Mark and Kenny go full-on music nerd dissecting the haunting “second” ode to forbidden love by discussing the nuances and beauty of the song, the poetry of its lyrics, the romanticism of its environment, and their own personal brushes with forbidden desire, lust, and intimacy.
All I Want To Do Is Talk About Madonna
S5 - Episode 6 - Let it Will Be
Kenny and Mark pull out their fine-toothed combs to translate and interpret the many messages Madonna is trying to impart while she burns. Plus, Mark grapples with the word “fame” and Kenny makes a strong case for the sleazy live version of the song. Plus, a twirl through one of the lesser, other Mirwais collaborations that didn’t quite make the record and a return of the birds!
S5- Episode 5- I Love New York
Mark and Kenny - long time New Yorkers - trade city origin stories, adventures, and favorite love (and lust) songs about New York while celebrating Madonna’s ultimate ode to her creative home. Topics include Liza Minnelli, Oberlin College, Salt ’n’ Pepa, St. Vincent, Frank Sinatra, Edward Albee, Chita Rivera, Harry Nilsson, Andrew WK, Rufus Wainwight, Debbie Harry, Moby, and the beloved bitches of Miami. Let’s hit those streets and start strutting!
S5- Episode 4- Future Lovers
Kenny and Mark flip over the first side of the album with the glorious return of Mirwais for this adventurous track. Topics include Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder, Madonna as teacher, letting go of illusions and dreams, and the stunning (okay iconic) live performance. Will Tina call us back?
S5- Episode 3 - Sorry
Mark and Kenny don’t save their words as they discuss the dramatically timeless and Great Madonna pop singles. Topics include Big Frieda, radio ignorance, Dutch linguistics, the glorious Pet Shop Boys and the lost 80s collaborations, the risk of being too serious, Jamie King, Miss Prissy, pimping the ride, Little C, Paul Oakenfold, Jane Fonda, the Madonna bangs, Straight Bait (“where else can you make $100 for twenty minutes?”), Alex Barber, the breathless Fred Tallaksen, the Talauega Brothers, cages, and a frank discussion about balls. Plus, an all-skate down memory lane for Kenny and Mark’s roller skating experiences. Ik ben droevig!
S5- Episode 2 - Get Together
Kenny and Mark get moody and urgent on the second track (and third single!) from Confessions on a Dance Floor. Topics include: Anders Bagge & Peer Astrom, 98 Degrees, Janet Jackson, Chaka Khan, the high-drama of strings on a dance floor, Barbra Streisand’s Guilty & Saturday Night Fever, Eugene Riecansky & Koko Club, The Beatles, group photos, the fresh and hard-working Angela Becker, Mark’s tribute to the indispensable Borderline Music record store in Chicago, and how threesomes/orgies are complicated - but it’s still sweeter in the end.
S5- Episode 1 - Hung Up
Mark and Kenny hit the dance floor for Season Five to begin a conversation about Confessions on a Dance Floor - Madonna’s TWELFTH album - and the anthemic first single. Topics include lucky butterfly necklaces, Martha Raye and the lost Texas Guinan musical, Wilson Stone, Luc Besson, Stuart Price and Zoot Woman, Depeche Mode, the allure of the Twenties, ABBA (naturally), Gwen Stefani, Johan Renck, summer songs, Damon Albarn, the gorgeous Arianne Phillips, Hunter College, John Norris and the fade of MTV, Cynthia McFadden, Kenny’s regularity at breakfast time, Dua Lipa, Chus & Ceballos, the bad-ass Tracy Young, the many MANY promo appearances, Coachella, and that former friend who suggests Madonna gets up on that damn horse. Plus, Mark schools Kenny on who Madonna would play in A Chorus Line (hint: it’s not Val!). “Time goes by so slowly …” but not for this MEGA-episode. We missed you so much!
Special Episode - Sinead O' Connor (1966-2023)
As they ready Season Five, Kenny and Mark take a moment to remember, discuss, and celebrate the musical legacy of Sinead O’Connor – one of the defining voices of her (and their) generation. We love you, Sinead.
