Madonna misses on musical message
by Ashley Clark entertainment editor

     Like the 1998 Grammy-winning Ray of Light, Music, Madonna’s ninth album of new material, was produced by William Orbit and is drenched in dance beats and computerized bleeps and loops—but that’s where the similarities stop.
     The new record is weaker than its predecessor with only a few tracks possessing the strength, pop sensibility and hooks that made Ray of Light such a success.
     Most of the electronica tracks on Ray of Light were fraught with purposeful messages and thought-provoking lyrics.
     Music is a slightly less intimate creation with only four songs pertaining directly to her life.
     In a recent interview, it was reported that I Deserve It addresses the singer’s beau, British filmmaker Guy Ritchie, and Nobody’s Perfect addresses her critics. Paradise (Not for Me) looks back at her career while Gone is a song reaffirming her values.
     However, the singer reportedly said that her artistic intent for this album was “to join the coldness and remoteness of living in the world of high technology with warmth, compassion and a sense of humor without getting too soppy.”
     What if she did “get too soppy about it?” One of the strongest tracks on the album is the single-worthy What It Feels Like for a Girl.
     Not only is it equipped with a catchy refrain and keyboard dynamics, but Madonna also added clever lyrics depicting society’s double standard for the so-called weaker sex. “Strong inside but you don’t know it/Good little girls they never show it/When you open up your mouth to speak/Could you be a little weak?”
     By excluding the depth in her lyrical presentation that she is capable of, some songs lose the potential intelligence.
     Several oddball mixtures of folk and electronica are also featured. Songs such as I Deserve It, Don’t Tell Me and Gone don’t always work. On each of these, Madonna sings over weakly arranged synthesized beats and acoustic guitars.
     The sound arrangement is slightly inconsistent. The previously mentioned I Deserve It comes after the heavy disco pace and electronic loops of Impressive Instant and Runaway Lover.
     Amazing is a lyrically cheesy attempt at recreating the retro-guitar charm of Madonna’s 1999 hit, Beautiful Stranger.
     Paradise tries hard to sound artful with its whispery spoken-word vocals, but fails miserably.
     Fortunately, all is not lost on Music. The complex, swirling Impressive Instant is bound to be a gargantuan club hit despite being one of several tracks tackily using a vocoder, and Runaway Lover, with its catchy melody and arrangement, also provides one of Music’s better moments.
     Unfortunately, these are but a few bright spots on a record that is far from Madonna’s best work.
     Obviously, not every release can possess the strength of Ray of Light, even for someone of Madonna’s caliber.
     She inadvertently addresses this issue when she sings, “Nobody’s perfect/What did you expect?/I’m doing my best.”
     Indeed.