M is trying ideas with London-based, Norwegian producer Fred Ball at the moment, and they have booked studio time together in April. He has already given M some beats that she is writing lyrics to now, apparently. Norwegian artist Bertine Zetlitz (who worked with Fred Ball on her previous albums) told my bff and fellow Madonna fan this some days ago!

LiveToTell86 said:

Hung Up rock version in fact rocks!

That's an absolutely atrocious guitar tone. I have hard time believing it's coming from an Orange amp, but apparently it is. She seems to have gained a bit of confidence as a player though. Works for the purpose of that show.

Ugh more tracks from Jean-Baptiste? I hope that's not true, can't believe she can't A&R from different songwriters. And I hope it doesn't mean more co-production by Free School because they ruined Love Spent (based on how better the live version sounds without the annoying production).

DaveT said:

Why is it that,almost everyone else in pop music works with guest rappers and duet partners and nobody says anything...but when Madonna does it,they say that she is "desperate" and "chasing trends"? Lady Gaga recently did a track with R.Kelly...Shakira's new single features Rihanna....Mariah recently did a song with Miguel....etc,etc.....why aren't those people being criticized?

The latest rumor about the new album is she is going to work with this producer from Norway called Fred Ball. He did two albums in the early 2000's with his group pleasure which featured vocals by Justine of Elastica, Brett Anderson of Suede and Cerys Matthews. They were kind of laid back electronic with a slight indie feel sort of like Air or Stereolab.

More recently he was worked with artists such as Sophie Ellis Bextor, KT Tunstall, Kylie and Nicola Roberts.

No one probably remembers them but Stereolab is one of my favorite groups. I would love for her to do something like their kind of indie electronica, which his early records remind me of.

SoulAlive said:

free2bfreeda said:

SoulAlive said:

Why is it that,almost everyone else in pop music works with guest rappers and duet partners and nobody says anything...but when Madonna does it,they say that she is "desperate" and "chasing trends"? Lady Gaga recently did a track with R.Kelly...Shakira's new single features Rihanna....Mariah recently did a song with Miguel....etc,etc.....why aren't those people being criticized?

because Madonna has always been the trend setter. shoot all of the performers named above got a large percentage of their look and stage presentation from HER! u can color me , because IMO it's a bit baffling when she seems to have lost HER creative lead as an awesome performer on her own merit. now it seems she's a large bit of a follower. I'm not a hardcore Madonna fan, but she captured my admiration from the beginning up until the vogue era. I admired her unique individuality as woman of courage in being true to her self on and off stage, also her keen and shrewrd business sense. one word comes to mind: regurgitate 1 of 3 defs: they regurgitate their food and chew it as cud before final digestion. c'on madge collaboration? please someone tell me what hip-hop rappers has madonna created rap or musical lyrics for? ( with all due respect to her greatness)

I understand that she has always been a trendsetter but let's be honest....in 2014,are there any more trends to set?! Is there any more ground to break?! I love Madonna but even I realize that she can't walk on water And we have to realize that the music business is ALOT different than it was back in the 80s.Like any artist,Madonna is simply adapting to changing tastes and changing times.And it's not like goes overboard with it (like Mariah).The majority of her recent singles feature no guest artists at all.

Madonna collaborated with Prince and Lenny Kravitz at the peak of her fame. On Erotica she did the "guest rapper" thing with putting Did You Do It on the album (and later on the B-side of Rain was a remix of Waiting with a guest rap by Everlast). It's only her British/French DJ phase where she eradicated any traces of this while at the same time her peers, Mariah, Janet etc used zillions of guests so when Madonna was BACK to use guests like Justin Timberlake, Lil Wayne or Nicki Minaj, fans freaked out because their diva was no longer "above it all".

I just find it ridiculous how Madonna gets criticized for doing things that other artists do.When she decided to make a 'commercial' album with producers Timbaland and Pharrell,some people acted as if she committed murder Mariah has worked with Pharrell before and nobody said a thing.Again,I truly understand that Madonna is considered a trendsetting,trailblazing artist....but that does mean that she has to re-invent the wheel everytime she does a new record? She can't do fun collaborations with other artists that she admires? She can't work with a rapper occasionally? Must she always do things that no one else is doing? This mindset is silly to me.

But her music never reinvented the wheel, it was always well-polished pop with different influences (house, R&B, trance, folk, disco, funk etc) scattered on various albums. Her trendsetting was always the videos, outfits and live performances. People act like it all stopped "being Madonna" when she recorded a duet with Britney Spears, but for example they ignore that on her most celebrated album Ray Of Light she co-wrote songs with Rick Nowels who wrote for Celine Dion and Robert Miles previously. It's all an illusion and if she does things other artists do like you said people feel their taste is no longer validated and she '"sold out".

