Madonna / Ray of Light by Sean Kennedy Warner Bros. Records The diva is back! Madonna, America's own queen (of pop and everything else), has returned from maternal hiding with an album so bold, so infectious, so brilliant that you yourself would be proud to call her mom. Ray of Light is the record she was destined to make -- or, should I say, to make at this time, as she mines the current techno trend for all it's worth. Unlike previous outsider attempts, though, Madonna unquestionably nails the genre, coming up with the fresh sound of what can only be called techno-pop. It's quite an ingenious hybrid, and it succeeds because it combines the best of Madonna with the best of electronic dance music: the courage, high-quality production, and iconic status of the former with the mechanical eloquence, toughness, and originality of the latter. Of course, they both happen to share a divine gift for grooves you can groove to, and that double impact means your body will never stop moving once you throw Ray of Light into gear. Skip over the first track, "Drowned World/Substitute for Love," a boring and plodding meditation against all that's good (drugs, one-night stands, irresponsibility), and the last four, which suffer from either missing the techno-pop mark or sheer banality. That still leaves eight incredible songs, one right after another. Herewith, then, are the three best songs -- and three things you can do with them. 1. Come down from an acid trip on "Nothing Really Matters." Of the five or six tracks on Ray of Light that exemplify the trance subgenre of techno, "Nothing Really Matters" is the standout. It couples a convincing melodic trance feel with Madonna's simple, upbeat lyrics, singing that "nothing really matters, love is all we need." In such a catchy, short lyric she perfectly captures the escapism and upliftedness (and the carefree spirit of post-trip kids) that techno as a whole promotes -- you can't help but smile as you dance. 2. Cherish the old-school Madonna of "Frozen." Penned with long-time collaborator Patrick Leonard, "Frozen" is a snapshot of Madonna in transition, from her more traditional earlier albums to the maverick electronic dance music sound of Ray of Light. Instead of dominating the song as it does on others, techno is sent to the background, only surfacing in the chorus, and more typical Madonna mainstays, like the soft swell of strings, take the lead. Add the lyrics of loss and you have a ballad circa the Material Girl of the '80s. 3. Challenge prevailing norms of gender and sexuality with "Candy Perfume Girl." Turning over the sexual status quo is perhaps Madonna's greatest achievement, after all, and "Candy Perfume Girl" is the lyrical gem of Ray of Light which continues that progress. A slow, dubbed-out song, it subverts stereotypical characteristics of men and women, and the heterosexual desire that hinges on them, by a deft change of perspective midway through, in which the candy perfume girl suddenly becomes a candy perfume boy. On an album where lyrics take an intentional backseat to driving techno beats, "Candy Perfume Girl" is a nice addition, and one that underscores Madonna's most important, fundamental message: the diva lives inside us all.

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