Lady Madonna.

It’s somewhat hard to believe that, since I opened this website back in November 2007 (after migrating from my old home on the Internet - a place which I’ll be moving everything to here from at some stage next month) the only real mention The Queen Of Pop’s gotten on here has been a brief, fleeting moment of appreciation for her cooch. There’s not been much of a mention as to whether I even like the new single “4 Minutes” (I do,) or whether I am happy with the video clip (I am.) That’s not to say I haven’t been working myself into a tizz of excitement in anticipation for the arrival of “Hard Candy,” Her Madgesty’s 11th studio album.

I won’t deny that I’d previously been skeptical towards her decision to work with artists such as Pharrell Williams and Timbaland on the record, but now, after hearing the miniscule snippets of each album track that have appeared online, my faith is somewhat restored. The excitement before a Madonna album always conjures up an assortment of emotions within me, especially as it’s incentive to pull out all the albums and listen to them one after the other in the lead up to the release. I’ll also watch the videos, marvel at the tour DVD’s and go through the magazine clippings and such. It’s an event; always a big event in my life, and in the lead up, I celebrate its impending arrival and put a lot of energy into its anticipating it.  Some of that passion can be read in an old essay/confession of my own that I penned some time ago over on the old site, detailing just some of the reasons why Madonna has played an important part in shaping the person I am today (it’s a long read and a little embarrassing in places, but you can read that here.)

So today I began listening to all the albums whilst I was at work. Got half way in a 9 hour shift and totally perked up my potentially awful day; the rest I will squeeze into tomorrows late night in the office. But yesterday I put together a mix-tape playlist for the car, one that I thought would gear me up quite nicely whilst waiting (completely impatiently) for “Hard Candy” to arrive. The tracklisting does not hone in on what I would consider to be her best work (although a LOT of it is; Gambler, Burning Up, Fighting Spirit for example,) BUT they are songs I’m quite fond of. Anyways, here’s that very playlist, just in case you feel like burning it for yourself into iTunes…

Burning Up ‘81 (From the Pre-Madonna album) Physical Attraction Gambler (I - quite sadly - seem to have damaged my car speakers thanks to this one…) Dress You Up Till Death Do Us Part Pretender I Know It Erotica (Madonna’s In My Jeep Mix) Human Nature (Radio Edit) Inside Of Me Take A Bow (Silky Soul Mix) Sanctuary Express Yourself (Re-Invention Tour Studio Version) Bye Bye Baby Papa Don’t Preach (Re-Invention Tour Studio Version) Shanti/Ashtangi Fighting Spirit Nobody Knows Me (Live Re-Invention Tour)

Notice a lot of “Bedtime Stories” on there? That was the last time Madonna went for an Urban/Pop sound on a record and was one that I always felt was incredibly underrated.

Album discussion once it ‘hits,’ which shouldn’t be too far away now. In the meantime, here’s the “4 Minutes” video.

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