When I first saw a newspaper with one of the publicity stills for Madonna‘s new album Hard Candy my first thought was who is that old stripper? I thought it was another story about the return of burlesque and the old women who still dance in smoky clubs. But no, this old woman was Madonna. I know we can’t help getting old, but why the hell would Madonna use these horrid photos of herself?
Well, maybe she was going for that whole old hag look.
The music sounds fine-just like Madonna. A typical bit of lyrics goes-give it to me now, no one’s going to stop me. The 50 year old Madonna still wants to be a sex goddess. The modern hip-hop beats fit well with this desire. The last song I really liked by Madonna was the techno bit of business Ray of Light-which didn’t really sound much like Madonna. And in fact, many of Madonna’s recent songs have not sounded much like Madonna. Hard Candy is a kind of returning to her roots album.
Back in the day, when Madonna and Cyndi Lauper were the queens of pop/new wave music-a lot of people had their money on Cyndi Lauper. Cyndi Lauper has a blog, where she writes Dear Diary posts about the life of a popstar. I like Cyndi, but she never quite got the fame that Madonna so lives for.
Madonna’s Hard Candy is just one more Madonna album-though clearly not for old timers like myself, it does still sound good. Maybe if I liked rap and hip-hop I would like a few of the tracks a bit more. Candy Shop does have a good beat. I can see it being used in a movie soundtrack at some point. Overall, I think its good-except for those damned weird photos.
Is that a cross she is wearing in that photo? I thought she converted to some form of Judaism.
She really needs to let go of this I-am-a-uber-sexy-domanatrix shtick. And not just because of her age. It has been worn out by Britney as well.
I believe that Madonna’s last fade religious experience was Kabbalah, which seems to be expanding from its Jewish roots.
I agree that the whole leather and whips thing is getting a bit old.