I Heart Madonna, Even Though She Kinda Scares Me

I have been a Madonna fan since the 80s. I have always been impressed, but also a little intimidated by her power and drive.

I've seen photos lately of her leaving the gym with Gwyneth Paltrow, and I can only imagine the pressure of working out with Madonna. I was thinking about that yesterday when I was at the gym, doing my workout which seems to be not challenging enough, and I cowered at the thought of how Madonna would totally kick my ass. Very scary.

Madonna isn't the best singer, we all know she's not the best actress, (hello "Shanghai Surprise") but somehow she has had one of the most successful careers in show business spanning three decades. I think it shows a determination and work ethic that is worthy of great respect and admiration.

I'm happy for her that her new CD, "Hard Candy" is getting rave reviews. The paper I write for, the Cape Cod Times, ran a piece today written by my competitor colleague, Ken Capobianco, about pop divas with new albums out. Ken, I have to disagree with you about her first single from the CD, "4 Minutes" being "lame." WTF? Have you seen the video? Compare Madonna at 50 to Britney Spears who is half her age, lamely strolling around a stripper pole wearing torn fishnets and little else.


I know your type, bucko, I gave birth to one of the biggest music critics around. My son refused to watch the video or listen to the single until I forced him on his last visit home. He had to admit it wasn't bad. Hey, you put some Justin Timberlake and Timbaland in, and you've got a great song. The moves that Madonna pulls off in this video is incredible. Give it another listen and watch, Ken. You might find it grows on you.

When I was out walking this morning I listened to the song a couple of times as I hiked around my neighborhood. I closed my eyes and pretended I could leap over cars and have Justin Timberlake pull a corset off of me. Yeah I know it's never going to happen, but thanks to Madonna all we women over 40 can still dream.