MADONNA REMIXERS UNITED PRESENTS:
MADONNA "LONELY HUNTER"
INTERNATIONAL BALLADE ALBUM
Released:
September 25th, 2020
Executive Produced by:
Written by: Madonna, Dave Hall
Produced by: Madonna, Dave Hall
Remixed by: John Doe
During 1994, Madonna started recording her sixth studio album. She collaborated with R&B producers such as Dallas Austin, Dave "Jam" Hall, and Babyface, and also enlisting British producer Nellee Hooper to the project. It became one of the very few occasions where she collaborated with well-known producers, the first since Nile Rodgers on Like a Virgin (1984). When asked about the record, Madonna said she wanted people to concentrate on the musical aspects of it, and would like the songs to speak for themselves. She also commented that it was because she was not interested in giving many interviews and being on the cover of magazines. She described the album as "a combination of pop, R&B, hip-hop and a Madonna record. It's very, very romantic". In an interview with The Face magazine, Madonna explained her inspirations behind Bedtime Stories as well as the reason for teaming up with R&B song producers.
I've been in a reflective state of mind. I've done lot of soul searching and I just felt in a romantic mood when I was writing for [the album] so that's what I wrote about... I decided that I wanted to work with a whole bunch of different producers. Björk's album was one of my favorite for years—it's brilliantly produced. And I also wanted to work with Massive Attack. So obviously, he was on the list. Nellee was the last person I worked with, and it wasn't until then that I got a grip of what the sound of the whole record was, so I had to go back and redo a lot.
The song was inspired by a stripper Madonna met in a club, and fetishizes rejection.
4 Minutes
Written by: Madonna, Tim Mosley, Justin Timberlake, Nate Hills.
Produced by: Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Danja.
Remixed by: Andrey Zhuk.
Madonna said that the concept of the song was developed through discussions with Timberlake. She further explained the meaning of the song: I don't think it's important to take it too literally. I think the song, more than anything, is about having a sense of urgency; about how we are you know, living on borrowed time essentially and people are becoming much more aware of the environment and how we're destroying the planet. We can't just keep distracting ourselves we do have to educate ourselves and wake up and do something about it. You know at the same time we don't want to be boring and serious and not have fun so it's kind of like well if we're going to save the planet can we have a good time while we are doing it?
Madonna clarified that her age did not have anything to do with the sense of urgency reflected in the track; instead, it was just something that she had in mind for a long time and with "4 Minutes", the sense seeped into her music. Ingrid Sischy from Interview magazine said that the song felt like a ballad for the world, containing "the sounds of a great big marching band. It's a giant dance song". Madonna agreed with Sischy and responded that the song was "a funny paradox" and was one of the inspirations behind her documentary I Am Because We Are (2008). The documentary dealt with the acute suffering and food shortage afflicting the African nation of Malawi.
Written by: Madonna, Gardner Cole, Peter Rafelson
Produced by: Madonna, Patrick Leonard
Remixed by: John Doe
"Open Your Heart" was originally a rock and roll song titled "Follow Your Heart" and had been written for singer Cyndi Lauper by songwriters Gardner Cole and Peter Rafelson, although it was never played to her. The original title according to Cole, was from a local health food restaurant called Follow Your Heart in Canoga Park, California. He was in love with a waitress named Lisa and she became the original inspiration for the lyrics. Cole explained:
Peter and I usually write very quickly. It's usually a day or two a song, but for some reason this didn't really hit us as a hit song. We didn't give up on it. We just kept working on it over the course of a year. Thank God we did. [...] It was the first song that was cut on the True Blue album. It made me nervous as a writer, because a lot of times the very first song that gets cut doesn't make it in the long run. But the song ended up making the album, which really opened up a lot of doors for me.
