Aiwa08

Happy Birthday, dear Madonna!!!!

LET'S ALL SING TOGETHER FOR OUR QUEEN OF POP!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I read the book a long time ago, and although most of it has faded from my memory, I don’t recall it speaking negatively about Madonna or revealing anything about her character that we didn’t already know. In fact, it portrayed her with a lot of admiration, and the real criticism was aimed at people like Sean or Guy, for example, or described how they gradually drifted apart and stopped talking due to outside influences.

I actually found it to be a pretty interesting read, but I barely remember the book now, so my impression of it might not be entirely accurate. I do remember thinking that he seemed like her number one fan, very hurt by their increasingly evident separation. I got the impression that he wrote the book desperately as a way to get his sister's attention, but she clearly chose to ignore it.

13 minutes ago, Adonna said:

Yeah, I have no issue with fans having different opinions about songs. The fan base is quite diverse and that's why Madonna is so popular.  Therefore, this is why I think she is so damn popular and still doing pretty damn well for herself.  For me, I don't need to have every freakin' version of the same song, especially if it's just a fade or cut short like some 7 inch singles.  As long as I have the full version and the differential remixes, I'm fine. It's not the end of the world for me that every one of these mixes and edits aren't available on digital/streaming platforms.  Still, It's pretty impressive to me how much of her catalog is available when most other artists aren't even close to having their complete catalog online. I also have the mind set that some things should be left to physical releases. There needs to be a bit of exclusivity to some of her work too.  This only helps her being more sought after.  It always gives us something to look forward when they slow drip some things because we know something else will be coming along again.  Of course, I nearly have everything in my own collection of physical and digital collections. If it's not available officially, you can always find it on the internet somewhere. Anyway, I am so glad to be a fan of Madonna's, because she's given me YEARS of enjoyment and she still does.  At this point, I don't expect hit song or albums. If it happens, GREAT, but so many years with so many great albums, she can't go wrong in my book.  I try not to sweat the small stuff, because she can drop dead tomorrow, and I would feel she had a very long, incredible and successful career. So many people came before and after he and they haven't even begun to scratch the surface that she has.  There are only just a few iconic stars like Madonna and even still, she's in a world class of her own.

I completely agree with what you've written. Madonna has given me 40 years of enjoyment, and I still love what she's released—I don't need anything more (though if there is more, all the better). As a collector of remixes and edits, there's only one thing I would ask from Madonna to make my collection feel complete: Open Your Heart (Remix Edit). It was the single released in Europe and the version I enjoyed far more than the album version when I was young.

41 minutes ago, Alpha said:

I never understood how people could hate Superstar and Shoo-bee-doo yet cream themselves over a 7" edit of Cherish. Literally Superstar is the same damn song as Cherish just released when people couldn't have a nostalgic attachment the way they could to the 80s.

I generally agree with you on everything, but comparing Superstar with Cherish, in my opinion, is like comparing Express Yourself with Jimmy, Jimmy.

One thing is certain in this universe: there are no two Madonna fans with exactly the same tastes (but I like Shoo-bee-doo very much).

51 minutes ago, Anapausis said:

@Aiwa08 a lil' curiosity that most Americans just don't know: the name Texas comes actually from Basque and it was pronounced "Teshas" by Spanish colonizers until America bought the territory from Mexico. And in Basque, "Texas" is still pronounced "Teshas" - btw, some Spanish areas tend to write it "Tejas," to "Tehas" pronunciation ofc. But given your last reply to me you already know it too, right?

I studied that almost 40 years ago, and on top of that, I took the science track (chemistry, physics, computing), not the humanities. You're asking me to remember too much. But yes, not many years ago, people sometimes wrote 'Tejas' or 'Mejico' instead of 'Texas' or 'Mexico'. 

Not so surprised @Anapausis. At least in the '80s, we studied the origin of our language in high school. Now, I don't know if they still teach that; I think the studies are more 'lightweight' now.

