Track Five: Madonna (Revised)

When choosing an album for this week’s post, I again called my parents to find out some of their favorite albums. I have worked through the 1970s, so I needed an early 1980s album. My mom instantly thought of Madonna’s 1983 album, Madonna. My mom was a junior in college when the album came out, and she remembers playing all of the songs really loud in her dorm room while she and all of her friends sang along. I imagine that Madonna’s songs were a lot like Taylor Swift’s are today, almost everyone knows them even if they don’t like Taylor Swift. My mom wasn’t always a huge Madonna fan, but she did listen to her early albums.

Madonna was a big hit when she came out, and her first album did well on the charts. Madonna went on to peak at number 8 on the Billboard 200 and helped define the sound for dance-pop in the decades to come. Her upbeat songs and sing along feel makes all of the songs on this album ones that you can just sing along to. Even today, Madonna is still a relevant name in pop culture and the music industry. She continues to pull from her youth so that she can continue to sing about current topics.

The album opens with, “Lucky Star,” complete with twinkling star sounds in the beginning of the track. It’s your typical love song, with a boy and girl who are madly in love. He is her guide and will always be, “by [her] side.” The tune is very upbeat, with an emphasis on the electric guitar, and Madonna’s high pitched vocals. Her voice sounds juvenile for a twenty-five year old, but it works in the context of her album. She sounds more like and eighteen or 19 year old girl singing, but this younger sound allows her to connect to a larger audience. Madonna also sounds like a young girl head over heels in love, so the more juvenile sound adds authenticity to her lyrics. This way, teenage girls that fall in love for the first time can really relate to this song in particular.

Madonna then moves on to the song, “Borderline,” where she sings about how she’s tired of having her heart played with. She says, “You just keep pushing my love over the borderline.” Again, Madonna sings about love, but now she has moved on from the honeymoon phase of the relationship, and is having problems. The change in music reflects this, as this song is not as bright and upbeat as “Lucky Star.” This song had more of a keyboard sound, and even had a minute and a half interlude. I didn’t understand the purpose of the musical interlude, and thought it could have been cut from the almost seven minute song. However, I really liked this song, and felt that I could relate to it. I envision myself singing along to it in the car with a bunch of my friends. I think that part of Madonna's success is that her songs can continue to be relevant, even today.

Trouble in paradise continues in the next track, “Burning Up.” The male character is playing hard to get, and she is tired of it. Parts of the song are sung in a lower vocal range, which I really enjoyed. It made her sound more mature and that she really was upset with the guy for not loving her back. The instrumentation also has a more rock feel, so it was definitely the least pop sounding.  This song also begins a shift into songs more about the power of women. As Madonna became more and more famous, she started pushing the boundaries of what was deemed appropriate. Many people believed her to be too sexual, but for others she was a perfect symbol for feminism. In, “Burning Up,” she knows that he needs her love, and she is dying to give it to him.

“I Know It,” and “Think of Me,” are both breakup songs, but they have similar underlying themes of female independence. In “I Know It,” Madonna is being broken up with, and in, “Think of Me,” she is the one ending the relationship. However, by the end of “I Know It,” Madonna has moved on and sings, “I’m not going to cry for you anymore.” It has been researched that physical pain and emotional pain affect the same areas of the brain. So it would make sense that Madonna cries over the emotional pain of being broken up with, as crying is usually a reaction to pain. By the end of the song, Madonna has realized she is better than crying over a boy, so she gets over him. In, “Think of Me,” Madonna is telling her ex-lover that he is going to miss her when she’s gone and realize he should have treated her better. Both songs have a strong keyboard, almost techo sound to them. Also, they both feature back-up vocals from women, further emphasizing women power.

In, “Physical Attraction,” Madonna tells the story of having a one night stand. The beat is very dance-y with a lot of keyboard sound. However, I found the sonic elements of the song to be kind of boring and monotone. The beat doesn't change much, except for the chorus, which still isn't much of a change. She talks about the intense attraction they have, so it doesn’t matter if it only lasts for one night. She even says, “You’ll leave me tomorrow, I don’t care.” The bridge of the song is spoken, which makes it sound like she is directly addressing the man. This song was definitely the most sexual off of the album. During the 1980s, there were sex wars where many people fought over the dangers and powers of sex. It is clear that Madonna believes sex does have a lot of power, and even describes her attraction as a “chemical reaction.” When advocating for feminism, the barrier isn’t so much age. Just because Madonna was young when the album was released, doesn’t mean she automatically sided with the pro-sex feminists. In, “Physical Attraction,” it is simply that Madonna and the man have such strong, mutual feelings for each other that they can’t stop their passion.

Second wave feminism occurred during the 1960s and into the 1980s. During this time, there was a long dispute over whether feminists were pro-sex and pornography. Opposition and arguments still occur today. As far as Madonna goes, I think it is clear that she sides with the pro-sex feminists. “Burning Up,” even has a reference to oral sex. Other songs refer to pleasure and Madonna needing their touch and love. About half of the album advocates for this acceptance of sex. She believes that sex should be widely accepted and practiced because women deserve to feel good about their bodies.

One of the most popular songs, “Holiday,” is simply about having time to celebrate. The song is upbeat and features the keyboard, but it has much more of a funk feel to it. It also features drums, which helps create the funk sound found in bands such as Earth, Wind & Fire, who I discussed in a previous post. Madonna explains in the song that, “Let love shine and we will find/ A way to come together/ And make things better.” By reflecting on the good times and letting go of your worries, everyone can simply relax and enjoy life. This is one of my favorite tracks, because everyone can relate to it. Everyone has had a time where they just need to get away, but not everyone has been in love. Which makes sense that the tune became so popular, the majority of people understood what she was talking about.

