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Die Another Day is melodrama defined and doesn't fit on American Life AT ALL. But it's an awesome song. I love that she used to do so many soundtrack singles, even though the results were mixed. They always offered something different and often experimental for her. The video is allegedly the most expensive of all time, which is weird because it's really not a memorable video at all.

 

Live to Tell is gorgeous (despite the subject matter) and easily her greatest ballad. Missing top twenty is a travesty!

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DAD is one of those songs where I have to be in the mood to hear it. It's never off putting, but when it's the right moment it's perfect. I also don't see how the video was so expensive...

Edited by Tyler~

I think or hopefully that American Life album will be out next, can't believe that it's finished higher than her debut, it's easily worse apart from MDNA and Hard Candy. Although I did like Hollywood, Mother And Father, Nothing Fails and Die Another Day on it, but apart from them the album wasn't very good and the title track is one of her worst ever.

 

But hoping that Like A Prayer, True Blue and Like A Virgin albums does well and also would love Material Girl to sneak into the top 10. But great rundown and rate well done thanks for this.

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One day to come together, to release the pressure

 

 

| 21 // Music // Music // 7.87 (0: jonjo, 3: jakewild, 4: gezza // 10: adamaloud, riser, oliver, jsilv, gavindeejay, jay, dandy, jark, leww, niallminogue)

 

| 22 // Holiday // Madonna // 7.84 (1: jakewild, 5: gezza // 11: ultraviolence, 10: niallminogue, .cdc., mikemyers)

 

First up in this final pre-top 20 bunch is the sunny, cheery and dulcet tones of 'Holiday'. Taken off her debut album, it became her first US hit (reaching the top 20), was released thrice in the UK and has since gone on to become one of her most well-known singles. Insanely infectious and feel-good, the song is about escaping the trials and problems of the world, finding a safe haven and just celebrating away. Here it didn't quite amass as many top scores but it received a plethora of 8s and 9s, but a few of the low scores have dragged it out of its rightful(?) top 20 placing.

 

And really, really narrowly missing out on the all important top 20, taken from the album of the same name,

. The title says it all, a song about music in all of its glory, bringing people together, making people dance and letting them forget their worries. The lead single from the album, it set up what was to become another change in direction from what came before it as it adopted a slightly punchier, more country vibe away from the fluid, raw emotions of 'Ray Of Light'. The song perfectly captures what the album is about; self-empowerment, dance, love and undeniably catchy music. A video, directed by Jonas Åkerlund and featuring Ali G, showed Madonna in a much lighter vibe than what we'd seen previously and the tongue-in-cheek-ness of it all really helped to sell the song as she crashed out at all of her previous singles. All of this led to it being one of the biggest singles of Madonna's career, reaching #1 around the world, amassing huge tallies atop the Dance charts in the US, and it eventually became the second biggest dance single of the decade there (behind another of M's own, which is still to feature~ oooh).

 

Two more albums next..

Holiday is my JAM. Pure eighties, I love it.
Holiday is pretty good, but Music really isn't all that. I just find the whole thing rather lacking, but in ways I can't quite put my finger on, basically like the entire parent album (bar Paradise).

Holiday and crazy for you not top 20

Ridiculous

I really like both of those tracks! Music isn't one of her best or one of her most inspired, but it's a great pop song, I love the message and lyrics in general too. Holiday is great fun, it hasn't aged as well as some of her other earlier work imo but it's still a classic.
I really like both of those tracks! Music isn't one of her best or one of her most inspired, but it's a great pop song, I love the message and lyrics in general too. Holiday is great fun, it hasn't aged as well as some of her other earlier work imo but it's still a classic.

