I LOVE Madonna.....the end.

Well it is finished, and I did learn alot. For starters writing album reviews is impossible, and my knowledge of her is kind of scary. But it is finished for the time being. Be prepared for it to all flare up again come the end of the year with her new album release. Until then here is the only visual proof she has of my love. Click the image to see it larger, I'm the one with long primate arms.

Happy Good Friday!!!

To all my friends and family who are enjoying the Good Friday celebrations in Bermuda, I miss you and wish I was there flying kites with you (although from all accounts it is raining). For those of you who do not know, on Good Friday in Bermuda we all make kites out of sticks, string and coloured tissue paper, and fly them up to the highest heights. We also have the long standing tradition of eating hot cross buns and cod fish cakes, and usually gather with friends and family and feast and fly. So happy Good Friday to Rachie, Dad, Simon, Carolyn, Spencer, Devon, Hayley, Graham, Aunt Deanna, Tommy, Heidi, P.J., Aunt Sandra, Uncle Jimmy, Alice, Robyn, Sophie, Christopher, Nikki and her new little one, Jen, Uncle Jordy, Aunt Sasha, Uncle Penny, Kim, Ward, Lorna, Tom and anyone who I missed out.

When will Ripley get her dues?

There are many actors and actresses that I wish to see win an Oscar. Most of them are long established and proven actors (Kate Winslet, Peter O’Toole, Toni Collette, Angela Bassett, David Cheadle) but there is one that every time I see her name attached to a movie on IMDB I kneel by my DVD collection and say a little prayer.
“Please, Oh powerful and loved DVD collection, let Sigourney Weaver win her first Oscar this year.”

I guess it all boils down to the Alien movies, and seeing such a strong female character in an action film at such a young age left a huge imprint on how I think about male and female roles. She played the bitch career woman competing in a mans world long before The Devil Wears Prada. She played the very first female action hero . Say the name ‘Ripley’ anywhere, and most people will know who you are talking about.
She was rightly nominated for ‘Aliens’ in 1986 and then double nominated in 1987 for ‘Working Girl’ in supporting, and then ‘Gorilla’s in the Mist’ for lead (loosing both).

However she has paid a price and been obviously snubbed three times.
First in 1994 for her harrowing and powerful performance in Roman Polanski’s ‘Death and the Maiden’. This was mainly due to the controversy surrounding the director, a controversy that he would be forgiven for eight years later.
Her second snub came in 1997 for Ang Lee’s quiet and brilliant ‘The Ice Storm’. Although she won the BAFTA for this performance and received critical raves, the entire film was overlooked come awards time, perhaps it was far too quiet for the Academy. (sorry you have to sit through ‘Perfect Stranger’ before you watch the trailer).
The third is a little tricky. Many felt she was Oscar worthy, but no one saw 1999’s ‘A Map of the World’. Meryl Streep got the nomination instead for ‘Music of the Heart’.

This year, much to my delight she has three award buzz heavy films coming out, hopefully making up her three snubs.
First we have ‘The TV Set’. Advanced word is she is fantastic in this, and will go supporting, which is kinder to comedies. Her major obstacle is the movie may be a let down, and is already being unfavourably compared to ‘Network’.

Next up we have ‘Snowcake’. I personally loved this performance, but I do understand that some will not be impressed. Not everyone is easily convinced by actors playing mentally ill, and this performance will have it’s nay sayers.

So that leaves what could be her crowning achievement of 2007 ‘The Girl in the Park’.
From IMDB ‘Enduringly traumatized by the disappearance of her 3-year-old daughter 15 years ago, Julia Sandburg (Weaver) has cut herself off from anyone once near and dear to her, including her husband Doug and her son Chris, who tried for years to penetrate her wall of isolation and despair, without success. But when Julia meets Louise (Bosworth), a troubled young woman with a checkered past, all Julia's old psychic wounds painfully resurface, as does her illogical and increasingly irrational hope that Louise may be the daughter she lost so long ago.’

Here is hoping she wins a competitive Oscar soon and not some crappy ‘Oops we f*ck up’ honorary one.

Life is a Cabaret

With the disturbing news that Renee Zell...(I can't even finish typing it) was being considered for the remake of Cabaret, I reached for nearest pillow and screamed myself silent.
For starters EWW! YUCK!!, secondly why remake it in the first place? I mean it stll holds up today, and Liza is still as dazzling as she was back then, so why even think about it?

