Readings: Dylan on Madonna

It seems that it has always been fashionable for the prudes, the hipsters, and the envious to knock Madonna. I may need to cop to having been among them when she first splashed onto the scene in New York City. But that all changed at some later point when I read up on her life story--I don't remember where--and realized that the woman had paid her dues, worked her ass off, and turned a modicum of talent and beauty into a uniquely innovative, ground-breaking pop music industry. That she is from my home state of Michigan didn't hurt, either. That after coming to New York City to "make it," she studied Graham technique modern dance under Pearl Lang (for whom I worked for awhile, back in the 1970s) served to enhance my admiration. Today, Madonna is being mocked by the assholes of the world for not looking like she's 20-something as she approaches age 60. Well, fuck them.

Yesterday, as I was surfing around on Facebook, I came across somebody's blog post that somebody else had shared and that showed up on my news feed. The post contained quotes from a 1991 Bob Dylan interview with Paul Zollo that had appeared in Songwriters on Songwriting, whatever that was.  I was surprised to see that Dylan--easily the most influential musical figure in my life--shared my good opinion of Ms. Ciccone--and for the same basic reason:

Dylan considers what it takes to be among the few rare exceptions worthy of true creative respect:

"Madonna’s good, she’s talented, she puts all kinds of stuff together, she’s learned her thing… But it’s the kind of thing which takes years and years out of your life to be able to do. You’ve got to sacrifice a whole lot to do that. Sacrifice. If you want to make it big, you’ve got to sacrifice a whole lot."

And that she did. Thanks, Madonna. And thank you, Bob.
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Readings: A Cabal for the Ages

My copy of The New Yorker magazine with the Obama cartoon cover arrived in today’s mail, even as the brouhaha it created begins to end in a whimper. (Did I mention that, of all the many political, news, and cultural mags to which I’ve subscribed over the years, The New Yorker is the only one I still take?) Well, it is—and here’s why:

The Ryan LIzza story about Obama isn’t even close to being the most interesting piece in the July 21, 2008 edition. Consider, for instance, the article “Surfing the Universe” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells. This piece tells us the strange and wonderful story of a snowboarding beach boy who earned a Ph.D. in physics from UCSD at the age of 31 and then essentially dropped out of sight for most of the following decade, only to reemerge claiming to have discovered The Theory of Everything – the Holy Grail of Physics. More gripping than politics is this stuff, people.

But this one issue of The New Yorker can top even that. Are you familiar with the towering, magisterial, literary critic and thinker, Harold Bloom, who resides somewhere down in the ivy at Yale University? If not, begin learning about him here. I’ve read many of his books. They are all strange and challenging and…awe-inspiring. I sometimes think that Harold Bloom is buggier than a hillbilly hatband, but few writers have engaged me at so fundamental a level.

So, I ask you: In what slick periodical other than The New Yorker is one apt to find an article (“The Spiritual Life – H-Bloo on A-Rod” by Ben McGrath) that features the surrealistic constellation of baseball superstar, Alex Rodriguez; perennially dominant diva, Madonna; and Ivory Tower guru, Harold Bloom? You’re not gonna find stuff like this in the National Review or The Nation. No way.

How are these mind-bending connections made? Well, for starters, A-Rod has a plug and Madonna has a socket. You can work out a Big Apple celebrity mise-en-scene that works for you concerning how that juice allegedly started flowing. Harold Bloom, it turns out, is a big Yankee fan. Madonna and Bloom are both into Kabbalah. And A-Rod cites the Material Girl as his soul-mate. Hey, presto! This piece may come closer to the Unified Field Theory than the one cited above.

Bottom line: subscribe to The New Yorker; become acquainted with the mind-expanding writings of Harold Bloom; check out Madonna’s rendition of “Fever” on the Erotica album…

…and remember who sent you there.

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ADDENDUM: Since the article I'm raving about is entitled "H-Bloo on A-Rod" I guess that I should give you some Bloom on Rodriguez. Here goes:

"The great Alex Rodriguez, the famous A-Rod, is not a clutch performer," he said. "He compiles these enormous statistics, but every time I make the mistake of looking at a game he comes up with two out and men on second and third, and does nothing."

A-Rod no good in the clutch? Uh, Madonna -- feel free to chime in here, if you like.