New fans. First impressions

[karbatal]

So, i've been a fan for such a long time (since LAV, although i liked Holiday a lot) that sometimes i'm surprised to find a new fan.

Mr. Five Elements has just said in another thread that he's a fan since Hard Candy. And i have some questions for new fans.

1. What is the album that surprised you the most when you started listening to old albums?

2. What is the song that you didn't know it was Madonna, but you loved years ago?

3. What shocked you the most about Madonna when you learned a bit about her?

4. Do you think fans from a certain album are simmilar in a way? I mean, are ROL 'newbies' more into ballads and deep songs, and COADF 'newbies' more into bombastic pop?

[Bill]

Great post!! Very interested in seeing the responses.

[5iVe Elements]

So, i've been a fan for such a long time (since LAV, although i liked Holiday a lot) that sometimes i'm surprised to find a new fan.

Mr. Five Elements has just said in another thread that he's a fan since Hard Candy. And i have some questions for new fans.

1. What is the album that surprised you the most when you started listening to old albums?

2. What is the song that you didn't know it was Madonna, but you loved years ago?

3. What shocked you the most about Madonna when you learned a bit about her?

4. Do you think fans from a certain album are simmilar in a way? I mean, are ROL 'newbies' more into ballads and deep songs, and COADF 'newbies' more into bombastic pop?

1. True Blue. I love Jimmy Jimmy and LMRWGR. I now think this is her best pre LAP album and before that, I thought her first two albums were more popular.

2. None. Any Madonna song I knew was popluar because it was by Madonna. You can't not recognize her song.

3. Hmmm... The rape thing. It made me admire her more. Also, her "flops" suprised me. I thought she had an easy ride all throughout but she's a fighter through thick and thin. Oh and English Roses. That was uhm, weird.

4. Yes. Some people prefer one side of M over the other. But what made me love her a lot is her different music styles. No artist can compare to that. Despite their differences, they dont feel forced. They feel organic and a natural part of her. I love that about her. If she goes country or metal i wont be biased about it

[5iVe Elements]

To add to #4, me being a Hard Candy booty popper, her deeper albums ROL and AL are in my most favorite albums of all time.

[realityisalways]

To add to #4, me being a Hard Candy booty popper, her deeper albums ROL and AL are in my most favorite albums of all time.

[mangapop]

I think I heard of Madonna for the first time during the 90's. My brother had a non official cd with Madonna hits. I remember there was HN, MG, EY, LIB and Vogue. I liked MG and EY very much and Vogue was so long and wierd to me, but I was listening too it. I didn't know English, so I didn't know what was she singing about. Then came ROL era. I watched Frozen, but I have never seen other ROL videos on TV. Then came Beautiful Stranger. I can't say I liked or didn't like that era, but I felt she is someone special, I respected her in some way. Then came Music and I started to listen to her. Between Music and AL I started to look for her work.

1. What is the album that surprised you the most when you started listening to old albums?

- I'm Breathless and Evita were big surprises, because they weren't pop music. Erotica, which is my favourite album, is brilliant.

2. What is the song that you didn't know it was Madonna, but you loved years ago?

- There wasn't such thing.

3. What shocked you the most about Madonna when you learned a bit about her?

- I don't know...

4. Do you think fans from a certain album are simmilar in a way? I mean, are ROL 'newbies' more into ballads and deep songs, and COADF 'newbies' more into bombastic pop?

- Maybe, but it doesn't have to be that way. I prefer more mature and artistic work.

Edited October 15, 2013 by mangapop

[realityisalways]

I'm not a newbie but I've always had a bad impression of M fans that think COADF is her best album For some reason I have this impression that only extremely flamboyant people would prefer COADF over other M record

[madonnasuperfan01]

1) Erotica really surprised me, it was such an amazing piece of work! Same with Americal Life, i can't believe how underrated those albums are.

2) Hollywood and Love Profusion! I heard them on the radio years ago (in different occasions) and i LOVED them. i was really surprised to hear both of them on the same album lol.

