Madonna

Why is Madonna one of, if not the greatest pop star that ever lived? Is it the gap in her teeth, her devil may care attitude toward critics, her relentless dedication to pop music, her shock value, her dance routines, or is it simply a combination of all of these things and then some? Pretty much. Madonna has been making hit records since the early 80s and has been an icon longer than I've been alive. And there is a good reason for this: she is amazing! Yes, I'm a big fan. Yes, I own several of her albums: 11 to be exact (1 concert, the 3 greatest hits compilations, 6 studio, and 1 soundtrack). And there are still some that I need to get.

Madonna.com lists her albums by type and the number is, a staggering, 25 albums (this includes compilations, soundtracks, and remix albums) They exclude the concert recording of The Confessions Tour under the live albums but it was bundled with a concert video so it's understandable. Her site also lists her singles: 69 of them.  According to her Wikipedia page, she has 75 singles considering the fact that her website left off any singles from Hard Candy, I'm likely to believe that number to be slightly closer to the actual number of singles she has released. Again according to her Wikipedia page, Hard Candy was her 37th Billboard Hot 100 top ten hit. She has had 11 number one singles on the main chart and 39 number one dance over the span of 26 years. In comparison, Cher has made 25 albums, 76 singles (in a 46-year span), and only 4 number one singles, 1 number one dance single, and 9 number one club singles. Lady GaGa has had 16 singles I cannot find officially how many have been number one hits (pretty much all of them). She has done three albums in my opinion (fame monster is a separate album form the fame). Britney Spears has released 7 studio albums, 4 compilations, and 37 singles. According to her Wikipedia discography only 4 of them made number one status, I know that a lot more of her singles made number one slots just no official data. Christina Aguilera has released 6 studio albums, 1 compilation, 30 singles, and 4 of those singles hit number one. P!nk has released 5 studio albums, 1 live, 2 compilations, and had 26 singles, which 3 hit number one. Kylie Minogue has made 11 studio albums, 4 live, and 9 compilation albums and 51 singles. Only 4 of her singles have been charted in the US and all 4 hit number one on the US dance chart.  Now all of the chart information and number of albums is from Wikipedia so if you know better or have better sources please step up with them.

With all of the album nonsense out of the way, it becomes clear that Madonna has made more than all of the rest excluding Cher but she has been recording longer. Furthermore, more of Madonna's singles have hit number one on the mainstream as well as the dance charts. Now besides her prowess at making albums and topping charts. There remains the issue of who has sold more. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, she has sold 275 million albums making her the hands-down winner.

Now beyond record sales and hits remains the actual talent portion. She definitely has a certain amount of talent:

And finally, the video that endeared Madge to me even more, even though I love hydrangeas: 

Basically, love her or hate her she is the greatest female, hell, the greatest pop star that has ever been. Lady GaGa is the only one of the new batch of pop stars, aka anybody post-1997, that can rival Madonna for her star power. Then again Madonna is slowly starting to slip further and further from the center of focus in today's ever-increasing world of pop music. Hopefully her new album due out next year will push her back into Public focus. 

Now bear with me for a few minutes longer. I love all of the pop stars mentioned in this post. I have neglected to mention a few like Katy Perry, Beyonce, Rihanna, etc. mostly because we know that they have serious star power. Katy Perry and Rihanna are great talents but they don't really possess the type of star power that is needed to rival Madonna and they have yet to become legends so they must wait until they develop further or have a bigger catalog. Beyonce is slipping, her star power is fading fast. Her last few albums have been rather lackluster to say the least and besides she is technically an R&B Singer, not a pop star so there. 

Yes, Britney has fallen from pop grace but Femme Fatale is a very strong pop album and as long as she stays on top of the trends she may actually be able to take on GaGa in the near future instead of appearing on a Rihanna track as a guest vocalist for a remix.

Christina still has it her voice is still stellar and her songs are uber crap. I mean they make Britney songs sound good some times and that is saying something. However, the songs that Sia wrote for Christina on Bionic are stellar. 

P!nk, yeah she is still freaking awesome, and she could get to where Madonna is but I think she is more likely to quit and form a punk band before she could.

 Kylie is, well, not international enough to really do any major sales outside of Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. She every few years has an album that does well here in the US and occasionally in Asia but after that, it's years again until she has any success. Fever was the last album she had that really did anything in the US before the release of Aphrodite and Fever was released in 2002. 

GaGa is by and far more likely to beat Madonna at her own game than any of the other girls, mostly because she is a 21st (maybe 23rd) century Madonna on steroids. She has given up even pretending anymore and keeps making allusions to Madonna. 

So yeah this pretty much details why Madonna is so freaking awesome and so on and so forth. 

