“Without the heart, there can be no understanding between the hand and the mind.”
Before we bid adieu for our summer break from this blog, here’s a back-to-back classic post-pairing, as Madonna follows on the fashionably-attired heels of Tom Ford. This is a preview of the next Madonna Timeline, one of the last entries prior to my summer sabbatical, and it’s a doozy featuring one of the greatest Madonna songs of all-time: ‘Express Yourself.’
It’s impossible, at this stage of the timeline, and more importantly at this stage of Madonna’s storied life, to fully encapsulate all the nuances and memories involved in such an epic song. But I did my best, and if I’m hiding behind unexplained vague references, it’s only because I’m suddenly feeling quite shy. I’m already enjoying the fact that this curtain is almost down for the end of Act One. But one more Madonna Timeline before I go. We all deserve that.
Here’s a look at the song through the ages:
So many versions, so many dance routines, so many Madonnas. We shed our past selves like snakes shed skin, but while they get to leave their papery shell behind, we carry ours with us – as ghosts, demons, angels and protectors. ‘Express Yourself’ is one such entity. The second single from the ‘Like A Prayer‘ album, it’s the funkiest one of the bunch, dwarfed only by that indelible title track. (Only Madonna could trump her own work, making ‘Express Yourself’ into second-best, baby.) The rest of the album was pop confession perfection: ‘Til Death Do Us Part‘, ‘Promise to Try‘, ‘Cherish‘, ‘Dear Jessie‘, ‘Oh Father‘, ‘Keep It Together‘, ‘Pray for Spanish Eyes‘ and even the wretched ‘Act of Contrition.’ Even among those jewels, ‘Express Yourself was a stand-out.
Tonight, the Madonna Timeline returns one last time before we break – baby, ready or not!
