While you’re busy figuring out whether Madonna has truly been a fan to the gays, why not be among the first to listen to seven new tracks from Hard Candy? They’re all below.
[Update: Yes, it appears the tracks have been removed from Imeem.]
GIVE IT 2 ME
HEARTBEAT
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.
MILES AWAY
SHE’S NOT ME
INCREDIBLE
BEAT GOES ON (feat KANYE WEST)
4 MINUTES (feat JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE & TIMBALAND)
[via ONTD]
PalePhoenix
“Give It to Me” sounds like it will make a good opener…when she headlines in Vegas in 2020. I’m sure some will not be disappointed by this album. They’re the ones who never minded Maddy’s voice production-valued into tolerability, or who withhold their true rancor until the remixes flop. There is not a single track on here that compares to her earlier work, and if you think she benefits from some kind of artistic evolution by putting this dreck out, then read no further.
“Heartbeat” could cause you to wonder if this ‘speak-singing’ (I know there’s some stage term for it that I’m not remembering right now) is all she can do anymore, but seems frivolous enough to make a good remix. If they do it in double-time, will it be “Heart Attack?”
“Miles Away” is asking for a ‘flamenco remix.’ I am beginning to wonder if these pseudo-acoustic pieces are her new thing. It makes you wish you had a map back to la Isla Bonita. I cannot imagine anyone over the age of 16 who would be struck by the emotional depth…which still leaves thousands of other gay men firmly in the loop.
“She’s Not Me” starts off as if you’ve been transported back to 1979. Unfortunately, you do not get to stay, except for the occasional disco-esque riff. I’m really not feelin’ this album. I don’t know what she’s ‘saying’ or ‘doing,’ as if tracks had to be coherent or message-worthy. There’s a mid-song break in the style that’s so abrupt she even announces “I know I can do it better.” Yes, we know too, dear.
“Incredible” is a frustrating mash-up of synthesized percussion, bass, and vocal samples. The melody is terrible, juvenile, and though I’m listening to these in order, I am wondering which one (other than “4 Minutes”) is supposed to be the next ‘grab-you’ single. I’m also trying to imagine which ones would lend themselves to the usual raft of remixes. Possibly, this one.
“Beat Goes On” is another ‘disco Post-it’; i.e., just a reminder that the genre once existed and gave rise to this woman’s early career and core audience. Dunno how she managed to recruit Kanye for a few “beep-beep” type vocals and an utterly disposable rap. As with JT and Timbaland’s appearances on the first release, you’re scratching your head.
Enough virtual blood has been spilled over “4 Minutes.” I won’t comment except to say that the more I hear it (like in that pointless SunSilk campaign), the more I figure it was written to be played during some comic book action flick. I’m not sure what to think about the whole album being presented this way (fair use! fair use!), but I hope most won’t object to my decision to ‘review’ it. If we’re not meant to react, then that’s pretty much the feeling I got from the songs.
Maybe she can do better, but Hard Candy provides little proof. Anyone who buys it expecting another “Ray of Light,” “Erotica,” or even “Dress You Up” is going to be an all-day sucker.
Buffy
I completely aggree with, you. I’m fairly dissapointed by this album. The only song I like is “Miles Away”. Confessions was a better album.
M Swan
I am glad they have these songs out there so that all the haters can get it out of there system. They seem to enjoy putting others down.
I hope they all agree not to buy the album and to not dance to the songs. It will be released at number one, and there will be more room on the dance floor for me.
PalePhoenix
I am glad they have these songs out there so that all the haters can get it out of there system. They seem to enjoy putting others down.
I figure I might just as well toss this disclaimer at your head now, rather than wait to see who does or does not agree with me…as if I require anyone to do either:
I do not hate Madonna. I have never hated Madonna. I think this album will be a real disappointment to a lot of her fans, both gay and straight (if there are any of the latter). Telling me I need to get anything out of my system is like saying my happy bout of cocksucking was just a phase. I’ll thank you to stop it. I’ll also ask…since you seem bent on preserving what dignity she has herself tossed to the wind so many times before…what you think that ring she’s wearing says. I can’t quite make it out from the pic, but it looks like the almighty “M-Dolla” is more important than making good music.
I hope they all agree not to buy the album and to not dance to the songs. It will be released at number one, and there will be more room on the dance floor for me.
