Not the greatest of starts, then! :P There's a couple of tracks I'd rather see go first but the standard of the album is pretty high for me.

 

I Deserve It isn't out of place - Amazing is clearly the one song which is hugely out of place on Music. I Deserve It also happens to be the best album track so well done once again Buzzjack. :D

That's true. I was thinking more that 'I Deserve It' stood in between the upbeat tracks but 'Amazing' does ruin what would be a great transition of 'I Deserve It' into 'Nobody's Perfect'.

10 // Amazing // 87 pts.
~ Sank me into blackness and you sealed it with a kiss ~



Highest Points: 10 (Regina), 9 (Acidburn, HausEveryWeekend)
Lowest Points: 5 (Euphorique), 6 (Fgiboy2511, mr_pmt, bartsimpson)

Just one point ahead of last place is the 'Beautiful Stranger'-esque (albeit not reaching the same standard) 'Amazing'. My eye twitches every time I see that word because it's the most overused empty adjective in the history of overused empty adjectives, plus it's pretty ironic that this is the least "amazing" track on the album for me. You just can't help but compare it to 'Beautiful Stranger' so it does suffer as a result of being a lower quality version. That said, given this is one of my favourite Madonna albums, the song is still a solid effort and I love Madonna's hums and Orbit's cute little twinkly sounds in the production. The lyrics are pretty easy to interpret: Madonna sings of a lover she knows isn't right for her but she just can't get enough of - not very Madonna if you ask me, I don't think a man could get her under their thumb, no matter how big it was.

09 // Nobody's Perfect // 89 pts.
~ I was dishonest, I will do my best ~



Highest Points: 11 (vibe), 9 (Fgiboy2511, Euphorique)
Lowest Points: 4 (mr_pmt), 5 (pippa)

Auto-tune was the shit back in the late 90s/early 00s (opposed to being just shit today) after Cher made a triumphant return to music with 'Believe' which brought it to the mainstream so, in a rare moment of "trend-following", Madonna had a go with it on 'Nobody's Perfect'. Weirdly, its usage can both make and break this song for me: on the one hand, it really emphasises the emotion in the song yet, on the other, it can really drag the song and get quite tiresome. At the moment, it's not a problem for me, mainly because I'm really jamming the randomly-placed-yet-successful jolty acoustic sound between 2:43-3:12, and it is because of the auto-tune elsewhere in the song that this works so well for me. In fact, everything about the production and composition is great: the whispers at the start over a ripply effect; the "whoosh" sounds that mark a shift in the song; the "wow-ooo-woo" sounds that hold as much pain as the vocals; the "mmm-mmm-yeah-perfect-perfect" at the end. Damn, I should have scored this higher than an 8.

Amazing is....amazing.

^it really is. Gosh those songs being bottom 2 is truly SHOCKING :/

 

There is little filler on this album so i think i'd struggle to place anything near the bottom but still, this is not going well so far :( Can 'Paradise (Not For Me)' be next please to salvage this?

08 // What It Feels Like For A Girl // 91 pts.
~ Strong inside but you don't know it ~



Highest Points: 11 (Euphorique), 10 (Regina)
Lowest Points: 3 (J▼hnkm), 4 (mr_pmt)

'What It Feels Like for a Girl' is essentially a song that questions the male view of women. The dialogue at the start - spoken by Charlotte Gainsbourg and a sample from the film The Cement Garden in which she stars - sets the tone, summing up that masculinity is seen as powerful and femininity is degrading. Madonna plays with the assumptions made on women; how they're only seen as "silky smooth" and "sweet as candy" and juxtaposes this with the reality that they're actually strong on the inside and their femininity should be embraced opposed to being viewed as a weakness. The gentle, dreamy production and calm vocals emphasise this, however the single edit's club-banging trance beat and aggressive, reckless video - expect nothing less from a Guy Ritchie creation! - ignores femininity and shows how women are capable at doing all things masculine. I always thought this was potentially the weakest song on the album but, when I fully appreciate the lyrics and production, I realise this is anything but weak.

Good. I LIKE what she's trying to do and the message is important but the song is a CHORE to listen to.

The A&B remix/video version totally transforms it into something exciting. I agree with John, a chore is exactly what the original version is.

Would have been a bigger hit if the album version was used for the single .

I really like 'What it Feels Like...'. Not classic Madge, but a really lovely song. Love the Spanish rendition from Drowned World too.

07 // American Pie // 95 pts.
~ Can music save your mortal soul? ~



Highest Points: 10 (Regina, Acidburn), 9 (liamk97, Fgiboy2511)
Lowest Points: 5 (dandystar, bartsimpson), 7 (J▼hnkm)

Here's the song I once thought everyone hated but turned out most had a soft spot for. Madonna very reluctantly covered Don McLean's 70s classic 'American Pie' for the film in which she stared, The Next Best Thing. The time length was cut by half and the recognisable production of Orbit was added, transforming the song into an easy-going, relaxed affair which makes it a perfect closer to this album - never understood why Madonna said it had no place but I suppose she knows more than anyone what her intentions were for Music. There's no question the meaning of the original has been lost by the exclusion of several verses, but I feel the lyrics that remain are personal to Madonna's experiences. After all, how true is the line "and I knew that if I had my chance/I could make those people dance/and maybe they'd be happy for a while"?

