Madonna & Mirwais: An Impressive Instant. Chapter Two — “American Life”
“My inspiration for this was just . . . life. What I have been through the past few years, the evolution I have gone through, in my mind spiritually and emotionally, the growth that has occurred between my husband and I in our relationship, understanding your responsibilities and raising children, seeing my place in the world more objectively, all those things inspired what I have to say.” — Madonna.
“We tried to underproduce many tracks to make them sound rougher than the average international pop production, we wanted to do something totally modern and futuristic but not very apparent. You have to be very minimalist and choose every sound very carefully. Some tracks were composed in the big studio; that can be very dangerous because you can lose perspective. But all initial directions of the tracks were made in my home studio.” — Mirwais.
Chapter one can be found here.
Madonna’s eight studio album “Music,” released in August 2000, was a critical and commercial success, topping the charts in 23 countries within its first week of release and producing 3 Top 40 singles. In September of the following year, Madonna completed the acclaimed Drowned World Tour (her first since 1993’s Girlie Show), playing 47 shows across North America and Canada, becoming the biggest grossing tour by a solo artist that year. There had also been significant changes in Madonna’s personal life as she moved to London to raise her children with husband Guy Ritchie, while continuing to immerse herself in the teachings of Kabbalah (a tradition of Jewish interpretations of Biblical scripture).
The recording sessions for what would become her next album, “American Life” began in late 2001, only months after the events of the September 11 attacks. Madonna revealed how this volatile political atmosphere would affect her mind-set, “We are always removed from the mayhem, the really bad things that happen seem to be really far away. Of course, what happened in New York, 9/11 was like a huge wake up call… we can no longer live in this dream world and pretend that we’re all safe and that we don’t have a part in making the world a better place and to do what we can do to change the world… We have a huge responsibility as a superpower to heal the world and bring about unity and I have that responsibility as an artist.”
At this point, Madonna had been in the entertainment industry for almost 20 years, attaining celebrity status few could ever dream, a distinction that would not bring happiness or the fulfilment she expected, “I know it sounds clichéd,” she says. “But I’ve had 20 years of fame and fortune, and I feel that I have a right to an opinion on what it is and what it isn’t. All everyone is obsessed about at the moment is being a celebrity. I’m saying that’s bullshit and who knows better than me? Before it happens you have all kinds of notions about how wonderful celebrity is and how much joy it’s going to bring you. Then you arrive…”
As Madonna began contemplating her changing values she would come to a self-described ‘revelation’, “The way we look and how much money we have are illusions. They don’t last, they’re not important and they don’t bring us happiness… what does bring us happiness is the state of our souls, the way we treat other people, how sharing and giving and loving we are.” This reflection, coupled with broader observations on the world’s volatile state would shape the lyrical direction of the American Life album.
Madonna enlisted producer Mirwais Ahmadzaï to collaborate on the project, having work together on Music. His influence can be heard throughout the album’s sparse production, dominated by acoustic guitar, distorted synths, and electronic percussion, accompanied by the philosophical and probing lyrical content. Mirwais recalls the extent of his contribution on American Life, producing every track and co-writing all but three songs on the album, “This way, this album is like one of my albums. It is a very close collaboration. Technically, I am the producer, but I don’t work with many people because I am not interested to work like that. Yet if she wasn’t famous, I think we could work together exactly the same way.”
Madonna elaborated further on their collaborative relationship and how the demos for American Life evolved dramatically, “We just fool around in the studio. He works a little bit alone. We always have our time alone. I’ll be working on my stuff alone, writing my very simple stuff on guitar and you’d be surprised what you hear now on the record which sounds big and Hi-Tech or super arranged. The original demo was a little tape I made in my living room strumming a guitar and singing. So I love how I can bring that to him and he can transform that into something. Or we’re just fooling around in the studio and he comes up with an idea, turns a knob and I go ‘Oh my God that’s beautiful, I love that. Put that on tape I’m going to sing over’ so anything goes.”
Madonna was also continuing to evolve as a musician becoming more proficient at playing guitar after beginning lessons with Monte Pittman in 2000, “It’s just kind of like a poetic magic that happens. Songs just come to me when I hear music. Something jars something in me and I have an emotional reaction to it and I just start writing. Now that I’ve learned how to play guitar I don’t need to rely on other people to help me out with that process. So maybe that’s why the songs probably seem a bit more intimate than other songs but I just start playing the guitar and certain chords strike certain feelings or notes inside of me and it’s just a stream of consciousness, things start coming and I write them down.” Pittman recalls, “I was going over to her house almost every day and teaching her how to play guitar. And she was just really getting into it of being able to just write her own songs or be able to play her own songs, or songs that she’s always liked.”
The majority of the album was recorded at Westlakes Studio in Los Angeles and Olympic Studio in London, however some songs were initially tracked at Mirwais’ home studio. The development would be prolonged as Madonna shifted focus onto several projects during this time, including a new film, Swept Away, and starring in the Broadway show Up For Grabs. Madonna elaborates further, “We recorded it everywhere it seems. I started recording it over a year ago and I just kept stopping to do other things. A good part of it was done in England and a good part of it was done in Los Angeles. Because I did it over such a long period of time, I was able to really hone things, change things… I tend to make records in short chunks of time and this time, I really took my time.”
