But did she record a lot of demos in the past? In my earlier post I was referring to that, i.e. there aren't dozens of Erotica or American Life demos lying around in the vault, simply because it was not the norm for her, it seemed that she chose her direction based on the music producers had given her and quickly recorded the album. Back then she spent 4 and a half months on Ray Of Light and that was a record for her, Patrick Leonard said Like A Prayer was done in 3 weeks. Then American Life took nearly a year but only because she was having 2 movie projects and a stage play. So all signs point to the Rebel Heart sessions being COMPLETELY different for her and I don't see why's it an issue that I discuss this subject. I think it holds more discussion value then "who leaked the tracks" or "will radio play her"... | |
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She said in an interview that Ghosttown was a song she wrote together with the other songwriters in a room and wasn't something that was just given to her. So it does seem like a lot of the songs were written together with other people not just given to her. Why just because she worked with songwriters who have written for other people means she didn't write with them? If you are going to write with people. you would write with people who have experience writing hit songs, not unknown people. I don't see why she would have to abandon most of the leaked songs. Only very dedicated fans have heard them and secondly, there are in demo form so the finished ones will sound different than the leaked version. Madonna has never really started recording songs with a concept in mind. The concept albums behind her albums is usually something she comes up with later after she sees the direction most of the songs are going in. So she has always done things that way and so I don't think that shows she has no direction this time. I don't know what you mean by outdated contract with Interscope. Interscope just distributes her music. Her deal is with Live Nation and it's not outdated because it's a 360 deal that also includes tour and merchandising revenue not just albums. | |
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i have to say that for me it feels like this is the first album since Confessions where she actually sat down and took (is taking) her time to test different songs, write lots of stuff and just see what comes out on top. her last two albums felt very rushed and uneven. last two.
and true love lives on lollipops and crisps | |
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Very good point. | |
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Why Madonna still matters
Earlier this week, Madonna pulled a Beyoncé by releasing six new tracks off her forthcoming album with no announcement. The move comes after the songs were first leaked, an act the singer called “terrorism” and “artistic rape.” The songs, which include the Nicki Minaj collaboration “”Bitch, I’m Madonna,” quickly rose to the top of the iTunes charts, holding the top six spots in over 20 countries. While international success is nothing new to Madonna, it’s increasingly against the cultural narrative of her as a leftover of ‘80s detritus. While every female pop artist of the last thirty years owes her a great debt, she’s often portrayed as too old, too eager, or too lacking in the energy and depth that first made her a success. The top listing for Madonna on Urban Dictionary defines the artist as “an extremely talented marketer, who over more than twenty years has excelled in the aggressive selling of an otherwise not particularly desirable product—herself.” Which is a pretty astonishing summary of a career once lauded as the most influential female role in pop music. Despite her critics, Madonna remains the last and best bastion of the '80s and '90s music. Largely defining the past three decades of pop music, Madonna remains the most emblematic icon for Generation X, the middle child of American culture. Squeezed between the behemoth populations of baby boomers and millennials, GenX knows they need to savor their cultural heritage—hence Madonna’s continued triumph. Fairly or not, Generation X is often tossed between the hedonism of hair metal and the lackluster antipathy of grunge. The legacy of the 1980s as a decade is one of smarm, camp, and a plasticine devotion to novelty—and the music hasn’t fared much better. While grunge was the failed rebellion in the face of ‘80s decadence, Madonna reigned through both eras as a moralistic insurgent in the jungle. She was subdued where metal was boisterous, delicate where hip-hop was stern, and activated where grunge was lazy. She could sit-in onNightline and debate obscenity as well as she could negotiate an interview with a drunken Courtney Love. She was the first gay icon to actually embrace gay rights and completely restructure how sexuality is talked about. To this day, she’’s been a consistent lighting rod who loves to be struck, as energized by Nicki Minaj as she is by Pussy Riot. Which makes her a standout among ‘80s icons. While the signs of boomer nostalgia never seem to fade and millennials still hold center stage (for now), the musical icons of Generation X, to paraphrase Neil Young’s famous line, have either burnt out, faded away, or both. Michael Jackson is dead. Chinese Democracy was released—and it sucked. The Foo Fighters are now bigger than Nirvana ever was. The bravado and aggression—the revolutionary excitement—of early rap is now fodder for Jimmy Fallon. Even heavy metal, which once shocked with Satanic allusions and sexual deviance, is more likely to host a theme cruise than