sonicboy

With all the speculation and rumors that swirl around the lives of celebrities, I'd rather give them the benefit of the doubt in terms of their actions and their reasons behind the choices they make in their lives and careers unless they specifically choose to share their current perspective on it. My views are the product my own life experience, which is a very different experience from that of a celebrity, or at least that's what I've ascertained from observing the common truths shared by those who are labelled as such. I can only assume that the life of a celebrity, and in particular a celebrity not born into fame and wealth who has experienced both sides and has learned how to adapt to the insanity of being famous would be extremely challenging to navigate, even for the most resilient among them. One aspect of that insanity is that celebrities are often expected to maintain static views and are constantly being held to things they may have held true at one point in their journey that does not necessarily ring true for them years later. My life experience teaches me that most people's views are constantly shifting and evolving from the moment they are born until the day they die. That's the human experience, as I see it. I would be pretty weary of anyone who thinks they've got it all figured out, even in their own lives, let alone anyone else's. Celebrities typically face a shit storm any time they choose to share their honest perspective about aspects of their experience, because it is not a perspective that most of us have lived and experienced first-hand. They are typically scolded for daring to share their own truths and experiences whenever they inevitably do not align with our own. In other words, the general public tends to put celebrities on a pedestal and then tries to seeks to shove them off of it whenever they get too honest about the true realities of fame, which most of us cannot relate to, and because we all carry preconceived ideas about fame that are mostly rooted in fantasy, not truth. Many celebrities choose to cope with this paradox by telling their audience exactly what they want to hear so that they can remain relatable in their eyes. They segregate their actual life experience from their public persona so they can continue to deliver what is expected of them without rocking the boat for their audience. But, as we know, even within the microcosm of celebrity, Madonna marches to the beat of her own drum. She shares any view she feels like sharing when she feels like sharing it, and without necessarily giving us the full background of what aspect of her unusual life circumstances led her there. Her audience generally expects her to explain her rationale for every mundane choice she makes, not only in her career but in her life as well. And yet, given that the majority of her audience would be comprised of non-famous people who bring with them their own preconceived notions about fame and money and power, we remain free to evolve, to shift our views, and to chose what, when and how much we want to share about our experience, without the pressures of having it be observed and judged on a mass scale. We often forget that behind the larger than life persona, Madonna is also a human being who is just as entitled as any one of us to chose for herself how she adapts and responds to the circumstances of her life, and how much of that experience she chooses to share, when she chooses to share it and to what extend. And we often overlook how ridiculous and unfair it is to expect her views to evolve in lockstep with our own when when her life experience that is constantly shaping and reshaping her reality is quite different from ours. And yet, it is human nature to seek genuine connection in those we idolize. That's one of the paradoxes of fame. We get to chose whether we acknowledge it and accept it, and possibly even find value in it. She actually has to live it, which is quite different from our perspective as the observers of her fame. Often when I express this view to people, the response is along the lines of "oh poor Madonna with her rich people's problems." This makes it clear that to me that the person I'm speaking with has fully bought into the fallacy that money and fame and power are the ultimate life experience we could seek for ourselves. Perhaps they have chosen to ignore the fact that many celebrities eventually crack under the intense pressure it creates, and cannot empathize with the continuous trauma Madonna would need to adapt to in order to continue to be a creative person in this environment. Maybe their fantasy about what fame is doesn't want to ponder the dark and isolating side of it. Fortunately, I'm not a celebrity, so I get to chose to be empathetic to their point of view despite it being very different from mine, and I can only presume, hers.

Good mixing might not necessarily fix sloppy production, but poor mixing certainly does not do a track any favors either.

