American Life Tracklist
American Life is the ninth studio album released by Madonna. Mostly folk and folktronica, the album’s sonicals are heavily influenced by acoustic music. Its lyrics feature several references to many parts of American culture, specially the American Dream and materialism, which are the basis for the album’s theme.
With MTV, Madonna discussed the materialistic themes of the record and her personal encounters which have led to its composition:
Who better to say those things don’t matter than somebody who’s experienced them? [People may say], ‘How can you say they don’t matter? How can you say that money won’t bring you happiness if you don’t have a lot of money? How can you say that fame and fortune are not a guarantee for happiness and joy and fulfillment in your life?’ You have to have that experience to know. ‘Cause you have all those things, I’ve had all those things, and I’ve had nothing but chaos around me. So I’m just sharing what I know with the world. 'Cause I do think that we’ve become completely consumed with being rich and famous, our society has. And I just want to tell people, take it from me, I have all those things and none of them ever brought me one minute of happiness.
Madonna’s agressive and critical posture towards American culture earned mixeds review from the music critics; it generated an airplay boycott, specially towards the lead single and title track. Even so, the record debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and topped the charts in fourteen countries, selling over five million copies.
A total of four official singles were released to promote the album: “American Life”, “Hollywood”, “Nothing Fails” and “Love Profusion”. The song “Die Another Day”, which is included on the album, was first released as a single via the James Bond ‘Die Another Day’ Soundtrack in 2002. All of them peaked at number one on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart.
“American Life” Q&A
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Translations:
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Where was the album recorded?
The album was recorded in Sarm West in London and Wheatfield and Webster Lake in Los Angeles.
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What has producer Mirwais Ahmadzaï said about the album?
We tried to underproduce many tracks to make them sound rougher than the average international pop production. We wanted to do something totally modern and futuristic but not very apparent. You have to be very minimalist and choose every sound very carefully. Some tracks were composed in the big studio; that can be very dangerous because you can lose perspective. But all initial directions of the tracks were made in my home studio.
–via RemixMag (2003)
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Why were there stuttering effects in some of the album songs?
Many people think stuttering is my trademark. But in the future, everyone will do this. People get upset because they think it is not natural to skip and stutter the music. But I do it because it is natural. The stuttering can help you create a new groove. Everything has been done, but with the Pro Tools, you can play with the silence. I stop the audio to create a silence, and it gives something exciting to the music.
–Mirwais Ahmadzaï via RemixMag (2003)
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How did Madonna feel when recording the album?
When I wrote ‘American Life,’ I was very agitated by what was going on in the world around me. I was angry. I had a lot to get off my chest. I made a lot of political statements.
–via MTV (2005)
