"Borderline" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her self-titled debut album. It was released on February 15, 1984 as the fourth single by Sire Records. Written and composed by producer Reggie Lucas, the song received remix treatment from Madonna's then boyfriend John "Jellybean" Benitez. She used a refined and expressive voice for the song. Its lyrics dealt with the subject of a love that is never fulfilled and was written as a rebellion against male chauvinism.
Contemporary critics and authors applauded the song, calling it as harmonically the most complex song from the Madonna album and complimenting the dance-pop nature of the song. "Borderline" became Madonna's first top ten song on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at ten. Elsewhere, the song reached the top twenty of a number of European nations while peaking the chart in Ireland. In 2009, the song was placed at eighty-four on Blender magazine's "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born" article.
The accompanying music video portrayed Madonna with a Latin man as boyfriend. She is enticed by a British photographer to pose and model for him, but later returns to her original boyfriend. The video generated interest amongst academics, who noted the use of power as symbolism in it. With the video, Madonna was credited for breaking the taboo of interracial relationships and was considered one of her career-making moments. The release of the video on MTV increased Madonna's popularity further. Madonna has performed the song on her Virgin Tour (1985) and the Sticky & Sweet Tour (2008). The song has been covered by a number of artists, including Duffy and Counting Crows.
Background
In 1982, Madonna was working with producer Reggie Lucas on her debut album. She had already composed three songs, whence Lucas brought his own composition to the project and called it "Borderline".[1] However, after recording the song, Madonna was unhappy with the way the final version turned out. According to her, Lucas used too many instruments and did not consider her ideas for the song.[1] This led to a dispute between the two. After finishing the album, Lucas left the project without altering the songs to Madonna's specifications. Hence, Madonna brought her then boyfriend John "Jellybean" Benitez to remix "Borderline" and some of the other recorded tracks.[1]
"Borderline" ushered a change from the normal vocal tone expressed by Madonna in her songs. A sentimental track, the song talks about a love that is never quite fulfilled.[2] According to author Santiago Fouz-Hernández and his book Madonna's drowned worlds, the lyrics of the song like "Something in way you love me won't let me be/I don't want to be your prisoner so baby won't you set me free" depicted a rebellion against male chauvinism.[3] Madonna used a refined and expressive voice to sing the song, backed by Lucas's instrumentations.[2] Considered as the best example of the working relationship between Lucas and Madonna, he pushed her to find emotional depth in the song. Although sounding icy, the chorus is contemporary in style and the vocal range for this song, was later used by Madonna as her own personal range through her whole music career.[4] It opens with an intro provided by keyboards. The bass player Anthony Jackson provided the synths for the song.[5] The chords in the song were inspired by Seventies disco sound in Philadelphia as well as Elton John's musical style during the mid-seventies.[5] The chord sequences cite from Bachman-Turner Overdrive's song "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" while the synth phases display her typical musical style.[6] The song is set in common time with a moderate tempo of 120 beats per minute.[7] Madonna's vocal range spans from F♯3 to B4.[7] The song follows in the chord progression of D–C–G in the first verse to Bm–Em–A–F♯ in the pre-chorus, changes to A–F♯–Bm–A–E and G–D–A in the chorus.[7]
Reception
Critical response
Madonna performing "Borderline" on the
sticky & Sweet Tour. The backdrops display graphical design patterns.
