Madonna: Recent

[Stevo 6,452]

http://www.inquisitr.com/2603366/madonna-wows-london-while-rebel-heart-is-named-one-of-2015s-best-albums/

 

December 1, 2015

Madonna Wows London While ‘Rebel Heart’ Is Named One Of 2015’s Best Albums

 

Last February, when Madonna last performed at London’s O2 Arena for an awards show, she became a laughing stock as she was pulled off stage, even though people made it seem like she fell because she was clumsy. Her fall became a running Twitter meme, often filled with vitriol.

 

On Tuesday evening, Madonna got the absolute last laugh when she played a victorious show at the same arena. The British critics, who are usually pretty rough on Madge, are praising her performance just as much (or even more) than the American critics did. The Sun says the Rebel Heart Tour is nothing short of a masterpiece.

 

“EXACTLY 278 days, 22 hours and 44 minutes after she dominated international headlines with her unfortunate fall at the Brits, MADONNA returned to London’s O2 Arena last night. And it was an absolute triumph – the world’s undisputed Queen of Pop reigns.â€

 

Madonna has a lot of dancers, but critics say she’s at her best when she’s all by herself. [Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images]

 

The Sun adds that at 57, Madonna is still the greatest pop star in the world. While the Independent didn’t think the show truly caught on fire until after a third of the way into it (something an Inquisitr review of Madonna’s show in Los Angles noted), Madonna’s show received a four-star review.

 

“Beneath the gloss and and attention grabbing outfits, she still has much to offer,†says critic Emily Jupp.

 

Jupp seemed to especially like Madonna’s stripped down ukulele version of “True Blue.†The Daily Mirror also gave Madonna’s show a near-perfect rating.

 

“But Queen Madge returned to the scene of the crime on Tuesday night and confidently took back her crown – reigning supreme once again with her Rebel Heart tour,†claims critic Hannah Hope.

 

Ms. Hope, like a lot of other critics, says Madonna sounds better than ever and noted that nobody is laughing at Madonna anymore; they’re all applauding in awe.

 

Madonna’s ‘Rebel Heart’ album may have not sold a lot of copies (thanks, hackers), but it still remains a critical favorite. [Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]

 

In other good news for Madonna, Rolling Stone has named Rebel Heart as one of the top 50 albums of the year (No. 45). Madonna fans are angry that the album isn’t higher, while others are angry that the album even made the list. In any case, here’s what Rolling Stone has to say about Madonna’s latest album.

 

“Rebel Heart was the queen’s finest album in a decade, picking up the disco-stick baton of her 2005 Confessions on a Dance Floor as Madonna voyages back into the groove and reflects on where she’s been lately.â€

 

Unfortunately, Rolling Stone, a magazine that is usually very accurate when it comes to pop music, calls the first single “Living for Life†even though it was really called “Living for Love.†Then again, the song never became the hit people expected, so it’s not a total sin to get the name wrong.

 

It is expected that because of the box office and critical success of the Rebel Heart Tour, Madonna will add some dates next summer. It is expected that New York City will get another show or two. But what wasn’t expected was that Madonna would return to Israel on this tour. Ynet reveals that Madonna is in talks to play the Jewish state next summer. That would be Madonna’s first show in Israel since 2012, when she kicked off her MDNA Tour at the Ramat Gan Stadium.

 

Madonna will be 60 in less than three years and her critics want you to know that — they think her age defines her. However, judging from the commercial and critical success of the Rebel Heart Tour, it’s Madonna’s talent that truly defines her.

[Gargamel 8,775]

Short video of Madonna leaving the hotel in Amsterdam yesterday : 

 

[Redha DBL 7,873]

Short video of Madonna leaving the hotel in Amsterdam yesterday : 

 

 

Hi, where is your avatar pic from ?

[groovyguy 63,869]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/madonna-tells-aussie-fans-she-still-owns-her-didgeridoo-and-plans-to-spank-molly-meldrum-on-her-tour/story-fntzvnra-1227639530728

[Note: The article link may require subscription for access.]

 

Madonna tells Aussie fans she still owns her didgeridoo and plans to spank Molly Meldrum on her tour

 

December 9, 2015 9:00pm

Cameron Adams National music writer News Corp Australia Network

 

 

HEY Australia. Madonna wants you to know something.

 

She’s definitely coming down under next March, her first visit here since 1993. Repeat, definitely.

 

“I’m finally coming and at last,†Madonna says, speaking from her London home just hours after coming off stage during the British leg of her Rebel Heart tour.