During the recording sessions for American Life, Madonna would contribute a track to the upcoming James Bond film, Die Another Day. She previously had significant success featuring on other film soundtracks, with Beautiful Stranger and American Pie and MGM studio executives were vying for a commercial hit after the lukewarm success of the previous Bond theme, The World Is Not Enough by Garbage. Madonna was hesitant at first, “I hemmed and hawed about it for a while because just for that reason though. Everybody wants to do the theme song of a James Bond movie, and I never liked to do what everybody else likes to do. It’s just some perverse thing in me, right? So, but then I thought about it and I said, you know what? James Bond needs to get — needs to get techno so..” By March 2002, Madonna signed a contract with MGM to record a track for the film, however the eventual result would not be a typical Bond theme.
At this point, the pair had recorded several demos for American Life, but decided to hone in on one that they felt may be appropriate for the film. After viewing a rough portion, Madonna began writing lyrics to compliment the themes of the film, “The song I wrote for the Bond film is about destroying your ego, and it’s juxtaposing the metaphor of the fight against good and bad, and it’s set inside the whole universe of Bond. Like all Bond films, somebody’s chasing him or he’s chasing somebody and it’s always a fight against good and evil. I wanted to take it to another level. It’s kind of a metaphor.. I’m fighting myself.”
The song would go through numerous changes, including a re-write of the chorus, title change and the removal of a spoken-word intro. Film executives requested the composition bear more similarity to the sound of traditional Bond themes, so Mirwais contacted Michel Colombier, who previously worked with the pair on Don’t Tell Me to arrange an orchestra on the track. Colombier was provided with a rough screening of the film’s opening and an early version of the song for inspiration. Michel would then fly to London’s AIR studio to conduct a 60-piece orchestra, overseen by Madonna. In addition to the arrangement featured on the track, a tango section would be recorded, but not utilised as Madonna was unhappy with the result. Michel later recalled, “In the instrumental version, there is a moment when I went into almost a tango feeling. At the rehearsal, they did it extremely well, instinctively. When we started doing the take, it just lost the ‘fire’. Madonna in the booth grabbed the talkback mic and told them, “It’s not sexy enough, think about sex!”. She really participates.” In addition to Die Another Day, Colombier would compose the score to Madonna’s 2002 film Swept Away and additional tracks that would feature on American Life. Madonna notes, “Mirwais brought Michel to me. ‘Die Another Day’ is so cinematic. I’m so excited when I get to work with a live orchestra. Those strings in ‘Die Another Day’ are chilling and because of that, it’s one of my favorite songs.”
Colombier sent the recording to Mirwais, where he would splice the arrangement, creating a stop-start effect reminiscent of his manipulation of vocals and guitar on Madonna’s previous album (Music). Colombier notes, “What you hear is not what I wrote. The way that it came out is completely Mirwais. He’s a master manipulator. Sixty real strings, played live, became audio files in his computer. They can be chopped like real pieces of fabric. He’s amazingly brilliant with that.” Orchestra engineer Geoff Foster similarly recalls, “They wanted something big and brash and in yer face. Mirwais didn’t want strings in the traditional sense with that big bed of lushness. She’d done that with Frozen and moved on… The original arrangement was more complete and flowing, and Mirwais totally cut it up.”
Mirwais utilised this effect throughout much of his work with Madonna, “Many people think stuttering is my trademark,” Mirwais says. “But in the future, everyone will do this. People get upset because they think it is not natural to skip and stutter the music. But I do it because it is natural. The stuttering can help you create a new groove. Everything has been done, but with the Pro Tools, you can play with the silence. I stop the audio to create a silence, and it gives something exciting to the music.”
The spiced string arrangement compliments the rest of the soundscape dominated by electronic synths and drums alongside Madonna’s stuttered, processed vocals creating a synthetic and futuristic soundscape.
Die Another Day reflects Mirwais’ distinctive production techniques and Madonna’s boldness to create a Bond theme entirely different from those before. Released as a single in October 2002, the track would be a commercial success, becoming the highest-charting James Bond theme since Duran Duran’s 1985 A View To A Kill and would also be released on American Life six months later. Due to the track’s lyrical content which explores destruction of ego and an internal psychological battle, the songs release would be indicative of what would come next.
While Music began with Madonna vying the DJ to spin a record, American Life in contrast starts with the artist questioning the lengths she must go to achieve fame, “Do I have to change my name/Will it get me far/Should I lose some weight/ Am I gonna be a star”. Madonna reevaluates the ‘American Dream’ and what she once considered as success. Behind an assertive electronic drum beat and jarring synth line, Madonna reflects on her many physical reinventions, “I tried to be a boy, I tried to be a girl/ I tried to be a mess, I tried to be the best/ I guess I did it wrong, that’s why I wrote this song” elaborating on the significance of the lyric, “That trying on different guises, different personalities, being a rebel, being androgynous, doing all these kind of things trying to be number one, on the top. But I guess I did it wrong, meaning I’m 100 percent sure that getting people’s approval is not a goal to have in life.”
