a duff track on them and masterpieces the lot.

[diamond doggie bag]

erm .. ok ...

of all the madonna albums how many do you listen to 3 months after release:


you can dance ... that still works .. and its a compo. so it''''s a cheat

something to remember ... that still works .. and its a compo. so it''''s a cheat

...

 every other album  alot of filler .. true blue almost scrapes through but at 9 tracks its taking the piss to have 2 duffers.

like george michael madonna is a singles artist which people buy albums for.

the last good ''''album'''' ... imogen heap ''''speak for yourself'''' ... not a hit in sight!

I disagree.

Madonna may very well be the only mainstream pop artist around now who has consistently shown she knows how to do a decent album. For better or worse, her albums are tied together with themes, ideas, imagery and styles; most modern pop albums on the other hand sound like they were put together by a Bower Bird that''s just thrown any old bit of tat lying about the place onto it.

And rarely these days are there songs on her albums that seem to be there merely to pad it out (Amazing from Music and How High from Confessions are the two exceptions I can think of). That''s not to say her shit don''t stink (I personally think her quality control has taken a major hit in recent years), but the duff tracks still seem more like mis-fires than mere padding.

As for working with Timbaland, I don''t think Madonna should thumb her nose at working with arguably the most respected, successful and ground-breaking producer on the planet to preserve the notion that she is cutting edge or looks for inspiration in the underground, both of which have never really been true anyway.

[letuinmybackdoor]

Maybe it''''s time she went WAY uber POP to buck the trend and have Alexander Bard produce her new album....that kinda risk is more what I would expect from her.

Imagine Madonna doing something like ''Israelism'' or ''Obsession'', that would be fab, or even ''Crying at the discoteque''!!!! I would cry.

[Aime]

It ain''t going to happen. It''s like she made a choice to make brilliant records AND sell records (instead of making brilliant records that do not sell that well). That''s what she wants and well, there''s nothing wrong about it, right? I can only support her. The records are still fab.

[jiminynickitt]

http://i-podvideos.blogspot.com/

for the LQ clip of the song, shame bout the quality but sounds like shes deffo goin for the US market this time...

[jimbob1311]

It''''s VERY American sounding, BUT VERY European at the same time.

How can it be VERY one thing and VERY another at the same time - surely it''s either one or the other if it''s VERY!

[bishbosh]

Crazy rumour I heard from someone who knows someone (hmm), she''s making a duets album, and supposed to have recorded with Pete Burns already.

[letuinmybackdoor]

Crazy rumour I heard from someone who knows someone (hmm), she''''s making a duets album, and supposed to have recorded with Pete Burns already.

Yeah, I can see THAT duet topping the Billboard charts!, Madonna should stay on her own, her duets have been by and large, disappointing. Think Prince, Ricky martin, Warren Beatty (!),  the only OK duet was ''How can you lose?'' with mandy Patakin or whatever his name was.

[Alfie]

I can''t believe Madonna is recording these Timbaland (style) tracks just to get to the top of the charts in the USA. She''s jumped on that bandwagon a little bit too late, don''t you think? It''s been done to death.

Madonna, once an innovator now an imitator.

[thecrazylife]

What are the chances of her getting US radio airplay anyway?  Isn''t she basically blacklisted by Clear Channel for her anti-Bush/war comments from around when American Life came out? 

[Monkey0]

Madonna, once an innovator now an imitator.

That''s why I''m not excited about this album. It''ll be like my grandma singing Nelly Furtado at karaoke bar.

[debord]

Don''''t expect to be overtly impressed by this album.  She''''s still on damage control.  American Life did a huge amount of damage to her career in many many ways.  Ever since she''''s been working to rebuild her fanbase and reaffirm herself in the ears of the many.

COADF was a by numbers album - it was for the gays, who she knew she had lost with American Life.  She was essentially buying them back by catering to their every need.  She didn''''t want t push any boundries, she wanted club play and album sales.  And she did it, she scored 8 million sales, although, when you consider that in the 80''''s she sold 20 million of True Blue, she has some way to go.

With this album, she wants back onto American radio and to sell to the kids again.  She isn''''t trying to be fun and exciting, because she doesn''''t want people to turn off.  She wants into that club who buy Justin Timberlake and Pussycat Dolls albums.  It''''ll be hiphop-lite.

If it sells better than Confessions, then you can expect a ''''proper'''' album in 2009/2010 with that Like A Virgin/Like A Prayer/Ray Of Light magic.

I''m sorry, but what tripe. Gay people are probably Madonna''s most loyal audience, and I''d imagine they were responsible for the bulk of American Life''s sales. She did not and never will have to deliberately aim at gay people to get their sales, as a huge number of them will buy everything and anything she puts out.

Re: True Blue selling 20 million - that was an entirely different era. No albums sell that much anymore, and given that True Blue is one of the biggest selling albums of all time it''s hardly a fair comparison. By today''s standards COADF was a massive seller, and outside of the US it is without a doubt one of the most successful periods of her career.

I agree that COADF was a clear effort to reclaim some lost ground, butthe only criteria I think she had was that this would be a ''back to basics'' album, ie a fun pop record. She wanted to reconnect with her past. I think she''s learned by now that desperately chasing sales is bad for her in the long run (hallo ''Me Against The Music''). If she had worked with Justin and Timbaland immediately after ''AL'' my heart would have sunk, as it would have stank of desperation. As it is, she''s shown she can still sell loads of records on her own terms so I''m quite optimistic about it.