Cole's manager Bennett Freed was working with Madonna's management and they were looking for new material for her album. Three of Cole's songs were chosen for reviewing, including "Follow Your Heart". Madonna's manager Freddy DeMann overheard the song and thought it would be a hit for Madonna and he asked Cole to present a female demo version. Cole asked his then-girlfriend Donna De Lory to sing the demo; later on, she became Madonna's backup singer. Despite the fact that it did not fit exactly with the genre of songs Madonna was singing at that time, she nevertheless accepted it. Madonna later rewrote and produced the track, retitled "Open Your Heart". Along with producer Patrick Leonard, Madonna added a bassline underneath the song which transformed it into a dance track. "Open Your Heart" was the first recorded cut for the True Blue album in late 1985 and ultimately made it to the final released track list
Written by: Madonna, Mirwais Ahmadzaï
Produced by: Madonna Ciccone, Mirwais Ahmadzaï
Remixed by: Manny Martinez
The track takes its title after a quote by Pablo Picasso. Throughout the song, Madonna repeats the hook "finally, enough love" and, with an "wide-eyed and awestruck" tone, she repeats the phrase "I found you, I found a new view". Also included is a finger snapping sample, taken from "Vogue". According to Paper, with the line "Platinum gold, inside your soul", Madonna was "affirming the beauty in others". Paul Nolan, from Hot Press, considered "I Don't Search I Find" the "manifesto for Madame X"
Written by: Madonna, Toby Gad, Maureen Anne McDonald, Larry Darnell Griffin Jr., Dacoury Dahi Natche, Michael Tucker
Produced by: Madonna, DJ Dahi, Michael Diamonds, Toby Gad
Remixed by: Channing Luke-Silver
Madonna wrote this song with DJ Dahi and Blood Diamonds. Producer Blood Diamonds told Mojo magazine regarding working with Madonna: "She's definitely the captain of her own ship. She would sit on a drum stool, a foot or two from me, and we'd go through claps or bass sounds. She has such a clear vision and that's the reason she is who she is."
Written by: Madonna, Jason Evigan, Sean Douglas, Evan Bogart
Produced by: Madonna, Billboard, Jason Evigan
Remixed by: Gaetan Gauthier
Madonna told Billboard magazine the story of the song. "We all get into a room together. They start playing their chords and then we just start thinking about… When I write with people, we always try to come up with a theme. What do we want to write about? So this one is about the city after Armageddon. The burnt out city, the crumbling buildings, the smoke that's still lingering after the fire. You know what I mean? There's only a few people left. How do we pick up the pieces and go on from here? Kind of dramatic. But not entirely impossible at this stage of the game." he song is about seeing hope amidst the destruction: "At the end of the day, if we run out of oil and we don't have electricity and we don't have all the modern conveniences, and we have no phones and computers, all we're going to have is each other, is humans," Madonna explained to Rolling Stone. "And that song's about recognizing that."
Written by: Madonna, Toby Gad, Maureen Anne McDonald, Larry Darnell Griffin Jr.
Produced by: Madonna, Toby Gad, AFSHeeN, Josh Cumbee
Remixed by: Channing Luke-Silver
Madonna sings here about the pressures of fame. The world expects the American songstress to be a superhero like Joan of Arc but she has her moments of fragility like the rest of us. "Even hearts made out of steel can break down," the superstar sings. Madonna told Billboard magazine: "Even people we look up to have their moments where they are fragile, vulnerable, scared, fearful, not sure, hurt. You can't be a superhero unless you have the other side." Asked by Rolling Stone what drew her to Joan of Arc's story, Madonna replied: "More than anything, drawn to her commitment to what she believed in. In the face of death, she did not back down. And that is a theme that resonates with me."
Sho-Bee-Doo
Written by: Madonna
Produced by: Nile Rodgers
Remixed by: Channing Luke-Silver
For Like a Virgin, Madonna attempted to become one of the primary record producers, feeling the need to control the various aspects of her music. However, Warner Bros. Records was not ready to give her the artistic freedom that she wanted.