Glindathegood said:

The latest rumor about the new album is she is going to work with this producer from Norway called Fred Ball. He did two albums in the early 2000's with his group pleasure which featured vocals by Justine of Elastica, Brett Anderson of Suede and Cerys Matthews. They were kind of laid back electronic with a slight indie feel sort of like Air or Stereolab.

More recently he was worked with artists such as Sophie Ellis Bextor, KT Tunstall, Kylie and Nicola Roberts.

No one probably remembers them but Stereolab is one of my favorite groups. I would love for her to do something like their kind of indie electronica, which his early records remind me of.

here's some songs that he has produced for others....

https://www.youtube....h?v=t0jHIlUmpRA

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=I60NmKUFOws

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=Cc39ey5Non0

based on all the rumors and confirmed news that we have heard so far,here's my prediction of what the new album will sound like...

***This won't be a "dance album",per se.There will be uptempo tracks that you can dance to,but I don't think it's gonna be geared entirely to the dancefloor.There will be more guitars and more "real" instruments...a more organic sound and it will be less electronic than the last few albums.A few tracks will even have a country music sound (like "Don't Tell Me").

***Considering her recent "Revolution of Love" project,I'm betting that the lyrics will be a little bit more serious and introspective this time around.She will sing about freedom,intolerance and loving each other.

***There will be more ballads this time around.Remember those recent rumors about Madonna wanting to make a ballads album? This isn't exactly it,but I bet there will be at least four ballads here.

***The first single will be a huge surprise,produced by a big name producer that hasn't been revealed yet.It will feature a guest artist.This song will be very different from the rest of the album.

[Edited 3/16/14 4:19am]

I think it will be mostly dance like HC and MDNA with 1-2 slower songs in the mix. She won't record more ballads because she doesn't like singing them on tour, she prefers to turn an older song into a ballad instead of doing several new ones unfortunately...

SoulAlive said:

I just find it ridiculous how Madonna gets criticized for doing things that other artists do.When she decided to make a 'commercial' album with producers Timbaland and Pharrell,some people acted as if she committed murder Mariah has worked with Pharrell before and nobody said a thing.Again,I truly understand that Madonna is considered a trendsetting,trailblazing artist....but that does mean that she has to re-invent the wheel everytime she does a new record? She can't do fun collaborations with other artists that she admires? She can't work with a rapper occasionally? Must she always do things that no one else is doing? This mindset is silly to me.

Those comments come from people who respect her power in the industry. When you have power, you can bring changes to the music industry or culture. So everyone just projects their wishes onto her. Like this:

I said:

Well, I kinda see her as chasing trends now too, which is why it was worded this way, but it is the same premise.

LiveToTell86 said:

I think it will be mostly dance like HC and MDNA with 1-2 slower songs in the mix. She won't record more ballads because she doesn't like singing them on tour, she prefers to turn an older song into a ballad instead of doing several new ones unfortunately...

You know.. she actually has put out a lot of music, if you consider how every tour had her music rearranged.

We fall over ourselves when George Michael puts out a live album. Madonna had enough new versions for a live album between every studio album she gave us.

SoulAlive said:

based on all the rumors and confirmed news that we have heard so far,here's my prediction of what the new album will sound like...

***This won't be a "dance album",per se.There will be uptempo tracks that you can dance to,but I don't think it's gonna be geared entirely to the dancefloor.There will be more guitars and more "real" instruments...a more organic sound and it will be less electronic than the last few albums.A few tracks will even have a country music sound (like "Don't Tell Me").

***Considering her recent "Revolution of Love" project,I'm betting that the lyrics will be a little bit more serious and introspective this time around.She will sing about freedom,intolerance and loving each other.

***There will be more ballads this time around.Remember those recent rumors about Madonna wanting to make a ballads album? This isn't exactly it,but I bet there will be at least four ballads here.

***The first single will be a huge surprise,produced by a big name producer that hasn't been revealed yet.It will feature a guest artist.This song will be very different from the rest of the album.

[Edited 3/16/14 4:19am]

Yes, the album seems the same way to me. I think she should maintain some electronics and some uptempo element, but not necessarily standard club music. If you go to her live shows, there's a dance/club element but she also touches on other genres of music which includes some live instruments and other areas of life and that's what I would like her album to be as well.

I'm not sure about lyrics dealing too much with political issues, I do prefer her songs that are about relationships. Maybe it general about loving one another so a song could be personal and political at the same time.

