Madonna's "re-Invention Tour" - Comments Page 3

Author: Eric Olsen — Published: Mar 23, 2004 at 2:40 pm 139 comments

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76 - Sandra Smallson

Mar 28, 2004 at 5:16 pm

Eric: Sandra, speak for your self.

Sandra: ???????

aaah, pish posh! What is it to win awards? Afterall, a certain musician has won dozens of awards in her career. Still does not make her talented or a musician in some eyes. Your books have won awards, so what? Doesn't make you a great journalist, now does it? If this great logic mad man Duane speaks of, is to be followed? Hmm?:)

I'm sorry. I promised myself not to argue about Madonna even if I wrote on this thread:) Just had to mention "the awards issue" because the irony of it was too much to let go:)

Eric, not to worry. We just do not see eye to eye. You could well be a must read for many in Cleveland. I just do not think you do the profession of journalism, or to be more specific, I do not thik you do the term "critic" any favours. Just my view. Congratulations on your awards whoever/wherever they were from.

Duane, I would rather be boiled, tarred and feathered than to appear logical to a person like you. The fear of acceptance by you is worse than the fear of violent death itself.

Lomu: Then the -Something to Remember- compilation CD is a must have for you. If the quieter trax are more your style. Just a word of caution, other than Vogue and 1 or 2 other tracks, the Dick tracy Album is not any of her best work by a long stretch. Just shows you the quality of people you are dealing with here. LOL. Enjoy M's music:)Regardless of what any of these mindless idiots have to say about the gal:)
77 - Roger

Mar 28, 2004 at 6:47 pm

About Al's comment #42. Isn't that the fucking truth. I've not been accused of stalking over the internet, but if I had a dollar for every time I was stalking a freaked out hell bitch while sitting on my couch I'd be rich. Maybe role playing would serve as an alternative. I'm gonna start a stalking service for women who wished they could generate enough interest in themselves to be stalked.
78 - Shark

Mar 28, 2004 at 11:18 pm

I've finally figured it out:

Sandi doesn't type.

She has a little Pavlovian trained crack addict chihuahua strapped to her keyboard: when it sees the computer monitor switch on, it starts dancing across the letters and salivating. If she gets lucky, its little feverish toes hit the "Post" button every now and then.

If we get lucky, it misses.

And If there is a God in heaven, someday it'll break its leg and have to be put down.
79 - the Nurse for Kitties is In

Mar 29, 2004 at 12:35 am

Sandra, I don't know you...but...my, you do seem a bit hostile. It's not my place to act as a psychoanalyst (I'm busy enough as it is), but there's something rather...well, instigatory about your "tone".

...and for what it's worth, my guess is that you don't know Jackity-crack about Duane or Eric or Al or TDavid or anyone else here, so why don't you cool your jets and quit coming off with such a personal brand of snideness. Sheez! I bet you're hypertensive.

Sorry, but I find Madonna to be a bit tiresome and annoying. I put up with that "elegant" quasi-European accent that she adopted right around the time she married Guy Ritchie (in contrast to the crass, gum-snapping verbal style she once flaunted), and figured that her newfound fascination with the Kabbalah was another celebrity jumping on the spiritual bandwagon...but I digress.

What is really irritating is that just when I thought Madonna was beginning to look as if she would handle middle age with a modicum of class, she had to turn around and start publicly french-kissing girls young enough to be her daughter(s). Ew!!

I think Madonna is trying to live vicariously through Britney Spears and there's something kind of creepy about it.

In terms of talent...well...simply put, had there been no MTV, there'd be no Madonna (or Britney, or a veritable litany of other "talented musicians") enjoying an obscene amount of wealth...and EXPOSURE!

'Nuff Said.
80 - Al Barger

Mar 29, 2004 at 12:54 am

Sandra, I am Deeply Offended. You have been on a hysterical tirade for a couple of days on this Madonna stuff, denouncing various of us profusely and in great detail- yet nary a word about me. What am I, chopped liver?

Eric might be an award winning author and all, but I, Al Barger, am the Great White Devil of Blogcritics. I am far more offensive than any Eric Olsen or Shark.
81 - ihateoreilly

Mar 29, 2004 at 11:28 pm

Eric...
I, too, thought your article on Britney Spears/Madonna was insulting. I was happy to read this blog to find out that you are actually a fan of Madonna's. You seemed to imply that Madonna has no real talent other than to promote herself. That statement is so pathetically cliche now, considering Madonna has been in the business for 21 years and is probably the ONLY performer who can sell out 4-6 shows in different cities, within hours, at $300 a ticket (this is for THIS tour, not the Drowned World Tour). I DO agree that she wasn't "gifted" in the same way Mozart or John Lennon was. But she has taken an average-ranged voice and stretched it unbelievably to the point where I would rather listen to her than vocal acrobatic artists such as Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey. But it's not just vocals that make an artist. Songs such as "Oh Father," "This Used To Be My Playground," and "Frozen" are beautifully written masterpieces (the lyrics were written by Madonna). Have you ever seen Madonna in concert? She moves a crowd like nobody else, with the exception of Bruce Springsteen. If all she knew how to do was market herself, she would be long gone by now. Anyway, just my two cents. I still respect you as a journalist and realize that everybody has opinions.
82 - ihateoreilly

Mar 29, 2004 at 11:41 pm

In response to "if there was no MTV, there would be no Madonna."...well, it is a FACT that Madonna was successul before MTV became her best friend. Her first album yielded several hits before she hit it big with "Lucky Star." And now that MTV doesn't support her anymore, Madonna is still mega-successful. She's selling out 20,000 + stadiums in minutes at $300 a pop.
83 - the Nurse for Kitties is In

Mar 30, 2004 at 4:48 am

In response to your response regarding how successful Madonna was prior to MTV, I can only say that I never heard of her (nor did anyone that I know of) prior to 1983 or 1984. MTV debuted in 1981.

Now don't get me wrong. I don't hate Madonna. I just don't happen to think she is all that talented as a musician. She's perhaps more of a "performance artist" who cashed in on Marilyn Monroe's femme fatale image and took it to the next level. And come on...do you think she'd have made it as big as she has if she were homely and dumpy?

Prior to MTV, musicians had only one thing to rely on to sell records: music. Okay, make that two things...some could really put on a show and the concerts were events.

...then came the visual banquet that MTV brought to America (and ultimately the world) and suddenly it seems that appearance became just as important--if not more so--than the ability to compose, sing, or play an instrument. Sure, I guess that "mosquito on helium" vocal style Madonna used in her early days was appealing to some, so she sold records. The tunes were kind of catchy, but far from masterpiece quality in terms of lyrical content or melody.

Britney Spears has done the same thing, as have a number of other nubile female performers. But wait! It's not just the female "stars" who used visuals to sell their sound. Who can forget the pretty-boy bands? Then there were the videos themselves. Does anyone remember the days when MTV actually played music videos full-time? I remember more about what some of these people looked like or the special effects in their videos than the artists themselves.

Looks sell. I'm not even saying an act has to be "pretty". Look at Marilyn Manson, for example. The first time I saw "The Beautiful People", I must have said something like, "whathef#*k?" It was grotesque but riveting and every time I heard that "ba da-da-da-da" coming on, I had to go over to the TV and watch. Another example of using visuals is The Darkness and their over-the-top "A Thing Called Love"...the song itself is what I'd call irritating but the video is so funny, I forgive them.

My, but I've digressed. My point is, talent doesn't guarantee fame, and vice-versa. Madonna is one of a number of acts who soared to uber-stardom thanks to MTV. She became a huge presence, a diva, and one of the first of many acts to become a virtual industry--and a very rich one at that. But let's not forget that it was not her singing that built her career so much as her outlandish brand of sexuality and the many, many differnt "looks" she's sported over the years.

