Madonna: What do you mean, what’s with the cowboy hat?
Jesse Kornbluth: I mean, there’s no country on this CD.
Madonna: Yeah, there is! What did you listen to? The cowboy hat represents a real kind of iconography — it’s one with nature and animals and all-American, and I think it’s an ironic twist when you consider how much synthesizer there is on the album.
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Wow, and it’s so hard to be an introvert when you know every fifth person you see on the street. Not that i’m a hardcore introvert, but i have my own little only-child thought-world that i occupy most of the time and i haven’t been spending a whole lot of time there lately. The odd thing is, i really love my introversion in a way and i’m much happier without it, but i miss it if i don’t get enough alone time. Alone time is guitar time, and webpage time, and fantasy time. I have so many worlds in my head it’s a wonder i can support it upon my neck and shoulders.
Erm, so, having met the greater part of the Freshmen class, i have little crushes on a few of them. Already mentioned was “the cute girl” whose compatibility with me is irrelevant since she’s too perfect looking for me to ever approach. But, aside from her there’s plenty of people i have had fleeting flirting moments with, and now it’s sorta getting to a point where i should commit and flirt with people or just give it up. Did i mention how awful my life is? But, today was nice … i actually learned things in 3 out of 5 classes. Which means it must have been a good day. Also, i had another late lunch with Laurel, who i adore. All last year i kept telling her that i wanted to spend more time talking to her and now i finally have the chance. She’s one of the most wonderful people i have ever met, and i’m so glad to have the chance to get to know her a little better.
What i truly love about this Madonna album is that it feels musically organic. First of all, whoever finally convinced Madonna to let guitars shine through in many of her songs deserves a pat on the back. Perhaps the country-gal album art is a nod to the overwhelming acoustic force on this album, but the simplicity of tunes like “Gone” that are just guitar, beatbox, and a few tracks of Madonna’s voice (with some electronic toys showing up as the song progresses) exemplify the newfound strength of her voice as well as the simple but heartfelt lyrics she’s come up with (and i still would love to know exactly how the writing process for a Madonna album occurs, but i fear that we’ll never know). “Music” at once doesn’t fit into the album at all and is perfect to kick it off… a bridge from “Beautiful Stranger” & “American Pie” to the present, showcasing all of her recent influences. “Impressive Instant takes us further in that direction, but by “I Deserve” it we see where the album’s true center is. I am left wondering what the next single might be… Ray of Light started off subtle with “Frozen” and then slammed us with the title track. “Music” is by far the best possible clubland single, so will Madonna try to top it with pop (“Amazing”) or grace (“I Deserve It”)?
Well, i’m off to Philosophy, so MadonnaBlog will be back later :P
Current crush from the Madonna disc is the sweet but sad “what it feels like for a girl,” which starts off with a quote about how its okay for a girl to want to be more like a man, but that it’s unacceptable for a man to want to be more like a woman. The all-to-true sentiment combined with the nearly cloying melody is inescapable. “When you open up your mouth to speak, could you be a little weak?” I wonder how many times Madonna’s heard that during her career….