Musings on the Material Girl

When the first issue of SPIN came out in 1985, I was one of the magazine’s editors. The decision to put Madonna on the first cover was not mine, but I agreed with it – she was already a major player, and threatened to become “important.” Which she did. There’ve been missteps, and I’ve never been a true fan of her music, but I’ve long admired Madonna’s ability to do it her way, and her uncanny knack for sniffing out the next big thing in pop. The new CD, though, is a generic dance record that seems not have an original idea on it, until perhaps the last track, “Voices.” Diva or done? For now, reluctantly, I say “done.”