Album: Music
Gone
Lest I be accused of arrogance and snobbery, I give you Madonna.
My wife enjoys Madonna. Not so much to listen to, mind, as to work out to, for Madonna's uncanny ability to wring out of her a few more minutes on the treadmill. And I suppose that has always been Madonna's outstanding characteristic. She is a dance diva. She gets folks off their asses and on to the dance floor. People love her for it, too.
In the course of writing this post I spent some time on youtube trying to find good examples of her music. It's remarkably difficult to find her original songs. Remixes abound, at times with good pedigree, as in Justin Timberlake, but more often from a thousand horny fan-boys and -girls desperate to rave the night away. Some of these re-workings are pretty good too. Better than the originals at any rate.
"Gone" is different, however. Madonna is not much of a lyricist, and that holds true here as well, but with music stripped of disco beats and fuck-me-harder bass lines I find them quite touching. They are surprisingly vulnerable; gone is the hard as nails dance floor queen and in its place we find Madonna's inner high school sophomore yearning to express herself. The song is entirely genuine. I like it.
But David, I liked your snobbery. Also, the song you linked at the beginning is a Pixies song. Might want to update that. ^^
ReplyDeleteThanks for fixing the link. :D
ReplyDeleteAlso, on the topic of "pop" music, you should checkout this video:
Axis of Awesome - Four Chord Song
I know you're being facetious but I thought I should respond anyway: I really don't want to separate good "alternative" music from good "commercial" music. I really don't want to come across as a music snob. I offer music that I enjoy, and I argue on its behalf. That's it.
ReplyDeleteDug the video very much. :)
As for the bad link, it must have been a schadenfreudian slip.
But, doesn't the fact that the music is "commercial" instantly cause it to lose points? Not from a musical standpoint, but from a, you know, sellout s.o.b. standpoint. Isn't it tougher to appreciate good music from an artist that puts out so much bad music?
ReplyDeleteThere's a psychological barrier that needs to be broken through, for sure. The same type of barrier that keeps someone weaned on Madonna or Carrie Underwood or Sufjan Stevens from fully appreciating Lightning Bolt. A sheer "differentness" barrier.
ReplyDeleteI dunno about the "sellout" factor however. It's entirely possible for an artist to become more commercially viable while remaining true to his roots. I was a fan of Nirvana before "Nevermind" came out; the post "Nevermind" stuff was no less interesting than the pre "Nevermind" stuff, however, despite the fact that Nirvana was selling tens of millions of records more. Some bands become more and more interesting with time and the trappings of fame; Radiohead spring to mind.
Radiohead. *shudder*
ReplyDeleteI understand this psychological barrier, but for me it gets to the point where I begin to give certain artists too much credit because I want to be as unbiased as possible. It is not an easy balance for me to maintain. Also, is the ability to put out one audible song really enough to give them props? When she has put out sooo much of that miscellaneous, generic pop stuff, that hangs in the back of my mind as I try to listen to and appreciate this one song.
You know, I'd actually say that "Music" was one of Madonna's boo-urns albums. When I belonged to ColumbiaHouse, I ordered the album because I needed to fulfill my quota or whatever. I listened to it maybe once, and then moved on.
ReplyDeleteI think that is due, as you pointed out, to her lyrical shortcomings. The songs are absolutely terrible lyrically, but as are most pop-type songs (the boy band era of NSYNC and Backstreet Boys furthers the point). No amount of, and I quote, "fuck-me-harder" bass lines will get me to listen to that album again.
Hehe. Yeah Paige I hear you. The rest of the album is truly horrible. "Gone" is beautifully out of place. Give it another try. You just might like it. :)
ReplyDelete