ehuffnsd said:

ya but if your not living and breathing and comfortable in your own skin then your art is going to be a bit schizo. i finally got to the listen to the album and theres about three or four songs i really enjoyed. but the bulk of it is too serious...sure the beats are fast but the fun in her voice and in the beat is missing.

sosgemini said:

Madonna has been progressively darker since Live To Tell... that'll be 20 years this fall. it's not like it's a new thing. Most of her work since Ray of Light has been dark

ehuffnsd said:

umm..Music wasnt dark. and just because an artist heads into a certain artistic direction doesnt mean the quality of the art should be sacraficed. if she could do "dark" well I wouldnt be annoyed. but she cant. with the exception of Erotica. but that album had texture. this one is .

sosgemini said:

That's one thing I was glad about when I finally heard the album. When the word was "no ballads, no messages, just straight up dance", I was afraid of it having no teeth or nothing substantial. I still think it sounds like a glorified Kylie album, but at least it's about something.

GangstaFam said:

but conveying a message doesnt have to equal being a bore. exhibit A:

Keep It Together

sosgemini said:

I'm kinda split on the message songs on this album. "Let It Will Be" and "Like It Or Not" are great for that. "How High" and "Isaac" I'm not so thrilled with. But even some of the more lightweight songs like "Hung Up" and "Get Together" are great clubbangers, but they have an undercurrent that keeps them from being totally superficial. I kinda like that. "Hung Up" under the surface is about siezing life and "Get Together" seems like encouraging people to do some soul-searching. I think she got the balance of fun, energy and emotion dead right on those songs.

sosgemini said:

it's not as engergetic as i hoped, but it isn't fluff either. i was afaird she was going to scarafice the art for fluff... i think had she worked with say Joe Henry or Patrick Leonnard more in the lyrics and composing and left producing to Stuart the album would have been much better. However saying that, i still believe this is her most solid album since Ray of Light, not as confused as say Music or American Life

ehuffnsd said:

I love the confusion of the last 2 albums.

I'm about to go to sleep, I'll make comments tomorrow, but here are the tracks from best to worst:


Get Together
Hung Up
Push
Jump
Sorry
Forbidden Love
Future Lovers
I Love New York
Issac
How High
Like It Or Not
Let It Will Be

lilgish said:

Your bottom two are both in my top 5.

lilgish said:

If you bumped those last 2 to somewhere in the middle, our list would be pretty similar.

i love when people think their opinions are facts.

Moonbeam said:

Like it or not is the same rich, ego, veteran pop star, I'm still around you can't get me down lament song. Madonna is suppose to be above the love and hate, commenting on it and also defining it without any of the ambiguity she's famous for is just Britney "choatic" Spears like. I still like it better than Let It Will Be.

Get Together is the perfect song for the sound she was going for and better than anything on AL.
[Edited 11/20/05 22:15pm]

lilgish said:

I don't see any bitterness in "Like It or Not", but rather assured confidence. Plus, it grooves on like no other on the album. I think it's my favorite at this point! "Get Together" is wonderful as well. Truth be told, I'd say this album has no fewer than seven perfect songs for me.

Isel said:

We're on the same boat. Madonna has shocked the hell outta me with this CD. I love this CD. This CD has made me realize that I really am a Madonna fan. I've been listening to Like A Prayer for the first time and it's fantastic. I see why so many people praise it. She deserves to be called the Queen of Pop cause she is.

I too hope Janet can come back to her senses and make a fun and danceable CD again. Hell, I hope Prince can do the same thing too but I'll always be down with the Purple One. It's just been cool to discover new music and from Madonna no less. I use to think that hell would have to freeze over before I'd call myself a Madonna fan. Well hell is full of ice now.

Moonbeam said:

That groove is nice, though it's dying for a remix, some other tracks on here will sound better remixed, the only thing slightly thought provoking are the bible references.

What does she mean by

"your love for me will grow"

but ultimately the chorus is too drawn out (who I'am) and takes focus of the groove.

You can call me a sinner
You can call me a saint
Celebrate me for who I am
Dislike me for what I ain't

Put me up on a pedestal
Or drag me down in the dirt
Sticks and stones will break my bones
But your words will never hurt

even in this thread those issues have come up. They always come up. Fam/Fan/Hater fodder. Madonna shouldn't have to affirm any self-confidence to the likes of her audience. It being the last track also is another Leave Me alone thing. It's not awful, just the weakest track on here. I thought it would be great from the opening though. I gave Let It Will be the last spot for another reason though.
[Edited 11/20/05 22:41pm]

ehuffnsd said:

???

lilgish said:

Which is?

lilgish said:

I agree. That song makes me delirously happy. Sonically, it's like an updated cross between "Stay '81" and "Angel" and thematically, it fits right alongside "Everybody" and "Holiday".

lilgish said:

I kind of hear it like a mantra she repeats to herself to prevail over adversity. I don't think she's trying to say "Look at me, I can do whatever the fuck I want and y'all can just suck it," but rather she is trying to convince herself that she can weather the storm.

Moonbeam said:

TRON said:

co- with a little added

CHIC0 said:

Well God knows she has plenty of those songs.

"Human Nature" anyone?

Moonbeam said:

don't forget, "You'll See"

i'm surprised (or rather not) that no one's noticed her nod to the S.O.S band.

sosgemini said:

The way I see it, when she was younger her occupation as entertainer was priority #1 and she was 'on call' for 'work' 24/7. She pretty much lived in her work/public persona. These days she seems to keep her private life more separate from her work life. So it's more noticeable when she throws on her work clothes, because she does it less often.

lilgish said:

I agree with you. For me the tracks that i just dont connect with are Isaac, Let It Will Be and Like It Or Not, they just dont do much for me. I think they're ok tracks, but the lyrics on Like it Or Not just grate. Cliche after cliche, it bugs the hell out of me, and with no substantial melody there isnt anything to keep bringing me back to it.
Here's my best to worst:

Jump (the catchiest thing shes done in years and years)
Get Together
Sorry
Hung Up
Push
Future Lovers
I Love New York
How High
Let It Will Be
Isaac
Like It Or Not

Ooh, it's just like the 80's again!

Well done, Madge. 217k copies is a hell of a lot to sell in one week.

onenitealone said:

it is? in the uk you mean?

ehuffnsd said:

davideye...