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Celeb News: Madonna's 'Rebel Heart' Reinforces Her Relevance
Member Since: 3/2/2014
Posts: 2,262
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Madonna's 'Rebel Heart' Reinforces Her Relevance
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Madonna is making headlines again, and for the first time in two years, the topic of conversation is her music.
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Each Madonna release is held to the highest standard by professional music critics and die-hard fans. For better or worse, the Queen of Pop has an impressive legacy to live up to, and it is not enough for her to release a good pop album. She must release her best album every time, which is to say that each release must be trend-setting and iconic. This is why critics and fans were not too pleased with 2008’s Hard Cady and 2012’s MDNA. For other pop stars like Britney Spears or Katy Perry, these would have been solid albums, but for Madonna, they were lame attempts to appeal to the mainstream. This is obviously not fair, and such impossibly high expectations often overlook the fact that even Madonna’s lesser work is significantly more interesting than what passes for contemporary pop, but better this than to accept everything she does simply because her name is attached to it.
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Whether or not the leak of Rebel Heart will impact first-week sales, Madonna fans can rest knowing that it will be her best album since 2005’s Confessions on a Dance Floor, if not better.
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The first track, “Living for Love”, is her most joyous since “Express Yourself”, and shows us why Madonna still matters today. The production, which is inspired by ‘90s house, is instantly listenable, and the uplifting lyrics fit right in with contemporary pop’s obsession with self-help DIY optimism.
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“Devil Pray” is the second track, and it is reminiscent of Madonna’s more introspective work from 1998’s Ray of Light and 2003’s American Life. The song finds Madonna searching for salvation, and it is bewildering and beautiful in equal measure. Track three, “Ghost Town”, is similarly introspective, and is arguably the most haunting love song of her career.
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At a time when pop music is saturated with young twenty-something newcomers, the 56-year-old veteran takes a huge risk every time she returns to reclaim her throne. She risks alienating her older fans, as well as turning off younger generations that aren’t familiar with her aggressive persona.
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Madonna finally seems to realize that the pop culture landscape she once dominated in the ‘80s, ‘90s, and early ‘00s has drastically changed. These changes have liberated her, and have inspired her to make some of the most personal and fully realized music of her career.
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Do the first week sales and amount of top ten singles really matter? What about positive reviews from critics or fans? How important is quality?
Perhaps none of these things matter unless the artist can enter the cultural conversation, which Madonna continues to do with each release. Whenever someone expresses their opinion about her, whether it be positive or negative, they reinforce her relevance. Social media users around the world have joined the discussion after the surprise release of the aforementioned six songs, with some celebrating her return and others condemning her entire career. Regardless, everyone cares enough to offer an opinion.
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When the dust settles, Rebel Heart will be cited as one of Madonna’s better albums, and fans and critics will praise her return to form. However, as we all know by now, it’s never been just about the music with Madonna, and more than anything else, Rebel Heart shows that she is still the most talked about pop star in the world.
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Read the full article here:
http://www.popmatters.com/post/18947...her-relevance/
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Member Since: 8/1/2012
Posts: 7,895
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Madonna is making headlines again, and for the first time in two years, the topic of conversation is her music.
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Now that's not strictly true, is it?
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Member Since: 2/2/2014
Posts: 7,449
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Queen of Pop 
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Member Since: 1/3/2014
Posts: 15,909
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Why does it need reinforcing?
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Member Since: 5/16/2011
Posts: 2,454
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Member Since: 9/4/2008
Posts: 11,720
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I've been very disappointed in Madonna ever since 2008.
However, the new music reinvigorated my interest in her. It's still not as good as some of her old stuff, but it's not bad at all. I will be purchasing Rebel Heart.
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Banned
Member Since: 9/12/2011
Posts: 9,897
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Originally posted by toanythingtaboo
Now that's not strictly true, is it?
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It's not. The music itself (as in the actual music and its quality) is not being discussed, rather the music leaking and the weird promotion with those photos.
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Originally posted by StephenNYMonster
Why does it need reinforcing? |
Good question. I'm always seeing posts and comments from Madonna fans about how her legacy and title cannot be touched or taken away, yet at the same time even Madonna herself has to constantly sing about being a queen in order to reinforce that.
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Member Since: 2/10/2012
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I can feel it's definitely going to be her best album in years.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 17,223
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Originally posted by toanythingtaboo
Now that's not strictly true, is it?
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I see your point but compared with 3 years ago, way, way, more publications and blogs are focusing on the quality of the music than her digs.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 9,392
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This album will be great i can feel it but she is not really relevant sorry
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Member Since: 3/2/2014
Posts: 2,262
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Originally posted by Opacho
It's not. The music itself (as in the actual music and its quality) is not being discussed, rather the music leaking and the weird promotion with those photos.
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Nice try, but there have been literally hundreds of articles and reviews of the 6 released songs and they have mostly been positive (about the music). Google it if you don't believe me... 
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Originally posted by Opacho
Good question. I'm always seeing posts and comments from Madonna fans about how her legacy and title cannot be touched or taken away, yet at the same time even Madonna herself has to constantly sing about being a queen in order to reinforce that.
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Sorry, but what exactly is your point? 
No-one has said that her relevance *needs* to be reinforced!
Stay pressed!
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Member Since: 4/27/2012
Posts: 9,977
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THE ACCLAIM 
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Member Since: 4/27/2012
Posts: 9,977
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LA TIMES, VICE, USA TODAY, PEOPLE, BOSTON GLOBE, NY TIMES, NOW POPMATTERS 
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Member Since: 6/2/2011
Posts: 28,055
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Quote:
Originally posted by Opacho
It's not. The music itself (as in the actual music and its quality) is not being discussed, rather the music leaking and the weird promotion with those photos.
Good question. I'm always seeing posts and comments from Madonna fans about how her legacy and title cannot be touched or taken away, yet at the same time even Madonna herself has to constantly sing about being a queen in order to reinforce that.
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Don't try it. Seriously. Just don't.
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Member Since: 2/28/2012
Posts: 19,176
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Rebel Heart shows that she is still the most talked about pop star in the world.
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Member Since: 7/18/2010
Posts: 29,717
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The acclaim! 
This album is going to be amazing!
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
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Member Since: 2/2/2014
Posts: 1,514
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The whole "she's being talked about so that PROVES she's winning" is a tired pop girl stan idiom. If you're being talked about for everything besides your artistic output, you're not being taken seriously. Being able to parlay that buzz into actual sales and success is hit or miss. Miley did okay for a minute, scoring a couple of hits in the Bangerz era despite being kind of a joke, and the success dwindled when the buzz factor wore off. Gaga was talked about plenty during the ARTPOP era, but did it really work out for her?
Madge surely will have a decent debut, because she's built a fanbase over her career. Does it really translate to "she's a relevant artist" or does it just mean that people will talk about her messiness because it's an embarrassing kii but not really care that she's got a product to sell? Is it really Rebel Heart reinforcing her relevance or is it just a case of the Twittersphere being ready and willing to laugh at and drag any celebrity, especially one who is so willing to demonstrate how out of touch they are with the demographic they are so intent on courting?
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 21,143
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I hope the album does well. I don't think I'll enjoy much of it (though Living for Love has definitely been a grower). Hopefully she can convert me.
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Member Since: 9/16/2011
Posts: 6,130
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Originally posted by TeemoR
This album will be great i can feel it but she is not really relevant sorry
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.................lol. Madonna = always relevant. 
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