# The Strange Magic of: Madonna Ciccone



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

I just love this concert video. First, Ms. Ciccone performs one of my very favorite Madonna songs, _Dress You Up_, a hit of musical cocaine that triggers my pleasure centers every time I hear it. Second, watching the young Madonna discovering her mastery over both her presentation and over her audience is a joy. She is on the Virgin tour, following up on the monster success of the Like a Virgin album (itself a tribute to the skill of Nile Rodgers), and we see her slowly descend the staircase in time with the opening measures of the song, repeatedly striking a distinctive pose. She then approaches the microphone, and her face is lit with a huge grin of pleasure as she surveys her adoring audience. Her subsequent moves are perfectly choreographed, first jerking her thumbs toward herself, then pointing her forefingers like pistols at the crowd as she sings "_I've_ got something that you'll really like!" The entire performance is flawless, and she finishes by ascending the stairway and locking into that same trademark pose that began the whole marvelous thing. Wonderful!


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## Grizzled Ghost (Jun 10, 2015)

No thanks. Never cared one bit for Madonna. Even as a teen with raging hormones.

At one point I bought Ray of Light and liked a couple of songs on it. What was I thinking?

Bottom of the barrel, in my humble opinion.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I like a couple of songs. Live To Tell, and Papa Don't Preach. But that era of MTV when the visual began to usurp the musical, led to a lot of people getting record deals based on looks instead of talent.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Grizzled Ghost said:


> At one point I bought Ray of Light and liked a couple of songs on it. What was I thinking?.


You've clearly Moved On.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

The only song of hers I really liked was Beautiful Stranger, a slightly trippy number written for the film _Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me_. It was a clever 60s pastiche so it worked well with the context of the movie, but I don't know how much of the song was Madge and how much was co-writer William Orbit. Even so, I could easily have listened to a whole album of material in a similar vein. Otherwise? No, thanks.


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## Belowpar (Jan 14, 2015)

Much to my surprise I see the magic. First noticed the line "I yam A Matewial girllll" 

Perhaps the last stadium gig I'll ever see and though I've seen hundreds of other shows, she was clearly the hardest working act by some distance. Desperately Seeking Susan was neat and many of the hits had more going for them than just being infectious.

Favourites Like a Prayer and this song and Video are to die for.






Greta Garbo, and Monroe
Deitrich and DiMaggio
Marlon Brando, Jimmy Dean
On the cover of a magazine

Grace Kelly; Harlow, Jean
Picture of a beauty queen
Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire
Ginger Rodgers, dance on air

They had style, they had grace
Rita Hayworth gave good face
Lauren, Katherine, Lana too
Bette Davis, we love you

Ladies with an attitude
Fellows that were in the mood
Don't just stand there, let's get to it
Strike a pose, there's nothing to it

Vogue, vogue


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## Grizzled Ghost (Jun 10, 2015)

^^^ That was a rip-off of Malcolm McLaren's Deep in Vogue


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Doesn't voguing predate both McLaren and Madonna?


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

When she was new, she was often lumped together with Cyndi Lauper. I liked Lauper better. Much better pipes.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

As for female pop stars the only one I still care about is Whitney Houston _in her prime_. Now that's what I call a performer. And unlike Madonna she could actually sing.


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## Iean (Nov 17, 2015)

There are many reasons why Madonna will always be the Queen of Pop. She may not have the vocal prowess of Whitney and Mariah and Celine but she ended up selling more albums and singles ( she even has more Top 10 songs than The Beatles and Elvis Presley). When she released her second album, "Like A Virgin" in 1984, almost all music critics predicted that she will not last beyond 5 years in the music business because she has "no talent", "cannot sing", "just a creation of her producers", "just a flash in the pan" and these same critics made a bold prediction that Cyndi Lauper will have a very successful career because she is a "better singer" . Fast forward in 2015 - Madonna's latest album "Rebel Heart" hit number 2 on the Billboard charts and has received universal acclaim. Of course, a lot of people will argue that mutiplatinum albums do not equate to real talent. But isnt that the real essence of being a Queen of Pop - staying on top of the charts after more than 30 years in the very fickle world of pop music? And I am just talking about her recording career. 

