“Turn Up the Radio,” Madonna
Here it is, gays: the MDNA single we’ve been predicting for months, “Turn Up The Radio.” Madonna’s best bid for a genuine Song of the Summer, comes just in time for midsummer getaway season. And speaking of getaways, the video for “Radio” finds a weary Madge hounded by adoring fans and paparazzi in Italy. She is just not having you right now, people! That is, until her impossibly gorgeous driver, you know, turns up the radio. Then she’s all like, “Yeah, let’s put the top down and pick up a bunch of models and drive around Italy!”
We’ve been hearing this song at pool parties from P-Town to Asbury Park, but with the single’s release, get ready for “Turn Up The Radio” to reach maximum cultural saturation.
NEXT: No Doubt
“Settle Down,” No Doubt
No Doubt’s sound has evolved significantly over the years—from ska to new wave to electro-tinged pop, but it’s always been unmistakable. The band’s first single in nine years, “Settle Down,” hit the Internet this week with the video premiering on E! Monday night. The song, from No Doubt’s highly anticipated sixth album, Push and Shove, finds the band in familiar territory—melding reggae and pop in a way that definitely points to Gwen Stefani and co.’s shared musical bloodline with artists like Santigold.
Their sound was so very particular to the mid-to-late 90s—and Stefani’s solo work so radically different from her band’s—that you have to wonder what No Doubt has to contribute to the pop landscape of 2012. But rather than attempt some kind of full fledged reinvention, No Doubt—like Garbage—seems to have opted to stick with what they do best. It remains to be seen whether that will appeal to anyone other than the loyal fans who’ve had almost a decade to consider other options.
NEXT: George Michael
“White Light,” George Michael
Making up for having missed out on George Michael’s “Freedom” video, supermodel deluxe Kate Moss appears front and center in his comeback clip, “White Light.” While the song has the infectious beat and smooth vocals you want from a GM song, it’s also intensely personal—referencing his life-threatening battle with pneumonia last year. The video feels like a promo for a new fall collection, with a fur-clad Kate getting into all kinds of strange tableaux. But then again, any scene Kate Moss is in will inevitably turn into a runway show.
NEXT: Bloc Party
“Octopus,” Bloc Party
With Kele Okereke’s elector-heavy solo album behind him, the out singer is back in indie-rock mode on Bloc Party’s new single, “Octopus.” (What is it with octopi right now? What with this and that Fiona Apple video, it’s like they’re becoming for music videos what cats are for Internet memes.) An impressive return for the British band after a three-year hiatus, “Octopus” has that familiar Bloc Party urgency married to a kind of devil-may-care pop sensibility. It’s a tantalizing tease at what we can expect on the band’s upcoming fourth album, Four, due out next month.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Spike
Is it me or is Madge starting to look as worn out as Sharon Stone?
So, Turn up the Radio, and then what, listen to Gaga, Rihanna? Not like you are going to hear anything from her recent album let alone this mindless crap on it.
BTW, has anyone mentioned to Madge that no one listens to the radio anymore, there is this amazing new technology called MP3s . . .
michael
@Spike: Wow Spike, you sure know how to piss on the sunshine don’t you?
Tommy
It’s cool to be a bitch and criticize, but I love Madonna, No Doubt and George Michael. I think they are all amazing. They could just retire with all their money, but I’m glad they’re still making great music and videos. They all have their unique style, different but all great.
@Spike A lot of Madonna’s biggest hits are carefree fun dance songs. Have you heard of a song called Into the Groove? And the lyrics aren’t that superficial. I love the line “I don’t know how I got to this state, let me out of my cage.” It’s about escaping your past and being stuck in life, letting go, starting over and being happy again. Don’t overanalyze. Turn up the Radio is just a saying! Lighten up!
Jess
@Spike:
You do realize that people still do listen to the radio and that artist do write songs referring to other periods of time? Moreover, since Madonna gained fame in the age of MTV and videos, I’m sure that she knows more about the music business than anyone posting in the comment sections.