S4, E27 - The Reinvention Tour
Mark and Kenny do some yoga stretching out for a long and all-encompassing conversation about Madonna’s 2004 summer tour and the accompanying (and much-delayed) documentary. Topics include John Lennon, Guy Ritchie, Steven Klein and the tour book, Donna DeLory, Monte Pittman, the Ciccone winery, Stuart Price, random tour hats, Lainie Kazan, the battle over weather, Siedah Garrett, acoustic music magic, true tour star Angela Becker, Caresse Henry, violating paparazzi, the greatness of skanky tour hair, and the lifetime search for true inner peace. Plus, a much-deserved tribute to diva dresser Tony Villanueva, a long-awaited visit to Rachel’s tomb in Israel, and a triumphant appearance at Live Aid 2005 in Hyde Park to close out this topsy turvy season. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for listening! See you soon … get your confessions and your candy ready!
S4, E 26 - Easy Ride
Kenny and Mark welcome Special Guest Ted Kerr for a deep conversation about the epic final track (and life credo) from American Life. Topics include mortality, Macy Rodman, Monte Pittman’s royalty checks, Alanis Morissette, co-op board letters, Patti Rothberg, the crossroads of ambition, Lauryn Hill’s “MTV Unplugged”, Madonna’s arc as a trend-setter, reinvigorating the tour cycle, Judy Blume, combative Canadian roommates situation, Tracy Young, Kronos Quartet, the dance between intimate and epic, Kenny’s 8-track Ricky Tucker, and Madonna’s thoughts on Standing Rock. Plus, some (long-awaited) answers to the question “American Life is …”.
Ted’s Website: https://www.tedkerr.club/
Ted’s Newsletter: https://tinyletter.com/tedkerr
S4, E25 - Mother and Father
Mark and Kenny salvage through the wreckage that is the much-needed final uptempo song on American Life. Topics include Kylie Minogue, Matt Lauer, swinging nosy neighbors, album fatigue, the pros and cons of lyrical specificity, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Fun Home, childhood morals and lessons, the English Roses children’s book series, and Mark finally gets to talk about Joan Gustafson Ciccone. Plus, Kenny outs himself as a child pianist. “I’ve got to give it up” indeed!
S4, E24 - X Static Process
Kenny and Mark break apart a stunner of a song - and Stuart Price makes his co-writing debut! A new era is percolating … Topics include behaving in church, struggling against the patriarchy, Swing Out Sister, baroque organs, PJ Harvey, Angelene, lost songs “Miss You” and “The Game”, fantastical set-list musings for the Celebration Tour, Steven Klein, Madonna as installation, Jimmy DeSana, Zelda Rubinstein, and Mark struggles to name the band who sang “Catch Me (I’m Falling)” (it was Pretty Poison, y’all). BREAK OUT!
S4, E23 - Intervention
Kenny and Mark share secrets (and theories) about this haunting ballad tucked away on the home stretch of American Life. Topics include child rearing, emotional vulnerability, addiction, the limits of providing aid, and dealing with Australians who want to sing along. Plus, Kenny shuffles his track listing and “American Life” continues to haunt us all!
Bonus Episode! Post show talkback - Live to Tell
BONUS EPISODE: MADONNA AS MUSE: A Post-Performance Discussion
Recorded LIVE on February 10, 2023 in London at the Omnibus Theatre in Clapham, Mark and Kenny sit down with playwright and performer Brian Mullin, director Deirdre McLaughlin, and fellow performer Dan De La Motte for a discussion about LIVE TO TELL: (A PROPOSAL FOR) THE MADONNA JUKEBOX MUSICAL and Madonna’s role as a muse and a conduit for reinvention throughout the many stages in these artists’ lives. Expect passionate reactions, AIDS history and its continuing impact and resonance on queer activism, female power dynamics, backstage secrets, and Dan’s penchant for astrology as we explore how each facet of this performance artist’s career has inspired, reacted, and repelled our culture across four decades. We also celebrate LIVE TO TELL’s return engagement of performances, this time at the Camden People’s Theatre, from April 4th - April 15th! Click here for tickets and more information.
