Madonna: The Discography Rate - COMPLETE | Page 503 | The Popjustice Forum

Madonna: The Discography Rate - COMPLETE

Discussion in 'Charts, rates etc' started by RJF, Apr 19, 2020.

  1. RJF




    It's bedtime.


    SCORE: 9.161

    11 x 1


    2015 PLACEMENT: UP 2 - 22 of 210 (8.81)
    HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 63 (@Andreas @Tigerlily @cheida @Raichu @No hay banda @dodoriazarbon @eatyourself @nanafan @djmakemewet @discoteca @rdp @maverick_79 @tylerc904 @rav4boy @OSHi @DJHazey @soratami @GimmeWork @Mirwais Ahmadzaï @Mjg0806 @relby @Jonathan27 @elear @paullypaul @fatyoshi @Up Down Suite @godspeed @CasperFan @torontodj @theelusivechanteuse @1991 @Dreampopboy @NightmareBoy @Modeblock @Daniel_O @DominoDancing @Hurricane Drunk @scottdisick94 @Drew @Sideout @MilesAngel @RetroPhysical @joeee @Xanax @TrueBeliever @DinahLee @Jimmyandroid @Crisp X @Pop Life @clowezra @Rogue @wintersleep @evilsin @TheChoirgirlHotel @Remorque @Digital Ghost @LTG @nametag @Markus1981 @Music Is Life @Bangers&Bops @Weslicious @Maki)
    LOWEST SCORE: 5 x 1 (@gezza76)​
    MY SCORE: 8.5/10 ​

    To sleep, perchance to dream. Bedtime Stories departs the 2020 Discography Rate at the exact same place it did in 2015, only with a different song. Spooky! This time around it was the lead single rather than the fourth single that the voters rose up to the top of the album's tracklisting. They swapped places in five years, actually. "Secret" departs with a handsome score increase and a coveted spot in the Top 20. Not bad for a girl with no controversy. I feel like it's important to note that, while "Secret" received a handful less 10/10s than we've seen recently, that 5/10 lowest score is the only score it received that was lower than a 7/10. It just scored remarkably consistently.

    For me, "Secret" is less of a testament to Madonna's reinvention skills and more a testament to her survival instincts. Her reputation and career wounded after the Erotica backlash, she did what any injured animal does. She hid a bit, she camouflaged herself, she melted into the backdrop. And nothing really sums that up more than "Secret", which effortlessly blends her into the popular genres of the time. It's quiet, unassuming, but still rock solid with just a dash of that Madonna magic that people were maybe starting to become immune to. Originally starting life in the hands of Shep Pettibone and titled "Something's Coming Over Me", the song changed direction when Madonna went and hunted down Babyface and, in the case of this track, Dallas Austin, in search of ways back into the Top 10 on the Hot 100. And it worked. The song was certified Gold in the US and peaked at #3. It's not really hard to see why; while the track is typically Madonna in the sense that the secret she's talking about could be anything with the way she coyly plays it (and it's at this time I remember @push the button saying something along the lines of "something's coming over me... yeah, Dennis Rhodman." BYE!) it also sounds robust and contemporary; you could release "Secret" now and probably have a hit with it across several formats. Madonna slinks about in her lower range for most of it, introducing us to her soon-to-be-iconic humming, and Dallas Austin provides production that is warmer than Madonna's fur at the end of the video. Oh, and speaking of the video, it's... a bit


    Sometimes, things don't really age that well. What maybe seemed artistic in 1994 seems a little... "I am so into black people right now." in 2020. I mean, yes, Bedtime Stories overall takes cues from RnB and is literally produced by black people who were making hits for black artists, but I don't imagine a video like this from a white artist would be warmly received these days. It's just a bit like culture... tourism, if not appropriation. But I'm not really in a position to make these judgements.

    "Secret" was performed as part of Drowned World, and popped up once on the Rebel Heart Tour as part of the acoustic section where Madonna essentially put a bunch of her songs on a roulette wheel and picked one at random to perform. It was also performed on Wetten Dass in a fierce wig as part of the Bedtime Stories promo tour in Europe. It's all below for you to peruse at your leisure. Sound off in the comments below: what's your secret? Naughty reacts only haha ;)

    Bedtime Stories OUT.

  2. BTG


    I’ve never been too enamoured by Secret (I gave it a 7, I think?) so I’m not too bothered to see it exit.

    I am, however, aghast at anyone coming for Don’t Tell Me. Sort yourselves out.

  3. This is another one of those times where I genuinely wonder what a Bedtime Stories-centered tour would have looked like.
  4. The Junior’s remix probably would have been performed and I would have lived.
    Andrew.L and Andy French like this.
  5. Secret is immaculate and I'm extremely proud of this top 20 placement.
  6. WaiT. That Wetten Dass version is a non-shit remix of "Secret"!? Well hello, let's celebrate that!
    ~edit: I remembered the Some Bizzare mixes, which slay. I was shading the McDonna Junior's identikit ones.
    Last edited: Sep 21, 2020
  7. In my opinion, Secret should have swapped places with the much more essential and Madonna-like Human Nature, but you really can't fault some of its lyrics and her mournful delivery of them:

    Until I learned to love myself
    I was never ever lovin' anybody else
    Happiness lies in your own hands
    It took me much too long to understand

    Beautiful, just beautiful.
    achilles, GimmeWork, Pop Life and 3 others like this.
  8. I think it's just that the uploader remixed the song and put it on the footage, it's a great remix regardless

    This is the original performance with the original version

    I'm getting slightly scared for Deeper And Deeper, hopefully it will make at least top 15.
  9. Happy that this warm, scrumptious, inviting, but also somehow slightly

    little gem made it to the top 20.
  10. Secret is the first non-Immaculate Collection Madonna song I remember being aware of.

    A 10 on a good day but it got a 9.5 from me. We love a Madonna hum, yes we do.
    Maki and Andrew.L like this.
  11. Wow these last few eliminations have HURT!
    Maki likes this.
  12. I get a good kii out of her singing at a Harlem speakeasy or whatever, but I kinda stan the Secret video. It's stunning.

    Now everyone go watch If Beale Street Could Talk.

  13. Secret is a 10 (and I appropriately rated it as such) but I think #20 is a good place to go out on.
  14. Why are people calling for La Isla Bonita? It absolutely deserves top 10.

    @RJF do you know how many 11's are still in the running? I don't feel like that many have left overall.
  15. only one 11??????? the fuCK! well i'm glad it got to Top 20 at least. I firmly believe Secret is a once in a lifetime one of a kind track, that acoustic demo - even though i dont know if it's fake or not it's so special...
    Last edited: Sep 22, 2020
    Maki likes this.
  16. "Secret" is a massive loss for me. I'm sad...


    One of my favourite discoveries of the rate and probably her most 'drop dead gorgeous' type of song. I was swept away by it upon first listen.
    Such a stunning masterpiece that belongs nowhere else but top 5 Madonna. Of course I didn't expect it to go that far, but I really hoped it would do a bit better.

    It received less 10's compared to the last five eliminations, which most likely means it was very consistently scored, so at least I'm glad to see that.
    Oh, this is actually great.

    Wonderful 11 choice, @BreatheBox!
  17. RJF


    No idea babe lmao
  18. It's an incredible track and genuinely timeless. But it's not ever a track I'd call one of my favourites.

    - hold the fuck on, did I miss 'Express Yourself' leaving? What?!
  19. I'm most interested in how many 11's the top 5 share just between them.
  20. The rate has really helped me understand and appreciate the Bedtime Stories era more. You have to look at the paradigm shift in music that Madonna was navigating in order to truly get what it stands for in her discography, I think.