VogueMusic
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Posts posted by VogueMusic
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14 hours ago, the-queen said:
I’m really happy where Madonna is in her career. Rebel Heart and Madame X are her last two albums. WOW. Any artist would die to have just those two in their catalogue. These albums just enrich an already amazing career for Madonna.
THIS!
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On 6/6/2019 at 9:22 PM, svperstar said:
The song itself was interesting enough, but the video takes it INTO FUCKING ORBIT.
Jesus, THIS is the Madonna we dont deserve. The artist and conceptualist before the pop performer. And she does it better than anyone.
On 6/6/2019 at 9:36 PM, toujours said:mon Dieu!
"dark ballet" a masterwork in short horror film. malevolence pervade its visual and aural orchestration. for the less perceptive, the video might even contain "demonic" elements.
but the messaging is very clear...
omnipresent to this day are the religious, political, cultural, and social inquisition of people in the fringes and margins. the dark ages never came to past but was tempered only by science and modernization. prejudice lurks in the minds and hearts of those who refuse to step beyond their bubbles, towers and zones.
the divide remains. the battlefields are still there. people might have discovered cures for epidemics. but none yet for today's pandemic disease of rage and ignorance that are magnified by mass media and digital technology.
and yet like cascading water, the vulnerable will continue forging a path for their redemption. orders and systems be damned.
triumphantly, emmanuel and madonna have realized their artistic vision. they found a brilliant conduit in mykko. surrounded by a lovely cast of actors, he personifies the persecuted lot of this world that soldier on. and the third person narration of madonna, more heard and little seen, give more focus on the film's message.
"dark ballet" is a fine addition to Madonna's exceptional videography.
On 6/6/2019 at 9:49 PM, alexis said:This video is absolutely stunning and it's breathtaking from start to finish. I must say that I admire the fact that she decided to back away from being the leading character in this video. She chose a queer POC to represent the opressão made by religion in our society and the pain that reflects upon minorities due to the prevalence of patriarcal values. She truly came to make a BIG statement with this video and song. It really made me think of how important and necessary her activism has been through all these years and how she refuses to shut up while defending human rights. Once more, I'm so proud to call her my queen and to be part of her fandom. There's only one Queen and it's Madonna, bitch.
On 6/7/2019 at 4:12 AM, paradise said:Whilst other gay 'icons' are releasing cheesey christmas albums, generic jazz standards and abba covers my queen is putting out quality work like this..the general public might not care but as a fan i feel spoilt
On 6/7/2019 at 9:16 AM, Wunderkind said:Remember that RS review of LAP, where it said “this is as close to art as pop music gets”? I think she’s gotten even closer with this track, especially combined with the amazing video. Using the story and fate of Joan of Arc to describe the fucked up state of today’s world, the discrimination, hatred, bigotry and closed mindedness is just brilliant. Releasing something so bold, weird, dark and unusual is a big fuck you to the world of those that claim she’s not relevant or creative be anymore. Who else but Madonna would dare this, so far into her career? Nobody. The haters need to take several seats and re-evaluate their contempt for her. She’s the Queen. Period.
On 6/7/2019 at 9:34 AM, headonfire said:I'm completely in awe of this song and video. The song is so different, weird, and sonically experimental, nothing like anything ever produced. If someone ever says that Madonna is chasing trends, just play them Dark Ballet, because this song is IT, and shows the genius and creative force of this woman almost 40 years into her career.
As I listen to the song, I got all these different emotions running through me, like an emotional journey of sorts.
As for the video, it is absolutely stunning. The story, cinematography, light, colours, everything produces this unique feel that just complements the song. For me, one of the most significant things in the video is also the placing of Joan of Arc's quote and the start and Mikki's at the end, which produces this poetic parallel between the pain and suffering experienced by Joan of Arc in the 15th century because she was seen as 'Other', the same way that a black queer HIV+ man is seen as 'Other' in the 21st century. To make this happen, Madonna takes a step back in her own video, to place at the centre someone who represents those who are most ostracised in our society -- a person of colour, a queer person, an HIV+ person!
THIS IS ART. ART WITH MEANING. ART WHICH PUSHES BOUNDARIES. ART THAT PUSHES FOR CHANGE. AND MADONNA IS ALL OF IT! MADONNA IS ART.
