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I think others reported she said there were 8 more unreleased songs that she hoped would find their way out into the world in some way. (I say “others reported” because I think it was from the Graham Norton interview which aired in the UK but I’ve not been able to view it in full myself yet.) So, your question still stands … Is Hot Sauce one of the 8, or were there 9 songs (including Hot Sauce) that were not included on the main album? We had some discussion about it here — opinion was divided, but I lean toward 8 and none of them are Hot Sauce (so 9 with Hot Sauce) — because Madonna knew Hot Sauce was part of the Absolut partnership and would be released on the Absolut edition by that time. But again, I didn’t hear her exact words — just what others have shared. Precise quotation might have some nuances.

@Mr Ciccone Thank you so much! Love these! There were some really charming and funny things in these … really quick cuts to Stuart (one time he said something, but one time it was just a look and it made me laugh). Love that she says something like there is another world where a different version of a song exists (it’s in the Feid video — I’m paraphrasing) … I wanted to say YES PLEASE to that — we want to be in all those worlds and hear all those alternatives! Along with the yet-to-be-unveiled songs, of course.

Thanks, @Mr Ciccone! And thanks, @nunoxico! Great work on the studio session videos! We love them!

Well … longer story, lol … I am trying to order a couple things (to save on the shipping) and so by the time I add two other things to my cart, the cassette disappears. Although I prefer to order on my computer to save ‘receipts’ so to speak, I caved and decided I’d order on my phone to speed it up. And, yeah, I can use Apple Pay to auto fill everything. But I can’t even get to that. I may order the other stuff separately just to give myself a better shot, but it’s annoying to pay double the shipping. (Basically it’s just the 7” of Danceteria… That dropped at the same time as the cassette — I had already ordered my CDs separately. My Love Sensation CDs just arrived within the past week, and I ordered them the first week of August!) (Edit to add: It was restocked this morning again for two minutes, but I missed it entirely. The Love Sensation 7” was restocked briefly around 2 in the morning and I was awake and could have probably acted on that! Haha! But I don’t need that — I have that ordered, too. Wish I could combine outstanding orders to save on the shipping, but then … I might never receive my stuff! ) OH and PS - Yeah, I have had my cart ready to go multiple times, but then it eventually clears itself out on my phone. I bet it would stay in the cart on my computer longer but I’d never be able to check out quickly enough there either. Unless they restocked for more than two minutes — heaven forbid! I don’t understand why the restocking is so quick and then it’s sold out again. Maybe like you said it is just a cancelled order or something and they are just fixing it on the back end quickly, not really intending for a “real” restock.

Okay, but I gave an example of something she said in that video that she didn’t say anywhere else — namely that the percussion instruments in Come Alive had a history. I realize certain other stories were shared elsewhere, but that is partially because she did a press junket for MX — something she didn’t do for CII, so … these studio videos feel a little more special because we didn’t get those stories elsewhere. And so that’s great that we are getting these! But I think the point was just that we did get a similar glimpse with the previous album. And in some aspects … what we got for MX was more about musical influences. Seeing her talk with Stuart about bananas (while amusing/charming) and such isn’t exactly telling us about the music of CII. I’ll be very happy to see more videos later this week! I enjoy it all.

I love these studio session videos… but also there was nothing wrong with the Madame X doc video. She spoke about the percussion instruments used in “Come Alive,” for example — that was such a meaningful detail that would have been completely unknown otherwise. To say that the Madame X doc video was fake or just a music video is a little bit unfair. And these CII video, while giving a glimpse into the actual recording studio, haven’t revealed any details about like what I mentioned above about MX … Just sayin’. No shade to the CII videos, which I am enjoying. They both offer glimpses behind the curtain, but they are both still curated and offer a limited view of the creative process. I’m grateful for all of it! Also … people complained about how much she shared on social media while she was in the studio for MX. We got little videos and plenty of photos of the MX recording phase. For CII, she shared very little on her social media — just a couple posts with multiple photos on each post, but zero videos. So … in a way, these studio session videos are sort of like a very delayed social media post. For another contrast — we certainly learned more in the MX doc about how she met certain guest musicians in Lisbon (for example, the Batukadeiras) than we learned about how she ended up working with Stromae. I mean, maybe it is just another “Madonna slides into someone’s DMs” story, and that’s it. But … I think the MX doc did fill in some blanks. Again, I’m not saying either one is better or worse. They both bring perspective and added depth.

