COADF vs Confessions II

[Sneaky Oliver 22,970]

COADF definitely has the higher highs with Hung Up, Future Lovers, Get Together but CII feels more consistent

COADF has some tracks that don’t stand out like ILNY, How High, Let It Will Be while the mid album tracks from CII are superior (Everything, School, Love Without Words)

Maybe if CII was a few tracks shorter it could feel even more consistent (I could live without Bizarre, The Test, Read My Lips)

Also I appreciate the mysterious vibes (especially from the last tracks on the album) from COADF better, CII feels very club/EDM-ish and less magical idk

[Bronco 24,341]

20 hours ago, NUTELLA said:

Maybe that was a bit harsh, but I must admit I am flummoxed by the amount of people who have fallen so madly in love with Confessions II. I'm happy for Madonna's success, but the album is just... okay...

The jaded part of me thinks its just people wanting it to be better than it actually is. More power to them, I guess

Some of us just miss the dancefloor and this is one of the only decent club ready albums that's been made in like 10 years by an MPG. 

[NUTELLA 26,023]

1 minute ago, Bronco said:

Some of us just miss the dancefloor and this is one of the only decent club ready albums that's been made in like 10 years by an MPG. 

Keyword being "decent."  Not great. Just decent.

Different strokes for different folks obviously, but imo there are maybe three "dancefloor-ready" songs on this album... & none of those three songs are overwhelmingly memorable.

For an album that is supposed to be appreciated as a whole, allowing you to lose yourself “in the groove” (so to speak), it feels full of disorienting detours & abrupt flow-ruining moments, often halting things right as a song starts to find its footing.

I felt like a surgeon, snipping & stitching the songs in garageband, removing entire chunks from various tracks in order to make them enjoyable. As a result, I was left with only a handful of (heavily abridged/shortened) songs to listen to.

The only songs from the album I’ve kept (after truncating them lol) are: Love Sensation, Bizarre, Betrayal, School, The Test, Everything, Love Without Words & Bring Your Love.

Of those, I've mostly only been revisiting Love Sensation & Bizarre (both without much enthusiasm). Bizarre is the closest to "my kind of music" but it also sounds like a song that Ava Max could have released, as-is, a few years ago & no one would have looked at it twice.

Happy for everyone on the dancefloor, though

[Ladle Ghoulash 51,961]

1 hour ago, garbage day said:

She's literally done so much of that sound before. Be for real. What's going on

Never on one album. Also what’s with the rancid attitude?

Edited yesterday at 10:59 AM by Ladle Ghoulash

[Ladle Ghoulash 51,961]

10 minutes ago, NUTELLA said:

full of disorienting detours & abrupt flow-ruining moments, often halting things right as a song starts to find its footing.

Couldn’t disagree more. I actually find it impressive how easily the album transitions between different sounds and styles. But, tbf, the NUTTBUTT bar for disorientation is relatively low (see: somehow the bridge of JD)

Edited yesterday at 10:59 AM by Ladle Ghoulash

[Ladle Ghoulash 51,961]

10 minutes ago, NUTELLA said:

it also sounds like a song that Ava Max could have released, as-is, a few years ago & no one would have looked at it twice.

Begging you to be serious, sister. 

 

13 minutes ago, NUTELLA said:

after truncating them

You need to go to jail for the botch jobs you’re likely doing on those songs lmao

[NUTELLA 26,023]

4 minutes ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

Couldn’t disagree more.

"Agree to disagree," I shrug, before casually drowning you in a bird bath

1 minute ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

Begging you to be serious, sister. 

I like the song, but you're full of sh!t if you tell me it is somehow distinguishable from a generic Ava Max bop.

Again, I like the song. But... please be real rn

1 minute ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

You need to go to jail for the botch jobs you’re likely doing on those songs lmao

I can work miracles, but only when the raw material is interesting enough

I confess, even I'm underwhelmed with my improvements here

But that's Madonna's fault, not mine 

[Ladle Ghoulash 51,961]

5 minutes ago, NUTELLA said:

"Agree to disagree," I shrug, before casually drowning you in a bird bath

I like the song, but you're full of sh!t if you tell me it is somehow distinguishable from a generic Ava Max bop.

Again, I like the song. But... please be real rn

I can work miracles, but only when the raw material is interesting enough

I confess, even I'm underwhelmed with my improvements here

But that's Madonna's fault, not mine 

“Your improvements” and you’ve likely neutered them. Poor things. Tortured into oblivion. 

