Madonna in the 90's, Part I

Many musical acts from the 80's really came into their own in the 90's.  Artists like Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, and George Michael were artists who'd first made waves in the previous decade and crossed that line from star to superstar in the 1990's.  One artist for which this statement rings true more than most is Madonna.

Entering into the 1990's, Madonna was already on top of her game following the highly successful "Like a Prayer" album, but that would be the last of 80's Madonna, as the superstar once again reinvented both her music and her image into something that would lose her some fans, yet gain her even more, pushing the envelope once again amidst seas of controversy.

Strike a pose!

mad-eyes

Blond Ambition

Blond Ambition was Madonna's third world tour, performed in support of the Like a Prayer CD.  It was this tour that would set a new standard for concert tours, as the entire show was done in a series of carefully choreographed vignettes that were highly entertaining and visually stunning.  A critically acclaimed documentary film, Truth or Dare, accompanied the tour and showcased what would be one of Madge's all-time best tours...named the greatest concert tour of the 90's by Rolling Stone Magazine.

One of the most inventive, and controversial, scenes in Blond Ambition was Madonna's performance of her standard, "Like a Virgin."  Lying on a bed surrounded by two male dancers with decidedly pointed breasts, the singer works her way through a slowed down, erotic version of the old pop tune, coming to a climax, literally, at the end.  In the film, this particular performance almost got her into a heap of trouble in the "fascist state of Toronto," hehe.  Check it out:

32 - Madonna - Like a Virgin (Live) by Paadre

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    buzzsugar

Dick Tracy and Vogue

Madonna began the 90's with a brand new film and her second compilation album.  She was cast as temptress Breathless Mahoney alongside then-boyfriend Warren Beatty in the film version of the cartoon detective Dick Tracy.  Though she didn't win many accolades for her performance in the film, the soundtrack, "I'm Breathless," included a song that would end up being one of the top songs of the decade.

Grouped together with all of the 'period,' campy songs on that album was the song "Vogue," an homage to a dance craze that had become popular in the gay dance clubs of New York.  "Vogue" quickly became one of Madge's all time greatest and most loved hits and she's still performing the song.

Madonna - Vogue by Madonna-Official

Sex

A few months after the release of Dick Tracy came what many regard as the singer's "sex" period.  Starting with the release of her "Immaculate Collection" album, Madonna entered a new realm of electronic, bassy music, with many of the songs featuring risque themes.  For the collection, the singer added two new songs, one of which became her most unlikeliest of number ones, soaring to the top through a cloud of controversy.  

Justify My Love is a bass-driven song full of sexual themes, and its video was considered too racy for MTV and thus banned.  Ever the entrepreneur, Ms. M had the video packaged as a DVD single just in time for Christmas and voila!  The video became the highest-selling such DVD in history and the song hit the top of the charts, but that was only the beginning...

In October of 1992, Madonna entered what would end up being one of the oddest periods in her career, a time when backlash against her would work to lose her a lot of respect and fans, although the music of Erotica was among her best to date.  Coupled with the new CD, whose title song featured explicit themes of homosexuality, bondage, water sports, you name it, came Sex, a coffee table book featuring explicit photos of the singer and others in all their glory.  Sex was by far the singer's most controversial project to date, and it unfortunately cast a shadow over a wonderful album.

The backlash, as one could imagine, was huge.  That was the point in time where fans of the singer in the 80's were lost for the most part, yet hardcore fans like me grew stronger in their appreciation for her artistic prowess.  In all, Erotica spawned six singles, three of which hit the top twenty (the title cut, #3, "Deeper and Deeper," #7, and "Rain," #14).  The album is chock full of great stuff, from beautiful, tender ballads to hard-driving, sexually charged club songs and intelligently-written mid-tempo stuff.  To me, it's still one of her all time best!  Check out the disco-infused "Deeper and Deeper":

Madonna - Deeper And Deeper by Madonna-Official

Well, there you have Ms. M at the start of the 1990's.  Though she definitely struck up probably the biggest of her controversies ever during this time, she was also at her artistic best.  Madonna wasn't finished after "Erotica," though.  There was much more to come in the decade. Stay tuned for the rest...


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I Love the 90's Song of the Day - Beautiful Life - Ace of Base

Anyone who was around in the mid-nineties is sure to remember this Swedish group who scored high on the charts here with such pop songs as "The Sign," "All That She Wants," and this one before fading into the proverbial sunset. Enjoy!









