74 SCORE: 7.988 2015 PLACEMENT: UP 42!!! - 116 of 210 (6.966) HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 23 (@Vasilios @Suburbia @soratami @Mirwais Ahmadzaï @Phonetics Boy @Jonathan27 @Andy French @FridayNight @Modeblock @scottdisick94 @RetroPhysical @DinahLee @Sleepycat @Pop Life @clowezra @acl @ufint @Ramalama @nametag @Mr Blonde @Music Is Life @FrozenNight @Weslicious) LOWEST SCORE: 2.5 x 1 (@CasperFan) MY SCORE: 7.5/10 I... don't have the spreadsheet knowhow to confirm, but "I Deserve It" might be our highest climber of the rate. It vaults over forty places and gains over a whole point in scoring to land comfortably in the Top 100 in 2020 as opposed to scraping into the Top 120 in 2015. Music has actually been posting gains across the board so far; what does this mean for when things get turned up even further soon? Sometimes, love is like a bomb that goes off in your life. Sudden, visceral, violent, and sense-consuming, and you spend years after the fact picking the shrapnel out of yourself. But sometimes, it's just... so easy. Something that happens without you even realising; like the days getting longer in the summer. Gradual, gentle, inevitable. "I Deserve It" is one of my few highlights from Music as an album, and it's entirely for this vibe that Madonna and Mirwais create with this pseudo-acoustic production and lyrics that read more like vows than poetry. There are no stakes to "I Deserve It" because there was no fight to begin with; this was always going to happen, and this song is simply telling you why. It's just so wonderfully simple and sweet; one of the times where it feels like the album actually manages to nail down a purely felt emotion rather than pulling something synthetic out of thin air. I also love the idea of Madonna knowing that she was worthy of the happiness that she didn't have to suffer for it. Catholicism is full of pain = purification nonsense (as is a lot of organised religion) so I love the idea of a song where she gets to let go of ideas like that as well. Joy doesn't have to come only after sufferance. Sometimes, things can be just purely good, and nothing has to hurt. There is of course the uncomfortable fact that the song is about Guy Ritchie, who she would be divorced from by the end of the decade, but pop music is full of songs that were written about lovers who eventually became... less than lovers, and Madonna is not only no exception, but a great example of a discography littered with them. If a lot of her 80s love songs were inspired by Sean Penn, then a lot of her 00s love songs owe Guy for their inspiration. Let's just be glad we got them! The song was performed as part of the Drowned World Tour setlist, where Madonna performs it acoustically sitting on a hay bale. She finishes the audience by yodelling "YEE HAW!!!" and asking the audience, "Are y'all havin' a good taaaahhhhme????". And y'all thought Joanne was country-pandering? It's actually a great performance; the live production and Madonna's ad-libs make it an even more dynamic listen than the fairly sedate studio version, but both are enjoyable. Speaking of which: enjoy!
Not the write-up suddenly making me draw a few parallels to It's Nice to Have a Friend out of all songs... suddenly I like this a bit more
I Deserve It - 8. It has a lovely melody and Madonna's vocals are nice but it is a bit 'dentist drill' at times.
Coming at you thick and fast tonight... 73 SCORE: 7.994 2015 PLACEMENT: UP 6 - 79 of 210 (7.622) HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 29 (@Andreas @Vasilios @Dangerous Maknae @tylerc904 @OSHi @Angeleyes @Up Down Suite @CasperFan @torontodj @dancingwithmyself @Aester @Coochi @scottdisick94 @letuinmybackdoor @Drew @unnameable @joeee @phoenix123 @Lila @Pop Life @Filippa @TheChoirgirlHotel @Remorque @Digital Ghost @nametag @sexercise @happiestgirl @FrozenNight @Weslicious) LOWEST SCORE: 3 x 1 (@Cutlery) MY SCORE: 5/10 BYE should have been gone ages ago. ...Okay, fine. Isn't it funny how tonight's theme seems to be walking through the graveyard for love songs about relationships that no longer exist? Our last two 7/10 cuts in the rate are probably Madonna's most explicit love letters to the two men she's married throughout her life. Written by the lady herself and frequent 80s collaborator Stephan Bray, the title track to Madonna's powerful, iconic third album exists for the same reason a lot of the album does: as a loving ode to then-husband Sean Penn. It... basically sounds like a love song, girls. On an album that houses some of the most genre-defining pop songs of all time, I can't help but feel this sugary, borderline-cheesy little number just doesn't fit the fantasy. Plus, y'all know this kind of plain, unabashed outcry of adoration just... isn't my bag. I'm not well adjusted enough for it, and neither are you. There are things I can appreciate about it without actively liking it, however. That sherbet-sweet melody is positively evergreen and as addictive as mass produced candy to boot. It just fizzes. For all that she was and is a terrifying, world-conquering Goliath of a person, Madonna very sweetly laying out the fact she loves going steady with her man is something that she actually manages to sell with a surprising amount of authenticity. But then, Sean has always seemed like the person who got closer than anyone else, so maybe it makes sense that he prompted similarly unique songs too. I don't have much else to add other than the fact that, being a single from True Blue, it was obviously a massive fucking hit. No.1 in the UK and elsewhere, another Top 5 hit in the US, and a weirdly enduring fan favourite despite Madonna shunning it for decades understandably due to its inspiration. Like I said earlier: pop music is full of love songs written about lovers who eventually become lesser than, and Madonna is no exception... but some of those songs are easier to sing than others. Outside of its cheesetastic 50s-inspired video where Madonna is almost translucent in how white she is, it was performed on two tours. The first was during the Who's That Girl Tour, where apparently quick change wasn't a thing so they would just put the artist in six tear away outfits instead. In the performance of "True Blue", Madonna wears a wee summer dress over what looks to be the rest of the set's entire wardrobe. It was also performed acoustically during the Rebel Heart Tour over twenty years later. I think that is the defining live version, personally. Enjoy!
EVERYTHING BELOW IS 8/10 OR HIGHER Lucky Star Borderline Burning Up Holiday Material Girl Like A Virgin Dress You Up Papa Don't Preach Open Your Heart Live To Tell La Isla Bonita Like A Prayer Express Yourself Till Death Do Us Part Cherish Oh Father Vogue Erotica Deeper And Deeper Bad Girl Waiting Thief Of Hearts Rain Secret Human Nature Sanctuary Bedtime Story Take A Bow Drowned World/Substitute For Love Swim Ray Of Light Skin Nothing Really Matters Sky Fits Heaven Frozen The Power Of Goodbye To Have And Not To Hold Mer Girl Music Impressive Instant Don't Tell Me What It Feels Like For A Girl Paradise (Not For Me) Gone American Life Hollywood Love Profusion Nothing Fails Intervention X-Static Process Die Another Day Easy Ride Hung Up Get Together Sorry Future Lovers Forbidden Love Jump Isaac Give It 2 Me Miles Away Devil Pray Ghosttown Medellín (Feat. Maluma) God Control Crave (Feat. Swae Lee) I Don't Search I Find Into The Groove Crazy For You Justify My Love Rescue Me Beautiful Stranger
Well that makes up for losing a 10 at the start of the page! The evil is defeated!! What was your score for I Deserve It @RJF?
Borderline Dress You Up Open Your Heart Cherish Devil Pray Crazy For You Just need these six to vacate, everything else is 7+ for me.
I mean, I gave all those songs (except for Cherish) a 6, so it's not like I hate them. I probably did underscore Borderline a bit though.
