Hey, guys, what do you use to download the songs? It would be kind of fun to do it, but I hate trying to find the songs and download them. I was using WinMX, but I find it irritating. Any other suggestions? Kazaa any good?

Kazaalite is better.(no spyware)

For Madonna, I go to the Madonna Direct Connect Hub.

DavidEye said:

It was so much fun to stand behind the til when Ray Of Light was released; all them gays running down the escalator.

After listening to the album all day long long,I came up with a few more observations...


***When it was revealed that "Die Another Day" would appear on the album,alot of fans bitched.But in the context of this album,that song fits perfectly.In fact,it feels more at home on a new Madonna album,as opposed to being the theme song from a James Bond film.Also,there are only two other songs that can truly be called "dance tracks"---"Nobody Knows Me" and "Mother And Father"---so it makes sense to add "DAD",since it's a club-ready,techno-flavored jam that balances out the album.

***On the 'Music' CD,Madonna's vocals were often enhanced with all kinds of electronic effects and gimmicks.This time around,her vocals are crytal clear on most tracks.The vocoders are still used,only not so extensively.


***The slower tracks are amazing! These songs can best be described as "folk/pop songs with a touch of electronica".In the past,Maddy used to do great slow songs ("Take A Bow","Live To Tell",etc) but those songs weren't nearly as innovative as these new slow songs.


***Considering the sorry state of today's R&B music,it's refreshing to note that,on this album,there are real instruments being played and NO samples,like so many other pop divas are doing.

***I have this annoying habit of picking the singles from new CDs...lol...so,for this album,here's my picks...


>"American Life"---this was the logical choice for the first single,even though there are stronger songs on the album.
>"Nobody Knows Me"---a club-ready track with lots of energy
>"Love Profusion"---this song is already becoming a fan favorite,it would make a fine summer single

VelvetSplash said:

Direct Connect is the best way of getting specific music.

imnotsayinthisjust2bnasty said:

that people don't take her later, more interesting music seriously, and then say they appreciated her early stuff that was bubble-gum pop no longer suprises me. it makes no sense, but it no longer surprises me.

imnotsayinthisjust2bnasty said:

btw, didn't you get kinda miffed when i called you a hypocrite for praising those pictures in W, after saying a lot of negative things about her? you said that i never remember the positive things you say, only the negative. well, should i consider you a sell-out because you have views about Madonna that are conflicting, and that you express different ones at different times, depending on the circumstances? Madonna's the same way. you aren't consistent in your attitudes, moods, opinions, so why should Madonna be forced to be about one thing and nothing else, without being called a sell-out?

i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album i must be strong and not download this album

imnotsayinthisjust2bnasty said:

You can't really hold Madonna to things she said all those years ago! She has grown up,she has matured,she is now married with children,for Christ's sake! But I guess you view even this as just another provocative career move,huh?

jtgillia said:

OUCH! That's one of the worst reviews I have seen so far.I know that you also didn't care for the 'Music' CD so I have to wonder...maybe you just don't like Mirwais and/or the new direction Madonna is going in (electronica/folk/pop)? On another thread,you mentioned that 'Bedtime Stories' is your favorite Madonna album,so maybe you just like Maddy to do more mainstream R&B/dance music? Her new music is very experimental and I don't think all her fans are gonna "get it".But give the album a few more listens.When I first bought 'Music',I didn't really care for the songs "Nobody's Perfect" and "Gone",but now I love those songs.

I checked it out on MTV, and alot of the songs sounded alike. They all start of with a very simple little guitar loop then she starts singing with that vocoder voice, then it busts into some minimal electronic beats.

I got major flashbacks of her with that guitar on the Drowned World tour, which was just awful to see.

"X-Static Process" was the only track that really grabbed me, it's sort of like Madonna meets Kansas (Dust In The Wind).

She needs to chill out with the childish trendy sounds, and the manipulation of her voice. She's in her mid 40s.

I get the feeling like she's trying to branch out into more meaninful songs, but then succumbs to pressure of being a commercial success by tacking on unnecessary trendy special effects to the tracks, and immature beats.

Tom said:

yes it was, yes it WAS

FirstAvenue said:

NOOO it was wonderful...

AaronSuperior said:

wonderful to see anyway. not sure if it was so wonderful to hear...

This thread is tempting me.

I WILL wait until the 22nd, I WILL wait until the 22nd. I...