She recalls the difficulty of forming genuine friendships and losing sight of her true purpose in the pursuit of professional accomplishment, “I tried to stay ahead, I tried to stay on top/I tried to play the part/ but somehow I forgot/Just what I did it for and why I wanted more”
Throughout the track Madonna questions the appeal of the modern life, declaring “This type of modern life, is it for me? /This type of modern life, is it for free?” referring to the contemporary ‘American Dream’ that has consumed both America and the world, “Nothing in this modern world is free and nothing is what it seems. Life is very confusing right now. on the one hand, we are so advanced but on the other hand no one is relating to each other, families are destroyed, we are blowing each other up… It’s a very confusing time and it’s my reflection of that feeling. What is important in life? What really matters? Will success and beauty, fame and fortune bring you happiness? I don’t think so. I can say that because I’ve been striving for it for the last 20 years. It’s about the realization that none of those things really matter.” While the ‘American Dream’ is a belief that anyone can attain their own form of success through equal opportunity and fulfilling work, Madonna questions her own American Dream and the listeners, “The American Dream is… you can do anything you want with your life. You can start from nothing and have it all, but what is having it all? What is ‘all’? at the end of the day?”
Madonna recalls the genesis of the polarising rap segment that appears during the outro of the track, “Basically, we [she and Ahmadzaï] had recorded the whole song and we had this instrumental thing at the end,” said Madonna, “and Mirwais was like, ‘You know what, you have to go and do a rap.’ And I was like, ‘Get out of here, I don’t rap.’ And he was like, ‘Yeah you do. Just go in there, just do it.’ He totally encouraged me. I had nothing planned, nothing written, and he just told me to do stream-of-consciousness, whatever I was thinking. Because I was always drinking soy lattes in the studio, and I drive my Mini Cooper to the studio, I was just like, ‘OK, let me just talk about the things that I like.’ So I went and it was just total improv and obviously it was sloppy at first, but I got out all my thoughts and then I wrote everything down that I said and then I perfected the timing of it. So it was totally spontaneous.” According to Mirwais, an alternate version of the track was recorded with the rap buried in the mix, however, they opted to release the version with it more pronounced.
While Madonna wrote American Life as a reflection of her personal experience with fame, there is an underlying political interpretation that becomes apparent with the original, aborted film clip and the live performance featured on the Reinvention Tour. The controversial music video features vivid and confronting images of war and destruction portrayed in a fashion runway show. This juxtaposition represents societies preoccupation with glamour and beauty rather than the unsettling and imperfect reality of life, with Madonna using images of war, topical due to the political climate at the time to demonstrate this ignorance. Reflecting on those sessions years later, Madonna recalls her shared political stance with Mirwais and how this inspired American Life, “We both got sucked into the French existentialist vortex. We both decided we were against the war, and we both smoked Gauloises and wore berets, and we were against everything. No, it’s about the universe conspiring. With the last album (American Life) I was in a very thoughtful mood, a very angry mood, a mood to be political, very upset with George Bush.”
Madonna continued to expand on the themes of American Life with the vibrant track Hollywood as she recounts the deceiving allure of the entertainment industry and the distraction of fame. Beginning with the welcoming sound of birds chirping akin to the arrival in paradise, followed by the emergence of a catchy guitar riff, Madonna declares, “Everybody comes to Hollywood/They wanna make it in the neighbourhood/They like the smell of it in Hollywood /How could it hurt you when it looks so good?” She presents a narrative of aspiring dreamers who strive to become famous and “make it” in Hollywood. At first, the thrill is intoxicating as the city appears to live up to its reputation, “There’s something in the air in Hollywood/The sun is shining like you knew it would/You’re riding in your car in Hollywood/ You got the top down and it feels so good.”
To contrast with the idyllic representation in the first verse, Madonna recounts a nefarious side to Hollywood in the second, “I lost my memory in Hollywood/I’ve had a million visions bad and good/There’s something in the air in Hollywood/I tried to leave it but I never could.” What was once presented as attractive and glamorous is now described as addictive and malignant. Madonna utilises the enchanting and hedonistic location as a metaphor, presenting it as a hinderance that causes one to lose sight of their identity and what is profoundly important, “Hollywood is kinda a metaphor to me. It’s the city of dreams, it’s the city of distraction, it’s the city of superficiality, whatever. It’s a place to go to get distracted from what’s really important in life. You can lose your memory, you can lose your vision of the future, you can lose everything. You can lose yourself.” The lyrical content reflects Madonna’s experience with show business and her state of mind at the time as she pondered leaving the entertainment industry, “Trying to leave it all behind. Trying to completely remove myself from the entertainment business. Certainly I’ve had fantasies about it but ultimately this is where I have a platform to say what I need to say.”
Hollywood would go through extensive development before its completion for American Life as Mirwais notes, “Hollywood’ was a very old song, we weren’t satisfied with the original version, so Madonna found an alternative melody.” Mirwais was careful not to overproduce the track, removing some components but retaining all the subtle and unique elements that make the composition so great as he elaborates, “We tried to underproduce many tracks to make them sound rougher than the average international pop production,” Mirwais explains. “We wanted to do something totally modern and futuristic but not very apparent. You have to be very minimalist and choose every sound very carefully.” This sentiment is present throughout the album which consists of vibrant yet minimalist arrangements as Mirwais experimented in the studio to create sparse and unique compositions. Madonna elaborates on his versatility as a musician and producer, “Mirwais is a very unique individual and he has a very unique vision of life and also the way he hears music. He’s obviously been a huge influence on me because he’s a fantastic musician and can play guitar really well, but he also knows how to program synthesizers and get the most amazing futuristic technological sounds with computer programming. So he’s kind of like a genius in a laboratory experimenting and I’m lucky to be there.”
