Let's Get This Started

The single cover (hi-res here) is smokin', though I wish Puff Mommy weren't.

Have you heard the actual 3:35 single mix of "Celebration" yet? I wouldn't dare post the mp3, but I finally heard it and love it. I guess YouTube is more kosher:

"Celebration" is like "Holiday" and "Into the Groove" had a baby on the dance floor in Ibiza while listening to a mash-up of "Everybody" and "Hung Up."

I love that it's self-referential in a fun way without feeling lazy. Madonna's voice is front and center (although it's not a singer's song or anything) in a way that is absent from all the fun remixes that have floated around. The spoken-word part is flirty and funny and reminds me a bit of Club 69's "Let Me Be Your Underwear"—fitting since the production is very '90s Oakenfold. It's followed by a fun laugh that is straight out of "Angel"—I almost expected a "wheee!" after it.

No idea how it will do on the charts, but I sure wish Madonna were around in the U.S. to promote it because with some attention it would be a hit, and then when the more radio-friendly "Revolver" arrived that one would have a better shot of being #1 with a bullet. (I don't really think "Revolver" is destined for #1, but the gun metaphors were irresistible.)

An iPhone leak from the party in question from here.

As for the sex cover, reminiscent of the Sex era, the shots were taken at that party Madonna had with Jesus Luz in Brazil, so were taken by Steven Klein. Not a fan of smoking—Madonna is definitely that cool girl at the house party in middle school who smokes just to make you feel like a nerd—but it's not like she hasn't glamorized smoking in the past:

Madonna doesn't want Lourdes to smoke, but...

While we're at this Celebration thing, MadonnaNation's forum (thanks, Matthew, for the tip) has this teasing image of an alleged Celebration setlist:

That would mean a set list of:

DISC 1 (REVERSE CHRONOLOGICAL)

1 "Celebration"

2 "4 Minutes"

3 "Hung Up"

4 "Die Another Day"

5 probably "Music"

6 "Beautiful Stranger"

7 "Ray of Light"

8 "Take a Bow"

9 "Deeper and Deeper"

10 "Justify My Love"

11 "Vogue"

12 "Express Yourself"

13 "La Isla Bonita"

14 "Open Your Heart"

15 "Crazy For You"

16 "Dress You Up"

17 "Material Girl"

18 "Lucky Star"

19 "Everybody"

DISC 2 (CHRONOLOGICAL)

1 "Holiday"

2 "Borderline"

3 "Like a Virgin"

4 "Into the Groove"

5 "Live to Tell"

6 "Papa Don't Preach"

7 "Who's That Girl"

8 "Like a Prayer'

9 "This Used To Be My Playground"

10 "Dear Jessie"? (what else is "De" besides that if "Deeper and Deeper" is used already? it could be a typo for "Oh Father" or it could be the unreleased "Dear Father" = not bloody likely)

11 "Secret"

12 "You Must Love Me"

13 "Frozen"

14 "The Power of Good-Bye"

15 "Don't Tell Me"

16 "Hollywood"

17 "Sorry"

18 "Give It 2 Me"

19 "Revolver"

The list is probably fake because it was posted by a brand-new user on the forum. If it's not fake, then it was leaked by Madonna's team. The listing is really excellent, though! It would be surprising to not have "Erotica" on a hits collection and sad not to have "Rain," but at least "Live To Tell" and "Dress You Up" plus the badly neglected "This Used To Be My Playground" and fellow #1 hit "Who's That Girl" would get their spots.

Comments

[ian]

i agree.. a fun single for the summer.. love the spoken part... i think it's intended to sell more copies of the Greatest Hits at will do that well.. i'm just relieved that the Hard Candy Era is finally ending!

[Jerey]

Link???? or some help please!

[John]

Will she ever duplicate the "Vogue"...going on tour...summer of Madonna from the past? Probably not but this is the best we can get I think...

[NativeNYker]

Where is the track?

RT&M
http://www.rantsthoughtsmerde.com/2009/07/bandoleros-rodriguez-n-diesel.html

[Alec Sarkas]

Thanks for getting me caught up on the Madonna/Celebration single/album news! If the cover art for the single is genuine, I must admit that I like it. You know she's teasing us with the cigarette. Overall, the photos remind me of the inner sleeve art for Bananarama's 'Wow' album (LP, not CD). It's fun and Punk!

[crispy]

Well, obviously it's fake. Why would Madonna's record label use an archaic typewriter with bad linebreaks to compile the track listing?!

[Dan C.]

I think that even though I believe that track list to be fake, it wouldn't be bad. The problem is that there are going to be omissions - glaring ones - no matter how they slice it.

The song itself is great - not earth-shattering, but it is Madonna producing effortless dance/pop. I love it.

[Matthew Rettenmund]

I know, Crispy, I laughed at the weird typeset and thought of the Dan Rather/Bush debacle. But ya never know. The problem is...it's a terrific track listing! Anything we get will almost for sure be less fair and satisfying, right?

[crispy]

Don't you already own everything by Madonna anyways? :)

It is a pretty good track listing... though it's missing my favorite Madonna song of all time.

[Trajen]

@crispy

If you've seen the official artwork for "Celebration" (the compilation) if you look closely the letters of the word "CELEBRATION" have lyrics of past Madonna songs inside them in the same font. ;)

[kenneth]

The song is FUN!!! -- dare I say EXACTLY what I asked for in my "open letter" to the Pontiac Cougar a few months ago ...

[JP]

I'm not so sure. I wrote a detailed review of my feeling on the song on my blog:
http://hellofromlisbon.blogspot.com/

[Tomi Luka]

@JP: I agree with your feelings on the song. I think a more current sound would have helped the song enormously. I don't know. Up until COADF, M had an impeccable track record of being ahead of the curve in terms of sound (the current Timbaland/Lady Gaga is a descendant of her Music/DAD sound) that I'm gonna cut her slack on this one.

Plus, I'd rather have her release a song like this, than have her do like Shakira, who released an impeccably produced track where the song just lacks 'oomph.'

I think not only the remixes will give it the edge it so badly needs, but that you'll be hearing more of the mixed versions than the original one.

[David]

if this is correct then i'm hoping that weird 'de' under TUTBMP is CHERISH.

Cherish was really the last time madonna was ever sweet. it was sort of her last girlish/single moment. everything from Oh Father on had an edge to it. not to mention it was an enormous #2 hit in the states with an absolutely groundbreaking video.

CHERISH FOR THE WIN!

[Anne]

Oh, *that's* why I smoked!