It featured scenes of sadomasochism, bondage, same-sex kissing, and brief nudity-and no, I'm not talking about Quills 2.
Back in 1990, Madonna was making headlines yet again when the video for her hit single "Justify My Love" was banned from MTV. The singer appeared on Nightline (which aired the video in full) and had this to say:
"Why is it that people are willing to go and watch a movie about someone getting blown to bits for no reason at all, and nobody wants to see two girls kissing and two men snuggling?" she asked. "MTV has been good to me, and they know their audience. If it's too strong for them, I understand. Although, half of me thought I was going to get away with it."
When asked if she could potentially make more money selling the video than airing it on MTV, Madonna appeared impatient and answered, "Yeah, so? Lucky me." The song is now the top-selling video of all time.
As far as MTV, it seems they've toned it down on the whole censorship thing. Although there was some talk that the network would ban Lady Gaga and Beyonce's "Telephone" video for showing the performers being forcibly stripped down, they decided against it and aired it in full.
Well, except for the parts that were already pixelated, of course.
This is from Madonna's "The Confessions Tour - Isaac". Heartfelt thanks to Donnaleigh de LaRosa for posting this on Face Book! Stunning video! The words here are fiction - they are not meant to reflect the content of the video. The video acts as a focus, or catalyst for the writing.
Hear that music? hear that voice? It speaks to my soul - it asks me who I am, and what I am going to do about that. Hear that quickening? Eveything is moving faster … faster … faster!
What is this cage that I am in? I choose to move - faster … faster … faster! Keep moving! Don't stop! Don't wonder why I am in this cage. As big as it is - it limits me … it forces me to live within boundaries that are not mine!
Hah! As long as I keep moving, you cannot catch me! You cannot define me! You cannot control me!
Who am I? It really doesn't matter, because I am as free as I want to be!
While male acts dominated the lineup that day, a few ladies were able to strut their stuff.
Madonna had only become a household name the year before with Like A Virgin. Here, a brunette version performs two of her classics:
Earlier in the day, the Pretenders performed with Chrissie Hynde in great form:
Later that night, Patti Labelle performed to the Philadelphia crowd:
Back at Wembley, Sade performed early in the concert, though only Your Love Is King made it to the DVD. She performed a few songs including Is It A Crime?:
Alison Moyet performed with Paul Young at the end of his set for soulful That's The Way Love Is:
Don't freak out, this isn't a post about my love life. At least, not my romantic life. This is about my first love: musicals.
Within my general obsession with musical theater, there are a few areas I find particularly interesting, all of which can be grouped under the rubric of transformations. I am fascinated with the way stories are told and retold, and few storytelling arenas are as obsessed with retelling as musical theater.
I love to read/watch the books, plays, and movies that musicals were based on to see how the composers, lyricists, bookwriters, directors et al applied their craft. For example, my already huge admiration for Oscar Hammerstein II grew exponentially after reading Edna Ferber's original novel Show Boat. The way that Hammerstein transformed the central metaphor of the book - Magnolia's relationship with the Mississippi River - into the central metaphor of the show - Magnolia's relationship with the musical stage - is genius.
I am also intrigued by the ways in which musicals change of time. No theater piece is ever as static as film (unless the film in question belongs to George Lucas), but this seems even more the case with musicals. Maybe it's due to the ways in which technology has changed (bringing in microphones, mixing boards, and electronic instruments), or the fussiness of living composers (I'm looking at you, Mr. Sondheim), or the egos of contemporary directors… but musicals seem to change. A lot. I'm not only talking about contemporary auteurs like Sam Mendes deciding that Cabaret needed the injection of a half-dozen extra songs from the film or cut from the original production. Even the first Broadway production of Show Boat added new numbers, including "Nobody Else But Me" which has become a standard. And no production of Annie Get Your Gun today would dare omit "Old Fashioned Wedding," added for the 1966 Lincoln Center revival. Some shows, such as Beauty and the Beast, even added songs to their original productions after they opened (and after the cast albums were recorded).
A third, related fascination of mine is songs added for the film versions of musicals. And that is where our friend Madonna comes in. Musicals made from Broadway shows have added songs since films first had sound. Seriously, The Jazz Singer is based on a Broadway show, but the film score is augmented with plenty of songs that weren't in the original play. (Wikipedia tells me the original play had no on stage singing, so maybe this isn't the best example, but if I use Show Boat for every single example here, it will get tiresome. However, the song "I Have the Room above Her," added for the 1936 film version of Show Boat, is a favorite.)
