January 24, 20169 yr Yeah, I mean Confessions was a (near) perfect storm, for that to happen once in a career is rare, but twice is almost unheard of. (Ignoring the fact it basically did for her with that and RoL)
January 25, 20169 yr I want consistently strong vocals. On tracks like Devil Pray and Ghosttown she sounded great, but on others it was like she'd done one take and then pissed off to go get her nails done with Mercy. And a stronger visual theme running throughout the campaign a la the cowboy look from Music or the earth mother vibes from RoL.
January 26, 20169 yr Yeah the visual themes have been lacking for a while (about when we lost the cohesive albums so too did we lose a cohesive image). The Rebel Heart era had some interesting moments but on the whole it lacked a special, distinct aesthetic.
January 8, 20178 yr Giving this thread a bump since, if we are to follow the time-frame between the release of MDNA and the recording of Rebel Heart, it is possible we could hear news of new music being written/recorded this year. 2016 was typically a shocking year and Madonna seemed quite eager to make her thoughts known, whether it regarded politics, feminism or responding to the deaths of many a music legend. I definitely feel we could see this influencing her next musical project and the hopeful side of me considers this to be a good thing - Madonna has plenty of potential subject matters she can explore and get to grips with and it feels like years since she last committed to a focused theme and concept. This could be an American Life Part 2. You can picture the first few tracks being wacky, out-there, "f*** yous" to political leaders like Trump before the album starts to soften and she focuses the troubles of the world down to her. Obviously, I don't want her to start repeating herself and perhaps saying "I want a part 2 of x album" isn't the right place to start, but it's more that Madonna's music is always best when she has a clear idea of what she wants to say, where she wants to take the album and how she wants people to respond or take from the album, and this is what I want a return to. Sound-wise, Madonna has proven in recent years that the stripped-back, guitar-based songs with honest vocals are where she excels in, but I'm not too bothered what sound she follows, so long as it is true to herself and sticks to more or less one sound, rather than a mishmash of different genres.
January 12, 20178 yr A political album will be very relevant given the outrage at Trump. It won't be a commercial success but if she has things to say then go for it. I listened to Janet's 'Rhythm Nation' earlier today and while AL is a fantastic album and an incredible statement Janet's, for me, is how to do a political/global album about change and injustice in a sensitive, musical, beautiful way. I know they are completely different artists and Madonna is much more provocative but in terms of what I want, an album inspried by Rhythm Nation about the current political landscape would be my ideal scenario :wub:
January 15, 20178 yr I've not listened to Rhythm Nation (in fact, Janet's one of those artists whose music should be right up my street but I've never really explored for some reason) but that sounds like a good direction to go in for Madonna. I think it's becoming more and more apparent that her next album will be politically and socially focused and I dare say we will get songs that portray the brunt of her anger, but Rebel Heart showed that the softer moments were where she excelled and that seems to be what the Janet album is made up of, so I think a balance between the two would be great. Like I said, something that follows a similar journey to American Life: anger to reflectful to a conclusion.
January 15, 20178 yr I do fear something along the lines of American Life 2.0 is inevitable. If she was still the artist she was a decade ago then I'd be all for that but, as essentially her every action now shows, she has lost any ability to be incisive and make a point with her statements so it's inevitably going to be a trainwreck. Maybe I'm just too cynical and expect too much from her, but a political album COULD be amazing if she toned down the offensiveness and in your faceness and went for a more incisive, cutting message about why this thundercunt was allowed to be elected in the first place.
January 15, 20178 yr True, there is every chance politically-fused album could read like her instagram but recent live performances like the second Tears of a Clown and the surprise New York concert just before the results were both political yet still dignified. She seemed to be focused on uniting the audience with acoustic renditions that all could sing along to. I do share your concerns and maybe I'm just being a tad too naive in thinking having a lot to say equals a focused, intelligent album, but so far I'm feeling positive about the thought of it.
January 15, 20178 yr Plus I'm eager to know what on earth she could do to top George Bush lighting a cigar with a grenade.
January 15, 20178 yr Well, if nothing else, THE DONALD provides a rich enough source of potential imagery to fill a thousand music videos.
January 21, 20178 yr I've not listened to Rhythm Nation (in fact, Janet's one of those artists whose music should be right up my street but I've never really explored for some reason) but that sounds like a good direction to go in for Madonna. I think it's becoming more and more apparent that her next album will be politically and socially focused and I dare say we will get songs that portray the brunt of her anger, but Rebel Heart showed that the softer moments were where she excelled and that seems to be what the Janet album is made up of, so I think a balance between the two would be great. Like I said, something that follows a similar journey to American Life: anger to reflectful to a conclusion. You should definitely invest some time in her! The Velvet Rope, Rhythm Nation, Unbreakable and janet. are essential listens (and in that order imo). Much like MJ, they perfectly merge pop, dance, rnb and are genre less and timeless albums. Do it ~
January 22, 20178 yr I want her to release a new album which reflects her age and maturity; not shit like bitch I'm Madonna or girl gone wild. Common Madonna, you can do a lot better and have done much better. Ray of light was an amazing album and miles ahead of most of her current material. Her last decent output was confessions album and since then she just seems to have lost her way.
January 22, 20178 yr You should definitely invest some time in her! The Velvet Rope, Rhythm Nation, Unbreakable and janet. are essential listens (and in that order imo). Much like MJ, they perfectly merge pop, dance, rnb and are genre less and timeless albums. Do it ~ Thanks Bal! I'll definitely try and put some time aside to give them my undivided attention. I remember enjoying a lot of Unbreakable ('No Sleeep' was such a cool, seductive jam that I wish I appreciated even more at the time) so no doubt I'll like a lot of classic Janet. On a similar note, I was going through MJ's albums and I thought that in many regards that Dangerous was a more interesting listen than either of Thriller or Bad, and I feel that album's quite in line with the music Janet makes.
