I'm remembering my childhood, and I thoroughly remember the arm full of plastic bangles phase of the 80s. Man I miss those days. I remember the fishnet gloves, they never went out of fashion on Planet Goth. I've no idea what a "Boy Toy" belt was. *has flashbacks to girls with a ton of bangles*
You making 90 likes off my soul and just forgetting about it? Trust, you will be dealt with. Peridot peridot.
You kinda have to stan the fact that Ray of Light has 3-4 songs in the top 10 when some of these girls have been out since before the Top 50. An album. THE album.
I will settle for The Power of Good-Bye leaving at 11, just because I see some of you heathens calling out for Ray of Light and Live to Tell, the pinnacles of Madonna's discography, even though the song that should rightfully miss out on the top 10 is Hung Up, but let's have that conversation when it goes out in the top 5 and you realize how many better songs it managed to outlast.
Let's do this. SCORE: 9.406 11 x 5 @Andreas @P'NutButter @Skyline @Filippa @Rogue 2015 PLACEMENT: UP 7 - 18 of 210 (8.838) HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 89 (@RJF @nikkysan @AshtrayHeart @Vasilios @aux @cheida @Jwentz @Raichu @No hay banda @dodoriazarbon @eatyourself @HEARTCORE @djmakemewet @discoteca @Lucy Honeychurch @rdp @Future Lover @Remyky22 @AllGagaLike @Suburbia @madgemad @Endothelium @Mirwais Ahmadzaï @Phonetics Boy @dylanaber @Mjg0806 @relby @Jonathan27 @elear @paullypaul @Andy French @fatyoshi @WoW73 @godspeed @torontodj @theelusivechanteuse @1991 @Babylon @Dreampopboy @Fuchsia @NightmareBoy @BreatheBox @BreatheBox @Coochi @muddleddreams @scottdisick94 @letuinmybackdoor @Robsolete @Fortune @MilesAngel @RetroPhysical @Zdarlight @citoig @joeee @Xanax @VeryPSB @TrueBeliever @DinahLee @SloMover @Bleu Noir @Jimmyandroid @JonBcn @Candy Perfume Girl @paperboyfriendd @BTG @Crisp X @Epic Chocolat @Mister_G @Sleepycat @phoenix123 @Pop Life @clowezra @wintersleep @TheChoirgirlHotel @Remorque @Digital Ghost @MrMannacroix @acl @RainOnFire @Ramalama @nametag @Mr Blonde @happiestgirl @Music Is Death @fancygreen @Weslicious @Beautiful Child 2 @tommylander @Touchofmyhand) LOWEST SCORE: 4.5 x 1 (@Aester) MY SCORE: 10/10 So close, yet so far. After vaulting seven places from its original position of #18 in the original rate, "Live To Tell" lands in the most agonising position of all. This leaves "Open Your Heart" as the highest rated track from True Blue yet again, and also means that Ray Of Light is the last album standing with more than one track left with a whopping four entries in the Top 10. Any other track apart from those dropping now means that the journey is over for its parent album. As some of you may know from being with me on the forum for the last six hundred years, one of my favourite book series is His Dark Materials. I'm gonna skip over loads of context in the interest of trying to keep this write up economical (and also in an attempt to keep its popular currently-in-the-process-of-airing BBC/HBO adaptation unspoiled), but one of the most achingly perfect moments of its delicate, blossoming denouement is the sanctity and nourishment of storytelling. "Tell them stories!" one character exclaims, euphoric. Because that's the key. It's ingrained in how we communicate and endear ourselves to one another. It's how we get to know each other, love each other, hate each other. It is an intrinsic part of the social experience, and it's something that we don't talk about enough. Watching someone go through their life is informative, yes, but sometimes hearing about something from their past will contextualise the present. And there's a trust element involved, isn't there? We all have our stories. Some are easy to reach, well preserved, gleaming, put in the window for passersby. Some are a little further in the back. Some are on the very top shelf, not easily reached. Some are kept in the safe behind the counter. And some are kept where no hand or soul can reach. Untold, and having unknown ramifications. My baby's got a secret. In an essay for Harper's Bazaar in 2013, Madonna revealed that her very own origin story hadn't been the plucky made-for-movies tale of rags-to-riches it had always been spun to us as. In the 1970s, shortly