Still Breathless, After all these Years
By Mo Shah

Remember when there was only one woman who could get inside your MTV and really fuck with it? Remember when only one woman could flash that tricky one-two punch of cutting-edge dance-pop and mesmerizing, scandal-drenched visuals? To say that Madonna was an innovator is putting it mildly. To say that she was an instigator is stating the obvious. But to submit that she was the last female pop-culture revolutionary of the 20th century, well...now you’re getting somewhere.

Madonna is an artist for whom fame has reached such unscalable heights, and whose persona has become so infused in the limelight, that one often wonders what it is she became famous for in the first place. After all, it’s her lifestyle that we usually discuss, not always her music. One often forgets that Madonna was the first female pop-star who truly owned and controlled her music, image, and career. And in the process she completely manipulated her audience and the media with her songwriting, her videos, and most importantly – her sexuality.

	Madonna's Website

Ah yes, her sexuality. Music alone did not solely sell her as a prized commodity. It was the scandal and visual art that went along with the songs, albums, and videos that elevated her to iconic status. But beneath all the surface gloss, the scandal, the “Erotica”, and the straight and slanted affairs, lies a truly gifted artist armed with a remarkable canon of music. For the first time in Madonna’s career, her new album has been ushered-in with transatlantic critical and commercial praise – however, it is being lauded only for the music, not for the controversy. For Madonna fans, this is a novelty some may not be accustomed to.

While her self-titled 1983 debut “Madonna” is still considered to be a pop masterpiece, and its follow-up “Like a Virgin” was one of the best-selling albums in pop-music history, there was always a sense of irreverent decadence while enjoying her music. When it played in clubs, one really felt there was something overtly sexual and deviant behind the delectable beats and timeless lyrics. Be it her orgasm inducing catholic wedding dress roll-around in the Like a Virgin video – or a timeless shot of her romping in black underwear a year prior (“Desperately Seeking Susan”), Madonna was always able to control the media image of herself behind the music. Her celebrity became so inflated by the late Eighties that her marriage to actor Sean Penn literally collapsed under the weight of the camera-glare.

But all of these developments did little to tame Madge, and the Material Girl came back roaring with an even more controversial album – with even better songs and sales. Her “Like a Prayer” album dispelled rumors that her star was on the decline; it was her most polished and critically acclaimed work to date. The fact that the video for the lead single sported burning crosses and interracial relations with a saint only exacerbated its rise to the top of the charts. Throw in a couple of flings with Warren Beatty and Sandra Bernhard – and you’re on your way to Billboard heaven. She even brought back the underground gay Vogue art-form while she immersed herself in gay culture.

Then there was Madonna the fashion arbiter. She was perhaps the most emulated symbol in fashion history during her reign in the Eighties and Nineties. Her ability to reinvent her personal style - from her designer du jour to her hair stylist, colorist (right down to the arm-candy that escorted her to high-flying gigs) – could bridge any continental divide. For her album “Erotica”, Madonna issued a limited edition book with full frontal shots of her vagina…it sold out in a day.

Her music also grew more and more complex. While her tracks were always updated slicker versions of disco grooves with a new wave or pop confection flare - she now began dabbling in electronica. The results were an unqualified success. By working with some of the most acclaimed and groundbreaking producers of the time, she managed to make each new album a landmark. There was something about her work that seemed timeless and simultaneously fresh. And it had personality. Each album gelled with the new persona she reinvented for herself; be it Deviant-Madonna, Classic-Madonna, Indo-Madonna, Sino-Madonna, or Esther – she always delivered each album with enough pomp and circumstance to send it soaring.

Funny then, that her latest album, “Confessions on a Dance Floor”, is one of her greatest achievements without carrying any of the hallmarks mentioned above. There is no controversy here – after all, Madonna will never be able to trump Lil’ Kim’s jail stint – or Brittany’s crazy-ass buffoonery. And what about fashion? Well, she’s got the whole 80s Robo-electro look down, but while she’s going all Flashdance on us, it’s already been done a couple of year ago (Goldfrapp, Ladytron). And the videos? Anything mind-bending? Nope – just very well made catchy stuff – nothing that the kids couldn’t watch. And finally, the music. Did she break new ground? No. For the first time in her career, she decided to follow suit. She adopted the 80s electro-dance resurgence that began sweeping over the hipster scene in 2000, and made it her very own. Sure it’s been done before (even by Gwen Stefani) – but possibly not in such a commercial sense. Considering this is a sound she herself helped usher-in and define over two-decades ago, she has every right to reclaim it. And reclaim it she does in grand fashion. This is the most fun anyone will have with a Madonna album in over a decade. It may make her seem like a veteran rather than an innovator, but when it feels this good, who the fuck cares? The production is slick and irresistible. The look is fantastic – and since Madge is inching closer and closer to the half-century mark, she should get an honorary post-doctorate in self preservation (she already gets one for “Media-savvy”). I mean, at her age, to be wet-dream material is nothing short of inspiring. The album has already been heralded as an unqualified success, both commercially and critically, with lead singles Hung Up, Get Together, I Love New York, and Sorry being crowd favorites both in record stores and dance clubs. The retrogressive nature of the album lends it not a stale, but a timeless, quality. Not an easy feat to pull off.

With this album, Madonna has not retreated form the Limelight, she is simply basking in it for the very reason she was put here in the first place – her music. No other pop-star will ever grow old this gracefully. And no other woman will influence the music medium quite the way Madonna has. Taking a look at her new persona on this album is akin to falling in love all over again. Like her famous introduction to Warren Beatty goes in Dick Tracy, “I’m Breathless.” You certainly are.

Pictures Courtesy Madonna.com