Yes, that's all he's ever done. Madonna & Spice Girls. 2018: Post Malone – "Stay" 2018: Cardi B – "Thru Your Phone" 2018: Elton John – "REVAMP" tracks "Your Song" Featuring Lady Gaga & Bennie & The Jets featuring Pink & Logic 2018: Pale Waves – "Heavenly" 2018: Jade Bird – "Lottery" 2018: Chvrches – "Love is Dead" 2018: Years and Years – "Sanctuary" 2018: Rudimental – "These Days Featuring Jess Glynne, Macklemore & Dan Caplen" 2018: Marshmello Featuring Anne Marie – "Friends" 2017: Kesha – "This is Me from The Greatest Showman" 2017: Miguel – "War and Leasure" 2017: Bishop Briggs – "Dream" 2017: Jessie Ware – "Glasshouse (album)" 2017: PVRIS – "All We Know of Heaven, All We Need of Hell" 2017: Justin Bieber and BloodPop– "Friends" 2017: Muse – "Dig Down" 2017: Mondo Cozmo – "Plastic Soul" 2017: Niall Horan – "Slow Hands" 2017: Vince Staples – Big Fish Theory 2017: Harry Styles – Harry Styles[17] 2017: Ed Sheeran – ÷[18] 2017: Julia Michaels – "Issues" 2017: Julia Michaels – "Uh Huh" 2017: Julia Michaels – "Nervous Systems" 2017: Rita Ora – "Your Song" 2017: Liam Gallagher – "As You Were" 2017: DreamCar – "Dreamcar" 2016: Gwen Stefani – This Is What the Truth Feels Like[18] 2015: Selena Gomez – Revival 2015: Florence + the Machine – How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful 2015: CHVRCHES – Every Open Eye[19] 2015: Grimes – Art Angels 2015: Duran Duran – Paper Gods 2014: Coldplay – Ghost Stories[18] 2014: Ed Sheeran – x[18] 2014: The Script – No Sound Without Silence 2014: Kasabian – 48:13 2013: Biffy Clyro – Opposites[18] 2013: Bastille – Bad Blood[18] 2013: Rudimental – Home[18] 2013: White Lies – Big TV[18] 2013: Haim – Days Are Gone[18] 2013: Moby – Innocents[18] 2013: John Newman – Tribute[18] 2013: One Direction – Midnight Memories[18] 2012: Frank Ocean – Channel Orange[18] 2012: No Doubt – Push and Shove 2012: Taylor Swift – Red[18] 2012: Muse – The 2nd Law[18] 2011: Florence + The Machine – Ceremonials 2011: Coldplay – Mylo Xyloto 2011: Bruce Springsteen – Wrecking Ball 2010: Lights – The Listening ("Ice") 2010: Usher – Raymond v. Raymond 2010: Hurts – Happiness 2010: Goldfrapp – Head First 2010: Ellie Goulding – Lights 2010: P Diddy – Last Train to Paris ("Hello Good Morning") 2010: Take That – Progress 2010: James Blunt – Some Kind of Trouble 2010: The Wanted – The Wanted 2010: N.E.R.D – Nothing 2010: Duran Duran – All You Need Is Now 2010: The Script – Science and Faith 2010: Cheryl Cole – Messy Little Raindrops 2010: Christina Aguilera – Bionic ("Little Dreamer", "Kimono Girl", "Birds of Prey") 2000s 2009: Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown ("Last of the American Girls", "21 Guns", "Rain on Me") 2009: Lady Gaga – The Fame Monster ("Bad Romance", "Telephone" Featuring