Glindathegood Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/06/arts/music/madonna-talks-about-rebel-heart-her-fall-and-more.html?_r= Madonna Talks about ‘Rebel Heart,’ Her Fall and More By JON PARELES MARCH 5, 2015 Photo Madonna has been busy since a hacker leaked unfinished songs. CreditMert & MarcusContinue reading the main story Continue reading the main storyShare This Page Email Share Tweet Pin Save More Continue reading the main story Madonna was perfectly turned out and running nearly an hour late for an interview at her Upper East Side home on Wednesday evening. She looked tense as she apologized. “I’m late for everything now,” she said. She added that she has been in a rush since December, when a hacker put unfinished songs online from her new album, “Rebel Heart”; a suspect has been indicted in Israel. Madonna’s immediate response was to release the finished, and much improved, versions of six songs for sale; they zoomed into the top 10 worldwide. She also worked frantically to finish the rest of the album, which arrives on Tuesday. It’s at once familiar — full of love, dancing, empowerment, blasphemy and raunch — and up-to-the-minute, made with a huge number of collaborators and tweaked by multiple hands under Madonna’s constant supervision. “I intended to think about things, choose things more slowly — the whole process,” she said. “Then I got forced into putting everything out, and now I’m trying to catch up with myself.” Photo Madonna performing at the Grammys in February. After falling during a performance recently, she recalled thinking: “O.K., I have to keep going. So I just got back onstage, and I just kept going.” CreditLarry Busacca/Getty Images For NARASShe continued: “What started out as an invigorating, life-enhancing, joyous experience evolved into something quite crazy. A strange artistic process, but a sign of the time. We’re all digital, we’re all vulnerable and everything’s instant — so instant. Instant success and instant failure. Instant discovery, instant destruction, instant construction. It’s as splendid and wonderful as it is devastating. Honestly, to me it’s the death of being an artist in many ways.” We spoke in her sitting room, where a Fernand Léger painting presides from above the fireplace. A large coffee table was neatly stacked with books and folders of photographs that Madonna has been using for research as she works on the screenplay for her next film project, based on the novel “The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells.” Imposing cream-colored couches flanked the coffee table, but Madonna preferred sitting on the floor. For the interview, she had raced home from a wardrobe fitting for coming performances. “I’m wearing half a costume,” she said. She was dressed in black, with stylishly chunky shoes, diamond-patterned tights, black shorts, a button-fronted T-shirt and a half-length jacket with black feathers sprouting from the shoulders. Her fingernails were black and glittery, and she had little silvery crucifix earrings; a skull-shaped ring was on one finger. Madonna has been performing the single “Living for Love” on awards shows, wearing a matador outfit and surrounded by bare-chested men outfitted with bulls’ horns. On Feb. 25, she took a dangerous tumble in London at the Brit awards, the British equivalent of the Grammys. A dancer was supposed to pull off her cape, but it was tied too tightly and she was yanked backward onto stairs, suffering whiplash. Seconds later, she got up and kept dancing. “I didn’t feel anything when it happened,” she said. “I just remember falling backward, and I hit the back of my head. But I had so much adrenaline pumping, and I was so taken by surprise that I just was, O.K., I have to keep going. So I just got back onstage, and I just kept going.” Continue reading the main story She continued: “If I wasn’t in good shape, I wouldn’t have survived that fall. But I’m strong. I know how to fall — I ride horses. And I have core strength, and I know that saved me. That and my guardian angels. I believe that there’s the physical world and the metaphysical world, and I do believe that they are intertwined — as above, so below. So I think both were at work in the protection of me.” “Rebel Heart,” like most of Madonna’s albums, spells out its concept directly. Originally she had planned to make an album with two distinct halves, a duality of rebel and heart. “One aspect was going to be a representation of the more rebellious, provocateur side of me,” she said. “And the other side was going to be the more romantic, vulnerable side.” The finished album isn’t divided that way; it hops among moods. In a rarity for Madonna, it also takes a few glances backward. “Veni, Vidi, Vici” builds a triumphant autobiography out of her song titles. “I don’t like to dwell in the past, but it seemed like the right time to do so,” she said. “After three decades one has to look back. Because there’s a lot of times I just stop and think, ‘Wow.’ I’m thinking about all the people that I’ve known, that I’ve worked with, that I’ve been friends with, that I’ve collaborated with, from Basquiat to Michael Jackson to Tupac Shakur. I survived and they didn’t. And it’s bittersweet for me to think about that. It just seemed like a time where I wanted to stop and look back. It’s kind of like survivor guilt. How did I make it and they didn’t?” Another song, the ballad “Joan of Arc,” confesses that Madonna isn’t impervious to the countless put-downs she has sustained through the years. “I’ve always admired the story of Joan of Arc and what she symbolizes, her conviction,” she said. “I’m not quite there yet. Everyone does think of me as impenetrable and/or superhuman, and maybe that’s the way it goes if you’ve lasted for more than three decades. But of course that’s not the truth, and I guess I was trying to express that.” The album had been in the making for a year and a half. When she started it, Madonna had simply wanted to take some time to write. “In this business I’m in, you can start to feel like a gerbil on a wheel,” she said. “People expect things from you. And I expect things from me. Since I was a teenager, I’ve never not been in some creative state, like in the act of making up dances, or writing songs, or whatever. I felt really drained.” She decided to split her time between the “Impossible Lives” screenplay and songwriting. Her manager, Guy Oseary, suggested that she work with Avicii, the 25-year-old Swedish producer who has had worldwide hits with songs like “Wake Me Up,” and his songwriting team. Madonna has made her best albums collaborating primarily with one producer at a time — William Orbit on “Ray of Light,” Nile Rodgers on “Like a Virgin,” Patrick Leonard on “Like a Prayer.” But the Avicii connection led into the increasingly prevalent 21st-century pop methodology of multiple collaborators working and reworking songs for maximum sizzle: Kanye West; Diplo, who has worked with M.I.A. and Skrillex; Ariel Rechtshaid, who has worked with Usher, Haim and Vampire Weekend; DJ Dahi, who has worked with Drake and Kendrick Lamar, and more. Continue reading the main storyContinue reading the main story Continue reading the main story “I didn’t know exactly what I signed on for, so a simple process became a very complex process,” Madonna said. “Everyone I worked with is tremendously talented, there’s no question about it. It’s just that everybody I worked with has also agreed to work with 5,000 other people. I just had to get in where I could fit in.” But Madonna insisted on collaborating in what she called her “old-fashioned” way — not handing off tracks to be polished for later approval, but shaping them in person. “I never leave the room,” she said. “Sometimes I think that makes them mad. Like, ‘Don’t you have to go to the bathroom? Don’t you have somewhere to go? Don’t you want to go make some calls?’ ” Toby Gad, a producer who has also written with Beyoncé, worked on 14 songs with Madonna; seven, including “Joan of Arc” and “Living for Love,” reached the album. “The first week she was quite intimidating,” he said. “It was like a test phase. You have to criticize, but you can’t really offend. But she also likes honest, harsh critics to say things as they are. It worked out really well and she got sweeter and sweeter.” “Rebel Heart” may well be Madonna’s most diverse album, encompassing the gospel-charged “Living for Love,” the taunting “Bitch I’m Madonna,” ballads like “Ghosttown” and “Heartbreak City,” the sultry come-on of “Best Night,” the reggae of “Unapologetic Bitch” and the playful “Body Shop,” with its automotive double-entendres backed by the plink of a sitar. Songs also mutate as they go, style-hopping between verse and chorus. Mr. West’s productions mingle his sparse, abrasive rhythm tracks with catchy choruses. “That’s me,” Madonna said, smiling. “That’s where I come in. It’s an interesting marriage of both of our aesthetics.” She and Mr. West have also written a song for his next album, she said. At 56, Madonna is undaunted by a pop market obsessed with youth. “I don’t think artists think about their age when they are creating, do they?” she said. “I only think about it when other people bring it up or try to limit me by saying, ‘You are this age and so dot dot dot.’ ” Her response, as always, is perseverance. “Because I’ve been marginalized as a female in a male-dominated world, and we’re in a sexist industry or a sexist world, I’ve always had to push against something or resist against something,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been relaxed, if you know what I’m saying. So because I’ve never been relaxed, I’m not going, oh, it used to be so easy. For me, it’s always been hard from Day 1.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moka Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Amazing interview! And again in her home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSD Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 She continued: “If I wasn’t in good shape, I wouldn’t have survived that fall. But I’m strong. I know how to fall — I ride horses. And I have core strength, and I know that saved me. That and my guardian angels. I believe that there’s the physical world and the metaphysical world, and I do believe that they are intertwined — as above, so below. So I think both were at work in the protection of me.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glindathegood Posted March 5, 2015 Author Share Posted March 5, 2015 And it's brand new! Not from the press junket but a few days ago because she talks about the fall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrnzi Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Her interviews this era! dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vogue992 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Another great interview! OMG @ this: She and Mr. West have also written a song for his next album, she said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad4mad2 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Nice!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katypatra Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Is she on the cover??