Madonna in 1979
Every time I get into an intensely heated debate or discussion about Madonna (this happens at least once weekly), I always go back to the fact that the Madonna I miss most is the raunchy, raw, real Madonna, gum-smacking, shellacked hair, torn t-shirts, cherubic-faced, post-punk, totally DIY (even if it meant sleeping with club promoters) ruling the East Village, enamored of her newfound success, and, of course, enamored of herself.
Now, the more Madonna evolves from that aesthetic, the less I can relate to Kundalini/ cock-diesel arms Madonna. And the more I miss flirty, bratty, Boy Toy Madonna. And it almost feels the scarier Madonna's arms get, the more I feel like I'm mourning the loss of the original Madonna.
Madonna at the first-ever VMAs in 1984
In this week's New York Magazine, Writer Emily Nussbaum perfectly captures the impact that The Original Madonna (early 1980s Madonna, not the mother of Christ, though to some, Madonna Ciccone is certainly a holy woman) had not just on music fans (and those who can remember when she -- and Michael Jackson -- put MTV on the map) but on young women old enough to have dressed like Madonna... and how she (and fans like myself) are trying to reconcile the Madonna of the past with the strange, almost-alien Madonna of today.
+ Read the New York Magazine Madonna article, and below, watch the Madonna I miss the most in an MTV interview from 1984, and, after the jump watch my favorite-ever Essential Madonna Video, "Borderline." More vintage MTV Madonna interviews here.