All I want to do is talk about Madonna

S5- Episode 29 - Celebration

Kenny and Mark wrap up some loose threads (and Season Five!) with a celebratory discussion of the title song from Madonna’s THIRD greatest hits album.  Topics include: the continuing challenges of a greatest hits record, Paul Oakenfold, Ciaran Gribbin, INXS and the late great Michael Hutchence, a tribute to Fine Young Cannibals, Benny Benassi, a desire for the throb, the Dance of Life, Jesus Luz and his song “Running Man”, Kenny’s fan fiction starring Steven Klein, David Letterman and the “M...

S5- Episode 28- Revolver

Mark and Kenny load it up to discuss one of the two new tracks included on Madonna’s third (or fourth?) greatest hits collection from 2009.  Topics include: Lil Wayne (and his many feuds), DJ Frankie, the Jackie Boyz, R&B swagger, cigars, drive-by recording, the return of Louise Oriole, troublesome mixes, Paul Van Dyk, David Guetta, Tracy Young, gun metaphors in songwriting, the appeal of a 5PM curtain time, Kenny goes rifle shooting upstate, incriminating evidence, Snow White, and Mark play...

S5- Episode 28- Revolver (Copy)

Mark and Kenny load it up to discuss one of the two new tracks included on Madonna’s third (or fourth?) greatest hits collection from 2009.  Topics include: Lil Wayne (and his many feuds), DJ Frankie, the Jackie Boyz, R&B swagger, cigars, drive-by recording, the return of Louise Oriole, troublesome mixes, Paul Van Dyk, David Guetta, Tracy Young, gun metaphors in songwriting, the appeal of a 5PM curtain time, Kenny goes rifle shooting upstate, incriminating evidence, Snow White, and Mark play...

S5- Episode 27 - The Sticky and Sweet Tour

Kenny and Mark take a mega, near-THREE hour dive into the 2008-2009 world tour as well as the documentary I Am Because We Are.  Topics include: Nathan Rissman, Michael Moore, Desmond Tutu, Hustling at Cannes, Hamutsan Serve, Kevin Antunes, Stefanie Roos, Sofia Boutella, unnecessary thrones, Madonna’s hat, Britney Spears, ad hoc car shows, Keith Haring, double-dutch jump rope, a tribute to Michael Jackson, Little Orphan Annie, destructive rage, subways, Nikki Richards, Monte Pittman, Eurythmi...

S5- Episode 26 - Voices

Mark and Kenny wrap up their conversations about Hard Candy and also welcome Special Guest Zachary Pace (author of I Sing to Use the Waiting: A Collection of Essays About the Women Singers Who’ve Made Me Who I Am) to discuss this urgent ballad (and final Timbaland/Timberlake collaboration).  Topics include Hello Suckers, singing in the shower, Kabbalah, essential b-sides, Cher, Rihanna, asking questions without waiting for answers, and the power - and evolving definition - of the queer voice...

S5- Episode 25 - Devil Wouldn't Recognize You

Kenny and Mark celebrate the return of Brother-in-Law of the Decade Joe Henry and the haunting story song ballad from Hard Candy.  PLUS - at long last - a reckoning and reassessment of Madonna’s film directing debut, Filth & Wisdom.  Spoilers abound so do yourself a favor and head over to the indispensable www.ifc.com to stream the film beforehand!  Thank you and you’re welcome!

S5 - Episode 24 - Spanish Lesson

Mark and Kenny dive back into their respective school days to discuss the joyfully divisive palate cleanser of a song from Hard Candy.  Topics include Mrs. Ritchie the Art Teacher, banging erasers, phonetic worksheets and language lessons, Monte Pittman, hooded monks, and The Percolator.  Plus EXTRA SPECIAL GUESTS Parrita Duarte and Augustin Aguirre (hosts of the magnifico/caliente Spanish podcast Santa Madonna) join for a deep discussion on Madonna’s long history embracing and celebrating L...

S5- Episode 23 - Dance 2Night

Kenny and Mark remain on the dance floor with Madonna (Timberlake and Timbaland) for a simmering song about moving your body.  Topics include thick beats, smoking grass, Madonna as professor, musical courtships, the weirdness of star billing, NPR’s Tiny Desk series, the virtues of being beautiful or interesting, Janet Jackson’s Discipline, apocalyptic chaos, Justin’s voice, artistic flexing, and who’s exactly taking WHO to the club.  Plus a discussion on the shift in focus from classic songw...

