Bedtime story

“Bedtime Story” is a collaboration between Madonna and Icelandic singer Björk . Being a fan of Björk, Madonna wanted to attract her to work on her album, but the Icelandic singer initially refused to cooperate. However, the producer of Bedtime Stories , Nelly Hooper (who also worked with Björk) managed to persuade Björk to write a song for Madonna.

“Bedtime Story” is strongly knocked out both from the general style of the album “ Bedtime Stories ” , and from other works of Madonna. Quite conditionally, the song belongs to the dance genre, because, despite the use of trance rhythms, it is quite difficult to dance to it. The lyrics are also atypical for Madonna: he offers the listener to plunge into himself, into the world of the subconscious, although the singer has always been a connoisseur of physical pleasures and material culture. The melody of the song clearly contrasted with the R&B sound of the album, in the very first notes you hear the sound characteristic of the co-author of the song - Björk . A sharp difference from the previous works of Madonna led the single to complete failure in the US market: it was the first work of the singer who did not make it to the Top 40 national chart. However, in the British and Australian markets, the single managed to get into the top ten.

The significance of the “Bedtime Story” in Madonna’s career is that it was this composition that became the first step towards a new dance culture, emerging in the world. It was this song that served as the point from which the worldview of the pop icon gradually began to change, which eventually resulted in one of her best albums, “ Ray of Light, ” and the path he began continued in the subsequent albums of the singer.

The song was performed during the Brit Awards in 1995 in London, where Madonna appeared as Lady Godiva . In the first ever since tour “ Drowned World Tour ” , held in 2001, the singer did not perform “Bedtime Story” , but in the next “ Re-Invention World Tour ” of 2004, the song was presented as an interlude before the performance of “ Nothing ” Fails . "

Like the composition itself, the video on it became one of the most experimental and risky in Madonna’s career. It was positioned as the most expensive video of the time, whose budget amounted to about $ 5 million . The director of the video, Mark Romanek, placed the sleeping Madonna in a futuristic interior, while the remaining frames are a kaleidoscope of the singer’s dreams, surreal forms of her subconscious: she appears floating in the air and giving life to a flock of pigeons floating in space , her face is depicted on the sides of the soaring cube, on the mirrors . Many phrases of the song appear carved in stone in Arabic script, written on a plate under water. At the end of the clip, on the face of Madonna, her mouth and eyes changed their places, which is clearly inspired by the painting of the famous and beloved Madonna of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo . Also in this video there are a lot of direct references to the film of the Soviet director Sergei Parajanov “ Color of the pomegranate ”. Two frames of the video clip used allusions to scenes from films directed by Andrei Tarkovsky - “Stalker” (a girl moving a glass by the power of her eyes) and “Nostalgia” (“birth” of pigeons from a statue of the Virgin Mary).

In 2004, a new video for the song was filmed for the Re-Invention World Tour by director Dago Gonzalez .

European Single on Cassette and CD

1. “Bedtime Story” (Album Edit)

2. “Bedtime Story” (Junior's Single Mix)

European Single on CD

1. “Bedtime Story” (Album Edit)

2. “Bedtime Story” (Junior's Wet Dream Mix)

3. “Bedtime Story” (Junior's Dream Drum Dub)

4. “Bedtime Story” (Orbital Mix)

5. “Bedtime Story” (Junior's Sound Factory Mix)

British single on CD (limited edition)

CD 1

1. “Bedtime Story” (Junior's Single Mix)

2. "Secret" (Allstar Mix)

3. “Secret” (Some Bizarre Mix)

4. “Secret” (Some Bizarre Single Mix)

CD 2 1. “Bedtime Story” (Album Edit) 2. “Bedtime Story” (Junior's Wet Dream Mix) 3. “Bedtime Story” (Junior's Dream Drum Dub) 4. “Bedtime Story” (Orbital Mix) 5. “Bedtime Story ”(Junior's Sound Factory Mix)

British single on 12-inch drive (limited edition)

• "Party 1"

1. “Bedtime Story” (Junior's Sound Factory Mix)

2. “Bedtime Story” (Junior's Sound Factory Dub)

• "Party 2"

1. “Bedtime Story” (Junior's Wet Dream Mix)

2. “Bedtime Story” (Orbital Mix)

12-inch European single

• "Party 1"

1. “Bedtime Story” (Junior's Sound Factory Mix)

2. “Bedtime Story” (Junior's Sound Factory Dub)

• "Party 2"

1. “Bedtime Story” (Junior's Wet Dream Mix)

2. “Bedtime Story” (Orbital Mix)

American single on cassette and CD

1. “Bedtime Story” (Album Edit)

2. "Survival" (Album Version)

American Maxi Single on CD

1. “Bedtime Story” (Album Edit)

2. “Bedtime Story” (Junior's Wet Dream Mix)

3. “Bedtime Story” (Junior's Dreamy Drum Dub)

4. "Survival" (Album Version)

5. “Bedtime Story” (Orbital Mix)

6. “Bedtime Story” (Junior's Sound Factory Mix)

7. “Bedtime Story” (Junior's Single Mix)

• List of the most expensive music videos

Text Bedtime Story