06 // Gone // 95.5 pts.
~ Why should I feel sad for what I never had? ~



Highest Points: 11 (Regina), 10 (liamk97)
Lowest Points: 5 (mr_pmt), 6 (Fgiboy2511)

I find 'Gone' to be a little harder to read into than most of the others tracks on this album. People interpret it as walking away from someone and not changing yourself to suit them, but the ambiguous lyrics make me think there are other meanings and I can't quite put my finger on what it means to me, although lyrics like "nothing equals nothing" and "why should I feel sad for what I never had?" are pretty poignant and, as ever with this album, the production/vocals excel at stopping me in my tracks and pay attention to the song.

05 // Runaway Lover // 96 pts.
~ You lost your reputation on a woman ~



Highest Points: 10 (Acidburn, bartsimpson), 9 (Regina, J▼hnkm, mr_pmt, HausEveryWeekend)
Lowest Points: 6 (pippa, Fgiboy2511, Euphorique), 7 (vibe, dandystar)

Madonna takes a more commercial approach to trance music with 'Runaway Lover' than she did on the Ray of Light album. It seems to share similar themes to 'What It Feels Like for a Girl' in the sense that a male lover has underestimated the power of a woman and has "met [their] match". That said, unlike 'What It Feels Like...', this seems to be more focused on the music itself with all its bleeps and whirs etc. and typical trance beat. In fact, all the opening three tracks have the main intention of creating an ecstasy and music fit for the clubs.

04 // Don't Tell Me // 98 pts.
~ Tell me everything I'm not ~



Highest Points: 11 (dandystar, bartsimpson, HausEveryWeekend), 10 (Acidburn, Fgiboy2511)
Lowest Points: 2 (Euphorique), 4 (pippa)

I'm quite shocked at those low scores; I usually hear nothing but praise for 'Don't Tell Me' so to receive the lowest score in this rate is unexpected to say the least. Nevertheless, it was not at all short of love with a rate high of three 11s which would have otherwise proven this song to be the favourite from Music if it weren't for the anomalies. The instantly recognisable jolty guitar melody works surprisingly well and shows a bit of clarity over the album photoshoots where Madonna poses with an acoustic guitar. The lyrics can be odd too - what's a bed looking like the "open mouth of a grave" or a calf staring up on its knees? - but on the whole I feel the song is most valid now: it demands the critics/media/public to stop telling her to call it a day; dislike her if you wish and call her "everything [she's] not" but let her live life how she sees fit.



Perhaps unknown to some, this Madge fave is actually technically a cover, of her brother-in-law Joe Henry's 'Stop'. A few lyric changes gives Madonna and the song's producer Mirwais Ahmadzaï co-writing credits to the version we all know. Joe Henry would later have a helping hand in the writing of 'Jump' (Confessions), 'Devil Wouldn't Recognize You' (Hard Candy) and 'Falling Free' (MDNA).

Don't Tell Me is easily the best song on this album. Classic Madonna. I'd kill for her to do it again on tour.

Nah, it's good and all but Impressive Instant and Paradise are both incredible and blow it out of the water.

Don't Tell Me is hella overrated, it's just...there.

In surprised but happy with the live for Paradise !!!

 

Nice to see a rate on here bing managed properly too :)

In surprised but happy with the live for Paradise !!!

 

Nice to see a rate on here bing managed properly too :)

What's that meant to mean?

03 // Paradise (Not For Me) // 100 pts.
~ Into your eyes, my face remains ~



Highest Points: 11 (J▼hnkm), 10 (liamk97, Dandyman*5, Fgiboy2511, bartsimpson)
Lowest Points: 5 (HausEveryWeekend), 6 (Euphorique)

Another track with obscure lyrics so, naturally, it's one of the best songs on the album. I notice Ray of Light album influences with 'Paradise (Not For Me)' and I share similar feelings as to when I listen to 'Skin' from the aforementioned album: I'm transfixed on Madonna's voice and production, they're so peaceful yet heartbreaking at the same time, and the way she sings "up to the skies; down to the ground" is so dreamy and gives just a simple line so much depth. Fans conclude that this may be about Madonna's mother and the way it's affected her throughout life, which certainly fits, but there's room for anyone's interpretation. In fact, the sound of the song alone is enough to make you feel something, without having to draw your own conclusions on the lyrics.

:mellow:

 

How on EARTH!? Baffling that the song managed top half let alone top 3. This has not gone to my liking :heehee: 'Impressive Instant' vs 'Music' for the winner, right? I think I want II to take it just for the shock factor but it is a fabulous top 2~

It's one of the better album tracks for me, but I'm not sure I'd put it that high.

 

'Impressive Instant' MUST win this!