What the critics are saying about Madonna's new album
Madonna, take a bow. The reviews are in for your spankin' new disc, Confessions on a Dancefloor, and they're pretty darn positive. Yet while most (but not all) critics PopWatch perused this morning had nice things to say about the thumping beats and spacey beeps concocted by you and co-producer Stuart Price, it was uncanny how many of them blasted your lyrics for the song ''I Love New York.'' I guess maybe you should've picked something besides ''dork'' to rhyme with the world's greatest city. (Hmmm…what about "spork"?) Anyhow, here's a random sampling from eight reviewers around the country:

''Every song is tailor-made for getting your groove on, with surprisingly few clunkers.''
--Tim Pratt, Detroit Free Press

''In dance music, words exist to be repeated, twisted, obscured and resurrected. How they sound in the moment is far more important than what they mean, and Madonna knows that better than anyone. Confessions on a Dance Floor is 56 minutes of energetic moments. It will leave you feeling silly for all the right reasons.''
--Josh Tyrangiel, Time

''Featuring some sharp electronica production and more than a few moments of pose-striking irresistibility, it's also worthy of praise as Madonna's best album at least since 1998's Ray of Light -- and possibly since 1989's Like a Prayer… [Still,] most of the misfires come from the lyrics…the Madonna-for-poet-laureate campaign begins here and now, reader.''
--J. Freedom du Lac, The Washington Post

"Her voice, vastly improved since that '80s squeak, sounds pretty and unfettered (even when computerized) as it rides over tense waves of blip-whoosh-thrum technoise and blissful snap-crackle beats. There's no excuse, however, for clichés, nursery-rhyme simplicity and tired topics, such as the price of fame in 'How High.' Surely Madonna is capable of wittier couplets than 'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but your names will never hurt.'"
-- Edna Gundersen, USA Today

''Of course, since we're talking about Madonna, the feat of making terrific dance records wasn't enough. She also has to teach us something. Thankfully, her windy bromides don't kick in until halfway through.''
--Jim Farber, New York Daily News

''We have indeed heard it all before: the helium warble disco; the dark, twisted-fantasy bedroom grooves; the laughably bad stabs at musical theater; the failed attempts to go techno; the electronically tweaked folk schmaltz… Madonna has provided a decent disco soundtrack, with the best songs ready to slip in easily right after 'Believe' by Cher and just before that sure-fire crowd-pleaser, 'YMCA' by the Village People.''
--Jim Derogatis, Chicago Sun-Times

''[The CD] works well, at least most of the time. The songs are stylish and sexy, with hauntingly erotic choruses, repeated phrases and gently thumping pulses. Several of the tracks, such as the sweeping trio of 'Get Together,' 'Sorry' and 'Future Lovers,' are gorgeously textured with an ambient, spacey backbeat that's reminiscent of Brian Eno and U2's collaborative work, Passengers: Original Soundtracks 1.''
--Malcolm Mayhew, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

''Her lyrics are hit and miss, but Madonna gets into the groove and proves she can still pack a dance floor.''
--Thor Christensen, The Dallas Morning News


[previous thread in series: http://www.prince.org/msg/8/167438]

"Hung Up" has risen to number 14 on Billboard.

Some random thoughts on the disc:

-"Hung Up" is far better in it's full verison. More exiting.

-"Get Together" is the song that everyone thinks is perfect for clubs but I hope she releases it as a single.

-"I Love New York", along with "Future Lovers", are both songs that have many great moments but also have issues. Obivisouly the lyrics of NY are silly while I also think that there is something immature about "Furture Lovers" once the song starts (the spoken word is cool).

-I like the fact that she included an R&Bish type song like "Push" but considering her past, she is capable of better. Feels incomplete as a song.

Listening to "Superpop" now...what was she thinking not releasing this fun pop track on the album. Everything else on the album is slow in comparison.
[Edited 11/16/05 17:34pm]

ok, so here's my placement of the new record after two weeks of listening. i place it under erotica (my favorite) but above ray of light (usually rotating between 2nd/3rd favorite). before you all club me or flame me, let me explain.

i love ray of light. when it came out, and for years later, it was my 2nd favorite of hers. in time, however, i have really lost the ability to listen to the record in its entirety at one sitting. it has become a cd that must be on rotate with other cds. erotica, like a prayer, and self titled are the only cds that MUST be played in their entirety once i hear the opening chords. until now. there's nothing i don't like about the cd. even i heart ny has become tolerable and, yes, even enjoyable for me.

its very refreshing to see that madonna has learned how to balance her desireto share her beliefs with her desire to have fun. it took a few steps and lessons but i believe she has really found that middle ground with confessions on a dance floor.

SassyBritches said:

Music seems to be the same kind of record.

Wait, why the new thread already?

TRON said:

i was never able to get into music. i enjoy about 4 tracks (that has gone up only recently from 3) but that's it.

SassyBritches said:

That album got great reviews when it came out, but it seems most fans have turned against it in recent years. I loved it instantly.

Which ones do you dig? Are there any you flat out hate?

