Kenny and Mark rejoice in the return of brother-in-law Joe Henry and the 80s Madonna on the joyous and self-motivating fourth single from Confessions on a Dance Floor.  Kenny thinks outside of the box with alternate single roll-out scenarios, multi-lingual versions, and covert songwriting sessions in London; Mark confesses to being the victim of a theft and gets fired from a corporate job!  Plus, a grappling with a disastrous wig, discovering obscure acoustic versions - AND a warm revisit of...

Mark and Kenny go full-on music nerd dissecting the haunting “second” ode to forbidden love by discussing the nuances and beauty of the song, the poetry of its lyrics, the romanticism of its environment, and their own personal brushes with forbidden desire, lust, and intimacy.  

Kenny and Mark pull out their fine-toothed combs to translate and interpret the many messages Madonna is trying to impart while she burns.  Plus, Mark grapples with the word “fame” and Kenny makes a strong case for the sleazy live version of the song.  Plus, a twirl through one of the lesser, other Mirwais collaborations that didn’t quite make the record and a return of the birds!

Mark and Kenny - long time New Yorkers - trade city origin stories, adventures, and favorite love (and lust) songs about New York while celebrating Madonna’s ultimate ode to her creative home.  Topics include Liza Minnelli, Oberlin College, Salt ’n’ Pepa, St. Vincent, Frank Sinatra, Edward Albee, Chita Rivera, Harry Nilsson, Andrew WK, Rufus Wainwight, Debbie Harry, Moby, and the beloved bitches of Miami.  Let’s hit those streets and start strutting!

Kenny and Mark flip over the first side of the album with the glorious  return of Mirwais for this adventurous track.  Topics include Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder, Madonna as teacher, letting go of illusions and dreams, and the stunning (okay iconic) live performance.  Will Tina call us back?

Mark and Kenny don’t save their words as they discuss the dramatically timeless and Great Madonna pop singles.  Topics include Big Frieda, radio ignorance, Dutch linguistics, the glorious Pet Shop Boys and the lost 80s collaborations, the risk of being too serious, Jamie King, Miss Prissy, pimping the ride, Little C, Paul Oakenfold, Jane Fonda, the Madonna bangs, Straight Bait (“where else can you make $100 for twenty minutes?”), Alex Barber, the breathless Fred Tallaksen, the Talauega...

Kenny and Mark get moody and urgent on the second track (and third single!) from Confessions on a Dance Floor.  Topics include:  Anders Bagge & Peer Astrom, 98 Degrees, Janet Jackson, Chaka Khan, the high-drama of strings on a dance floor, Barbra Streisand’s Guilty & Saturday Night Fever, Eugene Riecansky & Koko Club, The Beatles, group photos, the fresh and hard-working Angela Becker, Mark’s tribute to the indispensable Borderline Music record store in Chicago, and how...

Mark and Kenny hit the dance floor for Season Five to begin a conversation about Confessions on a Dance Floor - Madonna’s TWELFTH album - and the anthemic first single.  Topics include lucky butterfly necklaces, Martha Raye and the lost Texas Guinan musical, Wilson Stone, Luc Besson, Stuart Price and Zoot Woman, Depeche Mode, the allure of the Twenties, ABBA (naturally), Gwen Stefani, Johan Renck, summer songs, Damon Albarn, the gorgeous Arianne Phillips, Hunter College, John Norris and the...

As they ready Season Five, Kenny and Mark take a moment to remember, discuss, and celebrate the musical legacy of Sinead O’Connor – one of the defining voices of her (and their) generation.  We love you, Sinead.

Mark and Kenny do some yoga stretching out for a long and all-encompassing conversation about Madonna’s 2004 summer tour and the accompanying (and much-delayed) documentary. Topics include John Lennon, Guy Ritchie, Steven Klein and the tour book, Donna DeLory, Monte Pittman, the Ciccone winery, Stuart Price, random tour hats, Lainie Kazan, the battle over weather, Siedah Garrett, acoustic music magic, true tour star Angela Becker, Caresse Henry, violating paparazzi, the greatness of skanky...

Kenny and Mark welcome Special Guest Ted Kerr for a deep conversation about the epic final track (and life credo) from American Life.  Topics include mortality, Macy Rodman, Monte Pittman’s royalty checks, Alanis Morissette, co-op board letters, Patti Rothberg, the crossroads of ambition, Lauryn Hill’s “MTV Unplugged”, Madonna’s arc as a trend-setter, reinvigorating the tour cycle, Judy Blume, combative Canadian roommates situation, Tracy Young, Kronos Quartet, the dance between intimate and...

Mark and Kenny salvage through the wreckage that is the much-needed final uptempo song on American Life.  Topics include Kylie Minogue, Matt Lauer, swinging nosy neighbors, album fatigue, the pros and cons of lyrical specificity, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Fun Home, childhood morals and lessons, the English Roses children’s book series, and Mark finally gets to talk about Joan Gustafson Ciccone.  Plus, Kenny outs himself as a child pianist.  “I’ve got to give it up” indeed!

Kenny and Mark break apart a stunner of a song - and Stuart Price makes his co-writing debut!  A new era is percolating … Topics include behaving in church, struggling against the patriarchy, Swing Out Sister, baroque organs, PJ Harvey, Angelene, lost songs “Miss You” and “The Game”, fantastical set-list musings for the Celebration Tour, Steven Klein, Madonna as installation, Jimmy DeSana, Zelda Rubinstein, and Mark struggles to name the band who sang “Catch Me (I’m Falling)” (it was Pretty...

