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Top five stadium show lessons learned from Madonna @ United Center 10/28/08

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Maybe your boyfriend wants to get his Rock Band on and see AC/DC at Allstate. Or maybe your girlfriend really, really, really wants to see Madonna at the United Center. Whatever the reason, you’ll eventually have to abandon the cozy confines of Schubas or the Empty Bottle for the dreaded venue of the indie rock faithful: a stadium show. But with the right mindset, you can make your arena experience survivable-- and maybe even enjoyable.

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Filth and Wisdom

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Release Date: Oct. 17
Director: Madonna
Writers: Madonna, Dan Cadan
Cinematographer: Tim Maurice-Jones
Starring: Eugene Hutz, Holly Weston, Vicky
McClure, Richard E. Grant
Studio/Run Time: 
IFC, 81 mins.

Crisply written, maturely mild sex comedy from the one-time Material Girl

Madonna’s directorial debut, Filth and Wisdom, contains the expected: strippers, light S&M, erotic poetry. But, co-written with Guy Ritchie associate Dan Cadan, it also has crisp banter, endearing characters and the magnetism of Gogol Bordello’s Eugene Hutz, whose narrator, A.K., fronts a struggling gypsy-punk band in London while he beats up pervs for money on the side. For saints, “filth will appear as an oasis,” he says early, facing the camera, puppy-eyed. Throughout, the ensemble—including blind poet Professor Flynn (a dignified Richard E. Grant)—treats depravity as a resource, a way of accessing freedom. A.K.’s ballerina flatmate—the genuinely sweet Holly Watson—gradually finds herself after becoming a stripper to make rent. Though she’s a first-time director, Madonna’s displays throughout the ’80s and ’90s allow Filth and Wisdom to exist: Culturally, where domination interludes are now comic relief, and artistically, where Madge-2000 doesn’t even need nudity to get her point across.

Watch the trailer for Filth and Wisdom:



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Madonna's documentary to play Michael Moore's fest

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Madonna documentary to play at Traverse City.

Michael Moore has picked up Madonna’s documentary I Am Because We Are for his Traverse City Film Festival. The piece premiered at Tribeca and also played at Cannes this month. The film was inspired by the icon’s own difficult experience adopting a Malawian child whose mother had died during childbirth. The AIDS epidemic has orphaned over one million children in Malawi, and with adoption laws seemingly nonexistent, they are left with few options.


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Madonna takes her Hard Candy all over the world

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On August 16, Madonna turns 50 years old, and she has plenty of reason to celebrate. Her latest album, Hard Candy, debuted at number one on the Billboard chart, kicking long time rival diva Mariah Carey out of the coveted spot.

To support the album, Mrs. Ciccone-Ritchie will tour around the world shortly after celebrating the big 5-0, starting in Europa and ending in the good ol' U.S. of A.

In keeping with her recent conversion from Material Girl to Maternal Woman, Madonna has produced a documentary film entitled I Am Because We Are, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival about a month ago. The film deals with the growing AIDS crisis in Malawi, where (as of 2003) the median age of a person is 16.8 years, and 14.2% of the population is living with the virus.

Check out the trailer for I Am Because, followed by the tour dates below.

August
23 - Cardiff @ Millennium Stadium
26 - Nice @ Stade Charles Ehrmann
28 - Berlin @ Olympic Stadium

September
2 - Amsterdam @ Arena
4 - Dusseldorf @ LTU Arena
6 - Rome @ Olympic Stadium
9 - Frankfurt @ Commerzbank Arena
11 - London @ Wembley Stadium
20 - Paris @ Stade de France

October
3 - E. Rutherford @ Izod Center
6 - New York, N.Y. @ Madison Square Garden
7 - New York, N.Y. @ Madison Square Garden
15 - Boston, Mass. @ TD BankNorth Garden
18 - Toronto, Canada @ Air Canada Centre
22 - Montreal, Canada @ Bell Centre
26 - Chicago, Ill. @ United Center
30 - Vancouver B.C. @ Place Stadium

November
1 - Oakland, Calif. @ Oracle Arena
4 - San Diego, Calif. @ Petco Park
6 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Dodger Stadium
8 - Las Vegas, Nev. @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
11 - Denver, Colo. @ Pepsi Center
16 - Houston, Texas @ Minute Maid Park
19 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Wachovia Center
22 - Atlantic City, N.J. @ Boardwalk Hall
24 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Philips Arena
26 - Miami, Fl. @ Dolphin Stadium

Related links:
News: Madonna, Live Nation finalize decade-long partnership
IAmBecauseWeAre.com
Madonna.com

Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.


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Madonna, Cohen, Mellencamp, more enter Rock Hall

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Ladies and gentlemen, you may now commence with the general bitching and all-purpose Jann Wenner-bashing that accompanies each announcement of new Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame inductees. Of the initial list of nominees that we published back in October, these five made it in:

Madonna
Leonard Cohen
John Mellencamp
The Ventures
The Dave Clark Five

Also enshrined: harmonica-shredder Little Walker in the sidemen category, while Philly soul production gurus Gamble & Huff will receive the newly-minted Ahmet Ertegun Award as non-performing honorees.

In honor of this year's inductees, Paste presents a tapestry of embedded YouTube videos:

Madonna - "Like A Prayer":

Leonard Cohen - "The Stranger Song":

John Mellencamp - "Small Town":

The Ventures - "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue":

The Dave Clark Five - "Because":

Related links:
Madonna.com
LeonardCohen.com
TheVentures.com

Got news tips for Paste? Email news@pastemagazine.com.