after moving to New York City at the age of twenty, Madonna was held at knifepoint, taken up to a rooftop, and raped. It's an incredible piece that I recommend reading in its entirety, where she speaks about being isolated and alienated as a teenager because people were irked by her attitude and ambition. People thought she was insane; the only friend inside her brain. It's a piece that has quietly informed and even rearranged things that I held as absolutes in terms of Madonna. The thing that has always circled my head was the fact that this was something she held inside her for over thirty years. In an interview with Howard Stern a few years later, she explained why she hadn't ever spoke about it or reported it to the police because it was "too humiliating", and every time I think about that, I want to throw a chair across the room. Anyway, what the fuck was my point? Stories. They're precious, and illuminating, and in some ways the most primal thing we have. Madonna has always been fairly coy when quizzed on the inspiration behind "Live To Tell", saying that she found inspiration from all over and it's not always necessarily autobiographical, but (and maybe I shouldn't project or assume) it's hard not to think of "Live To Tell" when thinking of the fact that she internalised a massive traumatic event for over thirty years. A secret that burned inside of her. And then I think of people in general, and how much we all hold inside ourselves and repress. When our darkest stories turn into ghost stories and cautionary tales and fables and, at their worst, never-ending stories that we can never reach the fucking acknowledgements page of. And "Live To Tell" finds her reckoning with the last kind. How do you cut something out of yourself when it is fused so deep? How do you let it out? How do you perform a bloodletting when the infection is everywhere? ...You don't. Sorry, I don't have a better answer. A forum full of queers will know that sometimes, there just isn't a neat resolution to our problems and traumas and troubled pasts. There is sometimes not even a point where you get to face them head on - because even a direct confrontation might help, even if it's unsuccessful - and they spend an eternity on the periphery, blotching everything you see and do. Closure eludes you. And you can't outrun it, because you're not strong enough to get away. There are stories that never get told, and they lie in the coffin with their bearer. So what can you do? You wait it out, and... hope that it gives up before you do. That you are somehow more steadfast than your issues. And I think that's what "Live To Tell" is about; holding onto your traumas like they're under your charge, rather than you being under theirs, and they will only be able to go when they want to go. And the best you can do is stand alert, and drop the gate on its ass the moment it's over the threshold. And you hope - you hope - that when it's out there, people will see it for what it is, and what it did, and avoid letting something similar into their lives. The End. "Live To Tell" was performed on Who's That Girl and Blond Ambition. It wasn't used on tour for fifteen years after that, until the Confessions Tour, where it became one of Madonna's most iconic performances ever. Following an interlude where her dancers perform to the sound of themselves recounting their own struggles, Madonna arrives, adorned in a bejewelled crown of thorns, strung up on her own secrets, which naturally take the form of a glittering crucifix. Also naturally, the Catholics lost their shit, and condemned the performance in Rome as an act of hostility towards the Church. Queen. It was also the soundtrack to At Close Range, a film her then-husband Sean Penn starred in, but I'm not touching that with a barge pole. Stories, huh. Looks like we're nearly out of them. Ten more to tell. I'm grateful for all the ones y'all have told over the last six months about how the greatest popstar of all time has touched your life, and honoured that you have shared them in this thread. I can't wait to hear the rest as we approach our own denouement. Onwards, to our Top 10.