Warner Bros. Records is a hierarchy of old men and it's a chauvinist environment to be working in because I'm treated like this sexy little girl. I had to prove them wrong, which meant not only proving myself to my fans but to my record company as well. That is something that happens when you're a girl. It wouldn't happen to Prince or Michael Jackson. I had to do everything on my own and it was hard trying to convince people that I was worth a record deal. After that, I had the same problem trying to convince the record company that I had more to offer than a one-shot singer. I had to win this fight.
Ultimately, Nile Rodgers was chosen by Madonna as the producer of the album, with the approval of the Warner Brothers executives. Madonna chose Rodgers mostly because of his work as a member of the 1970s band Chic, and his most recent production work with David Bowie on his 1983 album Let's Dance. She commented, "When I was making the record, I was just so thrilled and happy to be working with Nile Rodgers. I idolized Nile because of the whole Chic thing. I couldn't believe that the record company gave me the money so that I could work with him."
For his part, Rodgers recalled that he had first seen Madonna perform at a small club in New York in 1983. In an interview with Time magazine, Rodgers explained: "I went to the club to see another woman sing, but when I got there Madonna was onstage. I loved her stage presence and then we met right after that. I kept thinking to myself, 'Damn, is she a star', but she wasn't at that time. I always wanted to work with her and Like a Virgin seemed like a perfect opportunity."
The song contains homage to Motown music. The song discusses relationship problems, and are phrased as clichés in the coda.
Written by: Madonna, Stuart Price
Produced by: Madonna, Stuart Price
Remixed by: Marco Sartori
"Sorry" was one of the first tracks developed for Confessions on a Dance Floor, along with "Hung Up" and "Future Lovers". It was also the one which took the most time to finish because Madonna "thought it was too melodramatic and could never decide when it was right." The songs were developed with a remixed perspective in mind. Madonna commented that, "Whenever I make records, I often like the remixes better than the original ones. [...] So I thought, screw that. I'm going to start from that perspective". She promoted the album at the dance party "Misshapes" held at Luke & Leroy's nightclub in Greenwich Village, invited by Junior Sanchez to take over the DJ booth where she mixed "Hung Up" with "Sorry".
Written by: Lenny Kravitz, Ingrid Chavez, Madonna
Produced by: Lenny Kravitz, André Betts
Remixed by: John Doe
"Justify My Love" was originally written and recorded by Ingrid Chavez, Prince's protégé and friend, and Lenny Kravitz: he and producer André Betts composed the music while Chavez penned the lyrics based on a poem she had written for Kravitz, and read them aloud. Kravitz added the title hook and chorus to the demo while Madonna corrected one line. Chavez was not credited for the song and later sued Kravitz in 1992: she received an out-of-court settlement, and gained a co-writing credit for her work. When the lawsuit was settled, Chavez's attorney Steven E. Kurtz clarified that Madonna's additional writing credit was not questioned in the lawsuit. The song was released on November 6, 1990, three days before the release of The Immaculate Collection.
Madonna whispers most of the lyrics. It was the first single from her highly anticipated greatest hits album, and created plenty of sales-generating controversy for the singer, who was known for pushing the limits of sexual content.
Producer Kravitz used the drums found on Public Enemy's instrumental, "Security of the First World", without consent, which was in turn based on the end drum break of James Brown's "Funky Drummer", and used it as the basis of the song. The song was unusual in that Madonna's vocals are primarily spoken and whispered, but almost never sung. This style served as a prelude to her next album Erotica, in which she spoke the lyrics on some of the songs rather than singing them. Kravitz and Madonna provided background vocals. Chavez' had previously provided the "spoken intro" to Prince's 1988 song "Eye No", and Chavez' vocal style on her 1991 debut album has been described as "breathy spoken passages".