But then I thought about what Nat over at the Film Experience and I could not agree more.

Toni Collette as Sally Bowels. How could it go wrong?

The the rest of the cast....well John Cameron Mitchell as the Master of Ceremonies (how delicious would he be!). Eric Bana as Brian Roberts (because he is sexy, but can to that naive thing with his eyes) and Clive Owen as Maximilian von Heune (Who would not want to see him and Eric kiss on screen!!!)
PLEASE STUDIO'S MAKE IT LIKE THIS!!!!

I TRIPLE-dog-dare ya!

Sad new that Bob Clark, the director of my annual Xmas eve movie 'A Christmas Story' has passed under tragic circumstances. sniff

I LOVE Madonna (part 6 section g)

Number 1 – Like A Prayer. Released: March 21st, 1989.

By the time Madonna released 1986’s True Blue, most critics had written her off as pop fluff. Even though she was beginning to expand her musical range with songs like ‘Live to Tell’, ‘Papa Don’t Preach’ and La Isla Bonita’, most of that album was radio light. By the time her forth studio album was released, most of the world was anticipating the same ole, same ole.
With the decline of her marriage to Sean Penn behind her Madonna released what has been called her greatest and most personal record to date. ‘Like A Prayer’ found the singer growing up with a collection of pop confections layered with live instrumentation, sophisticated arrangements, deeply felt lyrics, and a stronger, more assured vocal. This was the beginning of Madonna, the musical adventurer.

The album opens with a clamouring guitar riff that explodes and transcends into the angelic first chords of the title track. “Life is a mystery/Everyone must stand alone/I hear you call my name/And it feels like home.” Go the lyrics in what is arguably Madonna’s best song. A church organist’s fingers dance across the keyboards for the song’s dramatic build to the Andrae Crouch Choir’s (led my Niki Harris) joyful vocal performance, carrying the song to heights no pop song has climbed to before, or since. This is the closest Madonna’s music has ever come to being a religious experience.
From salvation to inspiration, we get lead into a blockbuster of a track. ‘Express Yourself’ sees Madonna demanding a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T, and getting women to demand it to. “Don’t go for second best, Baby/Put your love to the test” go the lyrics that, eighteen years later, are more insightful then what comes out of the majority of pop starlets today. This also saw Madonna at her most vocally powerful and soulful since her early days.
The merging of two musical institutions took place, and the result was ‘Love Song’. Madonna and Prince perform a brave and unconventional duet that takes it’s time to grow on you, but leaves it’s mark once it has. Although it has it’s critics, I love the fact the song sounds at odds with itself, especially with the ‘I’m over you’ lyrics of “Don’t try to tell me what your enemies taught you/I’m gone/But I just want you to know/this is not a love song that I want to sing.” The knife is in and then she twists it.

The compelling, ‘Till Death Do Us Part’ is a song where Madonna, seemingly confronted her own personal demons, pours her heart out about her turbulent first marriage. Madonna neatly glides along the windy, complex music arrangements and manages to sound sorrowful on top of the running upbeat melody as she delivers punch “I think I interrupt your life” after punch “The bruises they will fade away/You hit so hard with the things you say” until the final, heart breaking confession of truth that will ring true to most women in abusive relationships “She's had enough, she says the end/But she'll come back, she knows it then/A chance to start it all again/Till death do us part”. Madonna has never since been so brave in painting her personal life through lyrics.
The heart-wrenching piano-ballad "Promise To Try" touches on the death of her mother, and is sung to her childhood self, perhaps in a way of distancing herself a little from a part of her life she still had yet to come to terms with. “Don't let memory play games with your mind/She's a faded smile frozen in time” go the lyrics that at times are too emotionally honest to bear. Anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one, while young, will relate and understand the inner turmoil one faces in trying to remember what little you can, and using photographs to fill in the blanks.
‘Cherish’ is a delightful confection of radio-friendly pop that returns to her more traditional, earlier sound. The melody is tight and punchy giving it an overly infectious feel whilst Madonna’s tone sounds playful. This joyous little whirl of a song is followed by another in ‘Dear Jessie’. Dedicated to her co-writer, Patrick Leonard’s daughter, this is a Beatles inspired, Sgt. Pepper-esque, slice of magic. Never before or since has Madonna sounded so, well, motherly as she sings about pink elephants and leprechauns in a delightful lullaby of a song.

