NEWS: Ohio Express Rules OK

MUSIC: Ohio Express Rules OK

I haven't heard the new Madonna album. Chances are I'll never end up hearing much of it. I wouldn't be thinking about it now, were it not for the fact that Andrew Sullivan posted an enthusiastic endorsement of it today. He appreciates its unpretentiousness, which is a reasonable enough criterion, and points to this Time Magazine review which makes the same point:

Somewhere along the line, "Yummy Yummy Yummy" became the standard against which mainstream rock critics always judge dumb or "bad" songs, along the lines of "at least it's not as dumb/bad/lame as 'Yummy Yummy Yummy.'" I am mystified. "Yummy Yummy Yummy" is, by my lights, one of the greatest records ever made. I'm not saying it's not ridiculous or silly. Of course it is. What's your point? But I'm pretty sure that it's ten times as good as anything on that Madonna album, including her song about feeling like a dork outside of Manhattan.

I agree I love the 'yummy yummy yummy, I've got love in my tummy' line. It's such a modern iconic line; geniusly simple. And superior to most songs I hear today.

It was a subliminal reference to oral sex. Gay oral sex, given the gender of the singer.

And I don't even want to touch Melanie's "Brand New Key." That's the filtiest song ever to hit number one in the U.S.

"Walk on the Wild Side" and "Get Back" had transexuals, druggies and the like, but they weren't about little kids getting it on.

I like the new Madonna single. The verses are weak, but they don't last long. I like the sound of the vocals, a good mix between her 80s sound and a modern retro-80s sound, if that makes sense.