Letters to the Editor
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WTF Is This?
What a sexist bunch of crap this is!
Multiple personalities? Neurotic? Aging?
Is there any woman who meets your criteria? Oh, wait. Let me guess: Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton.
Adjectives and sexist phrases aren't criticism to anybody except the vacuous young men who think they somehow own the world, but who wouldn't "get" strong feminist women with talent if they were standing next to them.
It might be cute and cool to be one of the preening male sexists we now seem to be growing in our society. But it isn't funny. And it isn't criticism. It's pablum masquerading as something intelligent.
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Just go away.
Vapid, self-serving, and full of shit. Who needs it?
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Does Madonna still matter?
Did she ever?
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Does Modonna matter?
Maybe to a materiel squirrel in a material world...speaking for myself, I don't give two shits about her.
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I guess Britney is busy these days!
"Does Madonna still matter?
Did she ever?"
Please give us an article on Cookie Roberts book on women that made our history possible. Amen, already with the woman that calls herself "Madonna"!
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speaking as a gay man from rochester, michigan......
....madonna will ALWAYS matter.
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To who?
She and I are the same age. She was passe at the mid 90s. And that means now....?
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madonna
She is a great singles artist, I am 42 and her music spans about 2/3 of my life. She has a GREAT fake British accent too!!!
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Meh
Madonna peaked a long, long time ago... Hard Candy is just more of the same. I think the answer to whether she still "matters" is, obviously, no... she's more of a niche dance artist than the cultural belwether she once was. I blame it all on that stupid, fake British accent...
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Expiration date long past
Madonna was done somewhere around the time of 'Like a Prayer'. But even then did she really matter? Did she ever? What exactly did she do that had not been done before? Cher, Debbie Harry, Marilyn Monroe, Tina Turner, and yeah...even Ann-Margaret. They all did 'Madonna' before Madonna. Ya sing, ya dance, ya shake yer ass. Madonna threw in some crucifixes. So what. Why was that so earth shattering to so many people back in the 80s? Was she hot? Yeah. But phenomenal? No. It was right place...right time. Nothing more or less. Unfortunately for us Madonna's legacy is, and will be, spawning talentless air-heads like Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, and uh-oh....looks like Mylie Cyrus comin round the bend.
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no, but....
....regardless of what you think of her, Madonna will always be a pop star who put out some truly great records. But what's with the obsession with looking like a porno slut/dominatrix? It's sooooooo tired. Same question for you, Janet Jackson. And Camille Paglia, please lose the leather miniskirt-I'm begging you! No, not THAT way.
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What, no Paglia?
I used to listen to her a lot (Madonna, not Paglia), because I used to listen to the radio a lot...like, 25 years ago.
These days I don't listen to the radio much...and going down to the record store for a Madonna cd is about the last thing I'd do.
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NO
I loved Madonna - it was all about her attitude. Desperately Seeking Susan was the high point for me. Artistic, taking herself seriously, not that talented but what the hell .... and then I loved her homages to all those other stars. Done with such humour, I thought. THEN I realised the humour was all projection - from me. That there was no humour in her act, that she takes herself seriously all the time - and that did her in for me.
She's a joke. A big pretentious joke who actually seems to think she has the inside running on spiritual truth and doing good. Whatever. She doesn't matter and so it doesn't matter. She has no real influence - just the ability to pick up on what is influencing everyone right now and mirroring that. So good luck to her, I guess.
I like her pop songs though. Cherish and Get into the groove are fantastic.
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Does this headline match the article? (hint: no)
As a pretty hardcore Madonna fan, when I saw this headline I furiously clicked on the story expecting to read a story about why Madonna doesn't matter. But instead I found a story that was sympathetic and kind to Madonna - one of my favorite artists. I guess I didn't need to engage in knee-jerk defensiveness, and I suspect that the writer didn't write the headline.
Interestingly though, this is a long-time favorite Madonna headline of many editors, one that has been in vogue since Madonna first broke on the music scene in the 80's. It's a thinly guised wish that she won't matter and go away. It attracts her rapid fans and rapid detractors - it's a smart headline - just like Madonna. When Entertainment Weekly named Madonna as the number 5 top entertainer of the 20th century (in front of Frank Sinatra) they acknowledged that her star is in constant danger of being extinguished, but so is every celebrity's, so why are we so obsessed with Madonna losing 'it' when she's done nothing if not prove that she has incredible staying power?
Italians do it better. So do Kabbalists. But Madonna does it best.
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Madonna Still Matters
Madonna still matters, in the way that all great artists, irrespective of genre or discipline matter. As stated in the article, even her lesser work gives the listener or viewer (in the case of her amazing music videos) a rounded view of her.
It was stated earlier in a letter that "ya dance, ya sing, ya shake your ass" and yes the sarcasm is evident to me, but I am disturbed by the reduction of art, specifically when it as aesthetically centered as Madonna's, to a series of steps in a cookbook. Innovation is overrated, and remains a cul-de-sac of outdoing the next person.
Art is beauty, and beauty is intangible and unfair. Is Madonna's new collection of music beautifully produced? Is her singing as good as its ever been? We have reached a stage in the development and career of this remarkable artist where she seems to be acting as canonical induction for herself! Like Michelangelo's Last Judgement abutting against the Sistine Chapel, I see "Hard Candy" as a Mannerist reaction and response to the earlier, carefree "Madonna". It is commentary without cribbing, quotation without theft.
Of course Madonna still matters. Those without ears or eyes will not be made to see or hear with this album, but for those that have followed Madonna through her artistic highs (and lows) this album stands tall. It's an amazing dance record, and will be remembered for its craft, inventiveness and high Mannerist polish. It's a beautiful collection of art.
And that is my criteria for relevancy.