Say which flavour you like and I'll have it for you: Suedey's Madonna top 50

WIFLFAG.jpg


18. What It Feels Like For A Girl (Music, 2000; GHV2, 2001)
UK chart position: 7
Key remix: Above & Beyond (2000)
Key live performance: Brixton Academy (2000)​

I suspect this one will probably raise a couple of eyebrows. Never mind. WIFLFAG was actually a permanent fixture in my top 10 for years, but it has slipped a little in recent times. It features some of my favourite lyrics by her ever – deceptively simple, to the point and heart-breaking. I would also add that it is one of my favourite vocal performances from her.

Apparently she wrote this was when she found out she was pregnant with Rocco but hadn’t told anyone yet (‘you’re pregnant, your hormones are raging, and you can’t tell anyone’). The spoken word sample from The Cement Garden at the start works very well in the context of the song. But most of all, what I love are those crashing synths during the chorus. Sheena has referred to the strings in Mylene Farmer’s ‘Innamoramento’ as ‘weeping strings’ – and I’d like to appropriate that analogy for this song. These are weeping synths.

​


Whilst I understand the artistic choice behind the video to go for the complete opposite route, and whilst I adore the remix that was used – the video marked the peak of Guy Ritchie’s annoying, uninvited influence and I’d be happy never to see it again. I just hate him!
 
IWY.jpg


17. I Want You (Something To Remember, 1995)​

The story of ‘I Want You’ has been told many times, but I shall summarise it as succinctly as I can anyway. Massive Attack were looking for a vocalist for this song which they were contributing to a Marvin Gaye tribute album. Several candidates were touted (Chaka Khan included!) which didn’t work out. In the end Nellee Hooper suggested Madonna having just worked with her on Bedtime Stories and that was it. Apparently the sessions were very laidback and she was very happy with the end product. So happy, in fact, that she shot a beautiful video for it, featuring her finest acting performance in a music video and wanted it released as the first single from the ballads compilation Something To Remember. Legal issues between Warner Brothers and Motown prevented this from happening and so they went with ‘You’ll See’ instead.

​


I am eagerly awaiting the HD upscale of this video, which needs it desperately. She looks so stunningly beautiful in it and perfectly embodies the longing in the song. Sidebar: the video was shot in her NY apartment.

Anyway, ‘I Want You’ is her finest cover version, and as sacrilegious as it may sound, I believe it to be the definitive reading of that song. Come for me Motown fanatics!
 
BS.jpg


16. Bedtime Story (Bedtime Stories, 1994; GHV2, 2001)
UK chart position: 4
Key remix: Orbital or Junior’s luscious single mix (both astounding)
Key live version: BRIT Awards (1995)​

I have become more and more obsessed with ‘Bedtime Story’ as the years have gone on and I consider it to be a pivotal moment in her career. In my opinion, without ‘Bedtime Story’ there would have been no Ray of Light or any of the forward-thinking electronica moments she were to bestow upon is in the ‘00s. In fact, up until ‘Bedtime Story’, I’d say Madonna was very US-centric in her approach to which songwriters and producers to work with. It was thanks to Bjork and the distinctly European (specifically British but let’s not go there) trip-hop sound that she stretched her muscle further into this territory.

I also think she is generally quite underrated as an interpreter of different musical genres. The focus is always on how ‘she’s done so much with so little [natural talent’, which of course is a sexist and misogynistic and supremely myopic outlook. She may not have the biggest vocal range but she has a quality and timbre to her voice (plus technique) that lends itself to pretty much most genres. And with ‘Bedtime Story’ she tackled the very specific and unique Bjork but instead of aping or channelling her, she emerged with something carefree, otherworldly, hip and still very much ‘Madonna’.

​


The video has recently been upscaled and the remix package (the finest of her career) is also on streaming. Check them all out – they’re brilliant. And the BRITS performance is one of my all time live performances from her. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if ‘Bedtime Story’ is in my top 10 in 2022.

​
 
Love ‘Bedtime Story’ too. There’s no getting away that the involvement of Bjork is stamped all over it but good that she was confident enough of herself enough to not feel the need to completely rearrange the core of the song just to prove she could but rather brought herself to the song.
 
WIFLFAG is... okay.

Bedtime Story is... ageing beautifully. The recent single release is all kinds of amazing. I love how given the 90s dance revival the remixes all sound fresh today.

I Want You is... the best thing she’s ever fucking done. Not even exaggerating. My number 1.
 
