Category Archives: Madonna

Aside from whatever airbrushing miracles that were performed for these pics (I want whatever filter she’s using), Madonna’s latest promotional efforts for Dolce & Gabbana is a thing of beauty. It reminds me of her work with Versace in the mid 90’s, when she was softening the hard-edge of her ‘Erotica’ era. Here she sets the stage for her new album due this year with a sumptuous nod to her Italian roots.

We are long overdue for a new Madonna Timeline (the last one came almost an entire year ago), and it’s coming, I promise, just give me a minute to catch up on some things. I’m still behind from a lost week of sickness and exhaustion. In the meantime, let’s revisit some Madonna songs that are spinning on my playlist now, in tribute to the perfumed drama of the moment.

• Bedtime Story
• Masterpiece
• Falling Free
• Rescue Me
• I Want You
• Rebel Heart
• Extreme Occident
• Secret

Madonna is on the move – at long last for those of us fans who recall the album-every-two-years pace of her earlier work. It’s been an eternity (in Madonna years) since her last studio album ‘Madame X’ – which came out way back in the summer of pre-COVID 2019. This stretch marks the longest span between original albums in her entire career.

Anticipation is running high for her long-ago-announced upcoming (2026) album – which she has been billing as a sequel to the smash fan-favorite ‘Confessions on a Dance Floor’ from 2005. Two decades is a long time for a follow-up, but if anyone can conjure magic no matter how much time has passed, it’s Madonna.

These recent shots are spectacular – and a step up from the heavily-filtered Instagram nonsense she seems to have favored of late, so I’m hopeful about this new era. Pink goes well with more than you think it will.

Muse of my muses and Queen of Our Popdom, Madonna celebrates her birthday today. As a tribute, here’s a list of some of my favorite songs from each of her albums. Her musical legacy is set in stone, even if it’s been six long years since her last proper album. Here’s hoping the whispers about the next one are true, and that it comes out sooner rather than later.

Madonna ~ ‘Borderline‘ is the song that spoke to me most, even if everybody else loved ‘Lucky Star‘.

Like A Virgin ~ ‘Material Girl‘ and ‘Dress You Up‘ were the very first songs by Madonna that I loved. Not gonna hate on title track ‘Like A Virgin‘ though, especially given all its vast and varied interpretations over the years.

True Blue ~ ‘Open Your Heart‘ is the stand-out track for this one, followed closely by ‘Live To Tell‘.

Like A Prayer ~ I mean, it’s ‘Like A Prayer‘ and ‘Express Yourself‘. (But if you’re the kind of fan who favors ‘Promise To Try‘, then you’re my kind of fan.)

I’m Breathless ~ Hell yes this is a proper Madonna album – and ‘Vogue’ is proof of that.

Erotica ~ “Bottomless with potential hit singles”, this spawned the delightfully-demonic title track, wondrous ‘Bad Girl‘ and stirring ‘Rain‘, but it is ‘Deeper and Deeper‘ that still gets me up out of my seat.

Bedtime Stories ~ There’s no ‘Secret’ that the lead single is probably my fave song from this underrated musical moment, though ‘Take A Bow‘ has more than its merits too.

Ray of Light ~ My favorite Madonna song of all-time, ‘Drowned World/Substitute for Love‘ opens this opus, arguably her greatest work to date, and title track ‘Ray of Light‘ illuminates the fact that it still shines.

Music ~ A fun bop, ‘Music‘ takes the favorite track crown, but I’m always up for an ‘Impressive Instant‘ too.

American Life ~ The unfairly-maligned collection of perhaps-poorly-timed truth-to-power musical statements made here contained jewels like ‘X-static Process‘ and ‘Mother and Father‘.

Confessions on a Dance Floor ~ Another musical resurrection, Confessions brought us opening banger ‘Hung Up‘ but my favorite remains the equally-thrilling ‘Sorry‘. (Shout out to ‘Jump‘ for inspiration.)

Hard Candy ~ Thought this album was a slow-burner, it gave us ‘Give It 2 Me‘ and that will have to be enough.

