I am incapable of understanding how Madonna was so good

[-]

pebbles_temp@reddit

Omg, I thought you were shitting on her. Thank goodness. I love Madonna too.

Here is the answer: while Madonna is a talented dancer and musician (plays multiple instruments), she has a few talents that set her apart. She has minimal sexual inhibitions/judgment. This may not seem like a talent to most. That's why it's important. She is also amazing at setting and keeping up with trends. She also has a knack for recognizing talent in others. She's made the careers of dozens of artists.

[-]

dreadpiratemyk@reddit

She did it the hard way. I’ve heard she used to sleep at clubs when she didn’t have rent money. Wrote her own music and plays multiple instruments. Left home after high school and chased her dreams. Hard to beat that.

[-]

Far-Pie-6226@reddit

You should watch Who's that Girl, followed by 10 viewings of the Like a Prayer video and end with her 1990 performance of Vogue from the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards.

[-]

Ineedavodka2019@reddit

Ok. Like a prayer was about giving a bj, right? Not what I’m being gaslit to think now.

[-]

dreadpiratemyk@reddit

OMG my local news was playing it to their Easter stuff. Hahahahaha

[-]

Individual_Sky_4612@reddit

This was my favorite movie was I was in like second grade and I dressed up as her for Halloween that year.

[-]

proxminesincomplex@reddit

Hahaha we put birthday hats on our chests and danced to Like A Prayer

[-]

Far-Pie-6226@reddit

Lol, memory unlocked

[-]

djsynrgy@reddit

No repeat viewings of the video for Open Your Heart?!

[-]

dumpsterfiremktg@reddit (OP)

I can and I will.

[-]

dumpsterfiremktg@reddit (OP)

Who's that girl is such an insane f'n track btw. Unreal.

[-]

DeschainSWNC@reddit

Madonna was heavily involved in the A&R side of her imprint label Maverick, and personally vouched for Deftones way back in 1994, leading to them being signed and releasing their debut 'Adrenaline' and subsequent records on her label. Props are absolutely due.

[-]

Hatecookie@reddit

She also had Bjork write a song for her, and it’s been one of my favorites since before I knew who Bjork was.

[-]

Global-Jury8810@reddit

That would be the title track of her 1994 album “Bedtime Stories”

let’s get unconscious honey, let’s get unconscious

[-]

Hatecookie@reddit

Madonna has had the kind of vocal longevity most people can only dream about. I got the impression from documentaries that she is very strict about taking care of her voice. That said, her voice is showing signs of her age in the last few years. It will happen to all of us, but it’s incredible to think how many hours she spent putting her vocal cords through hard work and never needed a single surgery.

[-]

1Frazier@reddit

I loved that she did vocal training for her Evita role. She puts in the work.

[-]

Global-Jury8810@reddit

The haters stopped talking for a minute when Madonna became Evita, that’s for sure.

[-]

tracyveronika@reddit

Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morrisette was also released by the Maverick imprint!

[-]

1Frazier@reddit

So much talent, business savvy and personality.

I love how many great songs she has made for soundtracks. I think Beautiful Stranger and Die Another Day are underrated.

[-]

FlyEaglesFlyGoBirdz@reddit

Born in 1981... Material Girl made me realize I liked women at like age 3

[-]

MediumLanguageModel@reddit

Cherish was an awakening for me

[-]

callsignmario@reddit

https://i.redd.it/dd3ezq2slktg1.gif

[-]

OCDriftwood@reddit

Go Birds!

[-]

FlyEaglesFlyGoBirdz@reddit

Go Birds!

[-]

stormer1_1@reddit

lmao hard same

[-]

ManateeNipples@reddit

Somewhere there's a photo of me at 6 years old on a stage at my mom's office party singing with a microphone to Like a Virgin 😅

[-]

jikt@reddit

Born a year earlier, but basically the same story.

[-]

dumpsterfiremktg@reddit (OP)

So super happy for you! To have that direction and precision shaped at such a young age is a monumental thing. We have to give Madonna her props for challenging the status quo. And giving a lane for doing things differently in a way that is better than traditional methods.

[-]

ericwbolin@reddit

I've tried telling my children she was bigger (for longer) than Swift. They find it unfathomable. It's a statement I belive is true. Swift, who is great, is doing it in a monocultural era. Madonna crossed all boundaries and still had the talent and appeal to be a mega-star.