S5- Episode 22 - The Beat Goes On

Mark and Kenny celebrate the infectious and joyous call to the dance floor (and to arms) on Hard Candy.  Topic’s include Dylan’s Candy Store, soda pop ads, covert guest spots, disco strings, Kanye West, Taylor Swift, Kim Kardashian, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the hippie demo version, Sonny & Cher, chasing “Believe”, “Houdini” by Dua Lipa, Eve’s version “The Beat is So Crazy”, and a hidden remix.  Plus, Kenny’s mind-blowing dream campaign for the Hard Candy singles, and everyone swears off...

S5- Episode 21- Incredible

Kenny and Mark unwrap some Starbursts and grapple with the longest and most divisive track on Hard Candy.  Topics include sorrowful subtext, diaristic detail, romantic partners as best friends, the benefits (and danger) of building a song entirely in the studio, Guy Ritchie’s dancing, David Banda, the cost of getting back to where you used to be, tall assignments and working outside of comfort zones, and the secret weapon on the entire album.  Is THIS the true Pharrell duet on Hard Candy?

S5- Episode 20- She's Not Me

Mark and Kenny bust out their cowbells and attitude with the sassy story-song Pharrell (welcome back!) collaboration from Hard Candy.  Topics include the importance of lightness and bounce, the great Wendy Melvoin, passing off batons, the easy narrative of infidelity, traffic in the suburbs, Donna Summers, dutiful wives and resentful musicians, Madonna’s Liz Phair album, the Pet Shop Boys, Alexis Arquette, Gwenyth Paltrow and Tracy Anderson, a nod to the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, Lady Gag...

S5- Episode 20 - She's Not Me

S5- Episode 19 - Miles Away

Kenny and Mark consider the third single (and best song) from Hard Candy, especially the struggle between the Timberlake/Timbaland production and the beauty and ideas in Madonna’s song.  Topics include acoustic guitars, nasty UK tabloids, A-Rod, the tour video and Madonna’s joy, touring love affairs, the futility of long-distance phone calls, redundant remixes, the end of the true confessional ballad, and the power (and pain) of long distance relationships.  Plus, Mark and Kenny audibly dige...

S5 - Episode 18 - Heartbeat

Mark and Kenny brainstorm Madonna assignment song ideas for the AIWTDITAM EP (including the soon-to-be classic ballad “Table for One” and “Meet Cute”) alongside another synth-fueled collaboration w/ Pharrell about the dance floor.  Topics include Madonna’s beating heart and climbing vocals, the revelations in the original Pharrell demo, Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger, victorian bodices, Emma Thompson, Jamie Lloyd’s revival of SUNSET BOULEVARD, reality game shows, Grizabella, Paula Abdul, a...

S5 - Bonus - Have U Confessed?

Kenny and Mark channel Santa Claus and reach into their holiday sack for some confessional gifts to round out an eventful 2023.  Topics include VHS tapes, dates at the shopping mall, the enduring theories around the lyrics to “Get Together”, Kylie Minogue, Borders Bookstore (RIP), Aunt Roxy Finkle, Michael Parkinson, Avicii’s version of “Rebel Heart”, and dinner with Stuart Price.  Special Thanks to ALL who shared their confessions and ALL of our dear listeners who continue to join the conve...

S5- Episode 17 - Give it 2 Me

Mark and Kenny fly off the rails discussing the hard-charging (and second single) track from HARD CANDY. Cow bells, mantras, vacuum cleaners, photo shoots as videos, organized jewelry, the gloves, armless Madonna, Infinity, early mash-ups, and overcoming queer body-shame.  Plus, a friend is phoned - Special Guest Marquitos from the Marquitos Podcast joins the conversation to take a breath and access HARD CANDY’s larger legacy.  Get Stupid!

S5- Episode 16 - 4 Minutes

Kenny and Mark break down the troublesome first single from HARD CANDY and the larger campaign to launch the album into the world.  Topics include Timbaland & Timberlake, lyrical translations and burdening horns, an empty home office, teenagers making out in videos, Reese Witherspoon, picking up “stroll”, and why the kids still never forgot it.  Plus Peter Rauhofer takes us around the world and Madonna is inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame!

S5- Episode 15 - Candy Shop

Mark and Kenny unwrap a new album, a new song, and new collaborators as Madonna swerves again.  Topics include Pharrell Williams, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, packed interview days, H&M campaigns, mid tempo grooves, promo tours, boxing gloves, a strange cape cushion, and favorite candies sticky, crunchy and sweet.  It’s your one-stop Madonna shoppe.  Lick away, baby! Hard Candy Promo Tour - Live on the BBC (May 2008)

S5 - Episode 14 -Hey You!