Beyoncé) 2009: Tegan & Sara – Sainthood ("Hell") 2009: Muse – The Resistance 2009: Vedera – Stages ("Satisfy", "Loving Ghosts", "Back to the Middle") 2009: Cheryl Cole – 3 Words ("Fight for This Love") 2009: Ciara – Fantasy Ride ("G Is for Girl") 2009: Franz Ferdinand – Tonight: Franz Ferdinand ("Katherine") 2009: FrankMusik – Complete Me ("Confusion Girl") 2009: The Yeah You's – Looking Through You 2009: The Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It's Blitz 2009: Lenka – Trouble Is a Friend 2009: Sean Garrett – Turbo 919 ("Why", "What You Doin' Turbo 919") 2009: Lily Allen – It's Not Me, It's You ("Everyone's at It", "The Fear") 2008: The Script – The Script ("Breakeven", "Talk You Down", "The Man Who Can't Be Moved") 2008: Sneaky Sound System – Sneaky Sound System ("Kansas City", "UFO") 2008: The Pussycat Dolls – Doll Domination ("When I Grow Up") 2008: CSS – Donkey 2008: Pink – Funhouse 2008: Beyoncé – I Am... Sasha Fierce 2008: Madonna – Hard Candy 2007: M.I.A – Kala ("Boyz", "Jimmy") 2007: Maroon 5 – It Won't Be Soon Before Long 2007: Arcade Fire – Neon Bible ("Black Mirror", "No Cars Go") 2007: Hard-Fi – Once Upon a Time in the West ("Suburban Knights") 2007: Stereophonics – Pull The Pin ("Rewind") 2007: Natasha Bedingfield – N.B 2007: Björk – Volta 2006: Depeche Mode – The Complete Depeche Mode ("A Pain That I'm Used To") 2006: The Feeling – Twelve Stops and Home 2006: Keane – Under the Iron Sea 2006: Gwen Stefani – The Sweet Escape 2005: Madonna – Confessions on a Dance Floor 2005: Goldfrapp – Supernature 2005: Fischerspooner – Odyssey 2005: Kaiser Chiefs – Employment ("Everyday I Love You Less and Less") 2005: Aqualung – Strange and Beautiful ("Easier to Lie") 2005: Dave Mathews Band – Stand Up 2005: The Black Eyed Peas – Monkey Business 2004: Björk – Medúlla 2004: Keane – Hopes and Fears 2004: Gwen Stefani – Love. Angel. Music. Baby. 2004: Natasha Bedingfield – Unwritten 2003: Massive Attack – 100th Window 2003: Madonna – American Life 2003: Dave Mathews Band – Some Devil 2003: The Black Eyed Peas – Elephunk 2002: Linkin Park – Reanimation 2002: Oasis – Heathen Chemistry 2001: No Doubt – Rock Steady 2001: Björk – Vespertine 2000: All Saints – All Saints ("Black Coffee", "Pure Shores") 2000: Madonna – Music 2000: Oasis – Standing on the Shoulder of Giants 2000: Oasis – Familiar to Millions 1990s 1998: Massive Attack – Mezzanine 1997: U2 – Pop 1997: Spice Girls – Spice World 1997: Erasure – Cowboy 1997: Björk – Homogenic 1996: Spice Girls – Spice 1994: Massive Attack – Protection 1994: Madonna – Bedtime Stories 1993: Depeche Mode – Songs of Faith and Devotion 1980s 1989: ABC – Up 1988: The Mission – Tower of Strength 1987: Erasure – It Doesn't Have to Be 1985: The Cult – Love

