Jump to content

Why is TUTBMP so ignored?


Recommended Posts

This Used To Be My Playground has to be one of her best ballads ever, i just can't get enough of it. Her voice is so emotional and the lyrics sound so touching and personal. And it was a HUGE worldwide hit, a lot of people love it, including some who aren't fans.

So why was it so completely ignored by Madonna after the release? She never performed it live and it wasn't included on GHV2 and Celebration. Does anyone know why it is ignored like that?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In celebration of this fantastic single, here's a repost from our 20th Anniversary TUTBMP Extravaganza:

miniplaybook1.png

This Used To Be My Playground.
playgroundcd.png
Her final Sire Records single...

TUTBMP-45rpm.gif

A bit of background from Billboard...
TUTBMP-billboardbook.png

minisexbubble2.png
So, while Madonna was cavorting around the beach in cha-cha pumps, a blonde weave and not much else,

we were enjoying the last burst of pre-Sex Madonna in A League Of Their Own...
miniplaybook3.png
I remember the video was set to premiere on MTV and at the last minute was delayed (presumably due the post-production effects). The first peek MTV gave us was unfinished footage from the first set up below, without any indication of a photo album, just raw film of Madonna wistfully admiring her shag-astroturf set, looking demure...
miniplaybook4.png

The film soundtrack for A League Of Their Own carried the stern warning:

THIS ALBUM DOES NOT CONTAIN A MUSICAL RECORDING BY MADONNA

and indeed it did not.

So if you wanted "Playground" on a full-length release, you were at the mercy of the 1992 Summer Olympics compilation Barcelona Gold where it appeared in edited form (the Single Version with the "I wish you were standing here with me" chorus trimmed from the ending.)

Not surprisingly, Barcelona Gold was a Warner Bros. release

while the film soundtrack was issued by Columbia Records, an imprint of rival label Sony Music.

barcelonasoundtrack.png

The Single Version was later included on her ballads compilation Something To Remember, but otherwise

"This Used To Be My Playground" ranks as one of Madonna's most neglected hits. :hurt:
miniplaybook2.png

Viva la Mae!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have that single on vinyl. I remember buying it with my weekly allowance, lol. I loved the song so much, and I still love it. It reminds me of the time when it came out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A great song that has aged very well, her 2nd best ballad behind live to tell

Agreed. Sometimes I forget about it but then when I rediscover it, I'm always amazed about the beauty of this song.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The public was very eager for new Madonna music at this time, which may have made the song the success it was.

It probably marked that end of what many would refer to as "Madonna's Golden Age." She had such an incredible run in the early 90s's (well 80's leading into the early 90's) before the SEX/ERTICA era backlash. TUTBMP obviously preceded that and benefited from how "in" Madonna was at this point of her career with both the mass public and press. I think the song may be neglected because she's just not a fan of it and probably doesn't know where to fit it in on her tours thematically.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Should've won an Oscar for this song. It ticks all the boxes in my opinion [/broken record]

One of Madonna's best and most underrated.

On one hand, I wish she would perform it at least once, it would be a crime not to. On the other hand, the song is long and I think it would be emotionally draining (for M, to perform it). Plus, she hates everything nostalgia and looking back-themed and I don't think she'd have the patience. If we're lucky, TUTBMP will be in a You'll See type of situation and she'll perform it in a few shows. And I think that would be best. I don't want this song to be overplayed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Such a beautiful song with amazing lyrics and delivery... and as everyone has said it fits into an odd place in her legacy.

But.....

What the fuck is the video? She looks amazing, the shots of her are amazing, and then we're treated to this ugly higgledy piggledy series of unrelated vignettes in some digital book? Just... why would you do that?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This song is very nostalgic for me, it reminds me of my summer holiday when I was 6! It's bizarre to think a couple of months later Erotica was released, that't when my mum tried to ban me from listening to her lol.

Edited by tasteinmen
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Because it's a drag and she doesn't want to be reminded of A League of Their Own.

yeah its boring. and very MOM AM RADIO. I hear it being played in a department store or elevator
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is such a great melancholy song and I think it's beautifully sung. Love her layered vocals where she harmonizes with herself - so well done. I can see where some may think it drags or goes on too long but I personally never tire of it and it remains one of my favorite M ballads.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The film soundtrack for A League Of Their Own carried the stern warning:

THIS ALBUM DOES NOT CONTAIN A MUSICAL RECORDING BY MADONNA

and indeed it did not.

Mattress, THANK YOU for this historical retrospective on TUTBMP. Love it. The only thing I thought to point out is something I read somewhere over the last few years, which I never really thought of before ... I'm not sure where I read it, but someone pointed out that, while the official soundtrack does not contain a recording of TUTBMP, it may actually contain a musical recording with Madonna's voice. The All American Girls Professional Baseball League Song is included on the soundtrack and is credited as being sung by "The Rockford Peaches," which would include Madonna, theoretically. In the film, you see her singing in the locker room, too ... so, if that wasn't pre-recorded or re-recorded or whatever, one would suppose Madonna's voice is in there somewhere.

