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hate her, but chances are you have some strong opinion of Madonna. If you've read my other chartopper columns it comes as no surprise that, for the past 20 years, I've adored her! And she continues to inspire me with each new album. For the next few months, in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the release of her very first record, I'll be looking back at Madonna's amazing career and talking about each release! We'll have some fun trivia with great prizes so stay tuned and please keep reading Chartoppers: Madonna! Email me at chris@fredflare.com. I'd love to hear your stories about Madonna! Xxoo, Chris Click here for Chartoppers: the 80’s! |
 There are times when you just pour your whole heart into something. You give it your all. You eat, breathe and live this thing, this idea or project for weeks, months, even years. You’ve sacrificed so much for it and you know it’s your best work yet. Finally you get to present your gem on a silver platter to your audience and… well… they hate it! Even worse, they tell everyone they know how much they hate it and how much they hate you. Sounds like I’m an expert, right? Well yeah, I’ve had my share of putdowns in life – who hasn’t? – but I don’t think anyone has experienced such a negative storm of criticism as Madonna did in the early 90’s with the release of her trio of new projects Sex, Erotica and Body of Evidence. It pains me as such a fan to even acknowledge this period but, Madonna historian that I am, I owe it to journalistic accuracy to trudge forward! Let’s talk about Sex, baby! It was getting hot in Madonna’s career, so she took off all her clothes! Sex, the book, was highly anticipated by yours truly. My architecture studio friend Peter Kopik bought it for me for my birthday and I was so excited! Mine is number 600217 out of a million copies. It came in a silver wrapper like a condom with a special CD single of Erotica’s title track first single. The book, shot by star photographer Steven Meisel and art directed by Harper’s Bazaar wonder boy Fabien Baron, is chock (or shock) full of hilarious shots of Madonna naked in odd places. She eats pizza naked, pumps gas nude in Miami and hitchhikes in the buff on an LA freeway. C’mon, it’s hilarious! My fave shot is of Madonna as a lost Miami housewife naked with her handbag and bottled water. The book is packed with naked star power, too, like Naomi Campbell, Isabella Rossellini, and Tatiana Von Furstenburg. Even 80’s rap star Vanilla Ice makes an appearance, but leaves his clothes on. My one negative comment? Not enough naked boys. Unfortunately, the critics had many more negative comments and, truthfully, they are justified. For starters, I think people didn’t really respond to M’s dirrrty fantasy writing that accompanied the images. Steven Meisel’s pictures are great and Keith and I have often commented that had Madonna skipped the naughty writing bit and presented the book in a more artful manner perhaps it would have been better respected by critics. The book kinda falls apart too, as in the pages all fall out of its spiral-bound spine. In the credits Madonna thanks her art director for his "complete disdain for organization and utter disregard for detail." She even calls him a genius. Well, unfortunately, the production values on Sex were not so genius. Madonna’s musical accompaniment to Sex, however, is. For years, Erotica was my all-time fave Madonna record. I think it has a lot of fun, risk-taking material such as the song "Where Life Begins", great dance floor hits like "Deeper and Deeper", touching simplicity as in "In This Life", soulful grooves like in "Secret Garden" and pure retro delight from her awesome cover of "Fever". I loved it. What can I say? I’m a very loyal Scorpio. My friend Peter – the boy who bought me Sex – loved it too. Just before the record came out Madonna appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone sporting a roaring 20’s look. The spread, also shot by Meisel, was inspired by 1920’s Parisian photographer George Brassai. Peter, who was also my roomate at the time, and I were planning a Halloween party and we now had our theme: 1920’s Paris with big band music, plus lots of songs from Erotica to mix it up and keep it current. I ran to the library and checked out Brassai’s book of photography and fell in love with his moody shots of Paris by night. I photocopied each and every one and hung them all over the apartment the day of our event. With tons of tapestries, silver and purple balloons and champagne we had the coolest Halloween party, dressed up as New Year’s Eve in Paris