> Have to admit that I had Madonna in the mix of music I'm listening to now.
> I don't think she is any kind of musical innovator, but she is a good
> craftsperson- doing all the technical details to put together appealing pop.
> Unlike a lot of bubblegum pop on the charts, which no one wants to listen to
> after their initial time on the charts, Madonna's music holds up with its
> basic pop skill.
I was going to jump in and mention this the last time Madonna was talked about on this list, but I guess it matters not that I missed the opportunity, as the thread inevitably re-asserts itself every few months or so...
In our loosely-knit DJ collective of eight or ten individuals there are currently five women, and they play all manner of things at our gigs - Icebreaker International, White Stripes, Zero 7, Nina Simone, Boredoms, Rufus Wainwright, Tarwater, Lewis Taylor, Simian, Young Marble Giants, The Faint, Gospel Swingers, Burnt Friedman, Eno, The Creation, Sloan, Hrvatski, Mildred Bailey, Muse, The Animalhouse, ad infinitum - but each and every one of them contributes to an ongoing project wherein Madonna is played at least once at every single gig we have (and then all five of them get up and dance like there's no tomorrow). I asked one of my cohorts about it and she wasn't able to offer any explanation except that Madonna has some unique, ineffable quality that makes her special. She just "is." Of course this Madonna-phenom is by no means confined to female-gendered humans. And one could argue that the _Sex_ book was, notwithstanding the abundant, perhaps well-deserved criticisms (and once one cuts through the clutter and gloss), not a little bit didactic - which is not at all a bad thing. I think I made this point 6 or 7 years ago on the Bad list. It's a small one, but worth noting nonetheless.
> Nothing wrong with well designed ear candy.
It's all candy, and meat too. And "This World" by Zero 7 is the most beautiful song I've heard all year.
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/ dave /