Madonna - Music (2000)

Versions:
CD (EU)
CD (Australia - Tour Edition with bonus disc)
CD (Limited Edition - Black)
CD (Limited Edition - Rose)
LP
Cassette

Tracklisting:
1. Music
2. Impressive Instant
3. Runaway Lover
4. I Deserve It
5. Amazing
6. Nobody's Perfect
7. Don't Tell Me
8. What It Feels Like For A Girl
9. Paradise (Not For Me)
10. Gone

Best Tracks:
Paradise (Not For Me)
Don't Tell Me
Impressive Instant

Fuck me, I didn't realise I had 6 copies of Music. I guess it's bound to happen when I'm constantly (and mindlessly) picking up Madonna knick knacks. I'm not really surprised, once I think about it. It'll probably happen more as I dig through and blog the (extensive) Madonna library.

Anyway. Music. It was this album, along with Ray Of Light that re-ignited my interest in all-things-Mads back in 2000. By the time I was 17, I had thought (however erroneously) that Madonna would forever be a nostalgic remember of my childhood. Given that I was only about 14 when I decided to hide my Madonna CD's and cassettes in a bottom drawer so that my friends wouldn't see, we were only apart a few years (and during her Evita phase. So, there was that). Occasionally, I'd hear an 80's hit on the radio or in a shop and smile knowingly. At the time, obsessed with 60's music and (gulp) Marilyn Manson, I would not have thought - at that point in time - that I'd rediscover Madonna's music. And with such a vengeance.

I mean, I was always going to. It was inevitable. I couldn't stay away forever. The love never stopped, as much as I tried to deny it. After Music came out, I embraced it wholeheartedly.

I had heard Ray Of Light and quite liked it. I thought 'Frozen' was great when that came out. But, that was it. I'd always meant to check it out further, and never did. Then the 'Music' single came out, flooded the airwaves, and was catchy as hell. Then 'Don't Tell Me' came out and was actually a fucking great song and had that great cowboy video. Then 'What It Feels Like For A Girl' gets released as a hard techno remix with a Guy Richie directed video. I loved all three. I couldn't hold off any longer. I got one of my mates to burn me his sister's copies of both albums, and gave them a whirl.

I fell in love with both, pretty well instantly. Both were on high rotation, much to the chagrin of my Nine Inch Nails worshipping pals. Personally, I didn't think Madonna and NIN were that different.

The songs on Music are, generally, very good. Aside from the 'Beautiful Stranger' re-write 'Amazing' (which was almost a single, but thankfully wasn't), there are no songs on Music that I don't like. 'Music' was a great single and showed that, in 2000, Madonna was still a trendsetter (as Jennifer Saudners, playing Edina Monsoon, in an episode of Absolutely Fabulous said, 'Lo, she hath spoken! Cowboy hats is back!'). 'Don't Tell Me' is still one of my all time favourite Madonna songs. As well as being a wonderfully produced slice of pop goodness, it's actually a beautiful song. 'Impressive Instant' really should have been a single (and Madonna fans on the internet in 2001 would have told you that it was the biggest travesty of her career that it wasn't). The song shows that heavy vocoder use can, believe it or not, be used to great effect. 'What It Feels Like For A Girl' is a sweet song, but I have grown the love the Above & Beyond single remix much more than the album version. 'I Deserve It' and 'Gone' are softer guitar based songs (yes, this was when she started playing guitar and speaking with a British accent) which, despite songs very naff and clichéd lyrics ('This guy was meant for me, and I was meant for him' - guy....Guy! Guy Richie! Get it!), both hold a special place in my heart for some reason. They don't come close to 'Don't Tell Me', but they're nice anyway.

The dark horse of the whole record is 'Paradise (Not For Me)'. It came out on Mirwais' Production album before it came out on Music. I remember Triple J playing it, saying something to the effect of 'You won't believe this is Madonna!'. Considering she'd worked previously with Massive Attack and co-written a song with Björk, it wasn't that much of a surprise. That said, it was quite unlike anything she'd done before. It doesn't sound like it in 2015, but in 2000, it was strikingly different. It was not the type of song that a mainstream pop singer would produce. Thankfully, mainstream pop music became a little more adventurous in the 00's. I think it speaks volumes about the state of pop music in 2000 when a song like 'Paradise' could evoke such a reaction. 'Paradise' is still a really great song. I may even go so far as to say it's Madonna's best song that was never released as a single.

The first copy of this album I got (because the burnt copy just wouldn't do) was the 2-disc tour edition. Why a tour edition was released in Australia (it was even pressed in Australia), I do not know. Since it's 2015 and she still hasn't fucking toured here. Interestingly, the version of Music used on the tour edition is the US 10 track version, not the standard Australian version with 'American Pie' and 'Don't Tell Me' b-side, 'Cyber-Raga' as bonus tracks. I've not included those tracks in this blog because, first and foremost, they don't belong on Music, but also because the 10 tracks version is the version I'm used to hearing (even the vinyl has 'American Pie' frustratingly tacked onto the end. I've also - strangely enough - never picked up a copy of the Australian CD. Which is rather unlike me). The bonus disc of the tour edition features remixes found on the singles released from Music. For some reason, it doesn't include the Above & Beyond remix of 'What It Feels Like For A Girl', which renders the whole thing just about pointless.

I found the vinyl copy at The Muses one fateful day. They had this, Ray Of Light and American Life. They just randomly popped up. After squealing like a schoolgirl, I bought all three. I have two of the limited edition hessian cover versions. The black (which is apparently the hardest to get) I found years ago in a secondhand shop for $10. The rose coloured one I got off eBay more recently for under $10. Both are quite nifty additions. The hard cover looks very cool. The CD pictured with the 6 for £5 price tag I bought in Manchester, during my trip following Madonna around the UK. For reasons best known to itself, my iPod wiped itself while I was staying in Dublin. And, I didn't fancy catching the train back to London from Manchester iPod-less. 6 Madonna CD's for £5? That was money well spent. Even if I did have them all at home already. I left the price tag on as a reminder (usually a big no-no for anything in my collection).

Music has actually aged quite well. While it may not be Madonna's best album, it's certainly up there. It is easily one of her most consistent albums. Which may be down to it's 44 minute running time. Only her first three albums run less. While others (Erotica, Ray Of Light, Hard Candy and the stifling 25 tracks on Rebel Heart) push well past the one hour mark. As such, Music has a directness that most of her others records lack. This one doesn't really fuck around too much.