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© (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019.Madonna issues 'wake up' call on gun violence in graphic music video
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bearandrodent
Trying really hard at age 60 to stay relevant? Just go gracefully. Don’t be like Serena Williams while people still have good things to say about you.
Alex80
She should only stop, she can't sing anymore.
Lizz
The reverse timeline I take to indicate how little things change after incidents like Pulse. First we have the mourning period (funeral), there's the claims of change that never happens (Madame X scrapping the paper repeatedly) until ultimtaely we are back to square one, where nobody bats an eyelid (ignoring the TV) and no change has occurred. Common sense gun control, as she put it, is non existent and we live in our bubble of ignorance once more, failing to learn from these mistakes. The the 'starting at the end' trope only serves to underlie the hopelessness of the rest of the action. It is a plot device that is 100% successful/effective here.
The only negative might be that such a great song itself gets lost or chopped up unnecessarily in the ensuing chaos. Madonna works so well with Mirwais because he challenges her on just about every level as an artist. She’s keeping up with him rather than the other way around, which is very different to her relationships with other producers (except now perhaps for Mike Dean).
extanker
"Madonna, 60, said the video was designed to try to make me relevant again by clinging onto a sensitive issue and twisting it for my own gain.
Fixed it for you, Madonna.
Black Sabbath
Hm. The gun violence itself was stylized, even tame. No gore. No trauma.
If she had wanted to shock, she should have shown what it really looks like when someone is shot.
WA4TKG
Why now? Is it because some big shot ACTIVE gang member / rapper was shot?
Some already say this “production” is just that, exploitation of tragedy in the name of the profit.
extanker
Unless she suddenly announces that 100% of the proceeds from this song go to some anti-gun charity, then that's exactly what it is and it's about as tasteful as the outfit she wore at the Aretha Franklin tribute. This woman is clueless.
ushosh123
Since when do people watch music video to get a better grasp of reality.... It's a music video not a documentary, any "shock" would be attributed to overdramatisation rather than reality.
jiji Xx
shock who? all the millions of people who don't do mass shootings? if the endless carnage on the News doesn't stop the behaviour, I doubt Madonna's video will..... let's just hope someone doesn't watch this, think it's really cool, then try to re-enact it.....
p.s. didn't watch it myself, so......
Lizz
It is impossible to understand the album in one go. But once you let go of a lot of "rules" of pop music songwriting/video making and give it several listens you will start to hear different sounds all the time that keep you interested. Definitely her best music in 15 years and video-wise probably 25.
extanker
She must have done some crap videos in the last 25 years if this is her best. This looked like some low budget independent film contest runner up. They couldn't even get the gunshot 'victims' to stop breathing for a few seconds while on camera.
extanker
The big difference is Mick Jagger is only trying to entertain people with his music, not ride the coattails of a tragedy to sell albums.
Jimizo
You keep saying this and you continue to be wrong.
There are plenty of articles if you could be bothered to look and comments here about how the Stones, and other aging musicians, are too old to perform.
Why do you keep posting this?
bass4funk
Madonna is pretty much done, her time passed and stick a fork in her she used to be relevant and she made a lot of classic songs, but it’s time to hang those tassels on the wall.
Lizz
Madonna is still making great, career defining music and videos that a lot of people are enjoying. Latin music today, flamenco or morna tomorrow. How is she supposed to be more relevant ? For whatever bizarre reason maybe Grace Jones should stop singing because she is 70 instead of them both headlining Pride Island this weekend.
mmwkdw
The US has only itself to blame. They keep alive out-dated Laws and don't have the guts to change them. The question is ... why ?
https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendments/amendment-ii
Anyway, having a high profile name raise the issue, is good - if only to keep the matter actively being discussed - even if those discussions rotate over her Signing ability or simply her Stage name...
Now, wouldn't it be interesting if Russia's meddling also involved control over large Political influential organizations - such as the NRA... that's more effective than Fake News. Maybe it's the Russians who're keeping the Americans from seeing the light and moving forward ?
starpunk
Auto-tuned, manufactured rubbish - and she still has to flaunt her 'sexuality' in this video. And yes the 'dead' scenes are pretty tame.
This IS her 'best' video of the past 30 years. And she still has to put on a blonde wig and a glittery outfit and dance around like she's still 25. She's still trying to stay 'relevant' by emphasizing the 'sexuality' business and ride the coattails of the gun violence problem.
Billy Idol did a much better job of pointing out the gun violence issue in 1987 with his video 'Don't Need a Gun'.
Oh yes they have. 'Undercover of the Night' in 1983 is about the murderous regimes that the US government has and does support. And check out several songs on their 2005 CD 'A Bigger Bang'.
Kestrel
Its just bs from Madge. Unfortunately for her its not the 80s anymore and there have been a lot of manipulative self-serving music videos since then. The public is more cynical and wised up about “stars” and their “ causes” these days.
Kestrel
Btw, Madonna has o problem with walls and guns protecting her. Its the public she wants to take this right away from.
FizzBit
My first guess was it would be a song about all the inner city gun violence with a “gangster rap” theme.
Nope.
That would be too obscure for this “entertainer”. Much easier to understand why a person would gun down 20 people than say one person shooting another for their drug money.
Lizz
It is definitely Madonna's conscious choice to be contrary and ugly at times but this really was the only venue/scenario where she would have the remotest chance of being personally victimized. And no more white savior criticism please. Only Beyonce could pull that off.
nandakandamanda
Just thought I'd watch it again today to see if it has grown on me overnight night.
(Nice photo of Frida Kahlo on the wall by the way.)
I kind of like the trippy way the words metamorphose through 'God control' to 'Gun control' and 'We've lost control', (?) etc.
I guess she knows that making a video like this will surely makes her a target for someone with a different agenda, and although I personally do not think this music video hits the button quite right, I admire her for trying.
Lizz
And she still has to put on a blonde wig and a glittery outfit and dance around like she's still 25.
Does everything have to be overly explained and simplistic ? Possibly because it is clearly set in late '70's New York....so that would be when she was still 19.
Serrano
I like the typewriter and the record player.
starpunk
That's a reference to the sad fact that guns are the real god in America thanks largely to that panic-inducing greedy loudmouth Wayne LaPierre. He keeps on running his mouth and the American public are his Pavlov dogs.
starpunk
If you stuck a fork into her, she'd deflate into nothing. She's had so many facelifts and botox injections, she's more a 'construct' than a woman now.
Lizz
It's a weird kind of energyyyyy
A bizarre thing that happens to beeeee
An abnormal fraternityyy
And I feel more than sympathyyyyyyyyyy
One of the best parts of the album, it elevates the song to a different level entirely. Even if everyone isn't going to get it. :)