I think it's time to finally give this odyssey its end date. Barring a catastrophe, a visit to the pub, or a catastrophic visit to the pub, the Madonna Discography Rate will conclude on Thursday 8th October, just shy of six months since the thread was initially opened. This schedule currently has me eliminating one track a day until #3. On Wednesday 7th, we'll have a final break, and on the 8th, we'll return for our finale, where one of the songs below will be crowned your winner. Almost there. 11. Live To Tell - 9.406 12. Papa Don't Preach - 9.367 13. Don't Tell Me - 9.358 14. Erotica - 9.345 15. Get Together - 9.339 16. La Isla Bonita - 9.233 17. Rain - 9.227 18. Nothing Fails - 9.215 19. Nothing Really Matters - 9.209 20. Secret - 9.161 21. Express Yourself - 9.155 22. Human Nature - 9.139 23. Justify My Love - 9.118 24. God Control - 9.064 25. Music - 8.991 26. Sky Fits Heaven - 8.936 27. Sorry - 8.894 28. Oh Father - 8.842 29. Die Another Day - 8.803 30. Bedtime Story - 8.788 30. Skin - 8.788 32. Till Death Do Us Part - 8.782 33. Borderline - 8.761 34. Beautiful Stranger - 8.703 35. Jump - 8.697 36. What It Feels Like For A Girl - 8.691 37. Holiday - 8.618 38. American Life - 8.591 39. Dress You Up - 8.588 40. X-Static Process - 8.558 41. Easy Ride - 8.533 42. Intervention - 8.521 43. Burning Up - 8.518 43. Hollywood - 8.518 45. Crazy For You - 8.5 46. Rescue Me - 8.467 47. Impressive Instant - 8.464 48. Take A Bow - 8.461 49. Future Lovers - 8.452 50. Bad Girl - 8.439 51. Cherish - 8.424 52. Like A Virgin - 8.389 53. Ghosttown - 8.379 53. Medellín (Feat. Maluma) - 8.379 55. Paradise (Not For Me) - 8.358 56. Lucky Star - 8.355 56. Forbidden Love - 8.355 58. Swim - 8.336 59. Thief Of Hearts - 8.276 60. Crave (Feat. Swae Lee) - 8.252 61. To Have And Not To Hold - 8.248 61. Isaac - 8.248 63. Miles Away - 8.239 64. Gone - 8.23 65. Love Profusion - 8.221 66. Give It 2 Me - 8.185 67. Material Girl - 8.167 68. Mer Girl - 8.148 69. Devil Pray - 8.085 70. Waiting - 8.048 71. Sanctuary - 8.033 72. I Don't Search I Find - 8.012 73. True Blue - 7.994 74. I Deserve It - 7.988 75. Nobody Knows Me - 7.985 76. Living For Love - 7.976 77. You'll See - 7.973 78. Devil Wouldn't Recognize You - 7.952 79. Promise To Try - 7.945 80. Rebel Heart - 7.942 81. Words - 7.93 82. Bitch I'm Madonna (Feat. Nicki Minaj) - 7.912 83. I Want You (With Massive Attack) - 7.906 84. Mother And Father - 7.903 85. Let It Will Be - 7.894 86. Spanish Eyes - 7.888 87. Who's That Girl - 7.86 88. I'll Remember - 7.833 89. Time Stood Still - 7.785 90. Celebration - 7.748 91. Has To Be - 7.727 92. Causing A Commotion - 7.715 93. Joan Of Arc - 7.685 94. Keep It Together - 7.661 95. Inside Of Me - 7.636 96. Angel - 7.63 96. Like It Or Not - 7.63 98. Survival - 7.597 99. Amazing - 7.579 100. White Heat - 7.567 101. Secret Garden - 7.555 102. In This Life - 7.542 103. Love Spent - 7.521 104. Bye Bye Baby - 7.515 105. Runaway Lover - 7.512 106. Where Life Begins - 7.494 107. How High - 7.47 108. Fever - 7.464 109. Love Tried To Welcome Me - 7.455 110. Candy Perfume Girl - 7.452 111. Forbidden Love (1994) - 7.427 111. Faz Gostoso (Feat. Anitta) - 7.427 113. Little Star - 7.421 113. Come Alive - 7.421 115. Everybody - 7.406 116. Dark Ballet - 7.394 117. Don't Cry For Me Argentina - 7.382 118. I Rise - 7.367 119. 4 Minutes (Feat. Justin Timberlake & Timbaland) - 7.345 120. She's Not Me - 7.315 121. Physical Attraction - 7.309 121. Why's It So Hard - 7.309 121. This Used To Be My Playground - 7.309 124. Dear Jessie - 7.3 125. Heartbeat - 7.285 126. Inside Out - 7.239 127. Where's The Party - 7.188 128. Falling Free - 7.179 129. Crazy - 7.173 130. Nobody's Perfect - 7.139 131. I'm So Stupid - 7.127 132. Push - 7.112 132. I'm Addicted - 7.112 134. Masterpiece - 7.091 135. American Pie - 7.085 136. Body Shop - 7.061 137. Unapologetic Bitch - 7.058 137. Extreme Occident - 7.058 139. Looking For Mercy - 7.042 140. You Must Love Me - 7.024 141. Goodbye To Innocence - 7.009 142. Gang Bang - 6.939 143. Holy Water - 6.915 144. Gambler - 6.912 145. Think Of Me - 6.906 146. Beat Goes On (Feat. Kanye West) - 6.894 147. Beautiful Killer - 6.884 148. Hold Tight - 6.873 149. The Look Of Love - 6.824 150. Future (Feat. Quavo) - 6.8 151. Batuka - 6.791 152. Voices - 6.785 153. Best Night - 6.755 154. Veni Vidi Vici (Feat. Nas) - 6.752 154. Broken (I'm Sorry) - 