You have my word on that, dahlink. It’s all about you on that dance floor. Work it.
Z
LOVE HER!!!
http://www.ilovezeren.com
Patrick
Hmmm, I can understand why some of you don’t like the music. It’s different. Different good or different bad is all in the listener. I’m liking it so far. I’ll probably stop by, where ever I am, when the album drops and grab it.
I just think it’s funny that most everyone, on the chat boards, the net over, want to force their opinion on others. If you like it you like it, if you don’t you don’t and you might like the next album. Not everyone like American Life, but I consider it to be one of her most overlooked albums.
M Swan
Madonna Sets New Brit Song Record
by The Celebrity Truth – April 21 2008
Comeback Queen Madonna has set a new record in the UK with her new song after topping the British singles charts for the 13th time – a record for female solo artists in Britain.
Her new track ‘4 Minutes’, a collaboration with Justin Timberlake, pushed Estelle’s ‘American Boy’, featuring Kanye West, into second position. It had dominated the British charts for the preceding four weeks.
Madonna, 49, held the previous record with 12 number one British singles. She has had nearly twice as many chart-toppers as the next closest female solo artist, Australian songbird Kylie Minogue, who has had seven number ones.
mrmansonx
“Incredible” is unlistanable (don’t even know if this is a word, english is not my first language.
dgz
of COURSE fans of old madonna might not like this album.
people, her schtick is REINVENTION. she always tracks whatever pop trends are happening at the moment. that’s why ray of light sounded like moby lite, and in the 80s she was cindy lauper lite. surprise: now it’s similar to jt and timba.
love it or hate it, it’s a big part of what’s kept her relevant and popular. that and her bionic body.
steviewonder66
i love all the tracks, she is branching out ( once again ) and is going to go all tghe way to the top.
Haters suck.
madge fan out…..
M Swan
The people have spoken:
“4 Minutes,” has rocketed up the Top 40 Countdown meter faster than any song in the chart’s 38-year history.
baltimoresun.com
Liz Smith: Madonna-Timberlake duet, ‘4 Minutes,’ is firecracker hot
April 9, 2008
On April 28, Madonna’s final album for Warner Records – her home base for 25 years – debuts. The first single, a duet with Justin Timberlake titled “4 Minutes,” has rocketed up the Top 40 Countdown meter faster than any song in the chart’s 38-year history. It is No. 1 on iTunes. Perhaps most significantly, Ellen DeGeneres shimmies to it every day on her TV show. (Ellen now equals Oprah in shaping cultural cravings. If either of these women says, “Buy it! Love it!” – millions do.)
So Madonna’s swan song for Warner might be her biggest hit ever. The “4 Minutes” video features Madonna – relentlessly athletic, and Justin, effortlessly limber – dancing up a storm.
We’ve heard some snarky comments about Justin “making music with his mommy” but in the video, there seems to be hardly a year between them. She will be 50 in August; he is 26. You’d never know that Madonna could, chronologically, be his mother, watching the pair bump and grind in “4 Minutes.” (Madonna is toned to the max; a disciplined life is not to be despised!)
Maplewoody
Hey, to all the haters, don’t buy the fucking CD!
I think this new CD will be a GIANT hit again for Madge! I love all these songs! Can’t wait to hear the entire CD. Can’t wait to see her in concert again! She’s Incredible!
Long time fan,
Maplewoody
afrolito
Minus ‘incredible’ and ‘she’s not me’, I am in love with these tracks!
Filtering the sounds of Pharell, and Timbaland, through her own dance/pop sensibilities was genius. I can’t wait to hear the rest.
April 29th
V day!
Coke
Boring, no energy. The lyrics are insipid. I loved the last album. I’m a fan. This album is not up to par.
Dawster
do all the overt haters out there realize that they are bitching about POP music?
i mean… like… it’s POP MUSIC for fuck’s sake. take it for what it is… like it, don’t like it. for for three posts (and counting) people have been going on and on… about POP MUSIC.
it’s like trying to critic the literary relevance t-shirt logos. fun is fun. catchy is catchy. making money is the point. but take it too seriously and you’ve totally missed the point…
damien
It’s no “Blackout”.
There I said it!
Mike
I fucking LOVE it !!!!!!!!!!!!
