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Rating: “So to her you’re nothing new, she’s cold as ice but you still thinks she’s hot, she’s got everything it takes to take everything you’ve got” – Loretta Lynn
Why? Why revisit these parts proposing trash of the worst kind like this? Intellectual curiosity mixed with a pinch of masochism, partly boredom, perhaps, but this is mostly a challenge with myself and a provocation. Here I say it and I won't deny it: I have always been “curious”, let's say, to listen to a product by M. in its entirety, trying to set aside the deep disgust, on various levels, that the character inspires in me. It is, therefore, mostly out of an investigative spirit that I allowed myself the “pleasure” of listening to “Bedtime Stories”, to see a little clearer, trying to understand if the “phenomenon” is indeed based on somewhat worthy foundations of analysis and perhaps even of interest. The answer is, of course, NO, NO, and again NO.
Why “Bedtime Stories”? It's not one of her most advertised albums and generally enjoys a good reputation, it's generally considered a refined product, with alternative ambitions. Yes, the usual, insipid, pretentious, disgustingly empty “Al-Theeer-Na-Thiiiv” ambitions. Had I found something significantly appreciable in the product in question, I would have kept it to myself for image reasons, I have no problem admitting it, but it wasn't so, and I am much calmer, and besides, no one will be able to say that I didn't at least try.
What is “Bedtime Stories?” Nothing. What does it represent? Nothing. Suitable adjectives to describe it? Boring, insipid, absolutely irrelevant in itself.
The voice is pathetic, truly pathetic: flat, tragically ill-suited to communicate anything, good just for vomiting some regurgitated slogan. This contributes decisively to creating the peculiar sensation of tedium, coldness, and slight irritation that accompanies the listener on the agonizing journey through the eleven SONGS that make up the product.
A product that is nothing more than a very banal mid-'90s R'n'B album with some electronic influences. It all sounds watered down, vacuous, completely devoid of any real character: there is nothing real, nothing interesting, it's all a colossal setup. Removing all the “corollary”, only the usual slogans remain, “Human Nature”, passable, “Survival”, sordidly insipid. “Take A Bow” is cute, there you go, I admit that, with a performer worthy of such a name it would even be beautiful. Listening to “Sanctuary” or “Bedtime Story” (with that picturesque and totally unexpected and unpredictable simulated sigh at the start) one wonders who or what our dear M. tried to impress. On who was actually impressed, I would prefer not to comment, for reasons of politeness. Everything else lazily oscillates between sickly-sweet and dead-and-gone, absolutely nothing worth mentioning and examining more closely. Zzzz… zzzz…. Wake me up when the record ends … You know what? “X” by Kylie is slightly more interesting than this thing.
My dear M, now I know you a bit better, and I'm not impressed, neither positively nor negatively. They call you the queen of pop, but you are not, you never have been, and you never will be: you have no charm, you have no charisma, you have no depth, your “mystique” is nothing more than well-oiled propaganda. You are not a queen nor even vaguely noble; a nouveau riche, enormously enriched, yes, but still a nouveau riche, and you can feel it, oh, can you feel it! Another thing, M, you are nobody and represent nobody, you don't have the weight, you don’t have the credibility to speak for anyone. I hated you so much, dear M, now no longer: listening to you made me realize it's not worth it, the hope is that one day you may be forgotten, relegated to the irrelevance to which you belong. Goodbye, I leave you here, frozen in your clownish pose as an out-of-time Marylin with a transgressive piercing.
Sincerely (never) yours,
Daniel T. Kid
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Survival (03:31)
Verse:
I'll never be an angel
I'll never be a saint it's true
I'm too busy surviving
Whether it's heaven or hell
I'm gonna be living to tell, so
Bridge:
Here's my story [my story]
No risk no glory [no glory]
A little
Chorus:
Up and down and all around
It's all about survival
(verse)
Here's my question [my question]
Does your criticism [criticism]
Have you caught up in what you cannot see
Well if you give me respect
Then you'll know what to expect, a little
(chorus, repeat)
(verse)
(bridge)
(chorus, repeat 3 times)
[Up and down and all around]
I'll never be an angel
[Up and down and all around, survival]
[Up and down and all around]
I'll never be a saint it's true
[Up and down and all around, survival]
(repeat and fade)
02 Secret (05:05)
Things haven't been the same
Since you came into my life
You found a way to touch my soul
And I'm never, ever, ever gonna let it go
Bridge:
Happiness lies in your own hand
It took me much too long to understand
How it could be
Until you shared your secret with me
Chorus:
Mmm mmm (skip for the first two times)
Something's comin' over, mmm mmm
Something's comin' over, mmm mmm
Something's comin' over me
My baby's got a secret
You gave me back the paradise
That I thought I lost for good
You helped me find the reasons why
It took me by surprise that you understood
You knew all along
What I never wanted to say
Until I learned to love myself
I was never ever lovin' anybody else
(bridge)
(chorus, repeat)
(bridge)
(chorus, repeat)
Mmm mmm, my baby's got a secret
Mmm mmm, my baby's got a secret
Mmm mmm, my baby's got a secret for me
Mmm mmm, mmm mmm, mmm mmm
