Erotica, the Videos (1992-1993)
Mining Madonna's Erotica era videos as a blueprint for risk taking in pop
Though the Billboard charts tell a different story, I continue to believe that we are living in a pop girlie summer. My Twitter feed is full of delightfully unhinged fan edits of Kesha’s Joyride. I still identify anything in slime green as “BRAT!”, the word exiting my mouth multiple times a day without my control as if I am possessed by unseen forces. “Bumpin’ that!” is also shorthand for pretty much anything that makes me happy. And as a fan of Emails I Can’t Send, I am genuinely happy for Pennsylvania native Sabrina Carpenter’s rise this year after her 2022 single Nonsense. I will go to my grave believing that this song was a scrapped Ariana Grande demo, yuhs and all. Yes, men are charting big with country and rap (not my ministry), but I feel personally seen by the BPMs finally being turned up and goofy ass lyrics being embraced. As these things usually go, for me, all roads lead back to the Queen of Pop.
A short clip of Madonna’s Bad Girl, recently surfaced on my feed. I was surprised to learn this ballad was from the Erotica album, which personally was most notable for the house anthem Deeper and Deeper. While revisiting this album, which came out when I was nine, I learned of the seismic impact of its rollout and this era of Madonna. It felt like a perfect time to revisit a blueprint to micro dose for taking risks with an album release. The Erotica album was released in conjunction with her explicit art book, Sex, with photography by fashion legend Steven Meisel. It was a high concept high design project that made me feel like I was violating a public wifi rule by viewing it at a coffee shop. In the NYTimes review, critic Stephen Holden said at the time,
“...Madonna claimed, with justification, that she wasn't taken seriously as an artist and that her work was dismissed as expert "marketing." In fact, Madonna's audacious confusion of the public and the private and her synergy of music, video, photography and literature are unprecedented for a pop singer. In exhibiting her naked body, her supposed sexual fantasies (whether they are hers or not, who really knows for sure?) and her sexual politics for mass-market consumption, Madonna may be the ultimate performance artist.”
Sex opens with the introduction, "Everything you are about to see and read is a fantasy, a dream, pretend," and across 128 pages, what unfolds is Madonna, mostly naked throughout, exploring sexual fantasies with many partners (some famous, like Naomi Campbell, Big Daddy Kane, and then boyfriend Vanilla Ice), including but not limited to BDSM, queerness, three and foursomes, anilingus, and more. It remains one of the most unique books I have ever seen, as the graphic design is an incredible mix of mediums that further enhance the diary feel. I still cannot imagine any other singer being able to release this book so please do not give Katy Perry or Jojo Siwa any ideas. The album is also one of the first to be made with Maverick, her own multimedia company that was underwritten by Warner Music Group at the time, marking a moment of creative and financial control for the artist.
You would think that the lead single Erotica would set the tone for this time period, but not quite and that’s what I’d like you to take note of. There are currently many woman gunning for the Main Pop Girl title and the ones that are struggling to gain traction are failing to connect via sound, subject matter or authenticity. It feels unfair to compare any of these women to Madonna as I have never seen someone shape shift in the way she does so seamlessly for over 40 years. And in this case, an impressive amount of times for one album cycle. Her previous release This Used to Be My Playground, was a companion to her role in A League of Their Own and has now become my go-to Instagram sample for every time they close a Wawa in Philadelphia. The video for Erotica is a shot in the arm tonally – shot mostly on Super 8 film which hints at a snuff film. Madonna impersonates a few characters including our narrator Dita, in a molded leather mask, slicked back platinum hair, dominatrix fit and a gold cap covering one of her front teeth. While the tooth can be viewed as another version of Madonna’s trying on of Black culture, as she had done previously with Vogue’s signature choreo, it bothers me far less than the way that a certain pop singer dresses. The video premiered at midnight due to its sexual content with an intro from Kurt Loader (simpler times!) splicing Pasolini inspired bondage scenes with light hearted romping at the beach and closing with Madonna in full vamp, teased hair and heels, brazenly hitchhiking naked in Miami and damn, the body is TEA.
The second single, Deeper and Deeper is a house music/soul mashup just begging you to come to the dance floor. The bridge featuring castanets, flamenco guitar and even has a perfect call back to Vogue. The accompanying video is all Studio 54 camp drawing inspiration from Warhol’s Factory and art films. Madonna is softer here, still platinum but wearing a soft finger wave, sparkly hair clips and at one point dons at afro that is giving chemo-Samantha-Jones but we will just keep moving along. What I love most about Deeper and Deeper as a song is that has melancholic undertone. Her friends litter the video including bestie Debbie Mazar, music exec Guy Oseary, actor Udo Kier, and even a baby faced Sofia Coppola. Overall its a vibe shift from Erotica and just when we think she’s holding strong to her dance roots the third single drops.
