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Guest groovyguy

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Stepping Into Her World: The MDNA Listening Party

Tonight, a dream came true—I was invited to Liz Rosenberg's office for a Madonna listening party. It wasn't for Like a Prayer and this wasn't 1989, but MDNA lived up to my expectations and Liz always surpasses them.

In a nutshell: Write my Orbituary, MDNA is a beautiful killer.

As I was about to share with my new pal Sergio Kletnoy, seeing that legendary profile on Liz in the New York Times in '92 (a backlash pill meant to allow for something positive to be said about Madonna at a time when she was being excoriated everywhere) made me want to be in her nerve center so badly. My longtime friend Giulio got to visit Liz in her Warner Bros. offices (complete with the hair dryers from Blond Ambition!) a few years ago, but her new digs are still special.

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Got there early to find only a couple of people (it was later packed) ignoring the fabulous hors d'oeuvres and cupcakes, things Madonna probably hasn't eaten since she was dating Basquiat and was stealing food out of Dumpsters. The sound was pumped to the point of distortion, with "Gang Bang" blaring. It's an assault-on-the-senses kind of ditty, so it was perfect to walk into a wall of it.

My Russian doll Sergio arrived, we finally met in the flesh and I spent most of my time engrossed in conversation with him about our mutual obsession. It was like sex addicts meeting to talk about favorite blowjobs—it went on and on and never got old. Also got to chat with Liz's beautiful and indulgent assistant Nadia (she must know that fans like Sergio and I should probably be handled with tongs and Hazmat suits, but like the wife in The Painted Veil, Nadia mixes and mingles out of the goodness of her heart) and my longtime so-many-mentor Denis, and of course with lovely Liz.

People seemed to be having fun so were either acting and couldn't wait to declare Madonna over once back in front of their computers or were actually enjoying the record.

The highlight of the night was when Liz and Nadio cranked "Gang Bang" and danced to it at the head of the table for everyone. "'Gang Bang' is my favorite song, go figure," Liz announced.

I'll do a full review after I've legitimately heard this album in a focused setting, but here are some thoughts to chew on—at least it's not from someone anonymous!

"Girl Gone Wild" (still listed as "Girls" in my hand-out, oopsy) opens the album and is, for my money, a scorching-hot song. Is it "Madonna?" No; she didn't write it or anything. But it's a terrific opener and undeniable (to me) fun. "Gang Bang" is like "GGW" on female Viagra (chocolate?)—it's a dark, driving club stomper, aggressive as hell. It has a techno edge that reminded me superficially of "Control" by Traci Lords. (A song I love. And please don't take any of my comparisons too literally; there was nothing that sounded...reductive.) Mika came up with this???

"Turn Up the Radio" is a sweeping, joyous pop-dance song as anthemic as "Get Together," one of my very favorite post-Ray of Light songs. "Give Me All Your Luvin'" sticks out like a sore thumb on this album. I remain a fan of it, but it's not near the top of my MDNA list.

Loved hearing "Superstar," complete with Lola singing backing vocals! A charming and fluffy song ("ooooh, la la!") that felt for me like "Little Star" had grown up and was having fun.

The suite of songs "Love Spent," "Masterpiece" and "Falling Free" is probably going to please any Madonna fan I've ever met. They're beautifully sung and are not cursed with oversimplified lyrics, nor do they sound like they care much if asinine radio programmers will like them. "Falling Free" is my fave song of the album so far, gorgeously sung, a total stand-out. Go, Joe Henry! Keep it together, indeed.

Now, I'd heard the bonus tracks were to die for, but who knew that a rumor would be true times 10? "Beautiful Killer" is a fucking great Orbit song. How in the HELL this is not on the album proper, how in the HELL this is not a title track, I'll never understand. Even the cringe-inducing title "I Fucked Up" turns out to be a really pretty, plaintive pop song. "B-day Song" didn't seem to have its guest star—M.I.A. was M.I.A.

I genuinely loved most of what I heard. I would be shocked if many people didn't feel this was a vast improvement over Hard Candy which, let's be honest, was a good record. There are definitely songs on here that are personal, uplifting and inspiring mixed among the far louder "I'm still hot and young, fuck me in any hole you can!" club crushers.