Madonna is a "superstar", and she's not quite what anyone would call "geriatric" quite yet...so, as long as she can put on a good show, of course she can still draw big crowds. More power to her.

However, I do find it rather sad that there is plenty of bona fide musical talent and genius out there (and I actually know a few myself) but it seems that talent isn't enough these days. Visual appeal (even if it's disturbing), exposure and hype are just as important as musicianship and I'm willing to bet that this has had a less-than-desirable effect on what gets airplay and how music itself is evolving (or not).

But the show must go on....
84 - Sandra Smallson

Mar 30, 2004 at 6:52 am

Nurse kitties, you are entitled to your opinion. There are more talented people than the uber talented Late barry White who have never made it in music. So, whats your point? I dont want to hear it. Madonna is talented, You dont think so..fine. Move on with your MTV weightless opinion.

I hate O'reilly. It is because of you that I have decided to write on this thread. Not only do I love your name if you mean O'reilly of Fox news but I am glad that somebody else can point out to Eric one of the things in his "positive review" that is insulting. I am too much of a jabbering loon to have achieved that.

We only differ on the respect for Eric as a journalist. If he is so far up his own writing that he thought that was a positive review of Madonna, then what sort of critic/journalist can he be? Plus, he made no attempts to distinguish b/w that being his opinion. In actual fact, he stated it as fact and I think repeated that ridiculous comment somewhere that it was fact as far as he was concerned. Now, I am supposed to see a difference between he and the Pitchfork media article Tom Johnson wrote? I think not!
85 - Eric Olsen

Mar 30, 2004 at 9:24 am

Ihateoreilly, I am very happy that this story clarified my position on Madonna and I am sorry if I was unclear in the original article.

The paragraph in question reads:
This is meant as a compliment: I have never heard anyone say she is naturally great at any one thing (other than self-promotion) but she has maximized her abilities through hard work, force of will, excellent taste in collaborators, and the ability to to adapt to changing styles, finding - and I quote myself - "finding and conveying the resonant sweet spot of each." This is an unalloyed compliment.

And for the last time regarding Pitchfork - as Tom has already stated, he was discussing those writers who slam for the sake of slamming, who review something or someone for the sole purpose of ripping the shit out of them. I refuse to believe any rational person would read the entire discussion of Madonna above and see it as anything other than far more positive than negative.

Could this paragraph have been any more positive?
How that paragraph relates to a Pitchfork-style slam review, I honestly haven't a clue. But maybe I'm just stupid.
86 - Mark Saleski

Mar 30, 2004 at 9:52 am

...a little Pavlovian trained crack addict chihuahua

and remember, for maximum effect this must be pronounced in the less nessman manner:

that would be:

CHEE - HOOA - HOOA
87 - Lomu

Mar 30, 2004 at 12:56 pm

Eric, the fact that you have never heard anybody else say she is naturally great at anything doesn't mean it is so. It also doesn't mean it must automatically become your view. If it is your view, then it is your view because that is what you think. I agree with I hateoreilly. It is an insult to insinuate that Madonna has no talent at all except for self promotion. She has a variety of talents. Some are naturally better than others. I think she is a talented song writer, melody maker and performer. Moreover, I think she is supremely intelligent. All in all, she is a talented musician. In my view.

I will take Sandra's advice but I must say this. According to some on Blog, Madonna's only talent is self promotion. She can't sing and she isn't a musician. She barely has songs.

The avid fans will correct me if I am wrong but Madonna has released atleast 10 studio Albums. On both sides of the Atlantic she is the female with the most number of top 10 or top 40 hits ever. Her Immaculate collection Album remained on the pop catalogue charts for a decade and more since it's release. It is still on some pop catalogue charts.

What I am supposed to understand from you boys is, she released her first studio Album and the world saw she could not sing, no songs, no talent. It was all pop-shock slut. She released the second, the world saw the same. She released the third, the world saw the same and so on and so on.

We are at the 10th and the reason she has maintained this longevity and consistensy and is always mentioned in any of these lists that Eric talks about as one of the best female artists is because she is a slutty pop-shocker with exclusive access to great producers and exists because of MTV? The reason people are still buying the Like a Virgin Album released a decade ago is because of MTV? All she is, is a self promoting slutty pop shocker?

Sandra you are right. There is nothing I can do here. I rest my case.
88 - Eric Olsen

Mar 30, 2004 at 1:04 pm

"great natural talent in nothing other than self-promotion"

is not the same thing as

"no talent at all except for self promotion"

and to pretend that it is is disingenuous at best and a flat-out lie at worst.
89 - TDavid

Mar 30, 2004 at 1:29 pm

Since there seems to be little agreement from either side of the Madonna fence, I suggest we move ahead in the alphabet and talk about Metallica and music so loud that it hurts your ears.

Is this music at all when it is played so loud that it is barely intelligible?

Lomu & Sandra, if it makes you feel better, I'd rather have seen and heard Madonna open for Metallica than Godsmack at ear-crushing decibels

This assumes that she strutted around suggestively playing all her hits from the 80's, of course.

Porn and heavy metal work well together. It could happen!
90 - Sandra Smallson

Mar 30, 2004 at 2:00 pm

Lomu, you have restored my faith in middle-age:) With the people here I began to wonder that at a certain age people become intellectually unemployed. There grows an impenetrable barrier between them and reality. My faith is restored:)

Your final post is also very good. I will just say one last thing to Eric on this topic.

Eric, for the last time. Since you feign ignorance as to what one finds insulting in your post. Ihateoreilly has pointed out one. I will point out another...

" but she has maximized her abilities through hard work, force of will, excellent taste in collaborators, and the ability to to adapt to changing styles, finding - and I quote myself - "finding and conveying the resonant sweet spot of each." This is an unalloyed compliment."

That is patronising. Why? You would not say that about any of the Artists you have more respect for. It would not be an issue. Even though they are equally as hardworking. Even though, they too work with trendy and fabulous producers. As far as the changing styles and finding sweet spots..that's just daft whether you mean it as a compliment or not.

It is patronising. Madonna is not the only hardworking musician. She is no more hardworking than the rolling stones, Paul Mccartney, Eminem etc. She no more works with collaborators than any other artist, but you feel the need to mention it in an article on Madonna.

You wrote an Article about boybands, pointing out that Timberlake is an exception to their general "badness" Not once did you mention his producers, or he's hardworking, or his adopting the street style. Many of you write articles about other musicians, not once do you mention those peripheral things that go hand in hand with being an Artist.

You do not have to respect Madonna. You do not have to like her, or her work. But if you insist on writing an article and mentioning her. Show some class and do not be insulting or patronising. If you want to be those things, then atleast have the balls to say you are those things because that is what you think. Instead of pretending you can not see what is wrong, calling it positive and stating it as fact instead of opinion.

I was reading a book of philosophical quotes. I shall leave you with some words you may find useful as you carry on as a critic..

A critic should be taught to criticize a work of art without making any reference to the personality of the artist. This, in fact, is the beginning of criticism"

Every great man nowadays has his/her disciples, and it is always Judas who writes the biography"..Madonna critics have too much time for Madonna. It would do you all well to write more, about the Artists you truly respect. No need telling how you are not a critic afterall you liked some songs in Like A prayer..you wrote a patronising and insulting piece in my opinion and thats what I saw it as. You do not see it as such. Maybe others dont. Maybe others do. C'est la vie.
91 - Eric Olsen

Mar 30, 2004 at 2:21 pm

Timberlake:
and:
Mention of producers? Check
Mention of changing image? Check
Mention of "hard-wlorking"? Not directly.

