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Stuart Price, 15 years ago this week


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I was obsessed with Stuart's production in the early 2000s, no matter his moniker, so when I heard that he was coming to Australia for Good Vibrations I was so excited. I decided to just go to his DJ side-gig in Melbourne, and even designed a Thin White Duke tee to wear to the event. The DJ set itself was incredible. As the Scissor Sisters were playing the same festival, Baby Daddy and Ana Matronic were in the crowd, dancing along. At one point, Stuart dropped a track that included the Abba sample and I remember it sounding really souped-up and hot. During the song, I noticed that Stuart was taking a photo/filming us in the crowd, and even nudged my friend to take notice. "Haha, isn't that funny", I said to her. After the DJ set, Stuart left and we left too, and on the way out I noticed him and Ana walking off into the Melbourne CBD, hand-in-hand. Cut forward to October of that year while I was in NYC during an EU and US backpacking trip, and I am at The Roxy, watching Madonna dance to Stuart's remixes of Hung Up and other yet-to-be-heard tracks from COAD, while he is on the decks. For these reasons, COAD remains a very special and magical album era for me.

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I love that he previewed tracks at clubs for Madonna and he treated her music with love and creativity. How he managed to make songs like Everybody and other classics sound modern versus whomever does her arrangements now. Would love to see The Thin White Duke remixes again for her singles.

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I loved the relationship they had together, he took no crap from her but in a fun way. He would remix oldies with respect and understood fans would love to hear them. Was it not Confessions where he tried so hard to get her to sing Rain and she wouldn't. One of the best things he did though was Erotica/You Thrill Me. I'd never heard that song before and just fell in love with it.

I always love the interaction in DWT near the end of Music when she goes up to him as he is playing.

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12 hours ago, wtg1987 said:

He’s probably her last great collaborator - I don’t know why she stopped working with him ?

apparently, warner brothers and madonna were disappointed that COADF only did "well" in the US and therefore wanted to make something more contemporary sounding. thus, hard candy happened and stuart didn't feel it was a sound that suited madonna (and she was already late to hop onto that train). creative disagreements.

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4 hours ago, nodoman said:

apparently, warner brothers and madonna were disappointed that COADF only did "well" in the US and therefore wanted to make something more contemporary sounding. thus, hard candy happened and stuart didn't feel it was a sound that suited madonna (and she was already late to hop onto that train). creative disagreements.

That was as a big mistake - imo her and r n b sound doesn’t match ?

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Well now that he's done producing Pet Shop Boys album trilogy--maybe he'll get back together with Madonna. I would die for a Madonna album produced by Stuart and the PSB.

I want Madonna to go high camp disco party next with drag fashion, big groovy beats and dance moves, hints of freestyle, acid music and Chicago house a la Roisin Murphy. I think it would only be the most obvious choice and progression for Madame X. 

Add Sufjan Stevens to this production team and it would be total bliss. 

This gay boy can dream big!

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It's well known they stopped working together because he married and had babies with Angela Becker, Madonna's ex manager. Yes she wanted to do an urban album and he did a (not so great) remix of Miles Away, but I can't see them working together again anytime soon. Let's just say She's Not Me is NOT about Guy Ritchie.

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Guest Nobody Knows Me
1 hour ago, cosmic_system said:

It's well known they stopped working together because he married and had babies with Angela Becker, Madonna's ex manager. Yes she wanted to do an urban album and he did a (not so great) remix of Miles Away, but I can't see them working together again anytime soon. Let's just say She's Not Me is NOT about Guy Ritchie.

I never knew whether or not to believe those rumours, but yeah, it is weird how she just discarded him so quick. 

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Guest Nobody Knows Me
1 hour ago, deathproof said:

But can't that be said for almost all of her producers?

 

No? She worked with Patrick Leonard on two albums, worked with Shep on The Immaculate Collection, Erotica, and tried a few sessions with him for Bedtime Stories. William Orbit for Ray of Light, Music and MDNA, Mirwais on Music, American Life, Confessions a little and then Madame X. Stuart Price she just worked with and then that was it. 

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2 hours ago, Nobody Knows Me said:

I never knew whether or not to believe those rumours, but yeah, it is weird how she just discarded him so quick. 

Also both him and Angela left at the same time. She's now the manager of the Pet Shop Boys and he worked on three PSB albums and also as a musical director for them. 

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1 minute ago, cosmic_system said:

Also both him and Angela left at the same time. She's now the manager of the Pet Shop Boys and he worked on three PSB albums and also as a musical director for them. 

Stuart Price and the Pet Shop Boys really would be a dream team for a Madonna album. Shame it won’t happen. 

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42 minutes ago, Nobody Knows Me said:

No? She worked with Patrick Leonard on two albums, worked with Shep on The Immaculate Collection, Erotica, and tried a few sessions with him for Bedtime Stories. William Orbit for Ray of Light, Music and MDNA, Mirwais on Music, American Life, Confessions a little and then Madame X. Stuart Price she just worked with and then that was it. 

Uh, she started working with Stuart in 2001 (DWT). Worked with him on American Life (they did X Static Process together, but ended up reworking it with Mirwais). Asked to remaster all prior studio albums for a 20th anniv box set. Hired for RIT. Then did work on Confessions.

So they had a very lengthy relationship together...

But that’s besides the point, and not what I was getting at. How was Stuart “dropped,” when the same can be applied for almost all of her producers. She’s never really worked with someone consecutively, with maybe the exception of Monte. 

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22 minutes ago, deathproof said:

Uh, she started working with Stuart in 2001 (DWT). Worked with him on American Life (they did X Static Process together, but ended up reworking it with Mirwais). Asked to remaster all prior studio albums for a 20th anniv box set. Hired for RIT. Then did work on Confessions.

So they had a very lengthy relationship together...

But that’s besides the point, and not what I was getting at. How was Stuart “dropped,” when the same can be applied for almost all of her producers. She’s never really worked with someone consecutively, with maybe the exception of Monte. 

Yeah she started working with him in 2001 but the fact is he only served as a producer for Confessions. Pat Leonard was on The Virgin Tour before he did two albums with her. She just seemed to discard Stuart faster than other producers to me, which is strange considering Confessions was so acclaimed. 

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1 hour ago, wtg1987 said:

I didn’t know Stuart married Angela ? Why did M fall out with her then ? She seemed to adore her in the I’m going to tell you a secret documentary?

I can imagine Madonna being one of those employers who for whatever reasons, doesn't agree with her main staff getting together and would "punish" them by sacking them or by being difficult enough to make them think "f**k this" and then resign.

There was a similar issue with Caresse Henry when she got together with Madonna's security guard.

And Madonna has in my opinion a very hard hearted attitude when it comes to things like just discarding people who have been there with her. We've seen it with Nikki, Donna, Stuart, Angela, probably lots more.  Then things that William Orbit said about how she had changed when he was dropped and then that famous fax she sent possibly to Patrick to say she was going in a different direction with an album and about someone wanting a writing credit and Madonna wrote next to it EGO, EGO, EGO.

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