She's a boy toy! She's a Marilyn wannabe! And she's a cartoon!
My affection for Madonna is deeply personal. She debuted on the scene during my tender teenage years, and I'd like to think I learned a thing or two from the Material Girl.
While we are both Michigan girls, her world was completely different from mine. I was strictly small town, the stuff of Bob Seger songs and John Mellencamp videos. Yet through her, I learned about cultures, lifestyles, religion and beliefs other than my own. I learned about pushing my boundaries, little by little, and removing the blinders that made living in a small town safe, but limiting. I learned to scare myself, just a little.
For that, I love her.
So let me slip back to the days where I popped the collar of my neon yellow striped camp shirt, jangle my memory like so many jelly bracelets, and bend an ear in honor of the dynamic shape-shifter.
Borderline - craptastic boyfriend wants to ignore the newly successful M to play pool with his boys? Honey, you turn in your Keith Haring heels and march right over to that cute photographer, put that jaunty little beret on and show him who's boss. The HIM being both of them, of course.
Burnin' Up - It wasn't the song or the chorus so much as the bridge that I can quote with fervent enthusiasm "oh! do you want to see me down on my knees? I'm bending over backwards, now would you be pleased? Unlike the others I'll do anything. I'm not the same, I have no shame, I'm on.. FIRE!"
Love Don't Live Here Anymore - angst! Tonic to the lovelorn ears of a young teen! The original better than the '95 remake. Notable for the first time she performed with an orchestra.
Material Girl - what I loved about this was the fact the small-minded reactionary critics just didn't get it. The whole premise of the song was the fact she wasn't materialistic, backed up by the video. Loved her candy box pink dress in the video, I want it still. Guess that makes me a material girl.
Angel - light as air and frothy as a dream confection, this song instantly takes me back to 1984.
Get Into the Groove - from Desperately Seeking Susan, it's not about boys, it's just about dancing and having a good time.
Crazy for You - has been mentioned here in the past for a reason. Saturday night dances at school. Hanging out in the parking lot after work, swaying together but not exactly dancing.
Open Your Heart - I can remember the first time I heard it, with Eric and Maria. We were at Eric's house anticipating the debut of the new video and we exploded just like a gaggle of excited teens in an after school special.
Papa Don't Preach - I doodled swatch watch designs based on her "Italians Do It Better" look.
She never looked more beautiful. *sigh*
La Isla Bonita - my favorite song off the True Blue album, quite possibly one of my favorite songs ever. I tried for months to get the shoulder roll and knee sink down perfectly.
Causing a Commotion - from the movie Who's That Girl? Great animated opening by indie darling artist turned musician April March. She opened the Who's That Girl tour with this song, super fun. I wish I still had the concert tee, with it's eyeballs on each breast.
Like a Prayer, the album - I had to do it like this, because when I started line listing songs, I listed the whole thing. This album is a collection of bold statements, soul-baring ballads, odes to mom, confessions of spousal abuse, frothy love songs, sexy love songs, a child's tune and a bizarre confession of arguing with a hotel desk clerk. I can still smell the patchouli from the cassette case. Deeply personal album for me, it saw me through some of the most tumultuous times in my life, romantic and otherwise.
Now I'm Following You - a cool mix of big band song samples from the soundtrack set to modern dance grooves, I STILL want to do a skating number to this song.
Vogue - badass.
Justify My Love - It's Madonna in black and white writhing in lingerie, while Lenny Kravitz sings off camera somewhere. Ripe for parody, I remember one too many drunken nights sliding down a wall while declaring "I want to run naked in a rainstorm..." She parodied it herself on SNL, with Wayne and Garth. Schwing!
Rain - Erotica was the first time a Madonna project made me pause and think "I don't think I can take this journey with you love." Rain, however, was a lush yet dark ballad that felt like a thunderstorm, a contradiction of dark and light.
This Used to Be My Playground - a warm transition from the coldness of Erotica, this song comes from one of my favorite movies, A League of Their Own, in which M played All the Way Mae.
Human Nature - a middle finger to her critics, M's rallying cry was loud and clear "express yourself, don't repress yourself." Point taken.
Take a Bow - one of my all time favorite Madonna tunes. It's beautifully orchestrated, with a compelling storyline in the video. I don't think she has ever sounded better vocally.
Bedtime Story - I've always thought this was Madonna at her Bjorkiest, and was delighted to see the crazy singer from Iceland actually wrote it for her. The video is trippy, and the vocals hypnotic.
Ray of Light - a joyful tune reflected in the birth of Madonna's daughter and her worldview. A radical changed from the usual dance pop. Man, this thing exploded when it came out.
Frozen - creepy new-aged Madonna, a song that evokes Madonna as a goth, a cloak turning into black birds, and warring Russian ice dancers. No matter how long it has been, I will always associate Grishuk and Usova to this song, complete with hair pulling and drink throwing. Forget Basketball Wives, let's see a reality show around combative Olympic Ice Dancers. And, um, Maia and Pasha -- was Zhulin really worth it?
Candy Perfume Girl - Another song for her daughter, a song that while I don't recall any lyrics, the chorus and it's hypnotic chant is currently running on a loop in my head. Girl...boy...girl...boy.
Romp with an international man of mystery, yeah baby!
Beautiful Stranger - M's contribution to the Austin Powers franchise, it's a little bit 60s mod, a little bit comedy, and a whole lot of fun. Went to see this with my friend Brian during those summer Friday half days at the Bulb. I think it was 106 degrees outside when we saw this.
Music - another instance where I thought maybe Madonna was following a trend instead of creating it, with the guest rappers, cowboy punk and bling. Catchy tune.
Die Another Day - Madonna is a Bond Girl!
Hung Up - Disco Queen Madonna, complete with leotards, leg warmers and an ABBA sample. By this time, my interest in her output has completely waned, but at this point, it is beside the point. Her place in the annuals of pop music firmly in place, with a now-respectable member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and her influence reaching sublimely across the years through acts such as Adele
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