[-]

Halloween_Bumblebee@reddit

Taylor plays it safe. Madonna decidedly did not. Taylor is meh for me because of this.

[-]

Responsible-Bet-8361@reddit

IMO, Taylor Swift is really pretty, but not sexy if that makes sense. She definitely isn't a risk taker like Madonna either. Taylor meticulously controls her image and shys away from controversy. She is not Madonna, but she doesn't have to be. Madonna kicked down that door years ago.

Madonna was beautiful and sexy. She made a lot of sexual conversations happen when the times were firmly against that. The 80s (and 90s to a lesser degree) were very repressive when it came to sex. I remember the US Surgeon General was forced to resign for openly talking about the benefits of masturbation. 2 Live Crew were charged with crimes for rapping about sex. A front runner for president was forced to step down for having had an affair. The times were different when it came to sex where it seemed almost forbidden. Madonna's image thrived on controversy, but she never gave up and laid down because of the times.

[-]

NoContextCarl@reddit

Yeah, the younger generation doesn't seem to think that is possible, but stars like MJ and Madonna were arguably much more popular.

I'm not necessarily a fan of either of their music but Madonna in her prime was pushing boundaries and a true artist. Swift is shit you hear at the grocery store.

[-]

BasvanS@reddit

You’ll hear Madonna there too, and Nirvana, but the difference is that it took decades to become easy listening.

[-]

dumpsterfiremktg@reddit (OP)

Big Swift fan. It's not even close though in terms of controversy and sexuality. Taylor is one of a kind and unbelievable in so many ways. But Madonna was a media murderer and a psychotic villain in her time yet still reigned supreme over so many men and male driven bands. Holy shit how in the fuck does she even exist is my question lol

[-]

herroyalsadness@reddit

Madonna pushed. She was interested in sex, queer culture and interracial relationships in a time when that was more underground and/or shocking than it is now. T falls firmly into the lines of what is socially acceptable and she does it well, but she’s not breaking new ground.

[-]

1_art_please@reddit

She was a sex symbol, just not for men.

Which is unusual.

[-]

unknownsequitur@reddit

That's some hyperbole there. Sources please?

[-]

Spanks79@reddit

Only the king of pop was bigger!

[-]

FoppyRETURNS@reddit

Madonna was still HUGE in the 90s. She gets relegated to 80s nostalgia usually.

[-]

dgthedarkness@reddit

She was also huge in the 80’s; not just nostalgia.

[-]

garden__gate@reddit

Swift, who is great, is doing it all in a monocultural era

Huh? The monoculture is generally believed to be over. Whether or not that is true is up for debate, but the 80s was definitely much more monocultural than our current era.

[-]

Olelander@reddit

I think it’s exactly backwards. In Madonna’s time we lived in a monoculture dirt everyone digesting the same information. Not so today whatsoever.

[-]

garden__gate@reddit

Exactly.

[-]

peritonlogon@reddit

When it comes to pop music, I think today the tails may be longer, but the center of the bell is way taller. By that I mean, yes, there are probably a lot more people making pop music, but there are far fewer stars and more focus on them. The monoculture of the past though, is why so many acts from 50 years ago are still able to charge 3-4 figures for tickets.

[-]

garden__gate@reddit

Yeah, that’s fair. I selfishly hope it’ll be easier to buy Taylor Swift tickets in 20 years. 🤪

[-]

ericwbolin@reddit

Sorry! My brain was moving way too fast. Monocultural, yes!

[-]

garden__gate@reddit

Ahhh happens to all of us!

[-]

cat_at_the_keyboard@reddit

Madonna was never boring. Swift is about as exciting as wonderbread

[-]

EvenLettuce6638@reddit

She was extremely try hard.

[-]

Possible-Jerk0138@reddit

She’s a ghoul. She obviously sold her soul to get where she is. Not to mention sleeping her way to top. Good for her though. No shade.

[-]

se-dc@reddit

Classic 30 Rock bit about Madonna grabbing at youth with gollum arms

[-]

uglykidjohn@reddit

She's nasty.

[-]

se-dc@reddit

Liz Lemon on 30 Rock had a good crack about Madonna clinging to youth with Gollum arms. (I’m prepared to be downvoted. It’s just a joke!)

[-]

nefastvs@reddit

She was a legit artist. Paid her dues as a dancer and performer in NY. Sought to work with legit artists, like Nile Rogers and Björk. There you go.

