You're better than this, Madonna.

Oh, Madonna. So, my friend posted Madonna's new song on Facebook today and asked for input from her Madonna-loving friends. Before I go on, here is the video.

When Madonna performed the Super Bowl Half Time Show, I was the only person at the party who really cared to watch. I listened to my friends (mostly the guys,) make their jokes about her age and obsolescence and other more crude remarks. I laughed it off, but really, the comments bothered me. A lot. I don't think that I was objective about her performance because in my mind, I was seething. Every crack about hip bones or hormone replacement therapy triggered a reactionary defense that was less about her songs or dancing, and more about expectations for women to be sexpots in their 20s and 30s before turning into proper, matronly, or even grandmotherly ladies. This really pisses me off. Madonna is aging. She's 53. It's inevitable and it's allowed. So, why isn't it expected? If an older woman has work done, she is criticized for it. If she doesn't, she is criticized for looking her age. Madonna has probably had some work done, but she has also, quite obviously, worked very hard to maintain her body. Also, 53 isn't that old. Madonna still has sex, and if your 50+ mother has a partner, chances are, she still does, too. Get over it. As long as you're in good health, you're still going to want to knock some boots in your 50's and beyond. 

Now, having fiercely defended Madonna, I'm terribly disappointed with this new single. In case the YouTube Gods remove this video, just read the chorus from "Girl Gone Wild." (ugh.) 

It's got me singing Hey-ey-ey, like a girl gone wild. Hey-ey-ey, like a girl gone wild

Girls they just wanna have some fun, Get fired up like a smoking gun. On the floor til the daylight comes. Girls they just wanna have some fun.

When someone used the word "desperate" to describe Madonna's sexual presence, I was livid. But, when Madonna sings lyrics like these,... sigh, I reluctantly agree.

I couldn't identify a Ke$ha song to save my life, but this seems to be the kind of garbage that she would be singing. Madonna, I think you're smarter and better than this. When Ray of Light came out in 1998, Madonna turned 40, became a mother for the first time, explored her spirituality, and gave the world songs about regret and heartache, (Drowned World- Substitute For Love,) perseverance, (Swim), motherhood, (Nothing Really Matters,) and other songs that adults can relate to without venturing into the world of adult contemporary music. Even songs from the sexually-charged albums Erotica and Bedtime Stories make more sense for modern-day Madonna to sing. One example would be Forbidden Love. I can see a 53 year old having an illicit affair. I cannot imagine a 53 year old or a 33 year old acting like a "girl gone wild" like those gross videos of exploited, drunken college girls on spring break.

Is she trying to attract a younger (dumber, sluttier) audience? The thing is, I don't know a single 19 year old who gives a crap about Madonna, but most women that I know who grew up listening to her, are still loyally defending her the way I did at my Super Bowl party. Listen up, Madge. Women do not relate to Girls Gone Wild. I think you're still smoking hot and have so much more to offer to the world of music. You showed my generation of women that you can be powerful, smart, sexual, and successful. I know you're capable of providing songs with depth and meaning without losing your sexual allure.

Medley of Music Notes - Griffin House, Scars On 45, and Whitney Houston.

A few days after seeing Aimee Mann, I returned to Rams Head to see Griffin House with my friend Sheila, who is always turning me on to great new musicians. In December, Sheila and I had a little musical swap and she sent me a TON of music. So much, that I did not get around to the Griffin House disc that she made for me. Without knowing even a single note of Griffin's music, I enjoyed the show very much. He was a great storyteller, with catchy tunes, thoughtful and sometimes playful lyrics, and an endearing smile whenever he spoke of his wife and newborn daughter. Here is the title track to his most recent album, Flying Upside Down. Since that show, this CD has been in heavy rotation every day on my way home from work.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of seeing Scars on 45. They are a wonderful new band from the UK with such a great sound. I have to say, I kind of swoon over the fact that their Brit accents can still be detected in song. As much as I love their music, I would probably pay money just to hear them tell stories with those gorgeous accents, but they used their chatter time well as they expressed their gratitude for being able to tour the US and share their music with so many people. Their appreciation and enthusiasm made me love them so much more. So far, the band has released two EP's, Heart On Fire, and Give Me Something. Both EP's are perfectly produced, but watching this group of six perform on a tiny stage in Annapolis at noon, they proved that their sound was not merely tweaked in some magical mixing room. They filled the tiny venue with their energy and chemistry and they are meant to be seen live. I doubt that anyone left that show not loving this band. Their first full length album will be released sometime this spring, and I cannot wait to hear more. Since I'm digging them so very much, here are a couple of videos from Scars On 45.

After spending an incredibly fun day in Annapolis with friends, I returned home to the terrible news that Whitney Houston passed away. Isn't it strange when something is shocking, but not surprising?  With plenty of money, beauty, and extraordinary talent, Whitney Houston still felt an emptiness that she tried to fill with self-destructive behavior. Celebrities, with all of their inherent and fortuitous gifts, are so often struggling with life-threatening addictions and indulgences. Rather than wagging our judgmental fingers at E!, we should realize that life is hard for everyone. Fucking everyone! We're all going to die, but luckily, most of us will not have millions of people speculating how we could have done things differently, how we should have made better decisions, etc.

Whitney Houston once said, "When I decided to be a singer, my mother warned me that I'd be alone a lot. Basically, we all are. Loneliness comes with life." Still, she chose to share her incredible talent with the world so that we could feel less alone while we listened to songs about love, loss, and dancing.

Her breathtaking and powerful voice made ordinary love songs, epically powerful and meaningful. In high school, my friends and I would drive around singing songs from The Bodyguard, pining for a dramatic romance like that which Rachael and Frank shared. We butchered these songs, but as I listen to them now, I know that nobody could have performed the songs on this soundtrack better than Whitney.

On a summer day in 1987, I was a nine year old girl, living on an Army base in Maryland. With a blank cassette tape in my pink boom box, my finger rested on the pause button as I waited for commercials to end and for the beginning notes of Whitney's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" to begin. It was always easier to make the beginning of the recording sound okay, but the ending always sucked with some DJ interrupting the song's end with some Captain Obvious remark like, "you're listening to Whitney Houston on DC's WAVA FM!" Still, I had most of the song captured and played it over and over again in my bedroom, singing into a hairbrush, dancing for an audience of stuffed animals.

The Whitney Houston of the 80's and early 90's is the Whitney that I will always remember. Bright, beautiful, and bursting with talent. RIP, Whitney Houston. I hope your broken heart finds peace in the hereafter.

If somebody loves you, won't they always love you?