The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll versus The King of Pop

Now the tussle is about who has been around longer.

Elvis, who was found to have been around some 1,800 years ago?

 
Or Michael Jackson, who probably got some beauty tips from Cleopatra?

Perhaps the Kings have the ability to time-travel?

 

Give It 2 Me, Ma…

Madonna’s back with Hard Candy, her eleventh studio album.  Pushing fifty, this hot mama shows no sign of stopping, does she? 

I’ve been following her music since her Holiday days.  Those were the days when some reviewer (from Rolling Stone magazine, if I remember correctly) commented that she sounded like a constipated goat bleating.  I did agree with him, but what the heck, her music and image were infectious.  And let her bleat for all we cared, she would probably just last a few years, or so we thought.  But how wrong we were!  She is still here, and stronger than ever, in more ways than we detractors ever imagined.

And oh, I became a fan too.  I think I was gradually converted as she changed and re-invented herself with each album she made.  Personally, I feel that the biggest change was when she took on the role of Evita.  That was finally when she learnt how to sing!  Her voice became richer and clearer, with a texture that is definitely not of the constipated-bleating-goat kind.

My favourite Madonna album of all time has got to be Ray of Light.  I can’t decide which track is my favourite, though… tough call!

I have not heard all of her tracks on Hard Candy, but I thought 4 Minutes with Justin Timberlake and Timbaland (I like Justin Timberlake – his first album was great), was just, well, ok, so-so.  And  I did not like the video at all. 

Then came her latest single Give it 2 Me.

When I first heard it, I did not like it at all.  It sounded, so… so… retro.  I could not start describe it – I thought it sounded older than retro, if you know what I mean.  But it kept playing on radio and it grew on me, and yes, I like it now (and the video too)!  To me, it’s brave, crazy adventurous, and really just doing what she wants, and not giving a care about what the younger ones might think about the overly retro beat and arrangement.  Comments on the internet have ranged from brilliant; to some calling her an old hag, asking that she retire.  Some teenagers (they identified themselves as seventeen year-olds) gave it the thumbs-up, while some preferred the Oakenfold remixed version, where there is no trace of anything retro.  But I found this version rather dull – lacking in character and a sense of adventure.

One bad thing (at least for me), though, is that it suddenly dawned on me yesterday, why the beat and arrangement made me feel uncomfortable the first few times I heard Give It 2 Me.  Those of you who are old enough, and can recall watching Wang Sa and Ye Fong skits on TV with your parents, might remember them moving their (the comdedians’, not your parents’) shoulders up and down to such music?  Remember?  Too bad I can’t find any videos of them doing that.  But they were simply hilarious.

But back to the diva, well, Madonna, I believe that I can safely say that if women hate you, they must be jealous of the wonderful body that you possess (and also your dancing skills).

I hate you!

Just kidding!  Keep going Ma Madonna!

 

Kylie Minogue

I’ve been following Kylie’s music career since her Loco-motion days.  She has come a long way.  I do like her, but not the way she sings these days – she seems to have become more nasal with each album.  Bubblegum pop it may be, but I somehow prefer the way she sang (not her music) in her early days, like in Especially for You.  I have never liked the music she did, but if I had to choose, her albums from 2000 onwards definitely contained better, more decent and ‘infectious’ material.  I guess I’m biased as I’m more into rock music.

But back to the present, her latest singles are ‘In My Arms’:

and ‘Wow’:

When I first heard them on radio, I cringed a lot, I was not quite sure who the singer was, but thought it sounded like she was singing while pinching her nose.  I then thought it sounded like Kylie and was disappointed when I found out that I was right.

To me, she sounded really nasal and very irritating.  I don’t know how to explain it, but to borrow from Simon Cowell who commented that AI contestant Kristy Lee Cook sounded like ‘Dolly Parton on helium’, I would describe that Kylie, in her 2 latest singles, sounded like Kylie on helium…

Sorry… I so don’t like these 2.