US, August 16, 2007 - To call the music of Madonna ubiquitous would be a severe understatement. The Material Girl has dominated global pop culture going on two decades-and-some-change now, setting the bar for all emerging dance/pop oriented starlets to dare to dream of toppling. Like a female doppelganger of David Bowie, Ms. Ciccone has been deft enough to morph her style and structure over the years to mesh with shifting trends in fashion and sound.
Given that it's her birthday today, we thought we'd slap together what we consider to be the perfect mix-tape/CD. The challenge we gave ourselves, however, was to limit the tape/CD to a mere 10 songs. Given the number of hits she's racked up in the 20+ years that she's been a major figure within the entertainment industry, limiting our list to 10 was a daunting task indeed.
What we took into consideration was coming up with a list that didn't mirror the countless "Best Of" collections Madonna and her record company have released over the years. Of course no "Top 10" list would be complete without some of the hits, so naturally we have quite a few tucked in there. But what we really strived for was a cohesive feel, a flow from start to finish that represents Madonna's past, present, and future.
We fully expect folks to disagree with our list, after all that's what generally happens when anybody compiles a list billed as "Top" or "Best." Which is why we encourage you to send in your own Top 10 Madonna lists here.
10. "Music" (Groove Armada Edit)
Just as with her William Orbit/Ray Of Light electronic experimentation, Madonna jumped from the U.K. chilled out electro scene across the water to the bubbling French electro scene, enlisting the services of Mirwai for this vocoder drenched ditty.
9. "Crazy For You"
Anybody who saw Vision Quest when it came out will no doubt remember this tune. It became the de facto soundtrack to every high school geek-jock's sexual fantasy whereupon you befriend and eventually become lovers with an older woman. It is also one of the few Madonna tracks that doesn't seem tailor made for the clubs, but rather is an almost by-the-books, quasi Country tinged ballad.
8. "Words"
It's damn near impossible to escape the scintillating synth and rubber band bass interaction on this track, not to mention the infectious chorus where Madonna croons "I don't want to hear your words…" It's the perfect intersection between a robust, sweaty club number and late night slow burner.
7. "La Isla Bonita" (Extended Remix)
How can you not dig Madonna's "Spanish lullaby"? The Extended Remix tosses in additional snippets of Madonna speaking the language of love, not to mention more upfront beats and extrapolated rhythms. This is one of the all time greatest Pina Colada chugging sing-a-long songs ever. Period.
6. "I'd Rather Be Your Lover"
Snaked from the appropriately titled Bedtime Stories, this is a wonderfully hypnotic, slow rolling number that works on a funked up jazz vibe wrapped around deep seated basslines. Freed of any vocal gimmicks, Madonna proves that she can be as sultry as the best of her femme fatale contemporaries.
5. "Express Yourself"
Elastic guitar riffs, bouncy synth percolation, and Madonna delivering emphatically positive lyrics in which she urges us all to strive for better things via a chorus that extols the virtues of not settling for being second best.
4. "Material Girl"
No list would be complete without this, one of her first and still most memorable hits. The lyrics hit home in a humorously ironic manner given the state of the day in which they were written (the consumer riddled "Me" generation of the '80s). But beyond that the track itself is pure pop perfection, especially the wondrous keyboard squiggle that works its infectious magic, worming into the very core of your ears.
3. "Justify My Love"
What's not to like about a track that allegedly jacked beats from Public Enemy's "Security Of The First World" and even prompted PE proteges, The Young Black Teenagers, to pen a rap entitled "To My Donna," in which they lambasted the singer for reaching into the hip-hop crates. Classic behind-the-scenes infamy, to be sure.
2. "Vogue"
It's no secret that Madonna and her music have always enjoyed a robust following from the gay community. With this track the Material Girl dug into her ardent fan base and borrowed what was at the time a popular underground dance movement whereupon club goers mimicked the movements of runway models, incorporating the stances, looks, and gyrations into the thundering beats of the night.
1. "Ray Of Light"
This is one of the few tracks that helped to rejuvenate Madonna at a time when a slew of wannabes (many of whom were at least a decade younger and equally as hungry to dominate the charts) were vying for her throne as the reigning queen of dance oriented pop. That she was able to snag the talents of reclusive electronic master William Orbit to produce the track was a major coup. What's more is that their collaboration managed to keep intact what made each artist so unique and visionary. Madonna's trademark vocals are there, this time wrapped in Orbit's distinctive mid-tempo electronic swagger.
Borderline
Deeper and Deeper
Don't Cry For Me Argentina
Don't Stop
Don't Tell Me
Everybody
Forbidden Love
Future Lovers
Holiday
I Deserve It
In This Life
Like A Prayer
Like A Virgin
Lucky Star
Nothing Really Matters
Open Your Heart
Papa Don't Preach
Physical Attraction
Rescue Me
Sanctuary
Secret
Secret Garden
Waiting
Why It's So Hard
Source: http://music.ign.com/articles/813/813296p4.html
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