Review: Madonna's Hard Candy

On Madonna's 11th album, Hard Candy, the queen of pop invites us to imagine her as a confectioner running a musical sweet shop. But, after sitting through the 12 tracks on offer here, you'll begin to wish she'd stocked more than two varieties of candy.

Those flavours come from two of America's most bankable songwriting teams: The Neptunes and Timbaland, who between them have conjured up hits for the likes of Britney Spears, Jay-Z, Missy Elliot and Justin Timberlake. Timberlake himself crops up on five of the tracks, posing a particularly pertinent question about who is running the show when he asks "Who is the master? Who is the slave?" as the album closes.

This sort of top flight production is an unusual step for Madonna, who has a reputation for seeking out relatively obscure dance producers like Mirwais, Shep Pettibone and Stuart Price to helm her albums.

This time round, however, the queen of reinvention is trying to win back the hearts of the US audience - who were largely unimpressed with her 2005 love letter to disco, Confessions On A Dancefloor.

Lyrically, the album plays it safe. Madonna may have been inspired to make a documentary about the Aids epidemic in Africa when she adopted two-year-old Malawian orphan David Banda, but you would be hard pressed to find any social commentary in her music.

The main themes are love, revenge, sex and music - subjects on which Madonna surely has very little left to say at this stage in her career. She even repeats herself, echoing Into The Groove when she sings "Don't you know, can't you see? When I dance I feel free" on Heartbeat.

Then again, Madonna has always been at her best when extolling the virtues of music as a release, and it is on Hard Candy's club-orientated tracks that she excels. She's Not Me, a Neptunes production, feels like a five-minute musical summary of her career to date.

It kicks off with Chic-esque guitars that are reminiscent of Holiday before morphing into a pulsing club groove that could have been lifted straight from her last album. Track three, Give It To Me, is already pencilled in as the album's second single. It is one of the record's few out-and-out pop moments, featuring a cute, bouncy beat and a sense of humour that has been missing from Madonna's music since her Dick Tracy days.

"If it's against the law, arrest me, if you can handle it, undress me," she chirps as the song builds to a blistering crescendo that will surely be the highlight of any future live set.

Madonna, a notoriously hard task master (she gave Justin Timberlake a vitamin shot when he appeared to be flagging during recording sessions) seems to have been unable to tame the idiosyncrasies of her omnipresent hitmakers.

As it stands, however, the album is more akin to Madonna's last attempt to harness the urban market, 1994's underwhelming Bedtime Stories.
Bah, humbug.

By Mark Savage Entertainment reporter, BBC News
Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/entertainment/7336448.stm
Published: 2008/04/08 11:46:13 GMT
© BBC MMVIII

DEXTER

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Watch Dexter Season 3 this Fall

Dexter is one of the best (and creepiest) shows to come out in the past several years.

A Showtime original series based on the books by Jeff Lindsay, Dexter is a show about a serial killer with a conscious. Well, Dexter doesn't quite have a conscious as much as he has a mission. His mission is to put people who hurt other people out of their misery. He is a serial killer of serial killers.

The show is really interesting, colorful, and fun to watch as Dexter cruises through his life in sun-drenched Miami, a perfect place for Dexter, who works as a blood spatter expert for the Miami police department, to carry out his mission.

Dexter is dark, funny, and always entertaining. Dexter season 3 starts this fall on Showtime. Seasons one and two will be shown on CBS this season as well (FOX in Latin America), so you can watch them for free and get caught up. Season two of Dexter will be released on DVD in August.

Voyager of the Seas

Voyager of The Seas is a revolutionary marvel of naval engineering. Enjoy first- time cruise features like a skating rink, a street fair and a rock- climbing wall, a full-size basketball court - among others. The 142,000-ton, 3,114-guest Voyager of the Seas became the world's largest cruise ship when it entered service in November 1999. Innovations on Voyager of the Seas represent the highest space-per-guest ratio in the cruise market - and include enhanced staterooms, expanded dining options and exceptional recreational facilities. On the Voyager-class ships you'll find more onboard activities, more totally unique adventures and more experiences that you'll remember for a lifetime.

Some of the ship's facilities:

Voyager Promenade
Voyager Main Dining Room
Johnny Rockets Restaurant
Voyager Pig Whistle Restaurant
Voyager Scoreboard Lounge
Voyager Library
Voyager Nightclub
Voyager Theater
Rock Climbing Wall: Royal Caribbean cruise ships are the only ones in the world to offer rock-climbing walls. Whether it's your first time on a rock wall or if you're a seasoned climber, there are challenges for all levels of experience. Royal Caribbean will provide all of the equipment, including shoes, helmets and harnesses. All you need to do is bring a pair of socks and, of course, your sense of adventure.
The Royal Promenade, cruising's first horizontal atrium, is two football fields in length and four decks high. With a wide selection of shops, restaurants and entertainment the Royal Promenade will be the place to be.
Ice Skating Rink. Take a shot at a double axle in the only ice skating rink at sea. Or, once the rink is converted to a stage, settle in for an unforgettable show in the same unique area.

Passenger Capacity: 3,114
Gross Tonnage: 138,000
Length: 1020'
Beam: 157.5'
Draft: 29'
Cruising Speed: 23.7 knots


Ship Destinations
Western Caribbean from Galveston, Texas
Mediterranean Cruises
Transatlantic Cruises