One will find "patronizing" statements if one is looking for them, or one could read the same statements as giving credit where credit is due and voicing admiration.
92 - ihateoreilly

Mar 30, 2004 at 4:54 pm

By the way, I just put in the Ray of Light album for the first time in two years. There is rarely an artist out there that can put out such a masterpiece..yeah, they can hire William Orbit..but her singing on Ray of Light is fantastic. Her songwriting on this album is incredible as well. Just listen to the song "Mer girl" and you will understand why she's such a genius. By the way, my screen name is named after O'Reilly on fox news. I don't want any of you to think I don't have a life..but I made a website about him: www.ihateoreilly.com
93 - Sandra Smallson

Mar 30, 2004 at 7:10 pm

Compare and contrast..

LOL..Madonna's success relies in part, according to Olsen, on her ability to adapt to changing styles..while Timberlake has convinced the skeptical world that he is..(wait for it) A GRITTY SOUL MAN, (and this is the killer)CHARTING HIS OWN COURSE down a path rich with funky organic grooves.

Yah. Yah, Eric darling..Image=checked..Indeed.

Eric on Timberlake's collaborators..FROM WHICH TIMBERLAKE AND collaborators..,,,,,then construct songs - a firm musical foundation not dissimilar to that of one of Timberlake's idols, Michael Jackson, whose falsetto Timberlake's resembles.

While Madonna according to Olsen, simply has fabulous tastes in collaborators. Heaven forfend the poor gal have Olsen write an article with MADONNA AND colaborators constructing songs..oh no. Her bit is done by having fabulous tastes in them.
Yah..producers=checked.

Ofcourse you would not mention hard work directly..how can you? Madonna is the only one that works hard or has to, if you are to be believed. What a joke! What a waste of MSNBC website quota.

Eric, your article on Madonna is patronising and insulting. I did not have to look hard to see it. Forget that I am a Madonna fan. Any reasonable neutral observer, will not have to look hard or even think at all, to read that whole article in context and not find it patronising. You even made it worse by showing the comparisons b/w your Timberlake article.

I refer you to the last 4 paragraphs of my post before this as conclusion.

As I shake my head wondering how on earth I got into this nonsense with you again.
94 - Sandra Smallson

Mar 31, 2004 at 3:57 am

Lomu, if you are still reading. Don't know where you live but below is an article with updates on tickets and tour venues added to the ones Eric posted in his initial article. Hopefully, you are not in a sold out state. What is £300 to a man like you;)?

Tuesday March 30, 6:31 pm ET
MADONNA'S re-INVENTION TOUR: New Dates Are Added
NEW YORK--(YAHOO BUSINESS WIRE)--March 30, 2004--The Material Girl's star is shining brighter than ever with the news that her upcoming "re-INVENTION Tour" is selling out around the world.
Originally scheduled to perform in 12 major markets in North America with additional stops in Paris and London, the demand for tickets was so high that in New York city after two Madison Square Garden dates sold out in record time, Madonna's manager, Caresse Henry, and the worldwide tour promoter, Clear Channel Entertainment, added four subsequent performances (June 20, 2l, 23 and 24) which were instant sell outs as well. Demand was so high that an additional New York area performance was confirmed this morning - July 7th at Continental Airlines Arena. Tickets for that event will go on sale Monday, April 5th.

Additional shows have been added in Boston (June 30th) after two sell outs at the Worcester Centrum. A fourth show has been announced in Chicago (July 15th) after three sell outs as well as more shows currently being added in Fort Lauderdale (July 29th) and Miami (August 2nd) after those markets went clean in record time.

Overseas, Madonna's two London shows at Earl's Court (August 18 and 19) sold out in 90 minutes leading to the confirmation of a 3rd London performance at Wembley Arena on August 22nd. Her scheduled Paris show (Sept. 1) is going on sale tomorrow, March 31st and is expected to sell out as well.

Madonna is both a multi-Grammy Award winner and a multi-MTV Award winner and has sold well over 250 million albums during the span of her extraordinary two-decade career. In addition, she has had more Top Ten Singles than any female artist in history - second only to Elvis Presley.

Date City Venue On sale Info:

May 24 Los Angeles Forum Sold Out
May 25 Los Angeles#2 Forum Sold Out
May 27 Los Angeles #3 Forum 3rd show announced On sale 4/2-10am

May 29 Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena Sold Out
May 30 Las Vegas #2 MGM Grand Garden Arena Sold Out

June 8 San Jose HP Pavilion On sale4/12

June l3 Washington, DC MCI Center On sale 4/3

June 16 New York City Madison Sq. Garden Sold Out
June 17 New York City #2 Madison Sq. Garden Sold Out
June 20 New York City #3 Madison Sq. Garden Sold Out
June 21 New York City #4 Madison Sq. Garden Sold Out
June 23 New York City #5 Madison Sq. Garden Sold Out
June 24 New York City #6 Madison Sq. Garden Sold Out

June 27 Boston Worcester Centrum Sold Out
June 28 Boston #2 Worcester Centrum Sold Out
June 30 Boston #3 Worcester Centrum 3rd show announced On Sale 4/5-10am

July 4 Philadelphia Wachovia Center Sold Out
July 5 Philadelphia #2 Wachovia Center 2nd show added

July 7E. Rutherford Continental AirlinesArena Just Announced! sale 4/5

July 11 Chicago United Center Sold Out
July 12 Chicago #2 United Center Sold Out
July 14 Chicago #3 United Center Sold Out
July 15 Chicago #4 United Center 4th & final show
On Sale 4/3-noon!

July l8 Toronto Air Canada Centre Sold Out
July 19 Toronto #2 Air Canada Centre Sold Out
July 21 Toronto #3 Air Canada Centre Sold Out

July 24 Atlanta Philips Arena On sale 4/3

July 28 Fort Lauderdale Office Depot Center Sold Out
July 29 Fort Lauderdale #2 Office Depot Center On Sale 4/3-noon!

August l Miami American Airlines
Arena Sold Out
August 2 Miami #2 American Airlines
Arena On Sale 4/3-noon!

August l8 London Earls Court Sold Out
August 19 London #2 Earls Court Sold Out
August 22 London #3 Wembley Arena On Sale 4/2-9am

Sept. 1 Paris Bercy On sale 3/31

- Itinerary subject to change.

For Official VIP Ticket packages, visit www.madonnaviptickets.com.
95 - Lomu

Mar 31, 2004 at 2:18 pm

Thank-you Sandra. Very useful. The whole family thanks you (smile). I'm mainly in New York and I see that the MSG tickets are gone for all six dates. I'm not in the Country right now but I'll ask the wife to consider the Washington or Miami future sales. Those two will be convenient for me. That would entail buying the wife additional tickets. We will see.

Has she had more top ten singles than any Artist in history, second only to Elvis? Or is it more top ten singles in history of a Female Artist?

Speaking of Timberlake. A majority of stuff on his Justified Album was stuff discarded by Michael Jackson prior to releasing Invincible. It's an interesting fact to note. It was well documented and spoken out that it was an Album mostly with songs Jackson discarded. It leaves me curious as to what songs he may have constructed with his collaborators. Nevermind. It's not important.
96 - Sandra Smallson

Mar 31, 2004 at 6:39 pm

You are welcome, Lomu. I read your Timberlake comment and remembered this article I read on MSN. So, I have posted it for you to read. Very interesting read. You will find it very interesting on Artists from Elvis to Sinatra, etc. Please, note paragraph 10:) It speaks for itself. No further elaboration needed. I'm not sure on the question you asked. Will try to find out. I think it's the latter. Read, enjoy and be enlightened:)

Why pop songwriting's not what it used to be.