Frank McGinness
I can’t consciously listen to Madonna. As a gay man, anyone who is not for sexual freedom and rights should be denounced. This she has demonstrated by buying and taking ownership of her son’s foreskin and circumcising his right to full optimal sexual expression and limiting his body communicating. She should be gagged. BTW- Her choice (not her son’s) religion, Kabbalah worships the cut denuded penis as seeing God when viewing the glans. (ref’d. Glick’s “Marked in Your Flesh” everything about Jewish circumcision.
Mau!
gotta shake up the system and break all the rules,
gotta turn up the radio until the speakers blow !!! \o/
Glenn Garrett
Oh lord… An awful song and an even worse video. Give it up Madge, your time is gone
David
Really!! Madonna Really!!!???. Retire with dignity I say!..
Nicole H
I can’t stand Madonna. She can take her homophobic Kaballa and fall off the planet for all I care. She’s a self centered, phony, no talent has- been. Madge, your 15 minutes of fame are over, way over.
Go back to the UK and try talking likr a Brit…lol.
Steven DuVall
To all you Madonna detractors: you poor, pathetic, judgmental, shortsided losers should take a step back and learn how to look at the big picture! Madonna not only has contributed to the rather morally permissive society in which we all live by pushing every envelope in America (and the world to a certain extent) but she has accumulated an incredible body of work in the process, one to which she is still adding. So when you decide to get off your self-indulgent asses and change the moral and musical landscape of America, THEN you go ahead and criticize all you want. Oh, and I didn’t even MENTION her charitable contributions to some very important causes. I will school you on that another day, d
Dumbasses.
Tad
Maybe it’s just me, but this song and video are a total turn-off. She looks like an aging tart trying too hard to be hip. I have enormous respect for what she’s accomplished but time has not been good to her. Plus, the song and video are just so unappealing that it’s hard to get excited about it.
Ugly
Madonna is just sad these days – crappy songs, boring videos. No wonder nobody buys her records anymore except a handfull of gays in the 40’s and 50’s.
Derek1
@Nicole H: What’s really, really, really funny here is that you think somehow Madge’s continued worldwide fame can be limited to the tired “15 minutes” cliche…
In 1/100th of a second, at any given time, she is more famous than you will be in your ENTIRE life.
15 minutes – LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
Derek1
And perhaps some of you clueless (haters) should do a little reading on your own
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/17/madonna-mdna_n_1680467.html
Her tour is set to be among the HIGHEST GROSSING concert tours of ALL TIME…
Just how could a “has been” possibly accomplish that? Anyone?
Belize
@Derek1: There are a lot of people in the world with provincial tastes in music. In a time when someone like Justin Bieber and Rebecca Black can be famous for their “music,” those figures are NOT impressive… nor has it ever been during Madonna’s “heyday.”
Anything else? No? Thought so.
Belize
I’m very glad to see that Bloc Party is back.
Belize
@Steven DuVall: “Oh, and I didn’t even MENTION her charitable contributions to some very important causes. I will school you on that another day”
Meh. That still doesn’t make her music better. I can respect her for that but I can’t respect her as a musician when majority of her musical endeavors remain dull and formulaic. Longevity only means that you’ve found a niche. It doesn’t mean that you’ve pushed yourself through the limits of your creativity to create something fresh.
KARUADAM
George Michael, you are still hot sweet and sexy as all ways XOXOXOXOX
Derek1
@Belize: LMAO! Provincial? What an affected douche you are dude. Seriously.
Spike
@Steven DuVall: Oh, and I didn’t even MENTION her charitable contributions to some very important causes. I will school you on that another day, d
Dumbasses.
Err, ahh, really, seriously? Madonna donates to charity, and you know of these donations, and charities? Why is it that she does this, so that, people, like you, know? Why not just donate because she has the money and it’s the right thing to do, such that, people like you, don’t know? I donate to charities, I don’t tell anyone, I certainly don’t use the fact to promote myself to anyone, yet she apparently does donate, to charity, and people, like you find out, and feel that makes her, different, better? Do explain.
BTW, years ago, I attended a black tie yearly gay fundraiser in LA, the honoree was a very well known female singer, with a very well known brother, who has since died. I always liked her, her music, her persona. Prior to her accepting the award, a short video played that detailed her donations, specific to the gay community as well as others. Who knew???
Good for her, and her contributions to charity without the need for anyone to know.
Seaguy
Love it. The Queen of Pop rules all!!