Music

Madonna’s longevity in pop music is kind of shocking when you consider that her specialty for nearly two decades has been riding each pop wave and jumping off just before it crashes. But it’s Madonna the Icon that people have been continually fascinated by, and while she’s tossed-off some catchy tunes here and there, Madonna the Artist rarely fascinates anyone. We assume the title of her latest, Music, is supposed to infer some sort of rededication to her songcraft, but the album that follows is a forgettable trail of hopelessly trendy, dance-pop mush that only serves as a reminder of how boring pop can be when it doesn’t connect. The title track is perhaps the worst offender here, a mindless, skating-rink anthem with dull beats and the most embarrassing chorus since, “Everybody Wang Chung Tonight.” A few acoustic-tinged ideas she stole from Beth Orton and the Chemical Brothers (“I Deserve It,” “Don’t Tell Me”) are serviceable, but they can’t keep the rest of this disposable dreck afloat.