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Was Hard Candy ahead of its time?


johnnox

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At the time, all of the artists mentioned there were "avant garde" to a degree. Not in the classical sense of the term, but in terms of popular music? Of course. Nobody sounded like Bjork or Portishead or Grace Jones at the time they came out. They were appropriating from other genres and artists, sure. Postmodern or not, the overall packages were unique and not being done by anyone else. Portishead and Massive Attack literally INVENTED a genre.

GetUnconscious, if you're from the UK, you of all people should understand the impact of the Bristol sound.

You can't be Avante Garde to a degree. You are or you aren't. If I make inordinate noise and irregular sounds and record them does that make me Avante Garde? After all, nobody would sound like me. Portishead and Massive attack were inspired by blues, jazz, hip hop, electronic music, choral music and even folk music. You might consider somebody who shapes a recognisable sound a visionary or a leader but you can't call them a creator. If that's so then you have to call gangster rap Avante Garde at its roots. I don't think anybody would think that. :-) Grace Jones was Avante Garde in the way she presented herself but her music was either pastiche or of the time. Bjork seems so different to the world because she was bringing something very cultural through in her music. I think she has an unusual view and sound but I don't consider her a creator. I'm not criticising these artists but rather saying that sometimes expect something/credit something that won't/hasn't happened.

Edit: what is your vocal range by the way? I feel like I'm a tenor.

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You can't be Avante Garde to a degree. You are or you aren't. If I make inordinate noise and irregular sounds and record them does that make me Avante Garde? After all, nobody would sound like me. Portishead and Massive attack were inspired by blues, jazz, hip hop, electronic music, choral music and even folk music. You might consider somebody who shapes a recognisable sound a visionary or a leader but you can't call them a creator. If that's so then you have to call gangster rap Avante Garde at its roots. I don't think anybody would think that. :-) Grace Jones was Avante Garde in the way she presented herself but her music was either pastiche or of the time. Bjork seems so different to the world because she was bringing something very cultural through in her music. I think she has an unusual view and sound but I don't consider her a creator. I'm not criticising these artists but rather saying that sometimes expect something/credit something that won't/hasn't happened.

Edit: what is your vocal range by the way? I feel like I'm a tenor.

Who is avante garde?
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Guest bluejean

Ahead of its time actually means "having ideas or attitudes that are too advanced to be acceptable in the present."

The Sex book could possibly be considered ahead of its time. Hard Candy though :lmao:

Avant garde means experimental, innovative and pushing boundaries. Bjork is the perfect example of an artist that is like that. Maybe the Ray of Light album and the song Music could be regarded as avant garde but as a whole Madonna is a commercial artist. In her concerts and videos is where she has been most innovative IMO.

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Ahead of its time actually means "having ideas or attitudes that are too advanced to be acceptable in the present."

The Sex book could possibly be considered ahead of its time. Hard Candy though :lmao:

Avant garde means experimental, innovative and pushing boundaries. Bjork is the perfect example of an artist that is like that. Maybe the Ray of Light album and the song Music could be regarded as avant garde but as a whole Madonna is a commercial artist. In her concerts and videos is where she has been most innovative IMO.

You got the moves baby!

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Ahead of its time actually means "having ideas or attitudes that are too advanced to be acceptable in the present."

The Sex book could possibly be considered ahead of its time. Hard Candy though :lmao:

Avant garde means experimental, innovative and pushing boundaries. Bjork is the perfect example of an artist that is like that. Maybe the Ray of Light album and the song Music could be regarded as avant garde but as a whole Madonna is a commercial artist. In her concerts and videos is where she has been most innovative IMO.

If that's what it means AMERICAN LIFE is the most avant garde she's ever gotten.
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Guest bluejean

If that's what it means AMERICAN LIFE is the most avant garde she's ever gotten.

How was making Music volume 2 being experimental or innovative?

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Guest bluejean

The similarities are superficial and the sound pushes forward in a radical way.

The only thing radical is that awkward rapping :lol:

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Why?

They really went against the grain and brought something new to the world. Or they DISCOVERED something new. Their brains thought about living in an entirely different way. Both were seen as appalling and downright WRONG during their creative hay days. Not the same as being a little eccentric or provocative. Read a biography of their lives and work and you'll see what I mean.

Ahead of its time actually means "having ideas or attitudes that are too advanced to be acceptable in the present."

