1:53 Music 4:11 Impressive Instant 6:29 Runaway Lover 8:48 I Deserve It 10:50 Amazing 13:05 Nobody's Perfect 15:34 Dont Tell Me 18:28 What It Feels Like For A Girl 20:43 Paradise 23:53 Gone 😊
The idea of blatantly using autotune for an entire song was pretty innovative at the time. Using it to repeat the mantra “Nobody’s Perfect” is definitely genius
Yeah I was going to say it's not auto tune like Chers Believe. The vocoder is totally different and can be used to manipulate her voice so many different ways. ❤❤
Lifelong Madonna fan... the string of "Don't Tell Me" to "Gone" is one of my favorite sequencing of Madonna songs ever on a tracklist. "Gone" has to be my favorite Madonna song ever. When her angelic backing vocals come in during the last half of the song is otherworldly. Glad you loved it!
The cowboy aesthetic is a testament to the madonna re-invention. She knows how to sell an image with her music. She made it iconic and there were a lot of girls wearing cowboy hats during this time. I think you’ll love the Drowned World tour that supported this album, it’s one of my favorite tours of her and quite underrated, but it’s her most theatrical and darkest tour.
She was so hypocrite at this time. She already told before in 1998 how she can't trust in People with cowboy boots and hat but she use it's image for make money. 😅
It was critically very successful. She was never a critics darling, but Ray of Light definitely improved her image and it was cool to like Madonna for a while. The album Music was a surprise and a smash at the same time and so different to what other pop artists did at that time. It was risky and she was a trendsetter and enjoyed commercial and critical success.
Music was the first single and it went straight to number 1 in 40 countries or something like that. It was crazy. Everyone was dancing to Music. The production was so original too, it was 2000 and this was definitely a new sound. She will keep working with Mirways on & off until the last album in 2018
In what sense? It was a worldwide hit. In Europe was the biggest radio hit of the year. It was played on the radio every day (and the video on tv), and everybody liked it, fans or not.
Genius of Madonna. New Madonna for new millenium. Folktronica is a music direction on this album. It's insult to compare Madonna with other pop girls, she never was that. She's light years ahed all of them. It's sad people don't get it.
I was 19 when I moved to New York and the record had just come out. I remember going to the Virgin Megastore in Times Square and waiting in line to buy the album. I think it sold over 400.000 copies within the first week so yeah, good times.
I bought it at that store too! I remember walking in and they had a huge rack of the album in various colored limited editions (I got the pink one with a free "Music" belt buckle!) and the CD single and vinyl right in the entrance. It was so massive for a 40-something pop star.
IMO Ray of Light, Music & American Life (I'm sure you'll love it) are the Holy Trinity. Those three albums are so experimental, different, raw. They are amazing! Those three albums are the soundtrack of my life.
@Matuteilcapo I have a friend who loves Bowie as well as Madonna and he would agree with you. he calls those run of albums her Berlin trilogy! I kinda see it, but Erotica and Bedtime Stories are so foreshadowing of everything those three albums touched on. RoL / Music / American Life wouldn't have happened, in my opinion, without them.
Don’t Tell Me is by far my fav from this album and one of my fav Madonna songs of all time. The video is a stunner too. Paradise Not For Me is weird but gorgeous. Just wait until you get to a live performance of it. I saw it at her confessions tour in 2006 and was blown away by how incredible she sounded. Music will 100% grow on you. It was def overplayed in 2000 and was a giant global hit but it has become one of the most essential songs of her career bc it truly represents who Madonna is…Music does in fact make the people come together.
I love this album so much. That was Madonna at her coolest showing the world how to be a badass in your 40's. The cowgirl thing was purely aesthetics, a testament to her power of selling an image. The album does have a few country elements sparkled throughout, but it's in fact an electronic pop album with alt vibes with a lot of experimentation and cutting edge production. One of my favorite pieces of trivia about the production of this album is that Mirwais wanted her voice to sound as pure as possible in certain tracks (namely I Deserve It, Don't Tell Me and Gone), with no reverbs or delays, which can result in a very "dry" vocal. But she didn't feel confident enough hearing herself with no effects in her monitors while recording and said there was no way she would sound like this on the record, so he tricked her into recording the songs by adding reverb and delay to her monitors but mixed the final thing with no effects on her voice. After the initial shock, she liked the result and it has become one of the trademarks of their work together.
I was very much into the techno and rave scene at the time this album came out and she definitely proved herself as being more than a typical pop singer by first working with Orbit and then Mirwaise, both of whom were really respected in the electronic music scenes. The thing is that critics often just credit Madonna for being clever enough to work with these innovative producers, but on the flip side she brings a pop sensibility to their style of production that really works and achieves that cross over that is so hard to master. Her production skills are greatly underrated, I mean both Orbit and Mirwais have commented on how involved she is in all the production. I just remember that you could hear songs from this album played in a commercial pop setting but also somewhere fairly niche and underground. She was, yet again, very much at the forefront of what was changing in pop music.
Youre correct. In ibiza the music song was everywhere I didn't expect that. And that carried on with her releases right to and including timberland 08.
Hey, so the voice at the beginning of "What it feels like for a girl" is Charlotte Gainsbourg. I recommend looking her up, she's an incredible actress and musician. Her latest album Rest is particularly notable.
@ExplainAndSummarize that's so cool to hear! 5: 55 holds a very special place in my heart. I have to say though I think my favorite Charlotte album is IRM.
The year 2000 was a good year to be alive, I was 16 years old. I remember that this sound was very modern, auto-tune was just emerging. The country theme was because Madonna always launched trends to mark an era and also for the world of fashion, out of nowhere she appeared like this, and we loved it.
