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2019 already found decomposing.
Madonna - Madame X
- Thread starter mindtrappa
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2019 already found decomposing.
She started recording Music with Mirwais in january of 2000 and had the first single out by August of the same year, so a late summer release IS possible, especially with her stating that she wants to release music this year! I'm SOOOOOO excited,
Also because Mirwais has been basically off the radar so his work hasn't been all over the place and beaten to death compared to some of her other past collaborators who went on to do plenty of other high profile projects following their Madonna collabs.
Also because Mirwais has been basically off the radar so his work hasn't been all over the place and beaten to death compared to some of her other past collaborators who went on to do plenty of other high profile projects following their Madonna collabs.
he/him
After she joked about wanting to blow up the White House when Trump got elected, I figured her next album would be more political, it makes perfect sense that she'd bring back Mirwais for this.
With how much she's shown herself playing guitar and showing off her deeper register again on social media, I think we'll get something close to what American Life sounded like with the folktronica sound, although perhaps more pop leaning with Billboard and Starrah on board.
With how much she's shown herself playing guitar and showing off her deeper register again on social media, I think we'll get something close to what American Life sounded like with the folktronica sound, although perhaps more pop leaning with Billboard and Starrah on board.
With the heavy emphasis on Music and American Life when she did Tears of a Clown I imagined she wanted to do something more left field, but I didn't expect the actual return of Mirwais mainly because I thought the flop of American Life had soured her on him and that's why he was pretty much sidelined on Confessions, apart from Future Lovers which was basically copying the production of I Feel Love. I'm still skeptical on whether he has anything truly fresh to bring to the table, but we shall see.
I genuinely believe this, like I mentioned earlier I suspect she has been recording to relieve her boredom.
In my humble opinion the last album was (very very) far from her best (especially when compared to her work like American Life, Music or Ray of Light I think some songs were basically embarassing). So I can only wish she releases something as good and sincere as American Life (but I am realistic considering she released her last good record in 2005).
I read in her biography that she was devastated after American Life flopped, and that's why she wanted so bad to appeal to people with Confessions, and when it turned out a huge success she cried with joy and drank champagne. That's why it took so many years for her to work with Mirwais again, to trust him with her music... I hope he doesn't let her down!
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Rebel Heart sounds like a natural progression from American Life to me, which is why I’m not terribly surprised at this direction. But I think this is going to be a bit more stripped back in comparison to both records because she frequently mentioned the desire to just do a straight up acoustic album while promoting Rebel Heart.
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She said herself that she stopped working with him because he kept trying to get her to say something in her music and she didn’t want to write anything complex or personal for Confessions and the albums that followed. Not because she didn’t trust him. She enjoyed everything they did together and often defended American Life while promoting Confessions by saying it’s one of her favorite records she’s ever done.
I have really struggled with Madonna the last few years, and it does feel like a "few" but it's probably more like ten. I actually came to her music during the 'Ray of Light' era and somehow wasn't overly familiar with her work until then. I don't know what rock I was living under. I thought she was an absolute force from 'Ray of Light' and through 'Music'. I wasn't wild about the "American Life" single but I did love the album as much as 'Music' - and I thought here was this really intelligent, cool, mature artist. I worked my way back through her back catalogue and I love 'Bedtime Stories' and 'Erotica' particularly, but I never really dug the '80s stuff quite as much. I get that its undeniably great pop music but it didn't resonate as much with me. Maybe it's just a generational thing. I also think it's why I don't care for a lot of the 'Hard Candy' and 'Rebel Heart' retro Madonna stuff where she's high-pitched and playful. I know not everyone agrees, but I think she found a great balance on 'Confessions', balancing an accessible hit single with an album that was still somewhat introspective, but set to a throbbing beat - it was a journey and felt like a body of work and a proper album. For some reason, 'MDNA' and 'Rebel Heart' never felt that way to me.
My only hope for her next record is that there's a mood or a concept. I'd be more than happy with an 11/12 track record whatever her sonic direction as long as there's some cohesion and artistic deciciveness. I'm sure there were glimmers of that on 'Rebel Heart', and I truly wish I could see what others see in it, but I just don't get it at all, and I especially disapprove of her work with Diplo, much like I thought her tracks with Martin Solveig were trite and juevenile. Hopefully we'll get something deep and thoughtful from her if Mirwais is involved. Who else is attached to the project? I'd love if there were only a couple of producers, or at least one executive producer to tie it all together.
My only hope for her next record is that there's a mood or a concept. I'd be more than happy with an 11/12 track record whatever her sonic direction as long as there's some cohesion and artistic deciciveness. I'm sure there were glimmers of that on 'Rebel Heart', and I truly wish I could see what others see in it, but I just don't get it at all, and I especially disapprove of her work with Diplo, much like I thought her tracks with Martin Solveig were trite and juevenile. Hopefully we'll get something deep and thoughtful from her if Mirwais is involved. Who else is attached to the project? I'd love if there were only a couple of producers, or at least one executive producer to tie it all together.
I can't read this post again.
But surely what you've described above is exactly what she delivered with Rebel Heart? Thematically, it is coherent. It sounds every bit a Madonna record and if you can't find what you're looking for in Rebel Heart, then I don't think you'll ever find it. Rebel Heart is a complete success for me. I wish it sold more, but I think being dragged down a flight of stairs in front of millions and then mocked for it online irreparably derailed any commercial opportunity for the album. The work itself though remains a fully formed album and her best most consistently strong personal work in years.
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I would say the leaks caused more damage than falling down some steps did. But also leaks don’t prevent anyone who want to buy music from still buying it. It’s just different times, and Madonna isn’t some streaming monster to help balance that out.
I’m cautiously optimistic about Mirwais. Not because of the choice of producer (I’m thrilled about that) but because she’s definitely prone to changing her mind during the recording process and going in a different direction (which, in my opinion, has always yielded great results- Bedtime Stories, Confessions on a Dancefloor etc). I’ll only start getting excited about Mirwais once we get confirmation that the album is completed.
Oh, and if there’s anything in the vein of Impressive Instant with a more contemporary sound, I will lose my shit.
Oh, and if there’s anything in the vein of Impressive Instant with a more contemporary sound, I will lose my shit.
This bears repeating. It's not in my Rebel Heart Top 3, but culturally it's her most radical work since Erotica, being such a bold statement against ageist expectations. And sonically, it's entirely progressive. Not only is it a new sound for her (while being full of her essence), it's quite different from what's out there as well. The production on Bitch, I'm Madonna is layered, exciting, and inventive. Some people assume that the song is basic because they buy into the age narrative (that she shouldn't be making music like it at her age) when it is anything but.
To me no, 'Rebel Heart' felt disjointed. I found what I wanted from Madonna on Ray of Light, Music, Erotica, Bedtime Stories, Confessions on a Dancefloor. Am I not allowed to feel that way? If she never produces anything on that level again, it's no big deal to me, I still love those records. If you love Rebel Heart that's cool, I wish I did, but it just feels too "all over the place" for me. Of course I like a few songs on there and I'm not saying it's BAD, it just doesn't feel as concise, direct and focused as her previous albums to me, MDNA aside, which was obviously just rushed, we already know this.
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