OldFriends4Sale said:

Loved her look in the Human Nature video.

MidniteMagnet said:

Human Nature trivia: Madonna's hair isn't black in the video. It's blonde with dark roots but the blonde is covered by strips of black leather in her cornrows.

Like someone said, her hair cost more than the video

alphastreet said:

MidniteMagnet said:

Human Nature trivia: Madonna's hair isn't black in the video. It's blonde with dark roots but the blonde is covered by strips of black leather in her cornrows.

Like someone said, her hair cost more than the video

Human Nature is a great example of how you don't need a massive budget to make a great video. Along with the likes of 'Rain' and 'Cherish' sometimes the simpler, the better.

I really love the videos from this era, each one is COMPLETELY different in style, look, everything.

Amazing.

alphastreet said:

MidniteMagnet said:

Human Nature trivia: Madonna's hair isn't black in the video. It's blonde with dark roots but the blonde is covered by strips of black leather in her cornrows.

Like someone said, her hair cost more than the video

I knew about her hair in the video. I knew she couldn't have dyed her black that quickly after two videos where she was platinum blond. But I'm loving these Bedtime Stories-era pics. Take me back. I seriously developed a crush on Madonna around this time when she did the videos from the album. Something about them made them compete with Janet as far as #1 crushes go. Of course Janet won me back over when she put out "Twenty Foreplay".

Yay!

Waiting for the used copy of Bedtime Stories I bought on line. I really can't wait to hear it after the mostly positive comments I have read on here.

Highlights other than the singles are:

Don't Stop

Forbidden Love

And I sort of like Inside of Me and Survival. So that's about 8 songs, I think a little over half the album.

Timmy: You mean to tell me Janet wasn't hot in Scream and Runaway? Though I think she looks really cool in Human Nature, I thought at the time of the era she really didn't look like the Madonna I grew up on and loved her 80's looks best, and the I'll Remember look

purplethunder3121 said:

Waiting for the used copy of Bedtime Stories I bought on line. I really can't wait to hear it after the mostly positive comments I have read on here.

OMG get with it!! it's her 2nd best - some days it's her 1st best!

ENJOY...gosh i wish i were discovering Inside of Me, Forbidden Love, Love Tried, Sanctuary, the title song, Id Rather...Human Nature...Survival....it's a classic from start to finish. the madonna fans who don't love it are questionable fans to me, period.

Thanks danceypoo for starting this thread.

taking me back sooo hard

i'll never forget - getting into my carpool ride home on my bday - oct 27 - 2 days after it came out - my thirteenth, no less - literally hit puberty with that record.

i didn't 'get' erotica for years ...

but bedtime...

i must say i was disappointed on the first few spins. i thought what the fuck is this mess bedtime story; why are all these ballads; where are the big choruses, the sing a longs, the dance tracks...

...little did i know it was caught beautifully between things called new jack swing and neo soul - and that it was the precursor (for me) to discover my TWO FAVORITE solo acts that came out in the 90s - Badu & D'angelo - where the GROOVE overrides the hook...

madonna was so ahead of her time, and right on time, and whenever she goes back to her 'roots' as 'dance music' i always think hey bitch - your roots are the fuckin rhythm and blues. end of discussion.

forbidden love is a hidden gem in her catalog - and i think inside of me is her most underrated/should have been a single of all time, aside from "waiting" from Erotica.

secret is her most criminally underrated and forgotten hit single. TLC's producer who knew how to make T Boz sound so bad ass wrote and produced a song in the 90s' with madge, at the height of the 90s R&B scene? does music GET BETTER!!!!!??????

badujunkie said:

purplethunder3121 said:

Waiting for the used copy of Bedtime Stories I bought on line. I really can't wait to hear it after the mostly positive comments I have read on here.

OMG get with it!! it's her 2nd best - some days it's her 1st best!