Yes. Actually, I don't think he gets as much blame for it as he should, tbh. His mixing is shoddy and his fingerprints are all over the place on her last three albums. It's easy to hear his distinct influence on Hard Candy as he mixed the Timbaland tracks while Mark Spike Stent (one of the most sought-after mixing engineers in the business for good reason) mixed the Pharrell tracks. Even though his work on HC is possibly the least objectionable, it still pales in comparison to Stent's.

I think it sounds great! To me this is much more interesting than the majority of remixes we get these days. It wouldn't work with a lot of her more recent music, but the songs she did with Pat have a lot of versatility and musical depth to them, so like he said, there's a lot to play around with. I pledged for the vinyl. I'm more than happy to help support a project like this and I hope there are enough fans interested to help get this launched. For anyone intending to check out the album but are not willing to pledge, please consider the fact that the album may not happen without your support. He's only two and a half years older than Madonna, so unless you're prepared to start calling her grandma you should probably skip the age-related jabs on a Madonna forum.

This certainly sounds a lot more interesting than that other biopic, Blonde Ambition, unless they completely rewrite the screenplay – the draft that leaked for BA is attrociously bad!

So difficult to choose, but I think I'd have to go with Open Your Heart. It was quite a groundbreaking video at the time both for its content as well as for technical achievements. I remember being blown away by the cinematography the first time I saw it, since most videos up to that time were so drab looking colour-wise. Up to that point telecining technology tended to produce really washed out visuals during the transfer from film to video...just look at the Like A Virgin video, it's so muted...if the original film rolls exist somewhere, they could do wonders with it! But getting off track here...lol. OYH is one of the first mainstream videos I remember seeing that used really vivid colours and clearly used then-state-of-the-art telecining techniques that managed to fully capture the film prints in such a clean and crisp way. It really jumped out at you. Fincher and later Romanek also made technical advances, but Mondino the first one to really push M's videos into a different realm from a technical perspective. And from a content perspective, in retrospect OYH feels almost more shocking than JML, just because it really came out of nowhere and was not what anyone would have expected her to do at the time. JML was less shocking in that regard, because by that point she had been consistently pushing that particular envelope for awhile, so even though she was pushing it further, it felt like a natural progression. But with OYH, to wear that outfit and play a peep show dancer, I don't think anyone would have predicted it, as it was such a brazen move for an artist that was constantly being labelled a sexpot. Rather than run away from it, she owned it. It was a very bold move. Plus I just love Mondino's sensibilities as a director in general...every video he makes has some strange thing about it that makes it stand out. It's never the same thing, but there's always something. And it's always one of those ideas that would seem silly on paper and might even seem silly the first time you see it, but then it somehow becomes the essence and the hook of the entire thing. Ususally there's an element of humour or irony there. He's also done brilliant videos for other artists. Don Henley's The Boys Of Summer is 85 was his breakthrough in North America, and it's no surprise that M would have wanted to work with him because it's a beautiful video, and one of the first to reintroduce black & white in a way that felt current and new.

I'm looking forward to hearing his reinterpretations in studio form! I really enjoyed the live versions he did last year and never thought there would be an opportunity to hear studio mixes of any of it, so I think it's great that he's putting this together! Sounds like he's approaching it in a way that is respectful to Madonna as well which is also good, as I would hate to see him burn that bridge...as much as I'd LOVE to hear all the unreleased demos he has, I'd prefer that he and M remain on good terms.

Thanks!

I love these. I remember reading them at my local book store when I was young and couldn't afford to buy the book. Haven't read them in years so thanks for posting them! I'm looking forward to reading the others.