6.752 156. Shanti / Ashtangi - 6.73 157. Addicted - 6.712 158. Iconic (Feat. Chance The Rapper & Mike Tyson) - 6.702 158. Ciao Bella - 6.702 160. Spotlight - 6.694 161. I Love New York - 6.652 162. Messiah - 6.639 163. Love Song - 6.621 163. I'd Rather Be Your Lover - 6.621 165. Supernatural - 6.615 166. Candy Shop - 6.588 167. Wash All Over Me - 6.561 168. HeartBreakCity - 6.558 169. Bitch I'm Loca (Feat. Maluma) - 6.548 170. Your Honesty - 6.524 171. Beautiful Scars - 6.461 172. Something To Remember - 6.458 173. Love Don't Live Here Anymore - 6.448 174. Over And Over - 6.433 175. Another Suitcase In Another Hall - 6.409 176. Stay - 6.367 177. Don't Stop - 6.339 178. Girl Gone Wild - 6.324 179. I Know It - 6.267 180. Act Of Contrition - 6.245 181. Fighting Spirit - 6.227 182. I Don't Give A (Feat. Nicki Minaj) - 6.203 183. It's So Cool - 6.191 184. Illuminati - 6.167 185. Funana - 6.161 186. Dance 2Night - 6.152 187. Borrowed Time - 6.118 187. History - 6.118 189. Sooner Or Later - 6.109 189. One More Chance - 6.109 191. Back That Up To The Beat - 6.076 192. Let Down Your Guard - 6.036 193. Killers Who Are Partying - 6.015 194. I'm A Sinner - 6.012 195. I Fucked Up - 5.964 196 - Some Girls - 5.933 197. He's A Man - 5.924 198. Give Me All Your Luvin' (Feat. Nicki Minaj & M.I.A.) - 5.921 199. Buenos Aires - 5.894 200. Super Pop - 5.848 201. Revolver (Feat. Lil Wayne) - 5.827 202. Can't Stop - 5.776 203. Ain't No Big Deal - 5.736 204. Turn Up The Radio - 5.727 205. Best Friend - 5.721 206. Graffiti Heart - 5.697 207. Hanky Panky - 5.691 208. Love Makes The World Go Round - 5.679 209. Back In Business - 5.67 210. Pretender - 5.661 211. Lament - 5.615 212. Cyber-Raga - 5.603 213. Incredible - 5.545 214. Jimmy Jimmy - 5.521 215. Now I'm Following You - 5.497 216. Ring My Bell - 5.424 217. S.E.X. - 5.373 218. Spanish Lesson - 4.997 219. Shoo-Bee-Doo - 4.948 220. More - 4.852 221. What Can You Lose - 4.436 222. Superstar - 4.391 223. Auto-Tune Baby - 4.121 224. Cry Baby - 3.367 225. I'm Going Bananas - 3.327 226. B-Day Song (Feat. M.I.A.) - 3.000 227. Hey You - 2.976
In a continued effort to appear calm and collected... "LIVE TO TELL" NOT IN THE TOP TEN?!!??!? FUCK EVERYONE.
Live to Tell not being in the top ten is a bit fucked up but I digress, imagine having a discography as extensive as hers and still having four singles from the same album in the top ten. WHO ELSE CAN DO IT LIKE HER?
I'm thrilled to find out the impact Live To Tell has had on everyone of you, but let me just say it has one of the best intros of all time... period! Those opening chords send chills into my spine, every single time. For that aspect alone, I'm sad it didn't manage to improve on its 2015 position to the point of getting into the top 10. Ah well. Okay, time to read the write-ups and mourn this mammoth of a song!
WHEW at Ray Of Light's dominance! We love to see it! Also the Deeper And Deeper artwork is such a scream every time, there's no one else like her.
I'm perfectly fine with "Live to Tell" missing out on the top 10. It's not like it's a surprising elimination, either. That middle-8 is undeniably majestic.
This (whole thread) is sooooo beautiful. It's been an experience. I love Ray Of Light to death but it having almost half top10 feels so... odd. Live To Tell (or even Papa Don't Preach) should have been there. Deeper & Deeper being there is good tho. Live To Tell was the first "single" I've got on vinyl last year or so. It's a bit worn out but truly feels like holding a piece of History with a fucking scratch. Knowing that it lasted so long and now it's in my hands. To think that Music really is... endless and, just like folklore, will be going on... forever. Live To Tell, indeed.
I hope she sees this thread and knows what songs to include in the next tour. Imagine her performing this top ten in the same concert.
I don't know if it makes things worse or better, but it was only in the very last stretch of voting that "Live To Tell" was knocked out of the Top 10. I was collating the leaderboard at every ten voters, and it was at #10 with 150 voters, but by 160...
The part where the song drops out, only to come back with the "If I ran away..." verse is honestly one of the most affecting moments in pop music.