On 6/7/2019 at 8:17 PM, Shane said:To me, Dark Ballet is a supreme work of art. Madonna begins this song as a pop ballad, singing thoughtful lyrics about the superficial nature of the world over beautiful piano. Her voice is clear, but somewhat raspy with the weight of the world. The melody sounds like classic Madonna. In the second verse, an electronic beat joins the piano, giving us a juxtaposition of classical and modern. Madonna continues to sing this melodic song, and suddenly she is abruptly cut off by the piano solo and the interpolation from The Nutcracker. This is jarring as the best art pop can be. As we enter the second movement, we hear frantic demonic vocals by Madonna that put us into Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush territory. There is a slight feeling of foreboding. After this segment, we return to Madonna’s normal voice for the poetic spoken word passage that is haunting but in a less creepy manner than the middle passage. These lyrics I find to be the most moving of the song although they would be an utter disaster delivered by many other singers. Her voice in this section is her classic voice, but smoother than in the sung vocals from part one. She blows like the howling wind, and then we are treated to more piano, this time somewhat sorrowful in tone. Dark Ballet has taken us from defiance to sinister to poetic to sorrowful. As Madonna comes in for one final sung line “it’s a beautiful life,” we have come full circle back to the beginning of the song. Her delivery here, over the now quite somber piano, breaks my heart and stands as one of the saddest moments in her history of song. What brilliance to deliver such an optimistic lyric in a melancholy fashion. The journey of Dark Ballet is now complete although that of Madame X is just beginning.
This is high art.
On 6/13/2019 at 10:29 PM, IsaacHarris said:This is ART.
PERIOD
All the above deserved a quote. I know I'm late on the subject, but after letting the song and the video sit with me, I'm just astounded at the level of artistry she's pulling off with this project...at this point in her career.
All the videos of this era are literally some of the best of her career, and certainly God Control is Madonna at her best...but this is the one I keep coming back to. Even with only a couple shots of her in the video, the entire visual narrative is just drenched in quintessential "Madonna". And stepping back and putting an openly queer, black, HIV+ artist at the forefront is one hell of a move. Any one out there that comes for her 'making everything all about herself' or some sort of appropriation shit can truly STFU from now on. And talk about political...this just may be her most truly political statement of not only this record, but of all her work. It's deeply layered, and points the finger right at the corruption, hypocrisy, and oppression by the ruling institutions of society. Got more balls than anyone, esp. right now.
This video is proof she's on another level than any of her peers past or present.
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Little boys and their temper tantrums -
Heightened security in Boston for 'pro-straight parade'
Boston (AFP) - Police in Boston were gearing up for possible clashes Saturday between "Straight Pride Parade" demonstrators supportive of President Donald Trump and counter-protesters who accuse them of being homophobic and extremist.
A group calling itself Super Happy Fun America has organized the controversial parade in response to the hugely popular gay pride parades that take place in US cities every year.
Critics say organizers are white-supremacists whose intent is to bait members of the LGBT community in one of America's most liberal cities, and have arranged demonstrations to oppose it.
"There are no racists in our group. You have to come to one of our meetings: it's like the United Nations," president John Hugo told AFP, defending the parade.
The demonstrations come as tensions simmer between leftists and white nationalists in the United States.
Enrique Tarrio (L), a member of the all-male 'Proud Boys' organization, which has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, is due to attend (AFP Photo/John Rudoff) Two weeks ago, a far-right rally and counter-demonstration by anti-fascist protestors in the city of Portland passed with no major incident amid a heavy police presence.
Super Happy Fun America's website says Saturday's march is to "spread awareness of issues impacting straights," describing heterosexuals as "an oppressed majority" in Massachusetts, the first US state to legalize same-sex marriage.
But the parade will have a clear political slant too, with participants due to walk alongside pro-Trump floats. The group's website displays a doctored photo of Trump holding a sign saying #GreatToBeStraight.
Prominent members of America's far-right movement, known as the "alt-right," are scheduled to speak, including former Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos, who has been banned from several social media sites.
Enrique Tarrio, a member of the all-male "Proud Boys" organization, which has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, is also due to attend.
