Madonna clunkers along

When, exactly, did Madonna get lapped? We can't pretend that we find it heartbreaking anymore as she turns up catching trends just as they wane - Kanye West and Pharrell Williams for the next album - but it's like she's desperate to keep up with the young folk but having to wait for magazines to arrive by surface mail to discover what's hot. By which time everyone's started to move on. It's been going on for a while - Austin Powers when fancy dress shops could no longer give away the costumes; Ali G when even Baron Cohen was thinking it was time to move on; guesting on Britney Spears records when even Britney was tiring of appearing on them. But when did it happen that she first fell behind like this?