I would like some ballads, but no more than three or four of them, assuming the album has around 12 tracks. Love all your ideas, sounds like a plan for a great album.

SoulAlive said:

I just find it ridiculous how Madonna gets criticized for doing things that other artists do.When she decided to make a 'commercial' album with producers Timbaland and Pharrell,some people acted as if she committed murder Mariah has worked with Pharrell before and nobody said a thing.Again,I truly understand that Madonna is considered a trendsetting,trailblazing artist....but that does mean that she has to re-invent the wheel everytime she does a new record? She can't do fun collaborations with other artists that she admires? She can't work with a rapper occasionally? Must she always do things that no one else is doing? This mindset is silly to me.

I guess that's what happens when you set the bar so high. Yes, I'd expect people like Shakira and Mariah to team up with other, younger artists for a "leg up" when their career is starting to ebb, but not Madonna. Part of the reason us fans love her so much is because she always did her own thing, and two fingers to those that didn't like it...this feels like she can't be bothered or isn't sure how to appeal to fans anymore so is getting help from those that do know.

Having said that, she collaborated in the past (Nile Rogers, Prince, etc) but it didn't feel like it was the be all and end all...lately the big stuff seems to be all about the collaborations....4mins with Timberlake, LUV Madonna, etc...

DaveT said:

SoulAlive said:

I just find it ridiculous how Madonna gets criticized for doing things that other artists do.When she decided to make a 'commercial' album with producers Timbaland and Pharrell,some people acted as if she committed murder Mariah has worked with Pharrell before and nobody said a thing.Again,I truly understand that Madonna is considered a trendsetting,trailblazing artist....but that does mean that she has to re-invent the wheel everytime she does a new record? She can't do fun collaborations with other artists that she admires? She can't work with a rapper occasionally? Must she always do things that no one else is doing? This mindset is silly to me.

I guess that's what happens when you set the bar so high. Yes, I'd expect people like Shakira and Mariah to team up with other, younger artists for a "leg up" when their career is starting to ebb, but not Madonna. Part of the reason us fans love her so much is because she always did her own thing, and two fingers to those that didn't like it...this feels like she can't be bothered or isn't sure how to appeal to fans anymore so is getting help from those that do know.

Having said that, she collaborated in the past (Nile Rogers, Prince, etc) but it didn't feel like it was the be all and end all...lately the big stuff seems to be all about the collaborations....4mins with Timberlake, LUV Madonna, etc...

Your random Madonna avatar from the year 2000 Rolling Stone cover gives me the impression that you haven't been able to move along with her journey or any other pop music much past that point. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but that's how I have been reading all of your posts. Sorry!

Cinny said:

DaveT said:

I guess that's what happens when you set the bar so high. Yes, I'd expect people like Shakira and Mariah to team up with other, younger artists for a "leg up" when their career is starting to ebb, but not Madonna. Part of the reason us fans love her so much is because she always did her own thing, and two fingers to those that didn't like it...this feels like she can't be bothered or isn't sure how to appeal to fans anymore so is getting help from those that do know.

Having said that, she collaborated in the past (Nile Rogers, Prince, etc) but it didn't feel like it was the be all and end all...lately the big stuff seems to be all about the collaborations....4mins with Timberlake, LUV Madonna, etc...

Your random Madonna avatar from the year 2000 Rolling Stone cover gives me the impression that you haven't been able to move along with her journey or any other pop music much past that point. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but that's how I have been reading all of your posts. Sorry!

Wow, that's a MASSIVE generalisation!

I chose that avatar simply 'cos I thought M looked hot in that photo-shoot (in fact, IMHO her Ray of Light to Music period was her best look, her natural beauty really came out).

I am very much "up to date" with modern pop music. Only the other day I was singing the praises of Haim and Ladyhawke in another thread, I spent most of last night trying to track down an MP3 of Todd Terje's Delorean Dynamite, one of the best pop/dance tracks I've heard in some time, next couple of weeks I'm heading to the next DiscOver event at The Tunnel a dance event I've supported and gone to for some years now (maybe too old at 33, but who cares!), recent gigs include Bastille and Katy Perry among others....do I qualify?

Cinny said:

Your random Madonna avatar from the year 2000 Rolling Stone cover gives me the impression that you haven't been able to move along with her journey or any other pop music much past that point. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but that's how I have been reading all of your posts. Sorry!