05 Inside of Me (04:11)
I can't stop thinking of you
The things we used to do
The secrets we once shared
I'll always find them there
In my memories
But this heartache isn't going anywhere
In the public eye I act like I don't care
When there's no one watching me
I'm crying
Chorus:
I will always have you, inside of me
Even though you're gone
Love still carries on
Love, inside of me
I keep a picture of you
Next to my bed at night
And when I wake up scared
I know I'll find you there
Watching over me
Bridge:
When my world seems to crumble all around
And foolish people try to bring me down
I just think of your smiling face
And I'm flying
(chorus)
You'll always be inside of my heart
Inside of me
(bridge)
(chorus)
I will always have you, inside of me
Even though you're gone
Love still carries on
Love still carries on
I will always feel you
You'll always be inside of my heart
I'll always have you inside of me
I will always have you
09 Sanctuary (05:02)
(Spoken:)
Surely whoever speaks to me in the right voice
Him or her I shall follow
Who needs the sun, when the rain's so full of life
Who needs the sky
It's here in your arms I want to be buried
You are my sanctuary
Who needs the sun, when the rain's so full of life
Who needs the sky, when the ground's open wide
It's here in your arms I want to be buried
You are my sanctuary
Who needs a smile, when a tear's so full of love
Who needs a home, with the stars up above
It's here in your heart I want to be carried
You are my sanctuary
Who needs the light, with the darkness in your eyes
Who needs to sleep, with the stars in the sky
It's here in your soul I want to be married
You are my sanctuary
(Spoken:)
And the earth was void and empty
And darkness was upon the face of the earth
Is all of this pain so necessary
You are my sanctuary
(Spoken:)
Surely whoever speaks to me in the right voice
Him or her I shall follow
As the water follows the moon, silently
Who needs the sun [with fluid steps]
Who needs the sky [around the globe]
Who needs to sleep [I hear your voice]
You are [you are] my sanctuary
You are [you are, you are]
You are [you are] my sanctuary
10 Bedtime Story (04:53)
Today
Is the last day
That I'm using words
They've gone out
Lost their meaning
Don't function anymore
Let's get unconscious honey
Today, is the last day
That I'm using words
They've gone out, lost their meaning
Don't function anymore
Traveling, leaving logic and reason
Traveling, to the arms of unconsciousness
Traveling, leaving logic and reason
Traveling, to the arms of unconsciousness
Let's get unconscious honey
Let's get unconscious
Let's get unconscious honey
Let's get unconscious
Words are useless
Especially sentences
They don't stand for anything
How could they explain how I feel
Traveling, traveling, I'm traveling
Traveling, traveling, leaving logic and reason
Traveling, traveling, I'm gonna relax
Traveling, traveling, in the arms of unconsciousness...
Let's get unconscious honey
Let's get unconscious
Let's get unconscious honey
Let's get unconscious
And inside
We're all still wet
Longing and yearning
How can I explain how I feel?
Traveling, traveling
Traveling, traveling
Traveling, traveling, in the arms of unconsciousness
And all that you ever learned
Try to forget
I'll never explain again
11 Take a Bow (05:21)
Take a bow, the night is over
This masquerade is getting older
Lights are low, the curtains down
There's no one here
[There's no one here, there's no one in the crowd]
Say your lines but do you feel them
Do you mean what you say when there's no one around [no one around]
Watching you, watching me, one lonely star
[One lonely star you don't know who you are]
Chorus:
I've always been in love with you [always with you]
I guess you've always known it's true [you know it's true]
You took my love for granted, why oh why
The show is over, say good-bye
Say good-bye [bye bye], say good-bye
Make them laugh, it comes so easy
When you get to the part
Where you're breaking my heart [breaking my heart]
Hide behind your smile, all the world loves a clown
[Just make 'em smile the whole world loves a clown]
Wish you well, I cannot stay
You deserve an award for the role that you played [role that you played]
No more masquerade, you're one lonely star
[One lonely star and you don't know who you are]
(chorus, repeat)
Say good-bye [bye bye], say good-bye
All the world is a stage [world is a stage]
And everyone has their part [has their part]
But how was I to know which way the story'd go
How was I to know you'd break
[You'd break, you'd break, you'd break]
You'd break my heart
I've always been in love with you
[I've always been in love with you]
Guess you've always known
You took my love for granted, why oh why
The show is over, say good-bye
Say good-bye [bye bye], say good-bye
Say good-bye
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Other reviews
By Dave
"Bedtime Stories is warm and enveloping, unlike the cold and detached Erotica."
"Human Nature fiercely defends Madonna's artistic freedom and boldly addresses sexual taboos."
By The_dull_flame
'Bedtime Stories' is warm and enveloping, pure pop pleasure.
'Bedtime Story' is pure avant-garde, a piece written by none other than Bjork, and perhaps the best on the album for its experimentalism.
By pluto1992
This album is about a return; the return of a woman battered by what 'Sex' and 'Erotica' were.
Her 'Bedtime Stories' are beautiful songs put together with art and taste.
By Darius
"I’ll never be an angel, I’ll never be a saint it’s true, I’m too busy surviving."
"Human Nature is the response to all the critics who fiercely criticized her image as a femme fatale and sexual manipulator."