[-]

se-dc@reddit

Wow, as a Bjork fan I had no idea she and Nellee Hooper co-wrote Madonna’s song Bedtime Story! Will have to check it out, thanks

[-]

Happy-Craftsman602@reddit

When I was younger and I heard someone say “Prima Donna” I thought they were saying “Pre-Madonna”… as in implying having an entitled attitude was because someone thought they were going to be as important as Madonna someday soon.

[-]

Ineedavodka2019@reddit

Same

[-]

No_Jellyfish8241@reddit

Me too!!

[-]

gman1647@reddit

Roy Kent sighting.

[-]

Olelander@reddit

He’s here. He’s there. He’s every fucking where.

[-]

Happy-Craftsman602@reddit

I totally forgot this Roy Kent moment

[-]

ResurgentClusterfuck@reddit

LMAO I am so glad I'm not the only one

[-]

Fun-Preparation-4253@reddit

Hey, Roy Kent. It's ok.

[-]

Moose-Trax-43@reddit

Oh my goodness, same here 😂

[-]

R0botDreamz@reddit

She did something few artist had the courage do to: re-invent herself.

[-]

madbuda@reddit

( . )( . ) That had allot to do with it

[-]

Longjumping_Gap8045@reddit

Gross, dude.

[-]

Narc78@reddit

Was lately on a binge with her Early to Late 90s music and, god, I nearly forgot how amazing and innovative her music was for such a top musician for that era. I mean, Justify my love is otherworldly! A minimalistic production, but totally well written and hypnotic. I must listen to the right now!

[-]

dumpsterfiremktg@reddit (OP)

it is almost haunting how devastating she was. conceptually. lyrically. visually. it is shocking actually.

[-]

yeahipostedthat@reddit

Did she write her own music?

[-]

hyzerKite@reddit

Co-writing credits on the bulk of her songs, even if she didn’t write them, she is paid like she did. Pretty sure MJ was an influence to a whole lot of stars to handle your publishing and don’t be a sucker in the 80s.

[-]

ShortIrishGuy@reddit

She was a beast. People don't realize how big she was. She's the female version of Michael Jackson.

[-]

Global-Jury8810@reddit

They dated during his BAD era

[-]

horusthesundog@reddit

That song at the end of A League of Their Own almost ruins the movie

[-]

Ok-Worldliness2161@reddit

No way - it made the movie!

[-]

horusthesundog@reddit

gif

[-]

Ok-Worldliness2161@reddit

This used to be my playground…

Used to be!!!

Will be in your head all day

[-]

horusthesundog@reddit

Lucky for me I haven’t been on here all day, so now it’ll only be in my head as I’m trying to fall asleep. Might ruin a dream :)

[-]

Ok-Worldliness2161@reddit

😂

[-]

Global-Jury8810@reddit

I had the single cassette too. I was lucky to find it in a neighborhood garage sale.

[-]

Red_Car_Singer@reddit

Welcome! She puts on a spectacular live show. If you have the means, I highly recommend it. Madonna has been a constant in my life since I was 9.

[-]

NYGiants181@reddit

I mean she has an incredible voice and is beautiful and had a great personality and charisma.

It’s not so hard to understand?

[-]

Veryfreakingbored@reddit

Yeah. She's my sister's favorite artist and even though I don't care for her music I think she killed it on the songs Live to tell and I'll remember. She did however use Weird Al for her own gain and try to kill him.

[-]

NYGiants181@reddit

She’s got some insane range. Her “character” overshadowed it, but her voice is crazy.

[-]

Kianna9@reddit

Do you mean insane vocal range? I always thought it was pretty limited. She struggled with Evita.

[-]

dumpsterfiremktg@reddit (OP)

Have you seen her lately? Or are you blessed by being at the right place at the right time?

[-]

RotrickP@reddit

I was at that place even though I was young. The commenter was right, but I think charisma was a huge factor. I can't speak on her the last few years, but she was absolutely magnetic in the 80s/90s. She had girls copying her style.

Who's that girl is not a great movie, but she makes it watchable throughout even while not being a great actress.

[-]

NYGiants181@reddit

What is that supposed to mean? Are you judging her current appearance?

You asked how she was so good.

I explained why.

[-]

Into-the-stream@reddit

I remember for ages, every new pop star was gauged around if “she’s the next Madonna”. Britney Spears was flagged by so many (Madonna even reiterated this when she said the kiss she gave Britney was Madonna “passing on her queen of pop powers” (as explained to a child).

