The 500 - #184 - The Immaculate Collection - Madonna

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #184
Album Title: The Immaculate Collection
Artist: Madonna

Genre: Pop

Recorded: Multiple Studios (1983-1990)

Released: November, 1990
My age at release: 25
How familiar was I with it before this week: Very

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #138, moving up 46 places
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Justify My Love

In the summer of 1994, at the age of 28, I was in the best shape of my life. I worked out religiously at a gym and biked or roller-bladed nearly everywhere. I played hockey two or three times a week, even in the summer. It was a time when I was at my vainest, buying “fashionable” clothing and tanning, which gave my pasty English complexion a healthier-looking glow.

Tanning beds have fallen out of fashion -- but studios were ubiquitous
in the 90s -- a sneaky hack for Canadians hoping to look more Hollywood.

I was also trying to become more cosmopolitan, taking up photography and digging deep into my pockets for a good-quality camera and even dark-room equipment. Intensifying the “new me” project, I began collecting classic movies on video cassette (a fool's errand in retrospect), and decided to broaden my music-listening habits. My snobbish music pretenses involved eschewing pop songs, dismissing them as pablum for teeny-boppers. Now that I was maturing, I was more open to listening to all manner of music, especially albums and songs suggested by the eclectic group of restaurant co-workers with whom I worked.

At a road hockey tournament in the summer of 1994.

One of my favourite co-workers was an effervescent and riotously funny waitress named Kelly Maynard-- (I mentioned her in my December, 2022 post about The Grateful Dead's Anthem Of The Sun (#288 on The 500).

A busy restaurant is a high-stress environment and successfully navigating a packed house on a weekend night has a way of bonding people. Consequently, the crew sweating it out in the kitchen and those appeasing hungry customers out front became a tightly-knit social group who partied as hard as they worked. When there was a chance to blow off steam with a trip to a downtown club, a pre-arranged staff event or at a house party, you took it. These gatherings were energized by the presence of Kelly -- a fearless, gregarious extrovert who could get the most reluctant among us laughing, dancing or singing.

Out on the town with Kelly (left) and fellow co-worker Kari.
I snapped this during my camera-hobby phase. (May, 1994).

Kelly was also a Madonna fanatic and it was she who worked tirelessly to get me to appreciate the Queen of Pop. At the time, Madonna was on hiatus following her incredibly successful 1993 tour, The Girlie Show, in support of her fifth studio record, Erotica. The day after the release of Erotica (October 20, 1992) Madonna's controversial coffee table book Sex, hit the shelves. The 128-page tome featured adult-themed photographs featuring nudity; soft-core pornography; and simulated sex acts, including sadomasochism. For decades, Madonna has had a knack for inserting herself into the pop culture conversation. As I wrote in my June, 2021, post about her album Ray Of Light (#367 on The 500), "Madonna, much like David Bowie, has managed to stay ahead of the curve by being the curve.

Sex hit bookstore shelves wrapped in 
protective Mylar packaging.

I am not sure if Kelly lent me her cassettes or if she made me copies. Regardless, I ended up owning Erotica and The Immaculate Collection (Madonna's first Greatest Hits Collection). Both got plenty of play on my headphones during workouts, bike-rides and roller-blading excursions. I'd also take them with me to sessions at the now-shuttered, but masterfully named Sun Your Buns tanning studio on Wharncliffe Road in my hometown of London, Ontario.

Album cover for Erotica, the firth studio record for Madonna.

I'm not sure if it was maturity, or the repeated listens, or buying into Kelly’s unbridled enthusiasm for Madonna, but I started to relinquish my music snobbery and gain a better appreciation for The Queen of Pop. I remember being particularly enamoured with the track, Justify My Love -- one of two new songs added to the 15 established hits on The Immaculate Collection. Composed by pop music contemporary Lenny Kravitz, it marked another shift in Madonna's ever evolving sound. It was her first venture into trip-hop -- a genre that blended psychedelia with hip hop and electronica.

Madonna and Kravitz backstage at the Video Music Awards in 2018.

It was a nostalgic delight lining up this blog to relisten to The Immaculate Collection all week. TIC presents, in chronological order, Madonna's biggest hits – from her debut single, Holiday (1983), to her smash, Vogue, which appeared on the 1990 album, I'm Breathless, which was, in part, a soundtrack to the film Dick Tracy (in which she also starred).

I'm Breathless album cover, featuring Warren Beatty, as Dick Tracy,
and Madonna, as Breathless "The Blank" Mahoney in the film Dick Tracy.

I'm still in touch with Kelly, although like many of my collegial relationships from the ‘90s, we connect mainly through social media. In August, 2017, Kelly helped arrange a 25th reunion of the Kelsey's Restaurant crew from 1992-1995. About 20 of us arrived for a night of ‘90s music, cocktails and memories. We could not help notice that the serving staff were all younger than 25, but they let us wander through the front (dining room) and the back of the house (kitchen), snapping photos, laughing and sharing stories. I am glad we got that opportunity. The restaurant plaza was demolished in 2020 to make way for new retail outlets.

A group photo on the steps that led to the
"deck" at Kelsey's South - London, Ontario
Saturday, August 12, 2017.

Those four years at Kelsey's Restaurant in the ‘90s somehow feel as if they happened last month and, simultaneously, a lifetime ago. It is remarkable how much we bonded during that time -- a random group of strangers figuring out how to "adult" their fast-approaching thirties. There are touchstones that will trigger my memories of that time -- and the music of Madonna is certainly one of them. Thanks, Kelly, for making me a fan.

