Today is my sister’s birthday, and you all know what it means when a birthday falls on a Random Weekend. Time to spin the wheel and see what the Random iTunes Fairy has in store by way of celebration.
And it’s… ‘Shattered,’ the final track on The Rolling Stones’ 1978 album Some Girls. This album, which embraced the dominant disco sound of the era, was critically acclaimed and became the band’s top-selling album.
After the relative slump of American Life, Madonna was ready for another reinvention. She started working with French producer Mirwais Ahmadzaï for the third straight album, but realized it was time for a change.
She turned to English electronic artist and producer Stuart Price, who had co-written a song on her previous record, and set out to create the ultimate dance album. After diving into serious subject matter on American Life, she was ready to have fun again.
Yesterday, I wrote about Madonna’s knack for not standing in the same place, changing producers and musical styles from album to album with a professed goal of never repeating herself.
Well, she broke her own rules on her next release, 2003’s American Life. Teaming up again with producer/co-writer Mirwais Ahmadzaï, she delivered an album similar in sound to Music but less impactful.
Two things that have impressed me throughout this Madonna deep dive are her commitment to collaboration and her interest in evolving her sound.
After her debut album, Madonna was turned down by her label when she wanted to produce the album herself. She took advantage of that opportunity and sought out Niles Rogers, the first of many big-name producers with whom she would record over the years.
Following Bedtime Stories, Madonna waited four years to release her next studio album, the longest span between new records in her career to that point.
During that time, she starred in Evita, gave birth to daughter Lourdes, and found religion in the form of the Jewish mystical tradition of Kabbalah. Busy, busy!
The Evita role prompted her to work with a vocal coach, a decision that paid off on 1998’s Ray of Light.
Meet Me In Montauk 