August 16 marked the 52nd birthday of pop icon, Madonna. She is still as relevant as ever — even if she does seem to be eclipsed by some of this wacky glam pop madness we are witnessing. If she wasn’t, I wouldn’t be wondering if she prefers Red Lobster or Olive Garden for her birthday dinner — or maybe she prefers something a little more casual like Fuddrucker’s.
I remember my sister and I played the hell out of her “Like a Virgin” tape. At the time, tapes were all the rage and vinyl were becoming a bit dated; so you could only imagine how high-tech we thought we were. I remember listening to it on long family road trips in our tan station wagon that looked like a Sugar Daddy caramel pop. My dad, being the cool guy that he is, even used her entire album as the soundtrack to my sister’s 9th birthday party — which he documented on our awesome family camcorder (the kind where you had to carry the actual video recording device of the camcorder on a strap like a purse).
Anyways, I will always love Madge. She will always take precedence in my pop culture database — which brings me to one of the main reasons why I adore her: controversy.
Actually, I never thought of any of her videos or antics as “controversial.” I see nothing wrong with simulating masturbation in her concert nor do I find offense in a book that has her in a sexually compromising position with Big Daddy Kane and Naomi Campbell.
I mean, c’mon — who hasn’t been in similar situations?
In any matter, here is a collection of some of Madonna’s greatest videos and antics that many people saw as “controversial.”
Here’s a nice family-friendly instructional on the art of fellatio (featured in the movie Truth or Dare):
The wondrous burning crosses and interracial love of “Like a Prayer”:
Follow the jump for more videos…
This video went along with her whole Sex phase. The video just kind of scared me. It’s like a sexual haunted house:
The original video for “American Life” which got banned for being a bit unpatriotic…or maybe it was her rapping (which I kind of enjoyed).
Watch Madonna – American Life (original version) in Music | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
Then there was this video for “What it Feels Like For a Girl.” At this point, I think censors needed to fulfill their “Madonna Controversy” quota. Old people, ATM robberies, car crashes, pulling fake guns on cops — the only thing wrong about it was that it was TOO AWESOME:
What would be your favorite controversial Madonna moment to celebrate her birthday?
