Even moreso than her own greatest hits collection
Celebration,
MDNA is a celebration of all things Madonna. (Hence the many references to her past works, which you can read about in my
“MDNA By The Numbers”
post for Idolator.) It’s not that she’s evoking her past so much
musically — well, maybe here and there, with some of that William Orbit
business — but she’s
definitely basking in all the same themes
that made her a star in the first place. There’s sex, there’s
aggression, there’s religion, and there’s self-reflection. In fact, you
might find that there’s a track on
MDNA to remind you of every phase of Madonna’s career.
Is “Give Me All Your Luvin’” not a bit of a throwback to those early,
carefree hits like “Dress You Up” and “Holiday”? It’s simple, it’s
catchy, it’s girly, it’s youthful, it’s fun. (Ditto “B-Day Song.”)
Meanwhile, “I Fucked Up” is the kind of nakedly emotional midtempo song
you might find on
True Blue (with a less explicit title,
perhaps). “I’m A Sinner” makes pop out of religion a la “Like A Prayer,”
and the “Girl Gone Wild” intro certainly invokes that song before
launching into a more “Express Yourself”-like sentiment. “Superstar”
falls in line with “Cherish” in tone while also reminding us of “Vogue”
by invoking icons like James Dean, before “Gang Bang” and “Some Girls”
move us into the controversial, pissed off Madonna we know and love from
the
Erotica era (here, using aggression and violence more than
sex — but same difference). “I’m Addicted” transports us to a trippy
place not unlike “Bedtime Story,” and maybe “Masterpiece” gives us a
little
Something To Remember? “Falling Free” clearly takes us back to
Ray Of Light;
“Beautiful Killer” gives us a slightly more threatening take on
“Beautiful Stranger.” Then “Turn Up The Radio” becomes the same sort of
“hey, isn’t music great?” track that “Music” was. For
American Life, of course, the “21st century problems” rap on “I Don’t Give A” is a clear successor. And while many
MDNA songs could easily have found a home on
Confessions On A Dance Floor,
I’m going to say “Love Spent” belongs there most of all, kind of like
the woman in “Hung Up” finally got her shit together and realized the
dude wasn’t gonna call her back
ever.
So which track reminds us of
Hard Candy? Maybe none of them, maybe “Best Friend.” But the less said about that, the better.
Now, of course, this isn’t an exact science, and I doubt it was as
calculated as all that. My point is, this is less of a cohesive
statement on its own, more Madonna’s overall tribute to herself, whether
intentional or not. The album is just a few vowels away from being
self-titled, after all. What more proof do you need? The “Human
Nature”/”Justify My Love”/”Vogue” etc. redux of the “Girl Gone Wild”
video? I rest my case.
Of course, we have no idea what Madonna will do next, but
MDNA
plays like she wanted to solidify her place in today’s pop music world
with a reminder of all the great things she’s done. (And they truly
are
great.) It’s an album that reaffirms her legacy and declares to those
less familiar with her catalog: “This is who I am.” Likening herself to
MDMA (it makes you happy! it makes you want to dance!) is no happy
accident. If you needed to give someone a crash course in all things
Madonna but could only use one album, which would you choose? (No,
cheater, you can’t pick
The Immaculate Collection.) I’d pick
MDNA, because it’s like a remix of her entire career.
