Madge, Madge, Madge, Madge, Madge

I have a confession: I'm really totally over Madonna. I know, I know! Gasp! Shock! Horror! How can I be a self-respecting Gay and not love her? Well, I did, when I was a younger Gay. Lately, though? Kinda soured on her. Let me break down some of the reasons why in list form:

• I remember watching a Madonna "Behind the Music" or some such a few years ago. In one interview clip, she said wouldn't go away at 40 because "what, are you supposed to just shrivel up and die?", which I totally agree with, but I also believe in aging with some grace and dignity. Unfortunately, grace and dignity are two nouns Ms. Ciccone-Richie is totally unfamiliar with. The woman needs to step away from the Botox!
  


• One cannot say that Madonna isn't smart. Why, then, the continued obsession with starting a movie career that simply ain't gonna happen? Why can't she get it through her thick skull that she just not an actress and focus on other things?


• The savvy media manipulation and penchant for reinvention were once sources of great admiration in me. Now, though, the first just seems so cynical and pointless (it ain't exactly hard these days to manipulate the current crop of fluff-brained, celebrity-obsessed, shallow-minded media types) and the second seems tired. We get it, Madge, you're edgy and with-it. Except, you're not really.
  

• I'm the world's biggest Anglophile, but her faux-Britishness gets even my knickers all in a twist. You're from Detroit, woman, not Belgravia!
  

• I have nothing against those who find comfort and meaning in spirituality. This Kabbalah thing of hers, though, is really getting creepy. (And as Kathy Griffin put it so well, "She needed Kabbalah to tell her not to be an asshole?") Plus, though I'm probably the only one who cared/noticed this, about a year ago she was in Israel trying to bring peace or something (yeah, that's all the Israelis and Palestinians need to get together and shake hands, a middle-aged pop star) and visited the grave of some Kaballah saint or something. What did Ms. M wear for this solemn visit? An outfit that wouldn't look out of place on a golfer, complete with cap, plaid jumper, and like capri khakis. I'm sure the Kaballah saint was honored she dressed up for the occasion. Basically, that said to me that, though she might be serious about the whole Kaballah thing, it's still all. about. her.
  


• Again, though she's certainly a smart cookie, she also seems to suffer from utter unreflective cluelessness. In her new documentary, she apparently chides her fans for being materialistic; haven't given up that castle, though, have ya, Esther?

Now, I'm not saying I don't/can't still enjoy her music, including her new ones (though I'm not really "hung up" on "Hung Up"), but Madonna qua Madonna? It's over, dear.