Reinventing Disco?

I just listened to some tracks of the new Madonna album and I am in a bit of a shock. She can’t be serious, can she? Don’t get me wrong, I think she is a remarkable woman. The way she keeps reinventing herself, her music, the way she perseveres, does all the things she is interested in, her looks and the shape she is in at 47…. She is just a phenomenal woman. But do we really need the reinvention of disco? It feels a bit like been there, done that. Or is that just my age talking?.

When I watched the MTV European music awards last week I was a bit surprised by Madonna’s new look. This was definitely back to the ‘70s, the Farah Fawcett (who?) hairstyle, the aerobic suit and big sunglasses. Oh my god, what’s happening? I don’t want to relive that era again. But now that I’m thinking about it, the new look shouldn’t be such a big surprise. The sample from the 70’s/80’s ABBA’s hit Gimme gimme gimme sort of gave it away. Listening to the tracks I also discovered a background loop that sounds a lot like ‘I feel love’ by Donna Summer. Donna who? Uhmm…. Donna Summer, if you are that young and you don’t know who she is, you should probably ask your parents about her. Some tracks even remind me of Italodisco (that’s what we called it back then), so not my cup of tea. On one track there is a bit of Dutch and my only question is why? Other tracks reminds me of the Ray of light album, which I loved btw.

But all in all I think the album is going to be great and certainly not boring with all the different styles on it. I’m willing to accept this from Madonna, who has been around for 21 years or so, but not from just everybody. My only fear is that wannabee stars think they can pull this off too. If that happens I guess I have to quote a ‘70’s hit by Gruppo Sportivo ‘Disco really made it, it’s empty and I hate it’