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

http://media.mtvne.com/manual/intl/warner/2009/USWBV0500441_640x480_01.jpg

:-(

awesome, awesome video

always suspected the boy character in "Open Your Heart" is just realizing his sexuality.

that's what makes the kiss so sisterly.

"daddy how come you don't have any pictures of black men on the wall?"

Full albums results:

Madonna	24	188
Erotica	20	148
Like a Prayer	19	120
True Blue	18	100
Bedtime Stories	17	86
Ray of Light	12	56
Confessions on a Dance Floor	13	54
Like a Virgin	9	50
You Can Dance	5	28
The Immaculate Collection	3	22
Music	3	16
American Life	3	16
I'm Breathless	3	12
Something to Remember	1	4

i had madonna-lap-erotica-coadf-bedtimestories

Full videos results:

Open Your Heart	8	50
What It Feels Like For a Girl	7	46
Express Yourself	5	46
Justify My Love	7	42
Material Girl	6	34
Like a Prayer	4	34
Vogue	6	30
Borderline	4	28
Like a Virgin	4	28
Bad Girl	3	26
Lucky Star	3	20
Oh Father	3	18
Papa Don't Preach	5	14
Rain	3	14
Hung Up	2	14
Cherish	2	14
Frozen	2	10
Ray of Light	1	10
Burning Up	1	10
Human Nature	1	10
Take a Bow	2	8
Don't Tell Me	2	4
Deeper and Deeper	1	4
Dress You Up	1	4
Everybody	1	4
Secret	1	4
This Used to Be My Playground	1	4
Bedtime Story	1	4
Crazy For You	1	2
Nothing Really Matters	1	2
American Life	1	2

"human nature" and "bedtime story" deserved way better

i had borderline-openyrheart-justify-vogue-papadon'tpreach

I didn't vote for videos--I should have--but completely agree with the top two. "Beautiful Stranger" is so much fun, while "Like a Prayer" is so bombastic.

lol at this used to be my playground tying bedtime story

Beautiful Stranger was a joke post, y'know.

I'm in and out--missed that! I endorse the joke.

I'm gonna tackle the remix votes tonight and see what I can make of them. If there's any cohesion, results will be posted tomorrow.

I'm glad I didn't vote in the videos now - I only know a few and would've most likely picked Justify My Love, which would thusly have won, somewhat unfairly.

I don't think my votes for the videos were counted. I gave Bedtime Story a 10 and Human Nature 8 points.

oof. It's entirely possible I missed a ballot with videos, as I went through and tabulated those at about 2am.

!!!!

controversy

scandal

BANNED

INCEPTED

Why did we ever let you take over this poll? Oh, right.

great. just like Bush v Gore all over again. Way to go Florida. I mean Fever

Hanging chads all up in my vicinity.

LeRooLeRoo, I'm really sorry about that. I dunno what happened. I remember looking at it, because your email was so organized and it's the last one I received (so it's on top of the pile). I must have just brainfarted on your top two videos.

she loves those underball votes.

That's ok, they wouldn't have made the Top 10 anyway.
But with my votes, "Bad Girl" would've been #8 and "Vogue" #5 if I'm counting right ;-)

this changes everything. EVERYTHING

Nothing really matters. Love is all we need.

I like Alfred's reading of the "Open Your Heart" video, but that still doesn't explain why two gay sailors are watching the peep show.

OK, so I went through both threads and re-read everything and, yeah, I overreacted. Apologies. The majority of the posts that skeeved me out on first go-through were people reminiscing about being horny teenagers, so I guess that's why they came across that way. That being said, the vitriol directed my way over the past 24 hours suggests that some of you haven't progressed much since that time.

It still does sadden me that we can't discuss a female musician without having to talk about her looks.

Anyway, I am glad her first album topped the album poll because, duh, it should.

Bruce & Stones polls spent some thread time on appearance iirc

http://www.papermag.com/uploaded_images/Mick%20Ian%20Stewart%20Untitled%20Savannah,%20Ga%2065.jpg

NEVER FORGET

ILM is host to equal-opportunity gawkers.

That being said, the vitriol directed my way over the past 24 hours

imo these were all jokes (admittedly, at your expense) about the absurdity of us behaving in such a way.

Morrissey was indeed the Stones' best keyboardist.

xxp

I will happily gawk at 1960s Jagger or 1980s Springsteen if it helps level the field.

Kent, if you're going to imperiously, passive/aggressively accuse us of being perverted oafs then we have the right to prove it in the most childish manner possible

now I'm wondering was it one long imperious phase, or several with breaks

lol

i think i noted this in the nods thread but re: sexism in the music press it is hilarious/interesting to read the earliest writings on madonna - some caught on quick but more frequently you either have outright dismissals of her as a bimbo or if they do credit the music they credit it almost entirely to jellybean, the idea that madonna might have any agency or input doesn't occur to them. which would be pretty repugnant under any circumstances but seems especially ridiculous w/ someone like madonna who is clearly in charge and intelligent (for a musician especially). the extent to which rockism and sexism were frequently (but not always tbf) joined becomes apparent w/ her also - respect was always there to be given (begrudgingly or in passing maybe) to a clear talent like michael jackson or systems like motown or stax or producers like spector or songwriters like bacharach or 'craftsmen' like elton john or abba (though note when respect was given to abba it was to benny/bjorn, not frida/agnetha - respecting benny/bjorn recognizes the accomplishment but respecting frida/agnetha requires one to actually make the leap and understand and enjoy the accomplishment); grasping madonna didn't allow refuge in any of these gestures. eventually they invented new gestures to deal w/ her - hello rockcrit's idea of postmodernism - but that was a few haircuts down the line, in 1983, 1984 the idiots had no template to turn to and history would record their foolishness unfiltered for what it was.

also i've been thinking for the past few minutes of 'bad girl' as a first person of elvis costello's 'party girl'; it doesnt' line up completely (or arguably even enough for me to make this post) but i like that when you do this you cut away all the 'nice guy syndrome' nastiness that's at the core of the song (and like 90% of elvis costello's good songs in general) and you're left w/ the soul crushing loneliness that can be at the heart of hedonism (and even an explanation of sorts of the root cause)(in a way it's like jennifer lawrence's diner story in silver linings playbook!)(hi soto), it's way more nuanced and humane and mature and sad than the usual male pop take. also occurred to me that since much of the chorus happens in third person you could change 'i' to 'you' in 'not happy when i act this way' and w/ a male performer the song becomes a standard rejected lover/stalker creep ballad like 'every breath you take' or 'alison' only even now the result is more human, acknowledging (sympathetically!) the self loathing at the heart of that feeling that songs like that usually dodge w/ shallow cleverness ('every breath you take') or nice guy martyrdom ('alison').

I used to find Niki Haris really attractive. My contribution to the gawkathon.

oh you contributed plenty in the voting thread with that garish photograph
shame on you :)

I frequently tell people it was dropped from Sex at the very last minute.

woah she doesn't live that far from here now. apparently her and donna de lory are still tight. reading about harris leaving after the drowned world tour (or maybe during the re-invention tour?) and de lory leaving after the confessions tour reminded me of later hitchcock after so many of his longtime personnel started dropping out. kinda sad to see that collaboration end, that friendship was such a nice aspect of truth or dare. also yes donna de lory's father is al de lory.

I'd forgotten she was on (or was sampled for) Natural Selection's "Do Anything" until I read up on her a bit. Actually, I'd forgotten the song altogether. It's not bad.

okay wtf is wrong with everyone re: "la isla bonita" at #27.