As ‘Dear Jessie’ ends, the string arrangement turns somber, and leads us into the modulated hook and over dubbed harmonies of ‘Oh Father’. Madonna exercises the demons she held over her father’s behaviour after the death of her mother. Perhaps overly dramatic in the lyrics “Maybe someday/When I look back I'll be able to say/You didn't mean to be cruel/Somebody hurt you too” can be forgiven since it appears she is singing this as her past self without hindsight. In whatever aspect this song is meant, it is still a dark and powerful expression of childhood confusion, and parental grief.
‘Keep It Together’, which evokes Sly & The Family Stone’s ‘Family Affair’ without the use of samples or artless imitation, is another soulful corker of a song. With it’s lyrics of family unity and strength, Madonna seems to be directly addressing the her of ‘Oh Father’. “When I look back on all the misery/And all the heartache that they brought to me/I wouldn't change it for another chance/'Cause blood is thicker than any other circumstance”.
She bravely and elegantly confronts the (in 1989) still taboo issue of AIDS with ‘Spanish Eyes’. With its purring Spanish guitar and atmospheric and reflective lyrics, Madonna moves into social commentary, as she personally deals with friends inflicted with the disease, and who had died while she was a struggling artist on the streets of New York. “I light this candle and watch it throw/Tears on my pillow/And if there is a Christ, he'll come tonight/To pray for Spanish eyes/And if I have nothing left to show/Tears on my pillow/What kind of life is this if God exists/Then help me pray for Spanish eyes.” Madonna was showing great improvement lyrically as she was musically and vocally on ‘Like A Prayer’, but she still retained her wit and humour. On ‘Act Of Contrition she recites the Catholic prayer of forgiveness before death, over a rock riff and the title track’s vocals playing backwards (usually considered a sign of the occult by those crazy fanatics). When she reaches the gates of Heaven the woman who was named after the virgin mother of Jesus is shocked to find that her reservation has been dubiously deleted from the host's computer.

Although the album may not have the musical and lyrical flow of ‘Erotica’ and ‘Ray of Light’, it was the platform from which Madonna, as a musical envelope pusher, jumped off. Translating her pain and her joy into music, she was finally able to move out of the pop trappings, and open herself up, and the world, to the endless ways that popular music can touch. Issues of Religion and Catholicism, Sex, Feminism, Divorce, Death and Family each demand your attention, and are presented with the confidence of woman hitting her stride.
It could be said that each Madonna album takes her, for better or for worse, to the next level in her growth. In that case ‘Like a Prayer’ was the death of a Pop Star and the birth of an Artist.

Alanis Morrisette - You can't be serious?

If she is being serious then oh dear. If she is taking the piss, then double oh dear (oh dear)! Although she has fallen from public popularity, I have always been interested when she comes out with something new. However, if this is what she is doing now with Maverick Records now that Madonna has left, then all I can shout out is FOR SHAME!!!

Of all the songs in the world to cover, why this horrible piece of crap??

Transformers – More than meets the I

I was totally sceptical about this film, especially since Michael Bay has made some pretty bad movies. However he does know a thing or two about an action sequence. I was totally addicted to Transformers as a kid, and sadly I still collect them, but only the special ones. I for one do not care about who does the voice of the robots, or if they are not exact replicas of the original series, let the fan boys and geeks squabble about all of that. I am of the opinion that everything needs to evolve, so as long as the changes look believable and are true to the original ideals of the creators and above all is good, I am firmly on board. Especially after seeing the below pics!
Whatever it ends up like, I will just be excited to see a car transform into a robot. It will be a child hood dream realised.

'Recount' to be made by the brave Sidney Pollock

From Variety.

"HBO Films has greenlit "Recount," a scripted movie about the 2000 presidential election, and has attached Sydney Pollack to direct. Pic will follow the Florida recount from Election Day through the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of George W. Bush five weeks later.

No stars are attached yet.

Pic will place an emphasis on what execs say is the "human drama" that permeated news events.

Movie will be produced by HBO Films in association with Spring Creek/Mirage Prods. Danny Strong, who has had roles in pics including "Seabiscuit" and "Pleasantville," wrote the script. Spring Creek's Paula Weinstein, HBO Films' Len Amato and Pollack are exec producing.

