I mean, whenever she puts out a new CD, the stories practically write themselves: "Madge reinvents herself....again!" or "Madonna still pushing boundaries!" or "Sexy sex sexpot! Sex!". I guess she brought some of that onto herself, as her image and "meaning" always seemed more important to her than did her music. Early on she decided she was going to challenge peoples' perceptions of femininity and sexuality, and she seems to have trapped herself in that, even 25 years later.
I'll try to focus on the music here - although I will say that with the exception of maybe Prince or Michael Jackson, no one else's music takes me back to the 80's and Hilsman middle school like Madonna. If you're my age, you probably remember the girls in your school wearing the bangles up and down their arms, the fishnets, the bow in the hair, the bright lipstick - there may not be a more iconic figure of the 80's than the first Madonna incarnation.
Hello, puberty!
As I mentioned, I think Madonna's music gets the short end based on her image, but I've always liked her stuff. I think my favorite song of hers is "Like a Prayer", just an epic, career-defining song. I'm also a fan of "Crazy for You" (ah, the memories of many an awkward middle school party) and more recently, "Take a Bow". It's cool to have an artist stick around so long and have so many great songs that you almost feel like you know them, that for every part of your life they have had a song for you.
"Like a Virgin" wasn't the first most of us heard from Madonna, as we had "Borderline" (another favorite) and "Lucky Star", but "Like a Virgin" felt different the first time I heard it. It seemed specifically formulated for pop dominance and social confrontation.
I knew, technically, what a "virgin" was when I was 12, but it was part of the greater mysteries that involved women and sex. I was, at the time, still pondering the greatness of my first open-mouth kiss and wondering about the implications of it all.
I knew as well that (at the time) the subject was a little bit taboo, and I would get embarrassed when I was in the car with my Mom and this song would come on. Lines like "touched for the very first time" and "feels so good inside" will do that to you, even if I couldn't explain what they meant if you asked me.
Then Madonna performed it at the first MTV video awards and removed any doubt as to the songs subtext, launching her into the pop stratosphere
Well, now I've gone and done it...I've spent this post writing about Madonna and her impact on my sexual identity during her first bout of superstardom instead of her music. As I mentioned, though, you just can't separate the two.
So here's an attempt at reviewing the song: The dated 80's keyboard riff that opens the song pretty mush sustains it all the way through, giving some depth to Madonna's paper thin voice (she was smart enough early on to realize this was NOT her strength and play up other parts of her performance and personality). The best part is the bridge right before the chorus, with the cymbal crashes in the back at the beginning of each of the bars. I also like the "gonna give ya" pickup after that goes right into the next verse (1:15 on the video). Nice, short little bridge at 2:10 consisting of, well, panting and moaning, back to the "You're so fine - and you're mine" line.
Hell, it's no use. I can't think of this song without the video. Madonna cavorting, grinding and writhing on a Venetian gondola pretty much was the epiphany which made me realize that girls were not at all yucky and that I would be amazed, frustrated, intimidated and manipulated by them for the rest of my life.
4 comments:
Crickets.
I do like that album cover -- you know the one. That's all I got. Madonna sucks.
1. My sister is 6 years older than me. When I was around 5, she wrote "Madonna Rules" on the top of her beanbag lapdesk using multi-colored stickers. My young mind could not grasp what the hell that meant. I thought it should be followed by a list of dos and don'ts.
2. I have popped more boners watching Madonna videos (Open Your Heart and Express Yourself, in particular) than Homer Simpson's popped cans of Duff.
3. That Truth or Dare movie. I remember watching it in my pubescent period. She simulates fellatio with a bottle and breifly flashes her tits. Total disappointment. I expected it to be a soft-porn, but instead, it's a buncha concert footage and scenes of her fag-haggin' it.
4. Remember the spread she did for... was it Penthouse or Playboy? Anyway, she had hairy pits.
5. Although she's like 60 now, I would still fuck her. The only drawback is that she looks like she's pure muscle. A little too taut for my taste, but you know she'd be fuckin' crazy.
6. I have enjoyed her music in a throw-back, nostalgia, ironic-sorta way. I have her first album on tape in my car. I listen to it sometimes. She is just total sex to me, though.
madonna should shut her whore mouth. she can't hold fergie's jock.
No mention of Like a Surgeon?
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