The next release, Bad Girl, is a somber ballad about a woman masking pain via destructive behaviors: “drunk by six”, “smoked too many cigarettes today” she croons. Bad Girl feels like a premonition to TLC’s Waterfalls which warned of the destructive path of risky behaviors set amongst the backdrop of the AIDS crisis. Madonna’s version, however, feels more self-flagellating than finger-wagging. What strikes me most about this song and video is how different in tempo and tone it is from its predecessors. Never let them know your next move I guess? In the impeccably styled video, Madonna channels a despondent Marlene Dietrich-like office siren in Alaïa, sporting Lauren Bacall’s bouncy pin curls and Kylie’s heavy-handed lip. The moody clip ends with her murder, implying a connection to her poor life choices. Christoper Walken offers a cryptic presence as her guardian angel. The vibes, courtesy of sometime collaborator director David Fincher, are immaculate.
Madge brings the tempo back up with Fever – a cover of Peggy Lee who was covering Little Willie John. Her studio partner Shep Pettibone said the song came about when Madonna was humming Fever in a recording session. Together they created a pulsating dance track with backing marimbas and a distant vocal delivery. The visual is a complete departure from Bad Girl. RIP, Steve Jobs, you would have loved the kaleidoscopic iOS backgrounds Madonna used in the Fever video. The simple treatment is a testament to her star power with simple sets and dancing being the focus. This woman pulls off a Cheeto red pussycat wig and I swear on Michelle Visage that it hasn’t been done since. Medieval inspired looks from Vivienne Westwood, embellished touches from Jean Paul Gaultier and a traditional Thai headdress (yes, I know) add a global feeling and a rich palette (a possible influence on Janet’s Together Again which was Gaultier heavy). Throughout we see her painted silver, wearing a matching chain mail slip and a flame like Peter Savic headpiece borrowed from a British Vogue editorial. Madonna sticks out her tongue channeling the Hindi Goddess Kali, a symbol of many things including power and death.
The video for Rain, lens by Mark Romanek (Closer by Nine in Nails, Scream by Michael Jackson), takes us to the stage. Its all nuts and bolts and a peek into the depths of perfect image making. I personally love this kind of treatment, give me a big soundstage, crew members coming in and out of frame, people applying the last looks of makeup and a director calling the shots nearby (see: Too Funky by George Michael, Ava Adore by Smashing Pumpkins and Liberian Girl by Michael Jackson to name a few!) Madonna switches it up again with a spiky black pixie cut, a Louise Brooks brow, clean tailored looks (quiet luxury?) and Adidas Gazelles (she’s a woman of the people). Romanek casts his proxy Japanese director and a stylish crew to match. If Erotica started with a crackling lo-fi vintage record sound Rain is polished, sleek and a nod to the future. I couldn’t find a music video for the final single Bye Bye Baby (a weaker track on the album if you ask me). She did perform it at the MTV awards that year but by then, understandably she had seemed to run out of steam.
Six singles, fve videos, and five very distinct concepts. And I am not even sharing the interview looks she wore during the press junket. I’d be remiss to not share that this album was less commercially successful that her other efforts but a watershed moment in pop that gave influence on many of the girls to come! Being a chameleon with a point of view is something thats currently expected of our musicians but its really hard to pull off; And having taste for that matter is not guaranteed even with the backing of a major record label or the vocal chops. Madonna’s taste is undeniable and her references are deep, even when they don’t land perfectly they’re cool, challenging, or delivered with an infectious confidence. Don’t Tell Me, which was released twenty four years ago features a Rhinestone Cowboy aesthetic that millions of fans chased for Beyonce’s Renaissance tour last Summer.
“You have to be really hot in a scary way.” - Gabbriette, in the 360 Video
Madonna did the scary hot thing first and best. She can command and tease in the same breath, acting as both maestro and damsel with a rawness that is harder and harder to come by these days. While the Sex book was marketing, you look at it and you’re like this woman just LOVES to have sex, and how empowering is that for others to see even if in part its made to sell music. In this moment of music with the breakneck speed of releases, deluxe midnight releases and chart shenanigans it seems hard to try things on, or to get weird, especially knowing the reaction can be a keyboard guillotine. To really express yourself you have to really know who you are and can one do that while chasing every microtrend and viral Tiktok sound their A&Rs are feeding to them. I’m not sure that these woman have time to ideate and experiment before the next single drops but I’ll continue to look on with hope. I’m a pop music STAN. And until things change, there’s always Madonna’s Youtube channel.