There are five album configurations as of February 21, 2012:

STANDARD EXPLICIT ALBUM/ALL ACCOUNTS/PHYSICAL & DIGITAL

(1) "Girl Gone Wild"

(2) "Gang Bang"

(3) "I'm Addicted"

(4) "Turn Up the Radio"

(5) "Give Me All Your Luvin'"

(6) "Some Girls"

(7) "Superstar"

(8) "I Don't Give A"

(9) "I'm a Sinner"

(10) "Love Spent"

(11) "Masterpiece'

(12) "Falling Free"

STANDARD EDITED ALBUM/ALL ACCOUNTS/PHYSICAL & DIGITAL

Has all the same songs in the same sequence with no "Gang Bang"

DELUXE EXPLICIT ALBUM/ALL ACCOUNTS/PHYSICAL & DIGITAL

Same as first configuration, continues with:

(13) "Beautiful Killer"

(14) "I Fucked Up"

(15) "B-day Song"

(16) "Best Friend"

(17) "Give Me All Your Luvin'" (Party Rock Remix) ft. Nicki Minaj & LMFAO

DELUXE EDITED ALBUM/WALMART EXCLUSIVE/PHYSICAL EDITION

(1) "Girl Gone Wild"

(2) "I'm Addicted"

(3) "Turn Up the Radio"

(4) "Give Me All Your Luvin'"

(5) "Some Girls"

(6) "Superstar"

(7) "I Don't Give A"

(8) "I'm a Sinner"

(9) "Love Spent"

(10) "Masterpiece"

(11) "Falling Free"

(12) "Beautiful Killer"

(13) "B-day Song"

(14) "Best Friend"

(15) "Give Me All Your Luvin'" (Party Rock Remix) ft. Nicki Minaj & LMFAO

(16) "Give Me All Your Luvin'" (Laidback Luke Remix)

SUPER BOWL DELUXE EXPLICIT/ITUNES EXCLUSIVE/DIGITAL VERSION

Same as second version but continues with:

(17) "Give Me All Your Luvin'" (Party Rock Remix) ft. Nicki Minaj & LMFAO

(18) "Love Spent" (Acoustic Version)

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Stepping Into Her World: The MDNA Listening Party

Tonight, a dream came true—I was invited to Liz Rosenberg's office for a Madonna listening party. It wasn't for Like a Prayer and this wasn't 1989, but MDNA lived up to my expectations and Liz always surpasses them.

In a nutshell: Write my Orbituary, MDNA is a beautiful killer.

As I was about to share with my new pal Sergio Kletnoy, seeing that legendary profile on Liz in the New York Times in '92 (a backlash pill meant to allow for something positive to be said about Madonna at a time when she was being excoriated everywhere) made me want to be in her nerve center so badly. My longtime friend Giulio got to visit Liz in her Warner Bros. offices (complete with the hair dryers from Blond Ambition!) a few years ago, but her new digs are still special.

Got there early to find only a couple of people (it was later packed) ignoring the fabulous hors d'oeuvres and cupcakes, things Madonna probably hasn't eaten since she was dating Basquiat and was stealing food out of Dumpsters. The sound was pumped to the point of distortion, with "Gang Bang" blaring. It's an assault-on-the-senses kind of ditty, so it was perfect to walk into a wall of it.

My Russian doll Sergio arrived, we finally met in the flesh and I spent most of my time engrossed in conversation with him about our mutual obsession. It was like sex addicts meeting to talk about favorite blowjobs—it went on and on and never got old. Also got to chat with Liz's beautiful and indulgent assistant Nadia (she must know that fans like Sergio and I should probably be handled with tongs and Hazmat suits, but like the wife in The Painted Veil, Nadia mixes and mingles out of the goodness of her heart) and my longtime so-many-mentor Denis, and of course with lovely Liz.

MADONNA GIRLS GONE WILD

People seemed to be having fun so were either acting and couldn't wait to declare Madonna over once back in front of their computers or were actually enjoying the record.