BoysForSeles said:
Seeing what she did with I Want You and Bedtime Story it’d have been interesting to see what sort of album she’d have made within that scene.
Click to expand...
She wanted to do more with Massive Attack I think but 'scheduling conflicts' (or maybe the other members of Massive Attack not really being keen on her apart from 3D) prevented it.
 
Suedey said:
View attachment 1566

16. Bedtime Story (Bedtime Stories, 1994; GHV2, 2001)
UK chart position: 4
Key remix: Orbital or Junior’s luscious single mix (both astounding)
Key live version: BRIT Awards (1995)​

I have become more and more obsessed with ‘Bedtime Story’ as the years have gone on and I consider it to be a pivotal moment in her career. In my opinion, without ‘Bedtime Story’ there would have been no Ray of Light or any of the forward-thinking electronica moments she were to bestow upon is in the ‘00s. In fact, up until ‘Bedtime Story’, I’d say Madonna was very US-centric in her approach to which songwriters and producers to work with. It was thanks to Bjork and the distinctly European (specifically British but let’s not go there) trip-hop sound that she stretched her muscle further into this territory.

I also think she is generally quite underrated as an interpreter of different musical genres. The focus is always on how ‘she’s done so much with so little [natural talent’, which of course is a sexist and misogynistic and supremely myopic outlook. She may not have the biggest vocal range but she has a quality and timbre to her voice (plus technique) that lends itself to pretty much most genres. And with ‘Bedtime Story’ she tackled the very specific and unique Bjork but instead of aping or channelling her, she emerged with something carefree, otherworldly, hip and still very much ‘Madonna’.
Click to expand...
Yes and her love for our very own Tracey Thorn - the success of Missing and the subsequent Walking Wounded had a big impact on her ROL journey also.
 
Suedey said:
View attachment 1566

16. Bedtime Story (Bedtime Stories, 1994; GHV2, 2001)
UK chart position: 4
Key remix: Orbital or Junior’s luscious single mix (both astounding)
Key live version: BRIT Awards (1995)​

I have become more and more obsessed with ‘Bedtime Story’ as the years have gone on and I consider it to be a pivotal moment in her career. In my opinion, without ‘Bedtime Story’ there would have been no Ray of Light or any of the forward-thinking electronica moments she were to bestow upon is in the ‘00s. In fact, up until ‘Bedtime Story’, I’d say Madonna was very US-centric in her approach to which songwriters and producers to work with. It was thanks to Bjork and the distinctly European (specifically British but let’s not go there) trip-hop sound that she stretched her muscle further into this territory.

I also think she is generally quite underrated as an interpreter of different musical genres. The focus is always on how ‘she’s done so much with so little [natural talent’, which of course is a sexist and misogynistic and supremely myopic outlook. She may not have the biggest vocal range but she has a quality and timbre to her voice (plus technique) that lends itself to pretty much most genres. And with ‘Bedtime Story’ she tackled the very specific and unique Bjork but instead of aping or channelling her, she emerged with something carefree, otherworldly, hip and still very much ‘Madonna’.

​


The video has recently been upscaled and the remix package (the finest of her career) is also on streaming. Check them all out – they’re brilliant. And the BRITS performance is one of my all time live performances from her. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if ‘Bedtime Story’ is in my top 10 in 2022.

​
Click to expand...

Don't STONE me, but it's not much of a song.

File under 'highly overrated'. I do think the video is showing its age too sadly. I remember thinking it wasn't 'all that' at the time actually.

Apologies to all the Madonna fans
 
funky said:
Yes and her love for our very own Tracey Thorn - the success of Missing and the subsequent Walking Wounded had a big impact on her ROL journey also.
Click to expand...
I mean I might be hyperbolising the impact of 'Bedtime Story' there because, as Orbit himself said, Erotica was pivotal for her experimenting out of her comfort 'pop' zone, but I maintain the Erotica had an American house sensibility about it. 'Bedtime Story' was decidedly Eurocentric in what was ironically her most US-focused album..
 
Suedey said:
View attachment 1564

17. I Want You (Something To Remember, 1995)​

The story of ‘I Want You’ has been told many times, but I shall summarise it as succinctly as I can anyway. Massive Attack were looking for a vocalist for this song which they were contributing to a Marvin Gaye tribute album. Several candidates were touted (Chaka Khan included!) which didn’t work out. In the end Nellee Hooper suggested Madonna having just worked with her on Bedtime Stories and that was it. Apparently the sessions were very laidback and she was very happy with the end product. So happy, in fact, that she shot a beautiful video for it, featuring her finest acting performance in a music video and wanted it released as the first single from the ballads compilation Something To Remember. Legal issues between Warner Brothers and Motown prevented this from happening and so they went with ‘You’ll See’ instead.

