That's right, Helter votes Madonna's new "Hard Candy" as the worst CD ever released in the history of music. Came in yesterday (on request from the Girl Friend) from AMAZON and thought I would put it on while working on the computer last night. Besides the first 2 songs which are passable the rest of it is just SO BAD that it actually pissed me off big time. Now I'm not a giant Madonna fan but she has had her moments showing some solid talent (LIVE TO TELL, LA ISLA BONITA, FROZEN, BEAUTIFUL STRANGER, etc).

For example, RAY OF LIGHT is an excellent album with some deep-ish songs about the horrible shooting death of her Fashion Designer Friend VERSACE (SWIM I believe it's called) and another one about visiting her mother's grave (MER GIRL). The next album could have been forward growth in a more artistic, mature direction but instead it was back to Dance Music. This new album is not only back to DISCO Dance Music but the mindless simpleness of her first two totally light weight albums - minus the hits. Maybe this is really her demo album that she wrote when she was 16 and just rerecorded it to get something new together and out to the "Madonna Masses". There's NOTHING sadder than a 50 year old mother still trying to be a DISCO QUEEN. What CRAP this CD is (and WHEN is Madonna gonna get some MATURITY going in her music).... anybody else hear it? Do you agree how bad it is or do you like it?......

(BTW, please do not compare this to the Stones - The Stones are blues based and the Blues goes on forever. Jagger and Company can still pull it off and will still be able to numerous years from now. IMHO DISCO and HIP HOP is not something a 50 year old woman should be trying to master, it just doesn't seem to sit well in general, just doesn't really cut it - ends up being super silly IMHO) YOUR THOUGHTS.......

and she promised she would not be doing this at 50, ha YEAH RIGHT

Overrated bimbo imo. Her songwriting style is "change a word, claim a third".

Terrible hack. Keith complains about Bowie being a poser?! Madonna is ridiculous and I still cannot fathom how she got into the ROCK hall of fame.

I think she is a superstar. I'm not a fan (haven't got one cd) but I can't say she is overrated. How can you be overrated when there are millions of people buying your cd's, going to your concerts, making her the richest woman in the UK?

On any view she is not the richest woman in the UK. The Queen is in terms of assets. JK Rowling (amongst others) earnt more last year.

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Harm
I think she is a superstar. I'm not a fan (haven't got one cd) but I can't say she is overrated. How can you be overrated when there are millions of people buying your cd's, going to your concerts, making her the richest woman in the UK?

You're right Harm. Personally I can't stand her (never could) but I think we as Stones fans should be wary of being critical of other artists who have had a pretty successful, lengthy career. God alone knows how The Stones must appear to neutrals. (Yeah I know, democracy, opinions etc).
Leave the Material Girl alone.

She is and remains one of the most important popstars of the last 25 years. She's not a musician per se, but she has always been ahead of her time with fashion and music. Of the three major artists of the 80's (Jackson, Prince and her) she's the only one who still means something.

Her new album is not a true Madonna album, it's more a Neptunes/Timbaland/Timberlake album. On most tracks she is more like the back up singer. To me, this is again a new Madonna -getting older, and having other people take over. I must say I really like the album.

Mathijs

I bought this CD yesterday and have listened to it twice.

Totally love 4 Minutes, Miles Away, Spanish Lesson, Devil Wouldn't Recognise You and Voices. The last four of those five are not pure disco.

She's Not Me and Incredible I do find bland, to put it kindly. (Otherwise, crap.) That leaves five other tracks that I find perfectly listenable.

Overall, I don't think it's as good as Confessions but it's a decent record. I think she can still get away with this genre at 50 though I agree that it would have been interesting if she's built on the direction Ray Of Light was going. Songs like The Power Of Goodbye would suit her perfectly at 60.