Mirwais would take his time with recording the pulsing bass line as he endeavoured to create a warm and organic sound, “With bass-synth sounds [from the Nord Lead 2], if you don’t use the legato, if you don’t add expressiveness, it is very static-sounding. This is why some electronic music is very cold. For the main bass line in ‘Hollywood,’ you can’t imagine how long I stood there with the controller — for several days — to make the bass the most expressive possible, the most alive.”
The percussion is subtle and unpronounced to ensure the bass would be the focal point of the composition as he notes, “I used a very minimalist drum kit with old percussion I found in an E-mu sampler bank. I used an old drum loop in addition to the basic programming for the disco feel of it. I needed to use a smaller-sounding kick because I wanted to have the bass synth sound very big… It was very hard to find the right kick, too, because if I chose something bigger, the track would have sounded like an average club track.” As Madonna critiques the predictable state of the music industry during the bridge, the composition intensifies with the emergence of distorted and droning synth lines, “Music stations always play the same songs/ I’m bored with the concept of right and wrong.”
Madonna’s vocals are another highlight on the track as she performs in a more dramatic manner to convey the content of the lyrics. While describing the allure of Hollywood, her tone is more childlike and naive, jarringly interrupted by the sound of screeching guitar and the return of her pronounced performance. Mirwais would once again use studio methods to pitch Madonna’s vocals down during the outro adding an element of quirkiness and unease to the track, “The vocals were recorded with heavy compression in her headphones to help her to get the feeling of the performance. We experiment a lot with vocal sounds. For example, the pitch-down vocal at the end was initially much longer.”
A solid thematic link connects the first three tracks on American Life as Madonna explores her complicated relationship with fame while denouncing the materialism and superficiality she once embraced. I’m So Stupid completes this trilogy as Madonna notes, “The first three songs on the album are me wanting to shout from the rooftops that we have all been living in a dream. I have been living in a dream — and you’re all living in a dream and we have to wake up to reality.” Behind a funky guitar riff and beat she sings, “Cause I use to live/In a fuzzy dream/And I wanted to be/Like all the pretty people” followed by an abrupt freeze placed on her vocals as she declares “I’m So Stupid”.
This effect is not only utilised to launch into the main groove of the track but also to emphasise the significance of the lyric. It is a statement that speaks of an epiphany and a shattering of preconceived notions. As Mirwais explains, “That is one of the most innovative tracks on the album. The vocal starts very gently; then, I freeze it using the Roland VP-9000. It is the only machine that can do this. It is not a sample loop; it is a freeze. When she sings ‘Aaaaaahhhhhh,’ the vocals freeze. It is a gently modified track. It sounds natural, but it is not natural… I am not so interested in focusing on the technology. It is more interesting to push the songwriting and lay the technology underneath; I describe it as modified songwriting. It might sound simple at first, even rough. But when you pay attention, there is a lot of technology underneath.”
During the recording of Hollywood and I’m So Stupid there were disagreements between the pair over what equipment to use for the vocal processing. Madonna preferred to use an Autotune plug-in while Mirwais opted for an AMS 1580 S-DMX pitch shifter, “Madonna wanted to use it because people know the effect, but more in a dance context than a pop context. If it had been me, I would have gotten rid of it. We used mainly analog compressors on the vocals, sometimes very cheap or midbudget stuff, recorded with a Sony G800 tube mic, a Neve 8081 preamp and an LA-2A compressor/limiter. But everything is about the setting, my friend.”
While electronic beats and pronounced synths are a common element of Mirwais’ compositions, there are subtle, yet undeniable funk elements present as evident on I’m So Stupid with its guitar and shuffling percussion. Mirwais elaborates further on the fusion of funk and electronic music and the influence of 1970’s electronic pioneers Kraftwerk in his artistry, “Kraftwerk is my most essential influence,” he says. “When people talk about dance music, they talk about funk, but that is not the end all for me. It is about funk and electro, like Kraftwerk, especially Man Machine, the late-’70s work. The mixture of this European sound and the black American sound created electro, techno and rap. I try to make the link between the European sound and the black soul sound. I don’t want to restrict myself.”
Madonna equates the love of a companion to that of a sanctuary from the harsh and unforgiving world on Love Profusion. Throughout the verses, she grapples with the uncertainty and impermanence of life “There are too many questions/There is not one solution/There is no resurrection/There is so much confusion” delivering a vocal performance that captures the anxiety described in the lyrics as she struggles to find answers in a world rife with misinformation and conflict.
A profusion is defined as “an abundance or large quantity of something” and Madonna attributes the subject of the track to providing her clarity in the face of confusion and despair, “And the love profusion/You make me feel/You make me know/And the love vibration/You make me feel/ You make it shine.”
The lyric “I’ve got you under my skin” repeated throughout, can be interpreted as both an expression of infatuation and an acknowledgement of protection as her companion’s love is akin to armour, shielding from the unrelenting scrutiny of the world. This message is conveyed further in the film clip directed by French film director Luc Besson, depicting Madonna traversing a dark and foreboding street during the verses. During the choruses, she is transported to a vibrant paradise, surrounded by turquoise sea and radiant flowers; a visual representation of the escape love can bring from the chaos of life and the contrast in tone between the verses and chorus.
