Material girl
| Material girl | |
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| Madonna | |
| publication | November 12, 1984 (album) January 23, 1985 (single) |
| length | 4:01 |
| Genre (s) | Dance pop |
| Author (s) | Peter Brown, Robert Rans |
| Producer (s) | Nile Rodgers |
| Label | Sire , Warner Bros. |
| album | Like a virgin |
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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Material Girl is a Madonna song written by Peter Brown and Robert Rans and produced by Nile Rodgers . It appeared in November 1984 on the album Like a Virgin and was released from it as a second single on January 23, 1985.
Music and lyrics
Material Girl is a dance pop song. It is based on a drum machine beat and contains some synthesizer riffs. Similar to a robot, a background singer repeats the sentence during the refrain: "Living in a material world". In the song, Madonna wants a man who respects her, takes her seriously and takes her into account, or who pays her bills (“give me proper credit”), and who doesn't waste his money, but holds it together (“Only boys that save their pennies make my rainy day ").
background
In 1986, Madonna said in an interview with Company magazine that the concept of the text had similarities with her life before her breakthrough and that the sound was very provocative. She also said: “I am very career-oriented. Some women are also ambitious like in the song. They are interested in men who have the means to make a good life for themselves. That is the security. It's longer than feelings. ”23 years later, she wrote on Rolling Stone about her feelings after hearing the demos for Like a Virgin and Material Girl . “I liked both because they were not only ironic and provocative, but they didn't look like myself at all. I'm not materially minded and certainly wasn't a virgin. By the way: how can you even be 'like a virgin'? I liked these word games, I found them clever, weird and cool. "
In 2010 Madonna brought out a fashion collection with her daughter Lourdes and in collaboration with the department store chain Macy’s that bore the name of the song.
Music video
The music video was directed by Mary Lambert , who also directed the videos for Borderline and Like a Virgin. The video is divided into two parts: the main plot is very much inspired by the Carol Channing song Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend and alternates with recordings of film clips. While Madonna is portrayed in the main plot as a materially oriented girl who pulls the money out of men’s pockets, the opposite can be seen from the film clips.
At the beginning of the video, two men watch a film with Madonna on a screen; one of the men, played by Keith Carradine , is introduced as a powerful man in business / show business. In the main story that begins afterwards, Madonna is preferably dressed in blondes based on the model of Marilyn Monroe , then she accepts a present from a man and goes down a staircase. In one room she is on the phone while Carradine overhears her and throws his (expensive) gift in the trash can after hearing Madonna utter: "He think he can impress me by giving me expensive gifts". At the end Carradine comes and gives her a bouquet of flowers she picked herself. He also buys his inconspicuous old car from an old man for a lot of money, Madonna appears and gets in with the self-picked bouquet in hand. At the end, Madonna and Carradine kiss in the car.
While shooting the video in Los Angeles, Madonna met Sean Penn on the set , with whom she was married until 1989.
Cover versions
- 1989: Henry Mancini
- 1998: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- 1998: Fargetta (If You Buy This Record Your Life Will Be Better)
- 1999: KMFDM
- 2001: Jive Bunny & the Mastermixers (Ultimate 80s Party)
- 2001: Nicole Kidman feat. Jim Broadbent & Natalie Mendoza
- 2001: Richard Cheese
- 2006: Hilary Duff feat. Haylie Duff
- 2010: Marteria (Marteria Girl)
- 2012: L'uke