the song of summer
A real post! I've got a few in my head and 'Weasel' might be returning to the print world soon, so here's hoping this blog will get back on track for this glorious new year.
So I finally heard Madonna's 'Hung Up' in a club context the other night. Yes, I know, I've been a homebody. It wasn't actually the first time, but it was the first time I really soaked it in.
It was a lone spot of glorious pop kitsch in a sea of pedestrian (OK, that's a tad harsh, let's go with good-but-not-life-changing) electro and house. Hands were promptly raised in the air. Booty was shaking like the owners of it just didn't care. People were being silly again.
'Hung Up' has of course been Madge's biggest hit in ages. It topped the charts here, and would still be in the top 3 I'd say if our charts incorporated digital paid downloads like the US and UKcharts (since the song hasn't really left the top 2 spots on Itunes since its release) - ARIA: when is this going to be rectified??
In the US, where the charts are heavily dominated by airplay (and thus by R'n'B and Adult Contemporary, in that order), 'Hung Up' made number 7 - quite a feat for what, in US terms is very much a dance single. In the UK, it is back at number 2, rebounding on the strength of all those peeps who got itunes gift cards for Xmas.
But charts be damned. The song is lighting up the clubs. It's the perfect addition to what a friend an I already agreed is 2006's must have accessory: FUN. 'Hung Up' sets the tone for a year that will be infinitely better than the one that preceded it.
I admit I'm behind the times here. Somehow I wanted more than a ABBA-tinged dance ditty with some slightly questionable lyrics (when does self-referencing stop being pomo and start being tired??) from the much hyped Madonna comeback album. I wanted Confessions On a Dance Floor to be, well, confessional.
Sure, as academic commentator (now published - email me if you know me and want the online journal link) on Madonna, I've been enjoying her reinvestment in the 'take me to the centre of everything' (my honours thesis title - what Madge supposedly said to a taxi driver upon arriving in NY as a fresh faced dance student with big dreams) mythology of her early years, but I wanted this album to be Ray of Light esque, not just a better version of American Life or Music.
But Madonna (and let's not forget a certain Mr Stuart Price, the man who The Guardian said "made the Scissor Sisters sound even more gay, a remarkable feat"*) knew better. A cynic might say she saw Gwen Stefani kicking arse with some 80s inspired grooves and said 'me too', and, yes, I am that cynic. But on the other hand, she did what she did best and tapped into the zeitgeist.
There are other songs I like better on COAD, in theory at least, but 'Hung Up' is truly its knockout punch. As long as you can make a knockout punch in a sequinned glove, anyway.
*http://www.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,16373,1639153,00.html (someone teach me how to do links properly, OK??)
So I finally heard Madonna's 'Hung Up' in a club context the other night. Yes, I know, I've been a homebody. It wasn't actually the first time, but it was the first time I really soaked it in.
It was a lone spot of glorious pop kitsch in a sea of pedestrian (OK, that's a tad harsh, let's go with good-but-not-life-changing) electro and house. Hands were promptly raised in the air. Booty was shaking like the owners of it just didn't care. People were being silly again.
'Hung Up' has of course been Madge's biggest hit in ages. It topped the charts here, and would still be in the top 3 I'd say if our charts incorporated digital paid downloads like the US and UKcharts (since the song hasn't really left the top 2 spots on Itunes since its release) - ARIA: when is this going to be rectified??
In the US, where the charts are heavily dominated by airplay (and thus by R'n'B and Adult Contemporary, in that order), 'Hung Up' made number 7 - quite a feat for what, in US terms is very much a dance single. In the UK, it is back at number 2, rebounding on the strength of all those peeps who got itunes gift cards for Xmas.
But charts be damned. The song is lighting up the clubs. It's the perfect addition to what a friend an I already agreed is 2006's must have accessory: FUN. 'Hung Up' sets the tone for a year that will be infinitely better than the one that preceded it.
I admit I'm behind the times here. Somehow I wanted more than a ABBA-tinged dance ditty with some slightly questionable lyrics (when does self-referencing stop being pomo and start being tired??) from the much hyped Madonna comeback album. I wanted Confessions On a Dance Floor to be, well, confessional.
Sure, as academic commentator (now published - email me if you know me and want the online journal link) on Madonna, I've been enjoying her reinvestment in the 'take me to the centre of everything' (my honours thesis title - what Madge supposedly said to a taxi driver upon arriving in NY as a fresh faced dance student with big dreams) mythology of her early years, but I wanted this album to be Ray of Light esque, not just a better version of American Life or Music.
But Madonna (and let's not forget a certain Mr Stuart Price, the man who The Guardian said "made the Scissor Sisters sound even more gay, a remarkable feat"*) knew better. A cynic might say she saw Gwen Stefani kicking arse with some 80s inspired grooves and said 'me too', and, yes, I am that cynic. But on the other hand, she did what she did best and tapped into the zeitgeist.
There are other songs I like better on COAD, in theory at least, but 'Hung Up' is truly its knockout punch. As long as you can make a knockout punch in a sequinned glove, anyway.
*http://www.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,16373,1639153,00.html (someone teach me how to do links properly, OK??)
posted by weasel at 5:47 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home