Popular Post Voguerista 11,717 Posted July 2, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted July 2, 2020 What would Madonna's career have been like without "Ray Of Light"? One thing about her music is that most of it is timeless. To this day, I love "Ray Of Light" as much as the first time I heard it. Same with the video. This song fills me up with the light of the sky in an electric way. What was your first time hearing "Ray Of Light" like? What do you remember? Is this song and video still relevant and will it always be? To Ray Of Light..."a little piece of heaven". On This Day In Billboard Dance History: Madonna Shined a 'Ray of Light' on Clubland Incredibly, 50 Madonna songs have reached No. 1 on Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart, giving her the distinction of the artist with the most No. 1s on this survey. But only one of these tracks started in the folk world before entering the club scene. No. 1 on the chart 22 years ago today (July 1), "Ray of Light" was an adaptation of the 1971 song "Sepheryn" by English folk duo Curtiss Maldoon. The song entered Madonna's field of awareness more than two decades later, when English musician and producer William Orbit sent her a version of the song -- renamed "Ray Of Light" and performed by the niece of one of the members of Curtiss Maldoon -- to consider for inclusion on her upcoming album. Madonna liked it, and together with Orbit, she revamped the lyrics, updated the instrumentation and sped the BPM way up. By the time the song was released as the title track from Madonna's 1998 LP, the minor folk hit had been transformed into a synth-laden electronica anthem that would become both one of the biggest hits of Madonna's career and reflect who the pop queen had become by the late 90s. The reworked lyrics of the second chorus explored themes related to motherhood and spirituality, as her daughter Lourdes had been born two years prior, and Madonna had begun her exploration of Eastern mysticism and Kabbalah during this same period. "This album is reflective of where I am in my life right now--in terms of my musical interests and in terms of my personal beliefs," Madonna told Billboard in 1998. "I feel like I've been enlightened, and that it's my personal responsibility to share what I've learned so far with the world." Effectively, she completed this sharing by making people dance. While her previous LP, 1994's Bedtime Stories, had included slowed-down R&B tracks like "Take a Bow" and "Secret," "Ray of Light" spread its message of love and positivity via its embrace and expansion of the late '90s electronica genre, at that point being explored by scene stars like Moby, Björk, Underworld and more. "I've been a fan of all kinds of electronic music for many years," Madonna said in the same Billboard interview, "and I wanted to incorporate that sound into my music." Indeed, while many of Madonna's biggest hits -- "Vogue," "Like a Prayer," "Like a Virgin" -- certainly worked in nightclubs, the song's styles and structures firmly embedded them in the pop world. But with "Ray Of Light," Madonna was not simply making pop music that would work in the clubland, but music aesthetically connected to the roots of the genre, taking particular influence from the acid house that was a staple of the '90s underground rave scene. Altogether, it got bodies moving around the globe. “Ray Of Light” spent four weeks at No. 1 on Dance Club Songs chart, from the charts dated June 20, 1998, through July 11. This run makes the song one of her longest leaders – “Holiday/Lucky Star” spent five weeks at No. 1 in 1983, “Music” later spent five weeks in this position in 2000, “Like a Virgin” spent four weeks in 1984-85 and “Hung Up” spent four weeks in the top spot in 2005. "Ray of Light" was the second of three No. 1 Dance Club Songs singles from the Ray of Light album, after “Frozen” (2 weeks, April-May ’98) and before “Nothing Really Matters” (2 weeks, March ’99). Her 20th No. 1 on the chart, the song's lauded video was directed by Jonas Åkerlund, who had directed the infamous clip for The Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up." Meanwhile, the song won the 1999 Grammy for best dance recording, while the album won that year's best pop album trophy. Those two awards, along with the other one she won that evening, were the first audio Grammy awards of her career. The 1999 Grammys ceremony was a long way from the underground club scene, and in fact even further away from the English folk world. Yet all of these musical stepping stones had helped Madonna create a song that remains one of the brightest lights of her enduring career. gonna dress u up, Mr. Peanutbutter Horseman, LikeAMelody and 7 others 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gonna dress u up 185 Posted July 5, 2020 Share Posted July 5, 2020 (edited) Ray of Light is one of her most important albums ever in her carrer, M took a great evolutionary leap with Ray of Light, with totally autobiographical lyrics, it would have been very different without it, i think that Erotica & Bedtime Stories are like the last chapter of the madonna that everyone knew until then, and 4 years later, without doing tours and with Ray of Light, something new begins Edited July 5, 2020 by gonna dress u up (see edit