Pretty much agree with this. I also agree with John's point of 'Music' lacking somehow. I find the S&S Tour mash-up of 'Music' and 'Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit' improves it. :wub:

Music is such an enduring modern M classic. J'adore. It works so well mashed up with virtually anything.
I love Holiday such a classic and Music is pretty great as well, I think the next 2 albums out will be American Life & maybe Erotica
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Words, they cut like a knife

 

 

| 08 // Erotica // 1992 // 6.94 (0: jakewild, 3: liam, 4: tyler, gezza, o'mie, pippa, // 11: sweetcandy, titty, 10: joe., 9: johnkm, luciano, leww, jark, oliver, fgiboy)

 

fwEBT0n.jpg

 

From now on the average scores for the albums take huge leaps between one and the other, as we begin to really pick out and define her greatest collections. Here, causing much controversy and discussion already is Madonna's most divisive album, 'Erotica'. Released simultaneously with the aptly titled, 'Sex' book and as the first release from her new & own management team, it aimed to shock, reveal and provoke. An album filled to the brim with sex, sexuality, romance, antics and dark doings, it was bound to be met with raised eyebrows and keen listeners. Often regarded as one of her more adventurous and daring projects, it did not capture the imagination of the public who almost completely abandoned it and its singles, as each performed badly for an artist of this caliber and the album too became her first to not top the US album chart, but did go on to perform well across the world eventually. Accompanied with equally as saucy music videos and lyrics, Madonna lashed out at her virgin image and showcased the darker side to her femininity.

 

The controversy was easy to see, with a bewitching album cover and not-so-suggestive title, the content inside the book opened up all of her dark secrets. Most explict in moments such as 'Bad Girl' and title track,

, and dangerously tender in softer moments such as
and
it's rare to see an artist lay it all out on the table to be judged and probed by listeners and critics. The album employs a different style to any other as she seductively talks her way through most of it, and merges hip-hop, swing, jazz, r&b, pop and dance to explore every inch and crevice of her sexual life and fantasies. Passion is presented as raw and dangerous for the most part, including in other album moments such as
and also brought back down to a crashing reality in 'In This Life' which was written in dedication to AIDS victims while another big dedication came to her own vagina in
.. With insane highs and grotty lows, the album is a pretty mixed bag in all, and one i'm still trying to wrap my head around. Heralded by some and lauded by others, it's no wonder it divides opinion as whatever you think about it, it is raw and straight to the core which is disturbing no matter what the end product sounds like.

 

-x-

21 | Music

22 | Holiday

23 | Live To Tell

24 | Die Another Day

25 | Justify My Love

26 | Cherish

27 | Nothing Really Matters

28 | Lucky Star

29 | You'll See

30 | Crazy For You

31 | Drowned World/Substitute For Love

32 | 4 Minutes

33 | Hollywood

34 | True Blue

35 | Give It 2 Me

36 | Burning Up

37 | Secret

38 | Rain

39 | Who's That Girl

40 | What It Feels Like For A Girl

41 | Human Nature

42 | Miles Away

43 | Nothing Fails

44 | Dress You Up

45 | American Life

46 | Erotica

47 | Deeper and Deeper

48 | Take A Bow

49 | I'll Remember

50 | Girl Gone Wild

51 | Oh Father

52 | Bedtime Story

53 | Masterpiece

54 | American Pie

55 | Don't Cry For Me Argentina

56 | Causing A Commotion

57 | Angel

58 | This Used To Be My Playground

59 | Love Profusion

60 | You Must Love Me

61 | Give Me All Your Lovin'

62 | Bad Girl

63 | Everybody

64 | Keep It Together

65 | Dear Jessie

66 | Turn Up The Radio

67 | Hanky Panky

68 | Fever

 

-x-

08 | Erotica

09 | Madonna

10 | Bedtime Stories

11 | Hard Candy

12 | MDNA

Erotica is amazing now that I've finally got round to listening to it. Erotica and Deeper And Deeper are my favourite tracks, I wasn't around at the time but I can see why it divided the public.
It took me a while to get into Erotica, but I do like it, but not one of my faves though, but do love the singles Deeper And Deeper and Rain, other tracks I like are Where Life Begins (should have been a single), Thief Of Hearts and In This Life, the title track Erotica is decent but still gotta be in the mood to give it a listen though. Never keen on Fever, Bad Girl and Bye Bye Baby though and Fever and BBB should not have been singles.

