Why is Madonna so overrated?
 

She is one of the best selling artist of all time without deserving it.

Her fans are very rigorous in defending her. I've never been able to see how people liked her so much. I understand liking her music to a certain degree but why the over zealousness?

Edit: Why do her fans obsess themselves with her so much?

1) Boobs
2) The willingness to show them

Pretty much Madonna in a nutshell.

madonna obsessiso
 

But why do her fans obsess so much over her?

Because they're her fans?

Cause they think she's cool for shaking her boobs.

what..
 

Does one need to be obsessed to be a fan?

In a In a world that supported this in a big way...



...retrospect cannot be used to debate why people liked certain things.

Being "overrated" is subjective. But what is fact is she is smart enough to exploit herself for the sake of her music and somehow say relevant. I give her credit for that.

I don't know if it's so much 'smart' as 'well timed'. Madonna was ****ing edgy for her time.

Then again, in the post Internet porno world, her third rate imitators somehow make cash doing the same thing. So, I don't know.

I've never encountered a crazy Madonna fan. Do they really get that bad? I enjoy a good run through the Immaculate Collection every now and then but I wouldn't call myself a fan.

i don't think she was over-rated when she first made it big

the songs justified the hype

only later was she "over-rated", that's only because of unwarranted critical acclaim for what is "pop fluff"

No, but unfortunately many fans are like that. I don't think Madonna fans are as prominent on boards as other fans though like those of Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Animal Collective, Arcade Fire, Bon Ivor, The Clash, The Replacements, The National, The Cure, My Bloody Valentine....

Madonna is definately overrated. Everything is to do with her looks and body, rather than the actual voice or any real talent.

I've never found them to be that zealous. I always find Buckethead and Dream Theater fans to be far more obsessive.

And why should they need to defend her? What music they listen to is their concern.

Some of the early songs were good, like Lucky Star, Borderline. So when she started she did create an impression in an American pop scene which wasn't so strong at the time. And it seems there needs to be a big American pop star for people, that's why Lady Gaga is now built up as being amazing, and why Michael Jackson was rated so highly.

i love "Into the Groove" as well

that's probably my fave Madonna song

As a teenager I survived on her. Now I don't even listen to her.

Still compared to all of her imitators like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, etc. she still made better music.

I think I liked Material Girl more from that time, something about the vocal or production as well as the catchy melody.

I quite like Madonna for a pop female artist, and I think she's quite talented. Unlike many of her successors, she wasn't manufactured by an agent with a recording contract in place. In response to many of the posters, I agree with Salami in that I don't think her fans are overly zealous (a la Lady Ga Ga), and I agree with Il Duce, I really like "Into the Groove"... definitely my favorite Madonna song. Plus, Madonna is an actual musician and played guitar, drums, and sang in a band (The Breakfast Club) before her solo career took off. She's also a professionally trained dancer, so I don't think her talent can be questioned.

Off topic... I read in the current issue of Classic Rock Magazine that Brian May is considering Lady Ga Ga as front woman for a possible upcoming Queen tour. No one can replace Freddie, but I would actually love to see that.

*groans*

I don't know how may people will start making awful jokes about "Radio Gaga".

Sounds like just another excuse to supplement her vanity. If she replaces a gay man who died of aids in a band, it'll simply be another tool for her to continue this ridiculous illogical martyrdom for all ills of gays thing she's doing.

As for the other portion of the equation. May obviously just sees the financial opportunities in this. I'm sure he's not a poor man by any stretch off of Queen royalties, but he certainly isn't making the kind of dough he'd probably pull in from milking a tit like Lady Gaga before she runs dry.

That's not entirely fair... Freddie Mercury was bi for a start!

Furthermore, I think a lot of people would do anything for the chance to perform with Queen, and Brian May is clearly prepared to let her. I'll be interested in seeing how this pans out all the same.

Apart from "We Will Rock You", I will turn off the TV the second that comes on.

You're saying this as if cash isn't the only factor by both parties.

Don't be silly! Neither has been in music for the sake of music for years.

I have a nagging suspicion that sex might be a factor too.

It said in the article that Lady Ga Ga took her name from the Queen song "Radio Ga Ga" that you mention (which I didn't know), so she's obviously a fan. I'm certainly not waiving the Lady Ga Ga flag here, but I would go see that. I love Queen, and it would certainly be an interesting twist.

