In The Midnight Hour

A song is like an entity. We enjoy it through our hearing, but it's our state of mind and our emotions that set the ground for its power to manifest.

A lot has been going on in my life, in the past few months. A downward spiral of emotions. Fear took over, once again.

But things are changing now. Through daily meditation, I'm finally reconnecting and getting rid of all the toxic waste. My thoughts are different, my focus has changed. And a few days ago, a song took form in my mind, spontaneously.

Not any of the recycled/reinvented versions, live or remixed, but the primal, original one.
Like A Prayer with the dry beat of the drum, the funky guitar, the church organ, the choir... And Madonna's voice, so vulnerable. So strong.

Yes, it's all about religion - not any other song (and video) in the history of pop music was so defiant. But Like A Prayer hides such deeper meanings. A true spiritual force, set in motion when we fathom the mystery of life.

In the midnight hour
I can feel your power...

Strength

Finally, I went back to the gym. This is the image that came across my mind. The image of Strength.

This is a time when strength is needed - physical and emotional. May the body, the mind and the heart work together and fight all the fears.

For better days to come.

«We're not gonna let them spoil our fun, are we?»

FUCK NO!

Mother and Father of Reinvention

To me, he is the absolute King (sorry Elvis, sorry Michael).
And Madonna's true predecessor.

For two decades, it was all about rock and roll. But in 1972, the world was about to witness a real revolution in pop culture.

Already with five albums behind, enough to prove his talent as a musician and songwriter, David Bowie engendered the first transmutation in the history of mainstream music: from artist to character. He was not Bowie anymore. He was Ziggy Stardust.

It happened not only on record, but mostly on stage, the place where it would all come to life. Ziggy/Bowie brought performance art, theatre, even fashion to a space where, so far, the only thing to do was to sing and play the guitar. The whole concept of a rock show was forever changed.

For years to come, David Bowie would produce groundbreaking music, embodied in new characters, animated onstage through more inventive performances.

One of those performances was from the Diamond Dogs Tour, in June 1974, which took place at the Cobo Hall, in Detroit, Michigan. Among the audience, stood a 15 year-old girl, moments after sneaking from her father's house, to watch her first concert ever.

Cobo Hall, Detroit

David Bowie, Diamond Dogs Tour, 1974

The 15 year-old girl

It would cost her the whole summer, as she was obviously grounded, "but it was worth every minute": on that evening, she felt overwhelmed and profoundly inspired. Ten years later, she would become the biggest female pop star in the Planet.

Madonna and David Bowie met each other, at least, circa 1986/87 - there's only one picture of them together, alongside Billy Idol and Sam Kinison, to tell the story.


But it was exactly sixteen years ago, on January 17, 1996, that the Mother and Father of Reinvention would finally come together in public - even though not in person. Madonna was invited to accept the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, on Bowie's behalf. On her speech, M described that unforgettable night, when she was a teenager.

One true symbolic moment in pop music history.

January 17, 1996
Accepting Bowie's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction
and backstage with David Byrne and Seymour Stein

20 Years of Vogue: deep in history

Vogue: a highly stylized form of modern dance, characterized by photo model-like poses from Vogue magazine, integrated with angular, linear and rigid arm, leg and body movements.

It is said that voguing was born in the 1930s, at the Harlem ballroom scene. Back then, it was called "performance": dancers started recreating poses from models and movie stars and translated it into dance. The movements were a combination of lines, symmetry, precision, grace and fluidity. Modern Dance meeting Fashion and Cinema.

This dance movement evolved along the century, in the gay club/ballroom scene. It became part of gay subculture, keeping its boundaries underground.

It would stay this way until 1989, the year when Malcolm McLaren released "Waltz Darling", a funk / disco / voguing inspired album. The video for the 3rd single, "Deep In Vogue", finally brought voguing to the surface.

Later that year, another artist would be inspired by it. Voguing would soon become a worldwide phenomenon.



Source: Wikipedia