>OUCH! That's one of the worst reviews I have seen so far.I know that you also didn't care for the 'Music' CD so I have to wonder...maybe you just don't like Mirwais and/or the new direction Madonna is going in (electronica/folk/pop)? On another thread,you mentioned that 'Bedtime Stories' is your favorite Madonna album,so maybe you just like Maddy to do more mainstream R&B/dance music? Her new music is very experimental and I don't think all her fans are gonna "get it".But give the album a few more listens.When I first bought 'Music',I didn't really care for the songs "Nobody's Perfect" and "Gone",but now I love those songs.<

You know, I do like "Gone" a lot. I really wanted to like Madonna's new stuff because before '99 or so, I've always enjoyed Madonna's albums, including Ray of Light. Yes, Bedtime Stories is amongst my favorites of hers, but I don't find it anymore mainstream or conventional than her newest work, just a different style.

I think you hit the nail on the head when you said I don't like Mirwais. This music just sounds lifeless to me, and it's not just the production, but I think her melodies just aren't as interesting as they used to be; and none of them were particularly memorable five minutes later. It might be more innovative, but it just doesn't move me.

Moonbeam said:

You can preview the entire album on mtv.com. It's totally legal lol.

jtgillia said:

The Mirwais influence wasn't very well recieved by most people, alot of reviews noted that it sounded plastic, insincere, and cold. Compare that to a couple years earlier when they were lauding William Orbit's involvement on Ray Of Light and how it added warmth to electronic music.

I'm suprised she brought Mirwais back again instead of moving on to something new.

In all fairness I only listened to the first minute of each song off this new album, because Im still on DialUp and it was takin forever. Maybe my opinion will change when i hear it on CD.

Im buying the album tomorrow, it's already available in some places in Belgium & Holland. I personally love Mirwais. Stiff is the new hard! Bring on them beats.
PEOPLE MAGAZINE:

April 17, 2003


American Life


Madonna (Maverick/Warner Bros.)


Reviewed by Chuck Arnold



In the liner notes to her ninth studio disc, Madonna thanks Gibson manufacturers "for my bitchin' new guitars." The instrument, which the singer played on her Drowned World tour in 2001, is all over her latest, although Madonna leaves the actual strumming to producer-musician Mirwais Ahmadzai. The result is one of her most artful, adventurous albums, a work that deftly combines the pulsing electronica of 1998's Ray of Light and 2000's Music with the kind of organic-sounding acoustic guitar that you might expect on a Jewel CD. Call it futuristic folk.
This electro-acoustic approach, which Madonna earlier experimented with on her fab 2001 hit "Don't Tell Me," breathes Life into her and Ahmadzai's bottomless bag of techno tricks on songs like the propulsive title track. Meanwhile the disc's more hardcore electronica numbers, such as the zig-zagging "Nobody Knows Me," have an almost rockish feel; you can imagine a garage band playing them live. Best, though, is "Nothing Fails," which, with its spiritual lyrics ("I'm not religious/ But I feel such love/ Makes me want to pray") and glorious background vocals by the London Community Gospel Choir, is a "Like a Prayer" for the 21st century.

BOTTOM LINE: Great American dream



NEW YORK POST:

CAGEY MADONNA

By DAN AQUILANTE

MADONNA
"American Life"
Warner Bros. Records

WHEN they call Madonna the most savvy self- promoter in music, better believe it.

This is a woman who never misses a trick.

While the rest of music's movers and shakers fret that the 'Net is destroying their careers and profits, Madonna's gone digital - and like a musical cyberslut, she's giving away her latest album for free.

She knows that what she gives she'll get back when the record goes on sale Tuesday.

The precedent-setting alliance between the singer and MTV.com allows fans to hear every song - without being able to download it and keep the music.

Madonna believes that once you hear it, you're going to buy it.

She's right. The 11 tracks of "American Life" are musically varied and the lyrics rank among her most revealing.

After listening to songs in which Madonna shows her insecurities, and her feelings about her parents and what love means, you feel you were allowed access into her private world.

In the title track, she twirls the knobs and dials in a synthesized electropop arrangement. "American Life" is Madonna's autobiography.

In it, she sweetly croons about living "the American life," where you're judged on what you've done, not who you are.

Despite the controversy surrounding its video - in which a President Bush look-alike gets a hand grenade tossed into his lap (it turns out to be a cigarette lighter) - the lyrics are a blueprint for the great American Dream.

