It's a 'Confessions on a DANCE Floor' kind of morning..

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Feb 3, 2004
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Let's face it, sometimes only Confessions will do. 'Hung Up' will turn 15 years old on 17th October.

@Loufoque is always going on about 'bussy prolapses' and 'bips' and 'bops' and let's face it, the TERM 'bussy prolapse' may well have been invented after 'Hung Up' made its debut on the SOHO dance floors.
 
How weird that I was humming How High of all songs on earth yesterday, not having heard it for years.

It’s a nice one that I always thought was a little underrated by the fans.
 
Fifteen years then since that night at Action in Vauxhall (amazing) when they kept dropping bits of the ABBA sample into the mix every twenty minutes and driving the crowd to collective INSANITY

Followed by rumours that she was absolutely definitely in the VIP herself and would descend on the dancefloor any second :D

I haven't listened to it for ages, but this seems like the perfect excuse :disco:
 
She's a cute elder sister to Chromati... OK I'm trolling

For me, she's not the PERFECT album (I Love New York, How High, Push are a bit clunky, and Isaac feels very old-fashioned and a little bit like cultural appropriation today), but she is the last Marge album that executed a vision for the era, and still brought you BOPS

Get Together, Future Lovers and Forbidden Love are probably my favourites these days. They are more appropriate for a lockdown soirée.

However, the ultimate bussy-tear anthem (and probably in my Marge Top 10) is JUMP :disco:
 
After Hung Up (think Agnes's Aunt Sassy Madge), the videos were dreadful, in particular Jump wherein she has morphed into both Jo Whiley and Annie Nightingale.

The album is Madge in ultra mode.
 
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I've never heard of it. It sounds like it means bushy pussy (sorry to anyone eating a half eaten bacon sandwich, the departed Jill's favourite of course).
 
anyway, I don't listen to Confessions that much these days (I don't listen to Madonna that much these days) but I have only great feelings about it, and I think even some of its biggest fans do it a bit dirty with a general attitude of "well it wasn't exactly Madonna REINVENTING THE WHEEL but she was DOING WHAT SHE DOES WELL" - in particular people seem to imply that this was a safe retreat for her, but I don't think making by far the most overtly gay music of her career after almost driving it into the ground was particularly a safe move at the time.

I also resent the idea that because it was backwards-leaning dance music that paid homage to the 70s and 80s she "wasn't trying new things anymore". I think Confessions' influence on pop culture can be more clearly felt in the last couple of years than at any other time since - these things take time to come around. one of this year's most critically acclaimed dance records by a female popstar using segues to give a continuous "setlist" feel; the year's biggest pop record by a woman has taken clear, direct influence from COADF both sonically and visually. I don't know if other would exist as they are without this album as a reference point.

musically, the best songs here are Hung Up and Jump (that fucking dirty bassline! the double handclaps! "my sisters and me"! it's all too much :disco:) but it's really all just stellar and high quality until the obligatory final quarter drop-off that affects so many Madonna records. not even to mention, of course, the tour being the literal greatest of all time...
 
'Bussy' is a portmanteau of boy and pussy, isn’t it?

I mean, it's utterly vile but isn't the worst I've heard.
 
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All fine if that's what works for them at least, it's not as if I won't have made my mind up 2 seconds after meeting them. Perhaps "let me see your man vadge" might be my own limit or else provoke a giggle I'll just insist was a gag :eyes:
 
anyway, I don't listen to Confessions that much these days (I don't listen to Madonna that much these days) but I have only great feelings about it, and I think even some of its biggest fans do it a bit dirty with a general attitude of "well it wasn't exactly Madonna REINVENTING THE WHEEL but she was DOING WHAT SHE DOES WELL" - in particular people seem to imply that this was a safe retreat for her, but I don't think making by far the most overtly gay music of her career after almost driving it into the ground was particularly a safe move at the time.

I also resent the idea that because it was backwards-leaning dance music that paid homage to the 70s and 80s she "wasn't trying new things anymore". I think Confessions' influence on pop culture can be more clearly felt in the last couple of years than at any other time since - these things take time to come around. one of this year's most critically acclaimed dance records by a female popstar using segues to give a continuous "setlist" feel; the year's biggest pop record by a woman has taken clear, direct influence from COADF both sonically and visually. I don't know if other would exist as they are without this album as a reference point.

musically, the best songs here are Hung Up and Jump (that fucking dirty bassline! the double handclaps! "my sisters and me"! it's all too much :disco:) but it's really all just stellar and high quality until the obligatory final quarter drop-off that affects so many Madonna records. not even to mention, of course, the tour being the literal greatest of all time...

This sounds a bit like historical revisionism to me. I don’t recall anyone saying that back then, on the contrary it was a very welcome career move by the fans, especially coming after American Life.
 
I think critically that opinion was out there.
 