of the 20’s, all thanks to Madonna! Our guests looked amazing. We had flappers, can-can dancers, showgirls, sailors and beat writers. I was dressed up as the MC from Cabaret. "Willkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome!" The funniest event of the evening happened when this mysterious woman showed up, dressed to the nines. She wore a fabulous vintage cashmere trench, a feathered headdress and a sparking clutch. I had no idea who she was but was told she was a glamorous friend of a friend of a friend. She kindly asked that her beautifully beaded clutch be set somewhere secure as it had once belonged to her grandmother. Someone placed it away from all the commotion on top of one of our kitchen cabinets… where I had carefully set burning candles. (Backlighting is very important to architects.) Well, within minutes the family heirloom was up in flames! Someone screamed, "Fire!" and Peter jumped to save the clutch, only to discover what little was left of the bag. The girl was devastated but her friends talked her into staying as the party roared on. A while later she was chatting with some guests near a selection of lovely black tapered candles. (Mood lighting is also very important to architects.) Suddenly the candles dripped wax all over her vintage cashmere coat. She stormed out of our apartment and was never seen again. So I guess the production values on that party were also lacking in the genius department. It was kind of a fire hazard! Oh, sorry, I digress, back to Erotica… Erotica opens with its single of the same name, actually my least favorite song on the record. It’s kind of a mediocre sequel to its brilliant predecessor, "Justify My Love". The main thing missing is Lenny Kravitz. The "Erotica" video, played only at night, showed filmed clips from the Sex book’s fantasy play. "My name is Dita," says Mo, "I’ll be your mistress tonight…" Come on, it’s funny! The second single and dance floor diamond, "Deeper and Deeper" is awesome. I love its flamenco guitar and its postmodern nod to Madonna’s dance classic "Vogue". The video is super cute too, with Madonna as a freaked-out Heidi club kid looking for her rave party with Sofia Coppola but mostly just finding balloons, boas, bananas and boyz in briefs. Madonna’s next video was for her remake of "Fever". Directed by Stephane Sednaoui, Madonna goes full Bollywood with big headdresses, crazy long nails and even paints herself silver. The video for "Fever" reminds me of two friends I had at the time, Mary Beth and Pat. We would go to this gay bar on the South side of Chicago every Wednesday called Inn Exile. If you were gay in the South side of Chicago, you’d be in exile too! We went there so often to drink, dance and watch videos that the DJ got to know us quite well and would play anything we wanted. Usually we’d get there, immediately get our drink on and then start designing the evening’s playlist. Needless to say, Madonna’s "Fever" was a Wednesday night tradition! Next up we find some serious self loathing in "Bad Girl" where Madonna portrays a collagen-lipped platinum blonde corporate bitch spinning out of control. She eats cat food and has sexual encounters with strangers that ultimately lead to her demise. Even her guardian angel Christopher Walken can’t save her. It’s one of my all-time fave narrative videos. Wrapping up Erotica’s singles/video releases is "Rain". The video, directed by Mark Romanek, the man behind her "Bedtime Story", shows Madonna in her Japanimation phase, with a short black pixie cut, long skirts and chunky sneakers, a look we soon saw all over Chicago. But my favorite Erotica songs never saw the light of singledom. I love "Secret Garden", a wonderful acid jazzy little number where Madonna sings about searching for her place in the world, and her true hair color. Maybe she’ll find some answers in Fountainebleau! And "Thief of Hearts" is an awesome you-stole-my-man-you-bitch anthem. I love when Madonna tells the perp "Stop, Bitch! Now, sit your ass down!" Don’t mess with Madge!!! All in all, Erotica and Madonna’s sex phase was a great time for me. I actually learned a lot from her. She taught me about great photographers from George Brassai to Steven Meisel. She put Udo Keir and Andy Warhol’s awesome horror films on my radar. She got me excited to vote for my boy Bill with her terrific Rock the Vote commercial. Her Sex book inspired me to create my own little art zine titled Drama of Corn. Maybe I’ll share that with you someday, if you’re lucky. But, most of all, she inspired me to be the best I can be and not to be afraid of anything. C’mon people, focus on the positive!!! 08/08/2003 |