Pic goes into production in spring or summer. It will air on HBO, probably next spring, as the country finds itself in the heat of another presidential election. HBO Films is opting to air "Recount" on the net and not release it via theatrical arm Picturehouse because, execs said, airing it on the pay net will guarantee millions of viewers.

Strong's script was a hot commodity when it first made the rounds. HBO Films topper Colin Callender said the movie would focus on many of the smaller players in the drama. "It boils the story down to individuals, men and women and husbands and wives, caught up in events slightly beyond their control," Callender said.

Activists, strategists, politicians and even voters will figure into the storyline. Weinstein said the movie would elaborate on the recount saga in meaningful ways. Locations haven't been chosen yet, but it's likely production will at least be partially shot in Florida. Project is aiming for the widest possible audience and will steer clear of a partisan point of view, according to execs."

to me this is exciting news, especially since it will be airing during the next election. Although 'The Interpreter' was flawed, it was still a tense drama, as was They Shoot Horses Don't They?' and 'Three Days of the Condor'
Who to play the leads though? My guess is a British actor will get one of the roles (Gore) and a chimp for Bush.

Movie Trailers and Movie News. Oh My!!!

For those of you not as cinematically informed as you would like to be, here are a whole bunch of links to articles and clips of the happenings of the movie making world. Some of it is old, some new, and some disturbing. But all of it made apparently for our entertainment!

First off Trailers.

Those of you who are excited to see the Greengrass/Damon reteaming, check out the trailer for The Bourne Ultimatum. For shame I know, but I have yet to see any of these movies.

Pixar come back with Ratatouille. Expect Shrek the Third to have a run for it’s money come Oscar time.

Curious what Little Miss sunshine’s Abigail Breslin is doing next? Check out the trailer for No Reservations.

Loved the book for Stardust but I have to say the movie is looking like it may be plop.

I am getting very interested about this. Check out a very very rough behind the scenes of The Golden Compass.

Festival favourite Eagle vs Shark.

The Savages sees Tamara Jenkins (‘Slums of Beverly Hills’) directing Laura Linney and Phillip Seymour Hoffman in this Sundance favourite.

Waitress Keri Russell plays a woman trapped in a life in which she dreams of escape. Word of mouth is strong, especially for Russell’s performance.

Michelle Williams and Paul Giamatti team up for The Hawk is Dying

Sarah Polley directs Gordon Pinsent as the husband and Julie Christie as the wife suffering from Alzheimers in Away From Her

Across The Universe just makes me moist with anticipation.

The Nanny Diaries ho hum……I will have to wait and see.

I loved ‘Eve’s Bayou so much, that I am very excited to see director Kasi Lemmons back, this time directing the ever reliable Don Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor in Talk To Me. This looks like it could be a crowd pleaser!

Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman break your heart and make you smile in Snowcake If you checked out my MAFFE awards you know what I think about this. I hope it does do well.

News
So much news out there, but actually I am just not really wanting to report on alot of the stuff. Also Hollywood Reporter has a lovely script sales page that I would love to have a read of, but you have to subscribe. Bastards. Plus I really do not want to report on alot of it because, well, it is rather sad (as in pathetic not boo hoo)


Another X-Files movie? Because the first one was so brilliant??

Why oh why….are there no original screenplays or adaptations out there. WHY would they remake Straw Dogs??!!!!

Wahlberg and Shyamalan ? Looks like it will happen. Lets just hope the Director can direct his way out of the sloppy messes he has been putting out lately.

I am expecting huge things from Aishwarya Rai. Especially since she is going to be co-starring with our Meryl in ‘Chaos’.

Ole Skanky is back doing some wheeling and dealing for that 3rd Oscar.

Fiddy gets a movie! New Line adapting video game Gears of War! Jennifer Connelly, Crispin Glover, Martin Landau, Christopher Plummer, John C. Reilly, and Elijah Wood will provide voices for characters in Focus Features' animated sci-fi feature 9. Emily Blunt to star in The Young Victoria. The Green Hornet comes to life as does Speed Racer. And everyones favourite gay little munchkin get top story and a stunning picture over at Entertainment Weekly!!!

Back to enjoying my Sunday with a lovely greasy FRY UP!!!

Nathaniel Rogers...where does he find the time???