ENJOY...gosh i wish i were discovering Inside of Me, Forbidden Love, Love Tried, Sanctuary, the title song, Id Rather...Human Nature...Survival....it's a classic from start to finish. the madonna fans who don't love it are questionable fans to me, period.

Well, I was there when Madonna originally burst on the scene in the 80s and I loved her stuff then. The last time I REALLY listened to her was in the 90s--circa Vogue, etc. Although, Ray of Light caught my attention in later years. So, I have a lot of catching up to do! I really appreciate the critiques (and enthusiasm) on here which makes me want to look into the albums that I missed. So, yes! It will be really fun exploring Madonna music that I haven't heard before, just as it was a great ride "rediscovering" Prince after not listening to him for 15 years!

Bettina Rheims photo session. Most of the images
were published in Details Magazine December 1994 and
FHM Magazine March 1995. The picture below
was used on the cover of the European Human Nature single.

Timmy84 said:

I knew about her hair in the video. I knew she couldn't have dyed her black that quickly after two videos where she was platinum blond. But I'm loving these Bedtime Stories-era pics. Take me back. I seriously developed a crush on Madonna around this time when she did the videos from the album. Something about them made them compete with Janet as far as #1 crushes go. Of course Janet won me back over when she put out "Twenty Foreplay".

This picture by Paolo Roversi was originally
intended for the cover of Bedtime Stories.

These were some really interesting times for Madonna

the social climate was very revolutionary as far as sex was concerned

I love the Justify My Love Erotica Bedtime Stories period

The thing about Madonna, still being one of the top superstars was that she still LIVED

Which is why she has such longevity, her music still spoke/speaks to everyday issues

BedTime Stories era she had the relationship with Denis Rodman & Ingrid Casares

The style was still very similar to the Erotic era, the videos were shot very well. But Madonna is going to put the best out there as far as how her music is interpreted visually. She had the NYC club Bedtime story reading and dance afterward. NYC was her playground

Loved this time period

Jim Farber of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "she not only unloads on the media but also details a troubling and deeply personal view of romance. Never have her lyrics been this autobiographical."

October 25, 1994 by Maverick Records. Madonna collaborated with Dallas Austin, Babyface, Dave "Jam" Hall and Nellee Hooper, deciding to move into a more R&B direction.

Bedtime Stories explores lyrical themes of love, sorrow, and romance, but with a toned-down, less sexual approach. Critics described the album as "autobiographical". The album's final single "Human Nature" addresses the controversy surrounding Erotica, while "Bedtime Story" was written by Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk. Bedtime Stories received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who praised the album's candid lyrics and production.

Commercially, the album proved to be successful. Debuting and peaking at number three on the Billboard 200, the album was certified triple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. It peaked in the top five in most territories, topping the charts in Australia. Four singles were released from the album. The lead single, "Secret", gave Madonna her record-breaking 34th consecutive top ten single in the United Kingdom, while "Take a Bow" spent seven weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 (the longest run for any of Madonna's chart-toppers). Other singles released were "Bedtime Story" and "Human Nature". The album was not accompanied by a tour.

1. Secret
   Released: September 28, 1994
2. Take a Bow
   Released: December 6, 1994
3. Bedtime Story
   Released: February 13, 1995
4. Human Nature
   Released: June 6, 1995

Several songs from this album found their way onto the cutting room floor for one reason or another, including "Your Honesty", which later surfaced on the 2003 EP Remixed & Revisited. "Freedom" was used for a rainforest benefit album titled Carnival! and "Let Down Your Guard" (rough mix edit) appeared on the UK and Australian CD single for "Secret". See the list of unreleased Madonna songs for details. "Forbidden Love" is an entirely different composition from another song with the same title on Madonna's 2005 album Confessions on a Dance Floor.

*

[Edited 12/2/11 21:02pm]

xLiberiangirl said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Loved her look in the Human Nature video.

I would have loved to see more performances from this time

95% of the dancers from the Erotic era were still with her, and in this video.