I have other, related interests, such as songs cut from shows and films, and songs from shows that never got recorded by their original cast, and cover versions of showtunes… but future blog posts can examine those categories.
Why do songs get added to film versions of successful musicals? There are several reasons, some more artistically driven, others commercially driven, and of course, not a few are ego-driven.
In the best cases, songs get added because film is a different medium than the stage, and storytelling works differently on film. Take, for example, Little Shop of Horrors. I'm not going to argue that "Mean Green Mother from Outer-Space" is a fantastic song, but it takes advantage of the special effects capabilities of the screen in a way that the stage production never could. In the film, Audrey II is even more of a star, and the song gives the star his 11:00 number. But the song hasn't migrated back to the stage because it wouldn't work delivered by the considerably more Muppet-like plant used on stage.
Sometimes songs get added in order to create a hit single, court an Oscar, or give more screen time to a star whose character sang less in the original. Some of those examples are interchangeable. But commerce is commerce, and often one commercial move can support multiple commercial reasons.
Which brings us back to Evita and "You Must Love Me." When it was announced that Madonna would star in the long-anticipated film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice's musical, there was little doubt she would get a new song written just for her. No one was going to deny Madge her shot at another hit single, nor would anyone get between Lloyd Webber and his Oscar. And it worked.
But did it work? I remember rushing out to buy the single (because it was released in advance of the soundtrack) and feeling underwhelmed by the song. It was a pretty enough melody, and Madonna sang it well, but… the lyrics sat awkwardly on the tune. Whenever Madonna sang the title phrase, she treated each word as though it were it's own sentence. You. Must. Love. Me. The effect was similar to the film's real hit song, "Don't Cry for Me Argentina." The song might be catchy, but I defy anyone to say what the title really means.
But the more I've come to know "You Must Love Me," the more I like it. When I hear it, I find myself wondering, is Evita giving her husband a command (you must love me!) or having a realization (you must love me!). I'm not sure Madonna is capable of playing the nuance (forgive me, Madonna! I love you… just not when you "act"). But the song has migrated back into the show, and I'd love to see a better actress play the scene.
However much I might dislike Madonna the actress - in other post, I will detail my long and sordid history with Dick Tracy - I do love that she has incorporated several songs from Evita into her concert repertoire. The video above is from her Sticky & Sweet Tour DVD, in which "You Must Love Me" is paired with "Don't Cry for Me Argentina." On the tour documented in I'm Going To Tell You A Secret, she sang "Lament," my favorite piece from the show. I'm still waiting for a really dance-able take on "Buenos Aires," but who knows, that may come with the next tour.
1984 was one of the strongest years for 80′s pop culture!  "Frankie Says Relax" and guys liked  wearing skinny ties and loafers with no socks just like Don Johnson from Miami Vice. Those are just a couple of nostalgic memories from this year. Listen to hear more about remembering the year 1984.
The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards are only a few weeks away. The biggest party of the year features nominated clips by Lady Gaga, Eminem, Jay-Z, Ke$ha and Katy Perry and will feature performances by Kanye West, Justin Bieber, Drake, B.o.B and Florence and the Machine (with many more to be announced). In order to properly prepare yourself for what's to come, every day the MTV Newsroom Blog will deliver a classic moment in the history of the MTV Video Music Awards. Today's installment: Madonna sets the first VMAs on fire.
Thank You and a HUGE shout-out to our member ziggy for the photo.
On September 14, 1984, the worlds of music, television and awards shows changed forever when hosts Dan Aykroyd and Bette Midler kicked off the very first MTV Video Music Awards. Obviously, the first VMAs looks pretty odd from this vantage point, but the twist is they actually seemed pretty odd back when they actually happened. Midler was certainly a bizarre choice to co-host, and the list of winners that year included some early MTV visionaries (David Bowie, the Cars, Cyndi Lauper) but also some unusual choices (ZZ Top and Herbie Hancock, who took home a total of five Moonmen that night).
But the first VMAs will be best remembered as the forum that allowed Madonna to don a wedding dress and writhe around on stage during "Like a Virgin." It was sexy, shocking and memorable, and it successfully set the tone for future VMA performances.
The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on September 12 at 9 p.m. ET. Fans can go to VMA.MTV.com (or text VMA to 97979 for Verizon subscribers) to vote for the winners from now through September 12.
Today from the Seattlepi.com archives, we share articles from April 1985 telling a little-known fact: Madonna started her debut concert tour at Seattle's Paramount Theater.