3) I was shocked to see how versatile and implicated in her art she was. All my life i was hearing that Madonna was a "disco-pop" artist and nothing more. That's why i was really shocked when i heard her whole discography, i didn't expected it to be so diverse! After hearing all her albums i was stunned by how underrated as an artist she is.

4) Don't have any opinion on this one. I love both her ballads and her dance bops. I personally prefer Confessions on a Dance Floor over Ray of Light.

[Guest Pud Whacker]

1. True Blue. I love Jimmy Jimmy and LMRWGR. I now think this is her best pre LAP album and before that, I thought her first two albums were more popular.

[Bill]

Even though I'm not a new fan, I wasn't fan right from the start. It wasn't until August of 1991 that my obsession began. Until that time, honestly, I knew little to nothing about her, except for seeing the Material Girl video at a friends house many years prior. And I liked Vogue, and even asked for it for Christmas 1990, but my mom went everywhere asking for the single by the group "Vogue" and thus came home empty handed My opinion of Madonna, until this time, was based solely on the opinions of my classmates, who generally considered her to be a skank. I remember NOT wanting to see Dick Tracy because she was in it! What a fool I was. Then, I bought The Immaculate Collection and fell head over heels in love with every single song. And for my 13th birthday, on August 6, 1991, I got Like a Virgin and True Blue from my friends. I used my birthday money to buy every other album that had been released to that point from a local record store (Madonna, Who's That Girl, Like a Prayer, I'm Breathless - hard to imagine that being all there was!). I remember sitting on my parents' front porch, staring at the True Blue album cover, completely hypnotized by this woman. I have yet to wake up.

Telling this story just brought back specific memories I hadn't thought of in years. Like, opening the cassettes for the first time, studying the photos, the lyrics... wow. I remember the Like a Prayer album, specifically Act of Contrition and the fact that it was scented with patchouli, totally freaked me out and I felt like it I was going to go to Hell for listening to it. I was a sheltered child.

[madonnasuperfan01]

Even though I'm not a new fan, I wasn't fan right from the start. It wasn't until August of 1991 that my obsession began. Until that time, honestly, I knew little to nothing about her, except for seeing the Material Girl video at a friends house many years prior. And I liked Vogue, and even asked for it for Christmas 1990, but my mom went everywhere asking for the single by the group "Vogue" and thus came home empty handed My opinion of Madonna, until this time, was based solely on the opinions of my classmates, who generally considered her to be a skank. I remember NOT wanting to see Dick Tracy because she was in it! What a fool I was. Then, I bought The Immaculate Collection and fell head over heels in love with every single song. And for my 13th birthday, on August 6, 1991, I got Like a Virgin and True Blue from my friends. I used my birthday money to buy every other album that had been released to that point from a local record store (Madonna, Who's That Girl, Like a Prayer, I'm Breathless - hard to imagine that being all there was!). I remember sitting on my parents' front porch, staring at the True Blue album cover, completely hypnotized by this woman. I have yet to wake up.

Telling this story just brought back specific memories I hadn't thought of in years. Like, opening the cassettes for the first time, studying the photos, the lyrics... wow. I remember the Like a Prayer album, specifically Act of Contrition and the fact that it was scented with patchouli, totally freaked me out and I felt like it I was going to go to Hell for listening to it. I was a sheltered child.

Great story Bill!

[karbatal]

Even though I'm not a new fan, I wasn't fan right from the start. It wasn't until August of 1991 that my obsession began. Until that time, honestly, I knew little to nothing about her, except for seeing the Material Girl video at a friends house many years prior. And I liked Vogue, and even asked for it for Christmas 1990, but my mom went everywhere asking for the single by the group "Vogue" and thus came home empty handed My opinion of Madonna, until this time, was based solely on the opinions of my classmates, who generally considered her to be a skank. I remember NOT wanting to see Dick Tracy because she was in it! What a fool I was. Then, I bought The Immaculate Collection and fell head over heels in love with every single song. And for my 13th birthday, on August 6, 1991, I got Like a Virgin and True Blue from my friends. I used my birthday money to buy every other album that had been released to that point from a local record store (Madonna, Who's That Girl, Like a Prayer, I'm Breathless - hard to imagine that being all there was!). I remember sitting on my parents' front porch, staring at the True Blue album cover, completely hypnotized by this woman. I have yet to wake up.

