MUSIC
Beyond The Face
Madame X Madonna is back with more salt to rub on our faces
Madonna Louise Ciccone is currently scaring kids with her super-stretched face.
She isn’t, but that seems to be the issue, the fuss, the social media fodder since she stepped out at the 65th Grammys to introduce fellow “shockers” Sam Smith and Kim Petras with “Unholy”.
Infectious song, lukewarm performance. Too red. Smith and Petras’ performance at the BRIT Awards 2023 was a continent better. Will save it for another discussion. But performance seems to be the topic right now. This brings me to “Riri” Rihanna at the recent Super Bowl.
I know shit about American Football. The only data I collect from that event is the halftime show chatter. I was late to the recent one and already on Medium, there was a deluge of articles on Rihanna, her pregnancy, and headlines that came to the same conclusion: “Leave Mama Rihanna Alone”. Ookaayy. Let’s do that.
I went back to my magic time machine called YouTube and watched Madonna’s 2012 Super Bowl halftime and let me tell you something, that woman rocked the show like no one else. Not even JLo and Shakira in their 2020 ass-shaking halftime glory could distract attention the way Madonna did with a smaller pair of ass.
To think Madonna performed at the Super Bowl after 30-odd years of being Madonna. She was 53 shaking those gold pom poms. Most people at that age are having knee problems.
I’ve nothing against Rihanna but if after 30 years in the business and she can still sing on a raised platform being “a vibe”, then she’s a Queen. Till then, Madonna is the vibe we need in this confusing, insipid world of superficial madness.
Okay, so Madonna has a stretched face at 64. No big deal. Let’s focus on how she has stretched her music career since the 80s. Now that’s beyond cosmetic surgery. That’s legendary aesthetics.
This isn’t the first time I’m writing about Madonna. It won’t be my last either. It’s interesting how in the last piece I did, I received comments on how this was the first time some folks were tuned in to Madonna. Like, for the first time, like the very first time. Like a virgin, touched for the very first time. Like a viiiii-rr-giiinnnn (that’s a reference to a Madonna song by the way, never mind).
Great. I felt proud to be doing God’s work on behalf of Madonna and this is Part Two. This time, I’ll be showing you the range she has that proves to you how Madonna, when sedated and not being overtly sexual, is a demure Goddess of Sensual. The best part is, she’s not even trying.
Madame is just strutting her wares and singing songs that are encrypted and coded with whatever she feels like warbling. One minute a brunette, another a blonde. She’ll just do whatever the heck she wants.
In short, Madonna is good at what she does and that’s where the focus ought to be. I think it’s farcical for folks to be lambasting Madame X* when they know shit about her. *Madame X is a reference to her 2019 album.
Let’s start with her Super Bowl. Yeah, she nailed the assignment, came in full regalia to topple an ancient civilization, brought friends along with her, and truly raised the spirit of American football. At one point she almost fell but that won’t stop her. No fall ever did.
From her 1992 “Erotica” album comes a track that is perhaps one of the best for a cool, lazy day and you’re in the mood to sing to your own reflection holding a hairbrush, or curled up next to a delicious hunk (imaginary or none).
It does not have to be raining but this song is unlike any other love song sung by Madonna in a haircut I tried emulating several times in my twenties. A love song that is so controlled and manicured, it’s in my top 10 till the day I die. In fact, I’ll have this played at my funeral.
1994 “Bedtime Stories” brought us a flirty blonde Madonna, her Marilyn Monroe period. The entire album is a cheeky delight with a much more relaxed composition that matches her playful image.
Her lyrics aren’t entirely about being man-crazy but about understanding what lies beneath us towards appreciating the love in whatever sex and form. “Secret” carries a sexy, chill vibe, and its “Hmmmmm” is Madonna’s purring to a provocative call. This added vocabulary to my list of slinky diction. What’s the secret? No idea. It’s Madonna’s world and her harem.
“You gave me back the paradise
That I thought I lost for good
You helped me find the reasons why
It took me by surprise that you understood
You knew all along
What I never wanted to say
Until I learned to love myself
I was never ever lovin’ anybody else
Happiness lies in your own hand
It took me much too long to understand
How it could be
Until you shared your secret with me
Something’s comin’ over, mmm mmm
Something’s comin’ over, mmm mmm
Something’s comin’ over me
My baby’s got a secret.”
From a massive flirt, we saw Madonna transition into a class act as Evita Peron, wife to Argentinian President, Juan Peron. Yes, she made it as First Lady.
Madame not only acted in the movie Evita but sang the soundtrack “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina”. Whether you like it or not, whether it was good or otherwise, matters little. It was good enough to convince director Alan Parker to whom she wrote a long letter for the coveted lead role.
Lesson to take home here from Madonna: She did not send an email.
1998 brought us the “Ray of Light” album and a subdued Madonna penning deep lyrics about love, loss, separation, and emotional retribution.
Madame was on a soul journey that was as dark as my coffee. Her intense looks in her videos throughout the album were stunning if not intimidating. “The Power of Goodbye” is as haunting as “Frozen”, enough to scare men with weak personalities.
Her studio time producing an album almost every two-three years shows how industrious she is. It isn’t easy as it requires her to delve into a journey of varied human experiences with a whole new style for packaging.
With Ray of Light, gone were her days exploring sex as an anthem. Madonna had gotten bored of phallic symbols and traded them with the teachings of Kabbalah.
Another album that inspired a hairstyle that included many boxes of L’Oreal raven hair color, Ray was worth all the hair damage from the incessant coloring. True story.
I can go on for hours with Madonna’s music videos but I’ll keep it for Part Three. Meanwhile, I’m going to bask in the music and the fact that Madame is 64 and looks like 24. Nothing odd there. Madame just reinvented herself, again. For Madonna, it’s business as usual.
