Madonna 'Ray of Light,' 1998, released by Maverick Records. Photo Courtesy of SLEEK's Social Media Assistant, Marco Siciliano.
In 1998 Viagra was approved to grace pharmacy shelves. Bill Clinton denied having “sexual relations” with Monica Lewinsky. Google was founded. Algorithms did not (knowingly) dictate our lives. And Madonna released her ‘Ray of Light’ record. 24 years later, we’ve moved on. There’s a female Viagra to go with its male counterpart. Lewinsky/Clinton have taught us a lot about publicly shaming women. Google has mastered total world domination. The dreaded ‘algorithm’ will determine how many eyeballs land on this very article. But one thing remains: Ray of Light has still got it.
And what is it? A record with exactly one hour and six minutes of acid, techno, trance, Eurodance and disco influences. There’s oscillating synths, electric guitar riffs, cinematic ambience, and orchestral moments featuring 20 violins, six violas, six cellos, four basses, two flutes, and an oboe. And then there’s the aesthetics of it all. Mario Testino captured Madonna markedly fresh – and almost ethereal – in the cover photography. With windswept golden hair and bronzed skin, the image is where minimalism and Botticelli’s ‘Birth of Venus’ renaissance painting intersect.
Ever the re-inventor, it wasn’t long before Madonna got bored with the whole ‘Mother Earth’ thing and moved into the Jean Paul Gaultier couture featured in the clips for ‘Frozen’ and ‘Nothing Really Matters’. However, the Venus reference is no coincidence. Two years prior to releasing this album, Madonna gave birth to daughter Lourdes and subsequently went through her own rebirth of sorts. She embraced Kabbalah and Ashtanga yoga and started studying Hinduism. She made celebrity wellness happen 10 years before Gwyneth Paltrow sent her first Goop newsletter. What resulted from this journey was one of the most critically-acclaimed pop records of all time. One that picked up four of the six Grammys for which it was nominated. A textured output brimming with emotional warmth that was heralded adventurous, mature and restrained all at once. The album is a reflection on someone who’s undergone an emotional and spiritual journey. And, hot damn, haven’t we all recently? As Y2K and turn-of-the-century trends maintain their chokehold on current culture, Ray of Light is thematically, sonically and aesthetically “now”.
Madonna Ray of Light CD. Photo Courtesy of Marco Siciliano.
Non-duality, Nihilism & General Mysticism
As the climate emergency, a certain spiky virus, wars, and the threat of economic downturns continue to grip society, there’s surrounding evidence of collective emotional transformation. China, India, Europe, the UK and USA have seen workers quitting their jobs en masse. People seem to be sick to death of working to death. While “The Great Resignation” is well underway among the workforce, Nietzsche seems to be the salve for the young adults among us.
High school students have given TED Talks about turning to existential nihilism while the popularity of TV shows like Rick and Morty drive absurdity. The Burnout Generation is looking to remedy the precarity of the world they’ll inherit. That includes the pressures of Instagram perfection, unaffordable housing, and over achievement. This brand of Nihilism is less about selfishness and more about connectedness. After all, a pointless existence might as well be an egoless one.
So whether your philosophical mood is non-duality or nihilism this year, Madonna’s got you covered. The ‘Nothing Really Matters’ track is the album’s ode to boundless maternal love. But it’s also an existential nihilist’s treasure. The mid tempo, beat-driven house number has her singing “Nothing really matters / love is all we need. Everything I give you / all comes back to me.” Or if South Asian beliefs hit closer to home for you, then your remedy would be ‘Shanti/Ashtangi’: Madonna’s experimental electronic take on a traditional Ashtanga opening prayer.
Photo Courtesy of Marco Siciliano.
Making the Underground Mainstream
If Bottega Veneta’s Salon 02 fashion show at Berghain is anything to go by, the underground is now mainstream. And some parts of techno subculture might as well be pop. Of course, the goddess of esotericism herself has been feasting on subcultures since before ‘Ray of Light’. Madonna brought voguing from the pockets of Harlem’s ballroom scene into mass consciousness. She doesn’t just have her finger on the pulse. She takes a vial of its blood, adds it to her homebrew, and serves it up neat for the rest of us to try.
When it comes to ‘Ray of Light,’ we have William Orbit to thank for the innovative and experimental production that compliments Madonna’s songwriting. Across the board, the album taps into sounds ranging from trip hop to trance. Whether you identify with it or not, you can’t deny the sense of nostalgia and melancholy that underpins the record. Together, the duo harnessed the expansive, pulsing, U.K. electro sound that drives the title track and its energy still translates today.
That sense of expansiveness also drives an undeniable feeling of freedom in the song. The dichotomy of feeling at one with the universe and understanding you are nothing but a blip on its radar at the same time. The lyrics switch between first and third person indicating the ego’s “self” and a certain disconnection from it. Meanwhile, the video opens with sunrise over a cityscape, a man in a robe opens his curtains, and we watch the everyday unfold in fast forward across different cities. The ubiquity of life is represented by a static ultrasound image of a baby, immediately followed by a mouse running on a wheel.