Sunday, July 13, 2003
Last night, Paul and I were discussing Madonna. He admitted that he's changed his mind on "American Life," the single. Here's what he said back in March:
Thomas Inskeep's reaction to the new Madonna single surprised me a little bit. Nonetheless, I think it's rather exemplary. It would be easy to blame Mirwais for molding Madonna into a performer she's not, but I think it's working the other way. She's exploiting his talents to move in new directions. Like many of the best tracks on 2000's Music, "American Life" (like "Die Another Day" before it) doesn't immediately reveal its genuinely memorable traits on the first few listens. Her "rap" in the mid-section of "American Life" seems ridiculously unplanned at first, but she knows that no one has ever confused her with being a rapper. Why would she include it, then? Well, if you're at all familiar with her behavior, you know she has a keen sense for absurd humor. "I do yoga and pilates/ and the room is full of hotties/so I'm checkin' out the bodies/and you know I'm satisfied." She's stepped out of her own skin, taken a look at her lush celebrity life, and is now poking fun at how daffy it is to be famous. So, now that I've explained away the superficial lyrics, let's move on to the track itself. Neo-electro funk with folky guitar break for the chorus. Sure, why not? Both "Music" and "Don't Tell Me" became sizable hits from the last record, so combining the two into one track seems brilliant, doesn't it? I think so.
One last thing: I haven't heard the rest of the album yet. Most other people haven't, either. We've learned over time that the best songs on Madonna albums are never released as leadoff singles. The fact that I'm already enjoying "American Life" leads me to believe that the real enjoyment will be found upon the album's release.
Paul admitted last night that the single's not grown on him, and in fact he hasn't listened to it in ages.
Here's what I said at the time:
Wow, Madonna's "American Life" is boring - all heavy proto-electroclash synth squish and a slowly picked acoustic guitar. Completely vapid lyrics. And the less said about her "rapping" the better, trust me. Honestly, sadly, it almost sounds like a parody of what this record would sound like. But it's not.
What frustrates me most of all about "American Life" and American Life is that Madonna's stopped being a leader. Like Michael Jackson circa Thriller, like Prince through most of the '80s, like Bowie through the '70s, for nearly 20 years Madonna made the trends. Suddenly, it sounds like she's following them. And not following them particularly well. The would-be electroclash on American Life just sounds clumsy and inept - why didn't she call Felix Da Housecat? - and the rest of it's even worse. This is unquestionably the first Madonna album to be an unqualified failure, the first sign that maybe she's gotten lapped by the field. Has she stopped being a visionary? I wouldn't go that far; we should all know by now to never count Madonna out. But she's definitely down.
And in opposition to most folks I know, I don't think Ray of Light (good, not great - and now it looks like the first seeds of her decline through the overrated Music to her latest) is her best work. I think that came immediately prior, on 1994's sorely underrated Bedtime Stories. Even featuring her monstrous #1 "Take A Bow" (Madonna sings Babyface, effectively), many saw her as coasting on this record. I couldn't disagree more. Bedtime Stories is the sound of Madonna, as was her wont, ahead of the curve - in this case, making her version of an R&B album just before the moment when R&B became pop. It's appropriately titled, as well; this is a bedtime album, with vaseline on the lens for that soft-focus look (she even wears a nightie on the album cover!). In a way that her previous record, Erotica, failed to be, this is a very playfully sexy, sensual full-length. Even the slightly outré (for Madonna) "Bedtime Story" (cowritten by Bjork) is a pulsing, sexy beast. There's the Madonna we all know and love, middle-fingering her critics on "Human Nature" (though the best line closes the video: "Absolutely no regrets," she says, defiantly staring the camera down). She gets funky with Me'Shell Ndegéocello's assist on "I'd Rather Be Your Lover." Throughout the record, the production (largely by 'Face and TLC knob-twiddler Dallas Austin) gleams, softly, always sounding state-of-the-art yet never taking your attention away from Madonna, the reason you're here.
My second-favorite Madonna album actually is Erotica, which got bombed due to its (admittedly bad) timing, coming in the midst of the Sex book/Body of Evidence film fiasco, but quietly featured some of the best songs of her career up to that point (cf. the discolicious "Deeper and Deeper," gorgeous ballad "Bad Girl" and lushly produced naughty-but-naughty "Where Life Begins"). But that Madonna seems to be gone, replaced by a responsible mother and would-(but-never-will)-be film star. We'll always have our memories, I guess.
