{"id":17937,"date":"2019-05-09T15:07:24","date_gmt":"2019-05-09T14:07:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.madonnatribe.com\/en\/?p=17937"},"modified":"2019-05-09T16:53:03","modified_gmt":"2019-05-09T15:53:03","slug":"the-first-30-years-of-express-yourself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.madonnatribe.com\/en\/2019\/the-first-30-years-of-express-yourself\/","title":{"rendered":"The First 30 Years of Express Yourself"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thirty years ago today Madonna<\/strong> and Sire Records<\/strong> released the second single from her acclaimed Like a Prayer<\/strong><\/em> album and it was the now iconic song Express Yourself<\/strong><\/em>.
\nWritten by Madonna<\/strong> and her longtime friend Stephen Bray<\/strong>, the song seemed inspired by Respect Yourself<\/strong><\/em>, the 1971 hit by the Staple Singers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The song<\/h4>\n

In a tv interview Madonna<\/strong> explained:<\/p>\n

The ultimate thing behind the song is that if you don’t express yourself, if you don’t say what you want, then you’re not going to get it.
\nAnd in effect you are chained down by your inability to say what you feel or go after what you want.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

After a 30 years<\/strong> this pop song has become an hymn<\/strong> to freedom for any community<\/strong> that feels judged or oppressed.
\nIt peaked at number two in the Billboard US<\/strong> charts and went to number five in the UK<\/strong>, becoming the 20th best-selling song of 1989 in the United Kingdom.
\nIt was also a number 1 hit in Italy<\/strong>, the country of Madonna’s ancestors.<\/p>\n

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The video<\/h4>\n

Filmed in April 89 at Culver Studios<\/strong>, Express Yourself<\/strong><\/em> was Madonna’s first video<\/a> directed by David Fincher<\/strong>. Its visuals were inspired by the classic 1927 film Metropolis<\/strong><\/em> from by iconic German director Fritz Lang<\/strong>.
\nAt the time of release it was the most expensive music video ever made, with an estimated budget of 5 million dollars, and still remains the third most expensive to-date, following Michael and Janet Jackson’s Scream<\/em> and Madonna’s own Die Another Day<\/em>.
\nThe song was specially remixed for the video by Shep Pettibone<\/strong>; a couple of versions of his mix were released on the Express Yourself<\/strong><\/em> single on CD and vinyl.<\/p>\n

The Express Yourself<\/strong><\/em> video saw Madonna<\/strong> taking total control of the artistic process, de facto<\/em> anticipating her directorial debut in the film industry. She explained:<\/p>\n

We sat down and threw out every idea we could. This one I had the most amount of input, I oversaw everything \u2013 the building of the sets, everyone’s costumes, I had meetings with makeup and hair and the cinematographer, everybody. Casting, finding the right cat \u2013 just every aspect. Kind of like making a little movie.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The clip ends with the epitaph:<\/p>\n

Without the heart, there can be no understanding between the hand and the mind.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

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The Live Versions<\/h4>\n

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