Madonna

Last week I read this blog about a book called 'Madonna and Me-Women Writers on the Queen of pop- it's basically a book with various writers writing about the influence of Madonna and her music on their lives- there's positive and negative points of view- but I guess the main premise of the book is that for most women Madonna being the powerful musical icon she is, has had some sort of influence somewhere in their lives- I don't know many people that don't have any opinion on Madonna.

Anyway this got me thinking about Madonna and her influence on MY life. It would be wrong for me not to acknowledge Madonna, as she certainly has had a profound influence on my life and my taste in music as well.

I have often joked that I was probably dancing around in my mother's womb to Madonna's music- my mum listened to Madonna and the year I was born (1984) was the year her breakthrough album 'Like a Virgin' was released.

I remember as a little girl, back when I had vinyl (!) having many Madonna albums- her self title debut, Like a Virgin, True Blue and Like a Prayer- as well as the soundtracks to Dick Tracey and Who's That Girl? Now I remember distinctly that as well as Kylie Minogue, my Madonna albums were the most played records.

When the vinyl went, Madonna stayed- now there were tapes and cds- and now there were more 'grown up' albums 'Erotica' and 'Bedtime Stories.' Now I wanted to be like Madonna- there were many renditions in front of the mirror with a hairbrush- and at various times I wanted to copy her style- I loved how she changed her whole image with each album like a chameleon- I wanted to look how she did in the 'Like a Prayer' video, and for a while I really wanted to copy her punky style that she had back in the 80's- lots of bangles and crucifix necklaces.

The final album I loved her for was 'Ray of Light' in 1998. Even though I liked a couple of the singles from 'Music', this album just didn't hit a chord the way all her other albums had- the subsequent albums she didn't really change her image so much and the music was predominantly dance based.

But despite the fact that I haven't been into Madonna's last few albums this doesn't change the fact I will always have a soft spot for the Queen of pop. I find myself feeling like I need to defend her when people make nasty comments- and I still love her older albums as much as I always have even though my main music taste is more rock based.

Madonna to me, represents a strong, powerful, independent woman who has never been afraid to do what she wants to do despite any conflict (currently ageism especially) and is also probably one of the first female musicians to really push boundaries in relation to her sexuality. Somehow, Madonna seems to make female sexuality empowering and powerful, and not just for the satisfaction of men- but also for ourselves. But Madonna is much more than a sex symbol- she can sing, she can dance- she has always known how to sell herself- changing with the times and influencing many of our current pop stars.

Now to include some songs that have had a big impact on me: (sorry no 'proper' videos as her record company won't allow them to be shared)

and still one of my favourite songs ever-