Sort of a technical point, because it's still somewhat of a disappointment the labels couldn't reach an agreement about that. Funny that by 1999, the situation would reverse: Instead of making the major summer hit song a single, it could ONLY be found on the full soundtrack ("Beautiful Stranger" wasn't released in the U.S. as a single; U.S. fans had to buy the full soundtrack, or else buy an import maxi-single). I know the difference here was the record company was Maverick/Warner, rather than a competitor. But still -- just a little funny that it's the opposite of the situation with ALOTO and TUTBMP, which was a single, but not on the soundtrack.

Should've won an Oscar for this song. It ticks all the boxes in my opinion [/broken record]

One of Madonna's best and most underrated.

On one hand, I wish she would perform it at least once, it would be a crime not to. On the other hand, the song is long and I think it would be emotionally draining (for M, to perform it). Plus, she hates everything nostalgia and looking back-themed and I don't think she'd have the patience. If we're lucky, TUTBMP will be in a You'll See type of situation and she'll perform it in a few shows. And I think that would be best. I don't want this song to be overplayed.

Well said. I feel like I am a broken record about the Oscars thing, and about how much I love TUTBMP. So wonderful.

I think the other concern for her to sing this live would be all the different versions/verses. She'd probably get confused about which lyrics she's supposed to sing -- I know I get confused every now and then when I forget which one I'm listening to!

Such a beautiful song with amazing lyrics and delivery... and as everyone has said it fits into an odd place in her legacy.

But.....

What the fuck is the video? She looks amazing, the shots of her are amazing, and then we're treated to this ugly higgledy piggledy series of unrelated vignettes in some digital book? Just... why would you do that?

I agree with your comment about the odd place in her legacy, since she's less than nostalgic normally. I think the video as a concept isn't all that bad, and isn't really even poorly executed for the technology of the time. The emotional theme of TUTBMP is reflective, thinking back on memories. The visual counterpart to that is flipping back through a photo album. Since it's a video, they decided to bring the still photos to life. And I love when the multiple Madonnas start singing the back-up vocals, while one sings the main melody line.

I realize it's not really high art or full of subtext. But I think it works for the mood. (I guess I'm just a little biased ... as much as I might like to be one of Madonna's more epic/iconic videos, if I were one of her videos, this is probably it. I was a yearbook editor all through school and college, so ... somehow this just feels like very close to my heart.) And she's pretty in it, of course. :)

It reminds me of what she wrote in the intro to the EVITA companion photography book ... how someday when she's older, she might not want to sit and watch the film, but she might want to flip through a book. Something about her daughter on her lap maybe? Or maybe she said grandchildren?! LOL. I should dig out the book and transcribe it.

This is such a great melancholy song and I think it's beautifully sung. Love her layered vocals where she harmonizes with herself - so well done. I can see where some may think it drags or goes on too long but I personally never tire of it and it remains one of my favorite M ballads.

Well said, well said! I keep echoing everyone else about the song -- don't feel like I have much more to add!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

and she doesn't want to be reminded of A League of Their Own.

Well that's just silly of her because it was the best movie she was ever in.

FACT!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I quite like this song, but it's a bit lugubrious and understated for a Madonna track. She has all but ignored it in her catalog which is probably why it isn't talked about more often. I think her more powerful ballads, "Live to Tell" and "Oh Father" are probably more dramatic and therefore more remembered.

This song still recalls memories for me of the summer of 1992. The summer before I was a senior in high school. Definitely an agent of nostalgia.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love This used to be my Playground. The lyrics are so sad and poignant and the melody is beautiful. As usual with all her ballads, Madonna sings this with so much feeling and empathy. I know she hates looking back and I think that has a lot to do with the fact that she has had so much sadness in her life. However, as she never likes to be seen as a victim, she instead always looks forward. So in that case, it may be emotionally draining to sing this song on tour.

As for the video, I personally think it is one of her best. Beautiful images, looks and no-one can do old glamour Hollywood like Madonna. Her beauty is timeless and seems to suit anything - thus she looks incredible in so many different looks that represent so many eras and times.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love this song and she looked beautiful in the vdo . I miss those days when Madonna used to do really good vdos for soundtrack singles. TUTBMP/ I'll Remember /BS .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This song is very nostalgic for me, it reminds me of my summer holiday when I was 6! It's bizarre to think a couple of months later Erotica was released, that't when my mum tried to ban me from listening to her lol.

That's funny but understandable at the same time :-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It certainly is overlooked, though it did get some love on STR. Didn't Madonna herself diss it (make a face) around 2001 to an interviewer when asked why it was not included on GHV2? I can swear something like that occurred....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...