59. American Life* (2003) The original video was deemed too controversial by Madonna herself and replaced with a less exciting one, but neither appears on the Celebration collection. Version 1: Hot male models on a catwalk are dressed in combat fatigues (there are some female models too). Madonna is also dressed in an army uniform, and backed by explosions. Then Madonna and her models go a bit mental in toilet cubicles. A young (Iraqi?) boy and women then parade on the catwalk, as the video intercuts images of modern warfare. The video is a lot more direct in its message than the song. Madonna's (in)famous rap is performed while she dances on the catwalk in a camouflaged vehicle, and in front of the stars and stripes. A George Bush lookalike catches the grenade thrown by our heroine at the end, and lights his cigar with it - it's a lighter! Madonna is very angry in this version of the video, and you can see why she withdrew it - it's not very patriotic for the young American men and women giving their lives in the war, whatever her feelings about the legitimacy of it. Version 2: Madonna is still wearing the uniform from the first version, and singing directly into the camera, but there are no catwalks, no images of warfare, just the flags of many nations in the background. This video is odd because the song is about American Life and the video has national flags of (possibly) every country. It's obvious there's supposed to be a message here, but it was a lot more explicit in the first version. If it wasn't for the editing, this would be quite a boring video. #2 60. Hollywood (2003) Another comment on the state of America, this time celebrity is in the firing line. A dark haired, almost unrecognisible Madonna is writing while on the phone, and then she's flame haired, dancing on the bed, and then blond and stroking a chair... Oh look, she's straddling a TV that appears to be playing a bit of an old video from the Erotica/Sex book era. Lovely scenes of Madonna being injected with Botox, before she exercises on a big inflatable ball. I'm amazed how different Madonna looks with just a different hair colour. I love the song, so very electro, and the video is wonderfully colourful, and leads to a great ending where Madonna just pulls the plug on the TV. #2
61. Love Profusion (2003) The final single from American Life - I didn't even know it was released! Judging by the chart position, neither did many other people. The video has Madonna looking her age, rather than bending her legs behind her bed, with natural hair and a sensible flowery dress. She's walking the whole time as the scenery changes around her - she's walking through a city, and then along a bit of beach inbetween some CGI flowers, until she begins to crawl and then life in the ocean with some fish... Walking again, this time on petals, as the ocean is above her, and the sky below - it all looks like a relaxing screensaver. It's an unassuming song with a video to match. No controversy or social commentary here. Unless you think that fairies are controversial... #11
62. Hung Up (2005) And we're now at the Confessions on a Dancefloor era, and the amazing Abba-sampling Hung Up. With this video Madonna decides we've not seen enough of the things her body can do, so she shows off a bit. While she's contorting herself and thrusting her crotch about in a dance studio, we also get to see people travelling in a taxi, employees in a takeaway dance, and... I'm confused about the locations. I was sure it was set in America at the beginning, but then there's a black London cab, and the tube. There's a raw, urban feel to the outdoor scenes anyway. Then Madonna's dancing in a back alley, before busting some moves on a dance machine. It's fantastic to see and hear a Madonna track that's just all about getting up and dancing. #1
63. Sorry (2005) Beginning with Madonna saying sorry in myriad languages in front of pink lights, the video continues where Hung Up left off, as Madonna leaves the club she was in with ger girl friends. They jump into the back of a white van and Madonna changes into a sparkly silver outfit, once more with her legs very much on show. Driving around, Madonna and co stop to pick up random people from the streets, including a big fatty man, and a topless body-builder. The van lets it's passengers out at a caged dance-area where Madonna and her posse show a group of black dancers how to put your leg behind your head before they move on the roller disco. Disco balls a-go-go! There's a very retro vibe in the song that is accentuated perfectly with the video. #1
65. Jump (2005) The final release from Confessions is one of my favourites from the album. Madonna's in a blonde wig here, very different to the preceding 3 videos. She's dancing in front of neon signs for hotels, etc. Meanwhile, dancers are free/base jumping (parkour, according to Wikipedia) around Tokyo - they're jumping see, like the song. How odd not to see Madonna's legs on show. #9
66. Hey You* (2007) A sweet song that takes us back to basics with stripped back music to showcase Madonna's vocals. This one slipped under the radar as a single (released digitally) and came from the Live Earth album/event. Madonna doesn't feature in the video, which plays as if it were one of those worthy pieces they play at Live Earth/Children in Need/Live 8/Comic Relief with scenes of world leaders, war, technology, ecology, natural disasters, etc. The only non-docu bit is when the chorus flashes up on the screen, one word at a time. I like the song, and wish it appeared on a Madonna album. #187
67. 4 Minutes (2008) It's only taken 67 singles to get to Madonna's latest studio album, Hard Candy! Timbaland and Justin Timberlake feature in the video and song for Madonna's crowd-following latest. She really didn't need to use Justin - it's not like EVERYBODY else has! Madonna's collaboration with Britney was more interesting (not included here since Madonna was just the featured artist), but that's not to say I don't like the song, it's just I expect something 'new' from Madonna, like Hung Up was. Oh well, fingers crossed for the next album! This song took a little longer to grow on me, but now I can't get it out of my head. Madonna and Justin dance their way through various locations, while a massive digital clock counts down in the background. I like the scene with Madonna in front of the bathroom mirror, with Justin as her reflection. What's with the see-through bits though, where we can see their muscles beneath the skin? Odd. #1
68. Give It 2 Me (2008) Beginning with Madonna once more in a dance studio, a la Hung Up, there's a black and white Madonna in a hat on hand too. There are random flashes of Pharrell Williams, another rent-a-rapper in the Justin mould. Madonna's big enough without needing these extraneous artists. The song is another grower. I like the video, it's quite simple really, but the artsy black and white, frenetically edited bits are great. #7
69. Miles Away (2008) The final single from Hard Candy, it charted at 39 in the UK, dropped to 68 and then out of the chart! This has less to say about the quality of the single than it does about the poor promotion and the digital release world we have to live in *sigh*. This is a live performance video with a difference, being that around the performance we have scenes of Madonna preparing for the tour, travelling between venues, stadiums filling with people, cheering fans, etc. #39
70. Celebration (2009) And finally... Madonna's latest single and the last video for this loooong review. Thankfully this sounds more like Confessions than Hard Candy, it makes me want to get up and dance! Madonna's looking fab at 50+ in the video in a tasteful but sexy dress and long black boots. Another simple video concept - Madonna and various dancers in front of a white or black background, dancing and edited to the beat of the music. The shades Madonna wears create yet another look - has she not done sunglasses before?? An excellent song and video to round off a fantastic retrospective of this amazing artist's lengthy career. As Madonna's contract with Warner expires and she begins a new era with Live Nation, I say, Madonna is dead! Long live Madonna!
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