About this episode

Sam Sanders discusses Madonna's new album and its implications on her identity as a pop star with musicology professor Louis Niebur.

Confession: After several hours of sitting with Madonna’s new album on repeat, Sam isn’t sure he likes it… To him, 'Confessions II' felt like a Madonna impersonation, stripped of a lot of the Madonna energy he’s loved for years. The album also raised some big questions: what even is Madonna anymore? What kind of music should we expect from a pop star who always seemed eternally young and new? Sam breaks down these big feelings with musicology professor  Louis Niebur , an expert on queer dance and music culture. He teaches at the University of Nevada, Reno. His book is called 'Menergy: San Francisco's Gay Disco Sound.' Sign up for  Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week. The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.  

People in this episode

Host: Sam Sanders

Guest: Louis Niebur

Topics covered

• Madonna
• music
• pop culture
• musicology
• queer culture
• album review

Keywords

• Madonna
• Confessions II
• Louis Niebur
• pop music
• queer culture
• musicology
• album review

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Nevada, Reno

Books & works: Confessions II, Menergy: San Francisco's Gay Disco Sound

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