S4, E22 - Nothing Fails
Mark makes a case for the lost third single from American Life as a forgotten classic and Kenny celebrates the enduring contributions of the talented Peter Rauhofer. Topics include Jem Griffiths, Guy Sigsworth, traveling with a choir, acoustic guitars, religious institutions as albatrosses for true faith, and the moment on a Madonna record where the whole thing “pivots.” Wherever she is, we hope Jackie B took that person HOME with her from the Club! We love you, Peter Rauhofer.
S4, E21 - Nobody Knows Me
Kenny and Mark chart the rise and heavy cost social media has demanded from society while discussing one of the most hauntingly prescient songs from American Life. Plus, they dive into the careers of Mark “Spike” Stent and Mount Sims (and his magnificent Ultrasex album), celebrate Bjork’s Dancer from the Dance and Cher’s Burlesque, answer a listener question, and discuss the current human rights issue that we CANNOT look away from. Don’t forget to update your MySpace page!
S4, E20 - Love Profusion
Madonna asks some questions (and settles on some answers) in the shimmering fourth single from American Life. Mark and Kenny discuss Fresca soda, husband engagement, campfire singing, Kenosha, Wisconsin, Regina Spektor, aborted singer-songwriter musical projects, Kenny’s coffee with Holly Knight, Cole Porter and the inaugural Red, Hot + Blue compilation, music industry shenanigans, Sting’s “Desert Rose”, the big city of Montreal, gifts for Oprah, a drive-by hug with Mrs. Fellows, The English Roses, Paris fashion, the lost “I’m in Love with Love”, Ralph Rosario, BLOW-UP (yes, again), and the expanded tale of Mark’s Chicago encounter with Rufus Wainwright (and the fate of his maroon pants). Plus - Madonna takes her team on a rural retreat! LOOK AT HER!
S4, E19 - I'm So Stupid
Kenny and Mark welcome Special Guest Khary Simon (Creative Director and co-editor/publisher of CRUSHfanzine) to discuss the great lost punk track of American Life. Topics include … well, just listen. This is seriously one of our favorite conversations. Thank you, Khary.
S4, E18- Hollywood
Mark and Kenny share their dabblings with Los Angeles, including bungalows, storage units, and random star sightings while discussing the cautionary second song (and second single!) from America Life.
Topics include: Lisa Cholodenko, Hole, Velvet Underground, the influence of film noir on Madonna, Oscar parties, Debra Winger, Jean-Baptiste Mondino, Guy Bourdin, David Lynch’s Mullholland Drive and Naomi Watts, Michael Haneke, performance doubles, Debbie Harry and BLOW UP and that notorious MTV Music Awards Performance with Missy Elliott, Christina Aguilera and Miss Britney Spears. And a meeting of Pop icons on “Me Against the Music” and Madonna’s back to hitch hiking. Plus, REMIXES (released and unreleased) FOR DAYS. Kenny chases Britney to Vegas, and Mark gets to share a long-gestating riff on Rosanna Arquette. Stretch out, kids and trip the station, change the channel.
S4, E17 - American Life (recorded live in London)
Kenny and Mark take the stage at the Omnibus Theatre in gorgeous Clapham, UK for a LIVE conversation about the disruptive and polarizing lead single from Madonna’s eleventh album. Topics include: dinner parties, treasure trails, Prince’s Parade album, Napster, Morgan Webb, Kraftwerk and Taxi Girl, isotopes, Sixth Bodyguard Barry, Johnathan Ross, Kenny’s philosophical wrestle match with Kabbalah, Karen Walker’s roommate Liz, Patty Hearst, Lynette Holloway, the Dixie Chicks, Missy Elliott, Room 5, Felix Da Housecat, and all those versions of the videos. Plus, a game is played and Special Guest Becky boldly takes on The Rap! WE LOVE YOU, LONDON - Live and In Front of You Tour 2023 Has Begun!! Sound recording by Adam Zmith.
Artwork by Joey Mitchell @joseebus