All I want to do is talk about Madonna

Mark and Kenny do some yoga stretching out for a long and all-encompassing conversation about Madonna’s 2004 summer tour and the accompanying (and much-delayed) documentary. Topics include John Lennon, Guy Ritchie, Steven Klein and the tour book, Donna DeLory, Monte Pittman, the Ciccone winery, Stuart Price, random tour hats, Lainie Kazan, the battle over weather, Siedah Garrett, acoustic music ma...

Kenny and Mark welcome Special Guest Ted Kerr for a deep conversation about the epic final track (and life credo) from American Life.   Topics include mortality, Macy Rodman, Monte Pittman’s royalty checks, Alanis Morissette, co-op board letters, Patti Rothberg, the crossroads of ambition, Lauryn Hill’s “MTV Unplugged”, Madonna’s arc as a trend-setter, reinvigorating the tour cycle, Judy Blum...

Mark and Kenny salvage through the wreckage that is the much-needed final uptempo song on American Life .  Topics include Kylie Minogue, Matt Lauer, swinging nosy neighbors, album fatigue, the pros and cons of lyrical specificity, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Fun Home, childhood morals and lessons, the English Roses children’s book series, and Mark finally gets to talk about Joan Gustafson Cicc...

Kenny and Mark break apart a stunner of a song - and Stuart Price makes his co-writing debut!  A new era is percolating … Topics include behaving in church, struggling against the patriarchy, Swing Out Sister, baroque organs, PJ Harvey, Angelene, lost songs “Miss You” and “The Game”, fantastical set-list musings for the Celebration Tour, Steven Klein, Madonna as installation, Jimmy DeSana, Ze...

Kenny and Mark share secrets (and theories) about this haunting ballad tucked away on the home stretch of American Life .  Topics include child rearing, emotional vulnerability, addiction, the limits of providing aid, and  dealing with Australians who want to sing along. Plus, Kenny shuffles his track listing and “American Life” continues to haunt us all!

BONUS EPISODE: MADONNA AS MUSE: A Post-Performance Discussion Recorded LIVE on February 10, 2023 in London at the Omnibus Theatre in Clapham, Mark and Kenny sit down with playwright and performer Brian Mullin, director Deirdre McLaughlin, and fellow performer Dan De La Motte for a discussion about LIVE TO TELL: (A PROPOSAL FOR) THE MADONNA JUKEBOX MUSICAL and Madonna’s role as a muse and a conduit...

Mark makes a case for the lost third single from American Life as a forgotten classic and Kenny celebrates the enduring contributions of the talented Peter Rauhofer.  Topics include Jem Griffiths, Guy Sigsworth, traveling with a choir, acoustic guitars, religious institutions as albatrosses for true faith, and the moment on a Madonna record where the whole thing “pivots.”  Wherever she i...

Kenny and Mark chart the rise and heavy cost social media has demanded from society while discussing one of the most hauntingly prescient songs from American Life.   Plus, they dive into the careers of Mark “Spike” Stent and Mount Sims (and his magnificent Ultrasex album), celebrate Bjork’s Dancer from the Dance and Cher’s Burlesque,  answer a listener question, and discuss the current h...

Madonna asks some questions (and settles on some answers) in the shimmering fourth single from American Life .  Mark and Kenny discuss Fresca soda, husband engagement, campfire singing, Kenosha, Wisconsin, Regina Spektor, aborted singer-songwriter musical projects, Kenny’s coffee with Holly Knight, Cole Porter and the inaugural Red, Hot + Blue compilation, music industry shenanigans, Sting’s...

Kenny and Mark welcome Special Guest Khary Simon (Creative Director and co-editor/publisher of CRUSHfanzine) to discuss the great lost punk track of American Life.  Topics include … well, just listen.  This is seriously one of our favorite conversations.  Thank you, Khary.  CRUSHfanzine website

Mark and Kenny share their dabblings with Los Angeles, including bungalows, storage units, and random star sightings while discussing the cautionary second song (and second single!) from America Life. Topics include: Lisa Cholodenko, Hole, Velvet Underground, the influence of film noir on Madonna, Oscar parties, Debra Winger, Jean-Baptiste Mondino, Guy Bourdin, David Lynch’s Mullholland Drive and...

Kenny and Mark take the stage at the Omnibus Theatre in the gorgeous Clapham for a LIVE conversation about the disruptive and polarizing lead single from Madonna’s eleventh album.  Topics include: dinner parties, treasure trails, Prince’s Parade album, Napster, Morgan Webb, Kraftwerk and Taxi Girl, isotopes, Sixth Bodyguard Barry, Johnathan Ross, Kenny’s philosophical wrestle match with Kabba...

