Madonna Takes Aim at the Moral Majority
The upending of the moral majority has been consistent for decades as the self-righteous slunk from one faux outrage after another. No one was more effective in raising their ire than Madonna.
As a pop princess in the 80s, she reached the pinnacle of pop stardom with slickly produced vanilla fare that tantalized and tweaked our inner demons. By the end of the decade, she had perfected her dalliances and maximized her persona of controversy and sexuality. The resulting criticism only served to make her star shine brighter.
In 1989, she released Like a Prayer to equal amounts of praise and criticism. The lead single’s video portrayed a black Jesus Christ as a sexual object. This affront to religion was considered apostasy by Christians.
The follow-up single Express Yourself was a testament to female empowerment and respect. While the album relied on the smooth pop structure of her previous efforts, the Shep Pettibone remixes took things in a different direction. They capitalized on the burgeoning underground House Music scene at the time and took these songs to an entirely new level.
From Vogue to Justify My Love
In 1990, Madonna took that sound mainstream with the release of Vogue from I’m Breathless: Music from and Inspired by the Film Dick Tracy.
That same year, she released the semi-greatest hits package The Immaculate Collection. It sold over 30 million copies worldwide and went on to become one of the biggest-selling albums of all time.
More controversy ensued with the sexually charged video for the lead single Justify My Love, which contained imagery of sadomasochism, voyeurism, and bisexuality¹. It was initially banned from MTV and later allowed to air only after midnight. Because of the limited airplay, the video was released as a VHS single — the first of its kind — and went on to sell over a million copies.
Erotica, SEX and Madonna Without Limits
By 1992, all bets were off. Madonna had secured a new multimedia deal in conjunction with Time Warner worth $60 million. At the same time, she released her first album on the new Maverick Records label, Erotica, along with the coffee table book of sexual fantasies entitled SEX.
The album itself received mixed reviews from critics but by most standards is now considered one of her greatest works. Erotica is a concept album about sex and romance, incorporating her alter ego named Mistress Dita, inspired by actress Dita Parlo. Some songs also take on a more confessional tone, influenced by the loss of Madonna’s two close friends to AIDS.²
The book was critically panned even by fans who felt she had taken sexual matters too far. Its intention was not only to provoke but to allow people to openly discuss their sexual desires and fantasies. These were often things people were already doing under the covers.
Through the years, however, critical reception towards Sex has become more positive, with academics deeming it a defining phase in Madonna’s career. Sex is noted for its impact on society and culture as well as on Madonna herself, and is considered a bold, post-feminist work of art.³
When Madonna’s Sexual Revolution Became Personal
1989 until the beginning of the millennium was not only the most productive and experimental period of Madonna’s career. It was also the same time that I became sexually woke.
As a young gay man from small-town America, dancing my ass off to Express Yourself at Rich’s in Houston was empowering. I was surrounded by more gay men than I had ever witnessed in my entire life. It gave me the confidence to move forward and be open about who I am.
It just happened to coincide with Madonna’s extended middle finger to all the prudes and religious zealots who would later be plagued by their own sexual demons. Oh, the hypocrisy.
Erotica and the SEX coffee table book now stand as some of the most important works by any artist of the 20th century. Madonna certainly wasn’t the first and owes a great deal of gratitude to Grace Jones, Deborah Harry, Donna Summer, and others who preceded her.
Nevertheless, she paved the way for artists like Janet Jackson, Beyoncé, Britney Spears, and Rihanna to exert greater influence over their image, careers, and artistry while projecting unabashed self-confidence.
Party Favorz Celebrates 25 Years of SEX
25 Years of SEX reflects upon this period with updated remixes of classic songs from that era. It’s a period in history that I will remember and embrace fondly regardless of the tragedies and losses I, as well as others, suffered during this time.
The set also contains a few remastered original releases that sound as fresh today as when they were first released. There’s also a hefty dose of new remixes for non-single selections from Erotica that I think fans will enjoy.
It is with great honor and respect that Party Favorz celebrates the musical achievements of the one and only MADONNA.
This should get the subheading distribution warning out of the way, and the sentence splits should bring the long-sentence percentage down substantially without sterilizing your writing.
¹Justify My Love quote excerpted from Wikipedia.
²Erotica quote excerpted from Wikipedia.
³SEX quote excerpted from Wikipedia.
Album: Madonna: 25 Years of SEX
Genre: EDM, House Music, Trance, Trip Hop
Year: 2017
Total Time: 02:25:03
- Erotica (Sartori Remix)
- Justify My Love (Deeptrak Remix)
- Nothing Really Matters (Lukesavant Future House Rework)
- Rescue Me (Donny’s Beat2Beat Mix)
- Secret (Junior’s Luscious Club Mix)
- Vogue (Maxim Andreev Remix)
- Words (Idaho’s Louder Than Words Edit)
- Human Nature (The Human Club Extended Mix)
- Frozen (Sonic Sense Bootleg Remix)
- Waiting (New Puzzle Remix)
- Ray of Light (Division 4 Club Mix)
- Music (Division 4 Club Mix)
- Bedtime Stories (Deep Dish Mix)
- Rain (DJ Aristocrat New 2017 MF Remix)
- Deeper And Deeper (Division 4 Radio Edit)
- Bye Bye Baby (Madonna Gets Hardcore)
- Keep It Together (Funky Sheep 2013 Mix)
- Don’t Tell Me (Dave Audé Funk Mix Extended)
- Fever (SP!N’s Swingin’ London Mix)
- Like A Prayer (Sartori Remix)
- Where Life Begins (EA 2016 Soaking Wet Stimulation Mix)
- Beautiful Stranger (Division 4 vs. Thee Cool Cats Remix)
- Thief Of Hearts (Dubtronic & Sartor Remix)
- Who’s That Girl (2002 House Mix)^
- Express Yourself (Non-Stop Express Mix)
- Bad Girl (Satori 2017 Remix)
^Bonus Track
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