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Madonna, Live Nation finalize decade-long partnership

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It reads like a Major League Baseball contract: 10 years, $120 million, with an $18 million signing bonus. But Madonna isn't tending center field for the Yankees. Instead, she's signing over a share of the profits from all of her future musical projects to concert promoters Live Nation. That includes albums, DVDs, merchandise, fan club, website, TV/film projects, sponsorships, and, of course, touring revenue. Madonna is the first performer to join Live Nation's newly minted Artist Nation division.

"The idea that an iconic artist like Madonna would pick a promoter to be a long-term partner with truly validates our business model," Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino told Billboard.com.

Still, signing a 49 year-old performer to such a long-term deal seems like the equivalent of throwing bucketloads of money at Rickey Henderson (who is, in fact, younger than Madonna). After her 2003 flop American Life, Madonna did bounce back with 2005's Confessions on a Dance Floor, but its singles had trouble making it onto mainstream radio playlists.

So what does this deal mean, other than both sides aim to strike it rich by exploiting the Madonna brand name? Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune says the deal "points the way toward a major-label system that will be even less about innovative music, and even more about innovative marketing." He also speculates that big-time corporations such as Apple and Microsoft might soon join Live Nation and Starbucks in forming record labels.

It's not really the same dynamic as the recent Radiohead / Nine Inch Nails declarations of independence, but the end result of the Madonna-Live Nation pact appears to be the same: the big four record labels (Warner Brothers, Capitol/EMI, Sony-BMG and Universal) should be seriously concerned about their future profit margins.

Related links:
Madonna.com
LiveNation.com
Paste: Beasties, Madonna headline 2008 Rock Hall noms

Got news tips for Paste? Email news@pastemagazine.com.


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Beasties, Madonna headline 2008 Rock Hall Noms

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At the tail end of last week, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame released its final list of nominees for induction in 2008. While pundits have long debated the Hall's notable omissions and methodology, it always makes for decent water cooler discussion to break down the candidates in a given year and debate their worthiness for admission.

To make the shortlist, artists have to have released a single at least 25 years ago. By that cut-off date - 1983 - music was starting to fragment and diversify in wildly unforeseen ways, mostly due to the rise of hip-hop and other electronic breeds of music. Hence, a highly eclectic group of nominees is up for consideration in 2008. Here are the nine lucky finalists:

Madonna
Beastie Boys
Leonard Cohen
John Mellencamp
Afrika Bambaataa
Chic
The Ventures
Donna Summer
The Dave Clark Five

So we've got the Queen of Pop, some hip-hop, disco, funk, British Invasion rock, surf music, and some singer-songwriter action to top it all off. Not a whole lot of straight-out rawk, though. Only five of these artists can make it in, but just how prestigious an honor is it? The Sex Pistols have some strong opinions on the matter.

Related links:
RockHall.com
Paste News: Shake It Records mocks Rock Hall
Should the Dave Clark Five have been inducted last year?

Got news tips for Paste? Email news@pastemagazine.com.


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Umpteenth Madonna bio out in October

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There are more than a dozen unauthorized biographies of Madonna, which pretty much puts her on par with Winston Churchill when it comes to literary relevancy. Famous for self-reinvention, it's not surprising that every five or 10 years she inspires another gossipy, cut-and-paste book, not to mention a few dozen graduate level theses. Judging by Amazon.com users (the most trusted of today's critics), the quality of these books are consistantly atrocious. "HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A TRAIN WRECK?" asks one, adding "I feel that I have wasted 20 hours."

Author Lucy O'Brien's upcoming contribution to the pile, Madonna: Like an Icon (10/30), seems likeliest to have some credibility. Having written for NME, the Guardian, Q and MOJO, O'Brien's past nonfiction includes a biography of Dusty Springfield and She Bop: The Definitive Encyclopedia of Women in Rock, Pop & Soul.

Referencing Amazon again, users who buy one Madonna book likely pick up another, so hey -- might as well.

Related links:
Madonna.com
Madonna on MySpace
Madonna biographies galore

Got news tips for Paste? Email news@pastemagazine.com.


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Madonna Announces Confessions Tour

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Madonna has announced the Confessions Tour, with concerts across major U.S. cities, Canada, Europe and Japan. The tour will kick off in Los Angeles on May 21.

Her latest album, Confessions On A Dance Floor, debuted at #1 in 29 countries. Said Madonna, “I’m going to turn the world into one big dance floor.”


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Madonna Dances To No. 1

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Madonna is topping charts all over the world with her Nov. 15 Warner Bros. release, Confessions On A Dance Floor, featuring the hit, “Hung Up.” The single is now one of 36 No. 1 dance singles from an artist who has defined the genre across nearly two decades.

The album, co-produced and co-written by Madonna and DJ wizard Stuart Price, is a return to the icon’s dance-music roots. It debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top 200 charts in the U.S. and in 24 other countries, including Japan, Portugal, Spain, Australia, France, Germany, Sweden, Italy and the U.K.

With sales over 350,000 units in the U.S. alone, Confessions On A Dance Floor, joins Madonna's two previous albums, Music and American Life, as her third straight No. 1 debut.

Three different versions of the album currently hold three out of four top download spots on the iTunes Music store, while "Hung Up" is at No. 1 on the iTunes singles chart.


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