I ask this because not only does he give us multiple daily updates on the world of cinema on his blog, but he also does one of the best Oscar website/predictors out there, and then he finds the time to do this. A little silliness to enjoy on your Saturday, plus I know my very good mates Dean 'Knicker Rat' Powell and Lee 'Lady Garden' Hyett will get a kick out of this.

She's A B**** At The Movies
Uploaded by nathanielr

Worth getting out of bed for: Arcade Fire

One of the most anticipated releases of 2007 is this second album from Montreal's Arcade Fire, the Win Butler- and Regine Chassagne-led band that won over bloggers, critics, and, ultimately, fans with their 2004 debut 'Funeral.' Packed full of wonderous melodies serve with a heavy dose of drama, ‘Funeral’ was one of those albums you discover without a lot of wild crazy “These guys are the best thing since seared tuna” fan fare. And you can still feel smug and pretentious about liking them still because most of the constant radio listening population will not have yet discovered them. The ‘COOL’ factor is still in tacked. Their follow up ‘Neon Bible’ looks to follow, if not best it’s predecessor.

Here are a selection of tracks from ‘Funeral’ (Jeremy, you will like the last one)
Rebellion (Lies)
Wake Up
Neighborhood No. 1 (Tunnels)
Neighborhood No. 3 (Power Out)

Here is track from ‘Neon Bible’

Battlestar Galactica 4EVER!!!!

With the final episode of Battlestar Galactica ‘Crossroads parts 1 & 2’ just been watched and aired all I can say is this: I do not think I can physically go on for four whole months of mystery. I need to know what happens and I need to know now.
What makes this the best show currently on television is the fact that every character is painted in shades of grey. Everyone is flawed and everyone is human, even the Cylons. The writers need to be commended for the way they continually bring up moral issues in very surprising and sensitive ways. You think you stand on one side of the fence until you see another point of view, and then you are no longer sure of your stance.
The actors cannot be commended more highly. Mary McDonnell, Edward James Olmos, Katee Sackhoff, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, Tahmoh Penikett, Aaron Douglas, James Callis and Jamie Bamber all deserve accolades for their brave and fearless performances. Never before I have seen such a strong ensemble gathered together on television, and that is a direct reflection on the strong material as every actor (in interviews) as stated their love for the show.

Sunday nights finale answered so many questions but asked so many more.
Here come some spoilers - if you want to know, highlight this section.
President Laura Roslin's cancer is back, former president and human outcast Gaius Baltar is not guilty of treason, and four of the final five Cylons are: Chief Galen Tyrol, former lover of known Cylon Sharon Valeri; Samuel Anders, Starbuck's widowed husband; Tory Foster, President Roslin's right-hand woman and Anders' recent lover; and Colonel Saul Tigh, the hard-scrabble Galatica XO and the most rabid Cylon-hater this side of New Caprica. They all realized they were Cylons after each hearing a mysterious song no human could hear, a song Chief Tyrol likened to something from childhood; a song revealed to be, of all things, Bob Dylan's ''All Along the Watchtower.''
Plus Starbuck is alive. Maybe. Or she could be a Cylon. Perhaps. But apparently she's seen Earth. Or, at least, that's what Starbuck told Apollo. Or what something that looks like her told Apollo. My personal take is that all the new four Cylons are in positions where they could have done a lot of damage, but hadn’t. I think they are actually there to protect the fleet, just look at what their jobs/positions within the fleet are. Had the Cylons wanted to destroy the fleet it would have been so easy, especially with Tigh and Tyrol in the positions they were in. My thought is that the final 5 Cylons are, in fact, protectors of the human race. Perhaps they realise the benefits of a cross species mating, or discovering that they are not so different from humans.
Also look how out of the 7 Cylons we know about, three of them have crossed over or had different ideals based on discovering their own humanity. These three are Sharon Valeri, D’Anna and Caprica 6…all women…is this a coincidence? I am fairly certain that Starbuck will be the final Cylon, sent to make sure the Human race gets to Earth before the evil 6. I have not yet had time to figure out why there is a Cylon divide, but I am sure it will be explained. BRING IT ON SCI-FI!!!!

All I can say to the creators until then is "Frick Frack, Paddy Whack, Give my blog a bone and give me some teasers!!!"