Author J. Randy Taraborrelli, in his biography of Madonna, called "Borderline" along with "Holiday" as the two key records which helped in establishing Madonna's base in the music industry.[2] He added that Madonna's sober voice made the track "as close to an old Motown production as a hit could get in the dance-music-driven eighties."[2] Author Maury Dean in his book Rock 'n' Roll Gold Rush called the song as "echoey boogie" with "saucy-style and come-hither magnetism."[8] Author Rikky Rooksby in his book, The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna called it harmonically the most complex track of her debut album.[5] Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic called the song as effervescent.[9] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine called the song as soulful.[10] Bill Lamb of About.com called the song, along with "Lucky Star" and "Holiday" as state of the art dance-pop.[11] Commentator Dave Marsh in his book The heart of rock & soul said that the "music's too damn good to be denied, no matter whose value system it disrupts."[12] Roxanne Orgill in her book Shout, sister, shout! commented that "Borderline" was the song which made Madonna the star she is.[13]
Commercial response
In the United States, the song became Madonna's first top ten hit when it reached position ten on the Billboard Hot 100 on March 1984.[8] The song reached a peak of two on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.[8] It also became a cross over success by charting on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart at twenty-three.[8] On October 22, 1998, the song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of 500,000 copies.[14] In Canada the song debuted at number fifty-six on the issue dated August 4, 1984[15] and reached a peak of twenty-five on the issue dated September 15, 1984.[16] The song was on the chart for fourteen weeks.[17]
In the United Kingdom, with the original release of the song on June 2, 1984, it was able to reach a peak of only fifty-six.[18] However, upon re-releasing the song on January 1, 1986, it reached a new peak of two on the chart and was present for a total of nine weeks.[19] The song was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on February 1986.[20] Across Europe the song topped the chart in Ireland and entered the top ten of Belgium and Netherlands.[21][22][23] It also peaked at twenty-three in Switzerland and twelve in Australia.[24][25] In 2009, the song was placed at eighty-four on Blender Magazine's "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born."[26]
Music video
"Borderline" was filmed on location in Los Angeles, California from January 30 to February 2, 1984 and was the first video that Madonna made with director Mary Lambert, who would later also direct the videos "Like a Virgin", "Material Girl", "La Isla Bonita" and "Like a Prayer".[27] The video portrayed Madonna's then burgeoning star quality.[28] It is regarded as one of her career-making moments[29] when the video was started to be shown on MTV.[30] She acted as the girlfriend of a Hispanic street guy who is picked up by a British photographer who publishes her picture on a magazine cover.[28] The portrayal of the street life and high-fashion scene in the video was a reference to Madonna's life in the gritty, multiracial streets and clubs that she used to haunt while her career was beginning as well as the world of popularity and success she was experiencing at that moment.[28] The storyline involved her being emotionally torn between the photographer and her boyfriend.[30] Madonna's boyfriend in the video is portrayed as Latino and her struggles with this relationship depicted the struggle Hispanic women faced with their men.[29] In the January 1997 issue of Rolling Stone, Mary Lambert described the video and its plot as,
"Boy and girl enjoy simple pleasures of barrio love, girl is tempted by fame, boy gets huffy, girl gets famous, but her new beau's out-of-line reaction to a behavioral trifle (all she did was to spray-paint his expensive sports car) drives her back to her true love."[3]
Madonna in her usual boy-toy look, dances with one of the dancers on the street of a Hispanic
barrio, thus portraying the type of life she used to lead before she began her career and became famous.
The video narrative weaved the two relationship stories in color and black and white.[31] In the color sequence, Madonna sings, flirts and seduces the Hispanic guy who becomes her boyfriend. In the black-and-white sequence she poses for the photographer, who also courts her.[31] The video had Madonna in her usual sense of style in those years and wore her hair in a haystack, lace gloves, high heeled boots with thick socks and her trademark boy-toy belt.[29] She changes from one shot to another in color as well as black and white while wearing an unusual array of clothes including crop-tops, T-shits, vests and sweaters coupled with cut-off pants and jeans as well as a couple of evening gowns.[30] Posing for the photographer, Madonna looks towards the camera with challenge in her eyes thus depicting sexual aggression.[28] At one moment in the video, she starts spraying graffiti over some lifeless classical statues thus portraying herself as a transgressor who breaks rules and attempts at innovation.[31] With the video Madonna broke the taboo of interracial relationships. Although at first it seems that Madonna denies the Hispanic guy in favour of the photographer, later she rejects him thus implying her desire to control her own sexual pleasures or going over the established pop borderlines with lyrics like "You just keep on pushing my love, over the borderline".[31] The contrasting image of Madonna, first as a messy blonde in the Hispanic sequence and later as a fashioned glamorous blonde, suggested that one can construct one's own image and identity. Portraying herself as a Hispanic also had the clever marketing strategy of appealing herself to Hispanic and black youths thus breaking down racial barriers.[31]
After its airing "Borderline" attracted early attention from academics.[3] They noted the symbolism of power in the two contrasting scenes of the video. The British photographer and his studio is decorated with the classical sculptures and nude statues holding spears in a phallic symbol. In contrast, phallic symbols portrayed in the Hispanic neighbourhood included a street lamp which Madonna embraces and a pool cue held erect by Madonna's boyfriend.[3] Author Andrew Metz commented that with these scenes, Madonna displayed her sophisticated views on the fabrications of feminity as a supreme power rather than the normal views of oppression.[28] Author Carol Clerk said that the videos of "Borderline" and "Lucky Star" established Madonna not as the girl-next-door, but as a sassy and smart, tough funny woman. Her clothes worn in the video were later used by designers like Karl Lagerfeld and Christian Lacroix in Paris Fashion week of the same year.[30] Professor Douglas Kellner in his book Media Culture: Cultural Studies, Identity, and Politics Between the Modern and the Postmodern commented that the video depicted motifs and strategies which helped Madonna in her journey to become a star.[32]
Live performances
Madonna wearing gym shorts, sneakers and long socks performs "Borderline" playing a pink electric guitar on the
Sticky & Sweet Tour.
