All I want to do is talk about Madonna

Kenny and Mark begin the new season as Madonna embarks on a new era with the yearning and beautiful theme song from the WITH HONORS soundtrack. Topics include: Miami, Joe Pesci, Moira Kelly, Brenden Fraser, Alex Keshishian, basketball games, stand-in back-up singers, that disappointing music video, the many Maverick projects a-brewing, and - oh yes - the Letterman appearance in the early spring of 1994. Dave’s getting soft and we’re starting HARD.

Mark and Kenny dig into the first song on the first side of the pivotal Bedtime Stories album - a musical crossroad for Madonna. Topics include: the (brief) return of Niki Haris and Donna De Lory, the wide-array of star collaborators, the searching cover art and design of the record, fixing the feud with Letterman, and how Madonna’s contemporaries may (or may not) have informed her new approach to making art and music. “And you thought we wouldn’t last …”

Happiness lies in Kenny and Mark’s hands as they discuss the powerful first single from Bedtime Stories, including it’s visually brilliant (if narrative-light) video. Topics include: Dallas Austin, Melodie McDaniel, the power of an acoustic guitar, Madonna’s warpaint look, pregnancy rumors, and a bizarre side trip down the streets of Philadelphia (tell the boys at Woody’s hello!). Share your secrets.

Bedtime Stories gets truly funky as Mark and Kenny discuss the meeting of Tupac Shakur & Madonna. Topics include: Dave Hall, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Rosie Perez, Jada Pinkett, Lou Donaldson’s “It’s Your Thing” sample, and the arrival of Maverick artist (and bassist extraordinaire) ME’SHELL NDEGEOCELLO. All that we know is her albums are classics - check ‘em out!

Kenny withholds his appreciation of this mid-tempo charmer and suggests an alternate version of Bedtime Stories, leaving Mark scrambling for worthy substitutions, including lost b-sides “Let Down Your Guard” and “Your Honesty,” and sending a warning shot into Season Four. Sing La Di Da De and Happy New Year!!

Mark and Kenny celebrate the breathy hidden gem of Bedtime Stories - and the transformative aspects of time, experiences, and strong songwriting (not to mention some killer samples and production!) to celebrate the role of Madonna’s mother on her art and the path she continues to chart in her life. Here’s to a soaring 2022 for us all!

Madonna musically addresses her critics for the first time with a funky Dave Hall-penned anthem and a definitive video (welcome back to the party, Jean-Baptiste Mondino!) as Kenny and Mark explore misogyny, punk, Main Source, a new perspective on the reception of the Sex book, Bettina Rheims, the Bottom Heavy Dub (and that maxi-single!), Norman Mailer’s interview for Esquire, Ruby Wax, and Princess Diana. Bring on the chameleonic syllabus!!

Mark and Kenny face their own forbidden fears about love while grooving to the first collaboration with Babyface Edmonds. Topics include the superstar sequencing of Bedtime Stories, the musical beauty of whispering, the rumored musical video, the shadow disco song of the same name, Mike the Trainer, and a sexy jaunt through 90s radio R&B. Plus, the imagined first meeting in Central Park with … Carlos Leon!

Kenny and Mark share a heart-to-heart about love and vulnerability (and a major appreciation for the song craft of Madonna and Dave Hall) over this pagan to loneliness and romantic disappointment (accompanied by some mournful mandolins), as well as paying impromptu tribute to a singer-songwriter kindred spirit.

Mark and Kenny explore what may prove to be THE key track on Bedtime Stories that points the way towards the future. Discussed along the way: Herbie Hancock, Walt Whitman, Mary Oliver, Natalie Imbruglia, Tina Turner, and post-punk cult band Ednaswap (where’s that demo, Anna & Scott?!).

Kenny and Mark decode (and discover divination!) in the Bjork-penned title song from Bedtime Stories. Topics include Mark Romanek, Kurt Loder, Alison Stewart, Junior Vasquez, the female surrealist painters of yore, and a certain notorious pajama party in the early spring of 1995. Let’s get unconscious, honey.

