Critical Reception
"Drowned World/Substitute for Love" received generally positive reviews from most music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic had labelled the song as "swirling" and a "meditative opener". In an individual review, the song was rated two-and-a-half out of five stars. David Browne from Entertainment Weekly said with "Frozen" that it is "a wuthering-beats melodrama that's often breathtaking." Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine commented saying ""Drowned World," the title of which was inspired by J. G. Ballard's apocalyptic novel of the same name, sums up much of Madonna's personal tribulations with fame: "I got exactly what I asked for/Running, rushing back for more...And now I find, I've changed my mind." The Michigan Daily praised the track, saying " a brilliant, ecstatic pop catharsis that all but eclipses every mistake she's ever made, including the virginal writhing, gold-tooth sporting and naked hitchhiking of her sordid past", which referred to Madonna's album Erotica.
However, Rolling Stone gave it a more negative outlook of the song, saying ""Drowned World" comes on loud, tacky and ridiculous, but it lets Madonna do what she does best: show off." However, he did praise it as an opener to the album. In a review for GHV2, PopMatters gave it a positive review, along with tracks “The Power of Goodbye”, “Frozen”, “Ray of Light”, “Beautiful Stranger”; "are a testament to his ability to use gadgets and electronic wizardry not to alienate listeners, but to draw them in." In 2003, Madonna fans were asked to vote for their Top 20 Madonna singles of all-time by Q. "Drowned World/Substitute for Love" was allocated the #17 spot.
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