ALL OF IT.
Chris
Hate it , Hate it , Hate it.
Would not waste my money on this piece of crap from the talentless Queen Whore of Media Whores.
Her pics are so airbrushed that I thought my glasses
were fogged up! Ugly botoxed hag that she is.
I hope her cd bombs in her own country like the recent ones have. It hurts even if she won’t admit it. I feel so sorry for her children having a whore like that for a mother!
michael
For those with taste, don’t dispair. The third coming is near. Portishead Thank you!
michael
Chris, did you forget your meds this morning?
Chris
No “Michael” but you must have if you think that fugly 50 year old hag is tasteful. She’s a f—-ing whore who still continues to whore herself to the top. She even has resorted to using talented 2o year old artists to get airplay in America! How sad and pathetic.
Madonna is so fugly it’s a joke. Aren’t you embarassed to be a fan of hers?
faghag
Miles away brought tears to my eyes.
Madonna Ilove always and forever.
PalePhoenix
I wish some of the folks who insist on passive-aggressively assailing the other commenters, not the comments would explain exactly what it is about the tracks they LIKE, maybe before, after, or during all the squealing about how FAAAB-u-LOUS she supposedly is. I gave her an honest shake, and she fell apart. Posting all the chart-toppingness wouldn’t do a thing to change my opinion. My ears still work.
And yes, Dawster, it’s pop music. The sky is also blue, and we both breathe oxygen. I think. 😉
sugarsmack
I am surprised but I actually like some of it. I like the unusually high notes of ‘Heartbeat’ and, altogether, I like ‘Incredible’ and ‘The Beat Goes On’. The former should really be credited as a Pharrell song, though, since it’s unmistakable as his sound. You should note that this is not the complete album and the anticipated single ‘Candy Shop’ isn’t here. That said, some of these songs are embarassingly bad. I think Madonna is regressing as opposed to evolving, into a 12 year old.
sugarsmack
On second listen, I hate it. I tried to be positive but this blows.
sugarsmack
It could be the highest grossing album of all time and that still has no bearing on quality. If that were the case, The People’s Choice Awards would be more relevant and prestigious than the Grammys and Academy Awards combined. Or better yet, Kids Choice Awards, in this case. Since Madonna’s work over the last 10 years has been geared toward children with weekly allowances. I want to love her, as a childhood idol of mine, but she has gone into this phase of simply being around because she has a fascistic stronghold on pop media. Radio,television etc. all give Madonna extra,extra chances for airplay and exposure just because her name alone is a headline-making buzz word. And as soon as Madonna recognized this passage into legendary status, her artistic hunger waned and quality went out the window. It’s frustrating to constantly have high hopes for someone you’re rooting for, only to be disappointed 99% of the time.
Johnny C
oh come on guys, Madonna is a POP star and this is pure commercial pop and I love her for it. Pop and she is not meant to be deep or taken seriously. The attempt at urban is pretty funny though. Kanye West is such a KNOB!
Johnny C
oh if you hate madonna, check out the nutjob at aishamusic.com website, now that is someone with too much time and no talent on her hands. funny if you love madonna
cousin midge
@Johnny C: It isn’t a question of depth or seriousness. Nobody has mistaken Madonna for either of those things and thank god because nothing is more tired than deep and serious. But even pop music is subject to quality standards and this bubblegum tastes like dirt.
MikeNYC
Well. What a shocker.
Music to drive your car too…maybe vacuum…clean the windows…but not much more.
Madonna. Artist.
Pop whore, er – STAR.
mrmansonx
“We’ve heard some snarky comments about Justin “making music with his mommy†but in the video, there seems to be hardly a year between them.”
What? Only blind people would say something like that. LOL
faghag
Mdonna is gonna sue your asses lol
faghag
hate all you like motherfuckers, she’s still hot at 50.
post a picture of yourselves and let’s see how hot you all are. lol
MADONNA=QUEEN OF THE MOTHERFUCKING UNIVERSE.
Ryan
First thing, music is a very subjective experience. What one person considers amazing may be considered crap by other people. For instance, the Beatles are considered the best band of all time, and when I listen to the Beatles, I fall asleep.
That said, some people like Madonna’s music; some people do not. So who really cares what all these haters think? If you’re a Madonna fan, and you like this album, then that’s all that matters, right?