Uncharacteristically, Madonna fattens the disc with power ballads. While there's nothing wrong with the guitar 'n' voice melody "Love Profusion," it isn't terribly different from the strings 'n' things orchestration of "Easy Ride" or her modified Southern rock of "Nothing Fails."

The sleeper hit is "X-Static Process," a simple lullaby that has a hymn-like arrangement and poetic lyrics about how you can't be complete without the ones you love.

Here, too, is Madonna's James Bond song, "Die Another Day." It ranks among the album's best, though 3-inch computer speakers don't do it justice.

That's a small concession for getting to hear this disc a week before it's officially released. Too bad the flow's interrupted at least once every song with Madonna's muttering, "Hi, this is Madonna and you're listening to my new album, 'American Life.' " This is an excellent album musically, but more important, it's a ground-breaking concept where music lovers and the artist win.

You have to ask yourself: Why isn't everybody doing this?

Madonna appears on the cover of next week's People Magazine!! Entertainment Weekly just gave the album a positive review.And the title track has just entered the Top 40 (it's number 37 with a bullet).



[This message was edited Fri Apr 18 0:26:55 PDT 2003 by DavidEye]

The production of the album is just horrible. It gets quite boring after hearing the same guitar sound over and over againg. No good melodies. No emotions in the vocals. I an not Madonna's adversary; I liked a lot of her work but this album is far from the likes of "Ray of Light".

"American Life" is possibly the most horrible thing I have heard on commercial radio in the last year, and that's saying something.

It seems as if she's letting her avant-garde pretensions get in the way of melody.

Okay,I have a few more observations...



***The song "Hollywood" isn't that bad after all.It grows on you after repeated listening.It's insanely catchy but totally harmless.I don't think it should be the second single.Maybe a kickass video will change my mind?

***The first chorus to "I'm So Stupid" is insane!!
The way she says...I'mmm....I'mmm.....Iiii....."

***"Intervention" is a very beautiful song.Fans are going crazy over "Nothing Fails",but I think "Intervention" is probably the best of the slower tracks.

***"Love Profusion" will become a new Madonna classic.Mark my words.

*** "Nobody Knows Me" and "Mother And Father" reminds me of those cool early 80s electro-funk jams that dominated back then."Mother And Father",in fact,is very similiar to "Don't You Know",the 1981 song that appears on the 'Pre-Madonna'CD.


***A fan on a Madonna forum describes this album as "Madonna's gospel album".I wouldn't quite go that far...lol...but there is a certain "spiritual" aspect to several songs.

***Madonna explained in a recent interview that the first three songs are really about "waking up from a dream and realizing that things aren't really as they seem",or something to that effect.And she's right.All three songs (title track,"Hollywood" and "I'm So Stupid") deal with the shallowness of material things and the search for fame and how it's all just an illusion.This seems to be the whole theme (or concept) of the album.It's about the important things in life and the things that REALLY matter.






...
[This message was edited Fri Apr 18 6:17:50 PDT 2003 by DavidEye]

AaronSuperior said:

I am not consistent in my moods nor do i expect anyone else to be. We all experience different moods. But my opinions and attitudes don't change everytime i release an album. I am very familiar witrh madonna and her statements. The fact is she changes views with practically every album. She is not called the mother of reinvention for nothing. When she feels she's been doing something for as long as necessary she changes. Sometimes it's as simple as hair color, other times it's religious beliefs. It would be believable if it didn't happen just in time for her press statements, ya know?

I don't remember your comments on my thoughts about the W spread. I don't really see how me acknowledging that she is beautiful and can do amazing things with her body has any bearing on what I think about her body of work. They are two separate things. There is no hypocrisy in saying "wow, i loved the W spread!" and "boy, this woman has no artistic soul". They are not conflicting views or opinions. I have said from the first time i ever posted on a madonna thread that i used to love the woman and her image. I still pay attention to what she does. That is her master skill...making people care. I will probably be watching that woman as long as she's alive, that doesn't mean i will enjoy every piece of material she puts out. I have never expressed any views on Madonna (that i am aware of) here at the org, regarding her music, that are conflicting. I've been saying for quite some time now that the last madonna record I really fell in love with was Ray of Light...that was not so long ago. I did not like bedtime story ( i though it was a cheap imitation of good soul/r&b beats) and i did not like music. It doesn't mean i don't like madonna or anything she puts out (i loved die another day) it just means i don't take everything she says as gospel.