Before the April 10 debut, Madonna had played New York clubs and performced with Prince in Los Angeles. But that first performance on a Wednesday night in Seattle was the start of her major concert dates.
Madonna played three shows in Seattle, April 10, 12 and 13. The Beastie Boys were her opening act, but had each song followed by boos. Their 30-minute set got off to a bad start when one declared himself King of the Paramount, and generally made the pro-Madonna audience feel like a swarm of hillbillies, P-I pop music critic Gene Stout wrote in his review.
The Beastie Boys' performance was more than a year before "License To Ill" was released.
Some fans waited by the Paramount back entrance to greet Madonna, who arrived in a black limousine.
"Dressed in what looked like a Boy George outfit, she looked reluctant, almost scared, and kept her eyes on the ground as she and her small entourage swept past a modest gathering of fans," Stout wrote.
Madonna started the show with "Dress You Up," followed with "Holiday," and ended with "Material Girl," according to a Wikipedia page about the tour.
People love great television, especially awards shows like the MTV VMAs where hundreds of artists gather annually to celebrate the top music videos of the year. The show has become popular for its jarring and shocking moments as much as the actual awards. In anticipation of the big night (September 12, 2010), check out our top 10 list of the most wildest and jaw dropping moments in VMA history.
From the bizarre opening act by a seemingly sedated and winded [lastfm]Britney Spears[/lastfm], a stage invasion by a furious [lastfm]Kanye West[/lastfm] during [lastfm]Taylor Swift[/lastfm]'s acceptance speech to an actual brawl between [lastfm]Kid Rock[/lastfm] and [lastfm]Tommy Lee[/lastfm], these are the Top 10 Memorable VMA Moments. Watch them all below and be sure to check out great lists and galleries by our friends at Radio.com's Daily Top 10.
10. OK GO performs "Here It Goes Again" Ever since [lastfm]OK Go[/lastfm] performed their synchronized treadmill dance routine at the 2006 MTV VMAs, they went from being a viral sensation to bonafide Pop stars.
9. Lady Gaga and Kermit The Frog There were tons of hot couples like [lastfm]Beyonce [/lastfm]and [lastfm]Jay-Z[/lastfm] at the 2009 MTV VMAs, but [lastfm]Lady Gaga[/lastfm] and her date Kermit the Frog were the beyond the most fabulous that night.
8. Britney Spears Gives Up Britney Spears' VMA 2007 opening number was meant to be her big comeback, but instead the fallen Pop idol gave nothing but a underwhelming performance.
7. Madonna, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera Kiss In 2003, all three pop queens lip-locked and shocked the world during a performance of [lastfm]Madonna[/lastfm]'s "Like A Virgin."
6. Triumph vs. Moby vs. Eminem Triumph the Insult Comic Dog interviewed celebrities on the red carpet in 2002. The entire video is hilarious, but moment worth noting is when [lastfm]Eminem[/lastfm] gets into a scuffle with the dog puppet operated by comedy writer Robert Smigel. Who knew [lastfm]Moby[/lastfm] could make people so mad?
5. Kid Rock vs. Tommy Lee At the 2007 VMAs, Pamela Anderson's ex-flames [lastfm]Kid Rock[/lastfm] and [lastfm]Tommy Lee[/lastfm]ended up brawling. Both were thrown out, and Rock was charged with misdemeanor battery.
4. Courtney Love and Madonna Cat Fight [lastfm]Courtney Love[/lastfm] interrupts Madonna's VMA red carpet interview with Kurt Loder. Classic moment is when Courtney apologizes to Kurt (watch @4:55 mark) and said, "Was I bumming you out, were you guys talking astrophysics or something?"
3. Bruno's (aka Sacha Baron Cohen) Butt Prank on Eminem For a moment, many questioned if the controversial Bruno and Eminem incident at the 2009 VMAs was completely staged. If it was a mere accident, wouldn't you think a real Slim Shady would've punched him the face?
2.Britney Spears Presents Michael Jackson with the "Artist of the Millennium Award" This was probably the most embarrassing yet memorable moments in VMA history. In 2002, Michael Jackson's birthday fell on the same day as the awards show. Britney Spears was asked to present him with a cake. During her speech, she called Michael "the artist of the millennium" but no such award exists. Then things took a turn for the weird…
1. Kanye West and Taylor Swift Mr. West spoiled Taylor Swift's victory moment when he ran up on stage, grabbed her mic and said, "Yo Taylor. I'm really happy for you. I'm going to let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time. One of the best videos of all time!"
