'Music' appreciation thread

I like to singy singy singy...

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RaspberrySwirl

RaspberrySwirl

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lolly said:
STOP IT SUEDEY :evil:

I don't need to be reminded why I've grown to HATE THE BITCH when I'm just about to declare 'Ghosttown' and 'Joan Of Arc' her best songs since 'Ray Of Light'
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Oh come on, let's not forget that, while Ray of Light is still the greatest album of all time, Music is almost the next best one! #likeabirdonawingywingywingy
 
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RaspberrySwirl said:
Oh come on, let's not forget that, while Ray of Light is still the greatest album of all time, Music is almost the next best one! #likeabirdonawingywingywingy
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I was going to say . . .

turn to stone, lose my faith
I'll be gone before it happens

autour de moi
je ne vois pas
qui sont les anges
surement pas moi
 
Such an amazing album! Took me a couple of years to fully appreciate it but now I regard it her second best. :disco:
 
It's easily in my top 3. I even love the ones everybody shits on like Runaway Lover and Amazing.
 
VoR said:
It's easily in my top 3. I even love the ones everybody shits on like Runaway Lover and Amazing.
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I love Amazing and have never understood the pure vitriol for it. Even though I'm sure Sheena has explained time and time again :D
 
I get that it's a bit LIFELESS, but dear Christ literally every album subsequently (yes, even COADF) has had at least one song that was approximately TEN THOUSAND TIMES worse.

I just love the swirly production on Music, and it's the last album where her voice was genuinely pleasant to listen to.
 
Amazing is a steady stream of psychedelic swooshes, mmmmmms and spangly Madge pretending it's not actually about the boy finding her amazing that's amazing for her. Although truth be told I love I'm A Sinner even more (that middle-8 floats up to the high heavens).
 
Runaway Lover is the one I liked the least. Nowadays it sounds like Like a Prayer compared to most songs that came after it.
 
"Runaway Lover" is brilliant. I love the urgency of her vocals juxtaposed with the building beats.

It DOESN'T PAY
It DOESN'T PAY
It DOESN'T PAY
To give your HEART AWAAYYYYYYY
To a RUNAWAY LOVER

Uh UH
No WAY
Uh UH
No WAY

:disco:
 
i haven't listened to music in ages. i'm sure i still like amazing though.
 
jivafox said:
I love Amazing and have never understood the pure vitriol for it. Even though I'm sure Sheena has explained time and time again :D
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I like "Music" the album, but it's nowhere near my favourites, and I find it a bit "cold"- and not the delicious froideur of "Ray of Light", but just emotionally detached. The highlights ("Paradise (Not For Me)" and "Impressive Instant" in particular) are right up there with her very best work and the only absolute low light is, yes, "Amazing", which is such a calculated "Beautiful Stranger" retread it ACTUALLY HURTS ME TO LISTEN TO IT. She sounds so fucking BORED on it as well, the lyrics are lazier than usual and, whilst it's not BAD PER SE, I just HATE IT for the aforementioned reasons, as well as being mooted as a single ahead of "Impressive Instant", which was just a RIDICULOUS CONCEPT FROM THE START.

"Runaway Lover", on the other hand, doesn't deserve any shit at all. It gets it because it's VERY Orbit on a Mirwais album and I'm not entirely sure it fits, but it's FABULOUS :disco:

MUSIC RANK

1. Paradise (Not For Me)
2. Impressive Instant
3. What It Feels Like For A Girl
4. Runaway Lover
5. Don't Tell Me
6. I Deserve It
7. Gone
8. Music
(American Pie)
9. Nobody's Perfect
10.Amazing
(Cyber-Raga)
 
Regarding that "cold" comment; RoL is that cool and humid feeling when you're somewhere indoors in the middle of the day in the hottest days of summer. Music is as cold in the way I'd imagine outer space is. :disco:


01. Paradise (Not For Me)
(Beautiful Stranger)
02. Don't Tell Me
(American Pie)
03. Impressive Instant
04. Music
05. Nobody's Perfect
06. I Deserve It
07. Gone
08. What It Feels Like for a Girl
09. Amazing
10. Runaway Lover
(Cyber-raga)
 
my favourite these days is nobody's perfect which i absolutely hated when the album came out.
 
RaspberrySwirl said:
Regarding that "cold" comment; RoL is that cool and humid feeling when you're somewhere indoors in the middle of the day in the hottest days of summer. Music is as cold in the way I'd imagine outer space is. :disco:
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"Ray of Light" is cold where it's supposed to be- it's electronic, it's (in places) devastating I mean, come on, it's centrepiece is a song called "Frozen". "Music" aims at being warmer but misses- it's clinical in so many places. Even stuff like "I Deserve It", which is a love song and nothing more, lacks heart for me...

And DON'T YOU DARE put "Beautiful Stranger" in the rank. It's ENTIRELY SEPARATE and HAS NO PLACE HERE :evil:
 
I'm with Sheena on this one. "Amazing" is shite. I don't really like it when she does those re-write type songs. "Who's That Girl" was ALRIGHT as a one-off re-write AT THE TIME but it's something she's been doing QUITE A LOT OF in her career when you think of it and it seems to go by unnoticed a lot of the time!
 
