Ariel Pink Talks Working On Madonna’s New Album, And Disses Her Recent Work In The Process

Bianca Gracie | October 13, 2014 12:30 pm

There are many artists and producers on board for Madonna‘s forthcoming 13th (!!) studio LP, and Ariel Pink recently revealed that he’ll also be lending a hand in the songwriting process. But he’s not really giving the Queen of Pop her props. In a recent interview with Faster Louder, the musician blatantly stated Madonna has gone downhill since the release of 1998’s Ray Of Light. Ouch!

Apparently, he was picked by Interscope records to give some life back to the singer. “They need something edgy. They need songwriting,” Pink said. “She can’t just have her Avicii, her producers or whatever, come up with a new techno jam for her to gyrate to and pretend that she’s 20 years old. They actually need songs. I’m partly responsible for that return-to-values thing.” Read on to see what else Pink had to say.

“I guess it’s called throwback,’ but the first record was so good because of the songs. It’s been a downward slide [since] … ‘Ray of Light’ is not cool. And all the other stuff she’s done after that, it’s not like it matters. It really shows a drain of values. People need more substance in their mac-and-cheese. People need more sugar or something.

“It’s not because of her age. It’s because of the things that she thinks she needs to do to stay in her narcissistic domination of the world. Which is totally hers to have. But it’s about not just being a yes person. I’m sure Interscope signed her like, ‘Okay, the last record didn’t do so well. We gotta do something about this. We’re gonna get all new songwriters together and we’re gonna try to come up with this thing. ‘Cause she needs help with this.’ And she’s happy to let them do that for her.”

It’s quite clear that Pink needs to learn the difference between constructive criticism and just plain haterade. Sure, Madonna has obviously had some mishaps (MDNA, anyone?), but it’s all a part of the creative process.

Along with Pink, people like Alicia KeysDiplo, DJ DahiBlood Diamonds and MNEK have played a part in recording the legend’s new record (out sometime in 2015). The singer was spotted hanging out with Nicki Minaj last month, so it’s a possibility there will be another collaboration brewing with those two!

Do you think Ariel Pink has a point in his argument? Let us know in the comments below!

[via Spin]