 

“I hear there are people there who don’t actually believe it’s true. But it is true. That’s why we’re talking. I will definitely be there. Yes I will.â€

 

Australian Madonna fans could be forgiven for having a ‘We’ll believe it when she’s on stage’ attitude to her return to our shores.

 

Since 1993, five consecutive Madonna world tours have bypassed this part of the world.

 

There was 2001’s stage comeback Drowned World, her first tour after becoming a mother and the first after her creative comeback, 1998’s Ray Of Light album.

 

We didn’t see 2004’s Reinvention Tour — arguably the closest Madonna has come to a greatest hits tour.

 

From there things got enticingly closer, but frustratingly distant. Madonna axed an Australian leg of 2006’s Confessions tour to make sure her kids could get to school in London.

 

“The important thing to remember is that I’m not retiring anytime soon and I am gonna get to Australia as soon as I can,†Madonna said at the time in an apology to local fans.

 

Australian dates for 2009’s Sticky and Sweet tour were proposed, but cancelled. The global head of her touring company Live Nation personally stated the MDNA tour would come to Australia in 2013. When the dates never eventuated Madonna posted another apology to Australian fans and pointed out that her kids and their school commitments come first.

 

The good news — her children are coming to Australia next year.

 

“The family goes everywhere I go anyway, so they’ll be there,†Madonna says.

 

There is still a large souvenir that reminds Madonna of that one time she visited Australia her every time she’s at home in London.

 

 

 

It’s the didgeridoo she was presented to her by Michael Gudinski, who promoted the Girlie Show in 1993 where she played to nearly 300,000 people in outdoor shows in Sydney (where a show was filmed for release) and Melbourne alone, another 100,000 or so in Brisbane and Adelaide stadium shows.

 

“It’s here in London, it’s in the corner, waiting for someone to use it,†Madonna says of her didgeridoo.

 

Madonna’s other memories of that tour?

 

“Everyone was incredibly welcoming and friendly. That was my impression of Australians in general. Also I remember we did a day trip into the outback and went travelling around in nature when I was given the gigantic didgeridoo. There were lots of parties ... Met a rowing team, lots of big gorgeous Australian boys. Only good memories.â€

 

Madonna’s Rebel Heart tour is arguably the best way she could return to Australia after so long.

 

After witnessing the show in New York, it’s the most relaxed she’s been on stage in several tours. The whole Rebel Heart period has seen Madonna having fun, which doesn’t always seem to be the case with each album. On this tour she is visibly enjoying herself as she slips in a few jokes, pulls up random audience members on stage (a Madonna rarity) and goes off script musically each night, keeping fans on their toes — and on You Tube to see what song they missed.

 

“I’m really having fun,†Madonna says of Rebel Heart, which started in Canada in September and ends in Brisbane, and includes her first trip to New Zealand

 

“For me it’s the perfect blend of all the different styles of music that I’ve done, being able to connect to the audience, tell jokes, having big grand epic moments and have small quiet intimate moments. It kind of covers everything.â€

 

There are the classic Madonna sexing up religion moments — re-enacting The Last Supper while breaking into Vogue, pole dancing nuns in hot pants during Holy Water.

 

Then there’s the things you never thought you’d see — Madonna armed with a guitar doing a rock version of 1983’s classic Burning Up, which was only a hit in Australia (No. 13) after being championed by Molly Meldrum and John Peters on Countdown. Or singing Edith Piaf’s La Vie En Rose. Or singing 1987’s Who’s That Girl or her cover of Love Don’t Live Here Anymore.

 

During an acoustic respite from the constant action, Madonna’s able to cherrypick older hits which either replace or accompany Who’s That Girl. So far there’s been Frozen, Secret, Substitute For Love and a song that was a notable omission from the original setlist, Like a Prayer.

 

Selecting which classic hit she’ll play that night is a highlight of Madonna’s day while on tour.

 

“A lot of time it just comes to me during soundcheck which song I’m going to do that night,†she says. “Which is fun, because it makes things spontaneous and then the show doesn’t get old for me.â€

 

No Madonna fan expects her to come out and do a Greatest Hits set. She’s just not that kind of artist — looking forward not backwards has always been her mission.

 

Having said that there’s easily at least 30 Madonna singles most fans could instantly name that they would rather hear in the Rebel Heart setlist than Candy Shop from 2008’s R & B-flavoured Hard Candy — try Borderline, Everybody, Gambler, Angel, Crazy For You, Live To Tell, Papa Don’t Preach, Open Your Heart, Causing a Commotion, Express Yourself, Cherish, Oh Father, Dear Jessie, Keep It Together, Rescue Me, Erotica, Bad Girl, Rain, Bedtime Story, Ray Of Light, Nothing Really Matters, Frozen, Beautiful Stranger, Don’t Tell Me, What It Feels Like For a Girl, Die Another Day, Hollywood, American Life, Sorry and Hung Up for starters.