Mark and Kenny bid adieu to Bedtime Stories with this masterpiece of a ballad. Topics include Babyface, the indispensable Kurt Loder, Emilio Munoz, the influence of “I Will Always Love You,” VH1, Justin Timberlake, and Kenny’s romantic fantasy about Madonna and her directors. The show is over … but there’s also a request at the top of the show to you, dear listeners! Show us what you got!

Kenny and Mark share further personal stories of heartbreak and sorrow as they celebrate (and critique) the seminal ballads collection from 1995. Topics include: Philadelphia, St. Elmo’s Fire, David Foster, Katherine McPhee, Waitress: The Musical, America’s Next Top Model, the arrival of mixer extraordinaire David Reitzas, Michael Haussman, video sequels, Shirley Bassey, first class seats, Forrest Sawyer, Susan Boyle, changing up the setlist, Ingrid Casares, MASSIVE ATTACK, the lost “I Can’t Forget”, Marvin Gaye, Tilt, Ernie Barnes & the Sugar Shack, Dorothy Parker, and Madonna’s tormented relationship with the telephone. “Do you feel the intensity?” Well, put on your favorite Versace pantsuit and settle IN!

Mark geeks out on musical theatre with our Special Guest Dr. Emily Clark, while Kenny grapples with his avoidance of the Original Broadway Cast Album to Evita - and everyone dives DEEP into the long and winding journey Evita took from the stage to screen and Madonna’s biggest (and best?) film performance to date. Topics include: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice, Julie Covington, Elaine Paige, money notes, People magazine, Hal Prince, Patti LuPone, Mandy Patinkin, Jonathan Pryce, Oliver Stone, Robert Stigwood, Liza Minnelli (in a blonde wig), Meryl Streep, Antonio Banderas, Jimmy Nail, Francis Ford Coppola, politics in filmmaking, REMIXES REMIXES REMIXES, the Golden Globes, Billy Crystal and the Academy Awards, Celine Dione, Barbra Streisand, intense & translated press conferences, brown contact lenses, more handwritten letters, and where Madonna goes from here. It’s another uber-episode and we are thrilled to welcome Dr. Emily Clark - a professor of musical theater at Marymount Manhattan

After making fans wait nearly four years, Madonna delivers what may prove to be her first true blue rock album Ray of Light and commences with a moody ballad (co-written with new collaborator William Orbit) of new credos and fresh religions. Meanwhile, Kenny and Mark tie up a lot of loose threads as we head into the “Spiritual Girl” era and celebrate the inspiring return of Pat Leonard. Topics include: Animal Kingdom, the MTV and those pesky VMA, Kurts Loder and Cobain, Prodigy, Britney Spears, Princess Diana, Beck, Maverick Records, the Pre-Madonna album and “Crimes of Passion”, Jose & Luis, Elizabeth Taylor & Shirley Maclaine, Yoga & Gwenyth Paltrow, Rick Nowels, Rob Sheffield, San Sebastian Strings, Water Stern, the poetry of David Collins (RIP), Courtney Love and HOLE, BT&Sasha, Kenny’s writing chum Nathan Parker, the Rolling Stone Women In Rock September 1997 issue, and the realization that Madonna is really starting to chill out in London. Is it “traded fame for love” or “trad

Mark and Kenny swim to the ocean floor with a deep dive into the career of William Orbit as well as the apocalyptic, riff-filled second track from Ray of Light. Topics include Orbit’s Strange Cargo series, composer Samuel Barber, Torch Song, Laurie Mayer, All Saints and The Beach soundtrack, Gianni Versace, Beth Orton’s Central Reservation, Britney Spears’ Britney Jean, Blur’s 13, David Cronenberg’s CRASH and the inspiring novelist JG Ballard. Let the water (and the music) wash all over you!

Kenny and Mark celebrate the 100th episode of All I Want To Do is Talk About Madonna with a return to the dance floor and a definitive Madonna classic of rebirth and a true return. Topics include the twisty-turning way this song was written, created and re-created, the wild (and golden) video and mega-remixes, Veronica Electronica, and the many, many live incarnations of the song - including a return visit to the Oprah Winfrey Show. Feel something, baby!!

Mark and Kenny suck on a bunch of theories as to who (and what) this song is about with a discussion of the many pop princess successors nipping at Madonna’s heels and a close examination of the mystical lyrics to this psychedelic gem. Kenny grapples with Madonna’s relationship with the guitar and Mark makes a shocking prediction for his own future. Also: Enter Guy Ritchie.