By Kevin Canfield

Earlier this month, Jessica Simpson's new single "With You" reached the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Mainstream Top 40 chart�"not particularly shocking, given her popularity and the success of her MTV reality show Newlyweds. What is intriguing, though, is Simpson touting this exceedingly forgettable radio confection as her own, having apparently co-written the single with the prolific lyricists Billy Mann and Andy Marvel.

Pop singers used to be mere entertainers; songwriting was largely the domain of professionals who rarely performed. Today, they want us to believe they're auteurs�"singers who are also capable of writing their own songs. Britney Spears is credited with writing/co-writing seven of the 13 songs on 2003's In the Zone. Justin Timberlake picks up co-writing credits on all of the songs on 2002's Justified. Timberlake's 'N Sync bandmate J.C. Chasez takes co-songwriting credits on all but one of the songs of his just-released solo debut, Schizophrenic. Even teen star Hilary Duff gets writing credits for three of the songs on her new record, Metamorphosis.

Why this shift? Strangely, the celebrity gossip industry of the late '90s and early 2000s may be responsible. Artists, especially those who are expected to talk about their latest creative effort in People and on Access Hollywood, need a story to tell, and an auteur makes for a better interview. Marketing yourself as a singer who bares her soul is much easier than marketing a singer baring a songwriter's soul.

Last July, for example, Billboard reported that expectations were high for Gloria Estefan's Unwrapped because the singer wrote several songs in which�"you guessed it�"she "bares her soul." Similar terminology was used to peddle Shania Twain's second record, 1995's The Woman in Me. "On my first album I was a singer interpreting other people's songs, and on this album I'm singing my own songs," Twain told the Chicago Tribune at the time. "I think the delivery in the vocal is much more intimate and real."

More than ever, record companies are looking to sell artists as auteurs. From a business perspective, singer-songwriters can save record companies money that would've been spent to pay professional songwriters. Pop stars are able to cash in on the fat royalty checks earned from their songwriting credits and enjoy the recognition that they gain from their creative endeavors. And the camp of pop singers not as lyrically inclined can reap the same benefits by purchasing material from an independent writer and pawning it off as their own�"a longtime practice in the industry, for which Elvis was infamous.

Pop music critics have also been instrumental in this shift. As Norah Jones can attest, critics may not take an artist seriously unless she writes a substantial portion of her own material. (Which is why Jones' camp has so strenuously reminded the public that she wrote or co-wrote six of the 13 of songs on her new record. She had songwriting credits on just three of the 14 songs on her 2002 debut album.)

Such pressures were uncommon in earlier decades. The biggest hits of the '50s and '60s were written by songwriters like Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who co-wrote songs like the Searchers' "Love Potion No. 9" and Ben E. King's "Stand by Me." Sammy Fain wrote hits for Johnny Mathis, the Four Aces, and others. Ronnie Shannon wrote Aretha Franklin's version of "I Never Loved a Man," and Don Covay was behind her hit "Chain of Fools." Frank Sinatra's albums rarely credit him as a songwriter.

But by the early '60s, performers like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez hit the pop charts with songs they'd written themselves. The emphasis on the authenticity of their songwriting reflected the gestalt of the era. And it influenced Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, and scores of others. As groups such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones emerged on the scene, they proved that commercial bands could also offer immensely catchy singles, even if they did write their own material.

Even then, Baez, Dylan, and others were a breed apart; divas like Cher or Barbra Streisand or Diana Ross still never troubled themselves with writing lyrics; those were the chores of a songwriter. Even Michael Jackson's first solo albums, Off the Wall (1979) and Thriller (1982), were largely written by others. (Later, Jackson supposedly began to write the bulk of his lyrics.)

Madonna may be credited, to a certain extent, with fueling the new growth of today's new "self-contained" acts, as they're known in the industry. After she arrived on the music scene in 1983 with an eponymous debut record that she had written herself, pop stars as auteurs started to become the rule, not the exception.

But Jessica Simpson is no Madonna, and her eager attempt to repackage herself as a soulful auteur may not be the most savvy business decision: As veteran music journalist Jim DeRogatis recently noted in an interview, "Sometimes [these pop stars are] blissfully ignorant of the songs they allegedly wrote." (Simpson apparently believes her writing skills should not be limited to songs: She and husband Nick Lachey are said to be shopping a marriage advice book�"more evidence of her aspirations to auteurdom.)

No one begrudges Simpson her ambitions. But spend three or four minutes with Simpson's "With You"�""With nothing but a T-shirt on/ I never felt so beautiful/ Baby as I do now"�"and you might find yourself longing for the days when professional songwriters ruled the pop charts. Happily, there's no reason to think that the future of pop music is one in which all of the songs will be written by the artists themselves�"there are still pop singers who show no inclination toward songwriting. More important, it's pretty clear that there are plenty unequipped to write anything at all. And as the novelty wears off in songwriting, as in most things, the marketplace will hopefully begin to distinguish the wheat from the chaff. Thank God for capitalism.

Kevin Canfield is a writer in New York.
97 - Sandra Smallson

Mar 31, 2004 at 7:09 pm

Lomu, you are right on both counts. More top tens only 2nd to Elvis and is the female with most top 10s. Also, the female with most top 40's..2nd is Aretha, 2 or 3 singles away.

Funny, that paragraph 10, cos M is quoted as saying she felt she could have added more variety to that Album and most of the songs were weak, she thought:)So, she chose songs from some other writers and some of her own for the 2nd Album. Still, not too happy, though, happier..went back to doing more of her stuff on the 3rd ..True Blue Album..then she hit her stride so to speak. Odd that..cos for Borderline and Lucky Star alone, the First Album was saved:)Though severely slammed by critics and from whence the label SLUT started, which as we can see has carried on till now:)

Only God knows what chastity has got to do with the actual music itself. Go figure....and in hindsight, some critics in articles about M's career give the First Album more credit than it ever got on release.

Enough M education;) Nothing I'm sure your gals don't know already:)
98 - Sandra Smallson

Mar 31, 2004 at 7:14 pm

ignore from..next to my whence..sleep induced error, me thinks.
99 - ihateoreilly

Mar 31, 2004 at 8:58 pm

LULU.just so you know, Madonna's concerts may be "sold out" but she always adds tickets (and incredible seats) within two weeks of each date. I got front row seats to see the DWT in Philadelphia and 2nd row in Los Angeles a week before each show..so keep going to Ticketmaster. I am so broke now that I was only able to afford the $150 LA opening night seat and a $75 Las Vegas seat. Oh well, good luck to everybody who is trying to get tickets.
100 - David

Apr 02, 2004 at 6:15 am

Hey guys,

Read quite a bit of this blogger and just wanted to add to an earlier piece about pop songwriting and, of course, her awesome final tour.

I'm an indie music artist in Seattle (no - not a garage band... but a solo pop artist) and as a songwriter it becomes easier to write about meaningful things (even in pop) when one's mind is politicized .... forgive me for reverting back to Britney/Madonna, but Britney, in my opinion, is not mentally politicized for whatever upbringing-rearing differences than, say, struggling in NYC as a teenager like Madonna (Mousekeeter life v. hardcore grits of making it BIG). At least, I have found that to be my source of inspiration, and I see parallels within Madonna.

Either way, I'm 24, and I remember being exposed to her at 4 years old, when my sister walked around the house with lacey gloves and similar hairstyle, singling "Material Girl." I didn't actually become a fan until "Vogue." But I've never seen her live in any venue. And now.... 20yrs later - I got a PLATINUM VIP for NYC on 6/20!!!