 

But, that’s not the Madonna way. She is embracing nostalgia like never before during the Rebel Heart era — posting old photos on Instagram, namechecking her own songs in Veni Vidi Vici — but that Immaculate Collection hits tour just isn’t going to happen any time soon. If ever.

 

The tour’s setlist has been precisely planned by Madonna to balance then and now in a manner she’s comfortable with.

 

“I don’t want to just sing all my hits, that’s so boring. There needs to be a thread that connects them all, they have to flow from one to the other seamlessly, and for me it’s always a challenge to make that happen.â€

 

Material Girl, an early hit from the brief period where Madonna recorded other people’s songs, is a surprise inclusion in the Rebel Heart tour.

 

She’s been dismissive of the song and its message in the past to the point where fans thought she’d have to be at gunpoint to ever perform it again.

 

Yet there it is towards the end of the Rebel Heart tour. While some hits (Dress You Up, Into the Groove, Lucky Star) are truncated in medley form (after 82 singles since 1982 she’s got a lot of hits to include), Material Girl may be musically de-cheesed but it’s there in full.

 

There’s even a nod to the video and it ends up with Madonna in a mock wedding and throwing her bouquet into the crowd.

 

“We do it in such a fun, kitsch way that we present it like a Busby Berkeley musical so it works for me,†Madonna says. “That whole section is very tongue in cheek.â€

 

There are many hits, including classics like Ray Of Light, Frozen and Hung Up, that Australians have never seen live that were in previous tours, but didn’t make the cut in the Rebel Heart setlist.

 

“Well, I have a lot of songs to do. I can’t do them all,†she says. “But I can if I switch them up from night to night, then I manage to get around to most of them.â€

 

Will Australia get to see Like a Prayer in the acoustic segment?

 

“Most definitely. Most definitely.â€

 

Another unexpected moment on Rebel Heart is seeing Madonna play True Blue on a ukulele: “it’s only four strings but the chords are completely different to a guitar so it’s difficultâ€. She hasn’t played it live since 1987 and the song will be 30 years old by the time she plays it down under next year.

 

“Oh I love it, it’s so much fun,†Madonna says. “I forgot what a good song it was.â€

 

Madonna folklore says True Blue was written about husband Sean Penn.

 

“Yes,†Madonna confirms. “Yes it was actually. Strangely enough. That was the Sean time of my life!â€

 

 

Penn was at Madison Square Garden in September watching her sing True Blue. A few days later Madonna referenced their meeting by telling the crowd “He had been at my show 30 years earlier when I was at Madison Square Garden, and he was very upset with me for wearing a costume that was too revealing. That’s not a lie! Anyway, after the show he wrote me a letter and said he finally appreciates my art. And that is what I have to say about marriage, okay!? Thirty f---ing years later.â€

 

Madonna said she wasn’t totally joking.

 

“Yeah, we talked afterwards. He said something to that effect (finally appreciating my art). He’s been to many of my concerts, he has been supportive and acknowledged me. I think he, I don’t know, with time and being able to have objectivity and things like that ...â€

 

Madonna tails off, but in her defence, it sounds like a pipe was about to explode — yes even Madonna has plumbing issues.

 

“I’m in my bathroom, my toilet’s making weird noises,†she says. In Bathroom With Madonna.

 

Back to Sean Penn.

 

“We’ve been friends for ages,†Madonna clarifies.

 

After his appearance at the New York show, rumours flew the two were back together. Madonna is no stranger to rumour and moves into deflection mode.

 

You know there’s rumours you and Sean are dating together.

 

“Yeah. But we’re friends.â€

 

 

Madonna, 57, has just spent time with another man from her past, Prince.

 

Rumours suggested Prince staged a private show for Madonna in October.

 

“That is true and it was unbelievable,†Madonna says.

 

“We were in Minneapolis. We invited him to the show, he said he was recording an album and he wasn’t really feeling like going out in public, he was feeling kind of shy and staying at home. But he said we were welcome to come to his house and he’d give us a private show for me and my crew. So we were like ‘OK, twist our arm’. So we did. And he did. It was amazing.â€

 

What was he playing?