history) Voguerista, Raio_05 and nito84bcn 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voguerista 11,717 Posted July 6, 2020 Author Share Posted July 6, 2020 On 7/4/2020 at 6:07 PM, gonna dress u up said: Ray of Light is one of her most important albums ever in her carrer, M took a great evolutionary leap with Ray of Light, with totally autobiographical lyrics, it would have been very different without it, i think that Erotica & Bedtime Stories are like the last chapter of the madonna that everyone knew until then, and 4 years later, without doing tours and with Ray of Light, something new begins So true and beautifully written. Thank you. gonna dress u up 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nodoman 324 Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 (edited) On 7/2/2020 at 11:44 PM, Voguerista said: What would Madonna's career have been like without "Ray Of Light"? i think that is impossible to answer. her previous albums as well as her life circumstances led to ray of light. would there be music – and what followed – without ray of light? i don’t think so. essentially, it was a chapter of her life journey and reflected her state of mind at the time. i would have never thought it led to bitch, i’m madonna though Edited July 7, 2020 by nodoman (see edit history) Raio_05, into the erotico, Immaculate and 1 other 1 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyfitswim 906 Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 32 minutes ago, nodoman said: i think that is impossible to answer. her previous albums as well as her life circumstances led to ray of light. would there be music – and what followed – without ray of light? i don’t think so. essentially, it was a chapter of her life journey and reflected her state of mind at the time. i would have never thought it led to bitch, i’m madonna though i wish ray of light whas het latest current circumstance in life Voguerista 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick 2,357 Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 One of the best pop albums ever made. It has aged like fine wine - no matter when I've listened to it over the years, it seems to get better each time I hear it. I think this music is very therapeutic, both for Madonna recording/making it and the listener consuming it. The lyrics are also some of her best; she really tells a story and conveys so much emotion in these songs. Especially Little Star - such an endearing song, straight from her heart to Lola. I actually listened this this album a lot while in quarantine; it's such a great album to put on in the evening right before sunset and watch the sun go down. Voguerista, gonna dress u up, nodoman and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WCD199317 65 Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 My favorite album of her career. The production of this album is fire and very haunting, the ambiance was so hypnotical, very spiritual and she also improved her vocals in this album, thanks to the singing lesson during the making of Evita. I love the diversity of this album. Like Like a Prayer, this album was very varied and the sequencing was incredible well. The album started in her first eight tracks with more up-beat sound, while the five last tracks (or six in the Japan version) was more a slow ballad (Frozen was a transition between the first eight tracks and the last tracks of the album, because i considered a mid-tempo ballad). She have her best re-invention of her career and also this album was her second born of her career. She explored in this album: Dance, Electro, Trip-Hop, Bossa Nova, Rock, New age, spiritual and Asian music in this album. Also the pure sound of her music and the rich arrangements created a sound so much good, very complex and very relaxing. This album makes me happy all the time when i listen this album. Also, the cover and the pictures of the booklet represent perfectly the general ambiance of the whole album. My favorites of this album was Frozen and Has to Be. I have the japanese version, because i was a huge fan of Has to Be, i love how Madonna explored the New Age style with this song and the perfect ending of a album. Voguerista 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erlend 165 Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 (edited) It's a beautiful album, and perhaps one of the most important albums of the 90's. I was kind of ambivalent to it in the beginning. It had all of these great songs, and yet at the same time I knew that the old Madonna (the one with the blond ambition and Dita Parlo as her alter ego) was not coming back. One of her best albums. Edited January 28, 2021 by Erlend (see edit history) Voguerista and Aiwa08 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Jean 15,091 Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 Non existent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobo 1,218 Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 Ray of Light brought guitars back to her music. William Orbit did some nice work there. My favourite Madonna songs feature cool guitars... Burning Up, Dress You Up, Like A Prayer. It never got as good as it was with the guitars and bass again. ROL with less of the electronica would've been interesting. More