Some 1,200 people are planning to join the parade, which starts at noon (1600 GMT) in Copley Square and ends at Boston City Hall around a mile and a half (2.4 kilometers) away, according to a Facebook group.
Police will cordon off the area and have said they will deploy uniformed and undercover officers along the route.
Several anti-Trump organizations and gay rights supporters have said they will try to block the parade. At least two counter-protests are planned, the first starting at 9:00 am.
"We are certainly not going to start any violence but we will defend ourselves if we have to," said Hugo, 56.
A "Straight Pride" held last Saturday in Modesto, California attracted only a few dozen people and about 250 counter-protesters, according to local newspaper The Modesto Bee.
https://news.yahoo.com/heightened-security-boston-pro-straight-parade-062515220.html
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1 hour ago, nightcutter said:
Are the bottles meant to look like round droids?
Thermal detonators (Star Wars "grenades").
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45 minutes ago, Leebf said:
She's a racist biggot and i hate her. In the 90s she hated asians. Then it was Muslims, now its the left wing and loss of freedom of speech (i.e. not being allowed to say racist and bigotry things with out repercussion).
Bingo.
I'm no fan of the PC shit, but it's easy to see that a majority of these 'free speech' rants are really about a big portion of society that's having a tantrum that they can't get away with these sorts of old derogatory sentiments like they used to. Ironically, it's the actual exercise of free speech that gets them into the hot seat in the first place.
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1 hour ago, LHakaLH said:
Bitch I'm Loca and Come Alive should've been the bonus tracks instead of Funana and Ciao Bella
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On 7/31/2019 at 10:55 AM, brestol1 said:
I live in the US and I guarantee you that none of MTV channels played her videos 24/7 as you mentioned in your response. Unfortunately and sadly she is no longer relevant for this country.
Wrong.
MTV and MTV Classic were both part of the promotional launch for Medellín, playing blocks of her videos 24/7 for several days leading up to the new video premiere.
We had a thread chronicling it, and marking which videos they did and did not show. They showed the majority.
I remember watching each day as much as I could.
Clearly you missed out.
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And the ignoramuses in the comments afterward...
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NEVER underestimate the insanity of American Christianity, especially at its most fundamentalist roots.
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On 8/13/2019 at 9:01 PM, Kurt420 said:
You said it perfectly! This is exactly how I feel everytime I listen to it as well. Even though I've heard the album literally hundreds of times at this point, the sonic journey it takes me on from beginning to end is still so incredibly exciting to me. May sound silly but it truly is like touring the world in a way, there are just so many twist and turns and for me that makes it as fresh as it was the first time I heard it a couple months ago now. That excitement makes the whole listening experience fly by. ROL remains one of my top 2-3 favorite albums by her, while Erotica would probably be more towards the bottom of the list (sorry!!) the one thing they have in common though is that towards the end of those albums I sometimes find myself getting a bit antsy and that's always been the case (especially with Erotica....I truly don't remember last time I listened to it front to back). MX runs right around the same time as both of those albums and that absolutely doesn't happen when I listen to it.
I flashback to the very first "hints" regarding the sound of the album early this year, before anyone had heard anything and it was described as not being necessarily cohesive but the songs still come together and create a uniform body of work that makes it feel unlike a MDNA or RH. Having heard it now, that description fits so perfectly. RH absolutely has some of the strongest straight up pop melodies/hooks of her entire career. Something about her approach to the structure of those songs was very 80's Madonna to me and that I LOVE! Despite having more depth than a lot of her very early songs they still manage to have that instantaneous quality in a lot of ways. Just thinking of the first time I heard RH, WAOM, Ghosttown, BN and demo version of HT and I was just bowled over at how catchy and just "pure pop" everything was. MX really couldn't be more opposite in that regard. Definitely still some strong hooks/melodies there without a doubt but for those that appreciate a more straight up pop sound without a lot of bells and whistles, there just isn't a lot to offer on MX in that regard (Crave and perhaps Crazy). This is 100% an ALBUM, a sonic journey...not really a collection of songs you can pick and choose.