Can't remember anything of the Erotica album, singles aside, although that's more to do with the fact I've not heard it all that much rather than it just not being memorable.

 

'Bad Girl' and 'Rain' are two gorgeous songs; the epitome of Madonna ballads. :wub: 'Deeper and Deeper' is also very good, and I can appreciate 'Erotica' for what it is but it's not one I'd listen to out of choice. 'Fever' and 'Bye Bye Baby' are at the bottom of Madonna's discography for me though. :(

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It was time to wake up from this dream

 

 

| 07 // American Life // 2003 // 7.35 (4: gavindeejay, 5: mikemyers, fgiboy, gezza, o'mie, luciano, niallminogue, // 11: regina, randomfurlong, 10: oliver, cassandra, leww, liam)

 

kd2Da5J.jpg

 

Living the American nightmare. The controversy keeps on coming, in another of her daring missions to shock. This time it came with a much more political and human stance as she lashed out and challenged the conventions of 'American Life'. Madonna's 9th studio album was released at an uncertain time in the US, in the wake of tragic events that hit the country, Madonna began to question American values and beliefs and channeled them into one of her least "pop" albums to date, instead adopting a more rock/electronic/folk sound and rejecting the joyous carefree-ness of a lot of her previous releases. The album was met with critical acclaim but commercial disdain, shown in the response to the singles she released from it, particularly in the US who rejected a lot of the sounds. She didn't want an 'Easy Ride', and releasing something so forthright proved this.

 

The opening tracks,

and 'Hollywood' show exactly what the album is about: does she have to change her name, lose weight, transform, to gain success? Here she does transform once again and the harsh abrasive attitude she employs continue throughout the entire album, but it's not success she is after. When she steps back from the animosity though, we are left with moments of brilliance.
and
strip away the world around her and present an isolated woman on the brink of confessing all, and it's a touching pleasure to be part of such exposure. Weaker spots come about in 'X-Static Process' and 'Easy Ride' which verge into the melodramatic, self-loathing territory as opposed to the vulnerability presented elsewhere. But the beauty returns in
an inspirational and touching love song amidst the political agenda that surrounds it. The album rejects the material world that Madonna had previously hailed and shows the maturity that the artist had developed up to this point. It wasn't met with the best response at the time, but seems to have aged quite well. Ever the divisive one again though, and so a mid-table finish seems about right.

 

 

-x-

21 | Music

22 | Holiday

23 | Live To Tell

24 | Die Another Day

25 | Justify My Love

26 | Cherish

27 | Nothing Really Matters

28 | Lucky Star

29 | You'll See

30 | Crazy For You

31 | Drowned World/Substitute For Love

32 | 4 Minutes

33 | Hollywood

34 | True Blue

35 | Give It 2 Me

36 | Burning Up

37 | Secret

38 | Rain

39 | Who's That Girl

40 | What It Feels Like For A Girl

41 | Human Nature

42 | Miles Away

43 | Nothing Fails

44 | Dress You Up

45 | American Life

46 | Erotica

47 | Deeper and Deeper

48 | Take A Bow

49 | I'll Remember

50 | Girl Gone Wild

51 | Oh Father

52 | Bedtime Story

53 | Masterpiece

54 | American Pie

55 | Don't Cry For Me Argentina

56 | Causing A Commotion

57 | Angel

58 | This Used To Be My Playground

59 | Love Profusion

60 | You Must Love Me

61 | Give Me All Your Lovin'

62 | Bad Girl

63 | Everybody

64 | Keep It Together

65 | Dear Jessie

66 | Turn Up The Radio

67 | Hanky Panky

68 | Fever

 

-x-

07 | American Life

08 | Erotica

09 | Madonna

10 | Bedtime Stories

11 | Hard Candy

12 | MDNA

I guessed right that Erotica and American Life would have been out next, never been a fan of the latter to be honest, Music will finish 6th most probably

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