My second-favorite Madonna album, after Bedtime Stories. There’s a misconception that this album is country or country-influenced and it’s not. It’s an electronica album with folk influences. Of course folk is the mother of country-western music since European settlers brought it with them to the American south. I guess that’s where the confusion comes from. And the cowboy aesthetic she wore for the album cover. But folk artists tend to dress western as well. Madonna and Mirwais at the time were calling the album “folktronica.” Ha. She got interested in acoustic guitar after she started taking guitar lessons the year prior to this album’s release. Her next album, American Life, is folktronica as well - but it’s themes are far more manic-depressive. Anyway, Madonna was also playing around with the cowboy look because in 2000 there was an influx of female country singers ditching western-wear and dressing in provocative, revealing clothes instead. Women like Shania Twain and Faith Hill. I think this was Madonna’s ironic, humorous way of turning the tables on them, since she’s known for her explicit sexuality and not being very demure. I remember her commenting on that at the time but for the life of me I can’t remember what magazine interview I read it in. Anyway, excellent reaction. You looked so ffcking hot bouncing around to Don’t Tell Me while wearing that cowboy hat. I can’t wait to see your reaction to the album’s three music videos. Ooo, and to the Drowned World Tour, which was the tour for this album and Ray of Light combined.
AHHHH, this makes heaps more sense, thank you! And LOL at her wearing it to be a meme basically, iconic 😂 So keen to see the visuals tho omg! and thank you!!!
This is the first album she did after moving to London - the first time she was really living outside the US , so the cowgirl aesthetics was a look into American culture from a distance kinda thing. In the CD art, when you took off the cd fom the case, underneath it there was an image of a red shoe laying on hay - I guess a reference to Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz and her famous frase "there's no place like home". The whole booklet was filled with that country-esque vibe, the "deep America" - it seems to me it was also a homage, it carries that feeling of longing of your culture when you're far away from home.
Paradise (Not For Me) live at the confessions tour is incredible 😭😭😭 also some of these songs are performed on the drowned world tour (which happened after this came out and was basically a ray of light & music tour) Music (the song) live also always hits!!
This album is best thought of as a bridge. Bridge between Orbit’s electronic melodic dance through into Mirwais’s folktronica. Once you hear American Life after this that really becomes evident that this is a the mid point between two totally different sounds.
"Music" is the lead single and was no 1. She only had 3 singles and this era had one of the best music videos. This is 3rd Madonna's album (after Ray of Light and Like a Prayer) that was listed on Rolling Stones 500 best albums.
I think with Madonna you need to understand the time frame: no social media, she puts out what she wants and builds an esthetic around it (often developed in the show’s parts). A good example would be the Geigha heavy influence over Ray of Light at some point, because she got very much into the book. The guitars in some songs are reminiscent of Contry music but sampled and distorted and that’s enough. That was all wrapped up with the promo shootings, the Don’t Tell Me music videos, her VMA and live shows… she literally launched that cowboy look back then. She was the influencer, the icon, the guru… it was a whole vision she’d put out. And that just started with an album cover. She really made eras out of single projects. That’s also why the attention to never replicate, always evolve. Anyways if you listen to the album again listen to the guitars in I deserve it, Don’t tell me, Gone… they are reimagined but country infused (but no, she wanted the esthetics, never sold this as a country album)
Paradise not for me is one of my favorites from her tbh. I get lost in it every time and it doesn't feel like an almost 7 minute song at all. she fucking slays in the video too, it's iconic
I’m so glad you really pay attention to detail in her music & songs. When I heard it years ago it wasn’t Poppy enough, but now I see the genius in her work in this album! Thank you ❤
I loved going through your first listen to this album with you. I personally feel like Madonna hit the “sweet spot” in her career from Ray of Light, onto Music, American Life, and then Confessions on a Dancefloor. You still have two amazing albums after this one. I won’t say much about what comes next for now… When I watched your first reaction to Ray of Light (I’ve watched ALL of your Madonna videos) I was so excited for you to get to this point. Enjoy the sweet spot, she was fucking amazing during these days. I love this album so much, loved seeing you vibe with it 💙 Also, why do you look so good in a cowboy hat…?
it’s been a horrible week to be an american, this is exactly what i needed! completely agree regarding how “fresh” this album is - could be released today and would still sound just as good
13:10... NOBODY'S PERFECT was the 1st song I listened to on REPEAT... there was just something so COLD, ICY and HYPNOTIC about it... even the AUTOTUNE (to me) added that REFLECTIVE "I could've done better but NOBODY'S PERFECT" SORRY SADNESS to it ❤
Definitely in my top 3 Madonna albums - so underrated! You should check out the ones that didn’t make the cut too, they’re pretty fun: - Cyber-Raga (originally released on Japanese & Australian editions only - now on Spotify too) - Liquid Love - Run - La Petite Jeune Fille - Arioso
What a nice trip down memory lane, Sydney Mardi Gras, 2001. I was 28 years old, a first time tourist to the city, went to watch the pride parade and one of the contingent was a group dressed up as cowboys, marching down the street in perfect choreography to "Music". I was captivated, and remember being so thrilled to witness my Diva being so loved around the world. Ben, you're in for a treat, the music era is one of her most exciting, shes in in love, happily married to Guy Ritchie, living the British dream, a wife, and a mother. The 3 music videos are an eclectic bunch. Also, Madonna wants to release "Impressive instant" as the fourth single, the record company wants to release "Amazing" instead, consequently, no fourth single was released.
Check out Mirwais album which was produced around the same time as this album. It contains club hits Disco Science and Naive Song. He also does a great version of the The Rolling Stones “Miss you”
I absolutely love that you loved Paradise! It is one of my all time favorite deep cuts of Madonna’s. It is gorgeous. Also this album is a sensation… to think this woman is like 16 years into her career at this point and following Ray of Light which in itself is art. In my opinion you are right in the middle of a 6 album streak where each stands on its own but each is fucking great! True artist. Enjoy this era as many of us did back in the day.
I love this album. It's my second favorite Madonna album after Ray of Light. Love that era. Music was the first single off the album. Don't Tell me was second I think. And What if feels like for a Girl was also a single. I recall some controversy over the music video at the time. I feel like Madonna kinda opened the path to hyper pop with this album. I remember being a kid listening to this CD, feeling like it was rewiring my brain.
