Was Erotica the riskiest era ever?

[Spock 20,290]

Following the highly successful and critically acclaimed Like a Prayer album and Blond Ambition Tour (which had their fair share of controversies), Madonna reinvented herself. But instead of going relatively "safe", she did the opposite. 

Preceded by Justify My Love, Madonna went into full sex mode for Erotica, the SEX book and her acting career (). Madonna sparked conversation everywhere, negative for the most part. The book was deemed filthy, immoral and many bookshops decided not to carry it, the Erotica music video was banned and Body of Evidence flopped hard. People were saying her highly successful career until that point was over. The backlash was REAL.

The albums contents turned out to be kind of tame and more introspective, but the songs were still about sex, desire, AIDS, etc. Her antics overshadowed everything. 

 

Was it the most risky/controversial era ever? One of the reasons it was so provocative was because she put the spotlight on many things that, until that point, weren't the norm. Nowadays something like this wouldn't be shocking, but it still kind of makes you wonder if someone will be able to do it again. 

So, do you think it was? Do you think it wasn't? If not, which one?

[SissyFromSpace 20,884]

...does this really need to be discussed. It obviously is.

[LUO YI 6,089]

Yes, I think  It was a real change in Madonna's artistry and sound. Moving on from LAP to Erotica was a terrible move, but that didn't matter to her. That's why I love her. 

I know the backlash was huge. The SEX book is still talked  Remember that Madonna thread. The era as a whole is still controversial. 

Erotica will always be my favorite Madge's album  it's one of her true masterpieces, having fun with ROL, and COADF. 

And if this isn't her most, it's American Life. 

[Alcina Dimitrescu 1,156]

looking forward to the possibilities in this thread

[bionic 50,107]

No, ARTPOP was. #musicnothtebling

[weed 74,093]

I feel like... Thank You by Meghan Trainor was a little more risky, but this is definitely up there

[AJH219 4,448]

Jesus yes. I'm truly shocked her career didn't end after this era  To think of a woman publishing a book full of sexually explicit images and then releasing an album detailing the wonders of sex in the 1990s still blows my mind  She did it so damn well though. Gah, Erotica is a sexy album that I personally think perfectly captures the sultry intimacy that comes from sex. What a time it would have been to be alive

 

[Quartz 12,536]

Absolutely. Can you imagine anyone else releasing Erotica the song with the explicit video (including all artists from different generations) and still have a career afterwards? This is the reason she's the queen.

[kabirartfling 9,063]

Not when ARTPOP is out there, the true reverse rickiest expedition, gaga was basically shut down by the media, critics, public & even fans

Gaga was nude on almost every magazine, album shoot, public appearence, her music was overshadowed by her antics, G.U.Y flopped so hard that i still have nightmares about it.

[LUO YI 6,089]

10 minutes ago, kabirartfling said:

Not when ARTPOP is out there, the true reverse rickiest expedition, gaga was basically shut down by the media, critics, public & even fans

Gaga was nude on almost every magazine, album shoot, public appearence, her music was overshadowed by her antics, G.U.Y flopped so hard that i still have nightmares about it.

Madonna did  it before 

But for real, Fever, Bad Girl and Bye Bye Baby flopped hard,  3/5 singles. The album was #2 tho 

She was naked too  you should look up for a 90s photo shoot. 

She was dragged to the dirt of hell, it that's possible. 

I can truly say Gaga had her Erotica era 

[Thomas P 18,479]

Oh my god yes. I remember an interview she did talking about the controversies and how they affected her, and she actually took them very hard. She did something that women weren't necessarily allowed to do, and that was to talk about sex. She exploited the term, and really did something that can now be viewed as brilliant, but then as taboo, filthy, disgusting smut.

She is definitely an icon, and this album can easily be viewed as the reason why.

 

But to answer your question, yes it is.

[JusKeepBreathin 19,311]

1 hour ago, Spock said:

Following the highly successful and critically acclaimed Like a Prayer album and Blond Ambition Tour (which had their fair share of controversies), Madonna reinvented herself. But instead of going relatively "safe", she did the opposite. 

Preceded by Justify My Love, Madonna went into full sex mode for Erotica, the SEX book and her acting career (). Madonna sparked conversation everywhere, negative for the most part. The book was deemed filthy, immoral and many bookshops decided not to carry it, the Erotica music video was banned and Body of Evidence flopped hard. People were saying her highly successful career until that point was over. The backlash was REAL.

The albums contents turned out to be kind of tame and more introspective, but the songs were still about sex, desire, AIDS, etc. Her antics overshadowed everything. 

 

Was it the most risky/controversial era ever? One of the reasons it was so provocative was because she put the spotlight on many things that, until that point, weren't the norm. Nowadays something like this wouldn't be shocking, but it still kind of makes you wonder if someone will be able to do it again. 

So, do you think it was? Do you think it wasn't? If not, which one?

No, this bitch topped that and ruined her career, but Erotica was still amazing and very political.

 

[Lord Temptation 11,209]

Erotica is my favourite Madonna album, along with Bedtime Stories. It is absolutely the most controversial era of all time, but intentionally provocative. The media had courted Madonna throughout the 1980s so by 1990 she knew how to get them excited. It was more of a public backlash than a media backlash. The media lapped it up.