Edited yesterday at 11:11 AM by Ladle Ghoulash

[Ladle Ghoulash 51,961]

5 minutes ago, NUTELLA said:

"Agree to disagree," I shrug, before casually drowning you in a bird bath

I like the song, but you're full of sh!t if you tell me it is somehow distinguishable from a generic Ava Max bop.

Again, I like the song. But... please be real rn

I can work miracles, but only when the raw material is interesting enough

I confess, even I'm underwhelmed with my improvements here

But that's Madonna's fault, not mine 

Ns but I do also get a giggle about how finicky yet how incredibly judgemental you are about music. Interesting combo to say the least.

[NUTELLA 26,023]

2 minutes ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

how finicky yet how incredibly judgemental you are

[Bronco 24,341]

43 minutes ago, NUTELLA said:

Keyword being "decent."  Not great. Just decent.

I mean I use decent/great interchangeably personally.

43 minutes ago, NUTELLA said:

For an album that is supposed to be appreciated as a whole, allowing you to lose yourself “in the groove” (so to speak), it feels full of disorienting detours & abrupt flow-ruining moments, often halting things right as a song starts to find its footing.

I mean, I personally disagree. Despite being a varied collection of influences, the application of those influences is the same in my view. 
Like it's a "DJ set" of dance tracks and it does it really well in my opinion, builds up the energy and then brings it gracefully into landing after it peaks. 
And like while I don't think any of the transitions are as interesting as they get on COADF, there's no sudden jumps between songs. Even when more uptempo tracks blend into slower ones the mix brings them into equilibrium before the transition ends. 
 

50 minutes ago, NUTELLA said:

Of those, I've mostly only been revisiting Love Sensation & Bizarre (both without much enthusiasm). Bizarre is the closest to "my kind of music" but it also sounds like a song that Ava Max could have released, as-is, a few years ago & no one would have looked at it twice.

Honestly, I think this is just the american approach to EDM lol 
As a brit/european, I'm kind of shocked that this song wasn't rolled out as part of the pre-album promo (beyond the live debut by Garrix) and pushed across Europe as the targeted summer track. It's prime mainstream dance chart/radio single material over here. More so than Danceteria. 
I'd be flooding the european dance scene with remixes if I was her team. This is the song my friends who DJ are wanting to get the stems for and are really surprised Madonna's team haven't pushed it more at them. 
Ava Max has never come anywhere near to Martin Garrix and never will be capable of it. 

[NUTELLA 26,023]

2 minutes ago, Bronco said:

I'm kind of shocked that this song wasn't rolled out as part of the pre-album promo (beyond the live debut by Garrix) and pushed across Europe as the targeted summer track. It's prime mainstream dance chart/radio single material over here. More so than Danceteria. 

I agree with you here. As far as I'm concerned, it is the song most fitting for a dancefloor. I'm surprised Love Sensation wasn't the lead single & Bizarre wasn't the follow-up.

...BUT, even so...

despite liking the song/enjoying listening to it...

I maintain that it also sounds somewhat stale / like a forgotten Ava Max song. I truly believe AM could have put this song out (with her superior vocals) & it would have made no noise at all. We're only talking about it rn because it's a Madonna song.

I will also say (with my full chest)...

that 1:59 - 2:14 of Gang Bang ...

is better "dance music" than ANYTHING from C2

[garbage day 11,815]

1 hour ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

Never on one album. Also what’s with the rancid attitude?

Because you're discounting everything she's done before in favor of claiming this is the hot new thing that's done more and reached farther when that's simply not true

Edited yesterday at 12:00 PM by garbage day

[Ladle Ghoulash 51,961]

14 minutes ago, NUTELLA said:

I agree with you here. As far as I'm concerned, it is the song most fitting for a dancefloor. I'm surprised Love Sensation wasn't the lead single & Bizarre wasn't the follow-up.

...BUT, even so...

despite liking the song/enjoying listening to it...

I maintain that it also sounds somewhat stale / like a forgotten Ava Max song. I truly believe AM could have put this song out (with her superior vocals) & it would have made no noise at all. We're only talking about it rn because it's a Madonna song.

I will also say (with my full chest)...

that 1:59 - 2:14 of Gang Bang ...

is better "dance music" than ANYTHING from C2

Gang Bang? Sister…

[Ladle Ghoulash 51,961]

13 minutes ago, garbage day said:

Because you're discounting everything she's done before in favor of claiming this is the hot new thing that's done more and reached farther when that's simply not true

How am I discounting what she’s done in the past by saying that CII is experimental in the grand scheme of contemporary pop music. I didn’t say it was more experimental than her previous work.