remind anyone of revolt. The cultural peaks of Generation X’s lifespan are either buried or lost in the fog of ornamental relevance. Even Prince, that mystical warrior of funk and sex, suddenly finds himself fighting the passage of time in a geezer-like manner. He and Madonna seem like natural counterparts; each focused heavily on sexuality, thinning out the borders between genders, ethnicities, and the expectations of a black or female artist. Yet his career and influence wanes as he tries (and fails) to sue his own fans for wanting to buy music in the 21st century. And while one must strain to hear any of Prince’s original ideas survive into the pop music of today, Madonna is scattered through every major act of the last 15 years. If Madonna were to start her career today instead of in 1983, she’d appear to be a mashup of every major artist currently working: The bold iconography of Beyoncé, the feminine lightness ofTaylor Swift, the dour theatrics of Lorde, the dancefloor sensibility ofRihanna, the pipes of Ariana Grande, and the artistic extremism of Lady Gaga. Madonna’s influence on American pop music is almost smothering in its totality. One of the biggest factors in this influence is not simply her talent but the context in which she thrived. Looking back from today, it’s hard to imagine a time when the vast majority of the top artists in the world were men. Earlier this year, Billboard celebrated a record five weeks where all of the top five artists on the Hot 100 were women. In their annual ranking of the most powerful musicians, Forbes had three female acts in the top five—with Beyoncé holding the number one spot. As Today's Tom Sclafani once remarked, “before Madonna, most music mega-stars were guy rockers; after her, almost all would be female singers.” In 1983, Madonna entered a world dominated by Michael Jackson, The Police, and the likes of Def Leppard. This was before the golden age of R&B that would bring Whitney Houston and well after the death of disco and its divas. Sure, you had your Cyndi Lauper, your Pat Benatar, your Chaka Kahn. But Madonna reached a superstar status unrivaled by any of her female colleagues. This means she largely built the only framework for the female pop star, fundamentally altering all that comes after her and nearly embarrassing all that came before. In this way, she’s the iPhone of pop stars: not merely succeeding in the market but demolishing and rebuilding the market in their own image. Which is why Generation X won’t let her go. So much of ‘80s and early ‘90s culture was built on self-gratification and a tendency towards the absurd. Madonna is the only performer still standing after that torrent of selfishness, that epoch of pointless grandiosity. She’s the last lighthouse ushering GenXers in from an existential sea, offering merely the opportunity for an identity not built on the dead or disgraced.
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^ Nice! Though I'm not sure 80's music is seen as dimly as this article suggests. Amazing how many times I see younger folks listen to stuff from the 80's and fall in love with it. Spot on about Prince basically being irrelevant (and, I'd argue, somewhat forgotten by the mainstream) at this point, though he could change that if he wanted to. Thanks SA! "I would say that Prince's top thirty percent is great. Of that thirty percent, I'll bet the public has heard twenty percent of it." - Susan Rogers, "Hunting for Prince's Vault", BBC, 2015 | |
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baloney..she only matters cause theres money to be made but all these people | |
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Some site had "Arioso" leaked, the track from which the Wonderland theme was taken years back. Finally. Felt good to hear the whole thing, will be nice after Has To Be in rotation. Haunting and a reminder that William Orbit is sadly missing from this new project. | |
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Really love the song "Devil Pray"....kinda reminds me of the 'MUSIC' album.A nice mix of acoustic pop with electronica. | |
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As a fan since 1983, I promised myself that I would not listen to the leaked demos and that somehow Herself would find out and come and snap in half my Into The Groove heartshaped picture disc...ok, I caved in after a few glasses of champagne over Christmas and in a beautifully tipsy moment I listened to them all. This time round I was hoping for maturity and a step away from clubby/phoned in lyrics and vocals...and was surprised by the depth and scope of the demos...this signals a great album is on the way. So a friend and I made our wishful final tracklist (as the sad fans that we are). I've included Bitch I'm Madonna as it looks set to make the grade, but it's not one of my favourites...I would have probably swapped it for Wash Over Me or The One That Got Away (both fast and dark-ish).
Anyway...
MADONNA “ Rebel Heart”
CD1 REBEL: 1) Living For Love 2) Devil Pray 3) Ghosttown 4) Unapologetic Bitch 5) Illuminati 6) Bitch I’m Madonna 7) Graffiti Heart 8) Joan Of Arc 9) Heartbreak City 10) Freedom CD2 HEART: 11) Rebel Heart 12) Beautiful Scars 13) Body Shop 14) Best Night 15) God Is Love 16) Messiah 17) Veni Vidi Vici 18) Nothing Lasts Forever 19) Revolution "There is no such thing in life as normal..." | |
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Things are gonna get interesting when the final tracklist is revealed There will be meltdowns happening on the Madonna fansites and forums,lol
"How could she put [insert song title] on the album,but not [insert song title] ?!"
