Don’t Go For Second Best, Baby

Madonna “Express Yourself” (Shep Pettibone Remix)

The Shep Pettibone remix of Madonna’s “Express Yourself” – the famous one used in the genuinely iconic David Fincher-directed music video, the version that was a hit – is maybe the best ever example of a remix being so much better than the album recording that the original is made obsolete by its existence. It’s not that the version that appears on Like A Prayer is bad – it is still the same song in structural terms and has the same vocal take as far as I can tell. But Pettibone’s arrangement strips out all the dorky ‘80s-specific elements of the album version, like the horn arrangement and the campy male vocal part, and finds the appropriate level of energy for the song. Pettibone’s aesthetic is sleek and elegant in a specifically turn-of-the-’90s way, and just as with his production on “Vogue” a year later, he found a sound that’s very much rooted in its moment but still feels incredibly stylish today.

This is a quote from Madonna about this song from an interview with Stephen Holden published in the New York Times in 1989 that has really stuck with me, both adding some extra depth to the music but also just functioning as very good life advice:

”The message of the song is that people should always say what it is they want,” Madonna said. ”The reason relationships don’t work is because they are afraid. That’s been my problem in all my relationships. I’m sure people see me as an outspoken person, and for the most part, if I want something I ask for it. But sometimes you feel that if you ask for too much or ask for the wrong thing from someone you care about that that person won’t like you. And so you censor yourself. I’ve been guilty of that in every meaningful relationship I’ve ever had. The time I learn how not to edit myself will be the time I consider myself a complete adult.”

Madonna was 30 years old when she said this, and in the process of finalizing her divorce from Sean Penn. 31 years later, I wonder if she still feels this way.

“Express Yourself” is generally understood as a female empowerment anthem, and it is, but more than anything it’s Madonna singing about the value of communication. Without communication, there is no happy relationship. Without communication, there’s no negotiating for what you deserve personally or professionally. Without communication you can’t authentically express your identity. And communication in a relationship is a two-way thing, so if you can’t make your partner open up it doesn’t matter how well you advocate for your needs. This last part is so crucial to the character of the song – Madonna’s lyrics acknowledge the shortcomings of most men raised with stifling heteronormative gender roles, but she’s telling you to not bother with those guys. The song allows for the existence of good men, and considers them a luxury she’s earned. She’s begging you to do the same, and for the men who aren’t up to the standard to level up.

It’s notable that the verses of “Express Yourself” make a point of contradicting pretty much everything she sang a few years earlier in “Material Girl.” Madonna did not write that song, but its sassy cynicism was so aligned with her persona in 1984 that it’s been understood as a sort of mission statement through her career. She’s always said she liked the song because it was “ironic and provocative,” which it absolutely is, though it’s hard to fully buy it when she says she’s not actually at all materialistic. But still, the lyrics in “Express Yourself” – which she wrote herself – ring a lot more true to her actual personality. It’s easy to take this song as being from the perspective of the Material Girl a few years later, with the experience to know that the fancy sheets and expensive jewelry aren’t enough of a reward for having to deal with some dull, shallow rich guy.

Nearly ten years ago Lady Gaga released “Born This Way,” one of her best singles even if a lot of the lyrics are clunky for various reasons. The common complaint about “Born This Way” then and to this day is that it sounds too much like “Express Yourself,” as if this could ever be a bad thing or that there were too many other songs like it, which there are not. This criticism frustrates me to no end, partly because I find it rather insulting to Lady Gaga. The songs are similar but not the same. There’s a clear line of inspiration, but of course Lady Gaga is inspired by Madonna. Madonna practically invented the lane of pop stardom Gaga exists in, it’s no different from how there’s countless artists directly inspired by previous template-setters like The Beatles or James Brown. To act like spotting this influence is some career-undermining “gotcha!” is absurd, and furthermore is a standard not applied to artists in other genres, most especially rock and rap.

I’ve been writing this site for almost 20 years, and in that time I’ve been sent a few thousand records and I’ve screened a lot more looking for songs to feature. And in all that, I’ve probably basically heard the same stupid punk rock song thousands of times by hundreds of bands. No one complains about this, though if you ask me, they should because it’s tedious and lacking in imagination. But to people who like punk rock songs, there’s never enough of the same damn thing. But somehow the notion of there being one other song that sounds like “Express Yourself” is offensive to people? This boils my blood. I’d much rather live in a world full of “Express Yourself” copies.

Madonna, no stranger to these sort of disingenuous criticisms and a shameless magpie herself, was a good sport about “Born This Way.” When she tour for MDNA in 2012 “Express Yourself” was part of the show, and near the end of the song she seamlessly integrated the song’s chorus. It rules.

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