I'm not a die hard fan btw; sometimes I find her pretty embarrassing. But I think her live shows are phenomenal, (and contary to statements elsewhere she has sung fully live for years), and her recorded output has been consistently good. At least she's not afraid to change directions musically and if people think she's nothing but disco they just haven't heard much. And setlists differ radically on every tour and on the Confessions tour in 2006 she sang 10 of the twelve songs from the then new Confessions CD.

I would have thought a lot of folk around here would at least have to give her credit for that!

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Mathijs
She is and remains one of the most important popstars of the last 25 years. She's not a musician per se, but she has always been ahead of her time with fashion and music. Of the three major artists of the 80's (Jackson, Prince and her) she's the only one who still means something.

Her new album is not a true Madonna album, it's more a Neptunes/Timbaland/Timberlake album. On most tracks she is more like the back up singer. To me, this is again a new Madonna -getting older, and having other people take over. I must say I really like the album.

Mathijs

I was typing up my post while yours appeared. Nice to know there's at least one other here who is a fan. (And not embarrasssed to say it either.)

RR, I give her credit, she's written some great songs, her LIVE version of LA ISLA BONITA with the 2 Gypsy guys on the LIVE EARTH DVD is totally entertaining and original - very enjoyable to watch (I LOL every time I've watched it) BUT this new album just sucks big time IMHO. I think every album since MUSIC has been worse than the one before. MUSIC was a long drop down after RAY OF LIGHT and then it's been down, down, down ever since. I don't know, she's too afraid to change even slightly. She's gonna be 50 in August, so when she's 60 you're gonna tell me she's still gonna be putting out DISCO records??? (10% off on "Hip Replacement Surgery" coupons with each CD - Best Buy Stores only)

She should have made the "More Mature" music switch with RAY OF LIGHT, now she's painted herself into a corner with this DISCO crap and at what point is she just gonna be laughable, I mean, on one song I get the feeling she's trying to be the PUSSYCAT DOLLS (SHE'S NOT ME sounds like it got ALOT of influence from "DON'T CHA" (Wish your Girlfriend Was Hot Like Me).... BTW, did you listen to the lyrics on the new album? As basic and simple and silly as lyrics can get, she sure ain't no female Dylan, not even close, not even in the same UNIVERSE.....

I think Madonna is due respect really. She's held onto the top spot for a very long time now. All the reviews I've read are very positive about the new album....

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HelterSkelter
BTW, did you listen to the lyrics on the new album? As basic and simple and silly as lyrics can get, she sure ain't no female Dylan, not even close, not even in the same UNIVERSE.....

Yes, like I said I find her embarrassing sometimes. But they're not all bad. Miles Away is a rather sad and reflective view of a relationship and I think it works very well.

.... Maybe it will grow on me......then again, CONFESSIONS looks like it's new - not one little scratch - in my/our CD collection so........I think this one pissed me off cause I KNOW she can do much better and it's time to grow up just a bit... I think Sheryl Crow is doing her progression as a maturing artist much better - last CD is pretty good and touches on a lot of issues....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-05-02 11:17 by HelterSkelter.

I am not a fan. But Madonna is an icoon, one of the greatest ever in pop music industry. This is not a opinion, but a fact. Do not "kill" the messenger...

It's the first Madonna album in my recordcollection and I really like it; although it's more Timbaland feat. Madonna.
timba is one of nowadays greatest producers by the way..

I am yet to hear Madonna’s latest, though from what I have heard, it shows her following trends and not leading them. One of her great strengths over the past 25 years has being her innovativeness. People would listen and copy. Now, it seems it’s the other way round. Though if Hard Candy is an enjoyable release, then what does that matter?

.......not that numbers really mean all that much but....her single 4:00 minutes sold in excess of 1,000,000 copies via down load in only 5 weeks of availability. That is amazing. The girl knows how to write a good hook.

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Big Al
I am yet to hear Madonna’s latest, though from what I have heard, it shows her following trends and not leading them. One of her great strengths over the past 25 years has being her innovativeness. People would listen and copy. Now, it seems it’s the other way round. Though if Hard Candy is an enjoyable release, then what does that matter?

