Ya know, it wasn't all about the boys when it came to my musical tastes growing up. In fact, the first CD I ever owned was Madonna's Ray of Light, which I think my mom got for me to go along with my birthday boom box. Ever since then, I have tried to maintain interest in Her Madgesty's music, but nothing has really measured up to RoL. This was pre-Kabbalah Madonna, who was deciding whether she wanted to be Indian ( by recording "Shanti/Ashtangi") , Japanese ( by creating "Nothing Really Matters" video and ensuing Geishic hairstyle), or English (by marrying Guy Ritchie), and I loved all of it. I even used a clip from the album's title track in my class's modernized version of Cinderella. There were no obnoxious Justin Timberlake or Timbaland or Tim-anything collaborations on this disc, just Madonna. Even at age 10, I could appreciate a simple, well-made album, and I still count it among my favorites, although I really cannot say the same for anything that Madonna has put out in recent years. American Life (NOT the title track) is almost up there, but it doesn't hold the same nostalgic value, and that may actually be what gives me such a rosy view of Ray of Light. Isn't that what I'm trying to make this blog about, though? It's all good, looking back on it. Reality doesn't matter. I'm not going to go off and read any critical reviews of Madonna's albums to decide what I should be listening to. I just know it AIN'T gonna be "4 Minutes" or whatever her latest ""hit"" is. I don't even know.
I like a lot of Madonna's 2000s stuff--Confessions on a Dance Floor is a brilliant and well-made album. That said, Ray of Light is easily her greatest work to date.
ReplyDeleteI think part of the problem is that, in her age, she has to fight to get on the radio and TV. As a result, she's done a lot of collaborations and music that's really just too young for her. It's a shame.
I agree with you about American Life, though. It's an excellent album, except the terrible title track.