kesiak

Is this real?

I'm glad to see quite a few pieces written from this perspective. I remember going to see Grace Jones live. She was 60 at the time, wore a thong, a basque and was hola-hooping wearing a cat's mask - totally bonkers, of course, but also completely at ease with herself and comfortable in her own skin. Later that same year I saw Tina Tuner, few months shy of 70. Tina was rocking super short skirts, high heels, being sexually suggestive and seemed to be having a ball. I myself turned 30 that year and I was totally inspired by both of them and felt empowered in a way - who cares what people say? Where is the rule book that says you should or shouldn't do/wear/say certain things at this or that age? Who cares if Renée Zellweger, Ume Thurman - or whichever female celebrity is getting the wrong end of the stick these days ( (and let's face it, it's women who are constantly being judged and criticised for their appearance) - has had work done, bought a new face or looks differently to what we think they should look. Who cares? Why is this news? How does that impact on anyone's daily life? I think it's safe to assume Madonna will be in her 80s, still flashing her ass and, well, still being Madonna, and I for one will be front row applauding her. It's one thing not to like someone's work, be it acting, singing, whatever (nobody's forcing you to see Thurman's new movie or spend money on a Tina Tuner ticket) but to try and put someone in a narrow box of one's own insecurities, preconceptions and social conditioning is simply ignorant. The last thing we need is having more people telling women what to wear and how to act. Fuck that - where's my hoola-hoop? Now I'm gonna blast "Express Yourself" and dance around like a total fanny in my kitchen just cause I feel like it, cause I'm a strong independent woman myself and cause don't care if that's an undignified thing to do. Come on girls!

Good comment on the Guardian live blog: "This is the best performance so far. Mads at her best, embracing some ridiculous imagery and going for it. Someone should have told Tom and Jessie to go big or go home." http://gu.com/p/45j4b/stw#block-54d812b5e4b02d5a4e6bc973

Hmm... Yeah, not feeling it either. I'll watch it again tomorrow.

I thought Guy said in December that Alicia won't be joining M at the Grammy's due to having a baby late last year.

MJ is dead. Hard to compete with a dead legend... ;)

Uhm... Come again? I think it might be a little bit late in the day to complain that an artist who, in the past 3 decades, has... oh I don't know... worn crucifixes as fashion accessory, danced in front of burning crosses and sung on a giant cross wearing a crown of thorns is welcoming the devil. If someone is crazy enough to treat all of this stuff literally that is.

Seems like there was a lot of fighting during the recording process of this album! I'm curious what went down with Avicii - there must be something else apart from him getting ill and her wanting a fresher sound (presumably). In that NRJ interview when asked about him she pretty much blanks him and only talks about writing with "his team". Hmmmm...

Can't express opinion on the stuff I haven't heard (and that Hold Tight version sounds delicious indeed) but for me every single track on the album is an improvement on the demos. Love Rebel Heart in its final version as well as Wash All Over Me - that Avicii sound was grating on me and made these songs sound like throwaway euro dance pop (not that there's anything wrong with it but we've got Kylie for that... ;)). It's all a matter of opinion in the end of the day - I think that by giving the tracks the treatments they received in the end she made a coherent, exciting and fresh sounding record. Personally, the only track that I'm not entirely sold on so far is SEX - though I do think that lispy rap is hilariously bonkers :-). I'm actually astounded that she's still got it in her after 30 years. Whether the album and its singles are chart hits doesn't bother me really - she's had the #1s, she made her millions and won the awards, I'm just glad that she's still making quality music for us to enjoy.