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacket Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 We’re all digital, we’re all vulnerable and everything’s instant — so instant. Instant success and instant failure. Instant discovery, instant destruction, instant construction. It’s as splendid and wonderful as it is devastating. Honestly, to me it’s the death of being an artist in many ways. She is so insightful. I love that she's doing all this promo. Her interviews are fantastic when she gets prompted with the right questions that unlock her thoughts on the bigger issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glindathegood Posted March 5, 2015 Author Share Posted March 5, 2015 Is she on the cover??? No idea. So far it's only online. I think it will be printed in the Sunday Arts & Leisure section. I'm sure she will be on the front of that section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Heartbreaker Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Great interview. Madonna as eloquent as always! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glindathegood Posted March 5, 2015 Author Share Posted March 5, 2015 She is so insightful. I love that she's doing all this promo. Her interviews are fantastic when she gets prompted with the right questions that unlock her thoughts on the bigger issues. Agreed. Jon Pareles is a great writer. He really gets her. He's done a lot of very positive reviews of her albums. He even loved MDNA! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmic_system Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 A song wih Kanye on his next album! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikki Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 it's in NYtimes tomorrow A version of this article appears in print on March 6, 2015, on page C1 of the New York edition with the headline: Get Back Up And Dance. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illuminati Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 LOVE the picture as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattress Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmic_system Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Why that picture is not the cover of the standard edition? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Gorgeous photo and another A+ interview!! They are so interesting this era!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacket Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Should have been the album cover tbh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BangGangUK Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 +1 for that being the album cover..what a mind-blowing photo Thanks for posting the great interview, Glinda. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realityisalways Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 No idea. So far it's only online. I think it will be printed in the Sunday Arts & Leisure section. I'm sure she will be on the front of that section. A version of this article appears in print on March 6, 2015, on page C1 of the New York edition with the headline: Get Back Up And Dance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katypatra Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Agreed. Jon Pareles is a great writer. He really gets her. He's done a lot of very positive reviews of her albums. He even loved MDNA! Oh ok. Well I hope she's on the cover, cuz I'll be buying it if she is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 I bet Jon Pareles will give an awesome review as well! Thanks for posting this amazingness Glinda! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzy Jan Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Another great interview. Glinda, thanks for posting all of these interviews and articles for us all. Much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Messiahxxx Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Another great interview! OMG @ this: She and Mr. West have also written a song for his next album, she said. That's going to be interesting and yes, that picture shoul've been the stardard album cover! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phineaspoe Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Thank you, Glinda! These interviews are all gold. Excited to see if she ends up featured on Kanye's album! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuckeye Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 it is so relaxing to read/watch a madonna interview! takes me away! thnks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lasky Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Very interesting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadCrazy Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Looking forward to the song on West's album!! Wow! She's so generous these days!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qans1990 Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Madonna was perfectly turned out and running nearly an hour late for an interview at her Upper East Side home on Wednesday evening. She looked tense as she apologized. “I’m late for everything now,” she said. She added that she has been in a rush since December, when a hacker put unfinished songs online from her new album, “Rebel Heart”; a suspect has been indicted in Israel. Madonna’s immediate response was to release the finished, and much improved, versions of six songs for sale; they zoomed into the top 10 worldwide. She also worked frantically to finish the rest of the album, which arrives on Tuesday. It’s at once familiar — full of love, dancing, empowerment, blasphemy and raunch — and up-to-the-minute, made with a huge number of collaborators and tweaked by multiple hands under Madonna’s constant supervision. Thanks for posting Glinda!! Great interview and agree that it's a great picture, and should have been used for one of the album edition covers. I guess since this interview took place yesterday, she is back in NYC and did not go to LA after the EU promo appearances, as some places were reporting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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