As much as i loved ray of light, i still don't fully believe she's all that enlightened...if she was she wouldn't feel the need to tell everybody and remind them over and over again. Sorry, just my opinion. It sounds like she's trying harder to convince herself than anyone else. I don't doubt that she is on a spiritual journey, i just think that she is a very insecure woman and it shows in her statements and personas.

I've listened to the album a couple times now, and it's not as bad as I was expecting. I don't think it's as good as Ray of Light, which I think is her best album, and it's not as bad as Music, which I thought was a really weak album.

After reading here how annoying the electronic stuttering acoustic guitar was, I expected it to be really bad. However, it didn't bother that much. Surprisingly, I somewhat agree with the People magazine review that the music sounds like electronic, organic-sounding acoustic guitar. For all the synethsized instruments, it does have a strangely folk/rock sound.

01 - American Life. The music wants to convince that it's a cool dance song, but there's a level of sadness in it that hit me for the first time while listening to it without the video to distract.

02 - Hollywood. Nothing major. A fun, cute pop song. Okay melody. It's definitley grown on me, but I really don't like the "push the button, push the button" rap at the end.

03 - I'm So Stupid. DavidEye is right -- the stretchted out "Iiii -- Iiii" is really stupid. Good production values, okay beat, okay melody but I thought it was kind of boring. My first reaction was that this should've been a b-side. Didn't seem to be strong enough for an album track.

04 - Love Profusion. I agree with both DavidEye and Velvet Splash -- it's a classic. Love it. Great melody and great song. The only thing I don't like is the "got you under my skin" line. It's so Cole Porter. Couldn't she think of something else to write?

05 - Nobody Knows Me. This song is screaming for a good remix. A nice Peter Rauhofer or Hex Hector revision. It has potential as a good dance single. As it stands as the album version, it's okay. It never really takes off for me.

06 - Nothing Fails. A nice ballad. Easy going, good melody. I liked the combination of the electronic beeps and boops and the acoustic guitar. The choir was a nice surprise, too. A good candidate to release as a single.

07 - Intervention. Hey, there's an electric guitar on this song. Does Madonna know this? This song didn't sound like much in the beginning, but it has a great chorus. All the instruments kick in and drives it! It's grown on me. Like Velvet Splash wrote, a really good soft rock track.

08 - X-static Process. A simple ballad -- her voice, the acoustic guitar and a keyboard. Doesn't sound like much, but this song grabbed me from the opening chords. I've always felt that Madonna surrounded herself with lots of musical things happening to cover up her weak voice. Well, the voice lessons around Evita obviously have paid off, and her voice sounds strong and capable here. I really liked this song.

09 - Mother and Father. This is another fun song. Great melody, nice beat. Her vocals are cute. How'd they do that? Vocoder?

10 - Die Another Day. I didn't think it would work with the album, but it does. Go figure.

11 - Easy Ride. Nice strings with the acoustic guitar. Nothing major, but nothing horrible either. Nice way to close out the album.


I'm glad she didn't stick with the Music model. The addition of the acoustic guitar gives the album a warmer feel. I'll definitely buy it on Tuesday.

gnations said:

Hey,that's a great,detailed review you wrote.I found myself agreeing with everything you said.However,I like the "push the button,don't push the button" rap that concludes the song "Hollywood".The way her voice is slowed down,that reminds me of Prince (he uses that same trick all the time)...lol...

gnations said:

What do you mean addition? Half of the tracks on Music have acoustic guitar.

And what's with ripping on the Music album lately? It seems like the newest trend.

TRON said:

TRON,I feel you

I cannot tell you how many times I've seen someone write "this CD is so much better than 'Music'.I even said it myself in my own review...lol...I think it's obvious that,among many fans,the 'Music' CD isn't a favorite.And after hearing the new CD (which is,imo,a stronger,more focused,more consistent CD),people are re-evaluating the 'Music' CD and deciding that it wasn't Madonna's greatest moment.I love both CDs but I gotta admit,the new one KILLS 'Music'.

I can't believe people are dogging on I'm So Stupid.

I think the stretched out Iiii, then the second layer comes in over top - I think that is fantastic!!

Dunno what the singles are gonna be, but I hope that she continues with the Felix mixes, because I have preferred both Felix mixes to the originals (DAD and AL).

Can't wait for more Felix stuff anyway, and his new girlgroup!!!