Don't go for second best, baby. Put your ILM ARTIST POLL #31: MADONNA to the test.

http://i.imgur.com/n75d0Ii.jpg

49. "I'LL REMEMBER" from the motion picture soundtrack With Honors (1994) [6 votes, 142 points]

didn't expect "words" to place! i love it, but there's eight or so erotica tracks i'd think of voting for before that

i'm just as excited for the images used as the results right now, they look awesome!

WHOA GREAT IMAGES

omg booming start. I love Words! and yeah AWESOME work with the images JF, rollout does not disappoint.

I've done my stretches, got my legwarmers and my leotard on, let's DO this

psyched for this. we not having links tho? i suppose it's just as easy to search regardless.

this is an all-Spotify list, see the opening post of the thread

Doesn't mean people can't link to youtube. I'm not doing it, but feel free to take it upon yourselves.

i can only apologise. xp.

Totally, ironically, forgot "I'll Remember." Nice. I'm guessing this will be the poll with the most movie soundtrack cuts.

I almost voted for "I'll Remember" but only bcz the Orbit remix is the best thing he's ever done and I realized I don't like the album cut of the song all that much.

http://i.imgur.com/3OaF7C3.jpg

48. "THE POWER OF GOOD-BYE" from Ray of Light (1998) [8 votes, 144 points]

One thing you may end up noticing is that Madonna is photographed a shit ton with her arms raised.

oof yes, booming images, keep it up

she has really great eyes

the image for 'words' will be hard to top already.

I don't remember anyone citing "The Power of Goodbye" in the other thread. Prototypical "deep single." The sonics are a warm bath.

really like how aqueous and majestic "the power of goodbye" sounds

I also forgot "I'll Remember" from my ballot, but it would have been near the bottom. I was only reminded a couple days ago by my roommate mentioning it as one of his favorite M songs. Then I had to frantically double-check that I hadn't forgotten all of her soundtrack songs for my ballot (I hadn't).

JF, great work w/ the stills - love the typeface arrangement, colors & subtle halftone pattern!

wow I forgot all about I'll Remember.

http://i.imgur.com/WMyto5q.jpg

47. "KEEP IT TOGETHER" from Like a Prayer (1989) [9 votes, 148 points]

YES

^^^

can't decide whether I prefer the single mix

Madonna sez Prince played on the album version.

I absolutely prefer the single mix but the album version is also good

I think KiT was like #21 for me :-( it really is a great song

loving these images sfm

I deliberated over KiT, I so wanted it on my ballot. Glad it made it into the 50. So good!

she made it into an amazing closing number for blond ambition

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhndzqzmstc

"I'll Remember" image should've been bearded Joe Pesci, is my only complaint

better:

http://images.larryelder.com/images/blog/TomVitale_080612.jpg

I forgot "I'll Remember" too--a convince-store staple for a few years back there. Good song.

i never paid attention to "the power of good-bye" till I heard the mashup of it and "bittersweet symphony," which remains one of my favorite examples of the form. the sonics are indeed a warm bath; that's a great description. the vocal is another matter. she sounds like she's trembling all the way through, as if the breakup she's singing about happened the morning she recorded it. she's sure of herself, absolutely sure, and yet she's not at all over it.

http://i.imgur.com/GdnmJDd.jpg

46. "DIE ANOTHER DAY" from the motion picture soundtrack Die Another Day (2002) [7 votes, 149 points]

Didn't see that one coming.

"Power of Good-bye" on my ballot (only thing to place so far).

"Keep It Together" one of very few LAP tracks to *not* make my ballot (though I really like it).

And yes! Great images!!

1) stoked 4 this
2) not stoked that it's started just as i have to leave the house and be offline til tomorrow morning
3) fantastic images
4) DIE ANOTHER DAY!!!! - happy it placed obv but SO SO SO TOO LOW

lol so happy "Die Another Day" placed

please explain the love for this song bcz idgi

I am asking genuinely

I had no idea it was well regarded until today.

i just think "Die" and "American Life" are the apex of the total awkward strangeness of the Madonna/Mirwais collaboration, with the latter edging a little too far into outright bad but the former aging pretty well

the appeal is that it sounds like a ringtone?

