Etips
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Posts posted by Etips
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As someone else said, the negative controversy the video generated probably helped get the song more attention than it would have gotten otherwise. “American Life” was just too abstract and weird for radio. Stations weren’t going to play it in-between “In the Club” and “Crazy In Love.” Upon first listen, it was painfully evident to me that nothing on American Life was going to be well received by the mainstream. Not even fluffier fare like “Hollywood” or the quasi-listener-friendly “Nothing Fails.” It was her ‘the goth kids’ album.
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Maybe her and Prince could cover "Scream."
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Not even in my top 40.
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Songs get referred to singers all the time. That's just how the business works. "Papa Don't Preach," "Open Your Heart," "La Isla Bonita, " "Justify My Love," "Ray of Light" -- all presented to her from whoever. Not everything Madonna records was a scratch idea that started from her own brain. I'm sure after deciding to record "Revolver," Madonna added her own little tweaks to it to make it more her own.
Anyway, this is the song I'm holding out more hope for. I don't think "Celebration" is going to go over that well commercially.
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Poll removed. Someone please move the thread back to General discussion.
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"Tiffany-style harmonies..."
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Madonna looks ten times better as a brunette. I wish she'd ease up on the blond bombshell thing. I also wish she had kept her hair long and dark for the duration of the entire Like a Prayer era.
Favorite songs:
• Like a Prayer
• Cherish
• Express Yourself
• Keep It Together -
I agree that they are releasing it because of the leak (although I don't believe that someone in Madonna/WB's camp wasn't behind it leaking.) I do predict premature burnout, and a poor chart showing, though. Because it's new, Madonna fans are going to quickly flock to it in bulk for the first few weeks -- while airplay will be minimal, as radio hasn't even been properly issued it yet. The outcome is going to be very disjointed. I'm sure WB does care more about the profit than the chart position, but why not have both if you can? If they learned to time things right, putting it on sale when airplay was peaking, then they could stand to make *more* of a profit. It's a given that hardcore Madonna fans are going to be there, and will buy as soon as it becomes available to them anyway. You court casual/non fans - through promotion and airplay. They're the one's who push songs over the top and generate the most profit.
Oh well. Maybe they're planning to be more stretegic with "Revolver."
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Am I the only one who thinks that the whole "US radio hates Madonna" thing is severely exaggerated? If radio hated her half as much as some people like to believe, her recurrent play would suffer more than it is.
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If there was room for it, but *only* if there was room for it, I would include “American Life.” Sure it only barely went top 40, but despite its being a near flop, it went on to be very notorious and does represent an era of her recorded career—no matter how commercially lackluster it was.
As for “American Pie,” I agree with the consensus. That one doesn’t need to be anywhere near a Madonna greatest hits album. When I think of Madonna, this decade, that song almost never crosses my mind. I actually think of a few of her flops before that one. Not only is it totally forgettable, but thinking back to when it was released, I remember more people jeering than praising it…and unlike the bomb that was “American Life,” this song doesn’t personify an era.
It was classy of Don McClean to make those gracious comments about her recording of it, and sure it managed to climb to number twenty-nine (which technically makes it a hit) but her cover was a sham, and borderline joke. That one doesn’t need to be commemorated.
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It'll probably do well in sales, but I wouldn't hold out much hope for airplay.
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From listening to the clip, i almost expected Madonna to break out in a chorus of "rhythm is a dancer" or "everybody's freeeeeeee to feel good."
Or "More & More" by Captain Hollywood Project.
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Eh. This sounds very 1991 The Party Machine with Nia Peeples. Add an abrasive keyboard loop and you have a 2 Unlimited track.
I'm holding out for "Revolver."
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I like "We Are the World" twice as much as I do "Do They Know It's Christmas." WATW may be corny, but DTKIC is corny, weird...and seasonal. But anyway, I always assumed that Madonna just wasn't asked to participate; either because they didn't take her seriously enough to invite (I notice Cher wasn't there either, maybe they thought women with trampy images would hurt the wholesomeness of the song)...or because she hadn't made enough of a commercial impact by the time the whole thing was being planned and it just slipped their mind to ask her. Either way, with her becoming one of the biggest recording stars of that same year, her absence makes WATW seem less thorough. At any rate, getting together in a room with Bette Midler, Dionne Warwick, Harry Belafonte, Huey Lewis and the Pointer Sisters to lend her vocals to a 'star-studded' charity song doesn't seem like something Madonna would do anyway, not even back then. She'd just write a check to the charity sponsoring it and be done with it.
