Time is Waiting (Tick Tock, Tick Tock)

So Madonna has put out a new single with Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, and her presence is so forgettable that it requires JT to insert “Madonna!” into every verse. The intro that Timbaland sings is a painful indicator of how ridiculous this song is going to be:

That’s right, he’s out of time, but he ALSO has four minutes. Which is it, Timbaland? Eh?

Even though the premise is pretty dumb, the song is really catchy, and so it deserves credit for that. It’s poppy and danceable and that’s all that counts, right? Unless you’re an overly-pedantic film student, that is.

The video has a cool conceit- I like the paper-crumpling effect on the deteriorating environment, especially the gross facial musculatures. That’s pretty awesome. However, apparently saving the world consists of dancing in front of a giant, cheesy-looking clock and totally boning (or at least, that’s what the lyrics would imply). Speaking of lyrics, what’s this about time waiting, Madonna? If time is waiting, then there’s really no rush, is there? Justin and Madonna could have actually been doing heroic-looking things- jumping off of buildings or running from explosions- with the video effects, it would look pretty cool (although still without substance). It wouldn’t be quite as lazy, though.

The trouble is, if they spent a little more time writing the lyrics, and more time developing the video concept, it would be a totally solid pop single. I wouldn’t even be EMBARRASSED to have it stuck in my head all the time. As it is, the lyrics are retarded and the video is half-assed, and not even Timbaland’s snazzy production can redeem it.