personally,I really hope that "Heartbreak City" and "Messiah" make the final tracklist.I also hope that "Holy Water" makes it,too.That song is outrageous!! lol... Just needs to be polished a bit,though.It's kinda cool that we got to hear all the demos before the album comes out.We know about all the good songs that Madonna has to choose from. | |
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I don't know if I can get behind that one. A song that basically asks, "Doesn't my pussy taste like holy water?" Just seems kinda gross and unecessary. "That's when stars collide. When there's space for what u want, and ur heart is open wide." | |
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not to mention,the "bitch,get off my pole" line
it's like a throwback to her Erotica days.Not sure how the public would accept it. | |
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Yes, I like those three too. She recorded a lot of good ballads for the album, but you need to have Rebel songs like Holy Water too! With the tracklist, I think she will have an even balance between the Rebel and the Heart songs. | |
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/ agreed about B.I.M. it would be better replaced with the songs you mentioned.
and true love lives on lollipops and crisps | |
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my favorite right now is Graffiti Heart, because it mentions Basquiat, Haring and Kahlo. although some of the lyrics don't really make sense
[Edited 1/3/15 11:52am] and true love lives on lollipops and crisps | |
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I like that one too. It's a must just because of the title. Great title! | |
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What do people think of the actual official tracks? I loved them the first few listens, but like the better tracks on MDMA, they start to sound silly the more you get used to them.
Ghosttown is her prettiest ballad in ages, though. [Edited 1/3/15 13:30pm] | |
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"Ghosttown" should be the first single from this project.It's a GREAT song I think Madonna's ballads need to be emphasized more.There's been too many dance singles in recent years,why not try a different approach? With a stunning video,"Ghosttown" has all the makings of a major hit single.(I felt the same way about "Falling Free" from MDNA).
"Unapologetic Bitch" is alot of fun I really like "Illuminati" alot...I like the dark,hypnotic feel of this tune.The remix possibilities are intriguing....maybe have Kanye spit a few rhymes on one remix?
"Living For Love"....I like it,but I'm not in love with it.The production is great,the lyrics are good,but Idk....it just doesn't move me like some of the other tracks do.Maybe I need to hear a kickass remix? I'm sure that it will be great in a live setting.
"Devil Pray" is superb."Bitch I'm Madonna" is incredibly silly,but I enjoy it It's just mindless fun.
If these six tracks are an indication of what the album will be like,I'd say she's got a strong album on her hands.I like the direction she's headed in.
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Falling Free was a very haunting song--I really would have liked to see her do an entire album in this vein. "Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything." --Plato
https://youtu.be/CVwv9LZMah0 | |
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Last year,there were rumors that she wants to make a ballad album.I think it would have been a good idea.With strong ballads like "Joan Of Ark","Heartbreak City","Ghosttown" and others,an entire album like that would be great. | |
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I'm loving the ballads from this album but I think a whole album of them would be too one dimensional. I want to dance as well! The good thing is the album has 19 tracks so that will leave room for more ballads than one some of her shorter albums. | |
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She has become so fucking pathetic. Everyone seems to forget the n word bomb last year. Then the fact that she said her music being leaked. Was the same as being violated aka rape then constant posts about violation of her rights. And then comparing herself to Nelson Mandela. She's miss ''never apologize'' but had to apologize for the Mandela one. Claiming she wasn't comparing herself to him. But with that ego madonna is so hungry to stay relevant. and is constantly doing or saying dumb shit. Pistols sounded like "Fuck off," wheras The Clash sounded like "Fuck Off, but here's why.."- Thedigitialgardener
All music is shit music and no music is real- gunsnhalen Datdonkeydick- Asherfierce Gary Hunts Album Isn't That Good- Soulalive | |
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Madonna was not comparing herself to Nelson Mandela! It's amazing how people can see something on the Internet and make up their own reasoning behind it I guess that's the price she has to pay for going on social media.Madonna should contrinue doing what she wants,and not bother apologizing.If people don't "get" her message,then so be it. | |
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She's a woman,so she's not supposed to have extreme views and how dare she express what she really feels,right? She should stay in her place,right? | |
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. Seems to work out pretty well for her. You seem to know her headlines by date lol | |
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I disagree. People take this shit too seriously, overthink, and need to lighten up. Somebody mocks up a Mandela / MLK photo and she reposts it, so what? She admires them, and considers them "Rebels", good for her. Lennon, Marley, Kahlo; rad. Great roll models. What's the big fucking deal, really? . Some day soon we;re going to want to stop being so outraged all the time, over everything. It's really not good for your skin, or your stomach. | |
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