M herself said it best when she said that MX is not background music and that is also very true. It's an album you have to really LISTEN to in order to fully appreciate. It's truly a work of art. Having it on low volume in the background while doing a whole list of other things just doesn't cut it with this album. So very proud of her for pulling an album like this out at this stage of her career. I still say RH (the song) perfectly encapsulates the state of mind of modern day Madonna but as it turns out that was sort of the teaser for MX. She really went all in with it. MX IS Madonna circa 2019 through and through (like her/it or not).
I feel the exact same way. There's something about this album that envelopes you in its own little world so much so that you forget how long the journey really is, and when it's over you think, where the hell has the time gone? And it just leaves you wanting more, even when including the three bonus tracks (particularly Ciao Bella). To do that nearly 4 decades into your career, at 60, in popular music - let alone as a female - is really unprecedented. And I hope the fanbase overall doesn't lose sight of what kind of accomplishment this truly is.
And no, it truly isn't background music. I've tried playing it in the car, or while doing other things...and it just doesn't work. It doesn't hit you in the right way...almost as if you, the listener, feel like you are lacking something from it (not the music itself, but the listener). Perhaps that comes from knowing the work intimately before, but yeah, I can't listen to MX in a casual sense. It's an album that needs a great sound system or phenomenal headphones, a dark room, good wine, and all the time to fully experience the journey from start to complete finish without stopping. It doesn't really feel like a piece of work made for our current era. Yes, it's forward-thinking and even futuristic in many ways...but there's an old-school foundation that grounds it.
On 8/13/2019 at 11:14 PM, Kurt420 said:Madonna being "cohesive" most definitely isn't a necessity for me in any way. In fact, having albums that have songs that may sound different from one another keeps things interesting....variety is good. I'm probably one of the few that actually likes MDNA. That album has some great songs, you can skip around, create your own playlist of the songs however you'd like and it really doesn't disrupt any "flow" or overall "mood". I feel like you can do that some with RH and even Music as well. For me there's something special though when an album creates a whole mood or atmosphere where you just get completely lost in the music for the whole duration of the album in the way Erotica, ROL, COADF, MX etc do, where the whole is better than the sum of the parts. To me re-sequencing tracks on any of those albums is pretty close to blasphemy lol. Those albums are like going on a journey when you put them on....at least for me they are and it's typically her more cohesive albums that evoke that feeling. Doesn't make the others inferior in any way though, simply different.
On 8/14/2019 at 1:34 AM, Jazzy Jan said:To me there are 3 words that have lost their true meaning in describing art, music or people. Cohesive, irrevelant and dated. I can't see that True Blue is cohesive at all and I adore True Blue. I don't really see how Madame X is cohesive either. Medellin, Dark Ballet, Crave, Crazy, Batuka, Extreme occidental and Idsif sound nothing like each other for example. Each song could be on several albums of Madonna's from the past. Again, that is not an issue to me.
I respect though that others think differently. Just don't really see where Madame X is cohesive and with people saying they adore it because it is cohesive, I just don't see it.
You know how I feel about 'irrelevant' and especially 'dated'... but for me, I've always found the 'cohesive' argument a bit funny. On one hand, I understand it a bit, as I grew up listening to artists that really made 'albums' albums...sonic journeys that lyrically, conceptually and musically take you into a unique little universe from start to finish (with most being designed as such by the artists themselves). But then again, it also depends on how we personally define 'cohesive'...like @Kurt420 above, for me it's less about the music sounding all one way, and much more about each album creating a distinct "mood or atmosphere" that you forever associate with that work - like a distinct visual cinematic environment with backing score. Obviously some Madonna albums do this more so than others, like those @Kurt420 lists...but for me, almost all of Madonna's albums do this in their own little way (which is also why I have a very hard time comparing one album to the next because Madonna is such a unique artist that it's as if each album exists as a separate star system in different galaxies that you have to jump through lightspeed to get to (yes, I just made a Star Wars reference
)). Like you said, all those songs on MX are nothing alike...but they do feel like they naturally belong on the same planet (unlike throwing them next to songs from, say, True Blue or Ray of Light, etc.). That being said, it's not a necessary thing for me when deciding if something is ultimately good or bad.
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On 8/9/2019 at 8:45 AM, Mozo1 said:
We should do a thread of unpopular favorite Madonna songs.