Written by: Madonna, Rick Nowels
Produced by: Reggie Lucas, Madonna, William Orbit, Patrick Leonard
Remixed by: James Loosemore
The lyrics were based on a nursery rhyme: "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight..." Written by Madonna, this was her first single from her debut album. It went nowhere, but was successfully re-released six months later after "Holiday" became a hit. The success the second time around was largely because of the video, which MTV put in hot rotation. It was commissioned by Jeff Ayeroff, who was an executive at Madonna's label, Warner Bros. Ayeroff said in the book I Want My MTV: "I made 'Lucky Star' for $14,000 with a friend who was a pot grower from Bolinas, California (Arthur Pierson). We'd released 'Everybody,' 'Burning Up,' 'Holiday' and 'Borderline' as singles. And Madonna didn't want to release 'Lucky Star.' Around the same time, she was getting sued and needed money. I said, 'Let me release 'Lucky Star,' and I guarantee you'll sell enough records to pay that off.' 'Lucky Star' broke the first album wide open."
Madonna speaks on how happy and jovial the birth of her daughter, and her daughter herself, made her. The "little star" Madonna references is her eldest daughter Lourdes, who goes by Lola. Lola was a young child at the time of the song's release.
Ray of Light
Written by: Madonna, William Orbit, Clive Maldoon, Dave Curtiss, Christine Leach
Produced by: Madonna, William Orbit
Remixed by: James Loosemore
The song is based on the track "Sepheryn", which was written by Curtiss Muldoon and Dave Curtis. William Orbit re-recorded the song with vocalist Christine Leach before he started working with Madonna. When Madonna recorded the Ray of Light album with William Orbit at the helm, they decided to alter the song's melody and instrumentation but retain the lyrics of "Ray of Light" with only a few changes. The original track "Sepheryn" can be heard on Curtiss Muldoon's album, which was released in October 2000: Sepheryn: Ray Of Light. The lyrics reflect Madonna's interest in spirituality and her faith in the teachings of Kabbalah. The singer explained that the 1996 birth of her daughter, Lourdes, prompted her to "search for answers to questions I'd never asked myself before," leading her to the religion.
Written by: Madonna, Shep Pettibone, Anthony Shimkin
Produced by: Madonna Ciccone, Shep Pettibone
Remixed by: Phatthararat Mechanchao
"Bad Girl" – along with the songs "Erotica", "Deeper and Deeper", "Rain", and "Thief of Hearts" – made up the first batch of songs that they worked on together, with Madonna writing the lyrics to the songs as Pettibone worked on the music. The mindset of the sessions was one of "low-tech standards". For example, the vocals to "Bad Girl" were recorded using an older style SM57 microphone because Pettibone felt that "sometimes, older is better". According to Pettibone, the writing of "Bad Girl", along with "In This Life", another track on the album, was the evidence that Erotica was taking a more melancholy turn, instead of just being "up-and-happy music". Pettibone went on to say that at that point Madonna's stories were getting a lot more "serious and intense" and she was definitely driving the creative direction of the songs into "deeply personal territory".
"Bad Girl" is a dramatic ballad with a serious subject. The song refers to a woman who does not find a place in society and because of this is lost in alcohol and snuff, the theme was from the beginning something that Madonna wanted to include in its then new album. Besides "Bad Girl" has been declared one of the best music videos of Madonna videography.
Written by: Madonna, Guy Sigsworth (Spanish translation: Alberto Ferraras)
Produced by: Madonna, Guy Sigsworth, Mark "Spike" Stent
Remixed by: Phatthararat Mechanchao
Planned to be the album's second single, "What It Feels Like For a Girl" was eventually released as the album's third single on April 17, 2001. Two new versions of the song were released to further promote the track. The first was a Spanish version of the song titled Lo Que Siente la Mujer, especially recorded for inclusion on the single as its B-side and eventually released as a promo-only single in Europe. Later it was added to the two-disc Tour Edition of Music and the Bonus Track edition of the album in some territories.
The idea for "What It Feels Like for a Girl" came to Madonna when she was halfway through her pregnancy and was trying to keep the media from finding out. Sigsworth sent her a demo backing track containing a sample from the 1993 British film The Cement Garden, directed by Andrew Birkin, in which the voice of actress Charlotte Gainsbourg speaks softly, "Girls can wear jeans and cut their hair short, wear shirts and boots. 'Cause it's OK to be a boy. But for a boy to look like a girl is degrading. 'Cause you think that being a girl is degrading. But secretly you'd love to know what it's like... Wouldn't you? What it feels like for a girl".