Kenny and Mark celebrate the first solo-penned song by Madonna since 1985 as well as one of THE masterful live performances of her career - Live Earth 2007!  Topics include the beauty and the challenge of a charity single, the arrival of Pharrell Williams, the return of Mirwais, children’s choirs, jealous aunts, Gogol Bordello, Filth & Wisdom, David Banda, the vibe of a Madonna “hat”, being part of a band, and the pleasures of a full company bow (we’ll miss you most of all, Donna).  Over to ...

S5 - Episode 13 - The Confessions Tour

Mark and Kenny embark on the cool and calm conversation about Madonna’s (lucky) seventh concert tour on this Uber-long episode.  Topics include the end of nostalgia, Kenny’s continuing aversion to the musical interludes, the return of transformed classics, Mark’s imagined wedding, a new Nikki (with two k’s), Monte’s commuting schedule, Madonna’s true arrival as a punk rocker, Isaac’s vocal prowess, upstaging Donna DeLory, a polarizing jacket collar, Mark’s distain for hotel buffets, and what...

S5- Episode 12 - Like it Or Not

Kenny and Mark celebrate the final song from Confessions on a Dance Floor with Special Guest - the writer/director/editor and STAR of the film Chrissy Judy - Todd Flaherty.  Topics include the return of the guitar, Bloodshy & Avant, personal credos, and how self-acceptance and empowerment might just be the greatest aphrodisiac.  Then, Mark and Kenny geek out over Todd’s amazing film, discussing the origins, the impact and discovery of drag, the importance of non-romantic queer friendships, a...

S5- Episode 11 - Push

Mark and Kenny welcome Special Guest (and long time listener!) Gia Zampella for a frank and candid discussion about influence, restless songwriting, grappling with ambition and perfectionism, Madonna action figures, secret tattoos, and the many ways that the trusted ones push us into better versions of ourselves.  It was a total treat to have Gia join this conversation   Gia Zampella is a lifelong resident of Jersey City, NJ and beauty product developer by trade. She’s also a life long pop c...

S5 - Episode 10 - Isaac

Kenny and Mark wrestle with the cluttered emotional climax of Confessions on a Dance Floor.  Plus, Madonna schools Stuart and side-steps controversy, Kenny leads a celebration of the “Madonna of the East”, and Mark stalks locked churches.  The wordless Madonna chants are back and nobody could be happier - will it ever be the same?

S5- Episode 9- How High

Mark and Kenny get deeply philosophical about the road to fame and which mountain you choose when you’ve climbed to the top of one.  Plus, a discussion of the Swedes, Britany Spears’ classic song “Toxic”, and count how many times Mark says “saloon.”  Does this get ANY better, folks?

SPECIAL EP - Mary Gabriel, author of Madonna, A Rebel Life

Mark and Kenny celebrate the publication of Madonna: A Rebel Life, a major new 800+ biography (in bookstores today!) with a frisky and fascinating conversation with its masterful author Mary Gabriel.  Topics include justice for Miami, Bedtime Stories, and the University of Michigan, a sneak peek into the Hard Candy era and the Guy Ritchie of it all, an intriguing new theory about the song “I Love New York”, the evils of Live Nation, Madonna’s ultimate greatest collaborator, Mary’s personal f...

S5- Episode 8- Jump/History

Kenny and Mark rejoice in the return of brother-in-law Joe Henry and the 80s Madonna on the joyous and self-motivating fourth single from Confessions on a Dance Floor.  Kenny thinks outside of the box with alternate single roll-out scenarios, multi-lingual versions, and covert songwriting sessions in London; Mark confesses to being the victim of a theft and gets fired from a corporate job!  Plus, a grappling with a disastrous wig, discovering obscure acoustic versions - AND a warm revisit of...

S5- Episode 7- Forbidden Love

Mark and Kenny go full-on music nerd dissecting the haunting “second” ode to forbidden love by discussing the nuances and beauty of the song, the poetry of its lyrics, the romanticism of its environment, and their own personal brushes with forbidden desire, lust, and intimacy.  

S5 - Episode 6 - Let it Will Be

Kenny and Mark pull out their fine-toothed combs to translate and interpret the many messages Madonna is trying to impart while she burns.  Plus, Mark grapples with the word “fame” and Kenny makes a strong case for the sleazy live version of the song.  Plus, a twirl through one of the lesser, other Mirwais collaborations that didn’t quite make the record and a return of the birds!

S5- Episode 5- I Love New York

Mark and Kenny - long time New Yorkers - trade city origin stories, adventures, and favorite love (and lust) songs about New York while celebrating Madonna’s ultimate ode to her creative home.  Topics include Liza Minnelli, Oberlin College, Salt ’n’ Pepa, St. Vincent, Frank Sinatra, Edward Albee, Chita Rivera, Harry Nilsson, Andrew WK, Rufus Wainwight, Debbie Harry, Moby, and the beloved bitches of Miami.  Let’s hit those streets and start strutting!

