What do you think of the MADONNA song “Four Minutes” featuring Justin Timblerlake and Timbaland?
As you watch/listen to this song, do you feel like you are just experiencing some forced spectacle?
I usually enjoy pop songs by pop superstars on a level that’s even more sincere than a post-ironic enjoyment, but I feel like this song is kind of like an experiment to see what happens when you force together the cliched sounds of all three of the artists involved. Sort of like a kid making a pizza with toppings of ice cream, candy, Nerf products, and Happy Meals. In theory, it mixes all of the things that they like, but mixed together, it would probably give you diarrhea.
Some of these elements include:
- Madonna tick tock
- Timbaland chord progression that is hard to take seriously because it is so obvious, but because of this formula, it eventually becomes one of the most recognizable songs of the year
- a healthy dose of Justin Timberlake passionate ‘hey’s, ‘uh’s, and ‘woo’s
- Crappy Timbaland vocals that no one could tell him sucked because he pretty much made the song, so it would hurt his feelings if you told him that he doesn’t have a good voice, and that his lyrical stylings were forced.
- A chorus that sounds like something they talked themselves into after not really knowing what to write for 2 hours.
An interesting thing about songs or albums made by mega-pop-stars is that there isn’t any one to say that they aren’t that good at any stage of the process. Every one is usually ’so excited’ about the new single that they talk themselves into the song being good. I feel like Madonna is one of the best at making stuff that ’sounds different than anything she has ever made before’, so if you say that you don’t like it, it’s like you ‘don’t want to embrace a new, relevant, artistic sound.’
I think I’m just bitter because the pop-songs-that-you-can’t-avoid-hearing in commercials, sporting intermissions, or by hollow human beings driving by you on their way home from work, are usually well-crafted songs. You know, like that one by Outkast about shaking polaroids, or that Lenny Kravitz one about wanting to fly away. Or even that Third Eye Blind one about having a semi-charmed life.
I just want overexposed mainstream anthems to have at least 1.5 reasons that you can talk yourself into liking them.

Most underwhelming ‘cover art’ of all time? Was it made by the creator of the cover of the NOW! That’s what I call Music series?




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24 Comments
Had JT whipped her tits out (it looked like he was about to) there would have been at least 2 reasons to like this, but alas…
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Madonna is too old for this type of shit. Age-ism is in right now.
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it wld be revolutionary if mddna rapped about having 2 wear old women diaperz
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this is such a good song, but justice is better
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could someone clarify this for me..
Is the length of this song actually 4 minutes??
i have a feeling that it isnt but i haven’t been bothered to listen until the end..
if my theory is correct… thats baaaaaaad marketing…
don’t you think?
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this is a good blog post… so true
they should put this blog on good morning america to expose this…
even more…
maybe matt lauer, whatever his name is, should interview artists like this during the recording process and ask the “tough questions” .. he wouldn’t be afraid to get yelled at by them.. after all he took Tom Cruise out
THIS SONG IS SHIT
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What do you think the average age is of HRO commenters? Couldn’t be more than 15.
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I’m a mainstreamer and can confirm your hypothesis.
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None of the reviews I’ve read for this are shit. It made me feel lonely.
I find it very very bad. The video hurts my eyes.
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why is this 4:06 minutes?!?
tick tock tick tock
FOUR MINUTES
(and six seconds)
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I totally agree with you on this one. I think the fact that everyone was so excited about them doing a ‘hit’ together made them too sure of themselves. It really isn’t THAT good.
great post anyway. keep it up
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Why was everyone so excited? Madonna is 50 and timbaland songs sound pretty much the same.
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madonna is a hot slut that can do whatever the fuck she wants…
and JT can do whatever he wants to my hot bod.
seriously, the song is catchy and i will dance to it, but its not amazing
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mstrkrft should fix it.
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song disappointed me :<
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Commenting HRO about a song that doesn’t matter and will not make an impact on anyone’s world (unless you work at Jamba Juice and have to listen to its remix for the next four years.) BIG IN 2k7?
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agreed, mstrkrft should fix it
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mdnna is drty
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blog about Britney Spears Blackout. best pop album of the century man!
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mstrkrft fix it please!
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agreed on mstrkrft fix
hay maybe justice should do a video for STRESS???
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no way stress doesn’t even have lyrics they should make one for the party i loev uffie ^_^
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carle is so alt he can even blog about non-alt
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Hate it.
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