The Italian leading dancer Luca Tommassini from the Girlie Show, is in this video and danced with her at the Brit Awards show performance of Bed Time Stories and in Evita

alphastreet said:

I agree that some of the best and most creative songs/videos of her career came out of this era. As a whole album though I like the concept she was going for, I don't enjoy it as a whole album, I only hear Madonna on some of it.

What about that David Letterman interview?

http://aetherlumina.com/h...erman.html

On March 31st of 1994, a highly-charged Madonna appeared as a guest on the Late Show with David Letterman. Over the course of the now-infamous interview she said the word "fuck" a record thirteen times; called Letterman himself a "sick fuck"; asked the host to smell some underwear she was holding; refused to leave the stage when asked; and was jeered by the audience. Her behaviour resulted in numerous complaints, much discussion, and extremely high viewing figures ie it also resulted in some of the highest ratings of Letterman's late-night career.

A fortnight later, on April 12th - Letterman's birthday - Madonna faxed the following note to his office.
Transcript follows. Image courtesy of Julien's, who are selling the letter on the 27th of March.

Transcript

MAVERICK

Happy Fucking Birthday Dave!

glad you could get so much mileage out of the fucking show. Next time you need some Fucking publicity, just give me a fucking call.

love
the anti-christ
M. xx

The Letterman interview was like six months before Bedtime Stories. That's why she altered her direction so drastically (well she was still badass during that period but not so blunt) when the album came out. I loved that interview personally. Obviously David was in on the joke.

Just watching the Letterman int on YouTube, shocking but freakin entertaining

[Edited 12/2/11 3:01am]

OldFriends4Sale said:

xLiberiangirl said:

Loved her look in the Human Nature video.

I would have loved to see more performances from this time

95% of the dancers from the Erotic era were still with her, and in this video.

The Italian leading dancer Luca Tommassini from the Girlie Show, is in this video and danced with her at the Brit Awards show performance of Bed Time Stories and in Evita

She started working with Jamie king (stood over her shoulder on both shots) after seeing his work with Prince at the 1995 AMAs. Apparantly she thought Jamie was Prince with newly dyed blond hair at first! Luca also went on to be one of Prince's 'Erotic City' dancer at his LA Glam Slam Club along with Kevin Stea and Stephanie Roos (now one of Madonna's choreographers)

rlittler81 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

I would have loved to see more performances from this time

95% of the dancers from the Erotic era were still with her, and in this video.

The Italian leading dancer Luca Tommassini from the Girlie Show, is in this video and danced with her at the Brit Awards show performance of Bed Time Stories and in Evita

She started working with Jamie king (stood over her shoulder on both shots) after seeing his work with Prince at the 1995 AMAs. Apparantly she thought Jamie was Prince with newly dyed blond hair at first! Luca also went on to be one of Prince's 'Erotic City' dancer at his LA Glam Slam Club along with Kevin Stea and Stephanie Roos (now one of Madonna's choreographers)

Cool background info

Carrie Ann from Dancing with the Stars was her dancer for this period too, famous for the opening Pole dancer who went thru most of the show with her breasts out

Imagine how the Bedtime Stories tour would've been: a mixture of eroticism and sensuality probably but Madonna probably feared the Bedtime Stories tracks wouldn't gel with her overall catalog so that's why she stopped short of promoting the album with a tour.

So can we safely say Madge stole the album title from Sheila E's song?

TheFreakerFantastic said:

So can we safely say Madge stole the album title from Sheila E's song?

Sounds good to me.

TheFreakerFantastic said:

So can we safely say Madge stole the album title from Sheila E's song?

You mean the song of her album Romance 1600 that peaked at 50 on the billboard charts?

I didn't realise Sheila E had a monopoly on the phrase, does she get royalties from this?

[Edited 12/2/11 12:49pm]

^ Yes, the excellent UNDERRATED song by Sheila E!

If Jody Watley got paid for Arnold's "Hasta La Vista" one-liner, then Sheila E. needs to get paid as well.