I am a journalist and writer, and as a longtime Madonna fan (since Burning Up), I have been reading every review of Hard Candy out there. Yours is simply the most intelligent and introspective piece I've seen. Great job!!!

I linked to your blog from my site, Urraca, at http://cesartorres.net/blog/?p=91 . My site is mostly about books and writing, though occasionally I cover music. Thanks again!

C

 

Hi,

 

Thanks! Yes, I've been listening to it, for the past couple of days; my review pretty much stands, now that I've come to know it (sometimes, you review something quickly, and then you end up disagreeing with your own review, once you've come to know the work better). I've never much discussed Madge, here, til recently, but I will no doubt always have a soft spot her, regardless of where she takes things (the great thing with Madonna is that if you don't like it, you know it will change again, next album). I do miss the American Life period, I wish she would have continued on a more personally tuned in kind of creative path - the one that she had gone down, since Erotica, through to the (apex of Madonna's career, creatively) American Life album. But this one is a lot of fun, and has those few moments that are certainly up there (a few days in now, and I still think Voices is the killer track from this one; it actually reminds me of the Erotica period). It's a shame that when it first leaked online, people were not hearing this song (the last half of this album is much better, in my opinion, than the first). The first seven songs were leaked, but the better ones come after this. And all those commercial reviews - whether they're saying nice or horrible things - they're so ridiculous, because if you actually go to the listening parties, you'll know that nobody is really listening, anyway. They are all littered with so many mistakes, but these people think they can then pass final mjudgement, it annoys me. I thankfully got to take the album home with me, so I could really get into it, and dissect it. You're not meant to listen to these records, for the first time, with a cocktail in your hand, in the boardroom of a record company with 50 other wankers who are more worried about what bigwigs are there, than really listening to the album.

 

I still, however, continue to ignore 4 Minutes! I guess it did work, because she got the American hit she (let's be honest) wanted so badly, and it was the cheap way out of getting that, quite frankly. But it's not remotely indicative of the rest of it, and I wish she hadn't have done this, and certainly not releaseed it as the lead single. The second single, Give It 2 Me - even though it's still basically a mindless dancefloor pop single - is much, much stronger. Here's hoping that she's now got the American hit she wanted, and goes back to making records without having to appease that country's market. To me, she's really an interesting cultural symbol, because she went from being so quintessentially American, to - thanks to America changing, not just her - becoming more European. I prefer her being a real artist, and America - even if she's making hits, there - will always see her as the outrageous sex symbol. I think that cheapens her, unnecessarily, these days. 

 

I'm also hoping she divorces Guy Ritchie.  

 

And I'll certainly come and drop in on your blog and have a read through! 

 

Thanks again,

Aaron