​


I am eagerly awaiting the HD upscale of this video, which needs it desperately. She looks so stunningly beautiful in it and perfectly embodies the longing in the song. Sidebar: the video was shot in her NY apartment.

Anyway, ‘I Want You’ is her finest cover version, and as sacrilegious as it may sound, I believe it to be the definitive reading of that song. Come for me Motown fanatics!
Click to expand...


as a massive Marvin Gaye fan and classic soul purist, I can still only agree with you. She only went and fucking upgraded a Marvin Gaye standard. Massive Attack have a lot to do with it, but she’s so at ease with it, she sounds gorgeous in it, and they’ve updated it in a way that compliments the original but feels fresh. It’s my favourite cover of any song, ever.
 
POG.jpg


15. The Power of Good-Bye (Ray of Light, 1998; GHV2, 2001; Celebration, 2009)
UK chart position: 6
Key remix: none! They were all rubbish
Key live version: Spanish TV show 1998​

We arrive at the top 15 and return to high Ciccone drama (yes it’s a bit like high fashion darlings). Fresh off the Evita boat, she literally soars vocally on this. And yet each and every live performance of this song (not that there have been that many) was marred by an overenunciated, overwrought and over-sung approach. In fact I don’t quite understand why the Ray of Light era live vocals were so terrible. Must have been nerves as most were on TV shows and she was a bit rusty not having toured in a long time.

​


Anyway, back to ‘Power of Goodbye’ – this is, of course, one of her best ballads. Lyrically it is an aching acceptance of the finality of the end of a relationship. And yet there is also strength and determination to move forward. This is accentuated by the dramatic strings and, again, her vocal approach. Slightly different is the demo version which I have a particularly soft spot for, in which she sounds more heartbroken and resolute. In any case, a deserved fourth top 10 single from that mammoth of a record and gay folklore dictates that we give mention to the fact that US chart rules changed in the week that the song peaked at No. 11 and, had it not been for that change, it could have gone top 10 (recent forensic homosexual chart expert analysis suggests this would not have been the case but anyway…)
 
Suedey said:
In the meantime, here are my top 10 unreleased Madonna tracks - the order isn't too well thought out:

3. Broken (Hard Candy sessions)
Click to expand...

God I love Broken. I think the leaked version is actually a Celebration era re-do rather than the original though, right?



BANGER!

broken like a crooked SMILE
a little hunched over but I walked that MILE
awoken from a FUZZY DREAM
you never would believe the things that I have SEEN. :disco:

the M lyrics generator did good on this one.
 
Yep - that's the Celebration re-do indeed.

It was released as a special one-off limited vinyl for the fan club (ICON) members. It's now one of her most sought after items.

And yes it's still on my running playlist and I still regularly lose my shit to it :disco:
 
Ray of Light is def in my top 10 Madonna songs. I don't agree that it's overlooked among the GP - it's definitely her most remembered/beloved hit of the 90s (Vogue aside), as it should be. William Orbit and M were a match made in heaven - his production of her vocal was impeccable.

and that Oprah PERF is of course one of the greatest PERFS ever BESTOWED UPON MAN! I can't tell you how many times I've watched it, but it reissues my homo card every time. Oprah just full-on losing her FUCKING SHIT is all of us. :disco:!
 
Erotica.jpg


14. Erotica (Erotica, 1992; GHV2, 2001; Celebration, 2009)
UK chart position: 3
Key remix: Kenlou B Boy mix (1992)
Key live version: Girlie Show Tour 1993

Once you put your hand in the flame
You’ll never feel the same
There’s a certain satisfaction
In a little bit of pain​

And now to the utter sleazefest that was ‘Erotica’. Cold, detached and clinical – it was the antithesis in many ways to ‘Justify My Love’ even though it was perceived to be as Madonna pushing the sex envelope even further. Whilst that may have been true, there is nothing really ‘sexy’ about “Erotica” (unlike “Justify My Love”) – not in the conventional sense anyway. It is, quite simply, pure filth and, of course, it is fabulous.

The birth of ‘Erotica’ actually took longer by her usual standards than most. Several versions were demoed and recorded (many of which are available online), including the ‘You Thrill Me’ version that she surprisingly unearthed for the 2006 Confessions Tour. The ultimate end result, however, is the definitive version even though I do have a soft spot for the ‘Erotic’ version which was available with the SEX book.

​


The video has been upscaled recently, and the concept of it as ‘the SEX book in motion’ (as someone once described it) works very well, even though it does not quite have the replay value of “Justify My Love”. But let’s not compare and contrast, because they are very different. Even though they’re a bit similar.
 