Kenny and Mark sync-up on the London trip packing lists, airport logistics, an episode correction, the social stigma of crossing the Thames, Kenny’s Ambien-tinged setlist wish list for the Celebration Tour, the valuable talent assistance of Billie Lourd, the re-emergence of MDNA, potentially watching “W.E.” on a plane, “Moonlighting”, Justine Bateman, and a harrowing prediction for the summer of 2...

Mark and Kenny take a break from the concert ticket queue to dive deep the game-changing and page-turning theme to Pierce Brosnan’s final outing as Bond … James Bond and Madonna’s menagerie of troubled women she portrays: Amber in SWEPT AWAY, Loren in UP FOR GRABS, and the mysterious Verity in DIE ANOTHER DAY, all the while eyeing another famous lady living in London and finally allowing her Kabba...

Kenny and Mark wrap up their four-part conversation of the Drowned World Tour with the return of both the Familiar and the Forward.  Topics include a return to EVITA, the musings of Elizabeth Gilbert, the triumph of Jean-Paul Gaultier, feminist tango, a FAN-FICTION potential romance, the gorgeous Jull Weber and the thrilling dancing of Anthony Rodriguez, punching fists, Niki Haris as rapper,...

Mark and Kenny kick up some dust on the third-part (and, um, the narratively loosest) section of the Drowned World to discuss bull-riding, a fateful trip to Austin, Texas, icing out Donna again, and the dreaded mini-return of the Finkle Concert Rating System. Plus, Mark nurses a grudge against Stuart Price, Kenny reminisces about the glory of the live experience of “Don’t Tell Me”, and we all weat...

Kenny and Mark float into the second-part of the Drowned World discussion with the first-ever Madonna “concert films” and a return to the “appropriation or appreciation” debate. Madonna’s geisha character returns to release her warrior self in a new narrative, Kenny shares the thrilling experience of the live version of “Frozen,” and the September 11th attack (and its aftermath) casts the remainin...

Kenny and Mark return to Detroit - The Palace at Auburn Hills, specifically - and August 2001 to begin a four-part discussion on Madonna’s first concert tour in over 8 years. She’s back, she’s jacked, and she’s not singing any old songs! Topics include Tina Turner, video screens, kilts, all-seeing eyes, punk rock personas, competing choreographers, Rock God t-shirts, the mysterious character choic...

Mark and Kenny wrap up their conversation about Music with this soulful and (what has proven to be a) prescient ballad in the Madonna canon and how the song’s sentiment (written by Damian Le Gassick and Nik Young) has served as a guiding star throughout the next twenty (!!) years of Madonna’s career. What a record and what a time. Thank you for listening.

Kenny and Mark delve into the mysterious and shattering first collaboration between Mirwais and Madonna, discussing the power of transformation, death and rebirth, and the impact of a swelling of strings. Can’t we all have permission to be a little freaky?

Mark and Kenny open up the conversation to discuss Madonna’s haunting and pivotal collaboration with Guy Sigsworth (not to mention Guy Ritchie!) on Music . Topics include Charlotte Gainsbourg, Ol Kuntz Guest House, Caresse Henry, Tony McGuiness and the Above & Beyond remix, and special guests Gia Balmaceda, Jennifer James (G’DAY AUSTRALIA!), Charlotte Salmon, and Amy Stevens (and best friend S...

Kenny and Mark deep (if not entirely concentrated!) dive into what has become an anthem and a credo for Madonna’s career with a discussion of the brilliant singer-songwriter (and familial relation) Joe Henry alongside an potpourri of topics: black crows and Joni Mitchell, David Letterman, strings on a pop hit, Melanie Ciccone, Sweet Relief and Vic Chesnutt (RIP, dear one), Tracy Young, Jamie King,...

Mark and Kenny contemplate how all past and future Madonna songs’ DNA connects to this PERFECTLY moody second folk ballad (and emotional centerpiece?) on Music. Topics include an altercation near Gramercy Park, Madonna’s glorious off-center instincts and troubadour ways, and just how seminal the 2016 Tears of a Clown performances were. Plus - All I Want to Do is Talk About Madonna finally gets a t...

Kenny and Mark discover much to both admire and tweak about the frothy (repetitive?) second Orbit-Madonna collaboration on Music as well as take an indulgent dip into some lost tracks (“Liquid Love” and “Run”). PLUS, a deep fall down the rabbit hole of the “When Guy Met Madonna” epic. Wanna grab a pint down at the Perky Ginger before getting sushi?

Mark and Kenny contemplate earning the yearning and Madonna’s early time with Guy Ritchie while discussing the soulful and stirring first ballad on Music . Topics include spiritual growth, message tank tops, christening interlopers, and more photo ops with Quentin Tarantino. Does Mirwais dream about these squiggle sounds?