Madonna listened to the phrase uttered by Gainsbourg and started writing the song and the melody, resulting in "What It Feels Like for a Girl", a track described by her as a complaint about the politics of sexes. She was going through some emotional turmoil due to living on a different continent than her husband Guy Ritchie. Due to her pregnancy she decided to move to England to be close to him. "Being the girl, I made the first compromise. It's that extra thing that [women] have. I don't think that we're better than men, but I believe there's an extra accommodating chromosome", she told Interview's Ingrid Sischy. Madonna reflected on how her generation of women had been encouraged to be independent, be educated and take over any opportunity life bestowed upon them. But she had realized that being a smart and accomplished woman can come across as threat to men, thereby making them a casualty. Madonna questioned, "Why didn't somebody tell me? Why didn't somebody warn me?' And that's also what that song is about—swallowing that bitter pill... It was a combination of that, and also just feeling incredibly vulnerable that inspired the song."
Written by: Madonna, Tim Mosley, Justin Timberlake, Nate Hills, Joe Henry
Produced by: Timbaland, Timberlake, Danja
Remixed by: Silvio Mühlheim
Madonna said that this, was her favorite song on Hard Candy. She explained to Q magazine in May 2008: "'Devil Wouldn't Recognize You,' I just love lyrically. I like the subject matter. The idea that you're so clever even the Devil wouldn't recognize you." This is a reworked outtake from Madonna's previous album, Confessions On A Dance Floor. It was co-written by Justin Timberlake in the first chunk of time he had with Madonna.
Written by: Madonna, Julie Frost, Jimmy Harry
Produced by: Madonna, William Orbit, Jimmy Harry
Remixed by: Dallas Abramson
This song is from the soundtrack to the romantic drama film W.E.. It finds Madonna singing about the pain of being in love with someone whom she compares to a great work of art such as Mona Lisa. The track plays over the end credits of the movie.
When Madonna was directing her film W.E., her manager Guy Oseary persuaded the singer to compose a song for the soundtrack. Julie Frost was living in Los Angeles at that time and was assessing her priorities in the music world, and wanted to collaborate with a number of artists, Madonna being the first. "She is an icon", Frost said, "But most importantly she has some of the best Pop songs in the history of music... so yeah it's always a dream to work with people like her." Orbit, who was working with Julie Frost and Jimmy Harry on an assignment, contacted them for collaborating with Madonna on "Masterpiece". He had heard Frost's initial composition of the song and knew that Madonna would love it. According to Frost the theme explained to them was about bittersweet love and the hardships felt being in a relationship. Madonna, Frost and Harry sat together with this idea and brainstormed and came up with the lyrics and the melody. Over time, Madonna changed the structure of the song and the final version was ready for recording. Madonna recalled:
"Guy harangued me for the entire time I was filming and editing my movie to write a song. And I said, 'Please, Guy, I'm trying to focus on being a director and I want people to pay attention to the film and I don't have time.' So then I finished the film and I started making my record and somehow magically and miraculously the song emerged, 'Masterpiece,' so thank you, Guy Oseary, for being so irritating."
Written by: Madonna, Anders Bagge, Peer Åström, Stuart Price
Produced by: Madonna, Stuart Price
Remixed by: Piotr Sloń
This song is about Madonna expressing her love for someone, asking that they finally get together, stating she really wants to be with him and change the future. It was inspired by the 1998 dance hit "Music Sounds Better With You" by Stardust. Both songs sample Chaka Khan's "Fate".
