Fontainebleau

For months I've been counting the days. Yesterday I finally got to see Madonna perform at the Ziggo Dome. And I loved every second of it. I met so many cool, fabulous, beautiful people, everyone was just having the time of their lives.The Madonna fanbase is just the best. Prior to attending the show I watched a lot of YouTube videos of the Celebration Tour, but they don't hold a candle to the real deal. Being there and experiencing the sense of community was really special. I was surprised by the quality Madonna was bringing, especially considering what she has been through just a couple of months ago. Personal highlights: Nothing Really Matters, Live to Tell, Like a Prayer, Vogue, and especially Bad Girl. Erotica and Justify My Love I really enjoyed as well, but it felt they were from a whole different show. A bit darker in tone, but that suits my taste just fine. Minor personal points of criticism: The Beast Within, Don't Cry For Me Argentina and the Like a Virgin & Billie Jean mashup were unnecessary, although I understand how important DCFMA has been for Madonna herself. I really missed Frozen and Express Yourself. But hey, with almost 100 single releases to choose from you can't have everything. I'm really glad and thankful I got to see Madonna perform again. She looked great, she sounded just fine and she still knows how to put on a fantastic show.

If Nothing Really Matters is the opening song and it will be performed as a ballad, the most perfect song to follow would be Rescue Me. Nothing really matters Love is all we need Everything I give you All comes back to me. I'm talking, I'm talking I believe in the power of love I'm singing, I'm singing I believe that you can rescue me.

Ray of Light, followed by Music, American Life and Erotica.

Damn, this is hard! But for now: Justify My Love Erotica Open Your Heart Nothing Really Matters Express Yourself

01 Funana 02 Auto-Tune Baby 03 Hey You 04 Superstar 05 B-Day Song 06 I Fucked Up 07 Best Friend 08 Isaac 09 Like It or Not 10 Batuka Honourable mention: I Don't Give A, Everybody, Love Song, Bitch I'm Loca, Jimmy Jimmy, Love Makes The World Go Round, Shoo-Bee-Doo, Gang Bang, Turn Up The Radio, Joan of Arc, Rebel Heart and Back That Up to the Beat.

As someone dealing with chronic stress and anxiety these last 24 hours have been exhausting. I'm just glad she's home.

Done! Such an impressive singles discography. It was fun and interesting rating the singles in chronological order.

James Ford is an excellent producer! Together with Stuart Price he has produced the new Jessie Ware album, which will be released on april 28th. Her last album, What's Your Pleasure, also produced by Ford, was fantastic. Allegedly Pet Shop Boys are working with James Ford on their new studio album. Madonna working with James Ford would be amazing.

Done!

For me it's all about the William Orbit Ultra Violet Mix. That mix is just heavenly!

I was so hoping for everything to be remastered.

Remember 2016 when the Blonde Ambition screenplay by Elyse Hollander was the top-ranked script on the so called Black List (a list of highly lauded but unproduced screenplays)? At the time Madonna said: “Nobody knows what I know and what I have seen. Only I can tell my story. Anyone else who tries is a charlatan and a fool looking for instant gratification without doing the work. This is a disease in our society.” But a script that tops the Black List must have something good about it, right? I don't know whether Madonna has actually read this script. Supposedly the script paints a picture of Madonna as ruthless and cold. But didn't she have to be ruthless in order to become the queen of pop? Does she want to be in control (writing, producing, directing) to paint herself in a more flattering way? I still would love to see the Elyse Hollander script being filmed. With David Fincher as a director. He is an excellent director and he knows Madonna.

I listened to the songs and really tried to like them, but all I can say is that the songs are unreleased for a reason: they're just not good. So I'll skip this megarate.

Voted!

I finally voted. It was quite an experience going through this album again. Songs I initially loved have lost their appeal and some songs I used to dislike I find quite charming now. Not the mess that MDNA was, but still a rather uneven album. 24 songs really is a lot to go through and I think less would have been more. My votes are based on the official release, not on the demos despite some demos being quite good. As usual very much looking forward to the results!

In my view this is Madonna's worst album. It feels cold, distant, hollow and rushed. Perhaps it's me, but she sounds so detached. Maybe I just don't 'get' MDNA, being a divorce album with cynical and agressive undertones, but for me it is a joyless affair.

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Voted! And I do like Hard Candy. For me it's her last good, cohesive album.

Interesting to read how some of you dislike the album or think of it as disappointing, while others (like me) regard it as a terrific album. Could American Life be the most polarizing Madonna album? I always thought Hard Candy and MDMA were the most polarizing since both albums received so much love as well as strong criticism.

I finally voted! For me this was the hardest megarate. American Life is such a cohesive album and my favourite song changes from day to day, depending on my mood. I had a really good time rediscovering this album. I think even songs like Die Another Day and I'm So Stupid are outstanding despite these songs getting a lot of criticism. American Life certainly is in my top 5 of favourite Madonna albums.

Watching this performance I realised the lyrics were never more true than during that moment. Picked up my crown, put it back on my head. Like it was meant to be, which made it surrealistic. It really gave the performance a whole extra dimension. The queen fell, then reclaimed her crown, the way only a queen can do: through perseverance.

In comparison with other albums American Life has aged quite well. It still sounds very modern and it perfectly fits the current climate. Imagine this album being released during the Trump years, how much better the reviews would have been. With Covid and the Russian invasion of Ukraine the world has become a rather ominous place. "Don't want my dreams adding up to nothing." Everybody is indeed looking for something. Push the button. Don't push the button. Trip the station. Change the channel.