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A Lucky Rainbow

I woke up this morning and the first thing I saw on my computer screen was the horrific shootings at the movie theater in Colorado last night.  Yet another senseless and tragic incident that doesn't help better my views of humanity at large.  Why do such things happen, especially to innocents?  Imagine going to the theater to catch the latest movie and never coming home...and even those poor people who witnessed it!  So sad!


That being said, this incident underscores why it's very important to keep things all in perspective.  As we see by last night's events and in our daily lives, life is precious and unpredictable.  No one knows how long they have for this world, and so we all have to learn to let go of the things that are not really important and focus on the things that are.  Appreciate all you've got in this world and savor it every chance you get.  I was reminded of this just the other day...

For most of the day on Wednesday, the skies were ominous, and they finally opened up with a wicked, but short thunderstorm sometime in the late afternoon.  I was a little disappointed because I usually take a walk in the early evening and it looked like it just wasn't going to happen.  Well, around 7:30 p.m., the sun began to peek its way through the clouds and I decided to give it a go.  I packed up my iPod, put on the headphones, and headed out the door.  I got no further than the corner just a few feet from my house when I first saw it.

Yeah, it was a rainbow, but not just any rainbow.  Though the picture above doesn't do it real justice, it was spectacular!  The colors were vividly bright and the whole thing was within view from end to end, something I don't think I've ever seen before.

As I walked I kept my gaze at this rare beauty, and this magnificent thing worked its magic on those around me.  For this first time in forever, I met a lot of people, neighbors really, during my walk as they had all come outside to witness this unique and wonderful event, cameras and pictures in hand.

"Amazing, isn't it?" I said to one woman as she snapped away with her camera pointed towards the sky.

She responded enthusiastically.  "Yeah, and there's two of them!"

I looked up into the sky again and sure enough, there was the rainbow I'd been looking at all along, and there, just a small distance above it, was another rainbow, not as brilliant, but there nonetheless.  "Incredible," I said to the woman, and kept on walking with my eyes towards the sky.  I came across many people during my walk and exchanged pleasantries with most of them.  It's funny how these types of things bring out the best in people, isn't it?

Any-who, I came to Montauk Highway with the rainbow still as brilliant as it had been for the past twenty minutes and went into my neighborhood Dunkin Donut's. I go in there often enough that I know the guys who work there.

"Hey, did you guys see that rainbow?" I asked.

"Hell yeah," said the cute younger dude behind the counter.  

"I think it's gonna be good luck for everyone who sees it," I answered.

"Zombie apocalypse," was his answer.  "I dunno, did ya hear bout the zombie attacks in Florida?  Happened right here in Patchogue this morning.  Some dude attacked his grandmother with a knife this morning.  I tell ya, it's a sign alright. Zombies."

I didn't know how to answer that one.  Like I said, the guy was young and....well you know.  He handed me my coffee and I put the change in his tip cup, thinking to myself that I was right in what I had said.  He saw the rainbow and he got a tip.  Lucky, right?

On my way back to my house, the rainbow was to my right and a little behind me, and I had to keep glancing back towards it every once in awhile to savor the moment.  I got to thinking about what I'd said.  Was seeing this beauty really going to give me luck?  Money?  A new boyfriend?  A new job? But as I continued on, meeting and chatting with more people along the way, I thought to myself, "I'm already lucky."

Yes, I am one lucky guy.  We're all pretty lucky if we think about it.  Sure, everybody's got problems and issues in their lives, but we all have good things in our lives, too.  Like I've always said, we just need to be reminded of this once in awhile and all will be good.  I've got good friends, a wonderful job, and the freedom to enjoy my life in the best way I can.  What's not to be happy about?    

So whenever you're feeling life's frustrating, disappointing and sometimes mundane nature, just think about all of the good things you have to be thankful for.  Savor the good moments while they last and don't dwell on the negative.  Seeing that double-rainbow was a rare thing I'll probably never see again, but at least I got to see it, and it taught me once again to appreciate just how lucky I am.

  

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I Love the 90's Song of the Day - Insomnia - Faithless

Thus was one hot dance song back in the day...great track, great vocals, and great lyrics. Do you remember it? This was when dance/club music was at its best! Happy Friday!

I can't get no sleep...

 

Faithless - Insomnia by Hakunamatata67

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