Telling this story just brought back specific memories I hadn't thought of in years. Like, opening the cassettes for the first time, studying the photos, the lyrics... wow. I remember the Like a Prayer album, specifically Act of Contrition and the fact that it was scented with patchouli, totally freaked me out and I felt like it I was going to go to Hell for listening to it. I was a sheltered child.

Oh, you were lucky En Vogue weren't famous back then, hahaha, you would have got "No i'm ever gonna get it" instead, hahaha.

And what did you think about Erotica then???? Your first release from your new fav singer was about to open the gates of hell!!!!!

[drunkbysix]

Well I'm not a new fan! I've been a fan since the early 00's, but I'll still share.

1. The album that most surprised me when going back was definitely erotica. I was so surprised at how much I related to the music and how phenomenal she sounded. It definitely was a turning point in my fandom hearing that album!

2. I didn't know holiday was madonnas song. I heard it all the time but had no idea that madonna was the singer. For the longest time I thought it was cyndi Lauper!

3. Her story! How she grew up being such a rebel and not shaving! How she sacrificed herself and lived so poorly to achieve her dreams! It inspired me so much.

4. I think that there are two dimensions of fans, one that never want madonna to be spiritual and serious, and the other who want her to be deep and intellectual with her music! A very eclectic fan base she has!

[Bill]

Oh, you were lucky En Vogue weren't famous back then, hahaha, you would have got "No i'm ever gonna get it" instead, hahaha.

And what did you think about Erotica then???? Your first release from your new fav singer was about to open the gates of hell!!!!!

!! I know, but by then she had partially corrupted me anyway. My innocence was gone. I remember being afraid it was going to ruin her career though, and saying to one of my friends that I wished the factory that the album was being processed in would burn down and she wouldn't release it.

[rb19]

I've been a serious fan since Hard Candy, which was a while ago now, but still relatively recent so...

1. What is the album that surprised you the most when you started listening to old albums?

American Life, songs like Easy Ride and X Static Process were just not how that album was spun at all, and I'm Breathless, because it was so left of field.

2. What is the song that you didn't know it was Madonna, but you loved years ago?

None... but that said there were lots of songs I knew were by Madonna, but I'd never really linked them together in my head, if that makes sense. So while I knew Holiday, Material Girl, Frozen, Music, Hung Up, were by the same artist, I never appreciated how different they were and the intention behind such a varied career, I think I just always knew M as this legend.

3. What shocked you the most about Madonna when you learned a bit about her?

Her honesty. I never thought she could be as honest as she has been.

4. Do you think fans from a certain album are simmilar in a way? I mean, are ROL 'newbies' more into ballads and deep songs, and COADF 'newbies' more into bombastic pop?

I like sassy, aggressive, in your face cheeky M, which I suppose is the HC era woman that drew me in, and as a 'persona' that is the M I love the most, but musically it's the pop-ballads that get me the most.

[neutrocks]

Not a new fan here either, but I didn't become a Madonna loon until "Live To Tell". Knew of her and liked some of her earlier hits, especially "Into The Groove". I remember sitting by the radio, in the mid 80's with my stereo tape deck, trying to record her earlier songs off the radio (among other artists). Her look in the "Live to Tell" video captivated me. I didn't think too much of her look before then, but recall all the girls dressing like her until she changed her look. I had siblings that liked her before "True Blue", but then wasn't really a fan by then. It was during the "True Blue" era that I had noticed her male fan base was increasing.

I remember being shocked by two albums I wasn't aware of that were being released. The first was the "You Can Dance" EP. I remember walking into a record store during the holiday season in '87, and freaking out at the "You Can Dance" EP cover. I remember buying it right away, and my parents asked "why didn't you put it on your Christmas list". Sorry, there was no waiting for it. HA!!!