The Sex book could possibly be considered ahead of its time. Hard Candy though :lmao:

Avant garde means experimental, innovative and pushing boundaries. Bjork is the perfect example of an artist that is like that. Maybe the Ray of Light album and the song Music could be regarded as avant garde but as a whole Madonna is a commercial artist. In her concerts and videos is where she has been most innovative IMO.

Erotica.

tumblr_lvz62jhVzJ1qa70eyo1_500.jpg

vintage-erotica-spanking-01.jpg

Madonna was looking back...not forward. She broke a social taboo. Maybe she made sexual appropriation acceptable for people with a strong media presence but she didn't invent erotica or naked photography.

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Guest bluejean

They really went against the grain and brought something new to the world. Or they DISCOVERED something new. Their brains thought about living in an entirely different way. Both were seen as appalling and downright WRONG during their creative hay days. Not the same as being a little eccentric or provocative. Read a biography of their lives and work and you'll see what I mean.

Erotica.

tumblr_lvz62jhVzJ1qa70eyo1_500.jpg

vintage-erotica-spanking-01.jpg

Madonna was looking back...not forward. She broke a social taboo. Maybe she made sexual appropriation acceptable for people with a strong media presence but she didn't invent erotica or naked photography.

Well I was thinking more about the exposure of self as a mainstream public figure/pop star. It wasn't til years later people have had the guts to "leak" sex tapes and feature S&M in their videos/Photo shoots. And I said it "could be considered" not that it was.

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Well I was thinking more about the exposure of self as a mainstream public figure/pop star. It wasn't til years later people have had the guts to "leak" sex tapes and feature S&M in their videos/Photo shoots. And I said it "could be considered" not that it was.

http://vimeo.com/45462053

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Madonnas genius is in understanding, dissecting and rebuilding the meaning in everything. That's why she's Queen of the universe.

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Guest bluejean

You must have heard of Soft Cell right?

Of course. Tainted Love.

When I click on the link it doesn't give me a name. I'm using my phone while my computer gets repaired. So annoying.

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There's loads of the things in the media that you're probably not aware or which made a big impact in many parts of the world. Madonna has the duality of being a 'pop star' and a provocateur which is why it's so easy to be exposed to it all. Strange though because she's probably the most exposed pop star but totally misread.

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No. It was right on time. Released when it should've been; while everyone was going dance-pop, Madonna did what she always did... Her own thing. She delivered a nice dose of funk into an electronic music scene.

HC 4EVER & ALWAYS.

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GetUnconscious, you're defining "avant garde" as something that is completely new and has never been done before, when that's simply an inaccurate definition.

You're saying BAT/TOD are avant garde, but Bjork's Medulla, an album made entirely from human vocalizations, isn't? You're right about Grace Jones - it was her visual presentation that was avant garde, not her music.

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GetUnconscious, you're defining "avant garde" as something that is completely new and has never been done before, when that's simply an inaccurate definition.

You're saying BAT/TOD are avant garde, but Bjork's Medulla, an album made entirely from human vocalizations, isn't? You're right about Grace Jones - it was her visual presentation that was avant garde, not her music.

I was being half serious and somewhat facetious about BAT/TOD. The inspiration for that has to be Vaudeville, theatre, Fosse and the dance world in general. Regarding Medulla, there was music written purely for voice in Medievil times. Full rhythm sections, melodies, percussive singing and lyrical lead. The only difference was the recording or lack thereof.

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I think, like Hard Candy, the wrong singles were chosen from MDNA. WHich often is said with the benefit of hindsight. But even at the time of the album's release, i think it became fairly obvious to most that the planned singles were not as strong as some of the album tracks.

So you would've not released 4 Minutes? First?

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So you would've not released 4 Minutes? First?

No,

I would have released that first. But I think there were stronger singles that would have made a greater chart impact than Give It 2 Me and especially Miles Away.

The Beat Goes On was a shoe-in for a single, but I guess she didn;t want to be seen releasing two singles in a row with rappers.

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Hard Candy's Timbaland production sounded old then and it still sounds old now. Timberlake's Mirrors is just so dated but so many other songs are too. Robin Thicke's song is Pharrell's GI2M production ripping off Marvin Gaye's Got To Give.

It seems like that there isn't much originality around at the moment in the music or fashion worlds.

The thing is...producers have their own "sound" and they can't really create a custom-made sound for everyone that they produce.I think,with Hard Candy,Madonna specifically wanted that sound.She had been listening to Justin Timberlake's album FutureSexLoveSounds and she wanted a piece of that sound.Timbaland and Pharrell were just giving Madonna what she wanted.

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