19 minutes ago, Anapausis said:

@Aiwa08 so do you live in a seseo area??? I mean, Spanish language doesn't distinguish /s/ as in deceit from /ś/ as it would sound closer to /š/ as in shit (actually Basque recognize all 3 sounds as they write z for /s/, s for /ś/ and x for /š/ - other languages, such as Polish, do distinguish these 3 too - Polish writes s for /s/, ś for /ś/ and sz for /š/).

Btw /s/ and /ś/ are alophones to languages like Japanese and Korean. The sh in Japanese is not the same sh in English but rather the Spanish s from ceceo areas - same as in Korean and Chinese.

No, I live almost in the center of Spain, so my native language is Castilian/European Spanish, without seseo nor ceceo. However, as I mentioned, most of my exposure to English is through written material (except for films and TV series, where I rely on subtitles). I haven’t trained my ear to understand spoken, colloquial English 100%

4 minutes ago, missberic said:

I get overly deffensive about tracks I love that are despised by the fandom, BUT I genuinely CANNOT understand people who praise generic, dated and childish songs like Some Girls and Beautiful Killer but then dish on Superstar and Turn Up The Radio

TUTR has one of my favorite Madonna bridges of the last 20 years! And Superstar's beat just reminds me of 'Bend and Snap' from Legally Blonde the Musical lol I love it

Well, we're Madonna fans—probably the fanbase with the most diverse tastes. I've met people who love Like a Virgin but hate Erotica, or others who adore American Life but aren't fond of Like a Prayer. We're not discussing personal preferences here, we're discussing why an album might be criticized for its production style when earlier albums made in the same way were not criticized and were highly acclaimed.

3 hours ago, LongIslandTea said:

Have penis lied in your own hand
It took me much too long to understand 

 

Lyrics is important! 

I know it. I know it. This answer looks like a joke, but it happens in reality with non-English speakers. I've always sung in you'll see:

'I have truth on my side
You only have the shit
You'll see, somehow, someday.'

Or certain misunderstandings in the meaning of the song like the (in)famous 'Drunk by six (men)' in Bad Girl.

Part of the reason I used to read Madonna's lyrics, aside from understanding them, was so I could sing them better. I've always loved quietly singing along whenever I listen to songs I enjoy.

6 minutes ago, Prayer said:

Her emotional delivery has always been her main vocal talent, and that's what made her connect with millions of non-English speakers around the world, in my opinion.

Maybe you didn't understand what she was saying, but you got her: the vibe, the emotion.

She was (and still is) great at expressing different kinds of emotions with her voice.

I had never thought of it before, but now that you mention it, you are absolutely right.

@Drownedboy Yes, many of us learned English thanks to her music. Knowing the lyrics can definitely change how you feel about a song, especially if the lyrics are good. However, if the lyrics aren’t particularly special, they don’t spoil the song for me. I still enjoy the melody and Madonna’s singing.

I'd like to start a discussion for those fans whose first language isn’t English (of course, people who are native English speakers are invited to debate). When talking about Madonna’s songs, the subject of lyrics often comes up—whether one song has more mature lyrics, or another is more superficial, for example.

Personally, I can read English well, but I’ve never left my country, so I struggle to fully understand spoken English unless I have subtitles or the song lyrics in front of me. I mention this because, for a long time (especially before I learned English), I enjoyed Madonna’s songs more for the melody and the music, rather than the meaning of the lyrics, which felt secondary. However, I’ve noticed that for people who are fluent in English, the lyrics play a significant role in how much they enjoy the song.

So, I’d like to ask those whose native language isn’t English: when you listen to a Madonna song, how important are the lyrics to you? I like knowing what the song is about, but for me, the melody and the rhythm of Madonna’s voice often matter more than the lyrics when I want to enjoy her music. Of course, this happens to me with all non-Spanish songs.

P.S.: I’m not saying the lyrics aren’t important, but sometimes, due to the language barrier, they become secondary. I always make an effort to understand Madonna’s songs by reading the lyrics (as I mentioned, I can understand written English almost without a problem).

