Forty years in and she still "melts my heart".

[Sultrysully 2,865]

If Madonna released Into the Groove, Live to Tell, Like a Prayer, Take a Bow or Hung Up today, they would be shreded to bits for an extra click here or there, some mixing anomaly, piss poor marketing, a lack of inspiration, weak vocals, her hairdo or "hairdon't", her ass, her waistline, her grilz, her age, being too political and not being fun enough, her social media accounts, having a life outside of her job... etc etc etc.  Maybe the true issue at hand is that Madonna has evolved over and over and many of her fans have not.   She is the Queen of reinvention.  I do not understand the obsession with dragging down everything that she does on a fan blog site.   It is rather tiresome and mundane.  Madonna has inspired and entertained me for decades and each era has spoke to me on a unique level.  She has never stopped, even when it made total sense to do so to the average person.  But here we are...  Madonna ushered us through many trials and tribulations and we are now making fun of her efforts. Some of us are attempting to rewrite history and pretend that none of it mattered.  She was, is and will continue to be a freedom fighter.  This one human being stood up for those who could not in a time when most would not.  We are simultaneously lamenting the past, present and future and forgetting her amazing discography and body of work, her contribution and her talents.   We need to lay off of the micro-aggressions and the outright assaults on her person and embrace her light while we still have it.  Forty years on and she "still melts my heart".  She will not provide sanctuary forever.   I remind you that the world will one day miss her light so keep your meltdowns to a minimum and enjoy the journey a bit more. 

 

 

[Aiwa08 16,217]

I always love Madonna for one thing... She never gives me what I want. After "Like A Prayer", she didn't give me "Like A Prayer 2", she gave me "I'm Breathless". After Confessions, she didn't give me "Confessions 2", she gave me "Hard Candy". And again, again, again... Always the same with every era.

After a little meltdown with each era, I'd calm down and then try to listen her new music "forgetting" her last album... And it worked. Each album (with its singles and video clips) is a journey, a different journey. I mean, she always surprised me with every era. But you need to "forget" for a while her past music to enjoy her new music. 

Of course there are a couple of songs that I can't listen (the album version of Human Nature, Bitch I'm Madonna, etc, etc). But it doesn't matter because the rest is so good...

 

[Sultrysully 2,865]

Madonna has definitely taken us to many places.  It is always exciting to see where we are going next.  I cannot imagine a tour not dominated with new material or a 2.0esque album.  It would seem a sacrilege.  It would feel like a anti-Madonna project.   She understands reinvention on a level not focused on or understood by the critics or press.  New hair, makeup and clothing styling is not a true reinvention... not for Madonna anyway.  Madonna seems to be reborn in each new era.  And she allows us to be reborn as well.  I am not suggesting that there has never been a misstep, I am only celebrating the diversity and creativity delivered for forty years.   I never want Madonna to stop evolving as it would feel hard to evolve again myself.   I would feel lost.

[blondebenji 1,888]

There is still a lot of us that are absolutely still luving the ride she has taken us on. We just dont bark as loud. I was there in the 80's with her and every decade after.  I listen to the newer stuff just as much as the older stuff. Shes still a trail blazer to me.  the people that diss her latest stuff would have done the same right through her career.  Its just we didnt have social media and most people always look back more fondly at times when they were younger.  But I can think of 100s of things back in the 80's and 90's there would have been melt downs about. 

[Bjonkers 1,575]

I love the thought behind this thread. For me, she has mostly been a sort of mother figure, who has guided me through dancing, religious views, sexuality, spirituality and self expression. For me, her presence will always be connected to my own personal journey, it's visceral. And in my own journey, I somehow recognise her own journey which generally leads me to accepting her creative decisions whether I like them or not. The weight of what she has given me or helped me give myself on the 'weighing scales of life' far outweighs what bugs me about her or what works I dislike.

With that context in mind, it can be difficult sometimes to discuss her career with people who perhaps don't have an emotional trajectory with her, or who view things she did or said in the 80s with a modern lens or with flippancy, or who only view her as being her current social media persona.

At this point, I also understand that opinions about her tend to evolve. Erotica, American Life, Hard Candy had people slamming her for poor creative decisions but which are now seen as vital steps in her overall tapestry. Once the noise surrounding them died down, they were heard differently. 

People experience her in their own ways I guess...

[Sultrysully 2,865]

I too share an emotional connection to Madonna and her message.  She means so much to me that I could never dismiss her for a second.  I think that people are attempting to feast at her table buffet style, picking and choosing.  Erotica, American Life and Madame X are meant to be a full course meals for the soul.  Begining to end.... the layers compliment each other.  I sometimes cannot fathom all that she has accomplished.  What a body of work.  To focus on a particular single, project or photoshoot seems to dismiss the evolution and  contribution of her work to the industry and the world.  She has left a mark and it has been glorious.  

[Semtex1 845]

8 hours ago, Aiwa08 said:

I always love Madonna for one thing... She never gives me what I want. After "Like A Prayer", she didn't give me "Like A Prayer 2", she gave me "I'm Breathless". After Confessions, she didn't give me "Confessions 2", she gave me "Hard Candy". And again, again, again... Always the same with every era.

After a little meltdown with each era, I'd calm down and then try to listen her new music "forgetting" her last album... And it worked. Each album (with its singles and video clips) is a journey, a different journey. I mean, she always surprised me with every era. But you need to "forget" for a while her past music to enjoy her new music. 

Of course there are a couple of songs that I can't listen (the album version of Human Nature, Bitch I'm Madonna, etc, etc). But it doesn't matter because the rest is so good...

 

She never gives us what we want....she gives us what we need