The highlight of the night was when Liz and Nadio cranked "Gang Bang" and danced to it at the head of the table for everyone. "'Gang Bang' is my favorite song, go figure," Liz announced.

I'll do a full review after I've legitimately heard this album in a focused setting, but here are some thoughts to chew on—at least it's not from someone anonymous!

"Girl Gone Wild" (still listed as "Girls" in my hand-out, oopsy) opens the album and is, for my money, a scorching-hot song. Is it "Madonna?" No; she didn't write it or anything. But it's a terrific opener and undeniable (to me) fun. "Gang Bang" is like "GGW" on female Viagra (chocolate?)—it's a dark, driving club stomper, aggressive as hell. It has a techno edge that reminded me superficially of "Control" by Traci Lords. (A song I love. And please don't take any of my comparisons too literally; there was nothing that sounded...reductive.) Mika came up with this???

"Turn Up the Radio" is a sweeping, joyous pop-dance song as anthemic as "Get Together," one of my very favorite post-Ray of Light songs. "Give Me All Your Luvin'" sticks out like a sore thumb on this album. I remain a fan of it, but it's not near the top of my MDNA list.

Loved hearing "Superstar," complete with Lola singing backing vocals! A charming and fluffy song ("ooooh, la la!") that felt for me like "Little Star" had grown up and was having fun.

The suite of songs "Love Spent," "Masterpiece" and "Falling Free" is probably going to please any Madonna fan I've ever met. They're beautifully sung and are not cursed with oversimplified lyrics, nor do they sound like they care much if asinine radio programmers will like them. "Falling Free" is my fave song of the album so far, gorgeously sung, a total stand-out. Go, Joe Henry! Keep it together, indeed.

Now, I'd heard the bonus tracks were to die for, but who knew that a rumor would be true times 10? "Beautiful Killer" is a fucking great Orbit song. How in the HELL this is not on the album proper, how in the HELL this is not a title track, I'll never understand. Even the cringe-inducing title "I Fucked Up" turns out to be a really pretty, plaintive pop song. "B-day Song" didn't seem to have its guest star—M.I.A. was M.I.A.

I genuinely loved most of what I heard. I would be shocked if many people didn't feel this was a vast improvement over Hard Candy which, let's be honest, was a good record. There are definitely songs on here that are personal, uplifting and inspiring mixed among the far louder "I'm still hot and young, fuck me in any hole you can!" club crushers.

There are five album configurations as of February 21, 2012:

STANDARD EXPLICIT ALBUM/ALL ACCOUNTS/PHYSICAL & DIGITAL

(1) "Girl Gone Wild"

(2) "Gang Bang"

(3) "I'm Addicted"

(4) "Turn Up the Radio"

(5) "Give Me All Your Luvin'"

(6) "Some Girls"

(7) "Superstar"

(8) "I Don't Give A"

(9) "I'm a Sinner"

(10) "Love Spent"

(11) "Masterpiece'

(12) "Falling Free"

STANDARD EDITED ALBUM/ALL ACCOUNTS/PHYSICAL & DIGITAL

Has all the same songs in the same sequence with no "Gang Bang"

DELUXE EXPLICIT ALBUM/ALL ACCOUNTS/PHYSICAL & DIGITAL

Same as first configuration, continues with:

(13) "Beautiful Killer"

(14) "I Fucked Up"

(15) "B-day Song"

(16) "Best Friend"

(17) "Give Me All Your Luvin'" (Party Rock Remix) ft. Nicki Minaj & LMFAO

DELUXE EDITED ALBUM/WALMART EXCLUSIVE/PHYSICAL EDITION

(1) "Girl Gone Wild"

(2) "I'm Addicted"

(3) "Turn Up the Radio"

(4) "Give Me All Your Luvin'"

(5) "Some Girls"

(6) "Superstar"

(7) "I Don't Give A"

(8) "I'm a Sinner"

(9) "Love Spent"

(10) "Masterpiece"

(11) "Falling Free"

(12) "Beautiful Killer"

(13) "B-day Song"

(14) "Best Friend"

(15) "Give Me All Your Luvin'" (Party Rock Remix) ft. Nicki Minaj & LMFAO

(16) "Give Me All Your Luvin'" (Laidback Luke Remix)

SUPER BOWL DELUXE EXPLICIT/ITUNES EXCLUSIVE/DIGITAL VERSION

Same as second version but continues with:

(17) "Give Me All Your Luvin'" (Party Rock Remix) ft. Nicki Minaj & LMFAO

(18) "Love Spent" (Acoustic Version)

Love him, love this blog, dying for this album!