102 Songs

That is correct there are currently 102 songs on my "fav songs" playlist.  Even with a busy college schedule one must take time to listen to music. These songs are a mixture of current favorites and constant favorites. And no I did not type this list. Hopefully most of these people you know if not enjoy getting to listen to some new music even if it's old. ; )

1. What a Feeling (Radio Edit) [feat. Kelly Rowland]: Alex Gaudino
2. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy: The Andrews Sisters
3. In Love for a While (Radio Version): Anna Rossinelli
4. Little Bird: Annie Lennox
5. Walking On Broken Glass: Annie Lennox
6. No More "I Love You's": Annie Lennox
7. Shining Light: Annie Lennox
8. All the Same to Me: Anya Marina
9. Make My Body Rock: Ari Gold
10. Mr. Mistress: Ari Gold
11. Where the Music Takes You: Ari Gold
12. Don't Rain On My Parade:  Barbra Streisand
13. Come Together: The Beatles
14. I Wrote the Book: Beth Ditto
15. Crystalline: Björk
16. Moon: Björk
17. Virus: Björk
18. Copy & Paste: BoA
19. Don't Know What to Say: BoA
20. I Wanna Go: Britney Spears
21. How I Roll: Britney Spears
22. Big Fat Bass (feat. will.i.am): Britney Spears
23. Up n' Down: Britney Spears
24. Fuck You: Cee Lo Green
25. I Want Your Sex: Chris Mann
26. It Gets Better : Chris Salvatore
27. Fighter: Christina Aguilera
28. Stronger than Ever: Christina Aguilera
29. Jar of Hearts: Christina Perri
30. You Make Me Feel...(Feat. Sabi): Cobra Starship
31. Gay Pirates: Cosmo Jarvis
32. Dreams: The Cranberries
33. Linger : The Cranberries
34. Crawling Back to You: Daughtry
35. Long Way: Daughtry
36. What Have We Become: Daughtry
37. On the Inside : Daughtry
38. Fit Right In: Deborah Harry
39. Roll To Me: Del Amitri
40. Personal Jesus: Depeche Mode
41. In the Dark: Dev
42. Let's Call the Whole Thing Off: Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
43. Changed The Way You Kiss Me (Mensah Remix): Example
44. Follow You Down: Gin Blossoms
45. River Deep, Mountain High (Glee Cast Version): Glee Cast
46. Baobei (Chinese Baby): Jason Chen MiniAchilles
47. Don't Wanna Go Home: Jason Derulo
48. Leave It All Behind: Jason Walker
49. Do It Like a Dude: Jessie J
50. Abracadabra: Jessie J
51. Who's Laughing Now: Jessie J
52. Who You Are: Jessie J
53. Just In Love: Joe Jonas
54. Too Little, Too Late: JoJo
55. Dancing Tonight: Kat DeLuna
56. Drop It Low: Kat Deluna
57. Caught In The Crowd: Kate Miller-Heidke
58. Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) [Explicit]: Katy Perry
59. Peacock [Explicit]: Katy Perry
60. There She Goes: The La's
61. Nothing Really Matters: Madonna
62. Sky Fits Heaven: Madonna
63. W T F: Matt Zarley
64. What The Hell: Michael Henry & Justin Robinett
65. Dancing Crazy: Miranda Cosgrove
66. Oui Mais... Non: Mylène Farmer
67. Lonely Lisa: Mylène Farmer
68. Don't Forget Me: Neko Case
69. You Get What You Give: New Radicals
70. Ocean : Nick Hagelin
71. People Go Wild: Nick Hagelin
72. Super Bass [Explicit]: Nicki Minaj
73. Don't Hold Your Breath: Nicole Scherzinger
74. Heartbreak Down: P!nk
75. Cooter!: Pandora Boxx
76. Who's My B**ch: Paradiso Girls
77. This City (feat. Lupe Fiasco): Patrick Stump
78. Love Etc.: Pet Shop Boys
79. Hush Hush; Hush Hush: The Pussycat Dolls
80. S&M: Rihanna
81. What's My Name?: Rihanna
82. We Found Love (feat. Calvin Harris): Rihanna
83. Moving On (Naked Version): Sarah Dawn Finer
84. Naturally: Selena Gomez & the Scene
85. Love You Like A Love Song: Selena Gomez & The Scene
86. All For You: Sister Hazel
87. Little Miss Can't Be Wrong: Spin Doctors
88. Not Gonna Get Us: t.A.T.u.
89. All The Things She Said: t.A.T.u.
90. How Soon Is Now?: t.A.T.u.
91. You Belong With Me: Taylor Swift
92. Mean: Taylor Swift
93. Where We Belong: Thriving Ivory
94. Great DJ: The Ting Tings
95. Shut Up and Let Me Go: The Ting Tings
96. Wordy Rappinghood (Evian Mix): Uffie
97. Love Reign O'er Me: The Who
98. With Love Baby: Witloof Bay
99. Heads Will Roll: Yeah Yeah Yeahs
100. Is It True? (Eurovision Iceland 2009 Orginal Remix): Yohanna
101. I Am the Best (내가 제일 잘 나가): 2NE1
102. What's Up: 4 Non Blondes

Random post about acne

I'll confess that we all have bad skin days especially those of us that are just finally escaping the grasp of lord puberty. Ah, the days of waking up to find hair somewhere new and my voice a full octave lower are almost a distant memory. Evidently lord puberty's friend the earl of acne has planned on living the next few years on the face of many unwashed Americans though. I'm 21 and still have occasional break outs but far less frequently and not as bad as when I was in my teens because I switched to an organic soap, eat better, try and sleep more, bathe regularly, and in general my hormones have leveld out, well for the most part. As Xander Harris said in episode 14 of season 2 of Buffy: "I'm 17. Looking at linoleum makes me wanna have sex."Pretty much doesn't change for a long time.

