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hate her, but chances are you have some strong opinion of Madonna. If you've read my other chartopper columns it comes as no surprise that, for the past 20 years, I've adored her! And she continues to inspire me with each new album. For the next few months, in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the release of her very first record, I'll be looking back at Madonna's amazing career and talking about each release! We'll have some fun trivia with great prizes so stay tuned and please keep reading Chartoppers: Madonna! Email me at chris@fredflare.com. I'd love to hear your stories about Madonna! Xxoo, Chris Click here for Chartoppers: the 80’s! |
 Hey Mr. DJ, put a record on. I wanna dance with my baby… And so begins Madonna’s aptly titled Music. This was a very exciting release for Madonna – her first of the new Millennium – and it debuted with a sparkling hit single of the same title. Man, she pimped it out for that video! This period had its share of fun Madonna fashion moments like the cowboy hat, the western shirt – which I bought tons of at H&M – and, of course, the bedazzled everything, but what I really remember is the music. And the music, in turn, makes me remember all these crazy things… First, it reminds me of the special people in my life at that time. fred flare was only a couple of years old then and we had just started working with the gang at Auto here in NYC – Roman, Renata and Stephanie (Pictured above with Keith) – true pioneers of New York’s Meat Packing District’s retail frontier. I was with Renata in a cab when I heard "Music" for the very first time. I’d hear it many more times to come in the store as she used to play the CD often. I remember she told me her favorite song from it was "Gone" and that surprised me. There we so many better ones to pick, I thought. But now when I listen to it I find it so sweet and sad and it makes me think of Renata and those times. I love that line in "Gone" when Madonna says, "Letting go is not my thing…" I so relate to that. We miss you guys! Music also makes me think about one of my best NYC friends, Lora Sappenfield. (Pictured above with me. Check out my Madonna t-shirt!) There have been so many Madonna moments I’ve shared with Lora but Music reminds me of a very specific time. She had just broken up with a boyfriend and, to keep from becoming too blue, she started what became our famous Friday Night Happy Hours. She would email a bunch of friends each week and we’d gather at one bar or another on Fridays for drinks. We felt so lucky to be in the mix and all her friends became like family to us. We love you guys! Those Happy Hours were some of my fave times in the Big Apple and Music was on our heavy rotation soundtrack back then. Over cocktails Lora and I would gush about Guy Ritchie, stare at pics of Mo with Gwenyth and Stella in the pages of US Weekly or soak up any Madonna gossip we could with our good friend Gillian. Lora once told me that "Don’t Tell Me" changed her life and she swooned over the idea of boys being just "a little weak" as Madonna requested in the masterpiece "What It Feels Like for a Girl". We swooned even more when we heard about Madonna’s upcoming Drowned World tour. We had to go see our girl! I put myself in charge of getting four tickets: one for Keith, one for Gillian, one for Lora and one for me! We were set! Then this weird thing happened. Just a day after buying our Madonna tickets "Survivor" called me. Yep, "Survivor", the television show. I had sent in a taped audition and had already had an initial interview here in NYC but didn’t think much of it. Now I had made it to the next round… one of the final 50 contestants to go to LA, meet producer Mark Burnett and possibly be cast as one of the 16 members of the upcoming Africa episode. It sounds exciting but, mostly, it was lonely! I was basically sequestered in a Santa Monica hotel for two weeks and no one knew where I was, not even Keith. I had my Madonna Music CD to keep me company, though, and I’d have dance parties in my hotel room listening to "Runaway Lover" and "Impressive Instant", two of my fave Madonna dance songs. But, wait! I realized that if I made it on the show I was going to have to miss the concert! No way! Which did I want more? The million or Madonna? Well, needless to say, I didn’t have to decide because I wasn’t chosen for the show. Oh well, at least I was going to see Madonna!!! When August finally arrived we took the bus to Jersey’s Continental Arena and enjoyed Madonna’s grunge/punk/geisha a-go-go fest featuring mostly hits from Music. She rocked an electric guitar, karate chopped like a mofo, and rode a mechanical bull. But she didn’t sing many old hits at all and – please don’t tell her I said this – but I kinda missed that. When she finally sang "Holiday" the crowd went insane! We cheered, "Take some time to cel-e-brate!!!" About a month later 9/11 happened. Honestly, Keith and I felt lost for some time after that. We’d just watch television feeling unsure about everything, especially fred flare. I mean, who’s gonna want pink notebooks now? It seemed somehow disrespectful in the face of such seriousness and depth. The Friday after the attacks Lora insisted we still all get together for drinks. When I saw her that night she was wearing an "I (heart) NY" t-shirt and I felt so moved to see her and all my friends again. Madonna, too, went back on stage. After canceling only one show she completed her tour, now sporting an American flag rattan skirt. My girls were out there showing signs of life and love and I soon realized we too had a job to do at fred flare – to make people happy, to make you smile. Thanks for reading! Music really does make the people come together! 06/02/03 |