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Guest Xanthium

Very interesting reviews. If B-day Song is as mediocre as they are saying I'm glad it's not on the album proper. And it's interesting that Matt said he didn't hear M.I.A. on B-day Song. Did they remove her? :shock:

I'm feeling better about the album much more these past two days. YAY!

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Guest Xanthium

So the acoustic version of Love Spent will be the 18th track for iTunes? Sounds cool! And who the fuck is gonna buy the horribly edited Walmart version? Talk about neutering an album, yeesh.

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Looks like the acoustic version of Love Spent is the untitled bonus track in iTunes! Great reviews. Really interested to hear some of the songs mentioned. Some sound terrible on paper but they seems to be the best tracks!

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"B-day Song" didn't seem to have its guest star—M.I.A. was M.I.A.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Yes, I am upset. Queen MIA missing from the album (besides her inclusion on gayl) is a bad idea. why did they remove her involvment from Bday song? Was this because of the finger incident? God I hope not. That girl is everything. I don't care how pishy that song might be, I still wanna fucking hear it with MIA.

Rant over. Que drooling from mouth. Dick leaking begins, now.

gimme dat album, uh!

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Guest groovyguy

Recap: Sergio Kletnoy on MDNA

On MDNA

First things first:

#MDNA is exactly what you think it is, a massive-boombastic-in-your-face-electric-don't-give-a-fuck-full-of-energy album.

#MDNA is Madonna's fuck-you to everyone who says she's past her prime, an emotional rollercoaster that takes u 2 the club & back 2 reality.

#MDNA is not revolutionary, it's not new but it's now, it's current w/classic Madonna hooks, great & cheesy lyrics & it made me want 2 dance.

For me, #MDNA as a full album is better than HardCandy or COTDF, apart from Hung Up of course which is in my top 5...Most of the songs would fit perfectly on the radio, by the way they sound, energy, fun and amazing hooks...

The album is pop music at it's best... It has something for everyone, it's classic Madonna, it's current and it's fun. I LOVED it, it's Madonna going back to her roots of real dance music...

The flow of the album was like a huge rollercoaster, it went up it went down it made u want to get off & then right b4 it sucked u back in.

Deluxe version with the bonus songs is so much better, my 2 fave songs were on the the deluxe...

Throughout the entire album I just couldn't help but think that this is the most commercial Madonna album, full of hooks, energy and love. It was a major fuck u to everyone who talks shit, It was fun, uptempo, full of energy and Nicki saying Madonna is the Queen.

Let's get 1 thing straight, Madonna sounds great, but u r not buying this album 4 vocals, she is having a blast & u can feel it all over. Madonna sounds like she's having a blast, it has something for everyone, I think that every Madonna fan is going to have a diff fave song.

U will go nuts when u hear it... Gang Bang, Love Spent, Beautiful Killer, I Fucked Up, Superstar, I'm a Sinner is MAJOR! The slower songs are: Love Spent, Masterpiece, Falling Free and even I Fucked Up (even though it has cursing in it). My 3 favorite tracks? 1. Beautiful Killer... 2. Love Spent... 3. I Fucked Up.

The album is so much fun, it's a 9 out of 10, if we could lose 1 or 2 songs, it would be a 10... I think most Madonna fans are going to L.U.V it! If you are a Madonna fan you will LOVE it! It is pretty fucking kick ass!

It still feels so surreal listening to the album, half of the songs I don't even remember because it all happened so fast... I honestly wish I could have listened to the album all night, it was so damn good, some songs are much better than others...

I honestly did not mind vocals on GGW, but compared to the rest of the album they did sound a bit flat... She sounds so alive.