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I think that "Human Nature" would probably be the easiest, safest thing for her to cover. Doesn't have a lot of alternating keys, or vocal runs. Pretty much keeps the same calm tone throughout. Madonna trying to sing "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" would be a trainwreck. She couldn't.
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you had me until your last line. he raised it ONCE. in 1983. after that he REPLICATED that. madonna continued to up it. in fact he was the biggest star - the highest you could go UNTIL her.
she upped the ante on stardom that then everyone had to work for, if thats what they wanted...
Michael didn’t continually revolutionize music videos after 1984, but he didn’t need to after having already done it. Following his raising the bar, however, he tended to be more consistent in making videos that maintained a certain level of majesty. While Madonna tends to average two especially spectacular music videos per album, in amongst them she also has a higher number of clips that are tedious and ordinary. Michael, by and large, hasn’t had (m)any as mundane or unremarkable as “Who’s That Girl,” “Fever,” “Love Profusion,” “Jump,” or “Give It 2 Me.”
Madonna’s made a plethora of music videos that have either caused controversy, had stunning cinematography, or both…and she’s certainly made a large number that have been outstanding/significant/iconic—so many, in fact, that it ultimately makes her a pioneer of the form. True. However, at no point has she ever revolutionized, or raised the bar, of the medium itself. Instead she’s co-opted multiple elements of what had already been innovated, added her personality to it, and from there charismatically ascended to the front of the line. The ‘quality’ of her product is generally top notch, but she’s never forever changed the way they were made or viewed the way Michael did with “Thriller.”
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Comparing Michael and Madonna as artists of music video (and arguing who was better at it) is a dispute that doesn’t go anywhere because both worked in two different ways, and usually had two different goals in mind. In generalizing terms, Madonna wanted to challenge and provoke…Michael wanted to astonish and mesmerize. Apples and Oranges. The only thing they had in common was that their respective goals were driven by ego. She couldn’t do “Thriller” and he couldn’t do “Express Yourself.” However, it must be said that it was Michael (not Madonna) who substantially raised the bar of music video medium.
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He's ruling iTunes. It will be interesting to see what the charts will look like in the up and coming weeks. I can imagine that the record industry is probably frantic right now, pushing back slated releases so that they aren't overshadowed by his catalog.
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On first listen, it struck me as one of her weaker ballads. The backing track sounds like dance/house music slowed down, and it's so narrative and theatrical that it seems a bit...odd. Despite all that, though, it does grow on you. I still think it's one of her weaker ballads, but I like it. Probably like it better than most of the songs on that album. And yeah, the video does make the song better.
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I remember there being rumors that Madonna allegedly wanted Dr. Dre to do remixes for either "Music," or "Don't Tell Me."
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"Ray of Light" was too abrasive to start out with. I remember being at a Madonna forum at the time that it was actually released, and there being some question as to whether radio would give it decent airplay, since it had a tempo that was much faster than everything else out at the time. Ultimately, "Frozen" was the right choice to be the lead off single.
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Not a fan of the song at all, but it did peak in the top 40. According to Billboard, that's technically a hit. Begrudgingly, I would vote to include it...if only to give GH some kind of American Life album representation (no, "Die Another Day" doesn't count.) Sure, the album may be garbage, but it's in her discography and represents a significant point in her career, even if it was a low one.
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I can understand Leonard's not appreciating Madonna turning over their work to Shep. House music, by and large, is shallow...and his reworking of "Like a Prayer" was a near desecration. Not every single needs to have a cliche 'dance remix.' And truth be told, the original album version of "Like a Prayer" is uptempo enough. Yeah, the beat momentarily drops out of the verses, but hook and climax of the song was perfectly danceable in its own right. Makes me wonder how Bray felt. Just about everything he did with Madonna got altered by Pettibone.
If Leonard is a man of pride/ego, I can see him not working with Madonna again. After Shep, and their brief reunion on "I'll Remember," he again saw their collaborations overhauled, this time by Orbit. After a while, he probably began to wonder if she wanted him for anything other than co-lyricist. Ultimately, though, every Madonna collaborator eventually is replaced (or overshadowed) by her latest find. He and Bray replaced Jellybean and Nile Rogers. That's just the cycle of how she works. Unless your name is Liz Rosenberg, career security being on Madonna's payroll is touch and go.
Do you think Celebration will be one of Madonnas biggest flops?
in ARCHIVE - Madonna
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While it's still early, I really think they need to pull an "I Want You/You'll See" scenario and quickly transition into "Revolver."