Ugh. It happened again with the cassette. I got it into my cart but couldn’t finish checking out. Maybe it’s just not meant to be.

What do we think they might be? Feid + Tainy Sabrina Arca Lola …? Maybe Kylie and/or Charli, I guess are possibilities, too. I guess the Parisi brothers could be one, too. Lots of collaborators… Would love more with Stu, too, though.

Love this so much and I haven’t even watched it (fully) yet! This — we want/need more of this!! (Thanks for sharing it here, @Mr Ciccone!)

They re-stocked the cassette 18 minutes ago and it sold out 17 minutes ago. Like, … what the heck?!

And Ray of Light did, as well, right? Back to back packaging design wins. Kevin Reagan’s work was so great for that string of projects, including GHV2 (in my opinion) and then …

Well, it does include Charli’s line about “singing with Madonna at the VMAs,” which is not in the original studio version. So it’s definitely different.

PS - They removed the Tik Tok vinyl and pink FIFA jersey bundle yesterday, and then they added the Tik Tok vinyl today for about twenty minutes before it sold out. So I bet they had a limited quantity already located in a specific spot (US) and just wanted to sell off what they had without incurring any more shipping costs (or tariffs) to move it around.

Well, now it’s out of stock again. Sorry. Hope you were able to snag one. (I read elsewhere on the web that fans were complaining about it being geoblocked, so … that probably explains the difficulty.)

Strange. It is there — not sold out. The store even sent an email today about “new and re-stocked” items, and they included the Tik Tok vinyl. Here’s a direct link to the page: https://shop.madonna.com/products/confessions-ii-12-track-tiktok-vinyl-lp It’s possible it may not work outside the US.

But that’s how Music lost the best pop album award in 2001 — they gave it to Steely Dan instead. That recent Billboard article seemed to indicate Madonna (along with the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney) could benefit if they end up being nominated … that their odds would be higher to win. So … point is … let’s wait and see what the nominations are. If M is nominated, her chances may go up. Right now, it’s not even a sure thing that she’ll be nominated, so of course that’s factoring into the odds.

+bts footage + Charli’s lyrics (which are new) I mean, it’s about as pointless as a regular lyric video is. It’s not ‘as great’ as a full-blown music video, but it does serve a purpose. I’d probably rather watch the VMAs performance, but I don’t think this lyric video is entirely superfluous.

Tik Tok vinyl is restocked on the US web store if anyone is looking for a copy.

The Danceteria tape was restocked and sold out again in less than a minute.

Thanks, Nikki! I’ll have to check it out again… Debi posted recently on IG — I just saw it, but she said it was a belated post. Very sweet to M, and also describing the rehearsals as intense — thanking the other dancers for embracing her, teaching her, and keeping her safe backstage (which she described as “crazy and dangerous”). She thanked lots of folks, including St Rita (stylist), Damien Jalet (choreographer), and her hair and makeup team. Debi’s top was a JPG, apparently, btw!

Where does Debi look annoyed? Please share the time stamp — seriously, I must be missing it… Madonna makes a joke toward the end, when she is having the exchange with someone who says they are about to vomit (likely from spinning too much) and Madonna says “sorry, I forgot to flush” (meaning, the toilet, since the set is a restroom). It’s kind of a gross joke, but it is humor, because it obviously isn’t a functional restroom. Edit to add PS - Plus, again, I say, if Debi was irked, how do we know she was irked at Madonna? Seems like everyone was standing around waiting for certain technical things to happen sometimes. With that many people on the clock and limited time to have them all together, I’m sure they were feeling the pressure (particularly M). Hence the ‘professional’ remarks, I think, but they didn’t really out the offenders in the video (which was gracious).

Ooo… she’s gettin’ pissed!

Proof that you are young at heart, sweets. Also proof that you’ve got great taste, but then … this we already knew. xoxo! (I also love School, but I can’t even choose a favorite because I’m so indecisive!)

I don’t see anyone looking irritated in the background … and … if they are, how do you know they are miffed at Madonna? Maybe they were feeling irritated about the same things that were irritating Madonna (delays or whatever). I also don’t see it as one note … there are a few humorous moments, but they are more dry humor than silly moments. On another note, I saw a photo of Debi and Tony together on set and it warmed my heart.