Madonna sounds amazing! Gang Bang has so much attitude, it feels like an explosion, an atomic bomb, a massive fight between good and evil...Best part of the night, Madonna's publicist dancing to Gang Bang, the joy in her eyes and face was infectious, it was clearly her fave song.

Turn Up The Radio Straight up dance/pop record, it's fun, cheesy and current... It's not my fave but I wouldn't turn it off...

Honestly, Give Me All Your Luvin is the only song on the album that sticks out like a sore thumb and @mattrett completely agrees...

Lola makes a guest appearance on Superstar, it's adorable, fun, with an amazing hook and I wanted to play it over and over and over again.

I'm a Sinner - I remember loving it, but honestly don't remember the details because foolishly I did not write my thoughts down...It was mid tempo but I did not write down my thoughts... I was just trying to listen...

Love Spent is a beautiful mid-tempo pop record... It's Miles Away meets Nothing Fails meets Love Profussion, it was pretty & warm..

Falling Free is an ode to 60's, reminded me of Mer Girl, ambient, pretty, hypnotic and trippy.

From deluxe edition:

'Beautiful killer' - it's bad-ass, kick-ass & so fucking cool. No wonder it's a tribute to Alain Delon AKA France's James Dean. Hands down, my fave song on the album, it had so much energy, so much swagger, coolness and attitude... 10 stars!

Only Madonna can make lyrics like I Fucked Up sound beautiful and melancholy and yet so full of energy and life.

...this is just my opinion, Bday Song was just ok... It did not move me like most of the songs on the album... Honestly, it did not stand out, it was a bit cheesy and if I had it my way, it would be off the album... But it could grow...Didn't love it... It did not stand out to me, the lyrics were a bit childish and if I had it my way it would be the first to go

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Guest Not4Pussies

where are you Madonna? i know you're rehearsing for your tour but you need to get out there and promote!

3 weeks away and no promo from the woman herself. not even a magazine cover.

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OMG thanks for all these infos GroovyGuy ! Where do you find the time for all this ??? Amazing !

I can NOT wait for another 3 weeks !

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Guest groovyguy

OMG thanks for all these infos GroovyGuy ! Where do you find the time for all this ??? Amazing !

I can NOT wait for another 3 weeks !

Many thanks to Isaac who posted a lot of the tweets!

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Guest Not4Pussies

i asked Sergio if MIA was still part of B-Day Song and he replied:

ïsααc Q. ‏

is MIA still part of B-Day Song?

Sergio Kletnoy ‏

It was very hard to tell, if she was I missed it... But then again, I did not like BDAY song, so maybe she's still on it...

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Guest bluejean

I think the Perfections on a Dance Floor and Perfections Tour were the beginning of the end tbh. I remember we were all kinda surprised when Madonna unleashed her inner slut once again for the costumes and behaved pretty raunchy onstage. It was a pretty big about-face. At that point, we were used to her looking... Lets face it, kinda uptight.

My favorite moment was in '09 when a British journalist axed her "so do you miss the London life and the pubs?" Her quick response: "No."

:lmao:

Yes I always said that too. I always felt like the leotard and all that was her rebelling against him and the lifestyle she had become part of (which always seemed like a compromise on her part.)

I think Madonna had spent years wanting that conventional family life and she made all kinds of compromises to have it. But in the end she realised it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. To the person who said she wasted 8 years, I don't think that's true. I'm sure Madonna feels alot of good things came from that relationship and its probably helped her get a greater sense of who she really is and what she really wants. It also brought her son and other 2 adopted kids into her life. Even prior to meeting Guy she was on this soul searching journey and I do feel she's let alot of that seriousness go and rather than analysing everything and talking about how important it is to live in the moment she is actually living in the moment. She has a sense of fun about her again.

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I am oh so excited cant wait ....And from the reviews I'd say everyone would be very happy on the one side we have the katy perry poppy happy songs , on another we have the thumpa thumpa kinda rihanna/Gaga songs and we'll have our Adele moments with the ballads woohoo. Bring it on

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Oh fuck MIA who cares about that vile whore.

Really excited about these reviews. They seem to be very positive across the board and while that could be the excitement of listening to a new Madonna album at top volume, there has to be something there.

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