All work and no fighting
Can you hear the ticks? The tocks? Is that the sound of Madonna ageing?
Stop it.
My review of 'Confessions On A Dancefloor' will not be jaded by my cynicism towards Madonna. Meanwhile, I just perused through The Herald Sun's HIT Liftout, reading Cameron Adams' pathetic review of Confessions. That man needs to be hosed down with ice cold water. Madonna could release a Crazy Frog collaboration and Adams would find it groundbreaking.
Madonna has reclaimed/revisited/reinvented her 'youth' with Confessions On A Dancefloor. The first single, 'Hung Up', is a radio friendly (albeit Joy FM), gay pumping track with a hefty but superb loop of the Abba hit 'Gimme Gimme Gimme'. Without the sample, the song would be lost, with a mediocre melody. But it's a great track, and she was smart enough to include the sample, which is why Madonna is so great at what she does. As a lead single, Hung Up is a perfect comeback after American Life was so poorly received (personally I loved the rap, but anyway...). The song has thankfully made me forget about her children's books, her shocking L'Oreal campaign, and her grandma dress in the Love Profusion video (what the?!). Although, as a lead single, it is quite misrepresenting of the actual album. Hung Up, is probably the only moment on the album where she sits on her dancing queen throne. There doesn't seem to be another point on the album where listeners are able to really let loose. It's hard to find that moment on the album. The moment where the song is playing in a club and the song reaches it's peak and the glitter rains down from the roof and everyone throws their hands in the air and goes nuts. Topless. If you're lucky.
'Deeper And Deeper', where she sings 'you got to just, let your body move to the music' sampling 'Vogue', is a perfect example of a moment. Another is 'Ray Of Light' at the point of 4min25secs, where I can guarantee you, if the song is playing in a club, is the precise moment that absolutely everyone is not going nuts on the dancefloor, reinacting Madonna's sped up dancing in the accompanying music video.
There are quite a few highlights however. 'Get Together' is the best Madonna dance track made since 'Impressive Instant' which criminally was not released from the Music album. An amalgamation of Madonna's own 'Holiday' (the lyrics are much a continuation on the theme anyway), Stardust's 'Music Sounds Better With You' and a Cyndi Lauper track on a pill. Love it.
The second single 'Sorry' is irresistible dance music. Starting with a muffled beat which explodes at the entrance of her vocals, my thoughts can't get past imagining an 80's New York dance hall with Madonna on the main stage, a la Mariah in the opening club scene in 'Glitter'. (Yeah, deal with the Glitter reference, Mariah is cool now, didn't you get the memo?)
The closest song Madonna has included that appears to even almost let loose is probably 'Jump', with one of the catchiest hooks on the album, and a crazy and defiant, leave-all-the-shit-behind lyrical theme. A purely beautiful song with a great beat, Jump should be earmarked as a single.
'I Love New York' is a well intentioned but poorly executed tribute to the city that made Madonna the Queen. Rivaling the Black Eyed Peas 'My Humps' for 2005's Dumbest Lyrics Award, she silks (that's my word for talking and singing at the same time) 'I don't like cities but I like New York/ other cities make me feel like a dork'. Sure.
Don't go past Track 9. Red-stringed religions are still not cool to sing about.
On first listen, Confessions On A Dancefloor is certainly not New Madonna's best album. Ray Of Light is arguably still her perfect mix of maturity, boundary-pushing creativity and commercial packaging. Although, this is precisely what Madonna needs in terms of image. It's given her a chance to connect with her Old Madonna fans, yet reinvent herself enough so that younger, New Madonna fans have something new to hear. Sampling, and plagiarising her own back catalogue allows older fans to connect with the new music and at the same time gives the younger fans a reason to rummage through her classics. Her music videos show her hitting the dancefloor, hard, so visually we see a fresh, energetic Madonna. Dance music is radio friendly, so her audience is maximised. At the core, Madonna is a dance/sex icon. Her concerts are dance driven, and so her tour will be well anticipated. Going back to her roots is the perfect move Madonna can make to take advantage of her entire fan base.
Madonna - Confessions On A Dancefloor (LP) ***1/2 (3.5/5)
Stop it.
