Madonna: "MDNA"

Madonna can never be accused of playing it safe or easy. Her new album "MDNA" manages to be current without sounding desperate, genuinely edgy and unique while still borrowing liberally from recent european-influenced electronic pop that's been popular in recent years. "Hard Candy" was a more R&B/pop sheen, and it was underrated. "MDNA" is like a mix of "Confessions" and "American Life" but amped into the present. Her albums can be hit or miss but she can never be accused of laziness. It would be easy for her at this stage of her career to just hire some ace producers and songwriters to create a radio-friendly collection of 12 singles. Madonna has never done that in her career - she is always intimately involved in every aspect of the music, and each album has a particular sound and vision. "MDNA" has a great vibe - I can groove to it more than any Madonna album probably since "Erotica". She just keeps working and over and over again she's shown her impulses are usually correct. Nobody else has navigated the pop music world over the last 30 years like Madonna, and there's a reason for that. She just rocks it. She's Madonna... really that simple. ;)