I think some of you may be misinterpreting what I was saying. To clarify, I wouldn't be at all interested in hearing her work with anyone who was attempting to recreate something from her past, and I would hope that she wouldn't be interested in that either. But I also wouldn't assume that an album would be some sort of nostalgia project simply because she chose to work with a collaborator that she has worked with successfully before. To make that assumption would be no different than labeling Madonna herself a nostalgia act simply because she's been in the business for 35 years. The music she wrote with Pat Leonard in 1997 does not bring to mind the music she made with him in 1985. The common denominator is a high standard of songwriting that always allowed them to create songs with a strong musical foundation, memorable hooks and lyrics that were inspired. I certainly wouldn't consider it to be yearning for the past to want those three key elements to remain consistently strong in her work regardless of which direction she chooses to go stylistically. Madonna and Leonard have each evolved personally and professionally in the years since their last collaboration, one can only assume, so it would be interesting to hear what they would come up with now. I'm not saying she should use Leonard as a producer, I'm only thinking in terms of songwriting here. For a songwriting partnership to really work it requires a certain chemistry and while it's great that she likes to test the waters with new collaborators, we also need to be realistic about the fact that not every partnership is going to be a winning combination. And by the same token, it is senseless to imply that she should simply discard past collaborators just because she's worked with them before. Sure, some songwriters (or more frequently – producers) may be one-trick ponies, but the great ones are far from it. Few would dispute the fact that Paul McCartney and John Lennon's songwriting partnership only grew in terms in terms of depth and scope with each subsequent Beatles album, and although their personal relationship may have soured, their songwriting partnership yielded an immensely varied body of work that consistently resonated (or, I should say – resonates) with people – and yet they weren't always able to create that magic on their own or with other collaborators. I think one of the reasons Ray Of Light was such a successful project artistically was because she started off by collaborating with excellent songwriters she gelled with and then brought in William & Marius to help shape the sound of the album. I think that was a very smart approach because even the outtakes from that album are very good songs. When the chemistry exists and the key songwriting basics are there, it's pretty hard to go wrong with the final product. The irony of it all is that the more she chooses to restrict herself to working with only very young, trendy producers/songwriters, the closer she ends up getting to being perceived as a nostalgia act. And I think the reason why is at least partly because that is how she is viewed by the people she's choosing to work with. And you can't blame these collaborators either...they're working with someone who was already a legend before they were even born, so naturally it will be an uphill battle for them to strip away their illusions enough to be able to fully relate to her as a collaborating partner, regardless of whatever lip-service they might offer to paint a different picture to the press. So instead there's a tendency for her work with these collaborators to paint her into a box and to mirror her legendary status back out through the songs, which only serves to make her feel less accessible, less relatable and less human, essentially. Considering that the primary appeal of her songs has always been her ability to relate universal truths, she'd do better by broadening her palette to include collaborators who are worldly enough to be able to see beyond the artifice of celebrity and can inspire her to do the same.

Hey wait a minute...I wrote that! :wink: The win for The Confessions Tour was very well-deserved. I think it's her best concert film by a long shot (I consider TorD and IGTTYAS to be documentaries so I wouldn't compare them to her other concert films).

I don't like Best Friend at all...it's the only song on MDNA that does absolutely nothing for me, and I actually find the music slightly irritating. Incredible isn't one of my favorites but it's not bad, so that's my pick.

I think Has To Be is a better song, but Mer Girl is the perfect way to end Ray Of Light. It's sort of like Act Of Contrition...it's not a song you'd really want to hear on a random playlist but it is an essential component of the album nonetheless.

Are you able to download the video and share it? Would love to hear what he says but it's not available for streaming in Canada.

If she decides to sign with a major label, I think she should just resign with Warner, to be honest. They weren't perfect but they always made her album releases a priority and they understand her market. Interscope basically just released the albums and did little else...I never got the sense that they really knew what to do with her. I don't think any label is going to provide any kind of perfect solution, but considering Warner has the majority of her back catalogue it just makes sense for her to release her new music with them. It also gives her better leverage to be involved with reissues, vault releases and retrospectives...not that she ever has been interested in that so far, but she might be getting closer to a point where she will be. Otherwise, she could just skip the major label route altogether. She doesn't really need a contract...she can finance her own recordings and license them out on a per-album basis for distribution by any major label. I'm less concerned with her sales and chart positions at this stage in the game and more concerned with her releasing music that she's passionate about and fully involved in its creation. I think she has earned the right to concern herself less with how her work is received and just create music for the love of creating music. I'd love some collaborations with Pat Leonard, Rick Nowels, Stuart Price, possibly Mirwais...people that inspire her and bring out the best in her abilities.

