Madonna, For The First Time, Comes Up Empty

Tom Moon of the Philadelphia Inquirer reviewed Madonna’s new album ‘American Life’, calling it “a spectacularly stinky artistic black hole.” Moon says, “On one level, she’s doing what she’s always done – rummaging through the closet of her rich subconscious, trying on the leather bra and the soldier’s uniform in search of the audacious ensemble that screams for attention. But there’s something different about the charade this time: Beneath the fractured rhythms and recurring exhortations that pass for lyrics on ‘American Life’, there’s the distinct whiff of pop-star desperation. Aware that her hold on the collective imagination is slipping, the 44-year-old star sounds psyched out by [Britney Spears], if not Gwen Stefani and Shakira, unsure whether to strike a sexy pose or a more Warholian one.”