The song has been performed by Madonna on The Virgin Tour (1985) and the Sticky & Sweet Tour (2008). In the Virgin Tour, Madonna performed the song wearing a blue see-through crop top revealing her trademark black bra, a purple skirt, lacy leggings and a brightly patterned jacket. She also wore her crucifixes on her jacket and around her neck.[33] Madonna performed the song in its original version. The performance was not included in the Live - The Virgin Tour VHS in 1985.[34]
"Borderline" was added to the set list of the first leg of her Sticky & Sweet Tour in 2008 during the Old School section of the performance. Madonna wore a pair of gym shorts in this section while wearing sneakers and long socks on her feet.[35] The dress was designed by Jeremy Scott and was a reference to Madonna's old days in New York. The backgrounds displayed paintings by late graffiti artist Keith Harring.[36] A punk-pop version of the song was performed by Madonna while strapping on a pink electric guitar on a microphone as the backdrops displayed Keith Harring's cartoons and graphical imagery.[37] Jon Pareles of The New York Times called the performance as enthusiastic.[38] Nekesa Mumbi Moody of USA today called it a "rocked out performance".[37] Caryn Ganz of Rolling Stone called it a "cheap trick-style power-pop song [performance]."[39] The song was not included in the 2009 leg of the tour and was replaced by a rock version of Madonna's other song "Dress You Up."[40]
Cover versions
In 2000, an electro-industrial cover of the song by Nivek Ogre of OhGr was included on the tribute compilation album, Virgin Voices: A Tribute To Madonna, Vol. 2. Heather Phares of Allmusic said that Ogre's version miss being the finest moment of the album.[41] Chicago pop punk band Showoff recorded a cover for the 2002 compilation album Punk Goes Pop.[42] In 2006 Grammy Award-winning singer Jody Watley covered the song for her album The Makeover.[43] An acoustic folk cover of the song by The Chapin Sisters was included on the 2007 Madonna tribute album Through the Wilderness.[44] In 2008, singer Duffy performed "Borderline" at Radio 1's Big Weekend in Mote Park, Maidstone, Kent, England.[45] The Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs recorded a cover of the song for the 2009 Warner Bros. Records compilation, Covered: A Revolution in Sound. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic called the cover recording as turning Madonna's version "inside out."[46] Counting Crows performed the song at the Royal Albert Hall in 2003, an MP3 of the song was released on the band's official website on March 17, 2009. The performance was criticised by ABC News, calling it as anticlimatic.[47]
Track listings and formats
- "Borderline" (Edit)
- "Think of Me"
- UK Limited Edition Picture Disc
- "Borderline" (Edit)
- "Physical Attraction"
- "Borderline" (US Remix)
- "Borderline" (Dub Remix)
- "Physical Attraction" (Full-Length Version)
- European 5" CD Single Re-Issue
- "Borderline" (Dub Version)
- "Borderline" (US Remix)
- "Physical Attraction" (LP Version)
|
- "Borderline" (New Mix) (same as the US Remix)
- "Lucky Star" (New Mix)
- US 12" promotional Maxi Single
- "Borderline" (New Mix) (same as the US Remix)
- "Borderline" (Instrumental)
- "Borderline" (Extended Remix)
- "Borderline" (Edit)
- "Borderline" (Instrumental)
- "Borderline" (US Remix)
- "Borderline" (Dub Remix)
- "Physical Attraction" (Full-Length Version)
|
Credits
Charts
Notes
- ^ a b c Taraborrelli, p. 76
- ^ a b c d Taraborrelli, p. 78
- ^ a b c d Fouz-Hernández, p. 141
- ^ Cresswell, p. 714
- ^ a b c Rooksby, p. 11
- ^ Rooksby, p. 12
- ^ a b c "Borderline - Madonna Ciccone Digital Sheet Music". Musicnotes.com. Alfred Publishing. http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0037591. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
- ^ a b c d e Dean, p. 523