The second album I was totally out of the loop was "Bedtime Stories". For some reason, I was so busy in my life, that I hadn't seen anything about her releasing an album until a few weeks before, when I saw MTV play a special called "Body Of Work", which at the end, it previewed the new album and included clips of interviews she was doing at the time.

Nothing really has "shocked" me about Madonna, other than maybe her doing children books. Though, I can't say I was really shocked and it made sense at the time, but I guess it humored me that she put out a coffee book, showing her muff, etc. and then ten years later released children books. I guess the closest to anything shocking me is her many transformations regarding her looks. The two that stand out to me is her new look in '86 for the True Blue era which coined the "The New Madonna" phrase and then a few years later when she went brunette for the Like A Prayer album.

I can't fanthom just being a fan of certain albums of hers, but I guess it comes down to age and how long one has been a fan. I've notice a lot of newer fans only enjoy her albums usually after ROL. It's ashame because before ROL, Madonna was like whole different entity. The 80's was an awesome time to be a fan of hers. She was everywhere. Radio would play every song they could. In fact, I have to laugh at people who bash other female pop stars who they claim are over rated or over exposed. The same was said of Madonna back then. I remember a lot of people claiming she won't last and even claimed Cyndi Lauper would end up being far more popular and successful. And the horrible names she was called back then... very reminencence of what I hear even Madonna fans call a lot of the current female pop acts today.

I guess "True Blue" stands out as the epitome of all Madonna albums for me. It's when I became a fan. Though, when I went back to explore her first two albums which I heard most of the songs prior anyway, there was no doubt I loved them just as much. I will admit that I was bit turned off by the EROTICA album at first. I remember listening to it for the first time and was a bit bored by it. And I did think that by then, she was pushing "sex" too much. Though, after a few more listens, I got on board. I was right in line to get the "Sex book". Still, have it stored away. In the end, it is the whole "True Blue" era that I hold dear in my heart. I loved the whole look and the album. She reached Mega star status with that album. She was big as Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and Tina Turner at the time. The 80's gave birth to the MEGA STARS and not since then have I seen any new acts come close to being called that.

[VeronicaElectronica]

I officially became a fan in 2011 when I was 15 but I had Vogue, Crazy For You, La Isla Bonita and Rain on my iPod several years before that. I remember before becoming a fan, watching the Rain video on Youtube and it made such an impression on me because it's so beautiful and was the first Madonna song/video I ever fell in love with. It's still to this day my favourite song/video of Madonna's.

Since I became a fan and experienced her catalogue between the HC era and MDNA era, the fourth question is hard to apply in my situation. I think that's why I love both her Dance songs and Ballads equally. One thing I noticed as I was exploring her music was I began really liking the albums that were either disliked by fans or critics such as Erotica, American Life and Hard Candy. The rebellious side of Madonna is what I love the most which explains why I love those albums above the rest. I think MDNA being the first era to experience as a fan was great in that sense.

[Kurt420]

I'm definitely not new either but this thread conjured up my own memories of being a shiny and new Madonnaholic. I became a fan right when The Immaculate Collection was released. I asked for the JML single for Christmas in 1990 and instead of the single I was given The Immaculate Collection. I pretty much only listened to JML and Vogue for a while. Then when I decided to finally listen to all of it, I was shocked that I knew almost every song and even more shocked that all these songs were the same person. I always thought Cherish was a Debbie Gibson song. The time between IC and Erotica I took the time to listen to her studio albums up to that point. The only thing that really surprised me is that almost all of her albums were good from beginning to end. I was very much looking forward to Erotica but wasn't pleased when I first heard it. Erotica was a big change in her sound. I fell in love with her 80's pop of Immaculate and Erotica was dark, she was doing the whole talk/sing style of vocals and honestly the subject matter was just way over my innocent 12 year old head. It would be many many years until I finally connected with this album. Even though the music wasn't my fave of hers, I still loved everything about her. It was around this time I read the infamous (to older fans I guess) bio by Christopher Andersen and I was just struck by how BALLSY she is was/is. She was unapologetic and lived her beliefs! I just found her to be such a breath of fresh air.