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However, I must say I always found the "cold, detached, icy etc. etc." feel of Music to be part of its charm. And I always thought it was intentional. The whole "lonesome cowboy" imagery to go with the artwork as well. Something like "I Deserve It," with the electronic outro against the acoustic guitar... it's icy and detached but there's a certain warmth in it as well. I love that about this record - I always thought it was something she perfected with Mirwais.
 
1. Don't Tell Me
2. Paradise (Not For Me)
3. Nobody's Perfect
4. Impressive Instant
5. I Deserve It
6. Runaway Lover
7. Music
8. Gone
9. What It Feels Like For A Girl
10. Amazing
 
Suedehead said:
However, I must say I always found the "cold, detached, icy etc. etc." feel of Music to be part of its charm. And I always thought it was intentional. The whole "lonesome cowboy" imagery to go with the artwork as well. Something like "I Deserve It," with the electronic outro against the acoustic guitar... it's icy and detached but there's a certain warmth in it as well. I love that about this record - I always thought it was something she perfected with Mirwais.
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Agreed.
 
1. What it Feels Like for a Girl
2. Paradise (Not for Me)
3. Impressive Instant
4. Nobody's Perfect
5. Don't Tell Me
6. Music
7. Gone
8. I Deserve It
9. Runaway Lover
(Cyberraga)
(American Pie)
10. Amazing
 
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Love the album, but hate the front cover. Her face doesn't seem shot well. The back picture I love though, the colours are so pretty. Song-wise, the ones I can stop myself over are runaway and I deserve it (but even that one's saved by mirwais' lo fi atmospherics). I don't think Orbit was comfortable making the soun Madge was after, which I'm sure he commented on.
 
oh what I'd give for her to come up with at least something like amazing these days.

Instead we get Holy Water and B!Tch I'm Madonna
 
1. Gone (10)
2. Paradise (Not For Me)
3. Don't Tell Me
4. Music
5. Impressive Instant
6. Nobody's Perfect (9)
7. I Deserve It
8. Runaway Lover (8)
9. What It Feels Like For a Girl

10. Amazing (3)

Although I find nearly every track stellar individually or in small groupings, I've never rated this highly as an overall LP as there are too many mood pieces, and Amazing is intractable. In terms of balance it would clearly benefit from one more uptempo Mirwais song, say in the vein of Disco Science.
 
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I'd completely forgotten she performed Runaway Lover at Brixton. Surely that's the only time she's included a song on an album release promo show only to bar it from the eventual tour? Stuart Price probably could've developed a more palatable live mix for it.
 
10 Don't Tell Me
10 Paradise (Not For Me)
09 Impressive Instant
09 Music
08 Nobody's Perfect
08 I Deserve It
08 What It Feels Like For A Girl
07 Gone
06 Runaway Lover
04 Amazing
 
01 Paradise (Not For Me)
02 Impressive Instant
03 Nobody's Perfect
04 Runaway Lover
05 Don't Tell Me
06 I Deserve It
07 Gone
08 Amazing
09 Music
10 What It Feels Like For A Girl

I've never been a big fan of it, lots of individual tracks I really enjoy, indeed almost all of them bar the last 2/3 I'd happily listen to at any point but as a full album it holds little interest to me and I don't think I've played it in full in about 5 years.
 
It's the opposite for me; the album doesn't have any really big songs that stand out (apart from Paradise) but it's the total flow and vibe that makes it so perfect.

northernlad said:
In terms of balance it would clearly benefit from one more uptempo Mirwais song, say in the vein of Disco Science.
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That would have been fantastic. I'd gladly lose Amazing for Disco Science (with vocals)
 
It's a marvelous listen as an album, but I always think I love it more than I actually do when I rate some of the individual songs. It definitely has the mood component, is wonderfully atmospheric and like Suedehead said, has this detached electronic feel but also a distinct warmth. However, "Runaway Lover", for instance, is not a track I would ever go to as its own standalone track. But I agree that some of the musical textures here, even if the songs themselves aren't completely up to scratch, are perfect and something she hasn't really accomplished to that level since.

1. What It Feels Like for a Girl
2. Gone
3. Impressive Instant
4. I Deserve It
5. Don't Tell Me
6. Paradise - Not for Me
7. Music
8. Amazing
9. Nobody's Perfect
10. Runaway Lover
(11. Cyberaga)
(12. American Pie)

"What It Feels Like for a Girl" is so blatantly not a single but since it was it is her most underrated, by far, since the 90s (obviously there were loads then, too).
 
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As much as I was sooo hyped for this record when it came out, I feel like it's not as good as that review is making it out to be.

Yes, the combination of Madonna at her most mature and carefree + the edginess of Mirwais was a fantastic ricochet in her career, but some of the songs here are not as good as what that sum should equate to. The run between Runaway Lover and Nobody's Perfect is a bit FILLERISH and that's nearly half the record! Admittedly, Don't Tell Me, What It Feels.. and Paradise are all excellent tracks.
 
There are a couple of weaker spots, but it's easily one of my favourites. In fact it's probably top, although Ray of Light and Bedtime Stories are serious competition.
 
How annoying that they completely glossed over the best song on the damned album, "Paradise (Not For Me)".
 
For me, it's great, but isn't up there with her truly best stuff overall. It absolutely remains part of her "Imperial Collection", if you like. Or should that be Immaculate?
 
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