"The selfless Madonna is less inspiring than the selfish one in so many ways."

Emily Nussbaum turns in an interesting and mostly selfish (appropriate, considering the above thesis of the piece) article for New York on the Madonna of now vs. the Madonna of then that's worth a read. I was at the Desperately Seeking Susan screening she attended (it was at the 92nd Street Y in TriBeCa, not IFC) and thought she was up to no good with her questions to the gay guys behind me sounding like invitations to voice concerns about Madonna 2009. Turns out she was up to mostly yes good, even if as a Madonna fan she fails by writing that the lyrics to "Human Nature" are "I ain't sorry/Don't hang your shit on me."

She correctly notes how many of Madonna's recent songs turn on "ticktick sounds and countdowns" and comes back around to loving Madonna thusly:

"Now she’s catalyzing a new set of insults, that cougar-MILF catcall, with its attendant put-downs—she’s 'desperate,' 'pathetic,' 'trying too hard.' And maybe she is. Sometimes I think she is. But while other female icons fade, fold, or fossilize into camp, for better or worse, Madonna seems determined to do something unsettling and new: spin to the center of the dance floor, till the end."