In retrospect, while writing this-- I realized that I was picturing myself at a Queen concert with Queen fans, when in actuality it would end up being a Lady Ga Ga concert with Lady Ga Ga fans-- with Queen only as her back up band, and that does not interest me at all.

Well first of all, Madonna has a fairly large homosexual fan base, so to think she got anywhere because of her boobs isn'texactly spot on. As a straight man, i think she's not very attractive.

If I have to assess her career, I'd say she was a gerat tactician. She knew how to stay relevent by changing her sound up. The inherent message in doing that is "see how talented I am - I can do anything." For me personally, thats like saying you're a Mathematical genius because you can add, subtract, divide, and multiply with equal skill. It might be true, but the range is lacking.

She did Spanish music, techno, was timely and spoke about issues that were supposedly taboo at the time. I think anyone out there on social issues risks making their career a gimmick so I try not to pay attention to them. She hasn't really been relevent in about 10 years at most so I don't know where this topic came from but I think she's a better business woman than musician.

Also, I hate her Kabalah, fake british accent, smoked-jerky-looking body. I also hate her kids name.

This is exactly why. Pop music is fine, but I really don't like pop concerts, particularly with her "monsters" or whatever her fan club is called these days.

I don't either. However, I think you have to remember the gay fanbase latches on due to the fact that campy disco type stuff is their thing. That's what keeps her in business, but not what made her humongous. What made her humongous in the 80s was the controversy her videos generated.

By today's standards, they're what EVERY pop star does. At her time, they were edgy, but not nearly as. But during her time, music video centric hysteria was massive. Both right, and left wing politicians were on the crusade, and she was there at the right time to be the witch for them to try to burn.

I mean, after all, they were throwing fits about Twisted Sister's looney tunes videos. Madonna's videos were way harsher. Considering how drenched with cleavage (and fairly enough half naked men, which probably helps with the gay audience) they were, how can that publicity not skyrocket you into superfame?

Yeh gay icon stuff tends to happen more later with some female singers as they decline or in retrospect, not really when they start out and are normally at their peak. Madonna was considered sexy in some way when she started out.

yep
 

My encounters with obsessed Madonna fans admittedly is few but I'm just curious as to how someone would be obsessed with her and why her music outsold other many artists of her time. Obviously she was a star ecause of her antics but wouldn't people have some time of discernment to separate entertainment from quality music?

Lady Gaga's music is average but her individual talent far surpasses Madonna. If she really wanted to she could make very good music but she (like many other artists) is too concerned with money and fame to take that route.

In Madonna's defense(never thought I'd say that), at least she had an inkling of originality. I mean, she was an innovator in no way, but all Gaga adds to the formula is a tad bit of macabre.

yes, she's technically a better singer. But, I've never been too impressed with Gaga. Especially this whole bizarre misnomer she was some sort of musical giant before she donned the personality, and pop money making formula. Yes, she went to a nice music school, yes that's probably impressive. But, that's just technical knowledge, and the ability to feed it to people professionally. That doesn't prove the ability to apply it to make interesting output. Her work has always been dull, and she's just chameleoning Madonna like the chameleon of 99% of every 'lounge pianist' beforehand.

hey
 

I heard she learned to play piano by ear at 4 and started composing music at age 13.

Her music is average but she does have talent.

I'm not sure if you've listened to this song. This is when she was 18 years old. Much better than what she's making today.

It's still generic garbage, she's just chameleoning a different thing now.

Who rates Madonna? Anyone of any musical taste?

floris
 

Your opinion. But let's not stray too much from the topic.

I'm not sure that Lady Gaga's studio recordings show her as surpassing Madonna (or even equaling) in any way at all yet. Her publicity might be in the same league, but not the music at this point.

Lady Gaga v. Madonna debates don't hold up; my girlfriend loves both and notices multiple themes and moves Gaga has borrowed from Madonna.

Madonna's fine for commercial pop, i love Like a Virgin myself. I think i may lean more towards Cindy Lauper on personal preference though.

fall like a potato
 

I wouldn't consider either to have thoroughly listenable music. That's why it amazes me how people obsess over their music.

I think Lady Gaga is superior.

What on earth does this mean? It seems to amount to:

"I don't think their music is worth listening to"
"Therefore I am amazed that people listen to it"

Evidently many people do consider her music worth listening to, since Madonna and Lady Gaga have gigantic fanbases.