Initially the song "Jump" was to be released as the third single from the album. However, "Get Together" was chosen as the third single to coincide with the start of Madonna's 2006 Confessions Tour. The decision was also spurred by the fact that "Get Together" was the third best-selling digital single from the Confessions on a Dance Floor album. Its digital sales stood at 20,000 at that time, whereas digital sales for "Jump" were only 9,000. Hence, "Get Together" was finally chosen as the third single. The cover artwork for the single features Madonna and her Confessions Tour crew members, including the song's producer Stuart Price. The photo alternatively can also be found on the inlay cover of the I'm Going to Tell You a Secret DVD.
Written by: Madonna, Patrick Leonard
Produced by: Madonna, William Orbit, Marius De Vries
Remixed by: Chris Hayton
This song was written by Madonna and her frequent collaborator Patrick Leonard and was inspired by Madonna's daughter Lourdes Leon, whom she gave birth to in 1996. These events inspired a period of introspection for the singer. "That was a big catalyst for me. It took me on a search for answers to questions I'd never asked myself before," she said to Q magazine in 2002. Madonna begun writing the song with Leonard during developing her album Ray of Light. However, unlike their previous work dynamics, Leonard gave little input during studio sessions and only co-wrote four songs for the album, including "Nothing Really Matters". As a result, Madonna did not want him to produce the track. Her manager Guy Oseary then telephoned Orbit, and suggested that the latter send some songs to Madonna. Orbit sent a 13-track digital audio tape to her, which included a demo version of "Nothing Really Matters"'s music. According to Madonna, she had been a fan of Orbit's work for a long time and was pleased with the demo version, which he started to work on.
The main inspiration behind "Nothing Really Matters" and "The Power of Good-Bye" from the same album, was other people judging and dissecting her creative process.
In 'Nothing Really Matters' and 'The Power of Good-Bye', I want people to have a visceral and emotional reaction to things, rather than to have in their mind where all my stuff comes from. With the songs, I wanted to say that it does not matter really what you think or do, just think by yourself, and not judge and dissect others. You know if I see a bug crawling across the floor and it inspired me to write the most incredible love poem, I don't want people to be thinking about their relationship, and then think of my bug crawling across the floor. It's then that the power of good-bye becomes better than the power of acceptance.
Later Madonna told Interview Magazine in 1998 that this song was inspired by her relationship with her daughter Lourdes, who was then just two years old. The singer explained: "She doesn’t know about me being famous. She hasn’t got a clue. And it's completely unconditional love, which I've never known because I grew up without a mother [who died of breast cancer when Madonna was 6]. I mean I did have my father, but I think that the love that you get from a mother is quite different."
Written by: Madonna, Tim Bergling, Arash Pournouri, Carl Falk, Rami Yacoub, Savan Kotecha, Dacoury Natche, Michael Tucker
Produced by: Madonna, Avicii, DJ Dahl, Michael Diamonds
Remixed by: Andrey Zhuk
Madonna said that the song was about 'pleading for a sign from God over an acoustic guitar'. There are also a number of references to illegal substances. The singer explained to David Blaine during a chat for Interview Magazine, that the track was inspired by people's misguided use of drugs to connect with a higher being. "It's about how people take drugs to connect to God or to a higher level of consciousness," Madonna said. "I keep saying, 'Plugging into the matrix'. If you get high, you can do that, which is why a lot of people drop acid or do drugs, because they want to get closer to God."
Written by: Madonna, Stuart Price, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
Produced by: Madonna, Stuart Price
Remixed by: Bobby Harrison
"Hung Up" was one of the first songs written for the album, along with "Sorry" and "Future Lovers". It was inspired by aspects of the 1970s disco era, including the music of ABBA and Giorgio Moroder and the film Saturday Night Fever (1977).