I always thought the next Madonna was lady gaga. Pushed boundaries, innovative, and incredibly talented musician and song writer.

[-]

whinniethepony@reddit

Madonna writhed on the VMAs stage in lace to Gaga could writhe on the VMAs stage in blood.

[-]

sakkadesu@reddit

Never rated her as an actress but there was a good decade for me when she was in heavy rotation for me. My all time fave song of hers is Into the Groove but the one I listen to most now is her live version of Erotica, which I wish she had released instead the one on the titular album.

[-]

JayRay_44@reddit

I actually really enjoyed her performance in the “Evita” movie musical. I’m a big Broadway nerd and Evita is my favorite Lloyd-Webber musical, so I was skeptical when she was cast. Then I actually saw the movie. Top-notch acting as Eva Peron. (Antonio Banderas actually knocked it out of the park as well.) Madonna was no slouch as an actress.

“A League of their Own” is one of my favorite MOVIES of all time so I highly recommend catching her performance in that as well.

[-]

tracingtime@reddit

I LOVE the movie version so much (and I'm a huge fan of the Broadway versions too .. ) but that movie played a lot on repeat back in the day! Prob on VCR!

[-]

Dildo_Shw4ggins@reddit

She has some of the best music videos also imo

[-]

GraceGreenview@reddit

Don’t sleep on her role in Dick Tracy!

[-]

PSN-Colinp42@reddit

Madonna singing fucking Stephen Sondheim!

[-]

tracingtime@reddit

One of the best!!

[-]

General_Mousse_861@reddit

Madonna had a knack for finding young fresh producers for her music. She was often found in small, nice, music venues headhunting new DJs and musicians.

This made her music always sound so fresh and new. She recruited young talent, explored it, and brought new sounds to the mainstream.

[-]

General_Mousse_861@reddit

Harvard had a marketing class about her. She was the queen of reinvention on meta scale.

Each new single had a new look (themed within album aesthetic), new choreography, new persona. Every appearance on talk shows were planned out, every live performance, planned out as part of the rollout of each album. This put her reinvention tactics on a meta scale, reflective of moods and elements of the album overall and each individual single on a meta level.

This would then transfer into her tours.

This is how many do it now. Beyonce, Swift, etc. all started with Madonna.

[-]

Tinsley8@reddit

I started to write this from my mail account and still I decided to use a throw away anyways ....

I took a special seminar in college on surrealist artists as a Fine Arts major. My final paper was "Madonna was the greatest surrealist artist of all" I got an A. My biggest evidence was her "Bedtime Story" video but she also collects female surrealist painters.

After college I moved to LA and I fell into the Kabbalah crowd. I once sat directly behind her in a Shabbat service. I nearly died when I was already seated and she slipping into the pew in front of me and sat down directly in front of me.

Later, I got used to seeing her there with her family and I remember one time waiting at the sink bathroom and Lourdes comes in with a friend and they are washing their hands at the sink. She was about 6 at the time. It actually broke my heart what she was saying to her friend at that age. I realized being her daughter is no picnic. She was so little. I'm not shocked by Lourdes and her life path or many of her decisions since then. Don't meet your heros folks. Or don't overhear or literally have her eldest kid say to her friend in front of you without warning things that shatter your idea of them. It's actually a fairly benign statement but it made me realize how different it would be to grow up as her kid compared to an "average kid".

I left Kabbalah soon thereafter and I remember them calling me on the phone repeatedly for a week asking me to return. Reminds me of Scientology. There are so many religious cults in Los Angeles.

[-]

dumpsterfiremktg@reddit (OP)

Such a sensational share. Thank you for taking the time and for having the presence of mind to gift us with your experience. Please pm me with your current spiritual journey and findings if you don't mind. Would love to learn more from you.

[-]

Geoff_GodOfBiscuits@reddit

Who’s That Girl

[-]

StomachLegitimate249@reddit

I can recite the entire Madonna on Letterman ( when she swore 14x ) and I'm not ashamed.

[-]

Treadingresin@reddit

It is hard to fully comprehend how she managed to reach the too then just stay there. I have been a huge fan m my whole life and respect her artistry along with her outspoken nature, but to try and explain why it all just works is not something I can accurately put into words.

[-]

dumpsterfiremktg@reddit (OP)

It is truly inexplicable. Such a phenom. Producers that worked with her in the studio said she was a musical genius and a workhorse. Before she got on, she had a dance scholarship at U of M where she did 100 ab crunches before class even started. Then she said fuck that scholarship and went to New York where she dated Jean Michel Basquiat who took back all his paintings for her and painted over them black. And then she just flopped all around looking mad cute in Starlight lmao.