Panty Slang

Two of my best friends in the world, Robyn and Dean each have a part in these two lovely terms for the centre of all that is feminine. Robyn told me all excited after watching The L Word and had me in hysterics with it, and when telling Dean about it he just had to go down that dark and dirty road and better it with vulgarity. So without any more hesitation here's your new panty slang.


Robyn's Panty Hampster

eg: I need to trim my Panty Hampster.

Dean's Knicker Rat

eg: Lindsey Lohan needs to wash her knicker rat.

Just to let those who are expecting the #1 Madonna album to be announced soon, I may actually wait a week or so before completion. I need to take a little break and regroup so I can separate it from the others.
Also I need to have a look at the year coming in film, and perhaps talk a little bit about Battlestar Galactica. That season finale was awesome!!!

I LOVE Madonna (part 6 section f)

Number 2: Ray of Light - released March 2nd 1998.

By the time 1998 came around, it has been a long time since we had gotten a full-length studio album from Madonna. 1994's Bedtime Stories was her last effort plus a greatest ballads package. Since then Madonna went to vocal training to play Eva Peron in Evita, and won a Golden Globe for her efforts,
and more importantly, she gave birth to her daughter and discovered Kabbalah and yoga.
With her new found spirituality and love and care for her young child, Madonna began to shift. She began to look inward, examining not only her self, but her fame and the world around her. She had done this many times before, as early as 1986's True Blue in fact, but this was the first time she sought out to make a truly coherent album both with the lyrics, and it's musical structure.
To help her out with her song writing she enlisted the help of long term collaborator Patrick Leonard, and she paired up with William Orbit for production duties. Madonna fans will know that this was not the first time Madonna had worked with Orbit, as he had done remixing duties on 'Justify My Love', 'Erotica' and 'Bedtime Story'. This was the first time, however, that they had collaborated on original material.

Water was a huge inspiration with this new album as a metaphor for cleansing and life, eclipsing Madonna’s own spiritual re-birth. This is apparent with the first song in which we are introduced, right away, to this new sounding Madonna. ‘Drowned World/Substitute for Love’ takes it’s title from J. G. Ballard’s apocalyptic novel and lyrically ponders the price of fame “I got exactly what I asked for/Wanted it so badly/Running, rushing back for more/I suffered fools so gladly." Orbit’s ambient production reminds of an electronic stream flowing along towards rapids as the pace builds and her voice transforms from crystal clear, and light as air to full throated power as she sings “No one-night stand, no far-off land, no fire that I can spark.” A meditative opening to rival that of it's bookend.
When I was living in Bermuda one of my very favourite things to do was to swim out to the reefs and then dive down as deep as I could. Using a rock shelf to hold me down I would sit and find such comfort in the silence of the ocean and escape the noise of the surface. In ‘Swim’ Madonna explores this idea, but sings of the burden of the sins of the world and perhaps herself “I'm gonna carry this train off the track/I'm gonna swim to the ocean floor”. The electronic sound-scape inter-spliced with electric guitar aurally replicates the tumultuous ebb and flow of the ocean to great effect, however the lyrics can at times be too heavy handed and dark to truly make you think outside of the world she describes.

‘Ray of Light’ begins with a lovely melody strummed on guitar, but before you settle in for another mid tempo ballad you are launched full throttle into the light speed celebration. When she sings “Quicker than a ray of light!!” you will almost believe that you can fly. Her vocals scale the tallest building with pure elation as she sings about the speed her daughter is growing, not wanting to let go, but excited about the prospects. Not surprisingly was one of the biggest commercial hits from the album and, over eight years later, has stood the test of time. Surprisingly so has the next track. At first I was very hesitant upon the first listen, but ‘Candy Perfume Girl’ has grown to be one of my essential tracks. With it’s hard guitar and bubbling throbbing sexual beats reminiscent of Portishead, to the provocatively surreal lyrics, “Moist, warm desire/Fly to me,” the song evokes raw, dark imagery. My only complaint is that pre Evita she had a raw voice that crackled and strained with passion, a voice that would have perfectly suited this.
The next three tracks has Madonna moving more to the dance floor with a darker, more underground trance sound than her previous club friendly offerings. ‘Skin’ with its random percussion and come hither vocals would had been a massive D.J. track had it been released. The lighter, radio friendly ‘Nothing Really Matters’ sneaks up with a slow cosmic intro before cementing itself in your memory with it’s catchy chorus and foot stomping beats. The last of the big dance numbers is the stonking powerhouse ‘Sky Fits Heaven’. With its effervescent electronical rumblings of the dark hard house meats trance beats to the sing-a-long chorus (“Travelling down this road/Watching the signs as I go/I think I’ll follow the sun/Isn’t everyone?”) Madonna has rarely sounded more serious about making you dance.
Following this small dance-a-thon, the dark beats continue this time interspersed with a Eastern melody with Madonna grinding down the vibe on the sung in Sanskrit track ‘Shanti-Ashtangi”. Inspired by her yoga practice and her growing interest in Kabbalah Madonna reaches in and brings the sexiness out.