Madonna imagined it to be a cross between the music played at Danceteria, the New York City night club she frequented in her early days, and the music of ABBA. Their 1979 hit "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" formed the basis of the song. Songwriters Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus generally do not allow anyone to sample any of their tracks, an exception being Fugees, who sampled their song "The Name of the Game" for their single "Rumble in the Jungle". In order to gain the rights to sample "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!", Madonna had to send her emissary to Stockholm with a letter which begged them to allow her to sample the song and also telling how much she loved their music. To the BBC she explained: "They never let anyone sample their music. Thank God they didn't say no. [...] They had to think about it, Benny and Björn. They didn't say yes straight away." The pair agreed to let Madonna use the sample only after making a copyright agreement that entitled them to a significant share of the royalties from subsequent sales and airplay. Andersson, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph in October 2005, declared "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" to be the essence of "Hung Up" while joking that it was his favorite Madonna song thus far. He further said:
"We get so many requests from people wanting to use our tracks but we normally say 'no'. This is only the second time we have given permission. We said 'yes' this time because we admire Madonna so much and always have done. She has got guts and has been around for 21 years. That is not bad going."
Musically, it is influenced by the 1970s pop, rhythm and a powerful chorus and the sound clockwise background, symbolizing the fear of losing time. The letter is written as a typical dance and song talks about a strong independent woman who has suffered from problems in their relationships.
Written by: John Bettis, Jon Lind
Produced by: John "Jellybean" Benitez
Remixed by: Silvio Mühlheim & Marco Sartori
This song was written by John Bettis and Jon Lind. The lyricist John Bettis has written many notable songs including, "Top Of The World" and "Goodbye to Love" for the Carpenters, "Slow Hand" for The Pointer Sisters and "One Moment In Time" by Whitney Houston. Lind co-wrote the #1 hit for Vanessa Williams "Save The Best For Last."
The ballad was released as the first single from the soundtrack of the 1985 film Vision Quest, a coming of age drama about a high school wrestler, played by Matthew Modine. Film producers Jon Peters and Peter Guber and music director Phil Ramone were aware of the then unknown Madonna, who was just signed to Sire Records. Ramone took her for dinner at his house in Carolwood Records, where she played some of her music videos. Ramone and the other Warner executives present there, were impressed by Madonna's self-possession and fishnet-crucifix style, and they decided to test her voice in a New York studio. Peters assigned Joel Sill, an executive in charge of music at Warner Bros. Pictures, to handle the recording of the two songs for the film. Sill sent the script of the film to Bettis and Lind. After reading through the script, Bettis wanted to write a song about the situation where the main characters – a young boy and a girl boarding at a house – dance together at a nightclub. He elaborated:
"We were noodling around and 'Crazy for You' was something that Jon was singing over that section of the song. It was really descriptive of the scene in the film. [...] After that, I was out on vacation out in the desert and [Sill] called and said Phil Ramone was in love with the song and wanted to cut it on Madonna. [Laughing] 'Borderline' was out at that time and I said, 'Excuse me? This is for Madonna? Really? Can she sing a song like this?' Jon and I were surprised at the choice of artist at the time, if you want to know the truth."
Written by: Madonna, Rick Nowels
Produced by: Madonna, William Orbit, Patrick Leonard
Remixed by: Dmitry Veber
"The Power of Good-Bye" of this electronic ballad, written by Madonna and Rick Nowels, are supposedly about the singer's ex-husband, actor Sean Penn. Their tumultuous marriage lasted from 1985 - 1989. In the UK, "The Power of Good-Bye" was released as a double A-side with "Little Star", a track from Ray of Light. In the rest of Europe, the song was included on the major single releases as a B-side. Also notable is that the European releases included several experimental remixes of the song by Luke Slater plus one remix by Dallas Austin, who previously worked with Madonna on Bedtime Stories.
Nowels commended the singer on her songwriting skills, being later invited to Los Angeles for writing sessions. According to Lucy O'Brien, author of Madonna: Like an Icon, "Nowels was struck by Madonna's lyric writing", admitting that, "It was deep, poetic and intelligent. When she's on and at her best she's on a par with Joni Mitchell or Paul Simon". He also stated that the singer's songwriting prowess was benefited from her "voracious reading". Three songs from their sessions were selected for the final track list, "The Power of Good-Bye", "Little Star" and "To Have and Not to Hold".
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