Don't go for second best, baby. Put your ILM ARTIST POLL #31: MADONNA to the test.

It's definitely one of the most earwormy Madonna singles.

Secret was my no.4; weeping salt tears right now.

"Secret" would have been #21 on my ballot so I am happy to see it here

this is my "secret" story. this occurred right around when i was getting into madonna albums, not just singles:

when i was 12, my maths teacher got pregnant. the supply teacher they'd got in to cover for her was dreadful at both teaching and controlling the class, but she was kind of bitchy as well. "secret" had just come out, so me and my then bff rewrote the lyrics as a hate paean to her. the chorus went "mmm-mmm, we hate mrs buckn4ll". the verses were ruder but they escape my memory right now. not only did we rewrite the song, but - as an instrumental was included on the cd single - we recorded it, brought the tape into school along with print-outs of the lyrics, and played it to selected members of the class in the school library one lunchtime. unfortunately, also present in the library was mrs buckn4ll's son, who was a little twat iirc. he grabbed one of the lyric sheets and told on us. mrs b had to have therapy apparently :(

epilogue: a few months ago my mother went to a church in a village she doesn't normally go to. she vaguely recognised one of the women in the congregation and advanced on her after the service, asking where they possibly could have met, and then something rung a bell, and she said - oh, is it through [my school]? do you know my son alex?

that woman was mrs buckn4ll :(

― lex lex lex lex lex on the track BOW (lex pretend), Thursday, October 21, 2010 10:34 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

humming that version in my head right now, it works v well Lex :)

that "till death do us part" image!

Oh yes! I'm reading on phone and keep forgetting to open these :(

http://i.imgur.com/EoPJ0Ol.jpg

27. "LA ISLA BONITA" from True Blue (1986) [18 votes, 367 points, 1 first place vote]

Meh.

every time i listen to "la isla bonita" i'm like I LOVE THIS and then the chorus is so boring

but that's all relative; still kinda neat to see it place so high

oh and "secret" was definitely high on my ballot and it's basically the best song ever so woooo

YAY

love the !2" though.

A funny one this - it's kind of simultaneously Madonna-by-numbers and not-like anything else in her catalogue. I voted for it (all mine are showing up atm) but a lot lower than I'd thought I might - it was a big record for me as a young 'un.

BEAUTIFUL FACES NO CARES IN THIS WORLD

WHERE A GIRL LOVES A BOY

AND A BOY

...

LOVES

...

A GIRL

Ol' long-haired Pedro and his spanish guitar

There's absolutely nothing wrong with this song imo, but there are just so many Madonna songs one can say that about. I'm not gonna say TOO LOW, but I might be thinking it.

La Lechera to thread

http://www.beautifulmadonna.com/videostill/laislabonita/082.jpg

In trying to figure out why I always align Everybody with Genius of Love

maybe for the same reason i've always thought "lucky star" could be a talking heads song. she and they were working strikingy similar territory for awhile.

always thought LIB was a bit lame at the time but now the older balearicised me loves it, especially the revenge rework. voted it somewhere mid teens iirc.

Pedro a bit peeved at playing guitar on a beach when he would be perfect for Jesus in Like A Prayer

first album now playing in the background, and "burning up" shoulda coulda been a t heads song too.

T-Heads never this aggressive. Closer to mutant disco.

picking up on the spotify list -- god Rain is so beautiful. I'm glad it placed.

http://i.imgur.com/zROHuFF.jpg

26. "WHAT IT FEELS LIKE FOR A GIRL" from Music (2000) [19 votes, 378 points]

wau @ WIFLFAG beating both "music" and "don't tell me"

that's a disapproving wau btw

Another vote for album over single version.

wau @ WIFLFAG beating both "music" and "don't tell me"

It's better than either, so I'm not terribly surprised.

great image

lol'ing at the acronym

"La Isla Bonita" was my #5, in part reactively against the haters

i love the WIFLFAG video but find both video and album versions of the song a snooze, it was a real disappointment after the two great singles off that album

as I said upthread, I think WIFLFAG is her best single of the 00s

(and it still scraped onto my ballot at #20)

"La Isla Bonita" is on the same level as "Hanky Panky" and "Masterpiece"

Like a Virgin is really low. Not to diss Everybody but the fact that it placed higher than LAV is kinda perverse

http://i.imgur.com/LV2lbNV.jpg

25. "FROZEN" from Ray of Light (1998) [18 votes, 381 points]

J admire Frozen without er warming to it

I guess no one has much to say about Frozen. I like it, but I think most of its impact was being the first single from Ray of Light in 1998 and being so different audio-visually than anything she'd attempted in the past, especially among her singles (and ESPECIALLY among her lead-off singles). Daring.

"Frozen" is still one of the prettiest Madonna singles. I would have voted it in my top 10, except that I forgot to vote.

http://i.imgur.com/PxXxVzh.jpg

24. "TAKE A BOW" from Bedtime Stories (1994) [20 votes, 403 points]

yessssss

but also tooo lowww

I voted for Frozen. Still my favorite from Ray of Light, although I remember when I first heard it, preferring a remix. Not sure which one it is at this point. Trying to sort through the mess of youtubes.

I love Frozen but I can't remember if I voted for it. Loooooove the video

Damn, so sad to see I forgot to vote and seeing all these great songs show up way too low. One of the greatest pop ballads of all time, and still her longest reigning #1 in the US.

i think 'power of goodbye' is my fave single from rol but i think that's the one album where actually i do prefer the album tracks to all the singles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWtLE1HxaB4

Babyface harmonies *swoon*

"take a bow" is a beautiful, stately, classic pop tune. but as her goodbye songs go, "the power of good-bye" crushes it.