Happy Birthday Madonna

Madonna is 60.
She turned 60 on the 16th. She celebrated in Morocco in what looks like a Moroccan Berber costume party, and a few days later she was still in Moroccan Berber mode at the VMA awards (and presented a not so eloquent or elegant tribute to Aretha Franklin, but hey, it's Madonna.)

I remain to be a fan of 1980-90s Madonna. Never got into the music she made this century, apart for a couple of songs I guess, and every time I come across her in the news now, I'm always bemused by her actions instead of admiring her.

This line by Matthew Lindsay from an article he wrote for The Quietus (well worth reading btw) celebrating 35 years of her debut album sums it all for me:

“Madonna would continue to break ground in the mainstream just as she would always remain slightly one step behind the avant-garde, ever reliant on it for inspiration to take to the masses.”

— Matthew Lindsay, The Quietus

Love her or hate her, you can't deny her place in pop culture and music.

Here are my favourite songs/videos. Quite a few ballads here that I've not heard for a while.