I actually think this album is great. I would admit it if I didn’t like it, but it’s growing on me.
David
I like it, especially Miles Away. It’s a fun album.
Joseph
This sounds like a great dance album, I cant wait to hear the whole thing.
Chris
Awww C’mon….it’s just PLAIN AWFUL.
That song “Hard Candy” sounds like a 5 year old intead of a 50 year old.
My 15 year old niece screamed at me to turn it off!!! Madonna’s a desperate hag going through a midlife crisis like Entertainment Weekly said!
steve
ugh – she’s *still* using that damn vocoder??
sigh
it’s ok – once was enough
“miles away” sounds like the best of the lot
i hate that the woman has become so damn brittle, inside & out… she was her best when she was a bit squishy
maybe “hard candy” is a completely appropriate title
LacroixSweetie
I am listening right now, and it is a fun album-lyrically great? Of course not! When was the last time Madge was actually excellent at lyrics? It is not pure rap, it is not pop, it is just plain interesting. But she could have done better. I think she could have recruited better talent than who she lined up; plus, why does she have to have everyone else singing on this album? I’m not interested in hearing anyone else’s voice. Trying not to bitch, but when it comes to Madge, bitching is the appropriate thing to do. This album is incredibly fun and I think it might actually please a lot of people-but it’s no masterpiece. I want to scream because all I hear is Timbaland and Pharoah whatever the fu** his name is! GRRRRR….
Madonna's Boy
I love how all the haters are the FIRST to post on anything M-Dolla-related. And they put a lot of thought and energy into their negative tirades in the hopes that others will look at their rantings and cause a storm of anti-Madonnaness. All I got to say is “GIVE IT TO ME…YEAH…NO ONE’S GONNA STOP ME NOW…GIVE IT TO ME…YEAH…NO ONE’S GONNA SHOW ME HOW!!!”. Madonna is the QUEEN! Sure, her vocals are overproduced and she’s a self-indulgent media vixen…but that is exactly why we LOVE her. She’s a self-made legend who ALWAYS does things on her terms. And HARD CANDY proves she can wear lots of differen outfits and still pull off a killer tune, ready for the masses to take them on an aural journey like no other! FIFTY YEARS-YOUNG and the Bitch keeps bringing it…the queens can’t stop talking about her!!! MADONNA AND HARD CANDY R-U-L-E!!!
Jon
You guys are douchebags for leaking these tracks. Why not have some class and buy the CD instead of listening to it illegally.
Chadnnocal
Madonna Delivers Disappointment
I expected more from the collaborations with Justin Timberlake, Timbaland and Kanye West.
4 Minutes sounds painfully similar to Madonna’s earlier collaboration with Britney Spears, Me Against The Music.
I have always loved Madonna, but her music has become so cliche. No offense to those of you that idolize her, but if this were a new artist we would not be having this conversation.
James
If one hates this album…I think it means…one is getting old.
I don’t like it…so that means I’m out of touch. Face it! It’s true. We all sound like our parents, when they thought Madonna in the 80’s, Eurythmics and Nirvana in the 90’s was “dreck”!
Wake up! We should be listening to easy old-folks music like Leona Lewis.
Madonna has become a mirror with our aging tastes! She keeps getting richer…and we keep getting older!
LacroixSweetie
I don’t know who to blame for ruining this album-the woman herself or Timbaland, Kanye, and Pharrell…their voices are heard in the songs and I can’t stand it. I thought M was a control freak, so wtf is she doing? Not interested in hearing these morons sing, esp Kanye, whose ego is bigger than his bank accounts.
Maverick69
It’s Madonna People, What has changed in 25 years? Everything.
This is why we love/hate her.
That said, I’m still buying her new CD
Chris
In response to “Madonna’s Boy” (lmfao!!!):
Just read your post back…you sound like a fucking moron. “Madonna is the Queen” LOL!! Are you 12 years old? Are you retarded?
Hard Candy is for fucking retards and gays with no self-esteem.
PalePhoenix
We all sound like our parents, when they thought Madonna in the 80’s, Eurythmics and Nirvana in the 90’s was “dreckâ€!