So I just stumbled across your channel and my god, I'm so glad you reviewed this album. Kid you not, I got chills re-listening to some of these songs with you. While I'm not a huge Madonna fan, this and Ray of Light I listened to countless times when they came out. Subscribed and off to watch your Ray of Light reaction 😊
Years ago my niece when she was 17 or 18 found a song she liked and just played it over and over, sometimes restarting it before it even ended; and I had to smile. That was me the first time I found Don't Tell Me. I wore that track out.
Not my fave album (I adore half of it; the title track, 2 and 7-10) but my memories of this era are beloved... I had just turned 18 and Music was huuuge in the clubs (and on the radio)... and Madonna was riding a wave of general popularity and respect; it was a great time to be a fan. And in a time when culture was saturated with pop artists and boy bands that all had a very similar sound, Madonna's records sounded like nobody else out there, totally fresh, unique and original.
So glad you finally made it! I was at uni when this album came out and we all thought it sounded bonkers, completely different from what any other popular singer was doing. Brit was doing Oops I did it again and madge was coming up with this! Bonkers but brilliant 😂
Ray of Light to Music was definitely another imperial phase in her massive career. She by and large could do no wrong at this time and was back in the general publics good graces on a massive scale not seen since the 80s. She was everywhere. That would all come crashing down with American Life though..😄 An album that I absolutely love, but the general public ignored. It didn't take years to get back the publics good graces like the SEX book backlash though, as her follow up Confessions on a Dancefloor would once again be another MASSIVE global hit that many still consider to be her best era between the combination of the album and the tour. But we'll eventually get to that.
There a little nod to country, just a hint but it was more about her aesthetic at the time. They were calling her the urban Cowgirl. It a very experimental album which is what she likes to put out when working with Miriam’s.
Love how you connected with Nobody is perfect and keep captivated until the end You said it, its timeless. 24 years ago and feels fresh, even evoking Brat (that is "the sound" of 2024). A masterpiece
16:30... and THE PRODUCTION just PROGRESSES from ALMOST ACOUSTIC to a CLUB COUNTRY ELECTRONIC DANCE SONG 🎉❤ AND I ❤ HOW THE BEAT JUST RIDES OUT WITH THE STRINGS 😊
the Cowboy hat is perfect. From you and from Madonna. Music is a blend of different styles, breaking the boundaries of music. She was playing with new styles, bringing new sounds, and blending sounds that hadn't been blended before. This album really is what paved the way for a lot of crossover albums and artists.
Te ves muy bien con sombrero Benn! En tu viaje por Music de Madonna tienes que reaccionar a Cyber-Raga ,a mi en lo personal me parece interesante la canción ya que tiene toques electrónicos muy innovadores!
The cowgirl thing - basically she was pretty heavily pregnant with Rocco so the flowy silk shirt hid her bump well. She was obviously not embarrassed at being pregnant but didn’t want to ‘always be heavily pregnant’ in the artwork for the album. So she leaned in and grabbed the Stetson. The Don’t Tell Me video will make it all make sense.
The cowboy hat is like a tongue in cheek kind of way to express Americana culture and paying homage to the iconography of the American west and bringing it back to the 2000's at the same time. The video's will make it clearer, my favorite song and video is 'Don't tell me', it's so cool. And be prepared for the 'What it feels like for a girl' video, just saying. ;)
About half of the songs on the Music album M referred to as Electronic Country which is where the look came from. Obviously some of the songs were still hints of the ROL era while one or two are definitely hints into what you will hear on American Life. Out of all her albums, it’s the most transitioning album of hers. It’s so weird that one of my favorite tracks “Nobody’s Perfect” was considered one of the weakest and least favorite by critics and fans alike but a favorite of mine. It’s clearly something that hit many popular artists for some reason as well. What It Feels Like For A Girl is still her most underrated single to date. The video will blow you away.
Now that I've listened (non stop) haha, I hear different guitars, which makes a lot more sense. It's just not the 'country' I was thinking. I cannot imagine anyone saying anything bad about any song at this point! and yesss, so keen for the music videos!!!
@@bennshoutsWhat it feels like for a girl video does to the album version what the music video for Kylie's "Where is the feeling" did to the album version. Totally flips it on its head
Don’t Tell Me topped the charts here across the ditch in NZ! lol Yep we loved the vibe and sound, especially when that beat drops after the strip back vocals and violins. Amazing track.
I've always loved Music, both commercially more mainstream in a sense than Ray of Light was, but still super experimental and weird. The experiments on this album work better I think than they do on the next album American Life. I think the best thing about the song music is it was so different from what everyone else was releasing at that time - it was a huge song. I think you'll like her 2000's output a lot, American Life divides opinion, but Confessions on a dancefloor I think will be right up your alley.
Benny baby… I can’t wait for you to see the videos and the tour for this album. I’m so happy you like it straight away, as this had to grow on a lot of people at the time. I think Runaway Lover will grab you on the second listen. I still play it a lot today. You look too cute in the hat too 😊 💙
When I first heard Music, I didn’t like it-I found it too experimental for my taste at the time. However, the album grew on me over time. I now see it as a groundbreaking work that helped bring folktronica into the mainstream, much like Ray of Light did for electronica. In many ways, Music feels like a dress rehearsal for what I consider her best album, American Life.
I remember listening to Music (the single) for the first time and I was mad. What happened to the motherly figure from Ray of Light, the spiritual Veronica Electronica? She was now with Ali-G at a strip club with her girls wanting to boogie-woogie. I was furious or confused. But then I listened to the album and i was blown away from how different it was from the main post Y2K pop scena. The singles "Don't Tell Me" and "What It Feels Like for a Girl" made me an album fan but years later it was the combo "Impressive Instant" and "Runaway Lover" the ones that confirm to me how advanced she was then. One of her best albums for sure.... You look cute with that hat (and we needed something like this review to forget whatever is happening nowadays)
This album will always be in my top 3 favourites and controversially I’ve always preferred to Ray of Light. Wait till you watch the Drowned World Tour which was her first tour to omit a lot of her hits and drew solely from Music and Ray of Light. Absolute masterpiece. American Life is next and the angrier sister to Music and another Mirwais produced album and probably her most overlooked and under appreciated album.
