Disclaimer: Yes, I know MOKB is dedicated to indie music. However, Dodge occasionally lets me indulge in major label artists. Since my column is devoted to all-things-pop, and Madonna is the Queen of Pop, I feel it's my duty to weigh in on her new album. (If you are offended by this and prefer more obscure artists who sell seven albums or less in their lifetime, see the majority of Luftmensch's posts.)Hard Candy has been out for a week now. I considered writing a review after several listens the day it came out. But I needed more time to absorb it and decide how I felt about it. I have even gone so far as to avoid reading any reviews about the album, so as not to taint my own opinion. First off, let's address how easy it is to be critical of the fact that she enlisted A-list hitmakers
Justin Timberlake, Timbaland and Pharrell. I, too, was skeptical, at first. But looking back through her discography, I was reminded of her collaboration with Babyface and Dallas Austin on
Bedtime Stories. And how about William Orbit on
Ray of Light? Same thing goes for her choice of Mirwais and Stuart Price on
Confessions on a Dancefloor. Maybe they don't all have quite the household name appeal of J.T.,
Timbaland and
Pharrell, but they are all hitmakers in their own right. Whomever
Madonna wants, she gets. Bottom line. And while she makes good use of their services, she doesn't relinquish all control. She still firmly holds the reigns and keeps the boys in check.
Moving on, I watched an interview with Madonna over the weekend where she stated that
Hard Candy is a workout/sex CD. I can't agree more after putting it to the cubicle vs. workout test. The listening environment makes a huge difference. In regards to sex, this record doesn't exactly have an Al Green vibe to it. But it
is Madonna and even though she's almost 50, her album insinuates that she is not in need of the latest in female Viagra products.
Candy Shop,
4 Minutes and
Give It To Me make that clear (insert your own cougar joke here). She also hasn't moved far from the dancefloor since
Confessions.
Heartbeat,
Beat Goes On and
Dance 2night prove Madge isn't about to take down the disco ball and retire to the English countryside for tea and crumpets. As much as I like dancefloor Madonna, my favorite song on
Hard Candy is
Miles Away. One of the more serious tracks on the CD, it lopes along breezily with a stutter and a stop as she explains that
You always love me more when I'm miles away.
It's only fitting that there is a track titled
She's Not Me on
Hard Candy. That's because there is only one Madonna. I will still be anxiously awaiting whatever she churns out next year or 10 years from now because it's Madonna and she has yet to let me down. (Yes, I even liked
American Life.)
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