Good luck to you all and God bless.
http://david.catalyscope.com
101 - ph6138

Apr 02, 2004 at 7:02 pm

IT'S NOT ABOUT THE MUSIC! I'm not going to deny that Madonna has talent because to have a string of hits that she had (even though it's ended recently), you have to have SOME talent. Even though I cringe at listening to most of her music, I think Madonna is the greatest human being that has ever walked on this planet. When the critics say, "she's over," "she's fading," they don't understand that she's God to some of us and like Martin Luther King Jr., or Rosa Parks (who may be "old" as well), she will live in our hearts forever. Why do I make a comparison between Madonna and these icons? Lets flash back to the mid eighties, when Madonna was the brightest star on the planet. At that time, supporting the gay community was detrimental to anyone's career. Sure, Elizabeth Taylor and Barbara Streisand were gay icons, but they had already put most of their commercial successes behind them. Madonna went against the grain and was not only the first mega-star to actively support Aids victims (I didn't even know what the disease was until I saw Madonna give a passionate speech about it on MTV), but she spoke out against bigotry. Her "Like A Prayer" video dealt with a relationship between a white woman and a black "saint" figure, long before this was the politically correct thing to do. If this happens now, I just yawn..I don't need fake political correctness shoved down my throat. In the early nineties, SHE was soley responsible for exposing the bigotry and hypocricy aimed at gays. True, she might have not gone about it in a subtle matter, but she was able to get people to talk about the issues. The right wing religious people tried to bury her and bury her, but she came out on top, until she went too far with the "SEX" book and "Erotica" stuff. Because of the backlash she received from that, it's unfortunate that Madonna would never be the outspoken person that made millions idolize her. She may have regained her critics and listeners with 1998's "Ray of Light," but would never take a stand on anything again. When she took a stand against the war, she went back on her statement and upset a lot of fans, which is why I think American Life was such a flop, even though it's not a disastrous album. Even though she acts desperate today, I will always love that woman. I will be attending three of her shows. Oh..I also met her a couple years back and she signed a magazine cover for me..and wrote my name and said, "Love Madonna." I have that thing on my ceiling, framed. It was the most surreal thing when I met her. Anyway, that's my opinion. Madonna will be here LONG AFTER her music if forgotten, if that ever happens.
102 - duane

Apr 02, 2004 at 7:13 pm

"I think Madonna is the greatest human being that has ever walked on this planet."

I would probably place her second, just after Aristotle.
103 - Eric Olsen

Apr 02, 2004 at 8:45 pm

This is an insult to those who have only crawled, or wheeled, or skipped, or slithered over the planet. I'm telling.
104 - Al Barger

Apr 03, 2004 at 1:18 am

Perhaps ph6138 [comment 101] has mistaken Madonna the sleazy, mediocre pop singer for THE Madonna, aka Mary the mother of Jesus. Perhaps she might merit such accolades.
105 - Lomu

Apr 03, 2004 at 12:42 pm

Sandra, I have shelled out $1,500 for Platinum tickets. The wife was ecstatic as she gets to go twice. The twins upset that they were not invited. You can never please everyone.

Thank you for the article. Very interesting read. Wacko Jacko must be kicking himself. Usher is back showing who's boss and where Timberlake studied his moves. I've just purchased the Confessions Album and it's a treat.

Ph6138, I won't go as far as to make Madonna the most important person in history. Maybe for you in your life. However, if a list of top 100 important people who have influenced the world in a variety of ways were to be drawn, I wouldn't be surprised to see her name amongst the females.

It's funny how the American Life Album did not do as well as her previous in the States. It has sold around 5 million copies worldwide. The critics are happy to call it a flop though that sort of figure is called a hit for practically every other Artist.

Madonna can't win with these people. She sells millions, they say commercial success is down to marketing and sleazy behaviour. She sells poorly by their own estimation, not by any mathematical calculation, they say her last Album did not sell and it's a flop. Are they now interested in commercial success? Which way is it? Pointless, really. People are free to opine as they wish and prefer what they wish. It makes no difference. It all boils down to subjectivity.

Sandra, have you got your tickets?
106 - Eric Olsen

Apr 03, 2004 at 2:44 pm

Lomu, I think the time has come to admit to your wife and daughters about the relatinship with Sandra - it's only fair, man.
107 - Al Barger

Apr 03, 2004 at 4:58 pm

This comment, repeated thousands of times in different ways by different people in different artistic arguments really amounts to a backwards admission of defeat:

It all boils down to subjectivity. [comment 105]

What it really MEANS is that you have no reasonable, objective arguments for why you are so dedicated to this person.

It can't be the art. For the $1500 for this set of tickets, you could buy complete CD collections of everything ever recorded by Miles Davis, Prince, Joni Mitchell, Thelonious Monk and a dozen other clearly far superior composers and musicians.

It's a free country, and if this makes you happy, you don't need to justify it to anyone. However, please don't go out publicly saying she's one of the 100 most important people of the century or such foolishness. It just makes you look silly.
108 - TDavid

Apr 03, 2004 at 5:17 pm

You better at least get to 3rd base for $1500!
109 - Al Barger

Apr 03, 2004 at 5:23 pm

Third base my ass. For $1500, I'd expect the hooker to go around the world- and to bring Britney with her.
110 - Sandra Smallson

Apr 03, 2004 at 7:21 pm

Good for you, Lomu:) I got three tix:) I meant to buy the VIP tix but got a hold of three front row tix for what would have been the price of one vip, so...First date in London..penultimate date, and then the last. Yup. I shall be going thrice. I am not a Timberlake fan. You shan't get any arguments from me on that score. Don't trouble yourself about the confused M naysayers. If you notice, it's always the same insults..lol..then they get confused and contradict themselves. It is pathetic. Pay no attention to the hampster humper Barger there. See, his mother was a whore and left him at the grocery store. The mental disorder he has shown on Blogcritics on a variety of topics are not issues suffered by well bred people from good homes. One of those my mommy is my sister, my cousin is my daddy type families. You know what I'm saying?! Check out the name..Al Barger.... A hick if ever there was one.

Enjoy the show and make sure you come here and tell me about it as you will see it before me:)

Ph6138: Personally, I do not think M is the most important person to ever walk the planet but I go with Lomu that in a list of 100 I would not be surprised to see her name on it. I would use the word influential rather than important. Importance is something subjective. How important a person is to you, mightn't be the same for me. However, one can be more objective on how influential a person is worldwide because their influences are somewhat calculable. I don't think many people would argue with M's name there. Ignore the miscreants on board. If sanity were an arms reach away, they would have no arms.

I have the strong suspicion that Madonna says but one prayer to God, and it is a short one "Oh God, make my enemies ridiculous".God has granted it. Al barger,you crapulous lout. You are clear proof that age doesn't always bring wisdom. Sometimes, it comes alone. Condolences. Why are you here? You are not a believer? You parade topics on religion. You do not like Madonna, you jump into anything that has to do with her. Must you show youself as the slander of your mother's womb that you are? Have mercy on the poor woman who may share the same profession as that you have bestowed on M. Who's to know? Clearly your deformed brain is not God's work but as a result of STD the womb that contained you was infected with. You are mentally defective and from birth I suspect. Yes, it is your mother I insult. Afterall, Madonna is someone's mother. So, none of you give me that crap about getting personal. Why does the word subjective offend you so? The mere idea that people might have their own opinions and think for themselves offends you? Typical. We know what rituals you attend.