You know how people wear cowboy hats to concerts. That started with this album. The track Music was huge. The other two singles were Don’t Tell Me and WIFLFAG. My fav non single album tracks ever by M are Paradise and Impressive Instant so I’m glad you liked them. The intro to WIFLFAG is by Charlotte Gainsbourg from the film The Cement Garden. I freakin’ love this album.
I know. I read that her label wanted to release Amazing but Madonna wanted to release Impressive Instant. They thought it wasn’t commercial enough. Impressive Instant was remixed by Peter Rauhofer and was a big club hit. Rumour has it Madonna refused to perform Amazing live on the Drowned World Tour so Warners couldn’t use the footage for a video if they chose to release it against her will. Btw, the Don’t Tell Me video is a classic.
This made me realize there are people younger than me who have never heard "Music" or "Don't Tell Me" which BLOWS MY MIND, lol. This was such an iconic Madonna album, and it was HUGE at the time.
You are exaggerate. Music sold about 10 million copies. Is a lot of albums sold, but far away from huge. 😂 Eminem at same time sold more than 30 million copies from Marshall's lp.
Yay!!! So happy to see this. Nobody's perfect is my absolute fave. Check out the live version from The Drowned world tour. Paradise and Gone are other gems ❤
Absolutely not the strongest on the lyrical side, it is all about the music - hence of course the title. To further underscore this focus on the music this was her first release where she did not include the lyrics on the inner sleeve of the vinyl or in the CD booklet. And she was livid being force by Warner to include American Pie on the album. It is one of my wet dreams to have a Vinyl version of Music without that track.
Paradise not for me from the Drowned Wiorld Tour is unbelievable. So is the music video. One of my absolute favs and completely underrated so was excited you liked so much too.
I can’t wait until you get into American Life. It’s a stunning album. Her album run from Ray of Light to Confessions remains unmatched. And you just scratched the surface. The next two albums are gold!!!
Underrated masterpiece! I can’t decide whether Ray of Light or American Life are my favourites. Hollywood is my favourite single of hers. I kinda alternate between the two. Confessions and Music are also up there with her best for me.
It’s brilliant, her acoustic album, ROL Music and AL are her best albums, she stepped out of the pop star image ! COADF is brilliant but not as artistic as the holy trinity:)
@@ErnestoSanchezNeto I totally agree, they are the Holy Trinity! Yes, Confessions is not far behind, still an amazing album but it was the step into a more pop direction again (even though it did have a very strong artistic flair to it; the production is still superb)
This was the very first album I owned as a kid. Impressive Instant is one of my favorite tracks ever and kind of shaped my taste for more experimental music.
Music (the song) was the most successful single worldwide in the year 2000. It‘s true, look it up. :) It is brilliant, funky, iconic and timeless.
Iconic!
Folk-Tronica was her explanation for the vibe.
and she was right! the 2000s gave us excellent folktronica
1:53 Music
4:11 Impressive Instant
6:29 Runaway Lover
8:48 I Deserve It
10:50 Amazing
13:05 Nobody's Perfect
15:34 Dont Tell Me
18:28 What It Feels Like For A Girl
20:43 Paradise
23:53 Gone
😊
💙💙💙
The idea of blatantly using autotune for an entire song was pretty innovative at the time. Using it to repeat the mantra “Nobody’s Perfect” is definitely genius
Legit so shook at it!
Vocoder not autotune
@@bennshoutsvocoder not autotune
EXCELLENT observation
Yeah I was going to say it's not auto tune like Chers Believe. The vocoder is totally different and can be used to manipulate her voice so many different ways. ❤❤
Lifelong Madonna fan... the string of "Don't Tell Me" to "Gone" is one of my favorite sequencing of Madonna songs ever on a tracklist. "Gone" has to be my favorite Madonna song ever. When her angelic backing vocals come in during the last half of the song is otherworldly. Glad you loved it!
100% its perfection
The cowboy aesthetic is a testament to the madonna re-invention. She knows how to sell an image with her music. She made it iconic and there were a lot of girls wearing cowboy hats during this time. I think you’ll love the Drowned World tour that supported this album, it’s one of my favorite tours of her and quite underrated, but it’s her most theatrical and darkest tour.
Again way before Gaga and even Beyonce
I think MDNA was darker tho
Dolly Parton was
Yup. I was in High School at this time and the cowboy hats an girls were everywhere. MUSIC was MASSIVE.
She was so hypocrite at this time. She already told before in 1998 how she can't trust in People with cowboy boots and hat but she use it's image for make money. 😅
Americans needed this today. THANKS for posting!
Aww, you are welcome! 💙
💯💯💯
I felt the same way. After that horrid election, this was a nice surprise.
It was critically very successful. She was never a critics darling, but Ray of Light definitely improved her image and it was cool to like Madonna for a while. The album Music was a surprise and a smash at the same time and so different to what other pop artists did at that time. It was risky and she was a trendsetter and enjoyed commercial and critical success.
Actually according ro Metacritic, Madonna is the most critically acclaimed female artist of all time
Music was the first single and it went straight to number 1 in 40 countries or something like that. It was crazy. Everyone was dancing to Music.
The production was so original too, it was 2000 and this was definitely a new sound. She will keep working with Mirways on & off until the last album in 2018
Don't Tell Me is one of her best song and way too underrated
In what sense? It was a worldwide hit. In Europe was the biggest radio hit of the year. It was played on the radio every day (and the video on tv), and everybody liked it, fans or not.
@@serchdietrich in the sense that it's not talked much.
@serchdietrich in the sense that it's not talked about much.
the first time I heard Paradise (Not For Me) it made me think of Portishead.. it has that vibe
Genius of Madonna. New Madonna for new millenium. Folktronica is a music direction on this album. It's insult to compare Madonna with other pop girls, she never was that. She's light years ahed all of them. It's sad people don't get it.
I was 19 when I moved to New York and the record had just come out. I remember going to the Virgin Megastore in Times Square and waiting in line to buy the album. I think it sold over 400.000 copies within the first week so yeah, good times.