The first single released from the album was ‘Frozen’. Madonna, Leonard and Orbit crafted the comeback song to get your attention. Its lyrics are uncomplicated but its statement powerful: "You only see what your eyes want to see/How can life be what you want it to be?" The song's bewitching melody and cinematic string arrangement is pumped up with Orbit's tingling drums and pulsating electronic chirps The sweeping strings, yet mellow synths of ‘Power of Goodbye’ just sends chills down my spine.. Madonna’s voice almost sounds like she is choking as she sings the sorrow filled lyrics “Your heart is not open/So I must go.’
‘To Have And Not To Hold’ is the one place Madonna and Orbit stumble. As the album approaches this place, you begin to wonder if perhaps the magic has run out on this dynamic team. The song is so quiet and ambient that it totally gets lost. the silent subtle production does nothing to enhance the heartbreaking lyrics "My heart is in your hand/And yet you never stand/Close enough for me to have my way."
Her ode to her daughter ‘Little Star’ is a sweet sentiment with a lovely lullaby sound and sweet words of devotion over a drum and base inspired beat. One however has to wonder, with the lyrics “Never forget who you are Little Star”, if the daughter of one of the most famous and sexually provocative celebrities of recent times will spend her life trying to do just that.

Having a child can bring immeasurable joy and, to some, a deep feeling of sorrow. Madonna lost her mother early on in life, and has been candid about her struggle to find who she is as a women without that matriarchal guidance in her life, especially now that she was a mother herself. She has covered her feelings about her mothers death in song before, but never has she sung about the critical way it has effected her like she does in ‘Mer Girl’. This is probably the best Madonna song you have never heard. It begins with a simple, plodding, funeral march of a chord as she begins to sing “I ran from my house/That cannot contain me.” Lyrically this is Madonna at her most honest, introspective and moving. She famously sung this song out in one take in the studio, and you get goose bumps from the emotional quivers in her breath. Exploring the lost and confused state of a person still in morning she sings “I smelt her burning flesh/Her rotting bones/Her decay. I ran and I ran/I’m still running away.” Filled with truth and pain, this is an emotional haunting closer to one of her best creations.

What Ray of Light did was not only inspire and please her old fans, but also garnered her a whole new slew of them. This was the first time she was taken seriously as an artist by not only the public, but also the music industry. She went on to collect an armful of Grammy awards (she has never previously won or been nominated for one before) and cemented herself as an icon. All of the critical and public respect aside, this was the dawning of a more thoughtful and caring Madonna. Her new incarnation was described as 'Earth Mother' but that was not really true, she had just finally grown up.

I LOVE Madonna (part 6 section e)