[-]

eve_on711@reddit

do you know what happened to those paintings? Even a painted over Basquiat would be worth a fortune, i think.

[-]

camptastic_plastic@reddit

Madonna will always be my number one music artist. I find it really impressive the way she’s been able to change things up so many times while still feeling authentic to who she is.

I’ve seen her in concert twice and have watched most of her filmed concerts as well. Her concerts are always a fantastic mixture of spectacle and art and storytelling. The Celebration Tour was incredible. She had me dancing, and laughing and crying. The Live To Tell segment with the tribute to those lost to aids was beautifully done.

Also her music is just fun. If I need motivation to go for a walk, or clean my house, or just cheer me up when I’m feeling down, Madonna is always a go to.

[-]

Remote_Bumblebee2240@reddit

Every few years I have a Madonna-thon and watch all her music videos.

[-]

ThePopulacho@reddit

She was always taking risks and knew how to reinvent herself and who to choose as inspirations for her art.

I am baffled at how little we talk about her. She was everything for decades. RESPECT!

[-]

timshel_turtle@reddit

Now dive into Marlene Dietrich’s film catalogue to find out who Madonna cribbed from.

gif

[-]

mxcnwlkr@reddit

Yes!! I know this is a Madonna appreciation post (I love her too), but my girl, Marlene, was such a baddie for her time. Almost none of my friends know who she is. I figured there are those amongst us whose parents exposed them to older movies (thanks, TCM) and other's did not. I'm happy to see someone else knows about her.

[-]

timshel_turtle@reddit

it’s insane how much pop culture owes to her, even now!

[-]

zorandzam@reddit

She cribbed from everybody. Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis, but also her semi-contemporary Debbie Harry, whom I think is far more talented than Madonna but a much quirkier songwriter and didn't seem too keen on selling out. She also had her first hit much older, so I think by the time pop overtook punk, new wave, and disco, Debbie was kind of over it.

I do like Madonna, to be clear, but I find a lot of her work and image to be so derivative more so than inventive.

[-]

hop123hop223@reddit

I love that Madonna names her in Vogue.

[-]

dumpsterfiremktg@reddit (OP)

Oh fuck 😯

[-]

timshel_turtle@reddit

indeed.

[-]

Happy_Brief_2199@reddit

I’m 47 and love Madonna. No shade to any other artists, but Madonna has ACTUAL eras (I myself am a huge fan of the blonde ambition era). Anyway, she’s an icon and if you haven’t watched Truth or Dare, it’s worth it

[-]

TangerineFade@reddit

Swept Away has a 28% score on Rotten Tomatoes. I haven’t seen it or heard of it until this post. Is it misunderstood? Guy Ritchie is definitely hit or miss, but more hits than misses.

[-]

bronzemat@reddit

I'm 47 & I've loved Madonna since she started. I still have my poster of her, from my childhood, in a frame up in my office.

And when I saw Dana Plato dressed as Madonna on an episode of "Growing Pains", that made me a lifelong Dana Plato fan.

You knew Kirk Cameron was off when he turns down Dana as Madonna.

[-]

SanPadrigo@reddit

I’ll remember her best as “All The Way” Mae Mortabito.

[-]

GutsAndBlackStufff@reddit

Her finest work

[-]

Eat_more_tacos_@reddit

I watched dick Tracy as an adult man in my twenties and never realized how sexy she was. I’m a late bloomer I guess but wowowowowow. I’m twice that age now and still enjoy it.

[-]

SilverAsparagus2985@reddit

She knew how to push the needle and stay incredibly likable and reinvent herself over and over.

[-]

HeCalledMeLucifer@reddit

I love Madonna. I’ve actually been listening to her a lot lately. She’ll always be in high rotation in my playlists but only her music up until 2000. I can’t go passed that.

[-]

jtho78@reddit

There is a funny outtake in the Swept Away DVD where they are shooting her and the love interest down the beach, rolling around and neck'n. Guy Ritchie yells 'Cut', they keep going at it, he yells one more time and then starts running down the beach yelling at them to stop. He wasn't actually upset, just goof'n.

[-]

FoppyRETURNS@reddit

My mother played the Immaculate Collection on repeat in the Jeep Cherokee. If I never hear Madonna again I'm OK with that.