The one thing that surprises me about a lot of newer fans is how her 80's work is almost completely off their radar. I can't imagine Madonna's body of work without those 80's classics. She did everything so effortlessly back then. She performed like she had something to prove, yet she didn't come off as desperate or pretentious, it seemed like she was just having fun. By the time Erotica rolled around, the music and images seemed a little more "thought out" and she was exploring darker themes. I love all of her eras and pretty much all of her music but something about the "cowgirl' image of Music just doesn't seem as organic as the "Boy Toy" from the early years. With the cowgirl image, I felt like she was playing dress up for the public, with "Boy Toy" I felt like she lived it even behind the scenes. I don't mean that as a diss or to undermine her more recent work (I love all of it!!) it's all HER but.....I mean, after 15+ years you gotta sit back and actually think about ways to keep yourself fresh.

[Guest]

Been a fan since I first heard Tell the Truth coming from her apartment in late 70s in NY.

[karbatal]

^ oh, i heard 'Trouble' instead.

[RoyalMadonna]

Oh god i'm gonna sound so stupid ...

1. COADF. I thought the music was sooooo weird! Ou have to know that I was 13 at the time and barely listenned to anything but old french songs on the radio in my parents' car ... I didnt like it at all at first until I got more used to it.

2. The only song i remember i heard before that was like a Prayer at a school party and i didnt know who was singing at all.

3. That she wasnt the sex addict the mainstream media made me think she was when i heard about her when i was younger. That she was just everything. She is everything to me, i am so grateful for everything she gave me and taught me.

4. I became a fan in 2007 thanks to a french hmorist i was a fan of and i fell in love with her with the first video i saw of her on youtube : jump from the confessions tour dvd. That kinda makes me belong to the hard candy newbies i guess but my favourite album is erotica so i dont think we all love the same music cause we came from the same time period in m's career.

[Iconic Fetus]

Oh, my firsts months as a M fan, i became a fan in Demceber 2005, when she started her CT tour it was all over the news and newspapers and i remember that i was excited because i though that she was coming to my city (an irrelevant one in Mexico) then when i bought COADF i used to hear from track 1 to 6, the other part was dark and noisy, for a weird reason i used to think that Future Lovers was Frozen hahahaha, then i put her name on Ares and started to download the 80's anthems thanks to my mom who was a M fan in the 80's and had a friend who used to wear like M, i had LAV, LIB, MG, LAP and Vogue, i was in heaven. Then i bought GHV2 and it was like another artist, but i still like her, then i started to read more and more about her, charts, sales, awards, movies, when i bought IGTTYAS i show them to all my family and friends, then CT came on dvd and i was obsessed dancing with LAV and HU, oh god, it's been a long ride, and i love that i keep learning more about her from all of you.

1. What is the album that surprised you the most when you started listening to old albums?

- Music was the album that surprised me the most, i love all the songs, the first album is cute and is full of hits.

2. What is the song that you didn't know it was Madonna, but you loved years ago?

- I do remember hearing Ray of light at tv shows and my mom and uncles are 80's music junkies so i heard Like a Virgin from time to time but when i was a fan and researched everything i was surprised that those songs came from her.

3. What shocked you the most about Madonna when you learned a bit about her?

- I became a fan in December of 2005 with the video of Hung Up, i was 12 and for a moment i thought that she was a new artist, then i remembered that i've heard the name MADONNA reading on the internet but didn't knew anything about her, when i hit the wikipedia page of her (i used to read her bio like each week) i was shocked that she was in the biz since 83' !!! with albums and hit songs waiting for me to hear them, then i read about the Sex book and she was so inspiring and brave, with that pictures, made me respect her even more.

4. Do you think fans from a certain album are simmilar in a way? I mean, are ROL 'newbies' more into ballads and deep songs, and COADF 'newbies' more into bombastic pop?

Well when i was 12 it was 2005 at i began watching mtv, the hip artists at the moment were Gwen Stefani, BEP, Shakira, Britney Spears and James Blunt i guess, so that was my first approach to english music, i bought their last albums LAMG, My Pregorative GH, Monkey Business, Oral Fixation and COADF, i was so happy dancing and loving all the music, then with HC 3 years later i was in a different place listening another artist but M was always above of them, it's no surprise that my fav album from her is COADF.

