Madonna’s Rolling Stone cover featuring a photo from 1986
Jaybird already covered part of Madonna’s new Rolling Stone cover interview yesterday, but this thing is huge, and Madge covered a lot of subjects. For a refresher, Jaybird covered the parts of the interview where Madge talked about Lady Gaga (“I see myself in Lady Gaga”), and Madge’s own early hits (“I feel retarded singing ‘Into the Groove’”). Rolling Stone hasn’t released the entirety of the interview, they’re just releasing drips and drabs here and there, but I have to say, I think this is one of the most exhaustive interviews Madge has ever done. Here are some more of the highlights:
Madge on her divorce to Guy Ritchie: “It was a challenging year… I may have thrown myself off a building. I think work saved me, and I’m very grateful [for that].”
Madonna on Guy Ritchie’s joint custody of Rocco and David: “Life is an adjustment. My sons aren’t with me right now, they’re with their father, and I’m not very comfortable with the idea of my children not living together.”
On her “Benetton ad” family: “My like house is like a Benetton ad. I have French nannies, my security guards are Israeli, I have assistants from Argentina and Puerto Rico as well as a Japanese assistant and chef, and another chef from Italy. It’s wonderful. I love it.”
On son David Banda (who Madge adopted in 2006 from Malawi): “David is my biggest fan. Everybody says that when he watches [my concerts,] he stays frozen from beginning to end, and he studies everything, and he knows every dance step.”
On Justin Timberlake: “He’s sort of Cary Grant.”
On Eminem: “I wanted to work with him… But he didn’t want to work with me. Maybe he’s shy.”
On her nude (and hairy) photos showing up in Playboy and Penthouse: “That was the first time I was aware of saying ‘F- you’ with my attitude. You’re trying to put me down because of this? I [wasn’t] going to let public opinion dictate my own feelings about myself. I [wasn’t] going to apologize for anything I’ve done.”
She was never really a bad girl: “I didn’t really have my first drink until I got divorced the first time – from Sean Penn – when I was 30. I was kind of a geek in high school. ‘Geek’ is not a word anyone uses to describe me, except perhaps [Confessions on a Dance Floor producer] Stuart Price, who once said, ‘You know, you’re a nerd at heart, nobody knows it.’ I took it as a compliment.”
On her first “provocative” performance in high school: “I had my girlfriends paint my body with fluorescent hearts and flowers. I wore a pair of shorts and a midriff top, and I just went mad. … I’m sure everyone thought I was insane. That was the beginning of my provocative performances, I guess.”
On reinvention: “I think people put a lot of emphasis on the whole reinvention of my image, and it’s always been a lot less calculated than people think. I think it’s boring to stay the same. A girl likes to change her look.”
Worst fashion moment: “It was the purple lipstick, fluorescent-green sweater combo. … It’s OK, it was the Eighties. It was a bad-hairstyle era. Let’s face it.”
On Paul McCartney’s “boring” live performances: “People have told me, ‘You could just go out there and play guitar and sing your songs like Paul McCartney,’ but I’d be too bored. Most of the joy of the shows is the magic of creating them — theater. I’m a perfectionist. I like hard work. I like to sweat.”
[From Rolling Stone’s Rock Daily, Page Six, Us Weekly & Gatecrasher]
I actually liked Madge in this interview. She’s a lot better when she doesn’t edit herself or get too uptight about what she shouldn’t or won’t say. Trust me, I’ve read some absolutely horrific interviews with Madge (like Vanity Fair’s 2008 epic fail cover story) where she basically snipes “yes” or “no” at the reporter in between pontificating on why she’s so great. Could it be that Madge is turning a wee bit softer in her fifties?
Madonna is shown at the VMAs on 9/13/09. Credit: L. Gallo/WENN.com
Bennetton is still around?
She’s lying…she had her “first drink” when she was 30. Bwwaahhhaa, who is she trying to kid here?
“Geek” isn’t a word to describe you back in our high school days, either. In fact there are a few choice words that would describe you a whole lot better. One comes to mind: SLUT.
Firestarter – LOL, that was my first thought, too! Well, she is an ’80s girl…
Her adopted son is her “biggest fan”. says it all, doesn’t it?
Also, did this senile hag just compare Justin Timberpuss to Cary Grant? hell to the no!
No, she couldn’t “stand up there with a guitar like Paul McCartney” because her songs are not up to snuff for that kind of treatment, and neither is her voice or her guitar “playing”. This photo reminds me of how amazing she looked in her prime. Nobody photographs like Madonna.
I know this is just a personal opinion, but I’d rather see a singer just sit on stage with his/her guitar and perform their music. That’s why I like singers, because they can actually sing, they don’t have to hide behind choreography, not that it isn’t fun, but the best concert I have ever seen was George Strait, and he just sat there with a guitar and a spotlight, it was incredible!
narcissism on a cracker.
so yummy.
Alarmjaguar – I agree. The best concert I have ever seen was Jason Mraz. He played and acoustic guitar and his long time percussionist played the bongos. He could sing the phone book and I’d buy the CD.
On the other hand, I have never bought any of Madonna’s music.
Madonna can’t write, sing or play music well. She needs to create the spectacle to distract us from her lame music.
With true artists, there is nothing better than just them singing. No distractions necessary.
She’s wealthy, single, creative, and in fabulous shape. She looked amazing at the music awards. She works hard at whatever she does. From all accounts she is a good mother and takes care of her family. Enough said.
Naw, ‘true artists’ can be lots of things…
take Michael Jackson,Liza Minelli,Elton John,etc…’entertainers’ are still of value-and that includes dance and theatrical performances.
Only thing is,that’s ALL madonna has-is her theater-she does not have the singing,or instruments,to back it up. That part I agree with.
Oh yea,and *just* singing is also a true artist,as well. barbara streisand,whitney huston,lauryn hill,etc.
nothing wrong with madonna doing her thing…
and what do you expect her to say? um,well,i could do what Paul M. does b/c I suck too bad at it?
C’mon!!!
she does bug though,b/c all of her stuff is always a sort of ‘dig’ towards others…not just a contrast or comparison,but she has to dog them in her response.
Maybe divorce humbled Madonna. I always feel like she is trying to recreate herself into a new identity. She is brilliant, nonetheless. I have always admired her tenacity, and wish her well.
Madonna is in a competition with everyone. That’s where her drive stems. Try it sometime. Need motivation? Find someone or something to compete against.
She can’t play guitar. Been at it for years but she just isn’t talented in this arena. Her talent lies in ripping off others and making it her own.
That old photo is beautiful, though. No wonder she works so hard at her looks and defying aging. It’s gotta be tough watching that sort of beauty fade away.
I don’t care what she’s “accomplished” materially; I find her repulsive. She may have money + staying power, but she’s still an ego-driven, fame addict. She has “reinvented” herself so many times she has no idea who she is. Her stories are a bunch of lies to feed her constant need for publicity. At her age, you’d think she would have more wisdom, yet she comes off as bitter, childish and a fraud.
@YeaRight! – you went to school with Madonna, knew her back when she had 2 names? I wanna hear the “slut” stories! Spill!
Also it would be nice, one day, if every single one of my comments didn’t get put in moderation!?! I thought that was what happened to everyone until recently.
She actually used to look Italian, and now, she looks alien. She had surgery to remove everything Italian about her.
Sad.
She is a self absorbed dilusional bitch with a bunch of rubbish. Talenless as a piece of plastic that her face resembles.
Have to admit, her plastic surgeon is good. She has a different look recently.
Maybe it’s all that sex she’s having with her young feller.