 

“A lot of jazz and improvisational stuff. It wasn’t like he was doing all his hits. And he played every instrument, he just moved around the stage, played piano, played organ, played synth, played guitar, played bass. It was amazing. He’s a genius, no question.â€

 

Madonna and Prince recorded the underrated duet Love Song for the Like a Prayer album in 1989. Now they’re back in each other’s orbit could they do another duet or has the moment passed?

 

“I would never say that any moment has passed. Anything is possible. Why not?â€

 

With time running out it’s time for some rapid fire Madonna questions.

 

Yes, she saw Adele hail Ray Of Light as an inspiration for an artist coming back to music after childbirth.

 

“That’s awesome,†Madonna says. “I love it. I’m a huge fan of hers. I was really flattered that she said that.â€

 

Yes, she’s been tentatively following Donald Trump’s presidential campaign while on tour.

 

“I see bits and pieces. I try not to pay too much attention to it because it’s kind of disturbing.â€

 

Yes, as a lifelong activist for equality she’s aware same-sex marriage is illegal in Australia.

 

“I will have something to say about that (on stage). I have something to say about plenty of things!â€

 

 

 

Yes, despite the alarming fall at the Brit Awards this year (and the amazing comeback) Madonna is still using a cape in the Rebel Heart tour — there is no cape fear after the incident where a string on her cape was tied too tight, causing a dancer to yank the cape and the world’s most successful pop star with it.

 

“I’ve done 42 shows and worn a cape every time,†she says. “It wasn’t the cape, at the end of the day...â€

 

And no, she hasn’t selected the famous Australians she’ll pull on stage during Unapologetic Bitch, where the likes of Amy Schumer, Graham Norton, Idris Elba, Katy Perry and Stella McCartney have already been publicly spanked by Madonna.

 

“Is Kylie going be there?,†Madonna asks. “I thought she lived in London. If she’s in Australia at one of my shows she’d be great. Or Molly Meldrum. He’d be good. He definitely deserves a spanking.â€

 

 

 

We wind up talking about Diplo, one of Madonna’s creative collaborators on Rebel Heart.

 

When the album’s first two singles Living For Love and Ghost Town were ignored by Top 40 radio Madonna pointed out the ageism that sees women over 40 struggle to get radio play.

 

It’s an argument Tina Arena put an Australian spin on during her ARIA Hall of Fame speech.

 

In a recent Rolling Stone article Diplo, who has had major radio attention for pretty much every other artist he’s worked with this year including Justin Bieber, said Ghost Town would have been a hit for any other artist, but radio prejudge a new Madonna song.

 

“He’s right,†Madonna says. “I agree. Radio is ageist. If you’re not in your twenties they won’t play you on the radio. It’s bullsh — but that’s the way it is.

 

 

 

“It is disappointing. We live in an ageist society. I’ve tried my hardest to do whatever I can to change peoples’ perception of women, of age, of what is possible and why should any of us limit ourselves in any way, shape or form regardless of our sex, our sexual preference, our age, our religious beliefs, our race etc.

 

“So for me it’s shocking in this day and age where we’re now accepting gay marriages that we still treat women in a very sexist way. That’s one frontier that has not been conquered. Because if I was a man, things would be different ...â€

 

Madonna, Rod Laver Arena March 12, 13. Allphones Arena Sydney March 19, 20. Brisbane Entertainment Centre March 26, 27. Ticketek.

[Stevo 6,452]

