I don't have anything to add, but these are (genuinely) interesting takes and discussions.
This is so interesting, thanks for sharing. I’ve always seen this instagram ‘era’ as a Cindy Sherman-esque way to portray her own image. That is, it’s just another tool to express her art, or even simply a space to have some fun. And she has been doing it since way before ai was on anyone’s radar. People who think she’s deluded or naive for using facetune are completely missing the point, in my opinion.
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Agreed. I've said it constantly.
There's a rawness to her Instagram, but it's still very much an extension of her art in how it's presented. She posts these overly edited images, and often they can be contrasted with startlingly raw and what many perceive to be unflattering photos of herself. She's a punk rock performance artist in creamy smooth pop star packaging. It's not an accident. She's still challenging how people interact with her and the world around them. Their reactions to her page are just projections.
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Were we aware of the existence of You Thrill Me when Confessions Tour started? I know the Erotica demo leaked in 2008 but I'm curious if it was known at the time of the tour. If not, I bet that was a great surprise at the time.
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I feel like people were aware of it as early as like...2003-2005? I still have mp3s of the raw vocals for it with file dates from around that time on an old hard drive
The "you thrill me" demo a cappella clip first leaked in mid-2003. A bit later (late 2003, early 2004 I think) there was also Ralphi Rosario private mix of Erotica which also used the "you thrill me" chorus, but actual a cappella, not the demo
I hope she eventually releases her older tours during the (promised) deluxe reissue campaign. I know Blond Ambition and Girlie Show are VHS quality and Reinvention is DVD but even so, some remastering can hopefully be done. Outfits and elements from older tours are featured so heavily in Celebration, it's a shame for a vast swath of the population (and even younger fans) to not know what she's referencing. It would also be amazing (although it will never happen) if she could include the alternate shows like Yokohama for Blond and Fukuoka for Girlie.
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As it looks like she's not releasing new music to coincide with the tour, it does seem like she's missing a trick not by releasing some kind of retrospective, to capitalise on the current wave of publicity that the tour is giving.
Obvs I'm hungry for the reissues, but at this stage I'll take a Celebration reissue (esp a vinyl one mother), with a few extra tracks bunged in?
Obvs I'm hungry for the reissues, but at this stage I'll take a Celebration reissue (esp a vinyl one mother), with a few extra tracks bunged in?
Bad Girl, is one of her greatest achievements all round. Just a perfect package from the song itself to the visuals accompanying it.
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They could probably create an edit of Blond Ambition that merges Alek's footage with the remastered Nice footage if they really wanted to release the show in full, since Alek said himself that he would love to restore that. If he's able to get the source footage, then it shouldn't be too bad.
Bolded is everything we they filmed for Truth or Dare, since it's all featured in the documentary. Not sure if they filmed more than that since the original budget proposal said they'd only be taping 30% of the show. Madonna recently said they never filmed the entire thing but didn't specify how much was filmed. Assuming that's all there is, they could fill in the gaps with the Nice footage. But if we're being honest, the Dick Tracy and almost the entire Art Deco/Material Girl sections aren't that great to me. I don't feel like I'm missing a whole lot not having those.
Express Yourself
Open Your Heart
Causing A Commotion
Where's the Party
Like a Virgin
Like a Prayer
Live to Tell/Oh Father
Papa Don't Preach
Sooner or Later
Hanky Panky
Now I'm Following You
Material Girl
Cherish
Into the Groove
Vogue
Holiday
Keep It Together
Alternatively, I would love a Truth Or Dare Blu-ray set with bonus features like deleted scenes, ads, and other materials from the Blond Ambition/Immaculate Collection era. And of course the full length performances from the film. There's a lot of stuff they could do if they can source it all.
Deleted scenes
MTV Truth or Dare premiere
Dinner with Madonna interview with Kurt Loder
MTV VMA performance of "Vogue"
Wayne's World SNL appearance
Maybe even something new, like a roundtable with Madonna, Alek, and the dancers
@torontodj babes this thread is not for tour spoilers it’s only been two days!
I apologize. I will delete.
Hanky Panky was taped too.
It kinda hurts to know that we are never getting Open Your Heart and Papa Don’t Preach on 35mm film quality. The rest? As much as i love it i don’t mind not having them either.
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Oh yes. I just assumed it was from Nice so left it out dd. But yeah I think just having the full versions of what they did tape is more than fine, in my opinion. I get wanting to have the complete show but… meh. I’m not bothered if we don’t.
I'm currently reading the new biography. I'm up to the Blond Ambition Tour, and it's been a tough read. Not because of the quality of the writing, but because of the content. The pain of losing her mother; the struggles in her early years in New York prior to becoming famous; the seemingly non-stop parade of death all around her after she became famous; and then of course her marriage to Sean. It's all stuff I knew about, but having it synthesized into a single narrative makes it hit that much harder. AIDS comes up every few pages for a big chunk of the book (so far).
Just reading about it puts me in a heavy mood. And then it's like, well I'd make Like A Prayer / Erotica / Bedtime Stories too if I lived all the things I'm only reading about.
Just reading about it puts me in a heavy mood. And then it's like, well I'd make Like A Prayer / Erotica / Bedtime Stories too if I lived all the things I'm only reading about.
I always find Madonna's early years fascinating. Being in NYC in the late '70s and early '80s. What a time. From disco to disco backlash to punk to Danceteria, hanging out with Warhol and Basquiat, the AIDS crisis, Reaganomics. She went through so much both personally and artistically even before she became famous. I think that's one of the key reasons she has lasted so long was that she had a lot of life experience even before she became famous so I think it has kept her grounded throughout all these years.
She really was one of the first artists to support AIDS research, fundraisers, charities, hospices, etc. Her 1991 AMFAR award speech is still one of the best speeches she's ever given.
She really was one of the first artists to support AIDS research, fundraisers, charities, hospices, etc. Her 1991 AMFAR award speech is still one of the best speeches she's ever given.
Every time I listen to Up Down Suite a memory from when I was 12 years old comes back - my mum was on a bike and wanted workout and I suggested Up Down Suite... she hated it even though she's a 80s Madonna casual fan.