Number 3: Music – released September 18th, 2000
In 2000, we all hotly anticipated the 9th studio album from Madonna. After the huge success that was ‘Ray of Light’ all eyes were on her to see what she would do next.
The major problem with Music is also it’s major strength, it is one of her least coherent albums to date. What it sounds like is Madonna, and her new musical producing partner Mirwais Ahmadzai locked themselves up in the studio and had a hell of a time experimenting with how far they could push musical landscapes. This is where the album works so well, and you can almost forgive the total lack of narrative flow because what you are hearing is new Madonna. The album stumbles because Madonna is a loyal woman. She collaborates again with William Orbit who expertly guided ‘Ray of Light’, but he seems to have completely run out of tricks this time around, and the few tracks he is mainly responsible for sound repetitive and cluncky in comparison.
“Hey Mr D.J. put a record on. I wanna dance with my baby.” And so the album begins with Mirwais’s quirky Daft Punk sounding slice of French electro reworked with enough Madonna sass and a reworked hip hop vibe to gain high radio airplay in the U.S. This turned out to be a giant dance-floor filler. Containing a swirling electronic pop-funk vibe, Madonna’s playful delivery gives startling ignition to this slick offering that caught onto the public like a magnet. Unsurprisingly and very deservedly, Music became a massive cross-Atlantic hit. Unfortunately the same could not be said for the next track which sees Madonna fully embracing the underground dance floor sound with a bass-heavy giant of a floor-filler with guttural synths, robotic voices and sexy cosmic whispers. It also contains the fun line "I like to singy singy singy, like a bird on the wingy wingy wingy". This eye popping and hypnotic tune flies with its strikingly synthesized effects and driving grooves. This would have made a perfect choice for release as a single however her record company refused thinking it was too unconventional to be a hit…..FOOLS!!!!
Then comes the first of the William Orbit collaborations with ‘Runaway Lover’. Although it has a dark and dirty bass-line, after a few seconds it becomes clear that Orbit does not fit with the new sound. Coming off as more of a ‘Ray of Light’ reject than anything fresh and new. All the electro effects are lost and it sounds like a jumbled mess of leftovers.
With three dance grooves in a row ‘I Deserve It’ is a refreshing and beautiful ballad, with its strum-a-long acoustic guitar and electro chirps, bleeps and chord heavy groans that amazingly mesh together. A synthesized folk tune with Madonna singing about the love for her new husband “Not running from the past, I tried to do what's best. I know that I deserve it” and so she should.
She collaborates with Orbit again on the ‘Beautiful Stranger’ rehash of the energetic if slight ‘Amazing’. This is a pure pop number that could have been a huge hit had it not been for the fact this sound has been done by her before, and instead of flowing this stands out as being very dated. Thankfully from here on in, we are exposed to come of her most inventive and lest commercial music. With her voice twisted up with the vocoder, the melancholy ‘Nobody’s Perfect’ could have come off as over produced with the synth heavy/acoustic mix had it not been for the intoxicating staggered beat, and whistful way she sings how “I feel bad. What I did wasn’t right. I feel so bad, and I must say to you…..sorry, but…Nobody’s perfect.”
‘Don't Tell Me’, offers a neatly gelled mixture of Dance/Country and delivers it with a vengeance. It is an outstanding piece, an infectious acoutstic guitar riff is chopped up, stuttering and starting all over the place, while Madonna sings the regreshingly strange lyrics written by her brother-in-law Joe Henry. The song ends with a gorgeous string arrangement, that will make your heart soar.
‘What It Feels Like For a Girl’ is the song to make the Britney’s and Christina’s of the world have pause. Beginning with the spoken dialogue of Charlotte Gainsbourg from the film ‘The Cement Garden’, the song bubbles with seduction at first with the Sapphic sounding lyrics “Silky smooth, lips as sweet as candy, baby”. Before you know it , however, Madonna launches into a tender examination of how difficult it still is for girls growing up to find a voice, especially through the eyes of men. The song hits a painful note with the lyric “When you’re trying hard to be your best, could you be a little less?” Her voice contains undercurrents of sorrow as she sings about the place woman are asked to live in a sexist world. Compelling stuff.
After that slice of nostalgia we are greeted to an six in a half minute epic of a tune reminiscent of Air with its swirling lush string arrangement. Proving that technology can have soul, Madonna again explores her creativity by giving one of her most emotional and sexually filled vocal performances even through the vocal manipulation of the vocoder. Lyrically she is again reflecting on fame and how she is seen, but without her obvious agenda “I was so blind, I could not see, your paradise is not for me”
And that takes us down to what I think is Madonna at her best. In ‘Gone’ she sings about why she continues to push herself to evolve artistically “Turn to stone. Lose my faith. I'll be gone before it happens” She sings over a slow plodding drum loop and more of that acoustic guitar as slowly the sound-scape changes. Swirls and bleeps dance as the synthesized chords take on epic urgency.

With Mirwais, Madonna found a new, less obvious way to express herself as a singer and musician. The end product is a wondrous mixture of the familiar and the audaciously new proving that Madonna is way ahead of the pack. Although the signature pop friendly diva was still there, she seemed more concerned with seeing in which new and exciting directions her creativity could take if given the outlet, and with Mirwais she found that. If all pop music was this well thought out and structured the radio would be a much more interesting place to dwell.