Just found this, wasn't sure if i'm posting this in the right place...http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/nov/25/madonna-10-of-the-bestJude RogersWednesday 25 November 2015 10.38 GMTLast modified on Wednesday 25 November 2015 10.42 GMTMadonna – 10 of the bestA whistlestop tour of her career from the early days through to her Ray of Light-era brilliance shows Madonna – who brings her Rebel Heart tour to the UK in December – at her most original.1. BorderlineMadonna’s first great song isn’t one of her greatest performances. It feels odd saying that, given that choosing 10 of her best songs is, if you like her, almost impossible. She’s been so many different Madonnas, after all. There’s the sculpted dominatrix, glossy in monochrome, with music to match. The Marilyn Monroe mole above the lip. The ambitious pop blonde. The wild-haired, bindi-wearing hippy, trailing the soft edges of trip-hop, the Che Guevara-loving politico mining the edges of electroclash, the mum in pink neon Lycra exploring her disco roots … and the scrappy punk drying her armpits at the hand-dryer in the ladies’ loo – the Madonna I first fell in love with. We lost my first scrappy pop-punk Madonna by her third album, True Blue, in 1986. After that, Madonna became the Icon, the Brand, the Untouchable Being. Her music generally became better after this, but her earlier songs had moments, too: the jerky, awkward peppiness of Everybody, the electronic fizz of Lucky Star, the Nile Rodgers-assisted career-breaker Like a Virgin, the perennially lemonade-fresh Holiday. Borderline, however, was something else. Written by the producer of her first album – and ex-Miles Davis Electric Band session player – Reggie Lucas, it introduced a new quality to the Madonna catalogue: an iridescent melancholy that would feed her greatest music. A boy is playing with her heart, holding her in his arms, and then driving her away, and we had to just “try to understand†that she’s “given all†she can. Madonna’s vocals aren’t as emotionally charged as they could have been here, and they’re on the squeaky side. Still, they have a powerfully steely defiance – a quality that would serve her well for years to come.2. Papa Don’t PreachCue the strings. As well as having a Warholesque cover image, True Blue launched itself into the stratosphere with a full baroque orchestra in its opening seconds, a surefire sign of an album aiming to take its star to higher places. Then a family drama began: “Papa, I know you’re going to be upset …â€. Madonna’s epic tale of a young girl getting pregnant underlined that she was a fine provocateur, but it also harked back to girl-group ideas of young women being in difficult situations. That concept now came with a twist: this was a girl fully in charge. That’s not to say she hadn’t experienced vulnerability (“I’m in trouble deep … I’ve been losing sleep … my friends keep telling me to give it upâ€), but she’d made up her mind: she was keeping her baby. It was an attitude that struck people then, including those much younger I was. The video for the song is fantastic, painting an everyday New York City story of a girl and her father, while hinting at the motherless life the young Madonna had (her mother, who bore the same name as her, died when she was five, as she would go on to remind us on many songs).3. Live To Tell

Live to Tell is a peculiar song, written for an unspectacular crime drama, At Close Range, starring Madonna’s recently acquired husband, Sean Penn. A testament to the icy, dramatic power of the 1980s synthesiser, it’s a ballad that stops and starts, freezes and then gathers pace in an epic middle eight. Producer Patrick Leonard brought the shape of the song to her (a practice they would repeat as collaborators right up to Ray of Light in 1998). Madonna wrote the lyrics to Live to Tell alone, in one go, in the studio, making the song about childhood scars and an experience that is never fully articulated. She immediately recorded the vocals, the bulk of which – bruised and wavering – made the finished single and give it a raw power. As for what this song is about, Madonna’s both admitted and denied that it’s about memories of her parents. Before the 1987 Who’s That Girl? tour, she told Rolling Stone: “It was also about being strong, and questioning whether you can be that strong, but ultimately surviving.†In 1996, she told Spin that Live to Tell was her favourite composition, “because it sums up all of my yearning and a lot of my painâ€. (Her least favourite was Material Girl: “Barf. To this day when I’m walking in Central Park, a bunch of construction workers on a lunch break will see me and go, ‘Hey Material Girl!’ Oh help.â€4. Like a PrayerMadonna’s first studio album for three years began, once again, with extra musical clout, but with a gospel choir replacing the strings this time around. They appeared after a short section of squalling guitars, cut short by a slamming door, as if a heavenly sign had suddenly arrived out of the noise of her life. Madonna had just turned 30 and her marriage to Penn was breaking up. She knew that “everyone must stand aloneâ€, and that all kinds of people craved for someone to guide them. It makes sense that Like a Prayer began as a vehicle for Madonna’s voice and an organ alone. In its best version – on the original Like a Prayer album – the beats cut out for the second verse, which reveal the disarming innocence of her delivery. “Just like a child,†Madonna sings tenderly, “you whispered softly to me.†Who was she hearing? A father, a lover, or – as she asked at the start of Shep Pettibone’s remixed version on the Immaculate Collection – “God?†You’d vouch for all three. Madonna has always been the master of making ambiguity, and the simile, encourage pop culture controversy. It was no accident either that this was her second “Like a …†song. Much has been written on the clash of sex and religion in the lyrics of Like a Prayer, let alone its breathtakingly brilliant video: “I’m down on my knees / I want to take you there …†(Oh, really?). But the song’s sense of vulnerability is what really makes it pack a punch. “Feels like flying … it feels like home†– they’re like the words of The Wizard of Oz’s Dorothy whizzed through the tornado, ending in a place much more colourful, much more grownup.5. Vogue (Edit)A song from the terrible Dick Tracy movie shouldn’t have lasted so long, and Hanky Panky and I’m Going Bananas really, really haven’t. But Vogue is something else. This is Madonna the magpie doing what she does best (or worst, depending on your perspective): taking an underground scene mainstream. Voguing began life as part of drag ball culture in 80s New York, in a gay club scene ambushed by the physical and psychological terrors of Aids. Groups of men belonged to “housesâ€, in tribute to fashion designers they admired, and danced competitively against each other, striking poses for fun. Madonna had trumpeted the virtues of dancing before – “Only when I’m dancing can I feel this free,†she said – but Vogue’s first verse shows how this dancing was most vital kind of recreation: “Look around, everywhere you turn is heartache / It’s everywhere that you go / You try everything you can to escape / The pain of life that you know.†In a recent interview with Billboard – his first in 20 years – Shep Pettibone revealed: “[Voguing] was almost kind of over at that point. At least in the underground dance scene. Not over, but it had been done.†This was the first time she had worked on original material with Pettibone, after he had remixed many of her songs; they had been asked to make a B-side to the Dick Tracy soundtrack song Keep It Together for $5,000. “The whole thing was really done on a shoestring,†Pettibone told Billboard, saying they used a friend’s home studio in New York. “They had converted a closet that had bi-fold doors on it. They had put a sliding glass door on it, and that was the vocal booth … [and] only a few of the [multitrack recorder] cards were working right, because it was a secondhand machine. †From such basic surroundings came Madonna’s glossiest moment – appropriate for the song’s message, really.6. FrozenThe mid-90s weren’t completely dry for Madonna. My teenage years were soundtracked by the brilliant Deeper and Deeper, the sly, seductive Secret, and my own favourite from that time, the slick, defiant hip-hop-flavoured Human Nature. But she didn’t write anything truly fabulous until 1998. Ray of Light remains one of Madonna’s best and most rewarding records, it following the birth of her first child, Lourdes, and just before she turned 40. The album sounded grownup in a diverting new way. William Orbit’s production also suited her voice, giving its wavering sensitivity an unearthly edge. This technique worked best on Ray of Light’s first single, the magnificent Frozen. For the first time in years, it wasn’t a song about Madonna, or fame, or sex, really. It was about the lack of these things in a relationship, and Madonna, of all people, wanting to warm somebody up. The beautiful string and synthesiser arrangement by Craig Armstrong – then best known for his work with Massive Attack and on Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet – also nodded towards Madonna’s new interests in eastern mysticism, while avoiding pretentiousness. “Give yourself to me,†Madonna sang. Lots of us wanted back in.7. Ray of Ligh

