Madonna has a new album out today. To put it another way, today is the release date for a project designed by Madonna to maintain her fame, which really is the ultimate purpose of any of her "artistic" endeavors.

She's been around long enough that the sheer longevity of her career has given her artistic credence.  But most critics still fall for the style and ignore the shortage of substance. The woman didn't make a video in which she tossed a live hand grenade at a George W. Bush look-alike as any sort of political statement; she did it precisely so it would generate media attention. I guess she couldn't time another pregnancy to deliver a child near a release date the way she did with her first kid and Evita or the second one and Music. The music on her albums is barely memorable compared to her outrageous acts to promote them.