It’s a sentiment that speaks of her romantic relationship with then-husband Guy Ritchie as she described in an interview at the time, “The idea of giving just for the sake of giving, and not getting anything in return, that’s what I’ve come to understand unconditional love as It’s no just a crush, it’s not something you can have fun with, it’s not simply feeling sexually attracted to someone or digging what they do talent-wise. It’s so much more than that.”
The composition which incorporates folk-rock and electronic elements is yet another example of the irresistible grooves that dominate much of the album, characterised primarily by acoustic guitar played by Mirwais, electronic percussion, and spacey synth lines. Mirwais also performs on the background vocals, complimenting Madonna’s understated yet compelling performance. Its placement as the fourth track on the album following the heavy lyrical themes explored on American Life, Hollywood and I’m So Stupid further illustrates the idea of Love Profusion providing a temporary escape.
On Nobody Knows Me, Madonna shifts focus to her relationship with the tabloid press and the current social and political climate. Madonna had spent her career challenging social norms through artistic expression, calling attention to sexism ingrained within society, while enduring scathing criticism by a ruthless and dishonest media. She makes note of this contradiction and the “social disease” that comes from conforming to the status quo, “No one’s telling you how to live your life/But it’s a setup until you’re fed up/It’s no good when you’re misunderstood/But why should I care/What the world thinks of me/Won’t let a stranger/Give me a social disease”. She continues to criticise the misinformation dispersed through print and television, declaring “I don’t want no lies/I don’t watch TV/I don’t waste my time/Won’t read a magazine.” The image conjured by the press and fuelled by the tabloids is inaccurate as Madonna states throughout the chorus, “Nobody knows me/Like you know me”, describing further, “Honestly, I don’t read newspapers, magazines, whatever. They’re just not part of my lexicon. I don’t want to be manipulated, or manipulated about other people’s work. I don’t want to be told how I should think or how I should receive things, and even when you know that the press writes a lot of shit about people, you’re still tainted and influenced by it. I’m trying to remove that from my life.”
In addition to her firsthand experiences, Madonna reflects on the chaotic state of the world with a sense of pessimism, “This world is not so kind/People trap your mind/ It’s so hard to find/Someone to admire.” This sentiment was further conveyed during its feature as a powerful interlude on the MDNA Tour which displays stock footage of terrorist attacks, famine, and tributes to young victims of hate crime as Madonna’s face is morphed into the faces of celebrities, dictators, religious figures, and tabloid paraphernalia.
Despite the misinformation and chaos, Madonna finds comfort in the light as she proclaims in the bridge, “I sleep much better at night/ I feel closer to the light/ Now I’m gonna try/ To improve my life”. She utilises the concept of light in her songwriting as a source of visual imagery and a reference to her Kabbalah faith as she described in an Oprah interview, “Another principle is that there is an all- giving, all-loving force. You could call it God. Kabbalists call it the Light. But essentially, it is God. When we disconnect from this force, we have chaos. We invite pain and suffering into our lives.” This is also present on earlier tracks including Sky Fits Heaven -“Love fits virtue so hold on to the light”, Paradise (Not For Me) — “There is a light above my head” and Nobody Knows Me — “I sleep much better at night/ I feel closer to the light” as Madonna finds comfort in her faith and its teachings of karmic balance.
The frantic composition has all the hallmarks of a Mirwais composition from the stuttering effect placed on Madonna’s vocals to the distorted synths that consume the track, reminiscent of Impressive Instant from Music. One of the most interesting aspects to the track is the percussion, with erratic drum patterns fused with bubbling synth bass and high-pitched tones. Mirwais would often experiment alone in the studio while creating these unique drum patterns, “I program the drum beats in Logic or step-by-step,” Mirwais explains. “And I change the timing. I generally don’t use samples. The actual sounds come from everywhere, but, honestly, I couldn’t say where they come from. If I need something really particular, I go and listen to any album, and I sample and then try again and again until I get what I need.”
Producers Guy Sigsworth and Mike Spent would return to collaborate with Madonna on American Life, providing input on the tender ballad Nothing Fails. Madonna had collaborated with Sigsworth on her previous album Music, co-writing and producing What It Feels Like For A Girl alongside David Torn and Spent. In the summer of 2001, Sigsworth began working on a new track inspired by his relationship with his wife, “I never write love songs, but I was moved to write one for her. I’ve never had a problematic relationship with her, there’s not been a lot of drama. But I wanted to write something naive and honest.” Guy composed initial music and wrote the first verse before contacting singer Jem Griffiths to collaborate, sending the artist a backing track of music for reference. Griffiths wrote the remaining lyrics and recorded a demo the next day titled Silly Thing, “I mean, it was fascinating actually, because when I wrote the words “nothing fails” it was like an afterthought and I remember saying to Guy, “Oh, I’ve just thrown in that bit there, maybe we’ll change it later.”