This sounds a bit like historical revisionism to me. I don’t recall anyone saying that back then, on the contrary it was a very welcome career move by the fans, especially coming after American Life.
Fans and critics have said it a lot over the years. It's not that they weren't happy about the sound, but I've read a lot of "her last great artistic record was RoL/Music/American Life even if Confessions was a great DANCE record" (as if there's no artistry in its time-hopping, genre-fusing interpretation of dance music)
 
There was also the PR from Madge camp saying there were no political statements or words to that effect.
 
Fans and critics have said it a lot over the years. It's not that they weren't happy about the sound, but I've read a lot of "her last great artistic record was RoL/Music/American Life even if Confessions was a great DANCE record" (as if there's no artistry in its time-hopping, genre-fusing interpretation of dance music)
I was thinking about this during my listen earlier before reading this and couldn't quite put my finger on why it's not as revered as Like A Prayer or Ray Of Light. I think I Love New York is a big blot on the landscape and just sounds dump. Push and Like It Or Not are interesting statements of intent lyrically but not very exciting on the actual musical front. If the album with more of an almighty BANG (Superpop maybe :eyes:) I think that would help in that regard.

Anyway, it's held up a treat and stands head and shoulders above any album since then. Madame X comes closest in terms of being a cohesive concept seen through, but personally I don't enjoy it all that much despite that.
 
I fucking love this record and fucking loved the Confessions Tour :disco: Future Lovers/I Feel Love opening never fails to make me adjust my WIG.
 
I think Jark is right in that there WAS a bit of disappointment from a certain sector of fans, I know I wasn't particularly impressed when I first heard the snippet that leaked. I distinctly remember some people here being also a bit MEH about it (although I also recall Sheena losing his shit over it!).

I will also happily admit that I thought sampling ABBA was a bit of a weird, even desperate, thing to do. In hindsight, it's perfect and it's a brilliant song and concept album, her best of the 00's for me and for sure if someone asked me to recommend a non-fan two non 80s Madonna records to listen to, it would be this and ROL.
 
Her last great album and I don't think it would have existed if American Life didn't bomb and send her into damage control. I didn't become a fan until 2002-ish so it was really the only time I was able to enjoy a properly executed campaign, album, era, with four proper videos and fanfare etc, in real time instead of retrospectively. It was obviously not as big in the States as everywhere else, but "Hung Up" breaking the top ten was huge for her given what else was on radio in 2005.
 
anyway, I don't listen to Confessions that much these days (I don't listen to Madonna that much these days) but I have only great feelings about it, and I think even some of its biggest fans do it a bit dirty with a general attitude of "well it wasn't exactly Madonna REINVENTING THE WHEEL but she was DOING WHAT SHE DOES WELL" - in particular people seem to imply that this was a safe retreat for her, but I don't think making by far the most overtly gay music of her career after almost driving it into the ground was particularly a safe move at the time.

I also resent the idea that because it was backwards-leaning dance music that paid homage to the 70s and 80s she "wasn't trying new things anymore". I think Confessions' influence on pop culture can be more clearly felt in the last couple of years than at any other time since - these things take time to come around. one of this year's most critically acclaimed dance records by a female popstar using segues to give a continuous "setlist" feel; the year's biggest pop record by a woman has taken clear, direct influence from COADF both sonically and visually. I don't know if other would exist as they are without this album as a reference point.

musically, the best songs here are Hung Up and Jump (that fucking dirty bassline! the double handclaps! "my sisters and me"! it's all too much :disco:) but it's really all just stellar and high quality until the obligatory final quarter drop-off that affects so many Madonna records. not even to mention, of course, the tour being the literal greatest of all time...
I was going to write a long retort to this ridiculous piece of gay history revisionism but, really, what is the point of carrying on after that emboldened first sentence?

As the late, GREAT Whitney Houston once said...

tenor.gif
 
I think Jark is right in that there WAS a bit of disappointment from a certain sector of fans, I know I wasn't particularly impressed when I first heard the snippet that leaked. I distinctly remember some people here being also a bit MEH about it (although I also recall Sheena losing his shit over it!).

I will also happily admit that I thought sampling ABBA was a bit of a weird, even desperate, thing to do. In hindsight, it's perfect and it's a brilliant song and concept album, her best of the 00's for me and for sure if someone asked me to recommend a non-fan two non 80s Madonna records to listen to, it would be this and ROL.
It was a very small but very vocal sector of fans and clearly they all jumped on board 5 minutes after their initial moaning.

I mean Madonna is such a big thing when it comes to gays that we feel almost protective of her sometimes in a weird way and yet we're also happy to shit and piss on her whenever we want. I hate it.
 
I was going to write a long retort to this ridiculous piece of gay history revisionism but, really, what is the point of carrying on after that emboldened first sentence?

As the late, GREAT Whitney Houston once said...

tenor.gif
If you think it's revisionism I'm not sure you bothered reading my (overwhelmingly positive) post so yep, probably better that you don't
 
'Upscaled' (except not really) 'Hung Up' performances are being uploaded onto her Youtube to celebrate the 15th anniversary.




What a performance.
 

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