The album’s title track couldn’t feel more different than Frozen, despite the first verse’s lyrics. These didn’t come from Madonna, though, but a much earlier English folk duo called Curtiss Maldoon. Clive Maldoon’s niece, Christine Leach, had been working with William Orbit in 1996; she starting singing her uncle’s lyrics along to one of the Madonna backing tracks. Orbit sent the tape with Leach’s contributions to Madonna; she kept the first verse and chorus pretty much as they were. Leach’s uncle eventually got 15% of the royalties for Ray of Light. But there’s more to this track than the mindbending lyrics. It’s a song that wriggles and squirms – not verbs you’d naturally associate with Madonna – and has a sense of joy and life that isn’t hampered by defensiveness or cynicism. The chorus (accidentally) and Madonna’s second verse (purposefully) also nod to Like a Prayer. “Faster than the speeding light she’s flyingâ€, it goes, “and I feel like I just got home.â€8. Mer GirlIncluding three tracks off Ray of Light seems excessive, but it’s hard not to when they’re this good. The album’s last track, Mer Girl, is also a special Madonna oddity. A song written about death that comes over like a particularly dark piece of 70s psychedelia in its lyrics, you’d expect something like it to come from an artist much more like Kate Bush (who is only a fortnight older than Madonna, although her career began much earlier). “It’s a song about dealing with death,†Madonna told Q magazine in 1997. “There’s the obvious thing about my mother’s death, but also Princess Diana and Versace’s deaths … There seemed to be so much death actually around the time that I wrote it.†Mer Girl begins with a sound that suggests a distant, eerie telephone – messages from the deep – and a woman running away from her mother (“who haunts me, even though she’s goneâ€), a man she “cannot keepâ€, and a daughter “who never sleeps†(perhaps baby Lourdes?). Through the lake and the forest she goes (“I was looking for meâ€), and she ends up at a cemetery, among crumbling tombstones. Here the ground gives way, leaves cover her face, ants march across her back, and she smells her burning flesh, rotting bones, decay, and runs away. It’s an extraordinary, terrifying and affecting mood piece. “I was very proud of it,†Orbit told Q in the same interview. “And there was outside pressure to change it,†he added, “but Madonna said, ‘No. It’s a piece of art. Don’t touch it.’â€9. Impressive InstantMadonna’s eighth album, Music, had several successful flirtations with the countrified guitar, including the lovely I Deserve It (later covered gorgeously by Britta Phillips and Dean Wareham) and the deconstructed Sweet Home Alabama-stomp of Don’t Tell Me. Madonna’s 21st century has largely, however, been all about the beat, and the second track from Music, with its fabulous LFO sweeps and Korg synthesiser mangles, is still one of the best examples of Madonna trying a more hardcore club sound. Mirwais is at the controls, and has tons of fun with her voice, stretching it, slicing it, compressing it, freeing it in many ways – she’s never been an opera singer after all, despite several valiant attempts. The lyrics also possess a sense of fun; they are nice palate cleansers after all that recent spirituality. There is a nice, spontaneous raunch about the first verse particularly: “The universe is full of stars / Nothing out there looks the same / You’re the one that I’ve been waiting for / I don’t even know your name.†There’s also something charming and silly about hearing a woman who has brought debate about sex and religion and race into the mainstream singing: “I like to singy singy singy / Like a bird on a wingy wingy wingy.â€10. Hung Up (Chus & Ceballos Remix)I fell out of love with Madonna in 2008 after Hard Candy, despite trying to convince myself it was brilliant. Confessions on a Dancefloor, in 2005, marked the last time I thought Madonna did what she does best: took something from popular culture and made it new. The idea behind Hung Up was a risky one, too: base the lead single or a new album around an Abba hook. But while the track looked back at the disco days of Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) in its slight disco sensibilities, it also looked forward. Take away the sample (as you can here, by hearing Madonna and Stuart Price’s demo), and that dirty, pulsing bassline takes it towards house (“time moves on, so slowlyâ€), and onwards to the glittery, modern-day mainstream. There are some fantastic remixes from Confessions on a Dancefloor, including the Pet Shop Boys’ Maxi Mix edit of the album’s second single, Sorry, but the true Hung Up thumper is by Spanish DJs Chus & Ceballos. It’s also a reminder of that girl who could dance for inspiration.