Kenny and Mark celebrate a centerpiece track on Ray of Light - including exploring the early “Flirtation Dance” demo and the lost “Revenge” - as well as a rare visit into the studio with Madonna. I’m not like this all the time, Veronica Electronica!!!

Mark and Kenny dive deep - no, really deep - in a warts-and-all conversation about the complicated and confounding final single from Ray of Light. Topics include the musical clash between Marius de Vries and William Orbit, the return of Niki Haris and Donna DeLory, a spin around the East Village with Kruder & Dorfmeister, building an entire video around a literary pseudonym, the one subject that still upsets Madonna, Kenny works out with Rupert Everett, and a winning visit to the Grammy Awards. PLUS, Kenny and Mark unearth and endlessly unpack the true Madonna biopic - the 1998 VH1 special (and essential) Madonna Rising. There’s even a cameo by Larry King. Tell Bad Boy Johnny we want our synths back!

Kenny and Mark settle back down for a vulnerable chat about the ethereal and charging seventh song on Ray of Light - is following our heart really a very good place to start? What kind of movies should Madonna have been making all along?

Mark and Kenny bow to the lotus feet of the gurus and stretch into a proper down dog pose to prepare for this spiritual apex to Ray of Light. Topics include yoga classes in the East Village, the power of a flute solo, a first-pass discussion of famed official B-Side “Has to Be” and Madonna’s second, antics-filled appearance on The Rosie O’Donnell Show. Now translate this into Sanskrit!

Kenny and Mark keep their hearts (and, one hopes, minds) open as they explore the inner mysteries and magnificent heartbreaks of THE Orbit/Leonard/Madonna collaboration (and lead single) of Ray of Light. Topics include Carlos Leon, a fortuitous professional break-up letter, the perils of the California high deserts, and those strings … so don’t be surprised when Madonna shows up to sing at YOUR Benefit for the Rainforest!

Mark and Kenny examine the wild and woolly intricacies of the affairs of the heart (yet again) on the other “pop single” from Ray of Light. Topics include STEVIE NICKS!, Rick Nowels, Matthew Rolston, Goran Višnjić, Luke Slater, Gloria Estefan, Meryl Streep, Ellen Degeneres, and the scattered (and sped up?) promotional performances. There’s nothing left to say … so head on over to a sample sale and buy Kenny a jumpsuit, will you please??

Kenny and Mark take hold of this album track and the final act of Madonna’s tale of lost love - and ponder the different directions her story could have taken, through the demos for “Has to Be” and the lost “Gone Gone Gone.” Plus, a drive-by discussion of the duet with Ricky Martin “Be Careful (Cuidado)” and charting the growth of Madonna’s formidable songwriting skills. Is Ray of Light ultimately too long? Will Breathless Mahoney ever find a drummer for her run at the Coconut Grove?

Motherhood arrives musically for Madonna, and Mark and Kenny discuss parenthood, the forgotten Like a Flower, the legacy of mothers and daughters, and a return to Chicago and the Oprah Winfrey Show. Plus, Kenny makes a provocative joke. Butterfly!

Kenny and Mark wrap up a twisty-turvy season full of growth, artistic challenges and discoveries, lots and lots of change, and a breathtaking final musical statement on Ray of Light. Topics include Michigan, Joan Ciccone, the value Madonna gets from keeping things simple, and a searching discussion of home. Plus, Mark breaks one of his cardinal conversation rules - yep, the word “journey” is BACK! Thank you for listening this season … we will see you very soon, Strangers.

Kenny and Mark succumb to the rising temps and revealing short-shorts with a hot and dirty (and a little messy) romp through Madonna’s dazzling contribution to the Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack. Topics include the troubled relationship with Andrew Bird and his random encounter with Guy Ritchie, the doomed discography of solo Spice Girls, the influence of the 60s psychedelic band LOVE, Victor Calderone’s graduation from Madonna Remix College, the rich legacy of Kevin Aucoin, Mike Myers, a young Kathryn Hahn, a certain tribute at the MTV Music Awards, the recorded reunion of The Bangles, and hanging out with Beatles. Do I make you horny, baby?