On June 28 2005, Madonna told Britain’s Grazia magazine:
“I am perfectly happy to muck around in a pair of drawstring pants and wellies. Sometimes my daughter gets angry because I go to school with her wearing my tracksuit and she say ‘Can’t you just wear normal clothes?’ I think she wants me to be a Yummy Mummy, but that’s not me.”
On June 11 2005, promo-only remixes of the American Life track Mother And Father peaked at # 9 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Club Play chart in the U.S.
The chart placement was fueled by Peter Rauhofer’s “Re-Invention Remix” of the song, which was featured on his compilation album Live @ Roxy 4. His label *69 Records also issued a unsegued version of the remix on a scarce promo CD. Additional white-label remixes of Mother And Father by Johnny Rocks also surfaced, though it is unlikely that they had as much impact on the song’s chart placement.
It is believed that the remixes were initially commissioned for a proposed American Life remix album. The idea eventually devolved into the Remixed & Revisited EP, with no remixes of Mother And Father making the final cut.
On June 7 2005, Madonna made a special appearance at the Borders Bookstore (Columbus Circle) to do a reading of her new children’s book Lotsa De Casha, for the children of PS 8 in Brooklyn.
On April 4 2005, Madonna was crowned the most searched celebrity on the Google search engine for the month of March 2005.
Madonna beat out other popular celebrities on Google including Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Ozzy Osbourne, George Michael and Angelina Jolie.
On April 2 2005, Madonna was featured in Q magazine as one of the Five Essential Acts in Music, along with The Beatles, Bob Dylan, U2 and The Velvet Underground.
Q magazine listed Like A Prayer as her definitive album:
If you only buy one album….Like A Prayer. Always more interesting when not seeking novelty, Madonna hit artistic and commercial gold with Like A Prayer, her best and least contrived album. The title track, all swirling choruses and kitchen – sink production, remains her major statement, but Express Yourself was ferocious dance, while on the rarely lauded Dear Jessie she had never sounded so human.
Q magazine also listed what they considered to be Madonna’s essential singles:
Holiday, Borderline, Material Girl, Like A Virgin, Crazy For You, Into The Groove, Papa Don’t Preach, La Isla Bonita, Open Your Heart, Live To Tell, Who’s That Girl, Causing A Commotion, Vogue, Justify My Love, Ray Of Light, Frozen, Drowned World/Substitute For Love, Beautiful Stranger, Music, Hollywood.
On March 18 2005, a resolution was reached in a UK copyright lawsuit (Coffey v Warner/Chappell Music Ltd. & Others) which alleged that elements of the Madonna & Patrick Leonard composition, Nothing Really Matters, had infringed on the copyright of claimant Elizabeth Coffey and her song, Forever After, performed by Peter Twomey.
The case took almost four years to reach the court and went under a considerable number of amendments by the plaintiff during that time. Coffey eventually alleged that the recording of Forever After included an original musical work, which consisted of the combination of vocal expression, pitch contour, and syncopation of or around the words “does it really matter,” but did not extend to the melody or lyrics surrounding those words. She pleaded that the words “does it really matter” comprised the song’s lyrical hook and alleged that the copyright in Forever After was infringed by the defendants’ activities in relation to Nothing Really Matters.
In turn, the defendants moved to have the claim struck out as the method the plaintiff had identified the alleged copied elements was contrary to copyright law in general. Another defense offered was that, in any event, no copying had occurred.
“The three somewhat elusive features identified by the claimant as her musical work cannot by any stretch of the imagination be said to be sufficiently separable from the remainder of the song as themselves to constitute a musical work. […] What the copyright work is in any given case is not governed by what the claimant alleging copyright infringement chooses to say that it is. Rather, it is a matter for objective determination by the court.”
On January 11 2005, Madonna.com announced that Madonna would perform during NBC’s Tsunami Aid: A Concert Of Hope, to air on January 15th:
“More than a dozen musical acts have signed on to perform in NBC Universal’s tsunami benefit special, which will raise money for the American Red Cross’s relief efforts. Among those scheduled to perform in the special, titled Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope, are Madonna, Sheryl Crow, Lenny Kravitz, Eric Clapton, Mary J. Blige, Kenny Chesney, Brian Wilson, India.Arie, John Mayer and Gloria Estefan. A number of other stars, including George Clooney, Usher, Halle Berry and Uma Thurman, are also set to appear. The concert, airing ET Saturday (Jan. 15), will be broadcast on NBC and all its cable networks. The PAX network, which is partly owned by NBC, and Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo will also air the benefit. During the benefit, viewers will be directed to a phone number and web site for the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which is working to provide victims of the Dec. 26 disaster with food and water and to prevent disease in the areas hit by the tsunamis. The Red Cross is at work on long-term aid efforts that include mental health counseling and disaster preparedness initiatives.”
Madonna performed a cover of John Lennon’s Imagine during the broadcast, which had been part of the set-list of the previous year’s Re-Invention Tour.
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