[groovyguy 63,869]

10 Timeless Divas Who Made A Comeback In 2015 — From Madonna To Enya

http://www.idolator.com/7617206/10-timeless-divas-comeback-2015-madonna-enya-janet-jackson?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

So we at Idolator curated a list (in no particular order) of the 10 fiercest music biz queens who came back and came big in 2015. Snatch your favorite wig and get into it below!

A REMINDER THAT MADONNA DID EVERYTHING FIRST

La Ciccone only stays on her back when it’s good for her career! Not only were there some really great songs on the set — #JusticeForGhosttown â€” but the entertainer made another bazillion dollars with the world-conquering Rebel Heart Tour. Bitch, she’s Madonna!

[Gargamel 8,775]

Make-up free Madonna lands at Zurich airport by private jet in her slippers following her moving tribute to Parisian victims at surprise concert in France
 

 

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3358026/Make-free-Madonna-lands-Zurich-airport-private-jet-slippers-following-moving-tribute-Parisian-victims-surprise-concert-France.html#ixzz3uC2UWevr 
 

[groovyguy 63,869]

Madonna Says Sean Penn ‘Never Struck Me’ in Lee Daniels Lawsuit Filing

http://www.thewrap.com/madonna-says-sean-penn-never-struck-me-in-lee-daniels-lawsuit-filing/

Actor is seeking $10 million from filmmaker in defamation complaint

Nice to know that Sean Penn can depend on his ex-wife for support.

 

The actor’s former wife, Madonna, has submitted a declaration stating that Penn never assaulted her, in relation to a $10 million lawsuit that the actor has filed against “Empire†co-creator Lee Daniels.

 

“While we certainly had more than one heated argument during our marriage, Sean has never struck me, ‘tied me up,’ or physically assaulted me, and any report to the contrary is completely outrageous, malicious, reckless and false,†the declaration reads.

 

The “Like a Virgin†singer, who was married to Penn from 1985 to 1989, cites two specific examples in the declaration — an alleged June 1987 incident during which Penn reportedly struck her with a baseball bat, and another alleged incident in 1989, which “purportedly resulted in Sean’s arrest for domestic assault and battery against me.â€

 

Penn is suing Daniels for defamation, claiming that the filmmaker smeared him in an article discussing the domestic abuse allegations against Terrence Howard, star of Daniels’ Fox drama “Empire.â€

 

“That poor boy, [Terrence] ain’t done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn, and all of a sudden he’s some f-in’ demon,†the lawsuit quotes Daniels as saying. “That’s a sign of the time, of race, of where we are right now in America.â€

 

Penn contended in his lawsuit that the comparison between himself and Howard was unfair.