...in fact I'd go further and say beyond 2000 was when I moved from being a a big Madonna fan to a hardcore fan. Confessions Tour at Wembley Arena and the opening show of the 2009 S&S Tour at O2 arena are still two of my all time fave concerts, and Confessions constantly vies for my fave M album spot. I was also lucky enough to have M play Mote Park Maidstone for Radio 1 Big Weekend, about 7 miles away from my back garden, which was an unreal experience as I was lucky enough to be stood two people back from the front on the same grass I grew up playing football on for years....very bizarre and she nailed that show! I enjoyed parts of Hard Candy (Miles Away is one of her best) and really enjoyed MDNA, it was like a Madonna album made for the 2.00am to 4.00am slot on the dancefloor!

I liken my Madonna fandom to someone supporting their fave sports team....you want them to do well with with the critics, the fans, with sales etc, and do it on their own merit without the help from other artists. Hell, whatever the lady does I'm sure I'll be lapping it up as I always do, its just a preference thing really.

[Edited 3/17/14 5:17am]

DaveT said:

Cinny said:

Your random Madonna avatar from the year 2000 Rolling Stone cover gives me the impression that you haven't been able to move along with her journey or any other pop music much past that point. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but that's how I have been reading all of your posts. Sorry!

Wow, that's a MASSIVE generalisation!

I chose that avatar simply 'cos I thought M looked hot in that photo-shoot (in fact, IMHO her Ray of Light to Music period was her best look, her natural beauty really came out).

I am very much "up to date" with modern pop music. Only the other day I was singing the praises of Haim and Ladyhawke in another thread, I spent most of last night trying to track down an MP3 of Todd Terje's Delorean Dynamite, one of the best pop/dance tracks I've heard in some time, next couple of weeks I'm heading to the next DiscOver event at The Tunnel a dance event I've supported and gone to for some years now (maybe too old at 33, but who cares!), recent gigs include Bastille and Katy Perry among others....do I qualify?

I knew it would sound rude of me no matter how I posted it, so I just had to ask! Yeah, that sounds active and up-to-date. My apologies.

As you were..

Cinny said:

DaveT said:

Wow, that's a MASSIVE generalisation!

I chose that avatar simply 'cos I thought M looked hot in that photo-shoot (in fact, IMHO her Ray of Light to Music period was her best look, her natural beauty really came out).

I am very much "up to date" with modern pop music. Only the other day I was singing the praises of Haim and Ladyhawke in another thread, I spent most of last night trying to track down an MP3 of Todd Terje's Delorean Dynamite, one of the best pop/dance tracks I've heard in some time, next couple of weeks I'm heading to the next DiscOver event at The Tunnel a dance event I've supported and gone to for some years now (maybe too old at 33, but who cares!), recent gigs include Bastille and Katy Perry among others....do I qualify?

I knew it would sound rude of me no matter how I posted it, so I just had to ask! Yeah, that sounds active and up-to-date. My apologies.

As you were..

No probs dude, its all good!

Here's to the new album...I enjoy the build-up and rumours almost as much release itself. What's your hopes for the album??

DaveT said:

As long as the album is just Madonna, and not her hooking up with whoever the artist of the moment is...no Nicky Minaj, no Timberlake, no Pharrell...just M. She never use to need other people to prop her work up, so why now...

??...but she's never been 'just' Madonna, since the beginning of her career...but we 'cherish the thought...'

funkyandy said:

DaveT said:

As long as the album is just Madonna, and not her hooking up with whoever the artist of the moment is...no Nicky Minaj, no Timberlake, no Pharrell...just M. She never use to need other people to prop her work up, so why now...

??...but she's never been 'just' Madonna, since the beginning of her career...but we 'cherish the thought...'

Yeah, fair point....I guess the Nile Rogers and the William Orbits were all kept in the background more than the likes of Timberlake and Minaj...

funkyandy said:

DaveT said:

As long as the album is just Madonna, and not her hooking up with whoever the artist of the moment is...no Nicky Minaj, no Timberlake, no Pharrell...just M. She never use to need other people to prop her work up, so why now...

??...but she's never been 'just' Madonna, since the beginning of her career...but we 'cherish the thought...'

I think when people say they want just Madonna, they mean they just want Madonna singing. They don't like other artists on the records singing or rapping. Of course, Madonna has always worked with outside producers, songwriters and musicians, but most of her biggest and most loved songs have just her on the main vocal. I like Hard Candy and MDNA but I'm not big on duets or guest rappers. I do like songs better when it's just her voice.

LiveToTell86 said:

But her music never reinvented the wheel, it was always well-polished pop with different influences (house, R&B, trance, folk, disco, funk etc) scattered on various albums. Her trendsetting was always the videos, outfits and live performances. People act like it all stopped "being Madonna" when she recorded a duet with Britney Spears, but for example they ignore that on her most celebrated album Ray Of Light she co-wrote songs with Rick Nowels who wrote for Celine Dion and Robert Miles previously. It's all an illusion and if she does things other artists do like you said people feel their taste is no longer validated and she '"sold out".

