Is Madonna Still Relevant?

Madonna still sells out arenas and her albums still go platinum. But with each new album come criticisms that the Material Girl has lost her relevance and her capacity for reinvention. In advance of her series of Madison Square Garden shows this week a trio of Madonna-watchers weighs in on her career: Boston Globe critic Joan Anderman, Pitchfork Media contributor Stephen Deusner and Santiago Fouz Hernández, co-editor of the book "Madonna's Drowned Worlds." Also: a conversation with Mike Thorne. He was responsible for the Sex Pistols' arrival at EMI Records in 1976, and he was their A&R man until they were dropped by the label in 1977. He's since worked as a producer for such artists as John Cale, Laurie Anderson, and Marianne Faithfull, and today he runs the Stereo Society, a record label and recording studio in New York.