On March 28 1987, Madonna appeared on the cover of the British magazine, Lookin.
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Today in Madonna History: March 27, 2015
On March 27 2015, Madonna graced the cover of New York gay magazine Next. The magazine included a four-page spread with an interview to the Queen of Queens by John Russell.
Here’s a snippet of the interview between Russell and Madonna:
I counted at least 13 different producers in the album’s liner notes, but it was never Madonna’s intention to work with so many different people on the album. The same health concerns that forced Avicii to cancel his tour in September also threw a wrench into his work on Rebel Heart. Madonna was forced to find other producers to work with on many of the songs they’d started writing together. Meanwhile, Diplo’s touring schedule and other projects meant that his time was limited as well.
“I ended up working with a lot of DJs—young DJs—and I naively didn’t think it through. Oh, it’s summertime, it’s the festivals, and they’re on tour, and I’ll be lucky if I get them for three days, so a lot of that had to factor in. OK, I can’t wait for three months for this dude to come back. I have to find somebody else.”
Of course, art never gets made in a vacuum, something Madonna knows and accepts. “I had to bend my knees and ride the waves.”
The result is an album that, at first, seems all over the map. But it’s tough to judge an album by an artist like Madonna after just one listen. Even if you’re only familiar with her hits, those past gems loom large in comparison to the new material. You’re listening for her next step and at the same time hoping she’ll retain whatever lighting in a bottle quality her early hits had. On first listen, Rebel Heart has its moments, sure. But it’s not until a week after hearing the full album, when I find myself humming Unapologetic Bitch and Ghosttown on the subway, that it really feels like the album clicks into place. Will anyone but diehard Madonna fans—and that’s not an insignificant demographic within her fanbase—listen to the whole album, start to finish, more than once or twice? Probably not. But I’m not sure that matters. Every pop album has to include some forgettable filler tracks—although with the way we consume music these days a la carte, who knows how much longer that model will last. But even at a whopping 19 tracks—23, plus two Living for Love remixes on the Super Deluxe edition—there’s not much fat to trim on Rebel Heart. As a whole, it’s probably Madonna’s most listenable since Confessions on a Dance Floor.
“I didn’t set out to write certain kinds of songs. I just set out to write good songs,” she says. There are dark turns on the album, also a bit of soul searching. And the ballads are particularly strong. Apparently, Madonna set out to write songs that, stripped of all their production, could also work on an acoustic level.
“When we run out of oil and we don’t have electricity, I can just light a candle and strum my guitar and sing you a song.”
Today in Madonna History: March 26, 2006
On March 26 2006, UK newspaper The Sunday Telegraph published a story looking at why US radio was no longer playing Madonna’s music, even though Confessions on a Dancefloor was a worldwide hit.
Here’s what Madonna’s then-publicist Liz Rosenberg had to say:
“Dance music isn’t getting the recognition that it deserves on radio stations in America right now, but Madonna really doesn’t evaluate the success of a record by its chart position. She likes to come out of a studio feeling she has done the very best work she can and earning the respect of her peers. She would love American radio to come on board in that way and show the same sort of commitment that European radio has done, but that is not a decision for her. She is about to go on tour and when radio stations are reminded that she is the most phenomenal performer of our time, I am sure they will tune into her again.”
Today in Madonna History: March 25, 2012
On March 25 2012, borderline MUSIC held the official MDNA release party in Chicago.
Today in Madonna History: March 22, 2001
On March 22 2001, Madonna’s What It Feels Like For A Girl music video premiered.
The video was directed by Madonna’s then-husband, Guy Ritchie, and was deemed to be “Too Hot for TV” by MTV and VH1 because the video depicted gunplay, assault and suicide.
MTV released this statement about the video and their decision to ban it:
It’s been some time since Madonna ruffled the feathers of MTV or VH1 execs with a controversial video — perhaps not since 1992’s Erotica clip — so just under a decade later, the first lady of shock pop is out to prove she can still make ’em sweat.
Unlike the steamy segments of Erotica, 1990’s Justify My Love, and the one that started it all, Like a Prayer, it’s not the sexual content of What It Feels Like for a Girl that raises the red flag, it’s the violence — a concerted no-no in the post-Columbine, and more recently post-Santana, decision-making process.
The music in the video, it should be noted, is a dance remix of the version found on Madonna’s latest album, Music. The album cut will serve as the LP’s third single.
Directed by her husband, British filmmaker Guy Ritchie (Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels), the clip depicts gunplay, violent assault and suicide — elements MTV and VH1 prohibit in any videos they air. In it, the pop diva portrays a self-described “nihilistic pissed-off chick” who cruises around town inflicting damage on any man that crosses her path.
After picking up Grandma at the “Ol Kuntz Guest Home,” Madonna crashes into a car full of men who wink at her, threatens male police officers with a squirt gun before sideswiping their vehicle, and mugs a man at an ATM with a stun gun before wrapping her stolen car around a lamppost in what appears to be an intentional act.
The video “shows my character acting out a fantasy and doing things girls are not allowed to do,” Madonna said in a written statement distributed by her record label, Warner Bros. “This is an angry song and I wanted a matching visual with an edgy dance mix.”
Although What It Feels Like for a Girl won’t be added to the music channel’s regular rotation, MTV and VH1 will air the clip just once.
Today in Madonna History: March 21, 2008
On March 21 2008, Billboard magazine reviewed the lead single for Madonna’s Hard Candy album, 4 Minutes:
It doesn’t take anywhere close to 4 Minutes to realize that Madonna is poised to score her first top 10 hit since 2005’s Hung Up. The launch single from upcoming Hard Candy – her 11th and final studio album for Warner Bros. – co – stars Justin Timberlake, with production props from Timbaland. There’s an awful lot going on in the busy dance track: sing – song verses, insistent foghorns, cowbells, chants of “tick – tock” and “Madonna, Madonna,” and a rap from Timbaland – but the trade – off chorus between Madge and Justin of “We’ve only got four minutes to save the world” is hooky enough unto itself to sell the song. “4” qualifies as an event record between superpowers who not only share equal billing, but sound gangbusters together. Expect instantaneous penetration for this spring break ’08 anthem.
Today in Madonna History: March 21, 2016
March 21 2016 marks the 27th Anniversary of Madonna’s fourth studio album, Like a Prayer.
To celebrate this anniversary, we invite you to follow this link and explore the many exciting releases and controversies that came with this epic release: https://todayinmadonnahistory.com/tag/like-a-prayer/
Today In Madonna History 