My review of 'Confessions On A Dancefloor' will not be jaded by my cynicism towards Madonna. Meanwhile, I just perused through The Herald Sun's HIT Liftout, reading Cameron Adams' pathetic review of Confessions. That man needs to be hosed down with ice cold water. Madonna could release a Crazy Frog collaboration and Adams would find it groundbreaking.
Madonna has reclaimed/revisited/reinvented her 'youth' with Confessions On A Dancefloor. The first single, 'Hung Up', is a radio friendly (albeit Joy FM), gay pumping track with a hefty but superb loop of the Abba hit 'Gimme Gimme Gimme'. Without the sample, the song would be lost, with a mediocre melody. But it's a great track, and she was smart enough to include the sample, which is why Madonna is so great at what she does. As a lead single, Hung Up is a perfect comeback after American Life was so poorly received (personally I loved the rap, but anyway...). The song has thankfully made me forget about her children's books, her shocking L'Oreal campaign, and her grandma dress in the Love Profusion video (what the?!). Although, as a lead single, it is quite misrepresenting of the actual album. Hung Up, is probably the only moment on the album where she sits on her dancing queen throne. There doesn't seem to be another point on the album where listeners are able to really let loose. It's hard to find that moment on the album. The moment where the song is playing in a club and the song reaches it's peak and the glitter rains down from the roof and everyone throws their hands in the air and goes nuts. Topless. If you're lucky.
'Deeper And Deeper', where she sings 'you got to just, let your body move to the music' sampling 'Vogue', is a perfect example of a moment. Another is 'Ray Of Light' at the point of 4min25secs, where I can guarantee you, if the song is playing in a club, is the precise moment that absolutely everyone is not going nuts on the dancefloor, reinacting Madonna's sped up dancing in the accompanying music video.There are quite a few highlights however. 'Get Together' is the best Madonna dance track made since 'Impressive Instant' which criminally was not released from the Music album. An amalgamation of Madonna's own 'Holiday' (the lyrics are much a continuation on the theme anyway), Stardust's 'Music Sounds Better With You' and a Cyndi Lauper track on a pill. Love it.
The second single 'Sorry' is irresistible dance music. Starting with a muffled beat which explodes at the entrance of her vocals, my thoughts can't get past imagining an 80's New York dance hall with Madonna on the main stage, a la Mariah in the opening club scene in 'Glitter'. (Yeah, deal with the Glitter reference, Mariah is cool now, didn't you get the memo?)
The closest song Madonna has included that appears to even almost let loose is probably 'Jump', with one of the catchiest hooks on the album, and a crazy and defiant, leave-all-the-shit-behind lyrical theme. A purely beautiful song with a great beat, Jump should be earmarked as a single.
'I Love New York' is a well intentioned but poorly executed tribute to the city that made Madonna the Queen. Rivaling the Black Eyed Peas 'My Humps' for 2005's Dumbest Lyrics Award, she silks (that's my word for talking and singing at the same time) 'I don't like cities but I like New York/ other cities make me feel like a dork'. Sure.Don't go past Track 9. Red-stringed religions are still not cool to sing about.
On first listen, Confessions On A Dancefloor is certainly not New Madonna's best album. Ray Of Light is arguably still her perfect mix of maturity, boundary-pushing creativity and commercial packaging. Although, this is precisely what Madonna needs in terms of image. It's given her a chance to connect with her Old Madonna fans, yet reinvent herself enough so that younger, New Madonna fans have something new to hear. Sampling, and plagiarising her own back catalogue allows older fans to connect with the new music and at the same time gives the younger fans a reason to rummage through her classics. Her music videos show her hitting the dancefloor, hard, so visually we see a fresh, energetic Madonna. Dance music is radio friendly, so her audience is maximised. At the core, Madonna is a dance/sex icon. Her concerts are dance driven, and so her tour will be well anticipated. Going back to her roots is the perfect move Madonna can make to take advantage of her entire fan base.
Madonna - Confessions On A Dancefloor (LP) ***1/2 (3.5/5)
posted by Christopher at
5:25 PM
1 Comments:
If you keep this up, you will end up becoming a pop music critic.
Best.
AM
By
Anonymous, at Friday, November 18, 2005 12:22:00 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home