If the Platters or the Four Seasons came out with something new, then I’d give my mother full permission to pan it if it bit. On a side note, I like both the Eurythmics and Nirvana, tho the former has always been spotty (the occasional sucky track might be deemed ‘adventurous’ or ‘experimental’) and the latter won’t be producing anything else on this plane of existence.
Maybe Hard Candy is some kind of experiment…but I keep replaying the tracks and they don’t strike me the way other Madonna songs have. I wish people weren’t so divided between haters and ‘baters, but this devotion to ANY “artist’s” work without acceptance of its warts-and-all missteps is blind (or deaf) obedience.
And by the way, I think it’s Hannah Montana/Ersatz Madonna that sucks. That shrill little twit is everywhere.
Madonna's Boy
Hey Chris! Madonna is the Queen…bow down and worship! And I am not 12 years-old nor “retarded”. But thanks for asking…and for your stance on what retarded gays with no self-esteem like. Such a potty mouth, doll! Come over here so I can bitch some style and taste into you. I’ll even let you suck on my Hard Candy!
Madonna's Boy
One last word for Chris regarding my BoyToy Tag…(to quote Madonna) ‘ You’re not me…you don’t have my name…you’ll never have what I have…you’ll NEVER be the same!’.
MikeNYC
I just read these comments from these boys about Madonna ruling and so amazing and we love her because she’s a bitch and and and…i guess you get the flakes in every part of society. I don’t get why 50 year Madonna gets the boys so excited. I mean, just those songs are so boring. I guess they haven’t heard good hooks or something. She’s boring, dull and the whole sex with a whip and tight clothes…I mean, it’s so tired. She and Britney need to be sent to a desert island and the boat needs to sail away, into the sunset, leaving them on the island forever and ever so we never have to hear their tired voices again…
faghag
you people claim to hate her but as it happens, this one of the most commented on posts ever.
she will always be queen, hate her all you like.
Andrew darling, you know you love her, stop fighting it.
mrmansonx
Blackout was a much better album, and God, I lothe Britney Spears.
One of the most annoying features here are the guest singers, the rapping and all that.
Unless she thinks she needs those to sell.
Candy Store is made for a singer in her 20’s. In madonna’s voice is just creepy.
faghag
51 you are a twat.
Madonna's Boy
I think faghag said it all…of all the haters…this posting has over 50 comments. That means that over 50 queens took the energy to comment on something Madonna-related. Which just proves that she ALWAYS gets noticed…which is part of what makes her so delectable. HARD CANDY is definitely another new direction for Madge. She’s done it all…queens bitch and complain about each new record or project she does. Then, immediately after the next project comes out, all the haters go back to the previous record and say “Oh that was better”. It happens all the time…everyone eventually comes around and gets into Madonna’s groove. And the first track is not called Candy Store…it’s called Candy Shop!!! Now Dance!!
KPB
I think M is musically in a cycle right now. I think Confessions sparked the beginning of that cycle. And I think the cycle is her basically re-establishing herself in the music scene. As much as some of us are familiar with her, the younger kids don’t know who the hell she is. She basically has to start over again. Since this is the second album in the cycle, I’d like to think of it as the Like A Virgin album for the new kids. Was Like A Virgin amazing and experimental? No. Was it fun? Yes. And so it begins again as she inducts the next generation. Look for her to step it up a lot on the next two albums both musically and lyrically (True Blue and Like A Prayer). Trust me, she’s got this shit mapped out for the next 10-15 years while some of you sit here and can’t see past next week. Am I amazed by a collaboration with Timbaland and Justin? No, but it’ll hook the young kids and that’s what she’s gotta do right now. She knows the older, hardcore fans ain’t going anywhere. I’ll admit I hated the songs on first listen. They’ve grown on me a bit. Not in love yet but I’m enjoying it.
Madonna's Boy
On and on and on the beat goes…on and on and on the beat goes!!!
mrmansonx
i’m a twat… yay for me.
4 minutes is actually catchy, though I could do without Timbaland’s fug face in the video. Still think she should have done it solo.
J
Madonna’s Boy wrote: “she ALWAYS gets noticed…which is part of what makes her so delectable.”
This is the boilerplate fallback statement of the vast majority of Madonna fans I know. It’s a vacuity we’ll always find in any populace, but I’m still embarrassed for anyone who would say such a thing.
Fame = appeal, or quality, or even plain old value? Do grow up.