@MikeyK I agree with what you wrote, but the point we're making is why it's considered legitimate for Madonna to use songs written by others in some classic tracks, while it's criticized in MDNA. Anyway, I don't want to prolong the discussion about MDNA. As far as I'm concerned, the topic is closed.

29 minutes ago, chaosmen1984mk said:

And not only that, re-releasing the original video for Like a Prayer in high resolution and alternating the video with scenes from the movie would have been great.

What???? Inserting images of Deadpool and Wolverine into the original Like a Prayer video would be atrocious (and this is coming from someone who is a fan of both Madonna and Marvel). And without the negatives, you can't make Like a Prayer HD.

12 minutes ago, Bjonkers said:

When did this turn into an MDNA thread. Didn't we all suffer enough the first time around...

I fucked up, I made a mistake
Nobody does it better than myself
I'm sorry, I'm not afraid to say
I wish I could take it back, but I can't

25 minutes ago, Burroughs said:

Did Erotica really didn't meet the expectations or people actually were outarged by SEX and Body of Evidence that preceded Erotica, which resulted in boycotting the album? I mean Erotica itslef without SEX book background is just an album named Erotica. Some lyrics might be perceived as dirty but finally in lyrics wise they're just wordplay.

The reason why it didn't meet expectations was obviously because of the Sex book, but I was talking about fans complaining about Erotica Album (in the 90s) because it wasn't a huge success.

11 minutes ago, BoyToyMark said:

MDNA is a good album, particularly the main 12 tracks. Production choices just let it down, but still enjoyable if you just take it for what it was at the time. 2012 was challenging sonically in general haha. I still enjoy it though

In my opinion, between 2009 and 2013, there was a kind of 'musical revolution' (I’m not saying it was necessarily good) driven by the internet, which changed how people consumed music and their musical tastes, especially among young people, and this caught Madonna off guard.

PS: MDNA is not my favorite album, but it is the Madonna album I’ve played the most. It always puts me in a good mood.

2 minutes ago, Roy said:

Eugh... gross.

If it is possible for anyone to re-edit the whole thing, they can do it in a heartbeat.

They just need Madonna's laptop for the VEGAS Pro project file.

Well, it was her 'artistic' decision, and it should be respected as the creator’s choice... But I want the video using a good soundboard recording as the sound source.

7 minutes ago, Roy said:

God, who approved that monstrosity?

Susan herself was involved in the process, and we know it because she said so and shared videos about it. An MP3 recorded directly from the soundboard sounds better than the 5.1 mix.

2 minutes ago, Adonna said:

I wouldn't want it any other way.  It's just another time stamp in her life.  The tour that followed was spectacular (not so much the film concert release).

Yes, the BD editing and sound quality are like turning gold into mud.

2 minutes ago, Roy said:

IT BETTER.

Emily thinks that she can get lazy when I was away.

She better count her fucking blessings.

 

Also, it's going to be Madonna's 66th birthday soon! 

Pssssssss, now She is Susan, not Emily....

7 minutes ago, MPowered said:

MDNA is just a bad album with very little artistic input from her. It was a rushed album simply released to have something to go on tour with.

MDNA is an album that reflects a divorced woman who has been repressed, and once she is free, she just wants to have fun, enjoy life, and release that pent-up anger, rather than becoming philosophical and deep.

22 minutes ago, Alpha said:

Except MDNA flopping totally rewrote history and now all of a sudden everyone hates it and always hated it 🙄

Yeah, I clearly remember how some fans' attitudes changed when MDNA started to slide down the charts like a stone. It’s somewhat reminiscent of what happened with Erotica, where many fans turned against the album when it didn’t meet expectations. Now, 30 years later, it doesn’t matter, but I still remember it clearly (and no, I’m not comparing Erotica and MDNA artistically, just the shift in some fans’ attitudes).

7 minutes ago, Alpha said:

Nothing Fails too which all the fans at the time creamed their panties over. Don't Tell Me as well. 

Nothing Fails" and "Don't Tell Me" too? I didn't know that. I'll never forget how some fans who had early access to the album referred to 'Nothing Fails' as 'Like a Prayer 2".