Die has aged/is better than AL, that's for sure, but I still think its kinda rigid and hook-free in much the same way a lot of her stuff has been in the 00's and onward.

Really curious to see if any other AL tracks will post, though I doubt it.

idgi either, they're the nadir of the awkard strangeness. blank in a bad way.

i feel ppl would like it a lot more if it wasn't tied to an awful bond film and had just been a first single for a studio album

the production is insane and "sigmund freud analyse this" is obv an all-time line

Don't love this, or even really like it much. Was surprised when it made a late push to crack the top 50.

People like "Live and Let Die" and its tied to a (marginally) worse Bond film.

xpost

American Life was the only LP from the last 15 years on my albums ballot, it's obviously kind of a fiasco but imo a really unique and interesting one, a lot of her later music has the same rigidity and blandness but without the strangeness and personal twists that made the AL era a source of fascination for me.

fuck..."Live to Tell" forever tho

you mad

Get the fuck out, Stevie.

I'm ecstatic enough about Stevie (or anyone) acknowledging the greatness of "Jimmy Jimmy" to overlook the "Live To Tell" diss.

yeah stevie u still need srs help tho

"Live To Tell" is the greatest

My favorite ILM poll: the level of commitment, the writing.

it was the best of times

I like to think Patrick Leonard said "OK, we're done" and Madonna saying, "No, wait -- I have an idea. 'If I ran away...'" and Leonard losing his shit.

― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, March 11, 2013 3:43 PM (three years ago

can we do this again

YES

Fuck me, my favorite thing she's ever done, her cover of Marvin Gaye's "I Want You" (off the Something to Remember comp) wasn't even nominated?!?!?!

There are no nominations in artist polls.

Oh.

Flamenco drop.

The best kind of drop

My least favorite major single.

It sucks, but "American Life" still exists.

Oh yeah, Madonna put out music after 2001... I keep forgetting! Now I shall forget again.

Found the second greatest-hits CD at a garage sale last week, been playing it in the car. A kind of sameness creeps into the first few tracks because of the remixing. "Ray of Light" and "Beautiful Stranger" (which took some abuse in this poll) sound as amazing as ever; I think her career peaks were very early ("Holiday," "Borderline," "Into the Groove") and then later with those two songs--lot of greatness between, with some silliness, but they're the best. The one song that jumped out at me that I didn't vote for above was "Drowned World"/"Substitute for Love." I should have.

If she ever writes her memoirs--particularly of the early '80s--I'd read them.

"Beautiful Stranger" (which took some abuse in this poll)

Not enough, iirc.

At least six terrific albums, many good songs. American Life deserves reappraisal.

Ranking with CCR, Marvin Gaye, the Beatles for number of awesome singles in such a concentrated period.

CCR?

For sure.

And here's the last twenty-nine years.. Whoa.

About time!

https://superdeluxeedition.com/news/madonna-physical-deluxe-reissues-confirmed-for-2022-and-beyond/

Happy birthday, girl.

What ever happened to those deluxe editions promised?

Happy birthday, girl.

It's amazing how by toughening a few of the lyrics Madonna transformed this song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbpqItgBGdo

Wow, I really did vote "Oh Father" #1 here. It felt like a distinct possibly, having this week discovered all over again that it was the high water mark of popular music in my lifetime. Maybe. Sort of.

Maybe someday
When I look back, I'll be able to say
You didn't mean to be cruel
Somebody hurt you tooooooo

*weeps*

I’m so sad I missed this poll.

It was certainly the most fun one of these I ever hosted.

Somebody hurt you tooooooo

and such a gorgeous change from there into the chorus

i miss us, you guys <3

same

I was wondering why I commented so little in this thread but it turns out all my advocacy was in the campaigning thread.

Definitely one of my favourite ILM polls.

Bummed that I missed this poll

"a little bit of inclusion goes a long way when it comes time to truly put the undesirables in their place."

I mentioned upthread that I didn't vote for La Isla Bonita. Shocking, as it's one of my favorite songs of hers now