[V.K]

3. What shocked you the most about Madonna when you learned a bit about her?

- I became a fan in December of 2005 with the video of Hung Up, i was 12 and for a moment i thought that she was a new artist, then i remembered that i've heard the name MADONNA reading on the internet but didn't knew anything about her, when i hit the wikipedia page of her (i used to read her bio like each week) i was shocked that she was in the biz since 83' !!! with albums and hit songs waiting for me to hear them, then i read about the Sex book and she was so inspiring and brave, with that pictures, made me respect her even more.

Seriously?I considered her the most famous woman alive even back when i was 4 years old(which is almost as long as i can remember myslef and that was before "Music"came out,which was EVERYWHERE, even in the little village i spent the first 6 years of my life)

Edited October 17, 2013 by V.K

[runa]

I remember the Like a Prayer album, specifically Act of Contrition and the fact that it was scented with patchouli, totally freaked me out and I felt like it I was going to go to Hell for listening to it. I was a sheltered child.

Oh you will, don't worry!

[Bill]

Oh you will, don't worry!

[Iconic Fetus]

Seriously?I considered her the most famous woman alive even back when i was 4 years old(which is almost as long as i can remember myslef and that was before "Music"came out,which was EVERYWHERE, even in the little village i spent the first 6 years of my life)

I didn't have MTV or cable, and only used to hear the latin music that they put on the radio Shakira, Paulina Rubio, Thalia, Ricky Martin and then a few english singers who were hip at the moment, i'm pretty sure that the American Life era didn't impact the mexican radios and that they only played Music (single) back in 2009 and i was 7, i just remember Baby One More Time, Oops i did..... and before i just remember the Aqua song, baby girl.

[V.K]

I didn't have MTV or cable, and only used to hear the latin music that they put on the radio Shakira, Paulina Rubio, Thalia, Ricky Martin and then a few english singers who were hip at the moment, i'm pretty sure that the American Life era didn't impact the mexican radios and that they only played Music (single) back in 2009 and i was 7, i just remember Baby One More Time, Oops i did..... and before i just remember the Aqua song, baby girl.

oh,no need to explain yourself!I wasn't criticizing you or anything....I usaually forget not all little kids are pop culture savvy

[datf]

So, i've been a fan for such a long time (since LAV, although i liked Holiday a lot) that sometimes i'm surprised to find a new fan.

Mr. Five Elements has just said in another thread that he's a fan since Hard Candy. And i have some questions for new fans.

1. What is the album that surprised you the most when you started listening to old albums?

2. What is the song that you didn't know it was Madonna, but you loved years ago?

3. What shocked you the most about Madonna when you learned a bit about her?

4. Do you think fans from a certain album are simmilar in a way? I mean, are ROL 'newbies' more into ballads and deep songs, and COADF 'newbies' more into bombastic pop?

i've only become a fan when confessions on a dance floor came about. i was 12 at that time.

1. ray of light

2. i didn't know she existed before hung up was released

3. when i first started looking her up on the internet in 2005, i was shocked to find out she's 47 and has been ultra famous for a long long time. she looked 30 to me max in the ads for confessions on a dance floor and i thought she's a new singer.

4. i think it depends on how much they love each album. madonna sang a variety of genres in her albums, so if you like all her albums like me, then you like most songs. if you just happen to discover her when she's into her nth album, it's might just be luck to know her so late.

[karbatal]

3. when i first started looking her up on the internet in 2005, i was shocked to find out she's 47 and has been ultra famous for a long long time. she looked 30 to me max in the ads for confessions on a dance floor and i thought she's a new singer.

Oh, if Madonna had new, she would have been sooooo happy!, hahaha. I think it's her ultimate aim, to look as fresh and new with every album.

[mangapop]

Speaking of Madonna's look it is intersting to compare some older looks like the ones from Music era to MDNA looks. In the Music era she looked older and now she looks much younger.