I bought it at that store too! I remember walking in and they had a huge rack of the album in various colored limited editions (I got the pink one with a free "Music" belt buckle!) and the CD single and vinyl right in the entrance. It was so massive for a 40-something pop star.
HAHA I love this, so cute!!
IMO Ray of Light, Music & American Life (I'm sure you'll love it) are the Holy Trinity. Those three albums are so experimental, different, raw. They are amazing! Those three albums are the soundtrack of my life.
I cannot cope with each album being better than the last haha!
❤❤❤
Me too! Probably the three most important albums of my life thus far
for me it is erotica, bedtime stories and ray of light!
@Matuteilcapo I have a friend who loves Bowie as well as Madonna and he would agree with you. he calls those run of albums her Berlin trilogy! I kinda see it, but Erotica and Bedtime Stories are so foreshadowing of everything those three albums touched on. RoL / Music / American Life wouldn't have happened, in my opinion, without them.
I can't belive you never heard Music. The song was a global juggernaut, and her 1st #1 song in the US since Take a Bow.
I just a baby 😛
@@bennshoutsa bae 🥵
Don’t Tell Me is by far my fav from this album and one of my fav Madonna songs of all time. The video is a stunner too. Paradise Not For Me is weird but gorgeous. Just wait until you get to a live performance of it. I saw it at her confessions tour in 2006 and was blown away by how incredible she sounded. Music will 100% grow on you. It was def overplayed in 2000 and was a giant global hit but it has become one of the most essential songs of her career bc it truly represents who Madonna is…Music does in fact make the people come together.
You're so right!
I LOVE that live performance of Paradise with Isaac. I’m still pissed it wasn’t on the Confessions Live album. It’s so special.
I love this album so much. That was Madonna at her coolest showing the world how to be a badass in your 40's. The cowgirl thing was purely aesthetics, a testament to her power of selling an image. The album does have a few country elements sparkled throughout, but it's in fact an electronic pop album with alt vibes with a lot of experimentation and cutting edge production.
One of my favorite pieces of trivia about the production of this album is that Mirwais wanted her voice to sound as pure as possible in certain tracks (namely I Deserve It, Don't Tell Me and Gone), with no reverbs or delays, which can result in a very "dry" vocal. But she didn't feel confident enough hearing herself with no effects in her monitors while recording and said there was no way she would sound like this on the record, so he tricked her into recording the songs by adding reverb and delay to her monitors but mixed the final thing with no effects on her voice. After the initial shock, she liked the result and it has become one of the trademarks of their work together.
Thats actually iconic! He knew what he was doing cause thats exactly what I meant when you could really HEAR her! 😭😭💙💙💙
I was very much into the techno and rave scene at the time this album came out and she definitely proved herself as being more than a typical pop singer by first working with Orbit and then Mirwaise, both of whom were really respected in the electronic music scenes. The thing is that critics often just credit Madonna for being clever enough to work with these innovative producers, but on the flip side she brings a pop sensibility to their style of production that really works and achieves that cross over that is so hard to master. Her production skills are greatly underrated, I mean both Orbit and Mirwais have commented on how involved she is in all the production. I just remember that you could hear songs from this album played in a commercial pop setting but also somewhere fairly niche and underground. She was, yet again, very much at the forefront of what was changing in pop music.
Youre correct. In ibiza the music song was everywhere I didn't expect that. And that carried on with her releases right to and including timberland 08.
Hey, so the voice at the beginning of "What it feels like for a girl" is Charlotte Gainsbourg. I recommend looking her up, she's an incredible actress and musician. Her latest album Rest is particularly notable.
Searched the comments to make sure someone said this 🖤
Thank you!
her first album is one of my most favorite albums of all time, very Air (French band)
@@ExplainAndSummarizeyes, love her music (and Air as well)
@ExplainAndSummarize that's so cool to hear! 5: 55 holds a very special place in my heart. I have to say though I think my favorite Charlotte album is IRM.
The year 2000 was a good year to be alive, I was 16 years old. I remember that this sound was very modern, auto-tune was just emerging. The country theme was because Madonna always launched trends to mark an era and also for the world of fashion, out of nowhere she appeared like this, and we loved it.
Yesssss!!!!
To be fair, I cannot imagine this whole era without the cowboy aesthetic... like I don't know what it would look like.
@@Octopussy31st something space related but punk too
Oh. And you are SO not ready for the tour video of Paradise! 😂😂😂
😱
My second-favorite Madonna album, after Bedtime Stories. There’s a misconception that this album is country or country-influenced and it’s not. It’s an electronica album with folk influences. Of course folk is the mother of country-western music since European settlers brought it with them to the American south. I guess that’s where the confusion comes from. And the cowboy aesthetic she wore for the album cover. But folk artists tend to dress western as well. Madonna and Mirwais at the time were calling the album “folktronica.” Ha. She got interested in acoustic guitar after she started taking guitar lessons the year prior to this album’s release. Her next album, American Life, is folktronica as well - but it’s themes are far more manic-depressive. Anyway, Madonna was also playing around with the cowboy look because in 2000 there was an influx of female country singers ditching western-wear and dressing in provocative, revealing clothes instead. Women like Shania Twain and Faith Hill. I think this was Madonna’s ironic, humorous way of turning the tables on them, since she’s known for her explicit sexuality and not being very demure. I remember her commenting on that at the time but for the life of me I can’t remember what magazine interview I read it in. Anyway, excellent reaction. You looked so ffcking hot bouncing around to Don’t Tell Me while wearing that cowboy hat. I can’t wait to see your reaction to the album’s three music videos. Ooo, and to the Drowned World Tour, which was the tour for this album and Ray of Light combined.
AHHHH, this makes heaps more sense, thank you! And LOL at her wearing it to be a meme basically, iconic 😂 So keen to see the visuals tho omg! and thank you!!!