I am not really here for the unremixed version of WIFLFAG, and I Want You always sounded quite boring to me (despite the fan love - I prefer the original).

Bedtime Story, The Power of Goodbye and Erotica are all 11/10, however. Examples of how exemplary her 90s output was.
 
Ag said:
I don't care how much or how little it sounds like a traditional song, when it sounds this good remixed.

Click to expand...

Well I don't not like it because it doesn't sound like a "traditional song". I just don't think it's a very good song, traditional or not. Justify My Love barely has a tune, but that's always been one of my favourites. I just find Bedtime Story a bit...flat. And if it needs a remix to bring it to life...well that's not exactly a ringing endorsement.

But I do know that it's much loved among fans. It just never did a lot for me really.

Peace and love to all touchy Madonna fans.
 
Suedey said:
View attachment 1559

18. What It Feels Like For A Girl (Music, 2000; GHV2, 2001)
UK chart position: 7
Key remix: Above & Beyond (2000)
Key live performance: Brixton Academy (2000)​

I suspect this one will probably raise a couple of eyebrows. Never mind. WIFLFAG was actually a permanent fixture in my top 10 for years, but it has slipped a little in recent times. It features some of my favourite lyrics by her ever – deceptively simple, to the point and heart-breaking. I would also add that it is one of my favourite vocal performances from her.

Apparently she wrote this was when she found out she was pregnant with Rocco but hadn’t told anyone yet (‘you’re pregnant, your hormones are raging, and you can’t tell anyone’). The spoken word sample from The Cement Garden at the start works very well in the context of the song. But most of all, what I love are those crashing synths during the chorus. Sheena has referred to the strings in Mylene Farmer’s ‘Innamoramento’ as ‘weeping strings’ – and I’d like to appropriate that analogy for this song. These are weeping synths.

​


Whilst I understand the artistic choice behind the video to go for the complete opposite route, and whilst I adore the remix that was used – the video marked the peak of Guy Ritchie’s annoying, uninvited influence and I’d be happy never to see it again. I just hate him!
Click to expand...

The remix strips it of all its charm and melody. The video is visually ugly and a bit try-hard.

I do love the album version though. So delicate and wistful.
 
Ag said:
Barely a song in its original form!
Click to expand...
You think the remix of WIFLFAG is more of a song than the original version? I don't see how really. The album version has a spoken intro and then has a classic verse/bridge/chorus structure. The only thing it's "missing" is a middle-eight, but it's very much a proper song otherwise.
 
Ag said:
I love the remix. I want NO CHARM in my dancefloor BANGERS!
Click to expand...
I actually like the remix...for what it is. Although I do wish it used more of the actual song. But yes, it's a super effective remix. I just far prefer the album version.
 
Bluejeans said:
You think the remix of WIFLFAG is more of a song than the original version? I don't see how really. The album version has a spoken intro and then has a classic verse/bridge/chorus structure. The only thing it's "missing" is a middle-eight, but it's very much a proper song otherwise.
Click to expand...
It's BLAND.
 
@Ag still denying the old bird after all THESE YEARS!

Although these days I'm starting to understand WHY
 
That Broken song is quite literally Sorry and Hung Up mixed together.
 
Funky list update

Ray Of Light- 46
Open Your Heart - 32
What It Feels Like For A Girl - :x:
I Want You - 1 :disco::disco::disco::disco::disco::disco::disco:
Bedtime Story - :x: but those resurfaced remixes would shove it in the list now
The Power Of Goodbye - 7
Erotica - :x: but as bubbling under as a song can be. If I rewrote this list today I'm sure it would feature.


These numbers all seem lower than I thought but it just shows how many bangers she has, and here's me moaning at Suede for songs being too low :D (sidebar: I Want You is too low)

True story: TPOG was my favourite song in the world ever, of any song or artist, for about 10 years from 1998. I think overplay has killed it off a little, but it's still a 17/10 moment. But not even in my Top 5 Madonna now, let alone of any artist. It's a shockingly simple song for a shockingly magnificent song.

These days my FavouriteSongEver (TM) changes every few months or so depending on my mood. But when TPOG was on top nothing came close.
 
I see and understand how divisive WIFLFAG is. I agree sometimes I feel like it passes me by- other times it stops me dead in my tracks. It's WEIRD.

"I Want You" and "Bedtime Story" have recently soared in my Madonna rankings. "The Power of Goodbye" too, but those live performances almost ruin it, ALMOST. "Erotica" is splendid, although I prefer "Justify My Love" I THINK.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 4 (members: 0, guests: 4)
Back
Top Bottom