SONG OF THE WEEK

There is not too much to say about the artist who has this weeks ‘song of the week’ – She has sold over 300 million records worldwide, she is a dancer, actress, director, philanthropist, fashionista, icon, and probably the worlds most controversial entertainer of all time.  She is the most successful solo-touring artist of all-time and has a career spanning over 30 years.  She is the one and the only – MADONNA.

Madonna has penned some of the most recognizable pop hits of my generation – songs like; “Like a Virgin”, “Material Girl”, “Papa Don’t Preach”, “Like A Prayer”, “Frozen”, “Ray of Light”, “American Life”, “Music” and so on.  Madonna’s critics have mainly focused on the controversy that surrounds many of her project releases but fail to mention that the controversies generally are to create dialogue and break stereotypes of whatever topic she is writing or making a video about.  I remember when ‘Like A Virgin’ came out (1984) and remember so many people being offended saying that the song was too sexual and that she was a role-model for so many young girls.  Let’s face it….she didn’t ask to be a role-model – her goal was to become the greatest entertainer and she was not going to compromise anything in order to achieve that goal.  People are okay to talk about rape, violence, wars etc….but whenever Madonna created a video that depicted any sexual ambiguity, people became outraged.  In the same breath – rap videos or male entertainers who would have women parading around with next-to-nothing – was okay.

Critics didn’t want to focus on Madonna – the powerful and strong woman who wasn’t going to compromise any of her artistic integrity in order to sell records.  When Madonna believed in something she would stand by her words and her art.  Although Madonna had many controversies surrounding the records, “Like A Virgin”, “Like A Prayer”, “Justify My Love”, “Erotica” and “American Life”, people tend to forget that she has also created some absolutely amazing and thought-provoking music and videos.  “Papa Don’t Preach” – about a teenager who did not want to abort her baby, “Promise To Try” – a stirring ballad that reflects the loss of Madonna’s mother at such a young age, “American Life” – a commentary about our need for all things material, “Frozen” – a haunting insight about self-reflection, “Nothing Really Matters” – a moving tribute to motherhood, “The Power of Goodbye” – a touching story of love/life loss.  Madonna has a collection of work that spans all music genres that speak to all generations and ages.

Today – Madonna’s challenge is ageism.  The critics are now siting that she is too old to be creating the music that she is creating.  They say things like; “she is too old to be parading around with no clothes on”, “she shouldn’t be making dance records and should mellow out”, “she should retire” etc….I hope that Madonna continues to make music she likes and videos that she believes – Music and video are not for people of a certain age – music is for everyone.  If you are uncomfortable with the type of music or video that Madonna is creating – don’t watch it!  Maybe that discomfort is telling you more about yourself than anything or anybody else.

Here is this week’s Song Of The Week.  Lyrics are followed by the audio and video.  Enjoy.

GET TOGETHER

(There’s too much confusion)
(It’s all an illusion)
(there’s too much confusion)

Down, down, down in your heart
Find, find, find the secret
Turn, turn, turn your head around
Baby we can do it
We can do it all right

Do you believe in love at first sight
It’s an illusion, I don’t care
Do you believe I can make you feel better
Too much confusion, come on over here

[Chorus]
Can we get together?
I really, I really wanna be with you
Come on, check it out with me
I hope you, I hope you feel the same way too

I searched, I searched, I searched my whole life
To find, find, find the secret
But all I did was open up my eyes
Baby we can do it
we can do it all right

Do you believe that we can change the future
Do you believe I can make you feel better

[Chorus X2]

It’s all an illusion
There’s too much confusion
I’ll make you feel better
If it’s bitter at the start
Then it’s sweeter in the end

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!