This is the first album she did after moving to London - the first time she was really living outside the US , so the cowgirl aesthetics was a look into American culture from a distance kinda thing. In the CD art, when you took off the cd fom the case, underneath it there was an image of a red shoe laying on hay - I guess a reference to Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz and her famous frase "there's no place like home". The whole booklet was filled with that country-esque vibe, the "deep America" - it seems to me it was also a homage, it carries that feeling of longing of your culture when you're far away from home.
Awww I love this sm!!!
Paradise (Not For Me) live at the confessions tour is incredible 😭😭😭 also some of these songs are performed on the drowned world tour (which happened after this came out and was basically a ray of light & music tour) Music (the song) live also always hits!!
So keeeeen!!!
Music at Superbowl halftime with track suit background dancers doing effing gymnastics is such a good time!! It's on RUclips go check!!!
This album is best thought of as a bridge. Bridge between Orbit’s electronic melodic dance through into Mirwais’s folktronica. Once you hear American Life after this that really becomes evident that this is a the mid point between two totally different sounds.
"Music" is the lead single and was no 1. She only had 3 singles and this era had one of the best music videos. This is 3rd Madonna's album (after Ray of Light and Like a Prayer) that was listed on Rolling Stones 500 best albums.
Deserved!!!
I think with Madonna you need to understand the time frame: no social media, she puts out what she wants and builds an esthetic around it (often developed in the show’s parts). A good example would be the Geigha heavy influence over Ray of Light at some point, because she got very much into the book. The guitars in some songs are reminiscent of Contry music but sampled and distorted and that’s enough. That was all wrapped up with the promo shootings, the Don’t Tell Me music videos, her VMA and live shows… she literally launched that cowboy look back then. She was the influencer, the icon, the guru… it was a whole vision she’d put out. And that just started with an album cover. She really made eras out of single projects. That’s also why the attention to never replicate, always evolve. Anyways if you listen to the album again listen to the guitars in I deserve it, Don’t tell me, Gone… they are reimagined but country infused (but no, she wanted the esthetics, never sold this as a country album)
Paradise not for me is one of my favorites from her tbh. I get lost in it every time and it doesn't feel like an almost 7 minute song at all. she fucking slays in the video too, it's iconic
I’m so glad you really pay attention to detail in her music & songs. When I heard it years ago it wasn’t Poppy enough, but now I see the genius in her work in this album! Thank you ❤
Aww, thank you!
I Freaking Love This Album. It's so on point for this immigrant living in the U.S today. I needed this. Thanks
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I loved going through your first listen to this album with you. I personally feel like Madonna hit the “sweet spot” in her career from Ray of Light, onto Music, American Life, and then Confessions on a Dancefloor. You still have two amazing albums after this one. I won’t say much about what comes next for now…
When I watched your first reaction to Ray of Light (I’ve watched ALL of your Madonna videos) I was so excited for you to get to this point. Enjoy the sweet spot, she was fucking amazing during these days. I love this album so much, loved seeing you vibe with it 💙
Also, why do you look so good in a cowboy hat…?
it’s been a horrible week to be an american, this is exactly what i needed! completely agree regarding how “fresh” this album is - could be released today and would still sound just as good
On "I Deserve It" she keeps saying "this guy" (has danced for me, prayed for me etc) cos her husband at the time was Guy Ritchie 🙂
OHHHHHHHH, this makes sense haha
13:10... NOBODY'S PERFECT was the 1st song I listened to on REPEAT... there was just something so COLD, ICY and HYPNOTIC about it... even the AUTOTUNE (to me) added that REFLECTIVE "I could've done better but NOBODY'S PERFECT" SORRY SADNESS to it ❤
100%!!!!
Definitely in my top 3 Madonna albums - so underrated! You should check out the ones that didn’t make the cut too, they’re pretty fun:
- Cyber-Raga (originally released on Japanese & Australian editions only - now on Spotify too)
- Liquid Love
- Run
- La Petite Jeune Fille
- Arioso
What a nice trip down memory lane, Sydney Mardi Gras, 2001. I was 28 years old, a first time tourist to the city, went to watch the pride parade and one of the contingent was a group dressed up as cowboys, marching down the street in perfect choreography to "Music". I was captivated, and remember being so thrilled to witness my Diva being so loved around the world.
Ben, you're in for a treat, the music era is one of her most exciting, shes in in love, happily married to Guy Ritchie, living the British dream, a wife, and a mother. The 3 music videos are an eclectic bunch.
Also, Madonna wants to release "Impressive instant" as the fourth single, the record company wants to release "Amazing" instead, consequently, no fourth single was released.
Awww I love this!!! Thank you for sharing 😍😍😍😍
And I am so keeeeen!!!
Yes in the gay clubs we all loved Impressive Instant and it was requested/played. No one was asking for Amazing.
Check out Mirwais album which was produced around the same time as this album. It contains club hits Disco Science and Naive Song. He also does a great version of the The Rolling Stones “Miss you”
This was probably my favourite album of that era.
I absolutely love that you loved Paradise! It is one of my all time favorite deep cuts of Madonna’s. It is gorgeous. Also this album is a sensation… to think this woman is like 16 years into her career at this point and following Ray of Light which in itself is art. In my opinion you are right in the middle of a 6 album streak where each stands on its own but each is fucking great! True artist. Enjoy this era as many of us did back in the day.
God I am so keen to see it all!!!!!!
Music was the first Madonna song I ever heard, I remember hearing it at my neighbors house as a kid
I love this album. It's my second favorite Madonna album after Ray of Light. Love that era.
Music was the first single off the album. Don't Tell me was second I think. And What if feels like for a Girl was also a single. I recall some controversy over the music video at the time.
I feel like Madonna kinda opened the path to hyper pop with this album. I remember being a kid listening to this CD, feeling like it was rewiring my brain.
100% hyper pop vibes!
So I just stumbled across your channel and my god, I'm so glad you reviewed this album. Kid you not, I got chills re-listening to some of these songs with you. While I'm not a huge Madonna fan, this and Ray of Light I listened to countless times when they came out. Subscribed and off to watch your Ray of Light reaction 😊
Aww tysm!!! So glad you enjoyed 🥰🥰🥹💙
Years ago my niece when she was 17 or 18 found a song she liked and just played it over and over, sometimes restarting it before it even ended; and I had to smile. That was me the first time I found Don't Tell Me. I wore that track out.
