Madonna appreciation thread!

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Bedtime Stories is a decent effort, but it's a little soft following the criminally underrated Erotica. Despite Human Nature's lyrics, the whole album sounds like an apology.
 
Wrong.

madonmusx.jpg

YouTube - Madonna - Paradise (Not For Me) Full HQ

One of the best things she's done.
 
Bedtime Stories is a decent effort, but it's a little soft following the criminally underrated Erotica. Despite Human Nature's lyrics, the whole album sounds like an apology.

I was disappointed as well at the time, because I really liked Erotica, and I'm not usually a fan of this kind of music. But taken on its own, it has a handful of very good tracks. I love the first four songs, Human Nature, Love Tried to Welcome Me, the title track, and Take a Bow.

And I don't view this album as a sellout or an apology; I just think she was trying something different, as always. It's not like she was going through the motions or wasn't into this type of music. Human Nature is exactly the non-contrition it's meant to be.
 
Bedtime Stories is a decent effort, but it's a little soft following the criminally underrated Erotica. Despite Human Nature's lyrics, the whole album sounds like an apology.
Agreed. Bedtime Stories is not a bad album, it's goon in fact. But whenwe compare it to Erotica or to Ray Of Light, it sounds poorer and like an apology for being explicit 2/3 earlier.
 
OK, this one is good. I think Music was alright, half the songs were good, half weren't.

A few songs after that were OK, but overall I have not been impressed with her work as of late.
The problem with Music is that we could split it in two very different EP's, it's not a cohesive album. Besides that, it has some of Madonna's biggest gems like "Impressive Instant", "Gone" or this superb masterpiece that is "Paradise (Not For Me)".
 
I'm one of those that believes that Madonna released a string of 4 great pop albums, starting in Ray Of Light and ending in Confessions. Ray Of Light is THE album. Music has one of her best tracks, although not very cohesive. I'm one of those that agrees that American Life is criminally underrated (for me it is her best album - I have no doubts, but I understand why some disagree). Confessions has a strong conception and flows very well, no matter if some tracks are not great.

With Hard Candy she broke that string. It has very good pop tracks (like the first single, like "Miles Away" or "Spanish Lesson" - yes, it's very catchy and silly, but that's what's supposed to be I guess), but as an overall is pretty weak and it's an obvious and desperate attempt to stay relevant in the most mainstream circles. Plus, some songs seem to be overworked and overproduced (like "She's Not Me" or "Devil..." or "Voices").
 
Am I crazy, or did I see a special edition of the Celebration compilation that came with the DVD of videos? I thought I saw one online, and now I can't find it.
 
There is a seperate DVD set that has 40 odd videoclips - and there was talk of a box set containing the 2 cds and dvds.

I wasnt a huge Confessions fan until I saw the Confessions Tour dvd - speaking of which - how amazing is the live version of 'Live To Tell' - sure the whole crucifix thing is a bit... well it didn't offend me but I can see why people were pissed.

YouTube - Madonna - Live To Tell - Confessions
 
I can't see wht should anyone feel offended. She's not taking God's place. She's performing God's character in the context of the message of this version. Makes all sense. Plus, once again, she's playing with gender role... as she always did.

Just to finish, when Catholic Church assumes that the cross symbol was appopriated by her institution and that was not invented by her, then we can discuss something with the Vatican.
 
The DVD is definitely essential; is there anyone who made that many great videos? And most of them still hold up.

I'm not getting into an argument because I know you're not a fan, but I think Michael Jackson bests Madonna in the music video department, at least for some of the biggest ones. I'd actually rank them even in the music vid department, but "Thriller" and "Smooth Criminal" give him the edge in my book.
 
Well, he's definitely known as a video pioneer, but while some have stood the test of time and remain very impressive, some are rather over the top and more memorable than "good". The other thing is that Madonna has been more prolific in terms of making music, which is why I was trying to say she made the most great ones, not necessarily the best (though I personally believe they are).

I also think if you consider the multitude of social messages found in Madonna's videos, and the way they've been used express her various viewpoints and interests over the years, she's utilized the medium in more diverse and more interesting ways than any other artist, by far.
 
Madonna has so many great songs that this should have been a full blown box set with all the major hits and choice album cuts, and then a disc of rarities/outtakes (if there are any). Then add the DVD and some other nice extras, and you've got as good a career overview as possible.
 
Well, he's definitely known as a video pioneer, but while some have stood the test of time and remain very impressive, some are rather over the top and more memorable than "good". The other thing is that Madonna has been more prolific in terms of making music, which is why I was trying to say she made the most great ones, not necessarily the best (though I personally believe they are).

I also think if you consider the multitude of social messages found in Madonna's videos, and the way they've been used express her various viewpoints and interests over the years, she's utilized the medium in more diverse and more interesting ways than any other artist, by far.

This is true. I think "Like A Prayer" was the first time she did that, using it to get a social message across that is, and I've never understood why it was so controversial at the time. I mean, I understand the arguments given for the controversy, but they were all based on a misunderstanding of the message anyway.
 
Agree with laz re: MJ vs Madonna videos.

I'll buy this Greatest Hits because:

a) I'm a sucker

b) I want the new songs

c) I think there are one or two songs on this comp that I don't have in my collection, so yay.
 
It should also be noted that the songs have all been remastered, which is another plus.

And people are already selling the 2CD set for around $10 on amazon. Not bad. That tracklisting is one of the more formidable list of singles I've ever seen. Is there anyone other than The Beatles who could boast more hits?
 
Yeah, he had a lot, and there are some great ones, but overall it doesn't impress me very much compared to Madonna's diverse set.

Plus, you know, he didn't write ANY of it.
 
Well, since this is the Madonna "appreciation" thread, I'm gonna say that I really have liked Madonna's last several albums. I see no competition between Madonna and the other female pop acts like Christina and Shitney. Madonna, as always, is in a class by herself. Madonna is just being herself like she has always been for the last 25 years as a pop Megastar. She isn't looking to emulate Shitney, Christina or anyone else.
 
Well, he's definitely known as a video pioneer, but while some have stood the test of time and remain very impressive, some are rather over the top and more memorable than "good". The other thing is that Madonna has been more prolific in terms of making music, which is why I was trying to say she made the most great ones, not necessarily the best (though I personally believe they are).

I also think if you consider the multitude of social messages found in Madonna's videos, and the way they've been used express her various viewpoints and interests over the years, she's utilized the medium in more diverse and more interesting ways than any other artist, by far.
I agree. I think that a good example of that is the "Express Yourself" video. With a few updates, this Fincher's masterpiece could easily be released on the music channels today and would still blow away most of today's pop music videos.

Another example of that is the "Erotica" and "Justify My Love" videos. Controversial? Sure. But, what's the difference between the sex-overture in those videos and the sex-exploitation of today's pop music videos? On Madonna's case there was a very strong artistic concept, currencies and scenario behind it, which doesn't these days. These two videos would still be shocking and banned if released today.

I think that what makes the difference between MJ's and Madonna's videos is that MJ's videos are memorable mostly because of certain images, certain moves/choreographies (sometimes some messages, yeah, but not what firstly stays in the mind). In Madonna's case, her videos are memorable because of the messages that were almost always pretty strong (then, controversial) and because of certain imagetics/personnas she's been creating and undressing.
 
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