Tag Archives: Masterpiece

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Song of the Day #4,799: ‘Masterpiece’ – Madonna

Madonna followed up what I consider her worst album so far, 2008’s Hard Candy, with 2012’s MDNA, an electronic pop album informed by her divorce from filmmaker Guy Ritchie several years earlier.

After the lackluster results from the star-studded producer lineup of her previous effort, Madonna enlisted a host of lesser-known producers for this album. Most notably, she brought back William Orbit, who helped deliver one of her best albums in Ray of Light. Orbit’s contributions to MDNA are by far its best tracks.

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Song of the Day #3,784: ‘Masterpiece’ – Pistol Annies

Miranda Lambert’s final solo track on the new Pistol Annies album is her most straight-forward response to date to her divorce from Blake Shelton.

This beautiful ballad explores the end of a relationship that existed entirely in a spotlight. She compares their marriage to a framed painting, a rodeo and a country song — all objects of public scrutiny. She recognizes that, in the general conversation, her love affair was a fleeting diversion: “We’re just another thing they’ll all forget about / They’ll be standing around laughin’ like nothing ever happened.”

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Song of the Day #2,644: ‘Masterpiece’ – Gugu Mbatha-Raw (as Noni)

Gugu Mbatha-Raw

My second freebie list entry (though these are in no particular order) is Gugu Mbatha-Raw, the English actress who broke out in 2014 with excellent performances in the underrated films Belle and Beyond the Lights. Mbatha-Raw is back this holiday season playing the wife of Will Smith’s character in Concussion, a film about the NFL’s coverup of serious medical issues.

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