MADONNA/REBEL HEART and More — Page 2

songanddanceman - I don't disagree about the unfortunate ageism female musical artists face - especially pop musicians. I have no objection to Madonna showing skin, being sexually/socio-politically/ provocative. In fact, I think it's something we should celebrate. But that is not the same thing as seeing a 56 yr old woman suck her thumb in a "sexy baby" routine. I know it's just a couple of seconds of a 4 min video, but it's almost as bad as watching her parade around in a cheerleader's outfit from the last tour/album. I wish she were confident enough to own where she is and say "I can be sexy and powerful at my age" rather than try to mimic a woman half her age. She makes me think of the 65 year old gays one sometimes encounters at The Abbey wearing their cut off muscle shirts with Beyonce sayings and desperately, drunkenly hitting on the twinks looking for a "generous" daddy type.

As for the video itself, it's low rent and it looks very 90s/early 2000s. Would be nice to see something as visually daring as she claims to be.


But, for the record, I really like the song itself.

Updated On: 2/6/15 at 06:01 PM

Well, with the music industry in the sh**ter, I don't think we will be seeing any high gloss/high concept videos from the likes of Kylie or Madonna anytime again.

The video is okay. It's nice to see her dancing again, like an Oedipus-era Martha Graham.

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Madonna won the night. That was INCREDIBLE.

She single-handedly (so far) stole and saved this wretched mess of a show. FABULOUS!

ETA: Actually, not really a mess. Just so f**king boring!

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Updated On: 2/8/15 at 09:10 PM

The Grammys are really boring to watch this year. A lot of slow songs that aren't very familiar.

Those are some nice rose colored glasses, guys. I still love the song, but as a life long fan, that performance just depressed me. I mean, let's be honest, for at least the entire second half of her career, this woman has trained like a performance athlete. She's put her body through so much and it is showing. I guess there's a reason you don't see a lot of professional dancers past their 40s. It's not just that she can't keep up with her dancers or that the performance had almost no flow with one disjointed mini-routine to the next. It's inevitable that a woman approaching her late 50s is not going to dance like she did even 5 years ago. But even when just standing still or, ya know, striking a pose she looked so stiff and uncomfortable and her constantly hunched-over posture gave her a less than confident stance. She looked uncomfortable and almost apologetic instead of bold and triumphant.

Her vocals were pretty good, though.

Well, she sure got the conservative bloggers talking about the "satanic ritual" she performed. lol

I don't know. I like the song a great deal, but she just looked so uncomfortable during the performance. Her posture is very odd. It's just not the natural flow I would expect from her. I can't put my finger on what felt so odd for me.

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Updated On: 2/9/15 at 06:47 AM

Madonna's performance last night was just off -- she didn't show a minute's life or energy at all, it just all felt so so so so so overdone and very familiar, she seems desperate to recapture those VOGUE glory days and it just ain't happening.

I mean really. Annie Lennox did more by just turning to the mike and announcing "I Put A Spell On You."

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I also noticed Madonna's performance as being "not what it used to be." She's 56, of course she can't dance the way she used to, even if she had flat shoes on. A person AGES, lol. I think she should aim for a more relaxed delivery.

I can't help but admire her body tone at her age. She's so over the top with her fitness regime though, that she would lose her period before every tour. That isn't an issue any more, lol.

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That was my thought, Jane. She doesn't HAVE to do all of that. I get that she wants to still do the dancing that her music encourages, but at 56, it's just not feasible. If she would just bring it down a notch or two, it could be great. I think one of her best attributes used to be that it all looked effortless. Sure, she worked her ass off, but she worked so hard in prep that the performance looked incredibly fluid. Now you can read the beat counts on her face. I don't think it's what she is going for.

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Can you imagine at this end stage of her career, the twilight years she refuses to acknowledge, using her "nerves" as an excuse?

If she is as smart as the legend has it, why has she not figured out her strengths and played to them?

I know, I know, "you're talking about her, Namo, which proves she's relevant, and her unannounced tour is on track to make a google dollars on merch sales alone, and Holiday will get very sold out stadium on its feet..."

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It's funny how I've hear a lot of people saying Madonna should dress her age. But nothing about Angus Young parading around on stage dressed as a school boy.

Erik - I don't think any of the comments above were talking about "dressing her age". Clearly, she was in costume and that's fine. The comments above were about her stiff, uncomfortable performance.