of the rawness. Not a fan of her playing guitar though, she takes the fun out of it! Voguerista 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pootz333 2,680 Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 I remember thinking they took too long to show her in the "Ray of Light" video ? Its still amazing. Really captures the excitement and hope for a new century. Pre- 9/11. The Dan O Rama remix videos are so fun too. She looked sun kissed and gorgeous. The little crystals under her eyes. Tandonna is underrated. Great remixes. The first time we got that signature William Orbit sound on his remix that carried into everything else they did together. LOVE that opera bit she does thats featured only in that specific mix at the very end. Fabian's Good God Mix of "The Power of Goodbye" is so underrated. It was also the very first time we got a Peter Rauhofer remix under the Club 69 moniker. I was obsessed with his Future Mix 1 & 2 compilations. Wanted him to remix M so bad. To get all those remixes from him and for "Nothing Really Matters" (still all time favorite)....just perfection. And the Vikram Mix. And the K&D mix. Can't believe she never performed any of those remixes live. BT & Sasha's mix of "Drowned World" is still so good on headphones. It's interesting this was considered her big return to dance music. But if you were a fan or club goer, then you knew M never left the dance floor for very long. Some of her most interesting dance moments happened during the ballad years leading up to ROL. Thanks to remixes of course. She has such a rich, deep career on that Dance Chart like completely separate from the pop stuff. Voguerista 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki 227 Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 (edited) An ecstatic hymn to the sky, a liberating cry, a psychedelic celebration of life. Truly madly deeply in love with Ray of Light and I will always be. Inextricably linked to the '90s atmosphere but at the same time timeless, it's the forbidden fruit of a rebirth, it's the shocking marriage between the most famous woman on Earth and the underground world. It's a damned masterpiece. Love apart, in my opinion the power of this record lies in Madonna herself. I mean, the electronic sound gives a divine aura to her new spirituality, but if she hadn't approached to Kabbalah, if she hadn't found peace in her life (just a little bit), ROL wouldn't have been the masterpiece we all know, it would have been only a good electronic album. That's why we can't separate her life from her albums: they represent her evolution as a human being. But let's start with my usual outlandish post about her albums. IMHO, this record is the first chapter of her tetralogy about natural elements (hey, sis, we miss the one about aether), in this case water, but it's also the first part of a diptych which portraits Nietzsche's dichotomy about Apollonian and Dionysian: ROL is obviously the representation of Apollonian. Every aspect of this album is a tribute to rationality and equilibrium, from the sound to the lyrics: every feeling and emotion are calm and measured, there's no excess. Plus the sound evocates the presence of light and sun, the most common symbols of Apollo. Along with these sides, it's surprising the religious syncretism this recond contains: the Frozen video is an astonishing reference to different religions, from the Greek one (the dog, which represents the star Sirius; it's also a reference to the Greek afterword, 'cause dogs populated this realm), the celtic one (the crow, a reference to Morrigan, the goddess of fate and death), to the Hinduist one (Kali). What about the instrumentals? Eargasmic, I could listen to them in eternity (please, take back Orbit). Finally, I'd like to thank Anne, Sylvia and William to have inspired her for the lyrics. Love you guys, although you all are dead. Edited January 30, 2021 by Loki (see edit history) Voguerista 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raio_05 777 Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 On 1/30/2021 at 3:15 AM, Pootz333 said: I remember thinking they took too long to show her in the "Ray of Light" video ? Its still amazing. Really captures the excitement and hope for a new century. Pre- 9/11. The Dan O Rama remix videos are so fun too. She looked sun kissed and gorgeous. The little crystals under her eyes. Tandonna is underrated. Omg, you said it perfectly. I too love the "innocence" of the Ray of Light video, like "look what's happening technologically! And a new millennium is coming! Life is getting fast and exciting!". Even though I was only 8 at the time I remember feeling that hope and excitement so the video makes me feel all kinds of nostalgia. I can only imagine it's augmented for people who were older. A shame that 2 albums later we had to have American Life because that innocence was crushed in 2001. :/ Voguerista and Pootz333 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voguerista 11,717 Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 Such beautiful writings on this album. I love reading every word. Thank you. I’m going to go listen to it again right now. Such a masterpiece Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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