Madonna Returned to Her Roots on ‘Confessions on a Dance Floor’
Madonna’s Confessions on a Dance Floor is a self-contained dance record, an unqualified triumph, and a study of dance music from the 1970s to the 2000s.
Peter Piatkowski
Peter is a London-based writer, though he was raised in Chicago. He writes pop culture criticism and film criticism. His work has been published in various publications, including anthologies and journals.
Spice Girls Looked to ‘Forever’ to Extend Their Pop Dominance
Forever was released in 2000 and saw the Spice Girls – Mel B, Emma Bunton, Melanie C, and Victoria Beckham – enter the new millennium on shaky ground.
Gold Panda’s ‘The Work’ Is a Warm Aural Embrace
Humanity and kindness emanate from The Work which shows off Gold Panda’s agility and skill in the studio. The effect is hypnotic and captivating.
Meghan Trainor Looks Back and Forth with ‘Takin’ It Back’
When Meghan Trainor digs deeper into her pool of talent to write something more substantial, the results are stunning and give us a glimpse of what she can do.
Carly Rae Jepsen Brings Poignancy to Her Synthpop with ‘The Loneliest Time’
For The Loneliest Time, Carly Rae Jepsen teams with talented musicians who continue to build on her affection for the shiny, glossy synth-heavy dance pop.
Blond Contrition: Madonna’s Musical Response to the 1990s Culture Wars
Both Erotica and Bedtime Stories represent critical periods in Madonna’s career. They were autumn releases and saw Madonna recalibrating her career in the face of rampant criticism.
Barbra Streisand Wanted Her MTV in 1984 and Created ‘Emotion’
More than any other record in her discography, Emotion was a way to make Barbra Streisand a competing presence on pop radio and MTV as pop turned new wave.
Janet Jackson Created a Queer Pop Classic with ‘The Velvet Rope’ 25 Years ago
By evoking disco and queer dance culture, Janet Jackson subverted her grief over AIDS deaths by turning it into pop joy on The Velvet Rope 25 years ago.
Janet Jackson Made Her Album Debut 40 Years Ago
If Janet Jackson wanted to declare independence from her famous family, she didn’t entirely succeed with her debut LP. It wasn’t until 1986’s Control that she fully emerged.
Mariah Carey Spread Her Creative Wings with ‘Butterfly’ 25 Years Ago
Mariah Carey’s Butterfly is rightly heralded as the finest work in her long discography and it would prove to become one of the best pop albums of the 1990s.
Hercules and Love Affair Return with the Blistering ‘In Amber’
Instead of offering reassurance or solace, Hercules and Love Affair’s In Amber reflects our unsettling times with themes and lyrics that are challenging and worrying.
Blondie’s Career Given Epic Tribute in ‘Against the Odds 1974-1982’
No group combined the rebellious, enterprising ambition of the punk movement with the grand and performative nature of major pop superstardom like Blondie did.