Do you agree with our picks? Then "like" our post or Tweet the link by using the buttons at the top of the page. Then come back to this site each Wednesday for hot lists and great galleries by our friends at Radio.com's Daily Top 10.
I had to be dragged kicking and screaming to this one, I really did. The wife some how convinced me that spending over ₤100 each on tickets would be a good thing to do. Our seats were halfway back, up the side, and were easily worth more than all my previous Wembley gig tickets put together. I estimated I was in a 5% minority - 50% women, 45% gay men, the rest reluctant husbands/boyfriends. This was going to have be very very very good not to seem like a total waste of money, I mean, I don't even like Madonna, save for (literally) a couple of tracks that I'll put up with if in an exceedingly good mood.
The first thing that struck me on entering the Arena was the scale of the stage set - there was just so much of it. Walkways suspended from the ceiling, podiums, risers, platforms and all kinds of stuff that would have filled a fair few dozen trucks. She hadn't even come on stage and already I was beginning to appreciate that she might have spent a fair bit putting this show on. Her actual entrance (fnar fnar) was a little underwhelming, I think I was probably expecting her to abseil down from roof, or fly in by personal jetpack, but she just ran on dancing, to Vogue. I have to say, I never would have thought that I would say what I'm about to say next. Ever.
From the moment she opened her mouth to the very last farewell, I was amazed, enthralled and utterly gobsmacked by how good it was. It took the concept of live performance to a totally new level for me - every song brought a different stage set, a different accompaniment, a different set of dancers and a different lightshow. Slick is not the word - a huge amount of set changes went on virtually undetected in between songs, for one song (don't remember which) she wheeled out a troupe of skateboarders on a full size half-pipe. Her dancers (no idea if it was many dancers with few costume changes or few dancers with many costume changes) were, as you'd expect, ultra-professional, it was like the corps de ballet at the Kirov (not that I've ever been to the ballet, but you know what I'm driving at). The interplay between the live music and the video screen, during the one (no idea, can't be arsed to research) featuring Missy Elliott, was just stunning. It was so slickly put together, it's as if she was actually there.
Musically, however, the highlight for me was 'Material Girl'. A track I usually wouldn't give you tuppence for (like, er, all of them), Madge came out with a Les Paul strapped to her, apparently playing a new guitar riffy version all by herself. Not sure if it was merely for show, after all, she has been accused of lip-synching so miming the guitar is hardly beyond the realms of possibility, but it really didn't matter. She rocked, the song rocked, and above all she looked great wearing a guitar. All in all, a brilliant, brilliant show, I left thinking my 100 pahnds was well spent. A bargain even, given the scale of the whole thing. Shows of this magnitude are not put on cheaply.
I watched both Madonna's The Confessions Tour DVD and her Sticky and Sweet Tour DVD, and I thought I'd offer up an opinion on which one is better or which one might be better to buy if you were going to buy one.
Personally, I enjoyed The Confessions Tour better. It's very disco/dance-oriented, and that's the kind of music I really like. Plus, Madonna looked nicer, which is always a good thing.
However, Sticky and Sweet had a better all-around song selection-all of her most iconic songs got played, including some that I really wished had made Confessions, such as "Vogue," "Borderline," "Like a Prayer," "Ray of Light," and "Into the Groove."
I think, essentially, what it boils down to is what you like better: dance music or classic Madonna. If you're not very familiar with either except for the basics, Sticky and Sweet is probably your best bet. That being said, Confessions is great if you're really into the more in-depth parts of both.
I have a tale to tell Sometimes it gets so hard to hide it well I was not ready for the fall Too blind to see the writing on the wall.
A man can tell a thousand lies I've learned my lesson well Hope I live to tell the secret I have learned Until then it will burn inside of me.
I know where beauty lives I've seen it once, I know the warm she gives The light that you could never see It shines inside, you can't take that from me.
The truth is never far behind You kept it hidden well If I live to tell the secret I knew then Will I ever have the chance again?
If I ran away, I'd never have the strength to go very far How could they hear the beating of my heart? Will it grow cold? The secret that I hide. Will I grow old? How would they hear? When would they learn? How would they know?
Porque tuve hambre, y ustedes me dieron de comer; tuve sed, y me dieron de beber; fui forastero, y me dieron alojamiento; Y le contestarán los justos: "Señor, ¿cuándo te vimos hambriento y te alimentamos, o sediento y te dimos de beber? El Rey les responderá: "Les aseguro que todo lo que hicieron por uno de mis hermanos, aun por el más pequeño, lo hicieron por mí"Live to tell
Madonna em sua turnê "Re-Invention Tour", em 2004