Not my fave album (I adore half of it; the title track, 2 and 7-10) but my memories of this era are beloved... I had just turned 18 and Music was huuuge in the clubs (and on the radio)... and Madonna was riding a wave of general popularity and respect; it was a great time to be a fan. And in a time when culture was saturated with pop artists and boy bands that all had a very similar sound, Madonna's records sounded like nobody else out there, totally fresh, unique and original.
INCREDIBLE!
Seeing you jamming to this album told me everything I needed to know which is the album aged like fine wine
thank you for the relief from the mess that is the election, ben 💙
aww, ty!!! 💙💙💙
You should watch the Drowned World Tour, that she did to promote this album. MIND BLOWING!
So glad you finally made it! I was at uni when this album came out and we all thought it sounded bonkers, completely different from what any other popular singer was doing. Brit was doing Oops I did it again and madge was coming up with this! Bonkers but brilliant 😂
Music is up there with the classics. so good. in my top 3
Omg I needed this. Thank you!!!
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Ray of Light to Music was definitely another imperial phase in her massive career. She by and large could do no wrong at this time and was back in the general publics good graces on a massive scale not seen since the 80s. She was everywhere. That would all come crashing down with American Life though..😄 An album that I absolutely love, but the general public ignored. It didn't take years to get back the publics good graces like the SEX book backlash though, as her follow up Confessions on a Dancefloor would once again be another MASSIVE global hit that many still consider to be her best era between the combination of the album and the tour. But we'll eventually get to that.
Omg she’s a yoyo hahaha! So keen for it but I am very much keen to stay in MUSIC for a while!
There a little nod to country, just a hint but it was more about her aesthetic at the time. They were calling her the urban Cowgirl. It a very experimental album which is what she likes to put out when working with Miriam’s.
Love how you connected with Nobody is perfect and keep captivated until the end
You said it, its timeless. 24 years ago and feels fresh, even evoking Brat (that is "the sound" of 2024). A masterpiece
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16:30... and THE PRODUCTION just PROGRESSES from ALMOST ACOUSTIC to a CLUB COUNTRY ELECTRONIC DANCE SONG 🎉❤
AND I ❤ HOW THE BEAT JUST RIDES OUT WITH THE STRINGS 😊
Yesssssss
the Cowboy hat is perfect. From you and from Madonna. Music is a blend of different styles, breaking the boundaries of music. She was playing with new styles, bringing new sounds, and blending sounds that hadn't been blended before. This album really is what paved the way for a lot of crossover albums and artists.
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Te ves muy bien con sombrero Benn!
En tu viaje por Music de Madonna tienes que reaccionar a Cyber-Raga ,a mi en lo personal me parece interesante la canción ya que tiene toques electrónicos muy innovadores!
Thank you!
The cowgirl thing - basically she was pretty heavily pregnant with Rocco so the flowy silk shirt hid her bump well. She was obviously not embarrassed at being pregnant but didn’t want to ‘always be heavily pregnant’ in the artwork for the album. So she leaned in and grabbed the Stetson. The Don’t Tell Me video will make it all make sense.
Ooooo, okay!
This was monumental at its time and the Don’t Tell Me video is in her top 3 IMO! ❤
The cowboy hat is like a tongue in cheek kind of way to express Americana culture and paying homage to the iconography of the American west and bringing it back to the 2000's at the same time. The video's will make it clearer, my favorite song and video is 'Don't tell me', it's so cool. And be prepared for the 'What it feels like for a girl' video, just saying. ;)
Yess, this makes sense, thank you!!!
Loved loved your reaction ❤. Gone is little known these days I just think it’s such a beautiful song
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About half of the songs on the Music album M referred to as Electronic Country which is where the look came from. Obviously some of the songs were still hints of the ROL era while one or two are definitely hints into what you will hear on American Life. Out of all her albums, it’s the most transitioning album of hers.
It’s so weird that one of my favorite tracks “Nobody’s Perfect” was considered one of the weakest and least favorite by critics and fans alike but a favorite of mine. It’s clearly something that hit many popular artists for some reason as well.
What It Feels Like For A Girl is still her most underrated single to date. The video will blow you away.
Now that I've listened (non stop) haha, I hear different guitars, which makes a lot more sense. It's just not the 'country' I was thinking.
I cannot imagine anyone saying anything bad about any song at this point! and yesss, so keen for the music videos!!!
@@bennshoutsWhat it feels like for a girl video does to the album version what the music video for Kylie's "Where is the feeling" did to the album version. Totally flips it on its head
Don’t Tell Me topped the charts here across the ditch in NZ! lol Yep we loved the vibe and sound, especially when that beat drops after the strip back vocals and violins. Amazing track.
I've always loved Music, both commercially more mainstream in a sense than Ray of Light was, but still super experimental and weird. The experiments on this album work better I think than they do on the next album American Life. I think the best thing about the song music is it was so different from what everyone else was releasing at that time - it was a huge song.
I think you'll like her 2000's output a lot, American Life divides opinion, but Confessions on a dancefloor I think will be right up your alley.
Yeah truly, still so different now so back then would have been insane!
Benny baby… I can’t wait for you to see the videos and the tour for this album. I’m so happy you like it straight away, as this had to grow on a lot of people at the time. I think Runaway Lover will grab you on the second listen. I still play it a lot today. You look too cute in the hat too 😊 💙
Yesss love it a lot more now! Cannot stop listening 😭😭😭😭😭
When I first heard Music, I didn’t like it-I found it too experimental for my taste at the time. However, the album grew on me over time. I now see it as a groundbreaking work that helped bring folktronica into the mainstream, much like Ray of Light did for electronica. In many ways, Music feels like a dress rehearsal for what I consider her best album, American Life.
I bought this album at Walmart when I was 10 years old in 2000. “Music” and “Don’t Tell Me” were huge hits and this was a pretty big album.
I bought it at Walmart, too! The store I got it at put it on shelves a week early.
