• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
    • RadioThon
  • App
    • App Help
    • App – English
    • App -Spanish
    • App – French
    • App – German
    • App – Portuguese
    • App Promo Codes
  • Music
    • Acid Flashback – Streaming Internet Radio
    • Today in Rock History
    • Guest DJ’s
    • Interviews
    • Psychedelic Time Warp
    • The Jukebox Series from Eric Berman
    • Song of the Day
    • 3D RadioActivity
    • Vinyl Schminyl Radio
    • Zecom Radio – The Choice
    • Zecom Radio – GEMZ
  • Sports
    • SportsTwitter.net
    • SportsAudio.net Archives
  • Home Improvement USA Radio
  • Entertainment
    • Podcasts
  • About Us
    • Contact Information
    • Media Kit
    • My Radio Journey and the Story of InternetFM
    • Steven Leventhal
    • Radio Station Submission
    • Affiliate Station Information
    • Press Releases
    • Business Services
    • Email Sign Ups
    • Paid Content Guidelines
InternetFM

InternetFM

Hand Curated Radio

You are here: Home / Music / Alternative / Song Of The Day – “Where Life Begins” by Madonna

Song Of The Day – “Where Life Begins” by Madonna

November 27, 2019 by Eric Berman

madonnaeroticaSong Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Where Life Begins” by Madonna

It’s a dirty little song…from a dirty little record!

“My name is Dita, I’ll be your mistress tonight…” so began Madonna’s fifth and most artistically accomplished record with this introduction from “Erotica,” its title track. In it, Madonna took on the alter ego of Dita which was inspired by 1930s actress Dita Parlo.

Erotica came out at a time when many people believe Madonna jumped the preverbal shark from overexposure, resulting from the simultaneous release of the record, an erotic picture book called Sex, a worldwide tour dubbed The Girlie Show and a role in the film Body of Evidence.

For me, Erotica signaled Madonna’s creative apex.

Much of the activity surrounding the release of Erotica stemmed from the formation of Madonna’s multi-media company which she based on Andy Warhol’s Factory. Maverick became her record label and dabbled in the world of book publishing, photography and film.

By the time of the record’s release, Madonna was an icon at the height of her popularity. It also appeared during the height of a full blown Aids outbreak that made sex dangerous. As a result the icon began to challenge her audience in ways it didn’t want to be challenged, by appearing in videos as a gold-toothed dominatrix (Dita) in various forms of bondage, foisting tales of pleasurable and deviant sex onto an unsuspecting audience, and appearing totally naked for the entire world to see in the Sex book.

Sure Madonna had titillated and challenged her audience before, specifically in the realm of religion with the video for “Like A Prayer,” but many believed the Erotica project took it a step too far. For instance, the album’s title track and biggest single takes on the topic of bondage and poses the question “If I take you from behind, push myself into your mind when you least expect it, will you try and reject it?”… “Like A Virgin” this wasn’t! The video for the song was pulled from most outlets when it came out, and MTV deemed it to racy to be aired during the daytime, choosing to air it only after midnight.

Most of the record was produced by Madonna and Shep Pettibone, however the two strongest tracks, “Secret Garden” and today’s Song Of The Day, were produced by Madonna and André Betts. Betts had worked with Madonna before on the single “Justify My Love,” while Pettibone had remixed many of Madge’s singles for several years and was fresh off helming the production duties for the single “Vogue.”

Erotica was Madonna’s most clubby record featuring frosty beats and a cold, remote sound throughout. Today’s sextastic Song Of The Day about the pleasures of cunnilingus features a sinuous bass line and the very clever lyrics “I’d like to direct your attention to something that needs directing to, A lot of people talk about dining in eating out, I guess that’s what this song is all about…” and “Colonel Sanders says it best, finger licking good. Let’s put what you learned to the test, can you make a fire without using wood. Are you still hungry; aren’t you glad we came, I’m glad you brought your raincoat, I think it’s beginning to rain…”

While I wouldn’t say the record creates the ultimate party atmosphere, it does have several audacious dance tracks including the clubby disco house of the single “Deeper And Deeper,” “Thief Of Hearts” and a cover of Little Willie John’s “Fever,” in which Madonna channels an even icier Peggy Lee than on the original hit version.

