"In a time when political correctness is valued over honesty, I would also like to say: ride on motherfuckers...!"
For anyone that isn’t aware – August 16th marked Madge’s 49th birthday. Many folks aren’t too impressed by Madonna. But love her or love to hate her, accomplishments of this artist cannot be ignored. The Guinness World Records lists Madonna as the most successful female recording artist of all time, with estimated worldwide album sales of 175 million and 75 million singles; Madonna is the highest earning female singer of all time according to both the 2007 Guinness Book of Records, and Billboard Magazine. Forbes magazine has estimated her net worth at $325 million. In addition, Madonna holds the record for the top-grossing concert tour by a female artist.
There was a terse period where I was slightly irate with Madge for not using her superpowers for “good.” Although a big fan of her artistic prowess (divulge momentarily), I openly criticized her inability to get engaged. Fast forward a few years and she is now one of the founders of Raising Malawi and injecting messages about global awareness into her tours and music. Although many would say that she is an entertainer and people simply want to be entertained, I disagree – she is allowing people to make a choice, learn more. She isn’t asking people to agree with her political views (although I’m sure that’s her preference) – but she is using her ability to shock people, to wake them up, shake them up into realizing there’s a world out there –
figure out what’s going on.
Politics aside, Madonna has been parading around in hot pants for swarms of breathless fans for the better part of 25 years, but still she captivates completely: do a mental sweep of the genres and you won't come up with many performers as mesmerizing. If you don’t already own it, I highly recommend checking out “I’m Going to Tell You a Secret.” No pop enthusiast worth their weight in concert tickets should be without it, a CD/DVD package that'll endure the test of time way better than Lotsa de Casha, the dance-floor queen's 2005 kids' book, and probably just as well as her still buzzed-over 1990 Blonde Ambition-era cone bra. Ever the innovator, La M steps into the audio portion of this package with a vaguely religious, vaguely scary spoken-word rant, "The Beast Within." Click the “play” button below for a preview.
So in closing – Happy Birthday Madonna. I am thrilled to know you’ve got an upcoming studio album, which means another tour. I don’t know of any other musician who is inspired by so many other artists, that incorporates this love and knowledge into their work (for those not familiar with Salvador Dali, the controversial cross from the confessions tour was inspired by his work – I’m certain of this. Beast within from Reinvention tour was done by Steven Klein for his x-static-process installation exhibit).
“That consciousness is everything and that all things begin with a thought. That we are responsible for our own fate, we reap what we sow, we get what we give, we pull in what we put out. I know these things for sure.”
-Madonna, O Magazine, January 2004
