LikeAPrayer Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 This thread brings up a great point - the mid 90's is such a fascinating era to further analyze. To the general public Madonna had peaked and secured legendary status at in 1990 with Vogue, the Blonde Ambition Tour, and the Justify My Love controversy which made her seem invincible. The backlash she received for SEX turned that tide on that a little bit (she was still a huge star, but was no longer in control of the press frenzy and the public's interpretation of her work). By 1994, she had done and accomplished so much during the first 10 years of her career that I don't know if she fully knew what else to do. Her commercial success had taken a hit with Erotica, and it seemed like she was in a bit of a rut and didn't what direction she needed to pursue next. I know Bedtime Stories has its fans, but I often wonder how much of her heart was in that project. I know she later admitted she had worked with so many producers on that album that she wasn't sure what to make of it, and of course, the Something To Remember compilation seemed slapped together because of the massive US success she had with Take A Bow. Looking back, it seemed like she really needed the Evita project to keep her artistically stimulated in the mid 90's, and that period of searching for who she was and where she wanted to go ultimately gave us Ray of Light. Anyway, tangent, but this era of her career is so overlooked that it deserves the attention when it gets it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad_On_Her Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 The only thing wrong with this thread is Dennis Rodman. Please get rid of him hes hideous! I love IR , and the short dark hair is so freaking hot on Madonna I wish she would have done more with this look. Same with the geisha look, really awesome but short lived. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pabl0114 Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Omg! I never see this Chola look! Where have I been I'm such a flop fan!!!!! I love it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acko Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Omg! I never see this Chola look! Where have I been I'm such a flop fan!!!!! I love it Well, believe it or not, these pictures were mocked in some rags as 'OldDonna' 'GrandmaDonna' etc.. Some dutch magazine even said she was fat, c her chin in the 1st picture above... So u c, she's always been old (and fat) Q: Was the song also a hit maybe cuz the movie did well? Check 1:08 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Xanthium Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I'll Remember was like the Second Coming. After it hit #2, it proved that she was utterly indestructible. She survived so much media abuse with the Erotica era where most celebs would've jumped off bridges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Thank you, Mattress, for this thread! I love the song, and I loved reading the Harper's Bazaar text -- I think I may have read it a long time ago, but ... it was a treat to re-read. (So, thanks to Pud, too!) I have long loved the photos that accompany that piece. Martha Graham and modern dance. It's so odd ... on Saturday night I put my head phones on while I was falling asleep (which I have tried to stop doing -- and had been successful until that night) ... I don't remember what was on at first, but I remember waking up sometime in the middle of the night and randomly decided to put on the Something to Remember album. I think I wanted to hear "I Want You," but for some reason, I must have dozed off a bit ... the ONLY song I remember hearing is "I'll Remember." I haven't had time to log into the forum much the past few days, so ... this is my first day back. M'Nation (and "I'll Remember" and Madonna) must be in my subconscious! I like the William Orbit remixes, too... I've never seen the CD maxi-single in the stores (when I used to be able to shop for M singles in the stores)... I did find "You'll See," though. I looked for this one on Amazon not all that long ago and was disappointed I couldn't buy it directly. It would be a nice one to have in the collection. Being in the US, I would have had the McDaniel "Rain" shot on the cover ... I can't decide which I like better, because the Meisel one is also lovely. (I love that whole Meisel VOGUE bohemian/Parisian set, too.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vocalism Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 I'll Remember was like the Second Coming. After it hit #2, it proved that she was utterly indestructible. She survived so much media abuse with the Erotica era where most celebs would've jumped off bridges. Totally. It was such a hard time being a fan in 1993, with "Bad Girl" flopping and the media tearing her apart. I even remember thinking "Rain" reaching #14 in the U.S. was a cause for celebration. I remember thinking IR was quite bland/boring at first, and surprised it did as well as it did. It quickly became a favorite though. It was bittersweet though, not just because it didn't reach #1, but because of the horrible press she was getting for the Letterman appearance. It wasn't until BS and "Take a Bow" that I really felt like she had proven herself indestructible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattress Posted March 12, 2014 Author Share Posted March 12, 2014 Another chart factoid: "I'll Remember"'s 26 chart weeks mean that it held onto the Billboard Hot 100 until just one week before "Secret" entered the chart on October 8, 1994. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vocalism Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 ^ God, it seemed like a bad time to be a Madonna fan, but what a great period. GREAT songs, GREAT success. And that was even before the ROL/Music renaissance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
promise to try Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 in Europe,l on the other hand, she was nowhere to be seen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humberto77rj Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 LOVE this song!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattress Posted March 13, 2014 Author Share Posted March 13, 2014 ^ God, it seemed like a bad time to be a Madonna fan, but what a great period. GREAT songs, GREAT success. And that was even before the ROL/Music renaissance. I know... She was having this phenomenal success with exemplary material and it was almost hidden until the tide turned and it became profitable for the media to "like" Madonna again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPowered Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 Copyright by Juancho Salazar G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LikeAPrayer Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 in Europe,l on the other hand, she was nowhere to be seen! Sometimes it felt like the backlash the European press gave her around that time was more intense that what she got from the US press. The thing unique with her backlash was that it was on a global scale, not many pop stars can claim that. Though, it did seem like she spent most of this time just concentrating on rebuilding her brand in the US market alone. Also, wasn't this the time she started living in New York more regularly again and dating Carlos? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vocalism Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 ^ I can't imagine it was worse than it was in the U.S. I mean, it was VICIOUS. She was a whore, her career was done, she was old, boring, out of ideas, etc. And that was just the MAINSTREAM press, not the tabloids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samo Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 ^ the press says the same thing about her now! The more things change... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
promise to try Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 ^ I can't imagine it was worse than it was in the U.S. I mean, it was VICIOUS. She was a whore, her career was done, she was old, boring, out of ideas, etc. And that was just the MAINSTREAM press, not the tabloids. those things were said here too...but I think in spain they simply laughed at her in that era,of course, some journalists respected her, but she was somebody to laugh about.I think all her sex stuff made more sense in a society like the north american, poep0le in spain were more free about sex, or at least is what people likes to think about themselves here. I think I have said here that I ehard that in Take a bow´s video she was going to have sex with a bull...a lot of jiournalists just used her to laugh during that era, or simply ignored her (and I´ll remember, at least here, was simply ignored). Others respected her, as they do now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vocalism Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 ^ I honestly think the lack of success in '94/'95 in Europe has more to do with the music. The U.S. was all about R&B and ballads and Madonna was pandering to that audience, trying to regain favor in her home country. Which is why TAB became her longest running #1 here, but flopped overseas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LikeAPrayer Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 Does anyone know if she had much of a backlash in France? I know Erotica hit #1 and that country and they also later embraced American Life, so I was wondering if they turned on her during this era like the US, UK, and other countries did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattress Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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