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C O U R S E L E C T U R E Madonna as Disruptive Shock Artist Notes taken on March 31, 2016 by Edward Tanguay |
Michael Jackson and Madonna helped define
what MTV was going to be
how successful it could be as a force in the music business
a tool to bring artists to their audiences
both benefited quite a bit from MTV
both depend to a large extent on the physical presentation
there is a certain amount of theater and live performance
you've got to see what they are doing
you've got to see how Madonna is juxtaposing images
you've got to see how Michael Jackson is doing with this dance moves
their music depended on dance beats and hook-laden melodies
both Michael Jackson and Madonna arise out of the disco scene
disco began to fade at the beginning of the 1980s
but the idea that songs would be produced mainly for dancing continued to play a big part in the pop music industry
the idea that having music that was particularly good on the dance floor was good for business
originally from Gary, Indiana
a child star with the Jackson 5
moved to a new label and renamed themselves as the Jacksons
Michael Jackson launched a solo career as an adult
teamed up with Quincy Jones
Don't Stop Till You Get Enough
one of the most successful disco albums
many singles that make the top 5
most important single: Billie Jean
Jackson played Billy Jean in 1983
18 months of MTV playing to a Wayne's World type audience
before Michael Jackson's hits
Michael did the Moon Walk on public television
people wanted to see it on MTV
Want to be Starting Something
understood how to reach out and cross over to a white audience
duet with Paul McCartney: The Girl is Mine
Eddie Van Halen appears in video
the ambition that is starting to make its way into MTV
record company spent $500,000 to make the video
directed by John Landis
it becomes more than the song
the video itself is what you had to see
here's where the hippy aesthetic comes back
the way we present these things as video
five of which went to #1
the 80s were in many ways the decade of Michael Jackson
his later tragic death and the scandals that swirled around him may take our attention away from how big, important and popular he was in the 1980s
he was to the 80s what the Beatles were to the 60s
born and raised in Michigan
not too far from Gary, Indiana where Michael Jackson was born, 3 hours away
went to the University of Michigan
moved to New York to be a dancer
tried to get into various Broadway shows and productions
had more success with bands and groups pursuing music
produced by label: Sire Warner Bros
had produced records for punk and New Wave bands
you don't hear the edginess of what Madonna would become with the next album
happy on the dance floor, girlish voice, no sense of danger, a lot of fun, no sense of confrontation
album: Like a Virgin (1984)
Madonna doesn't just want to be a great dancer for AM radio and dance clubs
she wants to challenge and she wants to shock
shock us out of our complacency
subverts what people think women should be in our society
disruptive shock artist
her performance of Like a Virgin at the MTV Video Music Awards (1984)
starts out atop a wedding cake
she comes down off the cake
becomes a type of pole dance, extremely sexy, sensual and provocative
juxtaposed the virginal bride and the sexual woman
challenging men's expectations of women
in bedroom a sexual animal
it launch Madonna as an artist of some controversy
album: True Blue (1986)
album: Like a Prayer (1989)
fantasy sex with a religious icon of a saint
juxtaposing sex, guilt, the body, religion, spirituality
1985 Desperately Seeking Susan
was a role model for girls during the Like a Virgin era
more importantly, she became a role model for women artists
she took control of her career
delivered the message that women could not only be participants in the music business
they could be controllers and decision makers
casts a long shadow for women after her
she was a smart women who got us to think about some of our assumptions at a time when the culture really was changing in many ways
pop music can be important in this way since it brings a message to a large audience
and it can be entertaining as well
so in many ways, Madonna was a pivotal figure