Finally, I get to sit down and write this piece, a piece which I have now written a total of 4 times. Yes, that many times because the first 3 times I wrote it, every single copy was lost, all thanks due to the mechanical workings of Posterous.com. I suppose some critics of Madonna might think "Well geese Spice, if you lost it that many times, isnt that telling you something??" As a matter of fact, it is. It's telling me that I should never give up, that I should always persevere when it comes to my writing, regardless of the obstacles and the subject material of each piece that I pen.
Just so you know upfront, this isnt gonna be a piece about me defending Madonna's performance at this year's Superbowl Half-Time game (though I have included many images from that particular performance just to show my Madonna-fan-solidarity) because quite frankly I have to see it. Yep, as much as I adore that woman, sorry, spectator sports of any kind just arent my bag. Personally, I'd rather be shopping atta Macy's White Sale or checking out the newest scents at their men's cologne counter. The reason why I am writing this piece is because I will be defending Madonna, but from a different angle and after writing this piece as many times as I have, I think this final attempt should prove most successful. One can only hope.
Music appreciation, as well as interpretation, is strictly a matter of personal choice and taste, the same exact way in which one looks at a piece of artwork hanging at a local art gallery or in a national museum - no two people are gonna have the same exact reaction towards it unless, of course, they are fans of that particular artist and/or art form. Not to bring a 3rd party into this piece, but please allow me to use the singer/songwriter Adele as a textbook example of this. Everyone in the world - well, almost everyone - simply adores her voice, her style of singing and la-dee-dah, la-dee-dah; but, not me. I dont know what it is about her but I get nothing from her music or her person. As a matter of fact, her voice actually irritates the living bejesus of me. Does that mean that everyone should follow my opinion of her? Hell no, that's one of the greatest things about music, we all are entitled to our own opinion of music, whether it be a personal chord that a song has struck within us, or whether a certain songs bass quality sounds so much better blaring outta the window as we speed down the highway.
In other words, if you like or dislike a particular musician or song or whatever, you definitely have the right to voice your own opinion on that. I have no problem with that whatsoever. Yeah, really. However, what I do have a problem with is how people automatically assume they have the universe-given right to judge a musician based only on partial amounts of information they have processed about that particular individual. Although this piece is being written specifically in regards to Madonna herself, I think that the following may and can apply to every musician and/or celebrity/public figure out there. My request is simple. From here on out, if anyone out there is gonna pass any kind of judgement on Madonna or anyone else for that matter - please, I implore of you, do not do so until you've walked at least a few miles in their shoes, okay? Do not offer a full evaluation of them as a person until you have been where they've been in life and have lived to tell about it, okay? (sorry Madge, no pun intended in regards to "Live To Tell" but funny how art imitates life, heh?).
Some people look at Madonna and automatically think "Wow, she really lucked out." Lucked out? Are you friggin kidding me? For those of us who hail from the same exact time era and geographical locations during our younger years as Madonna, we know exactly what she went through and that wasnt all luck, a tremendous amount of it was extremely hard work. Now I know that life wasnt easy for people of her generation not only in the Midwest, but in other areas of the country too (the South comes to mind), where it was just as stiflling and dead-end in the late 1970's and early 1980's; however, I can only write from my own standpoint and I for one can tell you, it was no easy task escaping from the stagnancy of the Midwest back in those days. It was fucken terrible and I'm not kidding. I know what Madonna went through cause many members of my generation, myself included, went through the same exact proccess - busting your ass left-n-right, day-n-night to try to save up enough money to get the hell outta there. Being so poor that at the end of each week you were lucky if you had $20 in your pocket and could even afford something simple as Ramen noodles for a dinner meal. Then on top of it, having everyone around you pounding it into your brain "Well, this is the real world, get use to it." My sweet white ass it was the real world, nothing coulda been further from the truth and it wasnt just Madonna and I who knew that.
Thats one of the reasons why I do admire Madonna so damn much. Because she single-handedly proved to my generation that if you wanted something bad enough and worked your ass off hard enough for it, you could make it. You could indeed escape the shackles of any Midwestern hell and make a decent life for yourself and most of all, lead a happy existence.Oh sure, we all know from the various headlines over the years that she's had her share of ups-n-downs over the years too but who hasnt?
That's yet another thing I admire about Madonna - her uncanny ability to literally reinvent herself every decade of her career as well as make herself relevant to the changing times. Sure, I treasure her for her music, for all the contributions she has made in the fight against Hiv/AIDS, and the list of accolades goes on and on; but, above everything, no matter what has happened in her life, she has managed to stay on top and that's something I hope she always will.
Maybe I shouldn't let all the negative criticism towards her rub my rhubarb the wrong way so much but I just cant help it. I've heard so many people scream out "Well, I don't like her cause of this!" or "She's nasty cause of this or that!", especially the people who've only known of her based on the last 10 years or so and I think to myself "Oh my fucken gawd, please, getta hold of yourselves!!! Do you think if she was really THAT bad she'd still be around??" I mean, c'mon people, come to reality. It literally makes me laugh my ass off because I see so many people slinging all this mud at her with such self-righteous pompous arrogance, yet if she really were even a quarter of the nasty-douchebag-from-hell that some people paint her as, wouldn't that mean she'd be a helluva lot less successful and more of a nobody than those who criticize her?
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Personally, I think the real reason alotta folks are always ragging on Madonna is because of their own insecurities and petty jealousies because alotta of them simply can't deal with how much she has taken the world by storm. She did it. She succeeded. And, I think it's safe to say she's gonna keep going at full-speed ahead when it comes to both her career and her life in general. I just wish I could say to every person out there who has nothing but non-flattering things to say about her"Oh really? Well if you have all the answers, then why arent you where she is at, hmmm?"
I know there will be some people pissin-n-moanin about this piece and who knows, probaly launching their own anti-tirades against it and me, butcha know, I'm glad that I spoke the truth here today. For those of my generation who do respect her, she really was a lighthouse of hope when so many of us really needed one - and she still is. Even if you are someone who abhors every single iota of that woman's existence on this planet, again, please keep in mind that if you did indeed have the right to judge her as you please, wouldnt you yourself be in a much better place than she is now? Think about it. Resentment and bitterness do not a career make, not for Madonna, not for anyone. Thank you for reading.
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