 

“Daniels falsely equates Penn with Howard, even though, while he has certainly had several brushes with the law, Penn (unlike Howard) has never been arrested, much less convicted, for domestic violence, as his ex-wives (including Madonna) would confirm and attest,†Penn’s lawsuit reads.

 

Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.

[Gargamel 8,775]

Madonna is seen leaving Manhattan Civil Supreme Court,she's asking a judge to order her son return to NY from London

https://twitter.com/newsofM/status/679734436154458113

 

[NowRadiate 3,334]

^^^oh god...merry christmas...

this actually says more about the relationship between guy and madonna after the divorce than anything else.

 

this may explain why we see more of david recently, consoling her, performing with her.

[groovyguy 63,869]

Malawi: Madonna Give U.S.$1 Million to Her Raising Malawi Charity

http://allafrica.com/stories/201512290406.html

Pop star Madonna who co-founded Raising Malawi Foundation after adoption her son David Banda in 2006, has given the group US$1 million to improve its public persona after being linked with the cult Kabbalah Center for years, it has been reported.

 

Last year Madonna donated $1,250,000 directly to Kabbalah. This year, the $1 million goes to Raising Malawi, which makes a lot of claims about work it's doing in the impoverished southern African country from which Madonna adopted two children - David Banda and Mercy James.

 

The Raising Malawi website gives little info about who's running it, and what constitutes a board of directors.

 

The pop star was appointed by President Peter Mutharika as Malawi's Goodwill Ambassador for Child Welfare.

[Breathless 5,286]

Good on her for doing it. A drop in the ocean for her though!

[groovyguy 63,869]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1632136737060155/permalink/1669475713326257/

January 4 at 4:31pm

M arrived in Mexico....

 

[Gargamel 8,775]

Last night (January 9) Madonna, Sean Penn, David & Mercy were attending the 5th annual Help Haiti Home gala benefit at Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills  :-)

She also sang La Vie En Rose (with her ukelele) at the event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

La Vie En Rose (snippet) : https://www.instagram.com/p/BAWKq5vpvs7/

[stefo 7,668]

She is beautiful tonight! The live snippet is incredible 

 

Apparently she said "I love you from the moment that I laid my eyes on you"

https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/12508801_518392128332688_1524012148126294903_n.jpg?oh=062e9fbc98c530fa557e31e98be0f75b&oe=5743931C

[stefo 7,668]

Here is the full video, she sang La Vie En Rose completely

 

https://www.facebook.com/MadonnaOnline/videos/1273572336002812/?theater

[Gargamel 8,775]

Wow! She performed the full song tonight...flawless! Thank you @@stefo!!! 

Hope we'll get a recording of better quality soon :-)

BTW do we know if she sang any other song at the event?

[stefo 7,668]

No, I don't think so, just LVER 

[realityisalways 4,044]

[Gargamel 8,775]

M on Instagram : 

 

Tonight was Fire! thanks to Sean and everyone at J/PHRO!!!!

We raised 6 mullion dollars for Haiti. â¤#rebelhearts

 

A Good Night Was had by All!!

[Gargamel 8,775]

Photocall footage:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmqX15-hwDs

[danMfan 1,399]

She is fucking gorgeus!!!! Love to see her and Sean together!

The full La Vie En Rose performance is amazing

[Stevo 6,452]

She's looking pretty great here! For a few years, to Me, she hasn't looked like herself (?plastic surgery?) , but i see the Madonna i used to know here lol. I know what i mean anyway.

 

Also, the natural dark hair coming through? Take the plunge and be brunette again. I always found her more attractive with dark/darker hair. 😆

[groovyguy 63,869]

What a beautiful performance and speech! 

"... I love you just the same..."

It's so romantic.... vulnerable ... and heartfelt performance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCOawWpwpuc

 

http://www.boyculture.com/boy_culture/2016/01/madonna-sings-her-heart-out-for-haiti-and-for-sean-penn.html

JAN102016

Madonna Sings Her Heart Out For Haiti (And For Sean Penn)

 

Madonna showed up to the Help Haiti Home gala this evening with its founder, an actor/director named Sean Penn, on her arm, causing shockwaves.

 

Looking like a million bucks in the midst of a trying time personally (she'll be in court in February to try to get her son Rocco returned to her from Guy Ritchie's UK home), she spoke warmly of Haiti and of Penn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[groovyguy 63,869]