S5- Episode 4- Future Lovers

Kenny and Mark flip over the first side of the album with the glorious  return of Mirwais for this adventurous track.  Topics include Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder, Madonna as teacher, letting go of illusions and dreams, and the stunning (okay iconic) live performance.  Will Tina call us back?

S5- Episode 3 - Sorry

Mark and Kenny don’t save their words as they discuss the dramatically timeless and Great Madonna pop singles.  Topics include Big Frieda, radio ignorance, Dutch linguistics, the glorious Pet Shop Boys and the lost 80s collaborations, the risk of being too serious, Jamie King, Miss Prissy, pimping the ride, Little C, Paul Oakenfold, Jane Fonda, the Madonna bangs, Straight Bait (“where else can you make $100 for twenty minutes?”), Alex Barber, the breathless Fred Tallaksen, the Talauega Broth...

S5- Episode 2 - Get Together

Kenny and Mark get moody and urgent on the second track (and third single!) from Confessions on a Dance Floor.  Topics include:  Anders Bagge & Peer Astrom, 98 Degrees, Janet Jackson, Chaka Khan, the high-drama of strings on a dance floor, Barbra Streisand’s Guilty & Saturday Night Fever, Eugene Riecansky & Koko Club, The Beatles, group photos, the fresh and hard-working Angela Becker, Mark’s tribute to the indispensable Borderline Music record store in Chicago, and how threesomes/orgies are...

S5- Episode 1 - Hung Up

Mark and Kenny hit the dance floor for Season Five to begin a conversation about Confessions on a Dance Floor - Madonna’s TWELFTH album - and the anthemic first single.  Topics include lucky butterfly necklaces, Martha Raye and the lost Texas Guinan musical, Wilson Stone, Luc Besson, Stuart Price and Zoot Woman, Depeche Mode, the allure of the Twenties, ABBA (naturally), Gwen Stefani, Johan Renck, summer songs, Damon Albarn, the gorgeous Arianne Phillips, Hunter College, John Norris and the ...

Special Episode - Sinead O' Connor (1966-2023)

As they ready Season Five, Kenny and Mark take a moment to remember, discuss, and celebrate the musical legacy of Sinead O’Connor – one of the defining voices of her (and their) generation.  We love you, Sinead.

S4, E27 - The Reinvention Tour

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 magic, true tour star Angela Becker, Caresse Henry, violating paparazzi, the greatness of skanky t...

S4, E 26 - Easy Ride

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 Blume, combative Canadian roommates situation, Tracy Young, Kronos Quartet, the dance between intimate and...

S4, E25 - Mother and Father

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 Ciccone.  Plus, Kenny outs himself as a child pianist.  “I’ve got to give it up” indeed!

S4, E24 - X Static Process

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, Zelda Rubinstein, and Mark struggles to name the band who sang “Catch Me (I’m Falling)” (it was Pretty ...

S4, E23 - Intervention

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! Post show talkback - Live to Tell

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 for reinvention throughout the many stages in these artists’ lives.  Expect passionate reactio...

S4, E22 - Nothing Fails

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 is, we hope Jackie B took that person HOME with her from the Club!  We love you, Peter Rauhofer. 

S4, E21 - Nobody Knows Me

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 human rights issue that we CANNOT look away from.  Don’t forget to update your MySpace page!

S4, E20 - Love Profusion

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 “Desert Rose”, the big city of Montreal, gifts for Oprah, a drive-by hug with Mrs. Fellows, The Englis...

S4, E19 - I'm So Stupid

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

S4, E18 - Hollywood

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 American 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 Mulholland Drive and Naomi Watts, Michael Haneke, performance doubles, Debbie Harry and BLOW-UP, and that notorious M...

S4, E17 - American Life (recorded live in London)

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 Kabbalah, Karen Walker’s roommate Liz, Patty Hearst, Lynette Holloway, the Dixie Chicks, Missy Elliott, Ro...

The Further Adventures of...

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 2023: grandchildren.  Plus, beleaguered personal assistant (and dreamer) Tina takes a secret pers...

S4, E16- Die Another Day

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 Kabbalah studies to color (and enflame) her art.  Topics include Guy Ritchie, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Tob...

S4, E15 - Drowned World Tour Part Four

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, and Kenny’s emotional catharsis during the final moments of this benchmark live performance.  RELEASE...

S4, E14 - Drowned World Tour Part Three

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 weather awkward transitions - both in life and in the concert. YEEHAW!