Big Al basically has it right. The problem is it's such a "followers" album, not an innovator album what so ever that it just irritates me - she could do SO MUCH BETTER !!! Someone mentioned the big 3 in a comment up there - JACKSON, PRINCE, MADONNA (80's Superstars I guess). I would have to say Prince is the most creative one these days with Madonna coming in a lagging 2nd IMHO....

In this day and age - why bother buying a $#!tty CD? Had you not heard any clips?
I wouldn't exaclty call her output post-'Music' reliable at all.

[thepowergoats.com]

Madonna been gonna about 26 years?

The Stones at that point would have been about 1991?

Who's the most innovative at that stage.....

james, I did a small CD order with AMAZON (MUDCRUTCH - Basically TOM PETTY and STEVE WINWOOD - "Nine Lives" - Clapton on one song) and the Girl Friend asked me to throw in the new MADONNA CD.....so I did........

Well, I am almost Madonna's age (two month younger) so I can identify with the feeling that the world views you as older than you do. She feels young and doesn't feel the need to compromise, I say good for her. Now, having said that, I was ready for an old-school Madonna album for a change, i.e., real songs, real medodies, some heart. A few songs do exhibit some return to that, but they are almost ruined by her insistence on including ridiculous electronic effects, etc. You would think she had gotten that out of her system by now (Ray of Light was ten years ago!) In a nutshell: The albums ok, better than Confessions but not as good as Music, but she needs to dump Justin Lame Boy Timberlake and get some new inspiration. She still relatively young and healthy, I say leave her alone and let her do her thing.

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And the queen is bravely shouting,
"What the hell is going on?"

horrible pop

She's never been a fave of mine but her "new face" is positively ghoulish. I'm told her new album harkens back to her girlie-pop hey-day but when you get down to it : she was too f-cking old to be doing the girlie pop when she did it!

Now that's she's TWICE that old I, I shudder to think and am glad I have the new Drive-By Truckers...

New MADONNA CD "Hard Candy" Voted worst CD EVER !!!

Maybe you've forgetten this one:

[www.spiralfrog.com]

I used to be a fan around the time of Like A Prayer right up to Ray Of Light but she really needs to take a leaf out of Joni Mitchell's book and mature as an artist. There's nothing worse than a 50-year-old mum trying to be a 20 something erotic showgirl. It just goes to show that without all her backroom production team there's not too much talent going on.

Mathijs is absolutely correct. I have never seen Madonna live. I'd really like to be up front to see all the action on stage. My only quibble is that she pretends to be significant rather than entertaining.

I guess the song "4 Minutes" is about A&R men. They give artists only 4 minutes to save the world. It's actually a bold move by this established artist that she puts such a message out as 1st single. That makes it appear almost like a contractual obligation album. But the label surely must have spent a lot on the trendiest producers in the business. I'm not too keen on shit being bananas, because that's discriminating for bananas, and I love bananas, but that's what these producers are into. The musical style of producers like Pharell and Timbaland seems like Kiddie stuff to me at times, at others, there are layers of referential meaning underneath the candy floss. The yodeling of Gwen Stefani in "Wind Up" is actually a quite poetic and daring mix of cultural references. The syllable trick that Rihanna does in Umbrella ella ella eh seems very concrete poetry. Robbie Williams in this kiddie mode with Rudebox is actually quite entertaining because of the seemingly nonsensical stream of conciousness lyrics. That musical style is actually quite fascinating, but it's too kiddie and too lyrically experimental to be pop, and it's not rock either. What is it?

Anyway, Madonna, well ... "Rain" may well be her best tune. "Ray Of Light" is 2nd.

After her first 5 years, it was a steady decline for her, IMO. Her ego, fake British accent, haughtiness turn me off big time. I did like her earlier hits like Borderline, even Vogue was ok and up until that period. After that, with the pornographic coffee table book, and her need to be border-line filthy, like a prostitute, I lost all respect for her.