I don't think it has ever been officially confirmed whether the 2009 leg of the Sticky & Sweet Tour counted as a seperate tour in terms of her contract. But considering the amount she raked in for the contract, I think it's probable that the term "tour" is a loose way of defining a contractual obligation for her to perform a specific number of shows. There would be a lot of fine print that we wouldn't be privy to in a contract of that magnitude. If they had simply signed her up for four tours she could have went out and done four individual month-long tours and wrapped up the contract within a year or two. My guess would be that the fine print for each tour required a set number of performance dates in order to fulfill the contract, and that if she decided to lengthen any tour beyond the required number of dates they would be subtracted from the total number of performances remaining in the contract. When the contract was initially signed, the most shows she had ever performed on tour was 60 dates during The Confessions Tour. So if we were to use that number as an estimated standard tour length, four tours would be 240 shows. She has performed 255 shows to date under her current contract. And I'm sure there are about a gazillion other legal factors involved. Obviously Live Nation stood to earn a lot more per performance when she played stadiums vs arenas. Whether or not she would be able to sustain high ticket prices (which she has) may have factored into the math as well. And there may have been more specific financial stipulations, such as if any tour did not reach a set threshold of income, the loss would either need to be offset by a more successful tour which exceeded the threshold or be recouped through additional performance dates. What I'm getting at is that it's probably much more complicated than the details that were issued in the press release. But even if her contract has been fulfilled, I wouldn't consider that to be a sign that she won't tour again. In some ways, I'd kind of like for the Live Nation contract to be over. It's been a fun ride, but at this point in her life I think she has earned the right to do what she feels like doing artistically without all the financial strings and corporate expectations attached. Like if she were to decide to tour next year for two months in small venues only, she could easily do that, post-contract. And it's not like she'd have any trouble finding a promoter to work with. She could even continue to work with Live Nation on a one-off basis without any long-term deal. I'd like to see her take the opportunity to pursue things that stem purely from inspiration rather than contractual obligation.

^ Yes Donna's last tour with M was Confessions, although she also joined Madonna for Live Earth the following year, so that was her last performance with M. The reason she was replaced was because she was pregnant with her second child when the casting call went out for the Sticky & Sweet tour. She's kept busy with her relatively low-profile solo career. Not sure what Niki has been doing aside from the Rain cover and performing with Donna a few times. I miss them too. I actually miss Donna's voice on the tours most of all...she blended so well with Madonna and really gave her vocals an added boost. It was always fun seeing her in the shows since she had been with Madonna for so long. I like Nicki Richards as well, although Kylie Dean seems practically invisible (and inaudible most of the time).

I was there for the opening night and had a fantastic time and really enjoyed the show! Madonna was in a great mood, and genuinely seemed to be having more fun on stage than she has in any tour I've seen since The Girlie Show. Looking forward to seeing it again in Toronto next month! I think some fans who have a tendency to be overly critical/negative (especially before even experiencing the show) are really doing themselves a disservice. Her shows are meant to be entertainment. Check your rose-colored memories of tours past at the door, arrive with an open heart, an open mind and a willingness to be entertained and you'll have yourself a blast singing and dancing for two hours. Otherwise, save yourself the $400 and give yourself the gift of one less thing to complain about.

It would have made a cool live track for sure. It's too bad she didn't tour with that album – a lot of great songs missed out on the chance for a live version. I've always hoped she'd pull out Sanctuary, Love Tried To Welcome Me or Survival at some point, although the chances of that seem slim at this point. But who knows...maybe once her Live Nation contract is up and the pressure to do big blockbuster tours has lessened, she might do something scaled-down where she pulls out some old album tracks just to change things up.

I love Survival (clearly, just look at my signature..lol). It's minimalist, catchy and straight to the point...the perfect album opener really. When the album was released I remember thinking that either Survival or Human Nature would be released as a single (it would have been redundant to release both), and I felt that Survival would be a better choice for radio since it wouldn't need to be censored or edited and it was generally more accessible than Human Nature. But knowing that Madonna didn't always like to go with the safer choice, I wasn't surprised at all that she went with Human Nature. Here's a remix and video I made for Survival for our blog using the instrumental demo and album version. http://todayinmadonnahistory.com/2014/10/25/today-in-madonna-history-october-25-1994/

While I'm happy for Liz, I can't help but be sad about this news. She's been the only constant in Madonna's career since the beginning, and has been such a stabilizing force in her life.