TRON said:

something came up.....

sosgemini said:

something's coming over.....

TRON said:

i don't like nobody's perfect, runaway lover, gone...it'll probably be easier to just say i like music, impressive instant, and don't tell me. what it feels like for a girl has recently grown on me. and i think that's it. on a really generous day i can deal with amazing but i wouldn't say i like it.

TRON said:

around the corner...




something great...is coming.

SassyBritches said:

OMG I love "Gone"! That's easily one of my favorite Madonna songs. "I Deserve It" too.

You're not crazy about "Bedtime Stories" either, huh?

SassyBritches said:

i think alot of fans started changing their minds after Kylie released Fever. I think alot of people would have wanted a more dancey album after Ray of Light and ended up with half dance half electrofolk. Than Kylie gave the straight up eurodance album and people were like that is what Madonna should have done.

ehuffnsd said:

I'm so fucking sick of Kylie! :rippingmyhairout:

TRON said:

i think bedtime stories has a bunch of ok songs and a few classics. bedtime story, secret, and take a bow are faves but the rest is only ok for me. sometimes i'm really feeling sanctuary but that's the most of it.

i deserve it seems like a joke to me. can she really be so shoved up her own ass that she doesn't realize how blessed she is? it just seems preposterous to hear this woman sing about how she deserves anything when she has everything!

TRON said:

hey, madonna ripped off the right person this time around!!

SassyBritches said:

herself. kylie and gwen and the like have been mining the First Album. Madonna just took it back.

I think Madonna knows she can do great dance pop in her sleep. so she sets out to do other things to prove to people she is more than just that. she gets to taking her music too serious and looses site of the groove. i think she tries to hard to be a critical darling instead of doing the great simple pop she is the master of.
[Edited 11/16/05 22:35pm]

SassyBritches said:

Music was good. The only problem with it was that it sounded like she didnt know whether to make a dance album or a mellow album. I thought it was a decent followup after Ray of Light. Favorites are Music, Impressive Instant, Runaway lover, WIFLFAG and Paradise.

SassyBritches said:

The song is about Guy Ritchie and about her finally feeling like she *might* deserve a healthy relationship. I don't think it's superficial or preposterous at all. I think there is a lot of pain in the folky ballads on that album and her really coming to grips with her relationship problems of the past and how she can make them work now.

SassyBritches said:

"Sanctuary" is the best! I adore "Survival", "Inside of Me" and "Forbidden Love" too. The extra stuff from that period is perfection.

Her '94/'95 era is one of her most overlooked and most consistent I'd say.

SassyBritches said:

TRON said:

we see it differently. i see a woman who was so calculating in her career that she used relationships as publicity ploys. when she got older she did what every normal person does and found a relationship for herself and not for her image. its nothing earth shattering and its quite typical. madonna just has a very normal personal life and when she tries to write deep things it falls flat, in my opinion. this is why i find her kabbalah stuff so interesting...its one of the only things about her life that is not generic. and i mean all of that in the most non-malicious manner possible.

SassyBritches said:

Why do you like "Ray of Light" then?

SassyBritches said:

And what about Madonna has EVER been generic? Other than this new album.

You're really losing me now.

i'd like to expound on that last post of mine...

some people have profound experiences that alter the way they see things - be it addiction, death, religious rebirth, whatever. they don't create these things themselves and then write about it; these things just happen and it affects them. i get the impression, over and over again, that more often than not madonna created a scenario in order to have something to talk about. her experiences seem to lack an organic nature that true singer/songwriters so eloquently write about. this is why i think madonna writes so well and so strongly about the death of her mother - it was organic and truly affected her without any of her own fabricated instigation. its also why i think she writes so well about her religious beliefs. most of the time when she writes about "issues" she comes off very phoney and insincere. that was my problem with most of music. besides the fact that its all so self-involved, its also all really petty, trite material.

the reason i think ray of light struck the chords it did was because the birth of her daughter had a natural, organic affect. it altered her life and she had no control over that alteration. this is how great songwriting/art is born. i don't sense any of that on the music cd. i sense someone who wanted to live up to their last statement...and that is not organic.

.
[Edited 11/16/05 22:56pm]

SassyBritches said:

i don't think she has used relationships as a publicity ploy. she is normally the more famous of the two in the relationships. I think alot of her life in fame has been extrememly lonely. alot of the comes through in her music. how many people can relate to her? Princess Di? Britney? Kylie? that's probably why it's hard sometimes to understand when she says she finally deserves a real meaningful realtionship LOL I'm totally faming out here

SassyBritches said:

SassyB I hear exactly what you're saying there.
[Edited 11/16/05 22:54pm]

SassyBritches said:

i don't think so. she is good with the songs about expressing yourself. cause that has been her mantra for years. she is good with songs about her mother, and good with songs about losing love. most of her ballads are breakup songs. she has few songs that are about finding the right one. those have only come out since she met guy. I sense a great amount of loneliness in her work. she is the most famous woman on the planet, but does she really have anyone in her life who doesn't want anything from her?