Kenny and Mark share secrets (and theories) about this haunting ballad tucked away on the home stretch of American Life.  Topics include child rearing, emotional vulnerability, addiction, the limits of providing aid, and  dealing with Australians who want to sing along. Plus, Kenny shuffles his track listing and “American Life” continues to haunt us all!

BONUS EPISODE: MADONNA AS MUSE: A Post-Performance Discussion Recorded LIVE on February 10, 2023 in London at the Omnibus Theatre in Clapham, Mark and Kenny sit down with playwright and performer Brian Mullin, director Deirdre McLaughlin, and fellow performer Dan De La Motte for a discussion about LIVE TO TELL: (A PROPOSAL FOR) THE MADONNA JUKEBOX MUSICAL and Madonna’s role as a muse and a conduit for reinvention throughout the many stages in these artists’ lives.  Expect passionate...

Mark makes a case for the lost third single from American Life as a forgotten classic and Kenny celebrates the enduring contributions of the talented Peter Rauhofer.  Topics include Jem Griffiths, Guy Sigsworth, traveling with a choir, acoustic guitars, religious institutions as albatrosses for true faith, and the moment on a Madonna record where the whole thing “pivots.”  Wherever she is, we hope Jackie B took that person HOME with her from the Club!  We love you, Peter Rauhofer. 

Kenny and Mark chart the rise and heavy cost social media has demanded from society while discussing one of the most hauntingly prescient songs from American Life.  Plus, they dive into the careers of Mark “Spike” Stent and Mount Sims (and his magnificent Ultrasex album), celebrate Bjork’s Dancer from the Dance and Cher’s Burlesque,  answer a listener question, and discuss the current human rights issue that we CANNOT look away from.  Don’t forget to update your MySpace page!

Madonna asks some questions (and settles on some answers) in the shimmering fourth single from American Life.  Mark and Kenny discuss Fresca soda, husband engagement, campfire singing, Kenosha, Wisconsin, Regina Spektor, aborted singer-songwriter musical projects, Kenny’s coffee with Holly Knight, Cole Porter and the inaugural Red, Hot + Blue compilation, music industry shenanigans, Sting’s “Desert Rose”, the big city of Montreal, gifts for Oprah, a drive-by hug with Mrs. Fellows, The English...

Kenny and Mark welcome Special Guest Khary Simon (Creative Director and co-editor/publisher of CRUSHfanzine) to discuss the great lost punk track of American Life.  Topics include … well, just listen.  This is seriously one of our favorite conversations.  Thank you, Khary.  CRUSHfanzine website

Mark and Kenny share their dabblings with Los Angeles, including bungalows, storage units, and random star sightings while discussing the cautionary second song (and second single!) from American Life.  Topics include Lisa Cholodenko, Hole, Velvet Underground, the influence of film noir on Madonna, Oscar parties, Debra Winger, Jean-Baptiste Mondino, Guy Bourdin, David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive and Naomi Watts, Michael Haneke, performance doubles, Debbie Harry and BLOW-UP, and that notorious...

Kenny and Mark take the stage at the Omnibus Theatre in the gorgeous Clapham for a LIVE conversation about the disruptive and polarizing lead single from Madonna’s eleventh album.  Topics include: dinner parties, treasure trails, Prince’s Parade album, Napster, Morgan Webb, Kraftwerk and Taxi Girl, isotopes, Sixth Bodyguard Barry, Johnathan Ross, Kenny’s philosophical wrestle match with Kabbalah, Karen Walker’s roommate Liz, Patty Hearst, Lynette Holloway, the Dixie Chicks, Missy Elliott,...

Kenny and Mark sync-up on the London trip packing lists, airport logistics, an episode correction, the social stigma of crossing the Thames, Kenny’s Ambien-tinged setlist wish list for the Celebration Tour, the valuable talent assistance of Billie Lourd, the re-emergence of MDNA, potentially watching “W.E.” on a plane, “Moonlighting”, Justine Bateman, and a harrowing prediction for the summer of 2023: grandchildren.  Plus, beleaguered personal assistant (and dreamer) Tina takes a secret...

Mark and Kenny take a break from the concert ticket queue to dive deep the game-changing and page-turning theme to Pierce Brosnan’s final outing as Bond … James Bond and Madonna’s menagerie of troubled women she portrays: Amber in SWEPT AWAY, Loren in UP FOR GRABS, and the mysterious Verity in DIE ANOTHER DAY, all the while eyeing another famous lady living in London and finally allowing her Kabbalah studies to color (and enflame) her art.  Topics include Guy Ritchie, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Toby...

Kenny and Mark wrap up their four-part conversation of the Drowned World Tour with the return of both the Familiar and the Forward.  Topics include a return to EVITA, the musings of Elizabeth Gilbert, the triumph of Jean-Paul Gaultier, feminist tango, a FAN-FICTION potential romance, the gorgeous Jull Weber and the thrilling dancing of Anthony Rodriguez, punching fists, Niki Haris as rapper, and Kenny’s emotional catharsis during the final moments of this benchmark live performance.  RELEASE...

Mark and Kenny kick up some dust on the third-part (and, um, the narratively loosest) section of the Drowned World to discuss bull-riding, a fateful trip to Austin, Texas, icing out Donna again, and the dreaded mini-return of the Finkle Concert Rating System. Plus, Mark nurses a grudge against Stuart Price, Kenny reminisces about the glory of the live experience of “Don’t Tell Me”, and we all weather awkward transitions - both in life and in the concert. YEEHAW!