You just know someone here jams Jimmy Jimmy every fucking day!
On 8/10/2019 at 8:37 AM, Ray Of Darkness said:"Over and Over" probably has an apologist somewhere, too.
On 8/10/2019 at 10:02 AM, Mozo1 said:Now, will the Hey You fan(s) stand up and be counted?
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Horrific. Enraging. Depressing.
And the only place it seems to be talked about is social media.
Good god.
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8 hours ago, juliebean said:
Oh how I love this dog.
OMG.
I love it.
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11 hours ago, FreeMySoul said:
as if they still serve peanuts
Some airlines still do.
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2 hours ago, dylanciccone_ said:
The humor was missed in my post.
D'oh.
2 hours ago, dylanciccone_ said:O/T I thought that was Allison Janney in your sig.
It's the fabulous Coco Peru.
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2 hours ago, dylanciccone_ said:
Agreed. You're only supposed to like album versions and not any demos. "bUt HeR ViSiOn!!?!"
It's like listen to whichever one you want and prefer. The policing of "You must only like final versions" is absurd.
No one's actually saying that, though.
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1 hour ago, erotica blu said:
Either you're going to the concert or you're not. Many aren't so there is little incentive to gush for the things to come when you're not participating in the live experience.
I never got to see the last few tours live, and yet, then and now, I still find plenty of incentive to see what it is going on with her and ongoing projects...especially tour rehearsals, the opening of the tour, and all the excitement of what may or may not go down. One of the most fun things about Madonna fandom, especially in the lead up to a tour.
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Actually, for summer, I think the board has been pretty active. But as others said, we're at the point past album promo where things have settled before the tour begins. Only natural that it would be a bit quiet now.
But the majority of us have been praising this album left and right for months now. Things were moving so fast I couldn't even keep up with all the threads. Not to mention the incredible deconstruction and analysis of the work we discussed for a couple months. I haven't seen such a response from a Madonna album in a hell of a long time.
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5 hours ago, Shaun said:
Your patience is commendable.
Well, today was a good day.
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7 hours ago, dylanciccone_ said:
And your point? If someone prefers one version or the other, doesn't make their opinion invalid.
The point is that hearing works-in-progress before the final versions that complete the artists vision (let alone being exposed to them while the process is still going) shapes our perceptions, in more ways than one (and far more than we probably realize). And thus affect the way we take in, perceive, and process the true, final version of the work. Artists know this...that's why 99% of the time they don't expose their work to the public until they believe it's finished and fulfills their vision. Hearing earlier versions/demos later, after the fact, is different, as then those perceptions of the work are built on the foundation of the final work (as most artists probably intend).
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On 7/24/2019 at 3:01 PM, Mat.Guy said:
Well, maybe because you live in USA? Madame X is a world album. She's not just worried about the US
I never said she was. I said multiple times that those were my feelings when listening to that line. Nowhere in that am I negating what that line means to others in the context of where they live and what they experience. I figured that was obvious.
That being said, considering the many things she's posted on instagram in the last few years...her comments after 'you know who' was elected...her long held (and known) views on US politics, particularly during the early 00s Bush era that greatly influenced her work and statements in the following years...let alone that she is still an American citizen and has openly discussed multiple times how concerned she is with the state of the country - specifically on a song/video like God Control...I'd bet that she is highly worried about the US. A place that is still one of her homes, and, yes, still a part of the world... but in no way negates MX's global aspects, influences and interpretations.
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On 7/24/2019 at 9:38 AM, Mat.Guy said:
Madonna confirmed that at the NY Times Magazine I guess. It's not about Trump, she said so. I never thought about Trump when listening to the song anyway. History is flooded by men owning everything and stopping and hurting women.
If it's really not specifically referencing Trump, fine...but if it's essentially referencing the patriarchy, then by default, it's essentially referring to Trump and all those like him. I mean, who isn't more of a modern day representation of such a system/history than that man. At least for myself, that's the first image of the patriarchy that enters my mind when hearing that specific line - particularly as she says old 'man', not old 'men'. The singular use makes me think of 'you know who' in the immediate...but that's just me.
"Straight Pride"
in Politics and World Events
Posted
I wonder how many showed up...?