This one sort of hit me out of nowhere.
Ria is correct, it is "delish". but i won't say it because i would feel like i am taking a job away from an old Jewish man at a deli. or perhaps i am confusing this with "knish"es. i dunno.
anyway. Madonna, new single "Hung Up". Sometimes i am very happy about my faith in pop music.
Apparently the new album (including) this single is produced by modern new-wave man Stuart Price AKA Jacques Lu Cont AKA Les Rhythmes Digitales and it shows. from the beginning there is a churning electro synth to get the dancefloor bubbling, it kinda sounds like electro mixed with hard vocal trance. this is combined with a processed flute that sounds like it comes from the Doctor Who theme. Which actually makes sense. Its a rather heroic-sounding dancefloor burner.
The lyrics show an odd pop naivete combined with Madge's pseudo new age knowledge-bringin. They ride on the swirling rhythms. "time goes by so slowly" "i'm hung up on you" "ring ring ring goes the telephone". "tick tock"s to go with the ticking clock (a direct reference not heard of since... when Gwen Stefani did it, also to great effect on her "what you waiting for?"). But it works. There are cliche expressions of frustration, obsession, half-wisdoms in them along with stuff about not calling (thus the "hung up"). Like a great Kylie track the genius is in the simplicity. As long as it inspires you to the dancefloor and is not too purile, then please go right ahead.
The video is also awesome. That is if you can get past Madonna yet again showing that yoga is a wonderful thing and is the fountain of youth. Or at the very least limberness. I can't do any of that sh/t nor can most of my friends. She goes into an aerobics studio solo with a super boombox. This is combined with scenes of people in various urban settings with the same boombox going crazy with the dance moves. From Madonna herself, the best dance moves since Noodle's in DARE. and that was some crazy turn-shuffle-hop-skip shiz. Plus, she ends it with a huge scene in an arcade, with a Dance Dance Revolution footpad as her stage.
my cynicism would make me say: "She's clued in to the kids, man!" with dripping sarcasm. However, when she is leading the crowd with that disco move of the spinning arms in front of you up in the air (... gah, look at the vid to see what i mean)
At any rate, this is great to lose yourself in the moment dancing.
you can view the vidness if you click HERE
so i'ma dance. i'll work on my writing skills later.
Listening to:
Madonna 'hung up' (obviously)
Annie - DJ Kicks (f-ing awesome mix)
5 comments:
Okay, the single? Delish. The video? Disgust. I'm with you all the way with the cynicism. What's with having Madonna's early '80s aerobic scenes interspliced with random groups of minorities, hanging out at bus-stops and looking very "inner-city". The two are a very odd match indeed. I think Madonna videos are best when its just her front and center- I'm thinking along the lines of "Cherish" or even "Material Girl". Those videos have a classic quality to them where this one does not. Dare I say it but this is the first video where I can feel she's actually *trying* to be cool and not just oozing it, which is why perhaps all these kids are thrown in all over the place.
Damn, I'm being a bit of a downer, aren't I? Okay.
To repent:
1. The video does a great job with the ass shots.
Carolyn: i do dance sometimes. but i think you got me. usually it means bobbing around in a chair. i did dance to it this weekend. but that was after a couple of drinks and trying to copy Noodle's dance move. plus, you make me too self-conscious about it (case in point :)
Ria: in the end i didn't really care about possible posing, all i saw was hard work, just high energy dance numbers. like i said, all that all i needed was to see the classic disco move: the handclap followed by arm roll. sweat-drippin.
i've encountered this at select dance parties, and when i detect this move done with real love of dance, i can rest assured. a love of dance which has been passed on to me by my disco-funk rarity obsessed friend.
i just couldn't see what she would really gain from playing poseur. she just sort of strikes me as trying to connect with her dance-centered populist past with the fact that she may be more than a little disconnected from the world with her celebrity and wealth. The answer = humping a boombox.
in regards to "trying to be cool" i think she hit that little milestone with the "Music" vid. but its really too late for that. the fact that she tries is good enough for me. she could have descended into a morass of adult contemporary ballads, instead she wants kids to dance. for that i'm grateful.
my cynicism i felt would be best reserved because there are much more deserving targets. i think more contemporary pop chameleons such as Pink, Christina, Britney, Lindsey, Hilary, Avril are all much more suspect and worthy of it. and having a steaming dump taken on their faces for their bland worthlessness. i'm still reserving judgement for Kelly Clarkson because she chose to do "since u been gone". but somehow, i don't think America's got it in her to produce another pop star like Madonna.
plus i want to add as an aside that this new album already kicks the previous one's ass just in this single.
You're right on the money with your "humping a boombox" analysis but it's Madonna and I think she should know better. I mean, sure, all of the pop-tarts you mention are much more deserving of our cynicism but perhaps since I don't hold them to such high standards I don't expect much from them in the first place?
But yes, I should be thankful that the woman wants to dance at all and can pirouette and pas de bourrée like nobody's business.
I also should be thankful that the video doesn't have any weird religious undertones. Here, indulge yourself in a clip of her preaching the gospel:
http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/madonna/1002963/album.jhtml?popThis=playIt()
(scroll down, click on "Let Me Tell You a Secret" video... also note #10 on the track listing)
awesome! pas de bourrée... now i got a name for that move.
now if only i could find a name for the handclap-followed-by-arm-roll move...
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