We might be lovers if the rhythm’s right: MLVC
Happy birthday to the most transformative pop star of my lifetime
[Note: hi! Sorry it’s been so long since I published, especially considering I seem to have accrued a bunch of new subscribers over the summer. It’s been, shall we say, a summer, and the combo of lots happening in my life + mental health issues often means I don’t write much. I’m gonna try to do better, though. So: hi again!]
[This is an updated version of a post originally penned in 2017.]
I’m so glad that Madonna has finally accepted that she’s a legacy artist now; most of her last two decades output has been embarrassing at best — I mean, “Bitch I’m Madonna”? You’re better than this! You are, in fact, Madonna! But there’s no denying the richness of her catalog, still capable of offering up surprises, 41 years on from the release of her self-titled debut album (an album which has aged extremely well, and arguably sounds better today than it did at the time).
She’s in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame because she fucking deserves to be there. She’s had 12 US #1 singles and a further six that peaked at #2, and those 18 are just part of her 38 top 10s, from the days when you couldn’t just carpet-bomb the Hot 100’s top 10 with random album cuts. Before its quiet end in 2020, she also logged a rather astounding 50 #1s on Billboard’s Dance Club Play chart (RIP), a feat celebrated on the 2022 comp Finally Enough Love (which is imperfect, especially due to the heavy tilt towards modern-era Madonna, but still highly recommended). She’s not just an icon; for entire generations, she’s justifiably the icon.
My favorite Madonna albums are easily 1992’s much-maligned Erotica (check the songwriting, much better than you may think), its cozy R&B follow-up, 1994’s Bedtime Stories (she adapted so nicely, so warmly to the production from Dallas Austin, Babyface, Dave “Jam” Hall, and Nellee Hooper - and this is her sexiest album, as opposed to its predecessor), and Madonna itself (the rawness of her vocals here is what most grabs me).
But she’s most of all a singles artist, so here are 35 of my favorite Madonna songs, basically in order, fittingly mixing in remixes with classic hits and album tracks. There’s so much more than could be said, but I’d rather let the music do the talking. [Playlist below.] Happy birthday, Madge.
“Open Your Heart” (True Blue, 1986)
“Physical Attraction” (Madonna, 1983)
“Vogue” (I’m Breathless: Music from and Inspired by Dick Tracy, 1990)
“Into the Groove” (single, 1985)
“Angel (Extended Dance Mix)” (12”, 1985)
“Deeper and Deeper” (Erotica, 1992)
“Erotica (Underground Club Mix)” (12”, 1992)
“I’d Rather Be Your Lover” (featuring Me’shell Ndegeocello) (Bedtime Stories, 1994)
“Jump (Axwell Remix)” (12”, 2006)
“Human Nature (Radio Edit by Danny Tenaglia)” (single, 1995)
“Burning Up” (Madonna, 1983)
“This Used to Be My Playground” (single, 1992)
“Bedtime Story” (Bedtime Stories, 1994)
“Dress You Up (The 12” Formal Mix)” (12”, 1985)
“Lucky Star” (Madonna, 1983)
“White Heat” (True Blue, 1986)
“Justify My Love” (The Immaculate Collection, 1990)
“Bad Girl” (Erotica, 1992)
“Get Together” (Confessions on a Dance Floor, 2005)
“I Want You” (with Massive Attack) (Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye, 1995)
“Inside of Me” (Bedtime Stories, 1994)
“Love Song” (with Prince) (Like A Prayer, 1989)
“Causing A Commotion” (Who’s That Girl Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 1987)
“Shoo-Bee-Doo” (Like A Virgin, 1984)
“Keep It Together (7” Remix)” (single, 1990)
“Think of Me” (Madonna, 1983)
“Sidewalk Talk” (Jellybean featuring Madonna) (single, 1984)
“Papa Don’t Preach” (True Blue, 1986)
“What It Feels Like for a Girl (Above & Beyond Club Mix)” (12″, 2001)
“Something To Remember” (I’m Breathless: Music from and Inspired by Dick Tracy, 1990)
“Sorry (PSB Maxi-Mix)” (12'“, 2006)
“4 Minutes (Bob Sinclair Space Funk Remix)” (featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland) (12”, 2009)
“Hung Up” (Confessions on a Dance Floor, 2005)
“Secret Garden” (Erotica, 1992)
“Till Death Do Us Part” (Like A Prayer, 1989)
[About this last song, in 2008 I wrote: “You can diss the lyrical content all you want (some find it clumsy, I admire its heart if nothing else), but what’s really striking about this song almost 20 years on is its sound: the jittery, overly caffeinated keyboard arpeggios, the sourly sweet guitar “solo” on the quasi-bridge, and one of M’s more assured vocals (at the time). It’s always been one of my favorites of her album tracks; I wonder if it could’ve been a hit, given how much of a superstar she was at the time.”]