Age ain't nothin' but a number

I would be remiss if I didn't post something to commemorate the half-century mark for Madonna. She is a woman who I literally have grown up under the influence of, and like it or not, that influence has helped shape me into the man I am today. That sounds dramatic, no? But in a way, it's true. I read once that the music we love when we are 15 is the music we will always love. And when I was 15, Madge (although it would be years before I started referring to her as Madge) could do no wrong.

What I love most about Madonna is the thing that she has been criticized for the most - her constant evolution. While her peers in the mid 80s have shrunken into either obscurity or just plain weirdness, she has continued to not so much re-invent herself as the press liked to call it, but rather evolve as an artist and as a human being. May we all continue to evolve and explore different aspects of our personalities.

So anyway, rather than do my top 10 Madonna songs (a daunting task for even me), what follows are a smattering of some of my favorite Madonna images. I sometimes wonder if she is the most photographed female, but certainly that can't be. Anyway...

Picking up the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical for Evita. As my sister says, receiving this award just emboldened her to continue acting! This was also taken while she was still nursing Lourdes, which is why she is busting out of that dress!

A great picture from the Sex book which seems one of the more candid shots in the book.

Although I generally think that the negatives from the Bedtime Stories photo shoot need to be buried deep in the earth, I really like this shot of her that was used for the back of the album. I think about how grand this picture would look had BS been pressed on vinyl.

I have no idea from whence this photo comes, but she looks very good.

From the Re-Invention Tour Book - getting in touch with her inner Queen Amidala.

From the Music photo shoot.

If I recall correctly, this was originally set to be the cover for The Immaculate Collection. Warner nixed it in favor of the very BORING packaging that we eventually got.

Why is it that Madonna is at her sexiest when there is a chair in the shot? This was the cover of Rolling Stone probably 1990-ish, channeling a 1920's flapper type.

One of my favorite shots from the Sex book, and it doesn't even feature Madonna's face.

What did I tell you? Another chair! This one is from "Like It Or Not" on the Confessions Tour and she just oozed sexuality during that number. Dragging that chair up the center catwalk during the "no, no, you know" part was just genius. It's the simple things, I tell ya!

So happy birthday, Madge. In a week, the Sticky & Sweet Tour starts and don't you dare injure your damn ankle until at least after October 26th! Here's to 50 more birthdays and to all those folks in the media giving you grief over your age, I submit this photo from the Live 8 concert (another of my favorites!)