An August birthday shout-out to my main muse Madonna, who I’m guessing is currently too busy gearing up for her Rebel Heart Tour to pause much for celebrations. We are going to pause for a moment on this blog too (as I’m only returning from Cape Cod today), and set up a quick little collection to honor the woman of the hour – and the day – with a look back at some previous Madonna Timeline entries.
We’ll begin with some early ones, such as the very first: ‘Who’s That Girl.’ Whispers that this retired-too-soon jewel will be cropping up on the new tour has me all aglow like some senorita, mas fina. When that first Timeline was created, I had no idea what it would become, so it’s a very basic sketch of what went down in the summer of 1987. If I could do it all over again, I’d embellish a bit more, fleshing out the excitement of being a kid and connecting with your distant cousins at a family wedding while Madonna played in the background of every thrilling turn. But what’s done is done, and as the birthday girl doesn’t like to dwell on the past, neither should we.
Bouncing along with the more carefree singles of her past, this was ‘Cherish’ – another early timeline entry that could have done with some further explanation of the late summer/early fall of 1989. I remember Maine, and the way the sun slanted differently in the coming fall. A navy J. Crew sweater is part of my memory too, as is the cold sting of the ocean off Maine.
Perhaps her greatest attribute is her resilience, as proven by the mantra of ‘Over and Over‘ – a ‘Like A Virgin‘ deep-cut that personifies the 80’s, and the rise, and rise, and rise of Madonna herself. It doesn’t matter who you are, it’s what you do that takes you far.
Adolescent angst was at its height when I listened to ‘Supernatural‘ – a B-side to the far-superior (and peppier) ‘Cherish.’ It conjures memories known mostly only to myself and a few select friends. I’m afraid I didn’t do it justice, but some things are too dark to bring back to light.
Sassy-pants with attitude to spare, this was ‘She’s Not Me.‘ Let the haters hate, let the wanna-be’s be, and let them eat my dust.
It sounds silly and trite to say it, but Madonna has in many ways been the love of my life. When friends and family and lovers turned against me, there was always Madonna. She was the one person on whom I could always count – for support, for inspiration, for love. She taught me self-reliance. She taught me how to get back up again. She taught me that ‘Love Makes the World Go Round.’
Happy Birthday M!!
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