Strike A Pose - 1994

I'll Remember...1994

Madonna Covered

Kelly Clarkson covers 'Take A Bow'.

Gives Good Face...1995

Madonna’s “Bedtime Stories” Turns 20: Backtracking

Throughout her extensive career, Madonna (a.k.a. The Queen of Pop) has worn many, quite controversial hats. Whether it be a girly-girl for 1986′s True Blue, a political rebel for 2003′s American Life or a disco goddess for 2005′s Confession On A Dancefloor, the entertainer always knows how to switch up her persona to keep her fans interested and the world guessing what her next move will be. (Well, maybe not with MDNA. I’d like to forget that album.)

But one of the singer’s greatest musical eras was arguably her most subtle. On October 25, 1994, her sixth studio LP Bedtime Stories released worldwide. The album found Madonna easing up on her naughty persona and going for a softer vibe, and today (October 24) we celebrate its timeless sound.

Madonna’s much talked about album, Erotica (released in 1992), did not go over well with critics or some of the entertainer’s fans. The backlash she received from it stemmed from its explicitly sexual nature (which included the infamous Sex book). Two years later, Bedtime Stories acted as the tamer, more mellow sister that tried to gloss over the singer’s panned image. While it was obviously a cleaned-up and more accessible album, it still signified another era of change for Madonna. Sure, she makes incredible dance-pop classics, but Bedtime Stories displayed the evolution of a soulful singer, and it helped lead to albums like the adventurous Ray of Light (1998) and possibly even the “B-girl” edge of 2008′s Hard Candy (as crazy as that sounds).

Billboard: Madonna's 'Bedtime Stories' Turns 20

Twenty years ago this month, Madonna released her sixth studio album,Bedtime Stories, a classic that came out at a strange crossroads in her career.

While Madonna certainly didn't lack for fame in 1994, the button-pushing Eroticaalbum had soured many critics and fans. For the first time in a decade of superstardom, people weren't shocked by her antics anymore -- even worse, they often seemed exhausted by her.

Artistically speaking, she'd spent the last four years challenging and subverting America's sexual puritanism. But after releasing an entire book called Sexfeaturing nude pictures of herself and other celebrities, there didn't seem to be anywhere else to go in that realm. 

It didn't help that she'd detonated 14 F-bombs on a March 1994 episode of The Late Show With David Letterman, an infamous appearance that racked up FCC complaints and distanced her from Middle America. Evita was two years away and the overt sexuality of Erotica was growing stale -- so when Bedtime Storieshit, Madonna's career was at a strange point.

I'll Remember...1994

I'll Remember...1994

I'd Rather Be Your Lover feat. 2Pac

"We were watching a talk show, and it was during Madonna’s pregnancy, and they flashed a picture of Carlos Leon and Madonna walking into a New York building on the screen. Leon is the father of Madonna’s baby girl Lourdes. Pac had just rolled a blunt and after he finished inhaling a big toke, he said, “You know, that used to be me.”

I said, “Yeah, right, get the f-ck outta here,” thinking he was just f-ckin’ with me. “Nigga, I’m serious, that was me,” he said, and I could tell he was. “Lemme tell you something, anytime I tell you something about a bitch, it’s for real.”  I said, “A’ight. So what’s up between you and ol’ girl?” He said, “Nothing.”  I said, “Did you know her, then?” “Dude,” he said, “I used to spend time with Madonna in New York.” I said, “You did?” Damn, I’m thinking, this brotha does get around. That was the end of the conversation. He never mentioned her again, and I have no reason to believe he was lying."

STRIKE A POSE! 1994

I'll Remember...1994

Gaultier Fashion Show

Gaga, before Gaga was even Gaga. 

This outfit would have been perfect for the 'Bedtime Stories World Tour'....dontcha think?

Strike a Pose - 1994

Proposed setlist for the 1995 World Tour?

Not sure it this is for real...but my source has back up to this information.  It looks like something she would have done back then.  Sigh....too bad she did not end up touring for the Bedtime Stories album.  That would have been a real treat...before she got all maucho and dark with her stage shows. Wonder what the name was for the tour???  So exciting!!!

1. Human Nature
2. Burning Up
3. Rescue Me

4. Dress You Up
5. Don’t Stop
6. Deeper and Deeper
7. Survival

8. Angel
9. Inside of Me
10. Cherish
11. Borderline
12. Forbidden Love

13. Secret (remix)
14. Lucky Star
15. Who’s That Girl

16. I’ll Remember
17. Bad Girl
18. Love Tried to Welcome Me
19. Take a Bow

20. Holiday

21. Sanctuary
22. Bedtime Story

What do you think of the setlist?  Real or fake?  What songs would you have incuded?

I'll Remember...1994

Shots from the unreleased video for the remix

From The Vault: Madonna – ‘Human Nature’

This week saw 'That Grape Juice' ask you who you who you considered to be the reigning Queen of Pop. For many, that title belonged to none other than Madonna!

By constantly reinventing herself, she has tackled numerous musical genres and has amazed the masses by being equally comfortable singing Pop-by-the-numbers tunes or fearlessly riding a Hip-Hop beat.

Today we will travel back to a time when her Madgesty was experimenting with R&B, cue this week’s From The Vault - ‘Human Nature’.

The final single from her underrated sixth album, 1994’s‘Bedtime Stories’, the G-Funk tinged cut is an open-letter to the press after the backlash she had suffered following the ‘Erotica’ era (especially the Sex book). She adopts an unapologetic attitude and explains that she shouldn’t be stoned for exploring her fantasies, for expressing herself – urging the listener to do the same.

‘Nature’s accompanying visual is even more notorious than the song. Deemed by many as avant-garde, the latex-heavy video depicts a corn-rowed material girl as a bondage queen, backed by a group of dancers, executing intricate choreography and acrobatics. What sets it apart from other clips is its remarkable art direction and cinematography as well as its simplicity, once again proving that less can indeed be more.

No matter which blonde currently rules the world charts and no matter what her naysayers think of her, Madonna should forever be respected, if not for her impressive back catalogue, amazing videos and critically-acclaimed tours; at least for universally raising the bar for Pop acts, especially female acts, and making it the norm to constantly want to push social or cultural barriers release after release.

Your thoughts?

I'll Remember...1994

Bettina Rheims

I'll Remember...1994

Strike a Pose - 1994

Patrick Demarchelier