Thomas Inskeep's reaction to the new Madonna single surprised me a little bit. Nonetheless, I think it's rather exemplary. It would be easy to blame Mirwais for molding Madonna into a performer she's not, but I think it's working the other way. She's exploiting his talents to move in new directions. Like many of the best tracks on 2000's Music, "American Life" (like "Die Another Day" before it) doesn't immediately reveal its genuinely memorable traits on the first few listens. Her "rap" in the mid-section of "American Life" seems ridiculously unplanned at first, but she knows that no one has ever confused her with being a rapper. Why would she include it, then? Well, if you're at all familiar with her behavior, you know she has a keen sense for absurd humor. "I do yoga and pilates/ and the room is full of hotties/so I'm checkin' out the bodies/and you know I'm satisfied." She's stepped out of her own skin, taken a look at her lush celebrity life, and is now poking fun at how daffy it is to be famous. So, now that I've explained away the superficial lyrics, let's move on to the track itself. Neo-electro funk with folky guitar break for the chorus. Sure, why not? Both "Music" and "Don't Tell Me" became sizable hits from the last record, so combining the two into one track seems brilliant, doesn't it? I think so.
One last thing: I haven't heard the rest of the album yet. Most other people haven't, either. We've learned over time that the best songs on Madonna albums are never released as leadoff singles. The fact that I'm already enjoying "American Life" leads me to believe that the real enjoyment will be found upon the album's release.
Paul admitted last night that the single's not grown on him, and in fact he hasn't listened to it in ages.
Here's what I said at the time:
Wow, Madonna's "American Life" is boring - all heavy proto-electroclash synth squish and a slowly picked acoustic guitar. Completely vapid lyrics. And the less said about her "rapping" the better, trust me. Honestly, sadly, it almost sounds like a parody of what this record would sound like. But it's not.
What frustrates me most of all about "American Life" and American Life is that Madonna's stopped being a leader. Like Michael Jackson circa Thriller, like Prince through most of the '80s, like Bowie through the '70s, for nearly 20 years Madonna made the trends. Suddenly, it sounds like she's following them. And not following them particularly well. The would-be electroclash on American Life just sounds clumsy and inept - why didn't she call Felix Da Housecat? - and the rest of it's even worse. This is unquestionably the first Madonna album to be an unqualified failure, the first sign that maybe she's gotten lapped by the field. Has she stopped being a visionary? I wouldn't go that far; we should all know by now to never count Madonna out. But she's definitely down.
And in opposition to most folks I know, I don't think Ray of Light (good, not great - and now it looks like the first seeds of her decline through the overrated Music to her latest) is her best work. I think that came immediately prior, on 1994's sorely underrated Bedtime Stories. Even featuring her monstrous #1 "Take A Bow" (Madonna sings Babyface, effectively), many saw her as coasting on this record. I couldn't disagree more. Bedtime Stories is the sound of Madonna, as was her wont, ahead of the curve - in this case, making her version of an R&B album just before the moment when R&B became pop. It's appropriately titled, as well; this is a bedtime album, with vaseline on the lens for that soft-focus look (she even wears a nightie on the album cover!). In a way that her previous record, Erotica, failed to be, this is a very playfully sexy, sensual full-length. Even the slightly outré (for Madonna) "Bedtime Story" (cowritten by Bjork) is a pulsing, sexy beast. There's the Madonna we all know and love, middle-fingering her critics on "Human Nature" (though the best line closes the video: "Absolutely no regrets," she says, defiantly staring the camera down). She gets funky with Me'Shell Ndegéocello's assist on "I'd Rather Be Your Lover." Throughout the record, the production (largely by 'Face and TLC knob-twiddler Dallas Austin) gleams, softly, always sounding state-of-the-art yet never taking your attention away from Madonna, the reason you're here.
My second-favorite Madonna album actually is Erotica, which got bombed due to its (admittedly bad) timing, coming in the midst of the Sex book/Body of Evidence film fiasco, but quietly featured some of the best songs of her career up to that point (cf. the discolicious "Deeper and Deeper," gorgeous ballad "Bad Girl" and lushly produced naughty-but-naughty "Where Life Begins"). But that Madonna seems to be gone, replaced by a responsible mother and would-(but-never-will)-be film star. We'll always have our memories, I guess.
# posted by Thomas : 11:34 AM
