Ace said:

for the same reasons your saying this one wont sell.

i love to love madonna when her music is memorable. this one isnt.

Ace said:

The album has already connected with a mainstream audience.It's number One in numerous countries,including America.The "Hung Up" video has been Number One on MTV's TRL for several days now.

"it's not lyrically dumbed-down enough"


Uh...I guess you didn't hear "I Love New York"? And "Hung Up" certainly won't win any songwriter awards either,lol.

DavidEye said:

Didn't American Life go in at #1, as well?

I think "Hung Up" was an attempt to write something lyrically dumbed-down that would connect with a wide audience. As for "I Love New York", there is a difference between dumbed-down and "ironic".

Ace said:

Yeah,AL went to Number One as well,but it didn't sell 344,061 copies in it's first week.Plus,that album had alot of negative press surrounding it,including a pulled video for the first single,lackluster reviews,a first single that many people didn't like and so on.This new CD has NONE of those things.

Springsteen had a similar situation with Human Touch and Lucky Town. Those records sold very strongly in the first weeks thanks to his core fans and the excitement of a new release. Like American Life, they definitely addressed more complex concerns lyrically and, frankly, I don't think the majority of the record-buying audience is deep enough to want to listen to an "American Life" or a "Hollywood". They want one-dimensional songs that assure them that love will always save the day and that material things can get them that love.

DavidEye said:

I think the video controversy actually helped that album (it certainly brought more attention to it). Seems to me they've brought out the bigger promotional guns with this album and perhaps that's why it's had stronger numbers out of the box. I don't recall seeing Hummer limos crusing the streets with AL's cover in the weeks around its release.

You guys are too funny. I guess time will tell.

nice to see an album i own hit number one, but even nicer to see ol' uncle johnny in the top 20.

Anxiety said:

You gonna go see the movie?

Again, it would be nice to see some adult music selling big numbers, so I'm pulling for her. But that usually takes several Top 10 singles and my hunch is that won't happen here. After listening all the way through, I was just like "Either this is a bold artistic move where she's playing to critics with very obscure sensibilities, or it's a major miscalculation of America's readiness to embrace avant-garde dance music".

Ace said:

I think she's just scaling back her artsy, avant-garde leanings of the last 3 albums and trying to just Kylie things up a bit.

GangstaFam said:

Already did! I posted about it yesterday. I liked it.

Ace said:

I agree with everything you said.But this album is filled with lyrically simple songs.Are you really saying that "Push" is too lyrically complex for mainstream audiences?

every move I make,every step I take
everything I do,I owe it all to you


Are you really suggesting that "Sorry" is too complex for the pop crowd?

I don't wanna hear,I don't wanna know
please don't say you're sorry


make no mistake,this is not 'American Life Part 2'.Most of the songs are straighforward and accessible.

Ace said:

she doesn't write for just America though. She is a huge artist overseas. She writes for a global market.

Anxiety said:

I haven't dipped my toes in the GD much lately. I'll have to suss it.

DavidEye said:

Yes, I agree there are songs on the album that lyrically are "simpler". But I don't hear anything in those lyrics that's going to make Joe or Josephine Average rush-out to the record store to buy them once they hear it. And I'm just not hearin' the hooks that'll sell pop radio.

DavidEye said:

Songs like "Future Lovers" and "I Love New York" are a bit out there musically and lyrically. They could never be US singles.

And she has a healthy batch of tracks dealing with fame/fortune/celebrity - "Let It Will Be", "Like It Or Not" and "How High". Those aren't the types of songs that most consumers are going to appreciate and want to hear.

But there are enough single-worthy songs on there that have the right combination of melody, accessibility and fun to make them crossover. Dance is a fairly dead genre in mainstream America, but a good half of this album I don't think will have any trouble connecting with that audience.

Ace said:

It's hard to predict what will be a hit these days."My Humps" is total garbage,and it's one of the year's biggest hits

GangstaFam said:

Kylie Minogue's hits are very poppy with all that one-dimensional lovey-dovey shit. I don't hear anything akin to them here. I hear a middle-aged woman hanging out with a bunch of people who are trying to out-cool each other in the obscure retro groove game.

GangstaFam said:

My sentiments exactly.

Ace said:

ouch.

Ace said:

but she's hot!

Ace said:

Yes, but songs like "Hung Up", "Sorry", "Push", "Jump" and "Get Together" have hit written all over them. I think those 5 songs seem like the most likely batch of hits she's had on one album since at least "Bedtime Stories" and probably as far back as "Like a Prayer". Like I said, I know dance isn't a thriving genre in the pop market. But I think those 5 songs are so poppy, hook-heavy and easy to get into, that I'll be shocked if they don't hit big.

ehuffnsd said:

Right! And that's all that matters.

GangstaFam said:

I'm sorry, but (to quote an old Rolling Stones song) "it is a game for youth". If she wants to impress dance music critics and people who spend a lot of time in hipster nightclubs, this is the record to make. If she wants to have a mainstream hit, I don't think this is the way to go about it. But, who knows? Maybe she's more concerned with her artistic legacy these days.

ehuffnsd said:

Personally, I think her quads are way over-developed. Her body was slammin' in the Sex/"Human Nature" days.

Ace said:

she's been pushing her artistic legacy at least since Blonde Ambition.

GangstaFam said:

I have a very pop ear and I don't hear a single. But, again, I'd love to be proven wrong.

ehuffnsd said:

But she was making very pop records back then.

Ace said:

So picky!