"Who is the Master, Who is the Slave?"

Hello,

Madonna's "Hard Candy" 12 Songs, 56 minutes long

1) "Voices"
2) "Dance 2 Night"
3) "Incredible"
4) "She's Not Me"
5) "Heartbeat"
6) "Give It 2 Me"
7) "4 Minutes" (featuring Justin Timberlake)
8) "Candy Shop"
9) "Devil Wouldn't Recognize You"
10) "Spanish Lesson"
11) "Miles Away"
12) "Beat Goes On" (featuring Kanye West)


I am changing up my CD review format a bit. I won't be listing each song and then reviewing them individually. I'll be reviewing the CD as a whole and highlighting some of the better songs. I will include lyrics tha are appropriate to the review.

"Who is the master, who is the slave?" If you think that is a weird question, it isn't as I am reviewing Madonna's new S&M CD "Hard Candy". That's the first line off the first song I listened to on this CD. Madonna is inviting you to the dancefloor, that is only before she leads you to the bedroom. Yes she is leading because in her world and on this CD she is the "Master" and you are the "Slave". Don't forget it either. This CD is about sex obviously. It feels a bit forced like she's trying to recapture her mid 80's highpoint. (I apologize Madonna I don't think you have another "Like A Virgin" in you. Frankly at 49 you are too old. At least you are not wishy washy like Brett Favre. Madonna knows exactly what she wants.)

Most of the songs have a slow dance groove. Several songs sound like dance music but it is not something you would dance to. (Yeah I know that makes no sense, after you listen to the CD I think you will understand.) I think the music is more rhythm for other activities. The first 6 songs I listed all have that same vibe. These songs are in no man's land conflicted whether they are dance jams or mellow, relaxing music. I am not sure what Madonna and all of her producers were trying to accomplish here.

While most of these songs are happy, dancy type songs there are some songs that break away from that design. In "Miles Away" she sings to a lover (one would assume Guy Ritchie, but maybe others would assume Alex Rodriguez). This lover is "miles away" a lot of the time. She sings to him, "You always have the biggest heart when we are 6000 miles apart".

But the dominant theme of this CD is sex, sex and more sex. (This would be the perfect soundtrack for the "Sex" book she made back in the 80's.) She uses a lot of thinly veiled metaphors, but mostly she is singing exactly what she wants. Especially in songs like "Give It To Me", "Candy Shop", "Voices" and "Incredible".

I changed my CD ratings system again. My new ratings system is a 1-5 rating with 5 being the best. I rate this CD with 4 stars. Four songs from this CD did make it to my iPod. They are 1) "She's Not Me", 2) "Give It To Me" 3) "Devil Wouldn't Recognize You" and 4) "Beat Goes On" featuring Kanye West. Now as regular readers of my column know, I am not a big rap fan. A lot of time time rappers are on songs, they seem extraneous. West's rap on this does feel a bit extraneous but it is not as obnoxious as I expected. For the most part I wish musicians would get away from this practice. Having Kanye West or any other rapper on a song doesn't usually add anything. It's mostly a marketing ploy. Enough of my soapbox.

One of my favorite country bands is back with a new CD. Sugarland is back with "Love On The Inside". They released a deluxe fan version on July 22nd, According to amazon.com a regular version is coming out this Tuesday. Speaking of Sugarland, there is an interview with them at www.attblueroom.com/home/index.php This is a pretty cool website. Along with that interview, they are having a contest with a chance of actually meeting Sugarland. As soon as I can I am going to be reviewing their new CD.

The attblueroon.com website has other cool features. They have songs from current artists like 3 Doors Down, Sheryl Crow and Taylor Swift. The proceeds from these songs go to the USA Olympics team. (BTW, the Olympics starts on August 8th). One more cool feature is that attblueroom.com will be having a live webcast of Lollapalooza from August 1st-3rd. Finally, former "American Idol" winner Ruben Studdard recently got married. Congrats!

Songs rocking my iPod. 1) "Crawling In The Dark"- Hoobastank 2) "Double Vision"- Foreigner 3) "Pretty Tied Up" (Live)- Guns N' Roses 4) "Fell In Love With You"- Motion City Soundtrack 5) "If Looks Could Kill"- Heart 6) "Barracuda" (Live on "AI")- Heart and Fergie 7) "Crazy On You" (Live On "AI)- Carly Smithson (Where have you gone Carly, I hope she is working on a CD. How did lame David Archuletta finish higher than her again? 8) "Could've Been"- TIffany 9) "Don't Stop Believin'" (Live in Houston)- Journey 10) "Sweet Emotion"- Aerosmith 11) "On The Beat"- Electrocute 12) "I'm Henry The 8th, I Am"- Herman's Hermits 13) "Selling The Drama"- Live 14) "Rebel Music" (3'O Clock Road Block)" (Live) 15) "Revolver"- The Donnas

I will be back on Tuesday with more information about one of the best of the relatively newer bands, Motion City Soundtrack. Have a great Sunday, themusicaddict