Yes, yes, there's been much hullabaloo about Madonna maybe-killing two of her dancers, which after figuratively castrating ex-husband Guy Ritchie and kidnapping a Brazilian boy and a little Malawi girl, may not seem like such a stretch. But appropriately enough, she's also making time to celebrate her legacy, one that bottomed out right before the 21st century. For which reason, it's no surprise that this collection, her third greatest hits package -- second in nine years -- banks on the appeal of her earlier work.

Everything about the campaign for this third volume of greatest hits -- Celebration -- smacks of long-ago nostalgia. Jonas Åkerlund is directing the collection's first single of the same name. He lent his aesthetic brilliance to many of her past videos. This includes "Ray of Light", a single spawned from what was arguably the final bit of pop brilliance the singer put out before her attempts at breaking trends started sliding, becoming contrived, though still respectable but then simply tragic.

Even the album art, designed by Mr. Brainwash, hearkens back to East Village street art. Though troublingly enough, it seems like imitation of street art, like the Urban Outfitters-ization of a Warholian prototype. Which may be the most succinct way of summarizing the pop star's career -- from her early Basquiat-dating days to eventual superstardom and megalomania. It also kind of hits that middle ground between when she started becoming more noted for sparking trends than pathetically limping to keep up with them.

It's fine that the art visually places a notable emphasis on "Express Yourself" and "Vogue" over the travesties that would come much later; her body of work from the first 20 years of her career is nothing short of iconic. It's just the near-decade since where Madonna has sabotaged the greatness of her own back-catalog with silly media stunts and cynical career choices. Nevertheless, that's almost 30 years in the business, two thirds spent at the top. This is something no contemporary pop aspirant will achieve. Or at least not anytime soon.

We could hope for this collection to inspire the singer to take a hard look at the direct relation between her creative decline and the increased frequency of creative flops. But that's foolishness. For Madonna's uneven legacy, Celebration will probably be a band-aid on a bullet wound.
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