Showing posts with label Human Nature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Human Nature. Show all posts

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Madonna’s “Bedtime Stories” Turns 20: Backtracking


tumblr_muvnd7TXyf1rggsbpo1_500

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 Dancefloorthe 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).

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Sunday, August 14, 2011

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’sBedtime 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?

Human Nature