I have always been a big fan of Madonna’s music, and would have given my left foot (or a couple of toes, anyway) to see her in concert. I’ve had every album, watched every concert DVD – and I was even a big fan of her performance in “Evita” (her best work to date, I believe). I was even alright with the more controversial decisions she made in her personal life during the late ’80s and ’90s (although that shit Brit accent she acquired when she lived in London was ridiculous…I certainly hope I didn’t start talking like that when I lived over there!!!). However, since her divorce from Guy Ritchie, something has seemed off with the Madge-ster, don’t you think? First, she has been dating toddlers, which is awkward since they are closer to her daughter’s age than hers. Now, let me make this clear – age aint nothin’ but a number, I get that; I’ve certainly dated my share of older men, but…I just think that a woman like Madonna ought to be able to find someone a little bit closer to her age. What could she and these infant boy toys possibly have to talk about? She’s 53 years old – she really ought to know better. Her current boyfriend is 24 year old French dancer Brahim Zaibat – prior to that, she was linked to Brazilian model Jesus Luz (who was also 24 at the time) — her daughter Lourdes is 15, by the way.

Now, far more disturbing to me than the boy toy fascination she has been rocking lately is this crap that she’s been pulling on her MDNA tour. In June, she flashed her nipple during her show in Istanbul – yes, Madonna’s body is absolutely SICK it looks so amazing, but…come on!!  Do I need to remind you that she is 53 years old!!!  Chris Rock did a stand up bit a few years ago about Janet Jackson and her nipple slip during the Super Bowl halftime show – he discussed the difference between 40 year old titties (like Janet’s) that ought to be kept at home for your man only, and 20 year old titties (community titties!) that can come out for all to see. Here’s that video – if you have a couple of minutes (and aren’t easily offended!), it’s hilarious: Chris Rock on Janet Jackson . We’ve all seen pretty much every square inch of Madonna’s body anyway…isn’t this kind of like some sort of sad do-over? As well, she has upset many people by showing a video during her concert that features a prominent French politician with images of a swastika over her face (she even showed the video during her concert in Paris) – regardless of what your feelings are about people and their politics, getting swastikas involved is in incredibly poor taste. I think that is an image that you just don’t go to – ever. Madonna has also been fanning the flames of her feud with Lady Gaga (although, since Gaga is refusing to take the bait and get involved in Madonna’s infantile pissing contest, is it really even a feud at all?), calling her work reductive and influenced by Madonna’s early work. Gaga herself is ALWAYS holding her hand up high as being a MAJOR Madonna fan – and isn’t imitation the highest form of flattery? Yes, “Born This Way” sounds a lot like “Express Yourself” – but, if you ask me…it’s even better.

This weekend, the MDNA tour ended up in Scotland, and Madonna did another incredibly stupid thing: despite being warned by police and authorities, she waved fake machine guns and pistols around on stage during her show in Edinburgh on Saturday night. Her actions were seen by many as highly insensitive because this performance happened less than 48 hours after the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado. As well, Scotland has specific gun laws that were put in place following the Dunblane massacre of 1996 (where 16 children and 1 adult were killed following a gunman invading a primary school) that prohibit the kind of behavior that Madonna exhibited. Her people have said that she would rather cancel her show than censor her art, but…come on, that’s a load of shit. It’s not censoring your art to have a show or two that doesn’t include images of gratuitous violence with fake guns waving around on a stage – I’m terribly disappointed by her lack of sensitivity. It seems to me that she is on a mad quest to remain as relevant as possible, and since she isn’t having a ton of success with doing that with her music, she is resorting to sensationalistic acts to generate buzz and conversation. It’s sad – I miss the Madonna of old, the one who made quality music and put on exhilarating live performances (and had a face that didn’t look weird and cat-like – her facelift/plastic surgery looks just awful)…I’d far rather her than this new Madonna, who is attempting to be controversial simply for the sake of being controversial. It’s too bad.

xxx