Mark geeks out on musical theatre with our Special Guest Dr. Emily Clark, while Kenny grapples with his avoidance of the Original Broadway Cast Album to Evita - and everyone dives DEEP into the long and winding journey Evita took from the stage to screen and Madonna’s biggest (and best?) film performance to date. Topics include: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice, Julie Covington, Elaine Paige, money notes, People magazine, Hal Prince, Patti LuPone, Mandy Patinkin, Jonathan Pryce, Oliver Stone, Robert Stigwood, Liza Minnelli (in a blonde wig), Meryl Streep, Antonio Banderas, Jimmy Nail, Francis Ford Coppola, politics in filmmaking, REMIXES REMIXES REMIXES, the Golden Globes, Billy Crystal and the Academy Awards, Celine Dione, Barbra Streisand, intense & translated press conferences, brown contact lenses, more handwritten letters, and where Madonna goes from here. It’s another uber-episode and we are thrilled to welcome Dr. Emily Clark - a professor of musical theater at Marymount Manhattan College who’s work focuses on musical theater and celebrity culture. We loved having her join us for the entire conversation on the Casa Rosada!
All I Want To Do Is Talk About Madonna
S3, E13 - You'll See (Something to Remember)
Kenny and Mark share further personal stories of heartbreak and sorrow as they celebrate (and critique) the seminal ballads collection from 1995. Topics include: Philadelphia, St. Elmo’s Fire, David Foster, Katherine McPhee, Waitress: The Musical, America’s Next Top Model, the arrival of mixer extraordinaire David Reitzas, Michael Haussman, video sequels, Shirley Bassey, first class seats, Forrest Sawyer, Susan Boyle, changing up the setlist, Ingrid Casares, MASSIVE ATTACK, the lost “I Can’t Forget”, Marvin Gaye, Tilt, Ernie Barnes & the Sugar Shack, Dorothy Parker, and Madonna’s tormented relationship with the telephone. “Do you feel the intensity?” Well, put on your favorite Versace pantsuit and settle IN!
S3, E12 - Take A Bow
Mark and Kenny bid adieu to Bedtime Stories with this masterpiece of a ballad. Topics include Babyface, the indispensable Kurt Loder, Emilio Munoz, the influence of “I Will Always Love You,” VH1, Justin Timberlake, and Kenny’s romantic fantasy about Madonna and her directors. The show is over … but there’s also a request at the top of the show to you, dear listeners! Show us what you got!
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Over the past two years, many of you have reached out to share a story of connection between you and a particular Madonna song that captured a moment and/or a time in your lives. Some have been moving, some have been hilarious, and some have just been … Madonna. And, well, we’d like to hear more.
Please go back through the last two and a half seasons of All I Want To Do Is Talk About Madonna and select a song that means something more to you or has a personal resonance that you’d like to talk about - and send us a up to two-minute voice memo or video recording to MarkBSnyder@hotmail.com.
FAQ
Please keep recorded stories to up to 2 minutes and send them to MarkBSnyder@hotmail.com
We will reach out to you prior to using your story in any way for permissions and any additional questions we may have.
Any Madonna song between 1983 and 1993 is eligible for discussion. Be provocative, be nostalgic, be cheeky, be sentimental … just be yourself!
S3, E11 - Bedtime Story
S3, E11: BEDTIME STORY
Kenny and Mark decode (and discover divination!) in the Bjork-penned title song from Bedtime Stories. Topics include Mark Romanek, Kurt Loder, Alison Stewart, Junior Vasquez, the female surrealist painters of yore, and a certain notorious pajama party in the early spring of 1995. Let’s get unconscious, honey.
“Bedtime Story” video directed by Mark Romanek (1995)
“Bedtime Story” Live from the 1995 Brit Awards
Madonna’s Bedtime Story Pajama Party (MTV, March 1995)
https://madonnaland.tumblr.com/post/80767296225/music-video-analysis-bedtime-story
S3, E10 - Sanctuary
Mark and Kenny explore what may prove to be THE key track on Bedtime Stories that points the way towards the future. Discussed along the way: Herbie Hancock, Walt Whitman, Mary Oliver, Natalie Imbruglia, Tina Turner, and post-punk cult band Ednaswap (where’s that demo, Anna & Scott?!).
S3, E9 - Love Tried to Welcome Me
Kenny and Mark share a heart-to-heart about love and vulnerability (and a major appreciation for the song craft of Madonna and Dave Hall) over this pagan to loneliness and romantic disappointment (accompanied by some mournful mandolins), as well as paying impromptu tribute to a singer-songwriter kindred spirit.
S3, E8 - Forbidden Love
Mark and Kenny face their own forbidden fears about love while grooving to the first collaboration with Babyface Edmonds. Topics include the superstar sequencing of Bedtime Stories, the musical beauty of whispering, the rumored musical video, the shadow disco song of the same name, Mike the Trainer, and a sexy jaunt through 90s radio R&B. Plus, the imagined first meeting in Central Park with … Carlos Leon!
S3, E7 - Human Nature
Madonna musically addresses her critics for the first time with a funky Dave Hall-penned anthem and a definitive video (welcome back to the party, Jean-Baptiste Mondino!) as Kenny and Mark explore misogyny, punk, Main Source, a new perspective on the reception of the Sex book, Bettina Rheims, the Bottom Heavy Dub (and that maxi-single!), Norman Mailer’s interview for Esquire, Ruby Wax, and Princess Diana. Bring on the chameleonic syllabus!!