MDNA ~ This was an under-appreciated ‘Masterpiece‘ in my mind, with cuts like ‘Girl Gone Wild’ and ‘I’m a Sinner‘ being sweet aural candy.

Rebel Heart ~ It is easily the title track ‘Rebel Heart’ that is my absolute favorite from this Madonna era.

Madame X ~ Her most recent proper album (all the way back in 2019!) this one brought us ‘God Control‘ and ‘Come Alive‘.

Dear Madonna,

Please hurry up with the new album – the world needs some joy right now, and nothing is more joyous than new Madonna music. You’ve been hinting at a sequel to ‘Confessions on a Dance Floor‘ with new collaborations with Stuart Price – we are here for it, we are queer for it, and we need it yesterday. Thank you so much.

Signed,

~ A.

From the moment she demanded us to “Strike a pose!” I have been enthralled and recaptured by Madonna’s song ‘Vogue’. Released thirty five years ago (sweet baby Jesus how old does that put us?!) it remains an epochal and iconic song that has stood the test of time, surviving and thriving in the various iterations Madonna has performed on tours and halftime shows. For me, and for many gay men of a certain age, it has always meant a little bit more than meets the superficial eye. 

Thirty-five years ago I was a freshman in high school. In our small town in upstate New York, the closest I could get to any sort of gay culture or lifestyle was Madonna, and ‘Vogue’ offered a glimpse of a world in which I sensed I might belong – a world of beauty, glamour, freedom, and dance-floor abandon. At a time when the AIDS epidemic raged and eradicated great swaths of the gay community, this was a space and a place to get away, even if the fabulousness and fantasy existed solely in our minds. Sometimes that had to be enough to get us through. 

A great pop song won’t ever save the world, but once in a while one comes along to save a moment and even a life. 

Today is a holiday for any proper Madonna fan, as it marks the anniversary of her US release of ‘Ray of Light’, which remains my favorite Madonna album. Here’s a partial track listing of all the songs that the Madonna Timeline has recounted:

• Drowned World/Substitute for Love

• Swim

• Ray of Light

• Nothing Really Matters

• Sky Fits Heaven

• Shanti/Ashtangi

• Frozen

• The Power of Goodbye

• To Have and Not To Hold

• Little Star

• Mer Girl

The release of the album came at a tender time in my life when I was examining similar themes of love and loss and finding meaning in the moment. Musically, it managed to be entirely of its time, while forging a futuristic sound, and grounding itself in timeless songs and melodies. A triumphant hat-trick she has yet, in my opinion, to match.

When it comes to Madonna, late is better than never, so while the 30th anniversary of her ‘Bedtime Stories’ album actually passed last fall, she’s delivered a Valentine message promising a proper anniversary release with a bunch of unprecedented bonuses (which I’ll believe when I hear them). Skepticism notwithstanding, I’m hopeful about this one, as she hasn’t really promised such concrete deliverables in, well, possibly ever. And ‘Bedtime Stories’ is one of her rare, quiet, underrated releases that has proven itself over time with a solid and cohesive soundtrack from the 90’s, the melodies and haunting lyrics of which remain pertinent to this day. A track listing reminder of its brilliance:

1. Survival
2. Secret
3. I’d Rather Be Your Lover
4. Don’t Stop
5. Inside of Me
6. Human Nature
7. Forbidden Love
8. Love Tried to Welcome Me
9. Sanctuary
10. Bedtime Story
11. Take A Bow

A year ago tonight I saw Madonna’s Celebration Tour in Boston, and it remains a highlight in the Madonna concert canon. In so many ways it was a spectacular greatest-hits show (more-so than Reinvention) and one that felt surprisingly-moving on many levels. It also reminded me of my lifelong love for an entertainer who has never given less than her best, even on her most trying days. That sort of dedication and work ethic seems in short supply these days. 

Like all of us, Madonna is getting older, but I have a feeling there are a few more magical music tricks up her sleeves (should she choose to wear any), and maybe a classic return to something as renowned and beloved as her ‘Confessions on a Dance Floor‘ opus. Words has it that she’s working with the person who helmed that seminal work (Stuart Price) for an upcoming album. If anyone can catch lightning twice, it’s Madonna.