Madge-ic Life, Volume Twenty: Crazy For You (2006)
In case you haven’t heard, Madonna turns 48 on August 16.
She’ll celebrate by shooting that NBC special to be broadcast in November. I’ll be celebrating by cataloging stuff that keeps us coming back for more.
Herewith, my second annual rundown, in no particular order, of the things we love about our favorite Leo:
1. Reviving henna.
2. Multiple, wildly different encores of The Girlie Show.
3. Seen with ”Cloud” written on her hand. (Hmmmm…)
4. Use of a ’90s fans-only club mix as a centerpiece song in the Confessions Tour.
5. Trying, then quickly abandoning, going brunette (again) in 2003.
6. Her children’s audiobook collection.
7. Shedding her first fake public tear in Detroit during The Virgin Tour.
8. Taking the high road in her feud with Elton John.
9. Taking the low road in her feud with Mariah Carey.
10. Bye Bye Baby, one of the greatest kiss-off songs.
11. Saluting a gaggle of drag queens before presenting Video of the Year at the 1999 VMAs.
12. ”All the Way” Mae Mordabito.
13. Including Guy Ritchie’s singing in I’m Going To Tell You a Secret.
14. Her judicious use of whips.
15. Embarrassing herself with Sandra Bernhard on ”Letterman” in 1988.
16. Her visit to Rachel’s Tomb in Israel.
17. Intervention from American Life.
18. Snagging Ricky Martin when he was white-hot. (No comment on the resultant duet itself.)
19. The legend that she told a taxi driver to take her to ”the center of everything” before landing in Times Square.
20. Causing a feeding frenzy at Coachella.
21. The ”Come On a My House” dance sequence in Swept Away.
22. The iconic look of surprise during the 1990 VMAs performance of Vogue.
23. Reportedly eschewing farewell-sounding songs on her tours (Take a Bow, The Power of Goodbye, etc.).
24. Her ”The Lady is a Tramp” duet with the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Anthony Keidis on ”Arsenio Hall” in 1992.
25. Being inspired – not daunted – by that fall off the horse.
26. The out-and-out theft of the Grammys telecast (again) this year.
27. Jogging in Central Park.
28. Shout-outs to her ”front row bitches”.
29. Camping it up in Four Rooms.
30. The countless self-referential bits of Confessions on a Dance Floor.
31. Never forgetting Christopher Flynn, her mentor and dear friend.
32. Has To Be’s lovely production.
33. Joining a long, distinguished(ish) line of James Bond theme song performers.
34. Official announcements of albums and tours on American talk shows (“The View” and “Ellen”, respectively).
35. Making peace with her father.
36. Showing up at MisShapes and Roxy in NYC last October to ”surprise” her fans.
37. Putting the phrase “macrobiotic diet” into the general lexicon.
38. The precious Dear Jessie.
39. The nude hitchhiking shot of the Sex book.
40. Commissioning a fan photo for her Sorry single.
41. Her affair with John F. Kennedy, Jr.
42. Biking in London.
43. Graciously ceding the spotlight to Courtney Love when the latter crashed Madge’s interview with Kurt Loder after the 1995 VMAs.
44. The opening monologue video about her Poison Penn wedding on “Saturday Night Live”.
45. Adopting a village in Africa.
46. Promoting her assistant to co-manager. (Yay, little people!)
47. The Bad Girl video.
48. Hinting at an all-new album sooner than we think… ?
Happy Birthday, Madge!
Written by G-Lock.