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (1983). "allmusic ((( Madonna > Overview )))". Allmusic. Macrovision Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:g9fpxqq5ldje. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
- ^ Cinquemani, Sal (September 9, 2001). "Madonna: Madonna (Remaster)". Slant Magazine. http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=118. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
- ^ Lamb, Bill (1983 - 2008). "Madonna Discography: Annotated list of Madonna's albums". About.com. The New York Times Company. http://top40.about.com/od/discographies/a/madonnadisc.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
- ^ Marsh, p. 502
- ^ Orgill, p. 80
- ^ "Madonna - Borderline". Recording Industry Association of America. www.riaa.com. October 22, 1998. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=Borderline&artist=Madonna&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ^ "Top Singles - Volume 40, No. 22, August 04 1984". RPM. RPM Music Publications Ltd. August 4, 1984. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.6797&volume=40&issue=22&issue_dt=August%2004%201984&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=4dp17sl7hp9qmhhj3vmcenr836. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
- ^ a b "Top Singles - Volume 42, No. 3, September 22 1984". RPM. RPM Music Publications Ltd. September 22, 1984. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.8602&volume=42&issue=3&issue_dt=September%2022%201984&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=4dp17sl7hp9qmhhj3vmcenr836. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
- ^ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 41, No. 9, November 03 1984". RPM. RPM Music Publications Ltd. November 3, 1984. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.8651&volume=41&issue=9&issue_dt=November%2003%201984&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=4dp17sl7hp9qmhhj3vmcenr836. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
- ^ "Chartstats - Madonna - Borderline (1984)". The Official Charts Company. Chartstats.com. June 16, 1984. http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=11662. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
- ^ a b "Chartstats - Madonna - Borderline (1986)". The Official Charts Company. Chartstats.com. February 15, 1986. http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=13092. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
- ^ "BPI - Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. 1986-02-01. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
- ^ a b "Irish charts - Search the chart". Irish Recorded Music Association. Irishcharts.com. January 23, 1986. http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement?page=11. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
- ^ a b "Madonna - Borderline - Hoogste notering" (in Dutch). VRT Top 30. June 4, 1984. http://top30-2.radio2.be/#/song-info/4809. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
- ^ a b "Madonna - Broderline - Dutch". MegaCharts. Dutchcharts.nl. 1983. http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Madonna&titel=Borderline&cat=s. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
- ^ a b "Madonna - Borderline - Swiss Charts". Swiss Music Charts. Hitparade.ch. 1983. http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Madonna&titel=Borderline&cat=s. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
- ^ a b Kent, David (1993) (doc). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ Staff, Blender (April 1, 2009). "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born". Blender. http://www.blender.com/lists/68125/500-greatest-songs-since-you-were-born-451-500.html?p=9. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
- ^ Madonna. (1990). The Immaculate Collection. [VHS]. Warner Home Video.
- ^ a b c d e Metz, p. 163
- ^ a b c Batchelor, p. 45
- ^ a b c d Clerk, p. 36
- ^ a b c d e Kellner, p. 270
- ^ Kellner, p. 269
- ^ Clerk, p. 41
- ^ Madonna. (1985). Live - The Virgin Tour. [VHS]. Warner Home Video.
