Picture it: The Academy Awards, 1991. Sooner or Later, performed by Madonna in the film Dick Tracy, has been nominated for Best Original Song. Madonna dutifully appeared at the show (accompanied by Michael Jackson), to perform the song in question. Dressed to the nines, her charisma at a 10, with moxie to spare, she easily stole the show. For weeks it was all anyone talked about afterwards. This is how it's done, folks...
Sooner or Later won Best Original Song that night.
LOVE this performance! But then again, there are not many Madonna performances that I dislike. ha ha (Except for the MDNA Tour rendition of "Like A Virgin"... and that rare, weird "Secret" performance on Wetten Das.) She looked flawless, and I appreciate her appropriation of old Hollywood glamour even more today than when I first saw this performance in '91.
ReplyDeleteShe really showed those stuffy Hollywood geezers what was what with this performance lol. I agree about that Secret perf -- so odd. I'm surprised you don't like the MDNA LAV, though. I thought it was very real, very raw and emotional. But hey I'm the rare M fan who doesn't completely love the Vogue video so I get not loving something the rest of the fanbase is crazy about. :)
DeleteI liked her appearance for the Wetten Das performance of "Secret" (especially those extensions!), but that format did not lend itself well to that song. It felt uninspired.
ReplyDeleteAgain, I actually like her presentation for the MDNA Tour version of LAV; I just don't care for the slower pace of the actual song. Confessions Tour version of LAV is my favorite performance of that song.
Don't get me wrong though, I have a deep appreciation for her more heartfelt material. I probably watch the Oh Father and Bad Girl videos more than most other M fans.
How funny that you're not crazy about the Vogue video, when its one of her more culturally-remembered videos. She has such an extensive library of work though that everyone has their own personal faves.
Yeah, Secret is such a mellow, groovey song (and one of my personal faves!) It didn't fit well with their stage setup and lighting. The atmosphere was off.
DeleteWhat I liked about MDNA LAV was that it took this chirpy, upbeat pop song, and completely turned it into a sad lament. I have a feeling that performance was inspired by the emotional turmoil of the divorce. And I thought it was cool how she performed it basically rolling around on the stage -- a callback to the MTV performance in '84 that was so iconic, now subverted into a performance of heartbreak rather than joy. I just thought it was really moving.
It's not that I dislike the Vogue video, it's just not one of my favorites. I love the appearance of her De Lempicka paintings in the beginning though, probably my favorite part of the video. In terms of her really iconic videos I've always been more partial to EY, OYH, ROL, and HU. Her body of work really is immense and so varied. What an amazing woman. :D
I did appreciate how she again rolled around on the stage, evoking that '84 MTV Awards performance.
ReplyDeleteThe de Lempicka paintings in Vogue (and OYH) are a very memorable touch! In fact, her artwork made such an impression on me that I picked up a Lempicka art book a few years ago. She really captured modernity and that Art Deco style in her works. To me, they look futuristic and retro at the same time.
Now see, ROL is an iconic video that I'm not so crazy about. Although she does look truly beautiful in it. And it's pretty impressive that HU is her most watched video on YouTube (at least I believe so, last time I checked) considering that it came out later in her career. I believe many younger people would say it's her definitive song, whereas I still think of LAP as her most memorable song. I suppose it depends on the time period a person grew up in!
Lol due to Madonna's Lempicka collection, I too picked up some art books of her work! I also bought a biography about her, what a fascinating woman! Have you seen Lempicka's Saint Theresa of Avila? It's one of her lesser known works but I feel it was probably the inspiration for the Erotica album cover, at least in terms of angle, pose, and facial expression. You can see it here: http://www.en.lempickacatalogue.com:86/4dAction/DetailOpus/xx00001206/xx00001LEMPICK/%3C%3E66
DeleteActually it's thanks to M that I have such a strong appreciation for Art Deco. Lempicka. The EY video is like one big love letter to Art Deco. And how could I forget the Lempicka paintings in the OYH video? Adding blue lights to the nipples was a great touch -- pure M!
I love the energy of the ROL video. It felt like such a breath of fresh air at the time, seeing M going crazy on a Lucite dance floor and gyrating in front of a swirling sky. So much fun! HU came along right when M needed it. As far as I know, it's her biggest hit to date worldwide. I think it really opened a lot of young people's eyes to the greatness that is M. For me Vogue is still the ultimate M song, but as you say, it seems to be different for everyone, usually based on when they first got into her.
The Saint Theresa of Avila is actually one of my favorite Lempicka pieces! What a coincidence. :) in fact, I actually carefully removed it from my Lempicka book and had intended to frame and hang it, but alas, it became just another unfinished project. The Erotica album cover very well could have taken inspiration from that art piece, and it also heavily takes cues from designs for Jazz music / nightclubs. And actually, many of the songs on that album incorporate Jazz music elements (esp. Bad Girl). One of the many reasons it's always been and remains one of my fave M albums.
ReplyDeleteIt's very difficult to choose just one culturally memorable M song or video, that's fo sure! But it's just a testament to her stellar body of work, as you said before.
I know how unfinished projects go. I have a few of those myself at the moment lol. Avila sure would look good framed, though...
DeleteImo Erotica is up there with ROL and Confessions, it's one of her best. She was very real on that album. Secret Garden alone, geez, what a lush song. It's definitely one of the jazzier songs on there. I've noticed in recent years more and more people are getting into Erotica, which makes me happy. For so long there was an attitude in the media that it sucked, and it was 100% because of the Sex backlash.
Yah, I believe you had to be alive during that time (80s-90s) to understand that Madonna was given a bad wrap by the media and generally not taken seriously by critics. It wasn't until the ROL album (IMO), that she began to receive praise. In fact, that was the album that finally earned her a Grammy. She was at a pivotal point in her career in the early-mid 90s when Erotica was released, where her detractors were really wondering why she was still around. I suppose that's a small part of the appeal of the Erotica album to me... it felt like it was appreciated by only her true fans (at the time).
ReplyDeleteYep, definitely! If you weren't there for that period of about 92-95 where she really was *hated*, it's hard to understand just how great it was when ROL happened, and how important of a comeback it really was for her. As for Erotica, I totally agree. Loving it at the time almost made you feel like you were in a secret or something, that only the cool people were onto, if that makes sense.
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