Philadelphia Globe Looks Back: Madonna’s “Music” Turns 20

Philadelphia Globe Looks Back: Madonna’s “Music” Turns 20

By Patrick DeMarco

“Hey, Mr. DJ, put a record on…I wanna dance with my baby.” 

It was those straight-to-the-floor lyrics that twenty years ago ripped the lid off of Madonna’s twelfth Billboard chart-owning single, the still throbbing “Music,” and we’ve certainly been getting our boogie woogie on ever since. Kicking off the 21st century with a reinvention into disco cowgirl meets Americana songstress, the album of the same truthful name provided the perfect follow-up to the Material Girl’s career redefining/ Grammy deserving seventh studio set, 1998’s Ray of Light.  

At the top of the recording process, Madonna intended once again to collaborate with Light mastermind producer, William Orbit, but after she sought to go in a more edgier direction with the material, Orbit only added his trademark whirling flair to only a pair of tracks on the record–the equally thrilling, “Amazing” and “Runaway Lover.” It was also right around this time when Madonna’s manager, Guy Oseary, introduced her to an up-and-coming French electronica producer, Mirwais Ahmadzai, and that’s where the Music magic truly begin. In the beginning, it’s a known fact that the massive language barrier between Madonna and Mirwais caused creative friction given that French was the producer’s first language. This was noted in the piece Madonna & Mirwais: An Impressive Instant.

“The first couple of days we were recording, I wanted to rip my hair out. […] It didn’t seem like there was any way for us to communicate. His manager had to come in and translate everything at first.” Mirwais similarly recalls, “We realized soon that what she wanted was difficult for me to give her in the studio, with her there. I had to come back to Paris to work. And after one or two days, she agreed.” 

As the sessions went on, the language barrier would become less of an issue as the duo would serve us a set laced with plenty of soul, sass and guitar…lots and lots of guitar as Madonna learned to play specifically for this record. On top of her swinging riffs along with plenty of Mirwais’ amped up rhythms, lyrically Music was in many ways a continuing path of the spiritual-and musical-awakening Madonna achieved with Ray of Light. In many ways, it wasn’t. While the pop star continued to dive further into the realms of coming to terms to with success and fortune (see album closers, “Paradise (Not for Me)” & “Gone”), it was also about her understanding that at forty-one years old at this point in her career, she could still craft one hell of a pop record. 

There were four singles officially released to radio from the Music era, the first of course being the pulsating title track. With its undeniable beat and solid truth that yes, music makes the people forget all their shit and come together, it will indeed forever hold its place on dance floors around the globe, as well as in music history. A truth further proven given that it spent a month on top of the Billboard Hot 100 and is actually Madonna’s last chart topping smash. 

Then of course there’s the iconic video. Can we just say, Ali G. for life? Turn it up and dance with your baby. 

Following the album’s soul-churning title track was the top five country twangin,’ “Don’t Tell Me,” which delivered an equally iconic video featuring Madge certified line dance moves that we’re still living for, along with those handsome cowboys. 

Then there’s third single, “What it Feels Like for A Girl.” Remember this clip? You might not given that MTV pulled it from its roster upon release due to its violent nature. You know, Madonna and her Nana freshly sprung from Ol Kuntz Nursing Home driving sporadically through town in stolen vehicles while blowing up gas stations, robbing strangers at ATMs, driving through a street hockey game, you know, the usual stuff you do with your Nana. Only Madonna and her then husband Guy Ritchie directing the accompanying video for a remixed version of the track would give us something like this. Priceless. 

The last single release, the blaring, “Impressive Instant,” (which is also the standout track on the record ) is just a dizzying good time complete with silly lyrics about how the diva likes to “singy, singy, singy, like a bird on a wingy, wingy, wingy,” and as it turns it out, so do we. It’s all thanks to her eighth studio set, which still holds it own even two decades later. However, if there’s one highlight from this prominent time in Madonna’s career that’s grandly noted and most appreciated (besides the fact that she also gave birth to her now twenty-year old son, Rocco, right before the record came out), it’s that Music brought the living legend back to the stage where she belonged. 

Just under a year after the album’s release, Madonna set off on her first tour in nearly a decade, the Drowned World Tour (I personally remember it fondly), which featured both old and new material while further showcasing why she’ll always reign as Queen of Pop. The receipts certainly speak for themselves as the high-flying spectacle would become a raging success and be the best-selling show by a solo artist in 2001. Here’s also a fun fact for you, the tour got its box office busting North American start right here in Philly at the Wells Fargo, err, Wachovia Center in July of that same year. Yet another perfect reason to appreciate and strum up Madonna’s still electrifying Music. 

So, put this now certified classic record on, you’ll be glad you did. 

About the author: Patrick DeMarco has been an avid entertainment writer for the City of Brotherly Love for just about a decade now, and is happy to keep the fires burning as a contributor for The Philadelphia Globe.