Sigsworth sent the demo to Madonna and alongside Mirwais, they recorded their own version of the track, renaming it Nothing Fails. Minor changes would also be made to the lyrics, most notably — “I’ve got my standing stone/ I’m not alone,” becoming “Cause I’ve climbed the tree of life/ And that is why, no longer scared if I fall.” While Madonna did not have significant input in the writing of Nothing Fails, the message of enduring affection is consistent with the theme of love as a guiding and protecting force expressed throughout the album — “When I get lost in space/I can return to this place/Cos You’re the one.”
Nothing Fails would go through several compositional changes with Madonna and Mirwais retaining some elements of the demo, while removing others. The subtle percussion and lead line on the sultry folk-like demo would be replaced with an edgier soundscape. As with much of the album, acoustic guitar would be the driving force behind the groove, complimented by a minimalistic drum track, subtle bass and the inclusion of cello, adding a melancholic effect to the soundscape. The most noticeable addition would be the London Community Gospel Choir on the bridge and outro. This addition of the choir proclaiming “I’m not religious/but it makes me want to pray” adds a transcendent quality to the composition, interplayed with Madonna’s distorted, layered vocals and swelling string arrangement. Their inclusion creates a spine-chilling listening experience and a soulful element to the track while also conveying the euphoric feeling that comes with finding true love described in the lyrics.
Nothing Fails comes at a pivotal point in the album, transitioning from tracks that explore what the American Dream is not (fame, fortune, public adulation) to songs that explore where true success and meaning can be attained (perseverance of love, motherhood, and emotional closure).
In contrast to the euphoria conjured by love on the previous track, Madonna explores the perils of blind devotion in the haunting masterpiece X-Static Process.
She recounts devotion to a spouse so intense and encompassing that one overlooks their own self-worth, “I’m not myself when you’re around/I’m not myself standing in a crowd/I’m not myself and I don’t know how/I’m not myself, myself right now.” While love is presented on American Life as a refuge, it is not without peril and X-Static Process is an example of the destructive nature of unremitting devotion. In a 2003 interview, Madonna went into further detail about the demanding reality of maintaining relationships and how this inspired the love songs on American Life, “The press don’t want me to be happily married and have a family. Real love requires a lot of work and sometimes there’s a lot of disappointment. But always there’s hope. If you rely love someone you’ll stick it out no matter what. All those songs are a reflection of that feeling. I can have a horrible fight with my husband and be really pissed off at him, but it’ll never end on a bad note because ultimately I believe in true love and our relationship.”
X-Static Process is also notable for being Madonna’s first songwriting collaboration with musician Stuart Price, who began working with the artist as musical director on the 2001 Drowned World Tour and would have significant involvement in the making of her classic 2005 album Confessions On A Dancefloor. Madonna elaborated on how X-Static Process evolved as she began writing it with Price,“It started off being a love song but then the subject of Jesus crept in and I realized that my problem with men is the same as my problem with Jesus. And that is, if you give Jesus/Men more power than they deserve, you will get fucked… I love men, When you give them too much power, when you make them bigger than you are. When you act like they are more important than you are, when you idolise them.” The reference to Jesus Christ provides another lyrical interpretation of the track beyond a critique of power dynamics within romantic relationships. On the chorus, she exclaims: “Jesus Christ will you look at me/ Don’t know who I’m supposed to be/Don’t really know if I should give a damn/When you’re around/I don’t know who I am”.
Madonna has never shied away from addressing the hypocrisy and harm of organised religion and underlying the lyrics of X-Static Process is a subtle but present criticism of the oppressive elements of organised religion. She considers the parallels between blind devotion to a spouse and the devoted followers of religious institutions. In this case, she references the figure of Jesus Christ worshipped without reproach by billions. Herein lies the genius of X-Static Process and the dual meaning presented in the lyrics as Madonna’s critique of relationship dynamics and a broader observation of devotion found in religion. The artist has used intertextuality to convey a similar message on earlier tracks in her career including Oh Father in which she juxtaposed the discipline of her authoritative father with the commanding doctrine of the catholic church.
By 2003, Madonna’s view on organised religion had become far more scathing, responding to a fan who exclaimed that “religion is love”, “Love has nothing to do with religion. Religion is an idea that someone pushes on you. Religion is judgment, religion is suffering. Religion is confirming, religion is establishment. Fuck all that. Love has nothing to do with religion, love does not divide.”
The title of the track is derived from two words, ‘ecstatic’ and ‘static’, with the former describing overwhelming happiness or excitement and ‘static’ referring to a lack of movement. These opposing forces reflect the feelings conveyed in the song, the attraction is akin to ecstasy, however this irreproachable dedication results in paralysis and the inability to move or grow.
Despite the crippling content of the lyrics, there is a glimmer of hope and a realisation of self-worth as Madonna declares in the final lines, “I always wished that I could find/Someone as talented as you/But in the process I forgot/That I was just as good as you.” In addition to the sublime lyrics, the magic of X-Static Process lies in its simplicity evoked by the sparse composition and Madonna’s raw vocals brought to the forefront with sublime background vocals used to harmonise and contrast with the lead vocals.