Not a Madonna fan but this album is amazing
Love this album. You MUST watch the video for Don't Tell Me
Thanks for the reaction - pretty much captured my exact thoughts on the album. Loving the Majourney - keep them coming. ❤
Aww, I’m glad! Thank you! 💙💙💙
thanks for the great review! love it so much :)
Thank you!! 🩷
I remember listening to Music (the single) for the first time and I was mad. What happened to the motherly figure from Ray of Light, the spiritual Veronica Electronica? She was now with Ali-G at a strip club with her girls wanting to boogie-woogie. I was furious or confused. But then I listened to the album and i was blown away from how different it was from the main post Y2K pop scena. The singles "Don't Tell Me" and "What It Feels Like for a Girl" made me an album fan but years later it was the combo "Impressive Instant" and "Runaway Lover" the ones that confirm to me how advanced she was then. One of her best albums for sure.... You look cute with that hat (and we needed something like this review to forget whatever is happening nowadays)
Can't wait for you to hear American Life
This album will always be in my top 3 favourites and controversially I’ve always preferred to Ray of Light. Wait till you watch the Drowned World Tour which was her first tour to omit a lot of her hits and drew solely from Music and Ray of Light. Absolute masterpiece. American Life is next and the angrier sister to Music and another Mirwais produced album and probably her most overlooked and under appreciated album.
You know how people wear cowboy hats to concerts. That started with this album. The track Music was huge. The other two singles were Don’t Tell Me and WIFLFAG. My fav non single album tracks ever by M are Paradise and Impressive Instant so I’m glad you liked them. The intro to WIFLFAG is by Charlotte Gainsbourg from the film The Cement Garden. I freakin’ love this album.
Insane that it only had 3 singles! Could have had so many omg!
I know. I read that her label wanted to release Amazing but Madonna wanted to release Impressive Instant. They thought it wasn’t commercial enough. Impressive Instant was remixed by Peter Rauhofer and was a big club hit. Rumour has it Madonna refused to perform Amazing live on the Drowned World Tour so Warners couldn’t use the footage for a video if they chose to release it against her will. Btw, the Don’t Tell Me video is a classic.
William Orbit is on this album as well. He produced "Runaway Lover", "Amazing", and "Gone."
This made me realize there are people younger than me who have never heard "Music" or "Don't Tell Me" which BLOWS MY MIND, lol. This was such an iconic Madonna album, and it was HUGE at the time.
It blows my mind too.
French here. 46y old. One of my co worker is 25.
He never see the matrix and terminator 2….
I was speechless ^^
You are exaggerate. Music sold about 10 million copies. Is a lot of albums sold, but far away from huge. 😂 Eminem at same time sold more than 30 million copies from Marshall's lp.
Thinking the same thing. Their ears cant process how awesome music used to be.
Yeah but it is completely forgotten
This was so ahead of time....new and innovated
Nothing like the teen pop of that period
Yay!!! So happy to see this. Nobody's perfect is my absolute fave. Check out the live version from The Drowned world tour. Paradise and Gone are other gems ❤
This album is amazing ❤
Absolutely not the strongest on the lyrical side, it is all about the music - hence of course the title. To further underscore this focus on the music this was her first release where she did not include the lyrics on the inner sleeve of the vinyl or in the CD booklet. And she was livid being force by Warner to include American Pie on the album. It is one of my wet dreams to have a Vinyl version of Music without that track.
Oh wow, that insane hahah, love that tho!
And yes >:( stupid labels!
Watch the videos from this era, so good. Also the Drowned World tour is amazing.
"gone" is one of my favorite vocals from this album. Love it.
Paradise not for me from the Drowned Wiorld Tour is unbelievable. So is the music video. One of my absolute favs and completely underrated so was excited you liked so much too.
So keen to see it!!!
I can’t wait until you get into American Life. It’s a stunning album. Her album run from Ray of Light to Confessions remains unmatched. And you just scratched the surface. The next two albums are gold!!!
It’s an extraordinary album
Also you are ADORABLE in a cowboy hat
🥹🥹 ty!!!
@ sent a message on instagram as I finally found your profile lol
The production of Amazing has always reminded me so much of beautiful stranger
Beautiful Stranger, Amazing, and I'm a Sinner are definitely siblings.
This is my moment!!!!!!! Thank You so much 🧡
ALL URS BEBY!!!!!
It's strange how her old songs sound fresher than her new songs
Timeless!
American Life album is really similar to this album, it has this folktronica vibes too, i think you’ll enjoy it
Music is a MasterPiece - RayofLight; Music and American Life - my personal alltime favourites!
Its techno-pop-space-cowboy is the vibe I thought she was putting out ❤
The monologue at the beginning is from the film ‘The Cement Garden”, based on Ian McEwan’s novel.
One of my favorite Madonna albums!!! Such a unique listen and I love the blend of folk and electronic
SAME
American Life next! Even though I think some may absolutely hate it 😭
Underrated masterpiece! I can’t decide whether Ray of Light or American Life are my favourites. Hollywood is my favourite single of hers. I kinda alternate between the two. Confessions and Music are also up there with her best for me.
Oh dear!
It’s brilliant, her acoustic album, ROL Music and AL are her best albums, she stepped out of the pop star image ! COADF is brilliant but not as artistic as the holy trinity:)
@@ErnestoSanchezNeto I totally agree, they are the Holy Trinity!
Yes, Confessions is not far behind, still an amazing album but it was the step into a more pop direction again (even though it did have a very strong artistic flair to it; the production is still superb)
I love American Life! It has aged very well.
One of her best, a mixed up pot of brilliance, can’t wait for you to see the music videos and hopefully the Drowned World Tour!!
Me toooooo!
Experimental Folk-a-tronica Techno Madonna era! Love it ❤
Simply the best! A masterpiece! Madonna! ❤️
This was the very first album I owned as a kid. Impressive Instant is one of my favorite tracks ever and kind of shaped my taste for more experimental music.
Yessss!
i was going to bed ....but saw this and HAD TO WATCH !!! X
HAHA, you're the best!
Amazing reaction ❤