The Null Device

Emperor/clothes

Julie Burchill turns her guns on Madonna's latest album and image-change.
And this is the nub of my argument, the glitch in the seamless, shameless Madonna machine that just won't go away: for all her talk of discipline and dedication, has there ever been a professional singer, with two decades behind her, whose voice has shown not just no improvement, but a decline? Wouldn't the reputed four hours a day spent putting her ankles behind her head be better used practising her scales? And how much disrespect does this show to those who buy her records? Considering how little effort Madonna has put into the very thing she became famous for, her fabled knack for "reinvention" starts to look less like the clever cherry on the cake and more like desperate smoke-and-mirror decoys from her total lack of talent.

There are 1 comments on "Emperor/clothes":

Posted by: dj http:// Sat May 3 07:55:59 2003

I have a friend who is a fairly good singer who is amazed how a woman who sings basically one or two notes in every song has managed to put such a long career together. As for myself, i've never thought a lack of talent a necessarily overwhelming obstacle to any career.