The obligatory Madonna post

I was talking to a reporter yesterday on what it means to blog on Latino LGBT issues - as opposed to gay issues in general - and I told him that, for one, I didn't feel the pressure to make the obligatory Madonna post every time she released an album.

But I did get "Hard Candy" this week and am still trying to wrap my head around it. It's got some good stuff - I can't get "Candy Shop" out of my head - but what brings me to write about it is "La Isla Bonita, Pt. II" which surfaces here with the name of "Spanish Lesson."

Now let it be known: "La Isla Bonita" is up there with last year's "Hey You" as one of my least favorite Madonna tracks. I cringe every time I hear it playing and, yet, "Spanish Lesson" is a treat.

As in "La Isla..." Madonna sings a few lines in Spanish in an atrocious accent but this time she has fun with the concept. Supposedly she is translating certain Spanish language phrases but the translations are actually a bit off-kilter yet close enough.

So, if you really wanna know what she's singing, here are some of he lyrics with the real translation in parenthesis:

• "Yo te quiero means I love you" (sorta, it means I care for you)
• "Mucho gusto means I'm welcome to you" (hm, no, it means 'pleased to meet you')
• "Callate means close your mouth" (more precisely, it means 'shut up')
• "Besame means give me love" (if a kiss means more than a kiss)
• "Digame Miss, tell me baby" (no, it means 'Call me Miss')
• "Yo soy loco means you drive me crazy" (nope, it means 'I am a crazy man')
• "Entiendo means I get it" (Yup! Or 'I understand')
• "Siempre means that I won't forget it" (nope, it means 'always')

It's obvious that the slight variations are pretty knowing which makes the song that much more fun. So, what the heck, I guess there was an obligatory Madonna post in me after all.