S3, E6 - Inside of Me
Mark and Kenny celebrate the breathy hidden gem of Bedtime Stories - and the transformative aspects of time, experiences, and strong songwriting (not to mention some killer samples and production!) to celebrate the role of Madonna’s mother on her art and the path she continues to chart in her life. Here’s to a soaring 2022 for us all!
S3, E5- Don't Stop
Kenny withholds his appreciation of this mid-tempo charmer and suggests an alternate version of Bedtime Stories, leaving Mark scrambling for worthy substitutions, including lost b-sides “Let Down Your Guard” and “Your Honesty,” and sending a warning shot into Season Four. Sing La Di Da De and Happy New Year!!
S3, E4 - I'd Rather Be Your Lover
Bedtime Stories gets truly funky as Mark and Kenny discuss the meeting of Tupac Shakur & Madonna. Topics include: Dave Hall, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Rosie Perez, Jada Pinkett, Lou Donaldson’s “It’s Your Thing” sample, and the arrival of Maverick artist (and bassist extraordinaire) ME’SHELL NDEGEOCELLO. All that we know is her albums are classics - check ‘em out!
S3, E3 - Secret
Happiness lies in Kenny and Mark’s hands as they discuss the powerful first single from Bedtime Stories, including it’s visually brilliant (if narrative-light) video. Topics include: Dallas Austin, Melodie McDaniel, the power of an acoustic guitar, Madonna’s warpaint look, pregnancy rumors, and a bizarre side trip down the streets of Philadelphia (tell the boys at Woody’s hello!). Share your secrets.
S3, E2 - Survival
S3, E2: Survival
Mark and Kenny dig into the first song on the first side of the pivotal Bedtime Stories album - a musical crossroad for Madonna. Topics include: the (brief) return of Niki Haris and Donna De Lory, the wide-array of star collaborators, the searching cover art and design of the record, fixing the feud with Letterman, and how Madonna’s contemporaries may (or may not) have informed her new approach to making art and music. “And you thought we wouldn’t last …”
S3, E1 - I'll Remember
SEASON THREE (1994-1998)
EPISODE ONE: I’ll Remember
Kenny and Mark begin the new season as Madonna embarks on a new era with the yearning and beautiful theme song from the WITH HONORS soundtrack. Topics include: Miami, Joe Pesci, Moira Kelly, Brenden Fraser, Alex Keshishian, basketball games, stand-in back-up singers, that disappointing music video, the many Maverick projects a-brewing, and - oh yes - the Letterman appearance in the early spring of 1994. Dave’s getting soft and we’re starting HARD.
Welcome back and Happy Listening!!
S2, E43 - The Girlie Show
Mark and Kenny celebrate the FINAL episode of Season 2: 1988-1993 with a long and detailed conversation about the famed 1993 tour behind Erotica - including all of Madonna’s inspirations for the tour (and brother Christopher’s problematic influences), her musical shout-outs throughout the show, and the many ways this tour has continued to resonate through the rest of her touring career - as well as hints of where she’s going from here. Pack a snack, kids, and enjoy the finale of this very special season. See you very soon … and meanwhile “Dance and sing, get up and do your thing!”
S2, E42 - Secret Garden
Kenny and Mark wrap up their conversation about Erotica with the moody and restless final Andre Betts track on the album - and the impact of Madonna beginning to take her time.
S2, E41 - In this Life
Mark and Kenny dive into the crushing and complicated final ballad from Erotica and take time to discuss Madonna’s long and personal commitment to the AIDS crisis as well as her relationship to those who suffered and were lost. They then welcome a special guest - UK-based playwright and theatre-maker Brian Mullin -who discusses his own relationship to Madonna, what it means for him to live and thrive with HIV and his newest work - Live to Tell: (a proposal for) The Madonna Jukebox Musical. Learn more about Brian and his piece @mullin_brian and @LiveToTellShow
S2, E40 - Why's It So Hard
Reggae and Protest join hands as Kenny and Mark discuss the “sing-a-long” song on Erotica, the song’s musical siblings in the Madonna catalog (we are NOT looking at you, “Hey You”), earnestness, the vocal debut of Tony Shimkin, guitarist Paul Pesco, and when it is appropriate to grab a soda during a Madonna concert. Why’s it STILL so damn hard?
S2, E39 - RAIN
Mark and Kenny celebrate the gorgeous (and multi-meaning) power ballad from Erotica. Topics include the importance of counterpoint vocals, the necessity of a radio remix, Mark Romanek’s video of beauty portraiture, Whitney Houston’s radio dominance, bukkake, the glorious maxi-single and justice of its forgotten (and rare) non-album track, and Kenny’s reaction to the possibility of working with Madonna. PLUS, special guest (and fellow podcaster) Gilad Barash joins Kenny for a conversation about the song and its impact on his life, as well as his smart and insightful podcast “Who’s Your Data?” - and Mark issues a social media challenge. Never go away …
S2, E38 - Words
Kenny and Mark return to the “Rain Tapes” to discuss the evolving and evolving versions of this personal (and restless) favorite. Topics include the importance of a writing life, the notorious romance letters with Amanda Cazalet, Bette Midler, reading lists, Pain & Glory, THAT brilliant musical bridge, the power, and limits, of words, and the moment that makes EroticaTHE Madonna masterpiece.