Meanwhile, you can take a flying leap into the nearest river..a misfortune for your already unfortunate family, but a calamity for the world at large if some idiot were to pull you out.
111 - Flea Dip

Apr 19, 2004 at 8:45 pm

For all the Sandra Smallsons in the world who are overly -- and creepily -- devoted to the Queen of Sleaze, Hypocrisy and Unoriginality (read: Madonna Ciccone Ritchie), you may want to consider dropping by the Anti Madonna discussion board to talk to like minded Madonna-haters. If you hate Madonna, you're not alone! :op
http://pub150.ezboard.com/btheantimadonnaboard
112 - Sandra Smallson

Apr 19, 2004 at 8:51 pm

LOL. God's speed fleadip. I am unable to take up your invite since I am very much Pro Madonna:) but tell your people that I will light a candle for y'all at mass this weekend. Now, go in peace to love and serve the Lord:)
113 - Flea Dip

Apr 19, 2004 at 9:00 pm

For duane who wrote:
"OK, that should be easy enough for you to understand. Now, next point. You think Madonna has a "score," too, namely, her record sales."

The only reason her American Life was number one for a week or two in the USA is that her die hard fans were intentionally buying multiple copies of it so as to make it go to number one.

In other words, it wasn't at Number One in the USA because lots of different individuals wanted to own it and like it -- it was all due to little fans running down to "Best Buy" and other stores and buying several copies each.

Notice that Madonna's American Life album soon fell out of the Top Spot in the USA. That's because her zombified, brain dead fans can't financially afford to go out every week for a year and buy oodles more AL copies, LOL.

The fans did the same thing with Madonna's kiddie books (e.g., 'The English Roses'): they all went and ordered several each from Amazon.com.

Even in their reviews on amazon these die hard, nutty fans admited to buying more than one copy and advised other people to order more than one copy, *in order to drive up Madonna's position on the best-seller listings*.

The die hard Madonna fans were encouraging each other at the Madonna fan boards to buy multiple copies of the books and the American Life record.

At one time Madonna and/or her record company (is it Time Warner?) had official websites/clubs where they offered to give fans prizes for promoting Madonna's albums for her. One of these is a "Yahoo" discussion club that was still up last time I checked, back a few months ago.

(All of the above info is backed up at my Anti-Madonna site for anyone who'd like to see the sources/links. See the link to the anti-Madonna board in this post, which in turn has a link to the site.)

Madonna isn't even truthful about her album sales. As I've pointed out on the Anti Madonna discussion board a few times:
Madonna wasn't honest about sales for her American Life record. She manipulated information to make it appear as though lots of people were buying AL when in fact she was counting albums shipped as being albums sold - and there is a difference.

Just because she ships "x" amount of AL out doesn't mean that all of "x" is purchased. I saw copies of AL collecting dust at (you guessed it!) Wal-Mart and Target.
114 - Flea Dip

Apr 19, 2004 at 9:03 pm

>>LOL. God's speed fleadip. I am unable to take up your invite since I am very much Pro Madonna:) but tell your people that I will light a candle for y'all at mass this weekend. Now, go in peace to love and serve the Lord:)<<

We have a "Cranky Madonna Fan" forum at the board. Not that I necessarily want you to show up.
115 - dog352

Apr 20, 2004 at 2:00 pm

Flea Dip..you are more desperate than Madonna was by peforming with Britney Spears at the MTV Video Music Awards. That said, I think madonna rules and it's kind of funny that her career is "supposedly over with" when FOUR shows sold out here in a matter of minutes in LA. A fifth show, in Orange County, is just about sold out.
116 - Amused

Apr 20, 2004 at 10:35 pm

Wow. I can't believe the ridiculously impassioned arguments about how "great" and "timeless" Madonna is. What's up with that?
117 - God

Apr 20, 2004 at 11:01 pm

OK, folks, here are the facts:
1) Madonna has been extremely commercially successful and has gotten her name on numerous lists throughout the world.
2) Some of Madonna's tunes are catchy and her voice is adequate for that particular genre.
3) Madonna has been in the spotlight for 20 years now, for one reason or another.
4) Madonna may still be selling out concerts and kiddie books.
But where on earth do some of you people come up with these insane assertions that she's a profound "artist" who has "broken the shackles off of oppressed women worldwide" (to paraphrase things)? How can you prove to me that she's sincere? And why do you get so hot and bothered whenever someone mentions that usually she has collaborated with talented songwriters and producers? If she's such a great AIDS activist, how come she doesn't promote safe sex instead of just talking about condoms and putting silly disclaimers in her "Sex" book? And if she really gave a damn about the injustice of the Iraq war, why didn't she take a stand on it the way the Dixie chicks did? How do you know she wasn't just shamelessly milking it for more free publicity?
118 - Sandra Smallson

Apr 21, 2004 at 8:22 am

Dear God:) how profound you find Madonna is up to you. Profound to me means, deep, transcending the superficial. It's not the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of ANY musical Artist. I'm afraid I am not misled by the cooler than thou types who think they are deep because they are melancholy all the time. Has Madonna's music got something to say? Yah, Some of it does. Papa don't preach, Keep it together, Oh father, Promise to try, This used to be my playground, Paradise not for me..and a whole host of others. Then we have the general catchy nice dance tunes that are for fun. That does not reduce the profoundness of her music, it increases it in my view. She has always said she writes about life. Sometimes we are happy, sometimes we are sad. If profound to today's reviewers equates to a dreary tune with dire musical arrangement and chord progression then the world is a sad place.

As far as Madonna being a feminist..look, it's very simple. I have a few quotes from her on when she is questioned about the whole female empowerment issue..

"People have this idea that if you're sexual and beautiful and provocative, then there's nothing else you can possibly offer. People have always had that image about women. And while it might have seemed like I was behaving in a stereotypical way, at the same time I was also masterminding it. I was in control of everything I was doing, and I think that when people realized that, it confused them. It's not like I was saying, 'Don't pay any attention to the clothes - to the lingerie - I'm wearing.' Actually, the fact that I was wearing those clothes was meant to drive home the point that you can be sexy and strong at the same time. In a way it was necessary to wear the clothes."

"I don't think about the work I do in terms of feminism. I certainly feel that I give women strength and hope, particularly young women. So in that respect, I feel my behavior is feminist. But I'm certainly not militant about it, nor do I exactly premeditate it."
I don’t consider myself a feminist, I consider myself a humanist.

..It's that simple. Perhaps coming from a middle class family in Detroit and in a male dominated world and industry fighting to do things her own way and being in complete control of her career is what young gals found empowering. Perhaps flaunting her sexuality as many male stars had done before her and not being afraid to take the verbal backlash is what endeared her to many young gals. Determination, courage, fearlesness, ambition..all those things. So, you can argue that she did not do anything specific in empowering women but I bet you that in merely being who she is, she has inspired lots of women and they say it everyday. If you can't see that or don't agree with it..togh shit!

She doesn't have to prove that she is sincere. Nobody on earth has to prove their sincerity to anyone. you take it or leave it. Like she has said "I am sincere to people who are sincere" Nobody gets annnoyed if it is mentioned that she has collaborated with other talents..lol..why shouldn't she? Music is always a meshing of creative minds. It is not so much annoyance than lack of tolerance about people refusing to give credit where it is due, but I am not interested in that discussion. Only ignoramuses still disparage her crdibility. People are going to think what they want. It doesn't affect anything in the broad span of things.