Comprising of primarily acoustic guitar, the track bares similarity to I Deserve It, another collaboration with Mirwais. The presentation of Madonna’s vocals on I Deserve It, pure and absent of reverb behind a sparse composition set a precedent and X-Static Process is a natural continuation of this production. Beyond the composition, both share a similar lyrical structure with Madonna’s use of repetition in the verses reinforcing the track’s sentiment. I Deserve It foreshadows the themes expressed in X-Static Process as each describe an intrinsic devotion to a spouse with the latter exploring the potentially destructive nature of this attraction. Madonna would discuss her thoughts on the completed track, “My favorite song on the album is X-Static Process because it’s me alone, with my guitar and because I sing all the harmonies and backing vocals. I don’t know, this song has something that reminds me of my childhood. … it’s actually a very simple song”.
As recording sessions for American Life began, Madonna was happily married and raising two young children which would provide artistic inspiration. She had previously recorded a love letter to her daughter Lourdes with Little Star, featured on her 1998 album Ray Of Light in which she conveys a message of gratitude for her newborn child. Despite the success and accolades, Madonna described being painfully lonely at this time, “I had done the movie Evita, I had my Ray Of Light record coming out and from an outward perspective, everything was beautiful. Just did a fantastic movie, just did a fantastic record, had a beautiful healthy girl but I was alone… I was 38 when my daughter was born. I was looking for love in all the wrong places.” By 2003, her perspective had changed significantly as she formed a family unit with husband Guy Ritchie and two children, proclaiming, “Quite frankly, before I met Guy, I really had my head up my arse as far as relationships go. I wasn’t a very giving person. Having children, really falling in love, head and shoulders, it changes you. There’s no time for nonsense anymore. When I listen to nitwits going on about how [affects camp American luvvie voice] Oh my god, we’re so in love…I think, Yeah, right. Wait till you’ve been with them for four years.”
On Intervention Madonna presents an unrefined depiction of the peaks and valleys of motherhood and an affirmation of her maternal duties. In the first verse she ponders the role she must undertake, tending to the most basic needs of her son and preparing him to pursue his dreams in the future akin to a soaring bird, “I got to make him happy/I got to teach him how to fly/I want to take him higher/Way up like a bird in the sky/I got to calm him down now/I want to save his life.”
Madonna describes the challenging but rewarding role of raising children. Rather than romanticising this depiction, she provides a gritty and realistic depiction of adjusting to motherhood and leaving the spotlight which had once consumed her, “Sometimes it’s such a pleasure/ Sometimes I wanna tear it all down/It’s easy to be lazy/And hard to go away from the crowd.”
Despite the struggles that come with raising children, love is constant and intervenes at times of doubt as Madonna declares in the chorus surrounded by warm and luscious background harmonies, “And I know that love will change us forever/ And I know that love will keep us together/And I know, I know There is nothing to fear/And I know that love/Will take us away from here.” The track can be interpreted as both an expression of Madonna’s devotion to her family and the importance of love in preserving and cultivating all relationships. Madonna elaborates, “I think I’m probably most proud of the family I’ve created… If I had to give up everything, or I could only have one thing, that is what I would hold onto.”
The prevalence of guitar throughout the track and much of the album reflects the origins of Mirwais musicality, beginning his career as guitarist in the band Taxi Girl while immersing himself in computer production. This symbiosis is evident throughout many tracks on American Life. On some songs, guitar is used to add funk and grunge elements to the composition (I’m So Stupid), other times warm acoustic guitar is used to contrast with piercing electronic synths (American Life). Mirwais performs guitar on every track of American Life, “Electronic music and computer production is second nature to me, even though I’m a guitarist…The future for me is with software synths and plug-ins. Now, there are many great audio engineers who can work in a brilliant way to achieve incredible things in a studio. If you use a traditional compressor, okay. You can get a beautiful sound, but so many guitar and vocal tracks sound the same. The real creativity now is that you can use your software and really inexpensive plug-ins to get unique sounds on vocals and acoustic tracks. That’s what I’m interested in: finding really exciting new sounds.”
Mother and Father is a pivotal track within Madonna’s discography as she finds closure with the death of her mother. In contrast to the gritty visual imagery described in Mer Girl or the tender sorrow conveyed on Promise To Try, Mother And Father is Madonna’s most direct account of her mother’s passing through the lens of childhood. The track also signals closure and the promise to move forward rather than continue to be defined by loss as Madonna describes, “Mother And Father is about letting go of my pain, the pain of my mother’s death and not using it as a red badge of courage or feel sorry for me because I went through this pain or I can get that way because this happened to me. I mean that’s just bullshit, at the end of the day you have to take responsibility for all of your behaviour. I have often posed myself to my father as being this really rebellious creature that doesn’t care about anything and I’ll say whatever I want and I’ll do whatever I want, but that’s not really true.”
In the first verse Madonna cites the event as pivotal in recognising her own mortality and shattering the illusion of safety through prayer, “There was a time I was happy in my life/ There was a time I believed I’d live forever/ There was a time that I prayed to Jesus Christ/ There was a time I had a mother, it was nice.” She also provides insight into her turbulent relationship with her father, “My father had to go to work/I used to think he was a jerk/ I didn’t know his heart was broken/ Not another word was spoken/ He became a shadow of/ The father I was dreaming of”. Madonna would reflect on their relationship decades later with a new perspective, “Recognizing that you have a point of view as a child about the way things are and the reason that things happen. For me, my mother’s death was something that I couldn’t fathom and I was very angry with my father for a very long time. I had to blame somebody, and I was angry at him for not explaining things to me.”