Similarly, in “Everybody,” Madonna expresses a love for simply dancing and singing. Music can, “turn your troubles upside down,” and just make you feel better. The beginning of the song is spoken, which sounds very sexual and out of place. The rest of the song is all about getting lost in the music. I liked the message of the song, but found the spoken verses to just be weird. However, the upbeat tune does make me want to dance. I also found it to be the most diverse in her singing. Part of the words are spoken, some of the words are sung low, and others are sung higher. It was probably my least favorite song, and definitely not the track I would choose to end the album with. I think Madonna could have ended with, "Holiday," and left the listener with a much lighter feeling.

I could definitely envision myself listening to this with my mom, especially on a road trip to the beach during the summer. The album is definitely girly, so I don’t think I would want to listen and jam out to it with my dad, even though he would probably know most of the songs. Madonna had an overall upbeat feel with lots of catchy melodies that make you want to move, even if it’s just nodding your head or tapping your foot. I have always been a pop music fan, so I could also see myself listening to this album without having the restraint of listening to music that we both know. It's the kind of music that would come on, and my mood would instantly improve. I would give Madonna five out of five stars, because of its story telling lyrics of love and female independence. I mean she did name the album after herself, so she clearly thought it was good.

Track Four: Hotter than July (Revised)

             When I think of culture, I imagine a group of people that live in the same geographical area, with similar ethnicities, and shared values and beliefs. However, living in the United States, we have a constant clash and mixing of cultures as people continue to move to the U.S. from all around the world. In the album Hotter than July, Stevie Wonder uses his songs to speak to the culture of 1980, but specifically African American culture, while also trying in some religious values. Hotter than July came out after the failure of his previous album, Journey through the Secret Life of Plants, so Wonder needed a successful album to start off a new decade. The album did do well, reaching number three on the US Billboard chart and number two in the UK.

            Stevie Wonder is known for his strong vocals and blend of African and pop sounds, and this album did not disappoint. His sound reminded me a bit of Earth, Wind & Fire, who I reviewed last week. And I think that their similar sound is why my parents are fans of both artists. Both of my parents remember growing up and listening to Stevie Wonder, and some of his famous songs such as “Superstition,” and “Sir Duke.” They said his songs were always playing on the radio, and all of his albums were eagerly anticipated.

            Multiple times in this album, Stevie Wonder discusses and alludes to African American culture, while keeping a “Pan African” ideology. This mentality focuses on the need for unity in order to uplift the people descending from Africa. In “Master Blaster,” Wonder uses a reggae sound to allude to Bob Marley, as the pair had met earlier in the year before the album was released. Wonder talks about celebrating, as “Peace has come to Zimbabwe.” Here, Wonder is referring to the fact that Zimbabwe finally got independence from Great Britain on April of 1980, after being a colony for ninety years. In the song, the instruments are softer, which allows the vocals to really pop. And Wonder sounds authentic when he uses a Jamaican accent when singing the word, “jamming.” By combining the uplifting music and lyrics, Wonder expresses that blacks being able to have independence is definitely something to celebrate. And by including a reference to a historical event, it makes the song and message more realistic.

            Wonder also advocates for black culture celebration in his song, “Happy Birthday.” Wonder uses narrative lyrics in order to advocate for making Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday as a national holiday. His tone is almost disbelief, he cannot understand why his birthday has not already been made into a holiday. Throughout the song, he references some of Dr. King’s accomplishments, such as Dr. King’s I have a Dream speech, and says that people cannot see the dream of celebrating equality like Dr. King could. He acknowledges that Dr. King was, “a man who died for good,” and should have a, “day that would be set aside for his recognition.” Wonder balances verses with serious messages about Dr. King with upbeat hooks which say, “Happy Birthday.” By using these different tones, Wonder shows the reality of civil rights in the United States. It took many years of struggle for blacks to have equality in the United States, as reflected in the more somber verses. But now that equality has been achieved, the nation needs a day to celebrate, specifically Dr. King’s birthday. Overall, I think this song had the strongest and most meaningful lyrics. I found it very clever to advocate for a national holiday on Dr. King’s birthday by doing a remix of a classic birthday song. I don’t usually enjoy listening to narrative songs, as they can sometimes sound almost academic, but the message is so important in this song that I didn’t mind.

           In the song “Cash in Your Face,” Stevie Wonder uses narrative lyrics again to discuss African American discrimination. In this case, Wonder even goes as far as using different voices for the two characters in the song: himself and the apartment owner. The man is trying to find an apartment to live in with his very pregnant wife, but the apartment owner denies him, saying it has already been filled with a new tenant. However, it is clear that the apartment owner is refusing the man because of his race, as he says, “But you can not cash in your face, We don’t want your kind living here.” By showing that racial discrimination still exists, Wonder draws attention to a problem that still exists in the culture of the 1980s. Even though the black man in the song has the money to pay rent, the owner still doesn’t want to take him in. Again, even though the song has an upbeat feel with the electric guitar, the message is serious. Wonder argues that blacks and whites are equal, so it is disappointing and angering that people continue to be racist and prevent unity. 

            Overall, I found this album to be enjoyable to listen to. Stevie Wonder’s vocals are strong and consistent in every song. I found the softer music to be easier to listen to, while allowing the vocals to stand out. They lyrics were deep in their meanings and gave ideas for the listener to think about. The songs were tied to African American culture, and reflected how society in the late 1970s and early 1980s was still far from being completely equal. I would give Hotter than July 4 out of 5 stars, and definitely an album I would enjoy listening to with my parents and family.