You do not deserve a response regarding the Aids issue. Before AIDS became fashionable, Madonna was helping aids charities. She had many gay friends in the NY dance scene and some died of Aids so she has always been affiliated with Aids charities. Infact, due to her prominence in the Aids scene, a tabloid once carried an article that she herself had Aids and he during a gala event had to deny it. But THAT is the stigma it had at that time that for M to be so active in those circles she had to have contacted it somehow. This was in the 80's. If you do not know that, it's no biggy but to talk about her Sex book like that eliminates her ability to be a staunch suuporter of Aids charities just throws you in the same bad basket that most M critics find themselves in. From one ridiculous criticism to the other, all, clutching at straws for something negative to say and at the end of it all saying nothing that makes any sense if looked at from a neutral perspective.

What stand did the dixie chics take exactly? One of them mad a comment about Dubya, then retracted it..Madonna did a video then retracted it due to senstivities for soldiers in Iraq but spent every interview thereafter telling anyone who would listen the wrongness of the war and the essential dumbness of Bush which is exactly why Fox news have it in for her because she is not a "patroitic American" quote, unquote..please, know your back ground before you write. I am going through an M overload cos I just got my tix so u've got me at the right/wrong time:) I shall post some more M quotes to answer some of your questions and just for the general entertainment of some of her fans on here:) The woman has an excellent sense of humour:)
119 - Sandra Smallson

Apr 21, 2004 at 8:48 am

Paraphrasing Madonna on playing the keyboards and the guitar: I am rather proficient at the drums. I can play the Piano but I find it dreary and I am not that good. I can play the guitar. I was very happy when I learned chord progressions because I could put my melodies and lyrics to work myself. Patrick studied music. I only had Piano lessons but I am very instinctive so it just comes to me and I hum it or play it. He does the intellectual stuff of how many sharps we can have here or there, then we work it out. I stopped practising the instruments though. Stephen Sondheim says I should go back to practising these instruments. Maybe I will.

Madonna's sense of humour on her image..

Interviewer: It's interesting to learn you have written so many of your own songs. I don't think people realize that you're a songwriter as well as everything else you do--

Madonna: You mean they don't realize I'm a songwriter as well as a slut? (laughs) It's the image that gets in the way. What am I supposed to do? The information is on the label. If they don't read it, that's not my problem. I'm not going to put a sticker on the outside of the album that says, "Listen--I wrote these songs!" You know, they pay attention to what they want to pay attention to.

Madonna on working with Pat Leonard: Interviewer: How does your writing process work? I know that many of your songs were written with Pat Leonard. You've mentioned that sometimes you'll come up with a melody and bring it to him and let him figure it out--
Madonna: Yes. In my very retarded fashion I will sing it to him. Or hum the melody line to him, and he will put it into a chord progression and we'll come up with the song that way.

Interviewer: These are melodies that just pop into your head?
Madonna: Yeah. And I start singing them just from my head. Or if I think of a lyric, like a hook or a line, I'll just put it to a melody and he'll bang it out on the piano for me.

Madonna on working with PRINCE;
Interviewer: You and Prince wrote "Love Song" together, which is a wonderful song. Did you and he work together or did he give you a track?
Madonna: No, he didn't give me a track. We sat down and just started fooling around. We had a lot of fun. What happened is that he played the drums and I played the synthesizer and we came up with the original melody line; I just, off the top of my head, started singing lyrics into the microphone. And then he overdubbed some guitar stuff and made a loop of it and sent it to me, and then I just started adding sections to it and singing parts to it. And then I sent it back to him, and he'd sing a part to it and add another instrument and send it back to me.. He's a real interesting...unique talent.

Madonna on Ambition: "I am ambitious. But if I weren't as talented as I am ambitious I would be a gross monstrosity. I am not surprised by my success because it feels natural."

Madonna on Image: An image and a good hook can get you in the room, but something has to keep you in the room."

Madonna on criticism: "I think if someone becomes hugely successful the public becomes disgusted with them and begins to wish the star would slip on a banana peel. That's the basic aspect of human nature."

Madonna on early nude pix: You get paid 10 dollars an hour (for posing nude). It was a dollar fifty at Burger King. I kept saying, 'It's for Art'."

Madonna on nutters: "There are the nutcases. Basically there are two kinds of nut - the sex maniac who wants a piece of my underwear and the moral majority who condemn me to emotional hell."

Madonna on the record labels: Warner Brothers is a hierarchy of old men, and it's a chauvinist environment to be working in because I'm treated like this sexy little girl. I have to prove them wrong, which has meant not only proving myself to my fans but to my record company as well. This is something that happens when you're a girl. It wouldn't happen to Prince or Michael Jackson. I had to do everything on my own and it was hard trying to convince people that I was worth a record deal. After that I had the same problem trying to convince the record company that I had more to offer than a one-off girl singer."

Madonna on PRINCE & men against women in music: Why aren't critics letting sexuality stand in the way of appreciating Prince's music? He was certainly just as sexually provocative, if not more than I was. I wasn't talking about giving head. He was much more specific than I was." "I think Prince lives a very isolated life and I don't, and that is the big difference between us. And I just try to be a positive influence on him. I've always been a fan. I think that he's incredible. He's very courageous and he causes lots of controversy too which is great... and I think he is a brilliant musician.

Michael rosenblatt on Madonna's sex image: I find it ridiculous when people accuse Madonna of selling sex. Sex and rock 'n' roll fit together so perfectly that everyone in this business sells sex. Boy George, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Van Halen, Prince - who isn't selling sex? Maybe Barry Manilow, but that's only because he's after an older market, so he sells love. Madonna isn't pushing sex anything like she could if she really wanted to. Her looks is a hot 'I'm 100% woman' look, and I think that's great. Rock is full of boys who look like girls and girls who look like boys. Madonna doesn't have to put on black leather and kick the shit out of a motor cycle gang to be cool. I don't understand why people find a girl looking like a girl to be at all offensive. She's not a stripper type, so what's the problem?"

Madonna on writing her 1st song: I don't remember the name of my first song but I do remember the feeling that I had when I wrote it. And it just came out of me. I don't know how. It was like somebody possessed me. It was like I wanted to run out in the street and go, "I wrote a song! I WROTE A SONG! I DID IT!" You know what I mean? I was so proud of myself. (laughs) And then after that, they just kind of gushed out of me. Because I always wrote poetry in free-form verse and kept journals and stuff, but to be able to put it to music, that was a whole different thing.

Source: Madonnaisms from various Madonna websites.
120 - Sandra Smallson

Apr 21, 2004 at 9:10 am

42 questions with Madonna pre-release of Erotica and the awful Body of Evidence movie.

01. At what point in your career did you feel like you were a success?

M: I've never reached that point.

02. What are the three most unusual things about you?

M: My mental strength, my emotional resilience, my appetite for sweets.

03. Do you worry about being overexposed?

M: Only at the gynecologist's.

04. How do you find the courage to do things that so many people find unacceptable?

M: I was wounded at a very young age.

05. What's your best position in baseball?

M: On the bus, afterward.

05. How do you get along with your father? What does he think about your work and your life?

M: I get along with him very well. He tolerates my work and loves me no matter what I do.

06. What inspired your latest album and its title?

M: Life.

07. What kind of music and talents do you want to promote with your new record company, Maverick?

M: Cutting-edge, ground breaking stuff.

08. What do you really think of Courtney Love, who has said you've tried to copy her?

M: Who is Courtney Love?

09. What is the sexiest book you've ever read?

M: Marquerite Dura's The Lover.

10. How do you feel about unauthorized biographies?

M: I feel nothing.

11. Who did you vote for president?

M:Clinton.

12. Who do you wish would have run for president?

M: Mario Cuomo.

13. Do you think American society has lost its values, like Dan Quale says?

M: I think American society has lot its sense of humor.

