MADONNA

I should probably use this moment to say something about Madonna. I had such high expectations but I never really cared for Madonna and didn't 'get' her early on despite enjoying her dancing in the film 'Desperately Seeking Susan' which I enjoyed. Like a Virgin? Really? Don't make me laugh (it didn't either) Holiday? Material Girl? I kept waiting for the intelligence to shine. Irony? Sardonic wit? Nope. Self parody? Nope just more pap! Pop chart filler to these ears. 'Papa Don't Preach'? OK I noticed it. It all seemed alien to me. Almost old fashioned. This collaboration on 'Ray of Light' however really made me sit up and take note. Largely I think thanks to William Orbit I thought that musically this was a great song. The first time I ever took notice of her music properly. 

As a bookshop manager I had stocked the book 'Sex' and rarely had I noted such a fuss and advanced furore over a book and the whole hoo-hah over its release was extraordinary. A masterpiece of publicity. Limited to how many you could order, in advance, the book shop chain I worked for was disparaging and didn't quite get why an 'Art Shop would stock it. I did and I think in retrospect they let me have 500 copies which my bosses thought excessive and they noted the terms were unique in bookselling as there was no arrangement for 'sale or return' which was standard practice throughout the book trade. 
It was sold out in my little shop in Oxford within the first 5 hours of opening . . . . . Genius! Marketing masterclass. Rubbish, vapid and mock porn but a true example of style over content. Do I still have my copy? You betcha!

On this day in music history: March 3, 1998 - “Ray Of Light”, the seventh studio album by Madonna is released. Produced by Madonna, William Orbit, Patrick Leonard and Marius De Vries, is recorded at Larrabee Studios North in Universal City, CA from May - September 1997. Her first new studio album in three years (not counting the “Evita” soundtrack in 1996), Madonna changes musical directions yet again, adding to her diverse body of work. Collaborating closely with longtime co-writer and producer Pat Leonard and electronic music composer and remixer William Orbit, Madonna incorporates elements of electronic, trip hop, drum and bass, and ambient dance music into her sound. The sessions run longer than previous albums due to technical problems with the Pro Tools system used in the recording, with most of the tracks involving complex programming and sampling. Upon its release, Madonna receives some of the best critical notices of her career, with fans also embracing her new sound. Along with the standard commercial CD release, Warner Bros issues a special promotional double CD set to press and radio. The first disc contains the original thirteen song album, with second CD is an electronic press kit (EPK) featuring snippets of songs interspersed with an interview with Madonna. Originally issued on a limited basis on vinyl (Europe and Japan only), “Ray Of Light” receives its first US vinyl release as a double LP set in 2016. A limited edition pressing on blue vinyl is released in Europe in 2017, as an exclusive through the Sainsbury’s supermarket chain.  To commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of its release, “Light” is reissued as a limited edition LP, pressed on clear vinyl for Black Friday Record Stor Day in November of 2018. It spins off five singles including “Frozen” (#2 Pop) and the title track (#5 Pop). “Frozen” (directed by Chris Cunningham) and “Ray Of Light” (directed by Jonas Akerlund) are both accompanied by groundbreaking and visually striking music videos. The album wins three Grammy Awards including Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Dance Recording, and Best Short Form Music Video in 1999. “Ray Of Light” peaks at number two on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified 4x Platinum in the US by the RIAA.