On the Re-Invention Tour supporting the release of American Life, Madonna would incorporate Intervention in her performance of Mother And Father demonstrating a thematic link between both tracks. After a lifetime of searching for the love of a maternal figure, she finds it by assuming the role she was deprived of in her life, by assuming it herself and creating a family of her own. This epiphany is expressed during the chorus as Madonna declares, “I got to give it up/Find someone to love me/ I got to let it go/ Find someone that I can care for.” In a 2003 interview, Madonna noted how this search for maternal love subsided after having children of her own, “I think I’m less defined by it now than I was when I was younger because I have children,” she says, “and I have a family of my own and I don’t have this aching, yearning, longing feeling. I always think mothers must gave daughters a sense of themselves. Like, if you can look at your mother, you can watch her grow and change and mature and everything. It must give you an idea of who you could be. And I don’t know, I think I might have had… I know this will sound shocking, but I think I would probably have had more natural confidence if I’d had a mother.”
Madonna chooses to reveal such intimate details of her personal life not only as a form of catharsis but also to provide listeners with an opportunity to relate to the lyrics and reflect on their own experiences with a new perspective, “I’m not just being open for the sake of being open. I think there are a lot of other people who have had similar experiences and the song is about moving on and not being a victim. Not taking that pain and using it as an excuse to behave badly. So if it helps other people to see life from that perspective then there’s a point to being that open.”
American Life closes with Easy Ride, a fitting conclusion to the journey depicted throughout the album and a representation of Madonna’s evolving aspirations. Co-written by Madonna and her guitarist Monte Pittman, the tack begins with a sweeping string arrangement and acoustic guitar, as Madonna describes her desire to live a pleasant and meaningful existence with her family; one that is formed through demanding work, discipline, and genuine accomplishment, “I want the good life/But I don’t want an easy ride/What I want is to work for it/Feel the blood and sweat on my fingertips/That’s what I want for me.” Rather than secure riches and material objects, she aspires to gather knowledge and chooses to not be defined by celebrity status.
Despite all the fame and success, Madonna still maintains that same drive and hunger she did 25 years earlier when she arrived to New York with $35 in her pocket, this time however with knowledge, perspective and a renewed purpose, “Stay hungry, I never want to live too comfortable of a life. We always like to work in kind of really down and out ratty recording studios with one little window. I always like to recreate my life the way it was in the beginning. I want to live my life in a way that if it all gets taken away from me, I’ll be fine. I’m resourceful and I still know how to run for the bus.” This sentiment is expressed during the chorus, “I go round and round just like a circle/ I can see a clearer picture/ When I touch the ground I come full circle/ To my place and I am home/ I am home”
The sparse composition which incorporates strings, guitar and synths is an example of the fusion between classical and contemporary instruments evident throughout the album. The strings add a transcendent and organic element to the track complimenting the lyrical content as Madonna elaborates, “I like the mixture of electronic music and the warmth of classical instruments like violins and acoustic guitar… it’s me, the simplicity and complexity.”
Beyond the music, the American Life album cover depicts Madonna dressed in a military uniform and beret, reminiscent of the infamous image of Che Guevara, accompanied by war imagery. This homage represents Madonna’s rebellion as she goes to war on the hollow modern values gripping society, “I’m in a revolutionary sort of state if mind. I feel like the world needs to be changed, seriously and so I was looking for an iconic revolutionary feeling and everybody knows that picture of Che Guevara.”
American Life would be released on April 23, 2003 to mixed commercial and critical success due in part to the title track’s controversial music video and mixed reception. Preceding single Hollywood would be Madonna’s first to not chart on the Hot 100 and following singles Love Profusion and Nothing Fails would have similar success, however the album has received welcome newfound appreciation in fan communities in recent years. The Re-Invention World Tour supporting the release of American Life would be a resounding success, becoming the highest grossing tour of 2004 with only 56 shows and attaining critical acclaim, once again demonstrating Madonna’s dominance in the live realm.
American Life is a unique and incredible musical statement that demonstrates Madonna’s tenacity to create daring work during a time of introspection. The albums lyrical content speaks of self-actualization as Madonna returns to lyrical themes she had explored on previous work including the deceptive media, religion, and her mother’s death; however this time with a refined perspective indicative of her growth and maturity. The album would emerge at a crucial point in Madonna’s artistry as she continued to grow as a musician and find inspiration through collaboration with Mirwais.
On the forthcoming third chapter of Madonna & Mirwais: An Impressive Instant, we’ll explore their work on the unreleased project Hello Suckers! and the global smash Confessions On A Dance Floor.
Special Thanks: John Cameron
Citations:
Simon Garfield (2005) “Looks good on the dancefloor” — THE GUARDIAN| Rideout, Ernie (2001) Mirwais On Music — Keyboard | THE FACE — UK MAGAZINE (AUGUST 2000) | Madonna Interview : Hits Daily Double (AUGUST 2000) | Madonna Interview : Billboard (SEPTEMBER 2000) | Madonna Interview : Rolling Stone (SEPTEMBER 2000) | Madonna Interview : Interview Magazine (MARCH 2001) | Q Magazine: May 2003 | The Scotsman: May 2003 | NBC NEWS: Madonna: An American Life |