14. You do a lot of charity work. What do you think is the most important issue for young people today to address?

M: Education.

15. Why?

M: Knowledge is power, and the more you know, the more you grow. Staying in school, getting into books and pursuing interests are all part of it.

16. What world problem would you cure if you could?

M: AIDS.

17. What is your workout routine?

M: Two and a half hours of hell.

18. How do you make yourself exercise on days when you really don't feel like it?

M: I think about being fat.

19. Do you have any recurring dreams?

M: I always dream about being betrayed.

20. Who's your best friend in the whole world?

M: Me.

21. If you were a man, who would you be?

M: The Spanish guy who won the gold medal in swimming. Or Marlon Brando when he was young.

22. Why are you so interested in sex?

M: Why is anybody? Why are you?

23. Have you ever pushed the limits too far? Do you have any regrets?

M: Je ne regrette rien! [Translation: I regret nothing.]

24. Now that you're as famous as the original Madonna, what would you say to her if you met her?

M: "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus."

25. How would you describe your new album?

M: There's lots of up-tempo dance songs, some tear-jerking ballads- it's sexy and fun, and I'm very proud of it.

26. What would you do if you were stood up on a date?

M: Call up my girlfriends and get together with them and bitch about it.

27. Here's a checklist of things to look for in a guy - which do you think is important?

M: Cute: Not important.
Tall: Not important.
Short and slight: Not important.
Caring and sharing: Extremely important.
Rich: Not necessary as long as he can pay his own rent.
Smart: Extremely important.
Sensitive: Extremely important.
Sexy: Extremely important.
Cool: If he has all of the above, he is cool.
Good dancer: Not necessary, but always an extra added plus.
Good dresser: Same as above.
Fabulous car: As long as it's clean with a good stereo.
Muscles: A good body is very important.

28. Can a woman be beautiful at 50?

M: Absolutely.

29. If you were stranded on a desert Island with just a TV and a VCR, what would you watch?

M: I hate TV, so it would definitely be movies: East of Eden, Last Tango in Paris, Casablanca, Breathless.

30. What do you think about teenagers' having sexual fantasies?

M: This is absolutely normal and should be encouraged. A good fantasy life is very important for creativity.

31. Should parents allow their children to read you book, Sex? Why? Or why not?

M: I think they should be at least 15 or 16. Otherwise, I don't think they'd understand it.

32. What do you think of guys who kiss and tell?

M: Total losers, big turnoff!

33. What could George Bush learn if he read your book and listened to your music?

M: Probably nothing - he seems very closed-minded.

34. Would you ever have an affair with a married man?

M: This is a dead-end situation.

35. Why do kids find Marilyn Monroe so fascinating?

M: Aside from the fact that she's shoved down our throat, she has a beautiful, fragile, childlike quality.

36. What do you think of people who have never changed their hair color?

M: They probably have very healthy hair.

37. What's with the gold tooth?

M: I'm a Leo, and I love gold. It's jewelry, it's an ornament, it's just in my mouth instead of on my ear.

38. If you were back in high school and Luke Perry sat next to you in class, would you be able to concentrate?

M: Depends on how cute the teacher was.

39. What do you do to snap out of a depression?

M: I eat candy. I talk to a good friend. I shop.

40. What are you going to do for the rest of the day?

M: Work. Work. Work.

41. What do you think of MTV?

M: I don't know. I don't watch TV.

42. What's your new movie about?

M: Can a body be a murder weapon? Can you kill someone with love?
121 - Sandra Smallson

Apr 21, 2004 at 9:41 am

Finally, can any of the fans who get to the concert before we in Europe get to attend, fill me in on the setlist. Thanx:) Lomu, if you are still alive, I rely on your views:)

Some other interesting quotes I found in my quotation book..and a hilarious excerpt from an interview with Mike Myers:)

Madonna on the whole feminism thing again: Well, it seems to me that one of the pitfalls of the women's movement was that women wanted to be like men. They felt they had to dress like men and behave like men to get anywhere, to be respected or to be in control. To have power. I think that's bullshit. I think women have always had the power; they just never knew it. And you can be just as powerful being feminine.

Madonna getting exasperated with Myers's train of questions..

Madonna: Would you ask me some questions that have a resonance to my life? This interview is mostly about what you're interested in: toys and hockey.

Mike Myers: Is it more about me than it is about you?

Madonna: Yes, but don't you realize that all interviews are?

Mike Myers: More about the interviewer than the interviewee?

Madonna: Absolutely. And all reviews are more about the writer than what they're reviewing. They're Rorschach tests.

Mike Myers: yes, this is true. Do you believe in psychics?

Madonna: Sometimes I believe them and sometimes I don't, depending on how well their eyebrows are plucked.

:) smart and funny..the only thing not to admire about the gal is this current Kaballah madness:)
122 - dog352

Apr 23, 2004 at 6:47 pm

Dear God:
You make some good points with your post. In terms of Madonna working with talented producers and songwriters, you are 100 percent correct. However, many of these people say that Madonna is completely in control of her records. She knows what she wants and drives them in her direction. Of course, they could just be saying this, but here's another fact. Bruce Springsteen is considered a musical genius, but he works with several producers and songwriters. Michael Jackson (somehow) is considered a musical genius, but it's Quincy Jones that gave him Thriller. Why question Madonna's producing/songwriting ability when she has the same input, or even more, than so-called "geniuses." In terms of backing out on her anti-war stance, I definitely see your point. Rumor was, however, that her family was receiving death threats. If this is the case, I don't blame Madonna. In terms of the Aids thing, you also have a point..but she was WAY ahead of the trendy Hollywood crowd in doing this. And she has NEVER BEEN hypocritical about her stance on Aids. EVERYBODY HAS SEX...EVERYBODY IS INTO SEX! Madonna is/was no different.
123 - God

Apr 28, 2004 at 10:03 pm

Ah, where to begin? Oh, my first response to SS is that sincerity IS very much the issue here. I think most of us would agree that serious artists and musicians have at least some degree of sincerity. YOU are the one who keeps insisting that she's so profound and meaningful, so let's see real proof of it, not just some nice little sound bites you dug up from your ten thousand scrapbooks. As for the AIDS thing, uh, yes, chickie, I was growing up in the eighties and I remember it well. I'm just saying it's pretty hypocritical to be "such a great AIDS activist" and then turn around and release a picture book of your self having sex with just about everything (and I've seen the book, too.) Kinda sends mixed messages, don't you think?
As for feminism, all you've proved is how much you buy into her clever comments. How does the fact that she masturbated onstage in 1990 help me to get the good education that I got at a nice women's college? Thankfully Madonna was there to help me out!
By the way, the Dixie Chicks did more than make just one comment about Bush (and nowhere near as vague as Madonna's repeated bursts of hot air).
124 - God

Apr 28, 2004 at 10:18 pm

There is no doubt that when Madonna needs to look good in people's eyes, that she can come up with the right thing to say in an interview (or Liz Rosenberg can coach her on what to say.) That isn't proof that she's sincere, or even gives a damn about her fans. Some of her remarks might be mildly amusing if she wasn't so ridiculously fixated on "Me, Me, Me! See how witty I can be! See how I can act like a slut and then turn around and act like it's everybody else who's obsessed with sex! See how I can 'poke fun at my own image' because it's all I think about 24/7!"
125 - Jesus

Apr 30, 2004 at 4:19 pm

Dear God:

Must make you even more upset that Madonna's FOURTH show in Southern California just sold out and a fifth one is almost sold out. Her 7th show in the New York area is sold out and the 8th one is almost sold out. As much as you Madonna haters keep harping on her (and you do have some points), she will always be number one.

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