Anyway back to zits. I understand most of us can't help them, they just happen. One day we are like, wow I have skin, and next day wow, I have zits. That would be when 16 year old girls beg their mothers to get them Proactive. I never used proactive, I used Dial bar soap. It did the trick for a long time but finally at around 18 my skin got behind just needing anti-bacterial soap. So I did the next logical thing of buying Oxy pads. If you don't know what these are, they are an acne treatment that comes on this little moist cotton like pads and are very inexpensive at Walmart and Fred Meyers (Kroger) and other places that sell skin treatments. The main active ingredient in Oxy pads is Salicylic acid (about .5% per pad). I used this one (which has 2% salicylic acid per pad) once and it really messed up my face because I have sensitive skin (don't we all) and always had light acne: something with this much salicylic acid really burned my skin. These products do work, for a while. How they work is quite simple: every time you use one it acts as a small chemical peel (same main ingredient, it is just a much smaller dose) and takes longer to see the affects. Now, they didn't get rid of my acne permanently but I a saw an almost immediate decrease in pimples and black heads. Long term results were that my face was always super shiny because the skin was being peeled off revealing newer, younger, fresher skin, and if I stopped treatment because it was drying out my skin (also contains trace amounts of benzoyl peroxide and some rubbing alcohol) leaving flaking and slight chemical burns, I would have another break out that was often worse than the original one I was treating. I ended up using it on the black heads on my nose and when I had a few zits pop up I would hit them with a pad and call it good. I eventually gave up using the pads all together and switched to using Dial on my face and an exfoliating shower scrub by Axe. Eventually I found that the dial soap was increasing my break outs because it was a communal bar of soap. So I was scrubbing my face with everyone else's hair and body oil. Duh, my skin was breaking out! I was putting more dirt on than I was taking off. Finally, about a year ago my sister gave me part of a bar of soap that she had bought from a seller on Etsy.com (click on the link to be taken to the soap). This is the seller's description of the product:

"This is a gentle and conditioning bar of soap made with skin-loving ingredients. Activated charcoal helps to unclog pores, remove impurities and excess oils, and detoxify the skin. Evening primrose oil is rich in vitamins and minerals, and works to repair damaged skin while softening and smoothing. Jojoba oil is a penetrating moisturizer that is similar to our skin’s own natural oils, and is rich in proteins and minerals. A combination of olive oil, grapeseed oil, and castor oil attracts moisture and nourishes the skin. Shea butter and cocoa butter work to soften, soothe, and improve skin flexibility. Coconut oil is easily absorbed by the skin, and creates an incredible lather, while palm kernel oil ensures a long-lasting bar of soap. This soap is scented with an herbaceous combination of eucalyptus and rosemary essential oils which also help to repair and renew the skin."


It really works. I have seen a decrease in acne and black heads. The pads made my pours larger to get the dirt oil and impurities out. My skin has been permanently damaged by using Oxy products. Luckily I used them infrequently enough that the damage is minor and it did not result in cystic acne: some companies and dermatologist, as well as skin obsessed older sisters claim that using products like Oxy frequently for extended periods of time can lead to cystic acne because the pours never close causing more junk to get caught in them. The best part of this soap is that it is all natural. All of the ingredients are used constantly in homeopathic acne treatments as well as morsturizers and other skin treatments to achieve "healthier  and more youthful skin." It works marvels and can be used on more than just the face. My most troubled area forever was my back: I hate backne! You can't pop 'em so one day you move and they pop and ruin your favorite pale blue t-shirt. Since using this soap I only have occasional brake outs and that is usually when I go for an extended time without showering or I get very dirty. Also, using an organic shampoo and conditioner on my hair keeps my hair cleaner causing less dirt and oil from my hair to get on my skin. Another way to keep acne off your face is too keep your hair out of your face. Which means, either shorter hair or keeping your bangs out of your face. Good luck scene kids.

Men are very bad about taking care of their skin. Especially celebrity men. Y'all make ass loads of money and evidently don't know how to tell your personal assistant to buy a bottle of Clean and Clear or to call a dermatologist that does house calls. Admittedly most guys are like whatever it will go away on it's own. Evidently not. Acne is not just a teen thing, it often plagues people well into their 30s sometimes even their 40s or 50s. So it is something that has to be taken care and it is often as simple as changing your diet and washing your face every morning and night. I know that is so much work but it's your skin, your bodies largest organ, and it's with you for life so take care of it.