Madonna's concerts are all classics and many music artists will die without achieving the near-perfection of even her amateur concerts. A well-known perfectionist, Madonna's concerts are not nostalgic events where she just sing her 38 top 10 songs to satisfy the requests of her fans. Instead, all Madonna's concerts are 80% new material and 20% obligatory "Like a Prayer" and "Music" numbers - the only artist in her 50s who will never use nostalgia to sell tickets - that is another testament of both her enduring artistry and the stellar quality of her new material. Also, unlike her fellow divas Mariah, Celine and Britney, Madonna will never end up singing her hits in Las Vegas. :angel:


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Whitney didn't need those fancy dance moves. Just her singing and stage presence (and the looks!). Her live performances are sometimes better than the studio recordings. Yes, it's live.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

My favorite Whitney song; how did you know?! She did have an amazing voice, and certainly was easy on the eyes, though young women singing to me will encounter a built-in bias toward them on my part. I try to counter it by stern objectivity but I often fail in the task.


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)




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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

I prefer Kylie.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Good old Morimur! I knew we could count on you, man, and you came through.....


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Morimur said:


> I prefer Kylie.


Dammit! Now I just can't get her out of my head.


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

Strange Magic said:


> Good old Morimur! I knew we could count on you, man, and you came through.....


You're welcome.


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## Belowpar (Jan 14, 2015)

Iean said:


> Instead, all Madonna's concerts are 80% new material and 20% obligatory "Like a Prayer" and "Music" numbers - the only artist in her 50s who will never use nostalgia to sell tickets - that is another testament of both her enduring artistry and the stellar quality of her new material. Also, unlike her fellow divas Mariah, Celine and Britney, Madonna will never end up singing her hits in Las Vegas. :angel:


Please don't forget I'm a 'fan' , but care to have a bet? When I saw her it was more like 5% new; she knows her audience. And when they become the majority visitors to Lost Wages she'll follow. I give it 10 years.


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## Iean (Nov 17, 2015)

Belowpar said:


> Please don't forget I'm a 'fan' , but care to have a bet? When I saw her it was more like 5% new; she knows her audience. And when they become the majority visitors to Lost Wages she'll follow. I give it 10 years.


in fact, many critics thought that her career will end after her Erotica/SEX book debacle, then she reemerged as a spiritual mom in "Ray of Light"..then her critics say her end finally came with "American Life", but she gave them a dirty finger via "Confessions on a Dance Floor"...so, no, in ten years time, she will NOT be displaying her 60 year-old cleavage in a Las Vegas stage. :angel:


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## Iean (Nov 17, 2015)

Morimur said:


> I prefer Kylie.


Kylie is the poor man's Madonna in the same manner that John Mellencamp is the poor man's Bruce Springsteen :angel:


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## MagneticGhost (Apr 7, 2013)

I thought Erotica was her best album! Erotica, Deeper and Deeper, and Bad Girl all do it for me.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

MagneticGhost said:


> Erotica, Deeper and Deeper, and Bad Girl all do it for me.


Oh yes! Yes! Yes!

Wait . . . are we still talking about Madonna?


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## Iean (Nov 17, 2015)

MagneticGhost said:


> I thought Erotica was her best album! Erotica, Deeper and Deeper, and Bad Girl all do it for me.


I concur...Sadly, the genius of "Erotica" the album was overshadowed by the attention-grabbing "Sex" book:angel:


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

I thought the "Erotica" was that symphony by the German guy. Frankly, it never sounded very sexy to me except for, you know, _those _parts.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

I'm sure the passage of time will again show just how widely my appreciation of Madonna continues to be shared; one just senses the love. For the handful who do not care for her music, there are therapies that can deal with the deeply-seated anhedonia that cripples their emotional/esthetic lives . Meanwhile, there remains a workaround video of my favorite Madonna video clip, as shown here. All my previous commentary still fully applies.....


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## Guest (Jan 16, 2018)

GreenMamba said:


> When she was new, she was often lumped together with Cyndi Lauper. I liked Lauper better. Much better pipes.


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## Guest (Jan 16, 2018)

Morimur said:


> I prefer Kylie.







You can have Kylie... I'll take Cheryl... although I can't imagine what our furniture will look like if she keeps launching herself off the top of the stairway without 8 blokes catching her...

Check out the :59 mark and you'll see why Cheryl will need a hip replacement sooner than later...

Yeah... I know I ran this gag before but I'm now collecting residuals on my repeats that are running in syndication on the forum nearly every hour of the day... and hey, is there ever such a thing as too much Cheryl Cole? Don't actually answer that question as I'm merely being rhetorical...


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## nikola (Sep 7, 2012)

The greatest thing about Madonna are Patrick Leonard's songwriting abilities. The only truly brilliant album is "Ray of Light"
The rest considering her is meh.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Ray of Light is a fine album--it was her best in years--and we can share our pleasure here basking in her _Ray of Light_.
After all, she is Madonna.....


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