The thing I like about her is that she sorta got into/(or should I say, she lived) Popular culture, she was a part of what was happening. As big as she is she still sorta remained a person experiencing 'real' life.

.

So she reflected the music she listened to, liked, heard, etc but she wrote lyrics that talked to people, whether to have fun, examine issues, life, spirituality sexuality family etc I don't think she became sequestered like the other 2 Superstars she's associated with. So her lyrics were probably more touchable. In no way I'm I'm putting down the other 2, but to me the 'stardom' got bigger than them.

.

I wish she would have taken Ray of Light/Confessions and developed thru those, 2 different expressions of life:Inner and Outter and the were a mature journey that someone 30 40 50 or 60 can take and it work.

.

I feel that way about Prince when I think of Dream Factory and Rainbow Children

DaveT said:

Cinny said:

I knew it would sound rude of me no matter how I posted it, so I just had to ask! Yeah, that sounds active and up-to-date. My apologies.

As you were..

No probs dude, its all good!

Here's to the new album...I enjoy the build-up and rumours almost as much release itself. What's your hopes for the album??

As it turns out, I'm the one stuck in the past. I want another Bedtime Stories.

OldFriends4Sale said:

The thing I like about her is that she sorta got into/(or should I say, she lived) Popular culture, she was a part of what was happening. As big as she is she still sorta remained a person experiencing 'real' life.

.

So she reflected the music she listened to, liked, heard, etc but she wrote lyrics that talked to people, whether to have fun, examine issues, life, spirituality sexuality family etc I don't think she became sequestered like the other 2 Superstars she's associated with. So her lyrics were probably more touchable. In no way I'm I'm putting down the other 2, but to me the 'stardom' got bigger than them.

.

I wish she would have taken Ray of Light/Confessions and developed thru those, 2 different expressions of life:Inner and Outter and the were a mature journey that someone 30 40 50 or 60 can take and it work.

.

I feel that way about Prince when I think of Dream Factory and Rainbow Children

But if you really listen to Hard Candy and MDNA, maybe they have a different style musically, but the lyrics still have the same quality you are talking about. They are a mix of having fun, dancing but also issues that deal with relationships and things she goes through with sexuality, family etc. People complain about her trying to be young trendy, down with the kids etc, but she has always been in touch with popular culture and interested in what's going on now, not just repeating the same style of music she may have started out with like a lot of artists.

Glindathegood said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

The thing I like about her is that she sorta got into/(or should I say, she lived) Popular culture, she was a part of what was happening. As big as she is she still sorta remained a person experiencing 'real' life.

.

So she reflected the music she listened to, liked, heard, etc but she wrote lyrics that talked to people, whether to have fun, examine issues, life, spirituality sexuality family etc I don't think she became sequestered like the other 2 Superstars she's associated with. So her lyrics were probably more touchable. In no way I'm I'm putting down the other 2, but to me the 'stardom' got bigger than them.

.

I wish she would have taken Ray of Light/Confessions and developed thru those, 2 different expressions of life:Inner and Outter and the were a mature journey that someone 30 40 50 or 60 can take and it work.

.

I feel that way about Prince when I think of Dream Factory and Rainbow Children

But if you really listen to Hard Candy and MDNA, maybe they have a different style musically, but the lyrics still have the same quality you are talking about. They are a mix of having fun, dancing but also issues that deal with relationships and things she goes through with sexuality, family etc. People complain about her trying to be young trendy, down with the kids etc, but she has always been in touch with popular culture and interested in what's going on now, not just repeating the same style of music she may have started out with like a lot of artists.

Both albums have their highs and lows, both cannot compare to the quality of Confessions or Ray of Light. Even the underrated Bedtime Stories had quiet moments of sheer brilliance (Sanctuary, LTTWM).

.

Hard Candy came on as really forced, a collaboration with Timba-lake in the same capacity of William Orbit and Stuart Price that yielded somewhat lacking results. And that album cover.....

.

MDNA to me sounded like two wholly separate sessions sort of sloppily mashed together, and all those extra lackluster tracks... some of the more brilliant lyrics "wrap your hands around my neck its time to deal so cut the deck" are over-shadowed by "i cannot lie and i wont pretend but i feel like i lost my very best friend" or "i'm gonna be ok i don't care what the people say" or "ooh la la you're my superstar".

.

I do wonder if Madonna's story will in the end speak on the rise, decline, and eventual outcome of both the recorded/taped and the digital music age. Thankfully she shows no signs of stopping.