It's hard to believe that the be all and end all of celebrity documentaries, Truth or Dare (1991) is already over 20 years old. Actual age aside, Truth or Dare is timeless not just because it captured one of the most famous women who has ever lived at the peak of her popularity, but because of how daringly it performed that capture. I'm sure it's impossible for anyone under 25 to imagine how shocking Madonna's behavior in the early 90s was. Believe it or not there was a time when the demistification of Celebrity was anathema to Hollywood.
You can argue that some of the magic went out of the movies the more access we had to the magicians on and behind the screen, but there was no stopping the intrusiveness of the information age. Madonna's acclaimed film and -- to a lesser extent though no one wants to give it credit -- her often reviled "Sex" book predicted all of it by revealing more and More and MORE (and then some more) of herself. Madonna has never been a great actress but she has given a genius film performance and this was it. (Her performances in Evita and the short film Star! are a distant second.)
If you're interested in influential landmarks in pop culture I urge you to read Rich Juzwiak's exhilarating piece on Truth of Dare (it's out on Blu-Ray for the first time) over at Gawker
Madonna has rarely had her finger directly on the pulse—it took her years to dabble in electronica and new jack swing and French house—but over 20 years after its release,Truth or Dare is relevant as ever. (It's out on Blu-ray for the first time today.) It's as close to a memoir as Madonna has ever gotten, and it's brilliantly fitting that the music video master stuck with the trusted audio-visual format that catapulted her to success. Why write when you can be? Madonna's life banged the dust out of vérité entertainment, suggesting the documentary didn't have to be stuffy, that it could be wildly entertaining and overwhelmingly trashy...
But while we're on the topic of the Queen a few notes on MDNA after the jump...
Despite the movies being my great love, my favorite celebrity has always had a troubling relationship to them. But never mind that. Madonna will always have the music. A new Madonna record is an EVENT and I've been listening to MDNA non-stop since it was released. Have you? I powered through a second and third listen even though I wasn't actually sure that I liked it so much. But it generally takes me a handful of listens to any new record to settle. Did I force it to grow on me? Beware the mighty power of repetition! Now "I'm Addicted" and not just to that song.
Girl Gone Wild
The album opens with a "Like a Prayer" reference only to twist this new Act of Contrition into a tongue in cheek reference to wanting to be a good girl. But Madonna has always been and always wanted to be a bad girl... to the world's eternal benefit. And MDNA announces straightaway that Madonna will keep on dancing. No one can put out her fire. Stop telling her to act her age. We'd all be better off if 50somethings kept dancing.
Gang Bang
The second track is the album's strangest and most exhilarating if you're in the mood for it. And I imagine it's divisive because you have to be. This thumping sinister song burns slowly as it lays down its threats... but Madonna's delivery is such that it's hard to tell if she's really angry or taking the piss out of anger. Wonderful. Best part:
I said drive, bitch. And while you're at it die, bitch!"
Madonna has suggested she'd like Tarantino to direct the video and nothing would be more fun given that his debut film "Reservoir Dogs" opens with that instantly infamous Madonna monologue. Doesn't he owe her?
I'm Addicted
Another film that builds beautifully to its chorus. I love the echoing of her voice as if this addiction just keeps self perpetuating. And I didn't even notice all the "MDNA" chanting among the song's layers at first. Three songs in and she's still dancing up a storm. There was a point around the time of "Take a Bow" wherein I feared that she'd go the typical middle age pop star direction of adult contemporary ballads only. Many years later she still just wants to dance. Don't listen to the haters, Madge.Why do people always want her to "act her age"? People live into their 90s why should they sit on couches bored after 50?
Turn Up The Radio
Enjoy this one, too. It feels like a throwback with an 80s sense of melody and a 90s dance beat But, like "Don't Stop" on "Bedtime Stories" I wonder if it will have any lasting value or wear out its charms quickly. Too simple? The bridges are usually my favorite part of Madonna songs but I'm not crazy about the bridge in this one though I love that single moment before the chorus kicks back in.
Give Me All Your Luvin'
I know people viewed this as primarily Superbowl promotion with its cheerleader chanting and drum major sounds. But I think it stands on its own just fine. I tend to love "Fun" Madonna. People always forget how silly she is. Especially since Madonna, like most superstars, has gotten more self serious with age. I usually hate special guest star moments in song but I do like Nicki Minaj and MIA here.
Some Girls
This one seems to share its mood (partially) with "Gang Bang". It's weirdly angry in fits and starts but it's not as committed to it. I'm not sure I get this one on the whole.
Some girls are not like me. I'm everything you've ever dreamed of."
But keep on bragging, girl. I demand a REWRITE! "NO girls are like you."
Superstar
"You're like Marlon Brando on the silver screen." This one has kind of schoolgirl lyrics. Sweet with a beat.
"I Don't Give A"
Confession: This is when I get tired of the CD a little. Perhaps there's not enough variety. But it wins me back over in a big way at the very end when Nicki Minaj interrupts with "there's only one Queen and that's Madonna, bitch" which is then immediately followed by a bizarre and beautiful grandiose staccato chorus. This queen is so special the choir can't even form full words.
"I'm A Sinner"
Only to lose me again with my least favorite song (at least on the standard edition). "I'm a sinner I like it that way"... Madonna finally admits what she was all cheeky about in "Girl Gone Wild".
"Love Spent"
Things get interesting again. This song doesn't always feel fully formed, like it has competing musical urges but that's what's fascinating about it. It's in competition for best track. The romantic narrative is completely fucked up as it keeps mixing up love for money and passion for greed but I imagine that gets confusing for megawatt celebrities who have lots of the green and not enough of the love.
"Masterpiece"
We first heard this song as the Golden Globe winning song from W.E. but I admit, I didn't really like it. Strangely dropped in near the end of "MDNA" it works beautifully despite some questionable lyrics, maybe because it's a classic-sounding ballad when you're coming down from the high of dancing and "Love Spent" has already brought the mood down.
Guy Ritchie in the first flushes of Madonna maniaExtras
Because I bought the CD on iTunes I'm not sure how the extra songs fit in: "Best Friend" another divorce song is good and beautifully honest -- I bet Guy Ritchie never listens to this record; I can live without "Beautiful Killer" and "B-Day Song" which feel like B sides or fillers if this had been released back when singles had non-album tracks on the flip side; the remix of "Give Me All Your Luvin'" ruins the fun of the song if you ask me so I am thumbs down on the deluxe version of the record versus the standard version; But for the near-perfect "I Fucked Up" which feels like a necessity for the strands of "MDNA" which want to be a post-divorce record, both serious and silly and always very very Madonna.
You want to know how to make God laugh?
Tell him your plans."
"Falling Free"
Sung beautifully even if it meanders a bit as a self consciously "beautiful" act of poetry to close the record. She's free to fail... Some people always want her to but one of the best things about Madonna is that she Doesn't Give A.
Though "MDNA" never reaches the peaks of recent triumphs like "Confessions on the Dance Floor"like every last one of her albums, it has its unbeatable moments.