The songs “Bad Girl” and “Rain” come closest to the sound of Madonna’s earlier hits with Madonna singing in full on voice, and “Why’s It So Hard” offers a plea for peace and solidarity that is also a throwback to earlier triumphs. These songs provide some necessary relief from the somewhat steely, detached word speak of tracks like “Bye Bye Baby” (“This is not a love song…”) and “Words.”

Elsewhere Madonna get personal in the lounge jazz of the record’s best cut “Secret Garden” in which Madge ponders “You plant the seed and I’ll watch it grow, I wonder when I’ll start to show” and on “In This Life” that mourns the loss of artist Keith Haring and one of Madonna’s mentors from early in her career to the Aids epidemic.

Along with Bedtime Stories which was this record’s follow up, Madonna would never reach the creative heights she did here. While she managed to come close six years later with her album Ray Of Light, it was sadly all downhill from here.

Filed Under: Alternative, Chillwave, Dream Pop, Easy Listening/Pop, Experimental, FUNK, Motown, Music, Popular, R'n'B/Soul, Rap & Hip Hop, Song of the Day Tagged With: Andre Betts, Dance, Erotica, Madonna, Music, Shep Pettibone, Song Of The Day by Eric Berman, Where Life Begins

About Eric Berman

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us

RSS
Follow by Email
Facebook
Facebook
fb-share-icon
Twitter
Visit Us
Follow Me
Tweet
YouTube
YouTube
LinkedIn
Instagram
Reddit
FbMessenger

Search

What you don’t see on this site:

Obnoxious ads, click bait, annoying popups.

That’s because we respect your right to get information, hear good music, and enjoy your time surfing without being bombarded, or forced to close the popups.

All we ask is to tell more people about InternetFM, and if you feel generous, please drop something in the tip jar.

Contributions can be used towards any subscription service we may offer in the future.

More to See

Still Worri3D

Still Worri3D

January 24, 2023 By Marty Masters

3WhyD

3WhyD

January 16, 2023 By Marty Masters

For Content Submissions:

PLEASE, PLEASE go to our content guidelines page BEFORE sending unsolicited requests for paid or guest posts. We are unlikely to respond to direct inquiries.

How to Contact Us In Studio

When we are live on the air to request a song or leave a comment:

email: use our contacts page

phone: Google Voice- +1 224-662-1240

Discord: https://discord.gg/TPm7yPy4Sg
#live-show-feedback

RSS Feed – Enter your email address

Footer

Menu

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Information
  • Media Kit
  • Press Releases
  • Official InternetFM Merchandise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Our Core Values
  • Internships
  • Take Down Policy
  • Site Map
  • Business Services
  • Terms & conditions

this site is owned and maintained by:

InternetFM, Inc.
Lake Bluff, IL

224.662.1240

Contact us

Tags

Aerosmith Black Sabbath Blues Bob Dylan Bruce Springsteen Chicago Chicago Bears Classic Rock Country David Bowie Elvis Presley Eric Clapton Folk Genesis Green Bay Packers Jazz Jimi Hendrix John Lennon King Crimson Led Zeppelin Links - Rock and Roll Music NFL Paul McCartney Pink Floyd Pop Queen R&B Rock Rockabilly Roxy Music Rush Song Of The Day by Eric Berman Soul The Allman Brothers Band The Beatles The Doors The Grateful Dead The Jukebox Series The Rolling Stones The Who U2 Van Halen Yes ZZ Top

Search

Recent

  • Today in Rock History – February 2
  • Today in Rock History – February 1
  • 3D Changes 2 Come
  • Today in Rock History – January 31
  • Today in Rock History – January 30

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress ·