She is the queen of controversy. An outspoken trend-setter, dancer, singer, actress and more recently, mother. Her name is Madonna, and she is back in the spotlight with her latest studio album, “Confessions on a Dance Floor.”
Her previous album, “American Life,” a politically-aimed record, flopped and received minimal air play.
In Madonna’s newest album release, she stays away from politics, and goes back to her roots: good, old-fashioned dance records.
“Confessions on a Dance Floor” delivers its namesake. All 12 songs on the record are mixed together, which makes the album feel like one connected musical journey. The album gives the listener the feeling that they are at a dance club in the middle of New York City, where Madonna began her claim to fame.
The first single, and one of the more catchy songs on the record, is “Hung Up,” which brilliantly uses a sample of ABBA’s “Gimmie, Gimmie, Gimmie.” The chorus has the same lyrics as one of her previous songs, “Love Song,” which was a duet she recorded with Prince in 1989 for her “Like a Prayer” album: “Time goes by so slowly for those who wait / Those who run seem to have all the fun.” Ironically, “Hung Up” seems to sample yet another of Madonna’s previous songs, this time from the musical “Evita” in which she sings, “Don’t cry for me” allowing the listener to recall the hit.
Another song that stands out in the album is the song “Sorry.” Musically, the song is predictable, but the melody is extremely energetic and catchy. “You’re not half the man you think you are / Save your words because you’ve gone too far,” she sings to an unknown man. Madonna sounds like a woman in charge and who is unapologetic for how she feels telling he man to not apologize because she does not want to hear it from him. “I’ve heard it all before,” she sings, almost hauntingly in the background repeatedly.
“I Love New York,” one of the weaker songs on the record, includes tongue-in-cheek humor. “I don’t like cities, but I love New York / Other places make me feel like a dork,” is the lamest lyric on the entire record. However, the next line makes up for it. “Los Angeles is for people who sleep / Paris and London, baby, you can keep.” Ironically, London is where Madonna resides with her husband and two children.
Clearly, Madonna is not concerned with whom she offends, and it does not stop there. Later in “I Love New York,” she puts it plainly: “If you don’t like my attitude, then you can F-off / Just go to Texas, isn’t that where they golf?” That could possibly be a blow at President Bush, but she leaves it for the listener to come to his or her own conclusion.
“Confessions” is a very uplifting, energetic record that just can make an individual want to dance. Music fans who love only to feel the music pump through their blood and dance until dawn should look into this record. The album leaves any fan feeling inspired and satisfied. If an individual decides to purchase the album, he or she needs to understand dance music, otherwise, it could just be considered “noise.”
Jason Tanner can be reached at jmt356342@csun.edu.