A collage of photos from our time at Kelsey' - Christmas 1993.

The 500 - #342 - Violator - Depeche Mode

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: # 342

Album Title: Violator

Artist: Depeche Mode

Genre: Synth Pop, Gothic Rock

Recorded: 5 Studios - Italy, Denmark, UK, New York

Released: March, 1990

My age at release: 24

How familiar was I with it before this week: A little

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #167 (Up 175 places)

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Personal Jesus (Acoustic)

Depeche Mode were one of the many British synth-pop bands that I dismissed off-hand in my teens and early twenties. My dismissal was largely due to the social clique with which I aligned. I was a committed rocker (a prog-rocker no less) and, as a young man, that commitment was, well, rock solid. Preppies were the cultural enemy, and preppies loved The Smiths, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Cure and this week's artist, Depeche Mode. (Four bands who, collectively, have seven records on The 500).

Stereotypical 80s Preppies

What is it about opinionated teens? That's not fair. It isn't just teens. The world is full of opinionated people, many operating with limited, incorrect or misguided information.

According to psychologists, being zealously opinionated is usually about control. In this line of thinking, obnoxiously opinionated people are often struggling with their emotional intelligence -- the ability to perceive, regulate and manage their emotions. Consequently, they fight vociferously for their assumptions -- which often represent an emotional and intellectual safe-space for them. I suppose that is why teens and young adults can be disproportionately opinionated.

As a Grade 7 educator, the importance of fostering critical thinking in my students is important to me, particularly as their world view shifts from black and white to complex shades of gray. The task is to encourage my young charges to question things in their world and to appreciate different perspectives. In class, we often discuss the complex motivations of a fictional character or the myriad causes for an event from history.

Perhaps I am hoping they won’t make the same teen-age mistakes I made. Some of the things I espoused in vigorous defence of my opinions still make me shudder. My uniformed disregard for Depeche Mode’s music was, at the outset, a hill to defend. How times can change one’s perspective. In my recent review of the group’s output, I did a 180-degree turn.

Violator is the seventh studio release by the group from Basildon, a large town 42 km east of central London. Influenced by Talking Heads, David Bowie, Ultravox, The Damned and Iggy Pop, Depeche formed in 1980, taking their name from a French fashion magazine. Roughly translated, Depeche Mode means "Fashion Dispatch" or, more simply, "Fashion News".

Depeche Mode in 1990

The band enjoyed early success in Europe and Australia. The 1981 song, Just Can't Get Enough, from their debut album, Speak and Spell, had limited airplay in North America. It was also the first time I heard them. At the time, I was 15 and still solidifying my taste in music. Consequently, I didn't mind the song when it was played on pop radio stations. 

In March, 1984, the band released People Are People in advance of their upcoming record Some Great Reward. The single and album cemented their success internationally. It was also a departure from their earlier synth-sound as they began experimenting with harsher industrial sounds. The genre of industrial music is noted for its abrasive, avant-garde fusion of rock and electronic music with the rhythmic, albeit sometimes cacophonous, clang of metal pipes and machinery. 

This was the music of the club-scene in the mid-eighties, about the time my friends and I were old enough to go to clubs. Collectively, we unequivocally decided we hated industrial club music. Group-think had locked in and I went along despite my earlier tolerance. We endured the club-scene but retreated to the safe space of our favourite high school sounds in our cars and homes. We were not going to enjoy "preppy music" no matter how popular it got.

By the time Violator was released in 1990, my opinion was softening and, quietly, I enjoyed the two biggest songs from the record, Enjoy The Silence and Personal Jesus. In 2002, Johnny Cash recorded a hauntingly beautiful version of the latter for his record American IV: The Man Comes Around. This track reinforced my appreciation for Depeche Mode as songwriters. Indeed, Personal Jesus is recognized in several music publications as "one of the greatest songs ever written".

Album Cover for American IV: The Man Comes Around

Much like Cash, I have also "come around". I was operating with limited information as a young man and my emotional intelligence has improved. I'm okay with "preppy music" now. It turns out that I should have been all along.

The 500 - #408 - I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got - Sinéad O'Connor

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

Album # 408

Album Title:  I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
Artist: Sinéad O'Connor
Genre: Rock, Folk Rock
Recorded: S.T.S Studios, Dublin, Ireland
Released: March, 1990
My age at release: 24
How familiar was I with it before this week: Somewhat
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: The Emperor's New Clothes

It is difficult to quantify the impact Sinéad (Shin-Aid) O'Connor made when she exploded on the commercial music scene of 1987. Her shaved head and black combat boots made her stand out in a time when teased hair and mini-skirts dominated the female music scene. However, it was her voice that captured the attention of many, including me. Perfectly pitched and effortlessly fluctuating from the hauntingly ethereal to a powerful, primal scream. There was no denying her talent and mystique.

I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got - Sinead O'Connor

Her second record, the platinum-selling album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got , was a commercial juggernaut - propelled mainly by her emotional performance of the Prince song Nothing Compares 2 U. However, as I listened to it this week, it was a deeper cut on the record that captured my attention.

"These are dangerous days,

To say what you feel, is to dig your own grave."

Those fifteen simple words, from the song Black Boys on Mopeds, certainly resonate today. They are words that would prove prophetic for O'Connor. Two years after the release of this record, she made what was construed as a provocative attack on the Catholic Church. The backlash resulted in an immediate decline in her career. It would be two decades before she would experience some redemption, as people began to understand the precise nature of her criticism which really concerned sexual abuse of children within the church. O'Connor's experience is a good example of what is now called Cancel Culture.