- ^ Odell, Amy (August 25, 2008). "Madonna’s Tour Starts, Costumes Don’t Disappoint". New York. New York Media LLC. http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2008/08/madonnas_sticky_and_sweet_tour.html. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
- ^ Bernstein, Jacob (August 5, 2008). "Madonna's Costumes for Her Sticky and Sweet Tour". WWD Lifestyle. http://www.wwd.com/lifestyle-news/madonnas-costumes-for-her-sticky-and-sweet-tour-1703286. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- ^ a b Mumbi Moody, Nekesa (October 5, 2008). "Madonna gives fans a treat with "Sticky & Sweet"". USA Today. Gannett Company. http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/2008-10-05-3494094949_x.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
- ^ Pareles, Jon (October 6, 2008). "Madonna: A concert more aerobic than erotic". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/arts/06iht-06mado.16720671.html. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- ^ Ganz, Caryn (October 7, 2008). "Madonna’s Sticky & Sweet Tour Rolls Into New York With Reworked Hits, Virtual Britney". Rolling Stone. Real Networks. http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/10/07/madonnas-sticky-sweet-tour-rolls-into-new-york-with-reworked-hits-virtual-britney/. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
- ^ Reporter, Icon (June 27, 2009). "Europe To Turn Sticky & Sweet In 3 days". Icon:Official Madonna website. Madonna.com. http://www.madonna.com/news/news.php?uid=1191. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- ^ Pharst, Heather (March 21, 2000). "allmusic (( Virgin Voices: A Tribute to Madonna, Vol. 2 > Overview ))". Allmusic. Macrovision Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:hbfqxq9kldde. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- ^ Torreano, Bradley (February 17, 2002). "Punk Goes Pop @ ARTISTdirect.com". Allmusic. Artistdirect. http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,1661838,00.html. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- ^ "Jody Watley Video of Borderline". Yahoo! Music. Yahoo!. http://new.music.yahoo.com/jody-watley/. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- ^ "allmusic ((( Through the Wilderness: A Tribute to Madonna > Overview )))". Allmusic. Macrovision Corporation. November 27, 2007. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:0xftxzqhldae. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- ^ Blogs, Jo (May 10, 2008). "Duffy peforms [sic] a very special version of Madonna's Borderline". Radio 1's Big Weekend. BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/bigweekend/2008/artists/duffy/video3.shtml. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- ^ Thomas Erlewine, Stephen (March 24, 2009). "allmusic ((( Covered: A Revolution in Sound: Warner Bros. Records > Overview )))". Allmusic. Macrovision Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:kbfwxz8kldae. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- ^ Raible, Allan (March 25, 2009). "Is Madonna’s “Borderline” The Hip “It-Song” To Cover?". ABC News. American Broadcasting Company. http://blogs.abcnews.com/allan_raible/2009/03/is-madonnas-bor.html. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
References
- Batchelor, Bob; Scott Stoddart (2007). The 1980s. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 031333000X.
- Clerk, Carol (2002). Madonnastyle. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0711988749.
- Cresswell, Toby (2006). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time and the Artists, Stories and Secrrets Behind Them. Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 1560259159.
- Dean, Maury (2003). Rock 'n' Roll Gold Rush: A Singles Un-Cyclopedia. Algora Publishing. ISBN 0-87586-207-1.
- Fouz-Hernández, Santiago; Freya Jarman-Ivens (2004). Madonna's Drowned Worlds. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. ISBN 0754633721.
- Kellner, Douglas (1995). Media Culture: Cultural Studies, Identity, and Politics Between the Modern and the Postmodern. Routledge. pp. 357. ISBN 0415105706.
- Marsh, Dave (1999). The heart of rock & soul: the 1001 greatest singles ever made. Da Capo Press. ISBN 030680901X.
- Metz, Andrew; Carol Benson (1999). The Madonna Companion: Two Decades of Commentary. ISBN 0825671949.
- Orgill, Roxanne (2001). Shout, Sister, Shout!: Ten Girl Singers who Shaped a Century. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0689819919.
- Rooksby, Rikky (2004). The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0711998833.
- Taraborrelli, Randy J. (2002). Madonna: An Intimate Biography. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0743228804.
External links
