and the big deal was.....?

I remember my friends and I calling to request this video and then waiting around before we went out in hopes of finally seeing it. When we did we couldn't figure out wha thte big deal was. if anything we wanted to see more. In comparison to some of the stuff I've seen since, this is mild.

Sexy yet quite tame.

PanthaGirl said:

I seem to remember it causing quite a stir back in the day. You have to remember this is way before the days of Christina's "Dirty", the rap/ho's/bling invasion, etc when everyone and their dog started shaking their privates at cameras to sell a few extra records.

I guess Im bias but a Madonna video always seems to carry an extra air of class and a look of sheen and style. Justify is one of my faves!!

I was pretty risque for it's time. To show anyone of the same gender kissing in a music video or on TV for that matter was rare and I think Madonna was one of the first to do it on video. Not to mention the lyrics of JML for the time was a big deal as I recall. Of course next up was Erotica which took the Justify My Love to a new level.

superspaceboy said:

At the time that type of stuff was not really played. I remember I almost got a spanking for watching that video in the middle of the night by my cousin (my mom didnt care). Lol. It s very stylish and intoxicating. That was when Madonna really became THEE star.

superspaceboy said:

I love the Erotica album. That´s the only album of hers I go back to. I have about 3 other albums of hers that I hardly ever listen to, but I love Erotica. That´s funky.

DaveT said:

Yah I remember it caused a stir but by my standards I thought it was tame and that peeps should have been more open minded about it's content.

I remember seeing the video and remember thinking "where's the shock?"

Public Enemy sued her for that song because they claimed she stole the beats from one of their songs.

As already stated, it would've been very rude/risquee for its time.

On a personal note I used to have the 12inch, but sold it last year at a Garage Sale for a buck. I'm pretty much OVER Madonna.

Also, Ingrid Chavez wrote the lyrics with Lenny Henry - I mean Lenny Kravitz!!

But Madonna never gave Ingrid credit, so she sued her.

So Public Enemy weren't the only ones to take legal action against her.

anc282 said:

@ calling Lenny Kravitz "Lenny Henry".

Several months ago,I saw Madonna in concert and at one point,she took requests from the audience.She asked one guy what song would he like to hear and he replied "Justify My Love".Madonna refused,saying "No,that song is just fucking and talking" Even she realizes that this isn't one of her more meaningful songs...lol....

This song reminds me of the Christmas season of 1990.My sister actually bought me the video single as a Christmas gift...lol...when MTV refused to show it,Madonna shrewdly released it to stores and if I'm not mistaken,it became the first "video single".Prince did the same thing a few years later with "Sexy MF".

dag said:

'Erotica' is my favorite Madonna album.....TODAY Other times,I would say that 'Ray Of Light' is my favorite Madonna album.I go back and forth with those two albums...lol....

who's the dude again? the one that plays her "love" interest in the video?

i used to think that was carlos leon but it can't be, can it? she didn't
get together with him until years later, right?

anc282 said:

Ingrid sued Lenny Kravitz, not Madonna. The song was based on a love letter that Ingrid sent Lenny, and he just took credit for it and gave it to Madonna, without telling her about the whole Ingrid Chavez thing.

And I'm also pretty sure that PE didn't sue Madonna or Kravitz (because he was the one that sampled "Security of the First World"); especially 'cause their song also had an unlicensed sample from James Brown.

IstenSzek said:

Tony Ward. He was her fuckbuddy at the time.

Fury said:

1. The red states weren't ready for THAT kind of music video in 1989, never mind 1990. The same gender bonding was too controversial for its time.

2. Despite that they could have shown this video on cable TV after 9 PM, MTV banned the video from their network because Madonna (for the first time ever in her business relationship with MTV) refused to censor anything.

From a commercial standpoint,banning the video actually helped the song.It's a mediocre song but because of all the controversy over the video,the song went straight to Number One on the charts.Madonna used the controversy to her advantage,appearing on "Nightline",arguing that America is too conservative when it comes to sex...lol....it was fun to see her play this role.

SoulAlive said:

actually, i think it's much better than just "mediocre", it's
one of those rare songs like "love...thy will be done" and a
few others that are truly hypnotic. i love it.

Axchi696 said:

it was going to be given to Paula Abdul

IstenSzek said:

I usually get on a Madonna kick in the summer, when my job takes me outside for a lot of sweaty, labor-intensive work and there are times when I can't listen to this song because it makes things even hotter. Not the sexuality of it, but the sound of it is the aural representation of heat waves coming off of ablacktop road.

It's so successful at evoking the feeling of heat to me that I've almost grown to dislike it because I'm usually too damn hot when I hear it anyway.

All I know is she looks so goddamn beautiful in this clip. Probably the most beautiful she ever looked, after the 'Take A Bow' clip.

Arnotts said:

She's extremely sexy in that video

Beautiful clip.

IstenSzek said:

I love it, too. There isn't much substance, but it's downright mesmerizing. It's my 26th favorite by her.

Axchi696 said:

P.E. raised all kinds of hell over that track. They were NOT cool with Madonna stealing from them. I remember several interviews where they spit venom at her and Lenny over this song. When asked about it, Lenny said "It was just a track we found laying around on the studio floor"
That was one of the things that made me dislike Lenny back then because I knew he was lying.

The video was hot and I loved the cinematography. Almost like a perverted 'Oh Father.' Yes, for that time it was too hot for MTV.

I have to give repsect to the audio of the Beast Within Remix though. It's disturbing and armegeddon scary lol.

BlaqueKnight said:

Never said they were cool with it, just said that they didn't sue. I just think it's funny that they were pissed at an unlicensed sample of their unlicensed sample.