2014 said: ↑
You are......not a ray of light
Andy French
Mr Blonde said: ↑
Anyway, I hate most of you!
- me after every elimination
Andy French, Aug 31, 2020
Music Is Death, heavymetalGAGA, evilsin and 15 others like this.
relby
Let's face it, every song left is great to perfection. I mean, my lowest score remaining is Like a Virgin.
relby, Aug 31, 2020
soratami
relby said: ↑
Let's face it, every song left is great to perfection.
Not when Cherish is still here.
soratami, Aug 31, 2020
Maki likes this.
soratami said: ↑
Especially when Cherish is still here.
Womanizer, Aug 31, 2020
joeee likes this.
LTG said: ↑
Everything on Music bar Don't Tell Me should have gone before Crave tibb
Now, Madonna did noT power squat her way through this career-defining song on the Drowned World Tour just for... whatever this opinion is.
Push, Aug 31, 2020
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phoenix123
This Cherish hatred must end.
Those of us with taste are like:
phoenix123, Aug 31, 2020
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Aside from Crave being 10/10 and a latter day career highlight, I love how much Swae Lee stanned Mother too. Like, he didn't just take the check and leave. He knew.
Suburbia, Aug 31, 2020
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RainOnFire Staff Member
That was a rough set of eliminations. I don't even have time to be upset about Isaac and To Have & Not to Hold leaving because WHY is Crave out already.
I know it has an 8+ average and every elimination is going to hurt from here on out, but Crave is inarguably in Madonna's Top 40 of all-time and no can tell me otherwise. I'm fully of the belief that it stands toe-to-toe with some of her classics. This is such a disappointing result.
RainOnFire, Aug 31, 2020
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2015 PLACEMENT: UP 9 - 67 of 210 (7.829)
HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 20 (@Andreas @dodoriazarbon @eatyourself @HEARTCORE @Sprockrooster @soratami @Babyface @relby @torontodj @Sail On @muddleddreams @scottdisick94 @Sideout @joeee @paperboyfriendd @Sleepycat @clowezra @sexercise @Music Is Life @FrozenNight)
LOWEST SCORE: 5 x 1 (@Pop Life)
MY SCORE: 8/10
Sure are seeing more this Ray Of Light logo recently, aren't we?
Well, it looks like @Pop Life will certainly be happy. "Swim" vacates nearly a full ten spots higher than it did in 2015, so it's not all bad. I low-key feel like this is the true beginning of Ray Of Light; after being submerged in "Drowned World", we wash up on the shore and wake up to the sound of waves. "Swim" is a pretty dark track in terms of subject matter, but... despite it being billed as the album Madonna embraced spirituality and motherhood, Ray Of Light is actually a fairly dark album outside of its title track, dealing with fairly heavy stuff like break ups, longing, death, and even the fact that the wider world is fucked. Something that is just as true in 2020 as it was in 1998, sadly.
"Swim" is also informed by the fact that it was recorded the same day Madonna found out that her friend and frequent fashion collaborator, Gianni Versace, had been shot dead in his home. The funny thing is that "Swim" isn't exactly an emotional song to sing, but I imagine it was maybe cathartic to perform on the same day as receiving such horrific news. A song that fully acknowledges the absolutely fucking shitty state of the world we live in, but offers a lifeline to coping with it. Let's face it; we all need to pull ourselves out of the 24 hour news cycle every now and then because it's simply too much. You can't carry the sorrow of everything that's happening because it'll bring you down for nothing when you need to be actively fighting against these things. But it has to be a conscious choice to save yourself. Sink... or swim.
Needless to say, I think it's a great track. Madonna's voice is maybe more elastic than its ever been, taking us down on that ocean floor on the verses before crashing through the surface on the chorus, and the production bucks Ray Of Light's shimmering synths for most of its run, favouring the grungy guitar similar to "Candy Perfume Girl" and... well, a lot of popular grunge and rock acts at the end of the 90s. However, I only like it quite a bit rather than love it, so I guess it's the right time for it to go.
"Swim" was never performed live as... well, Drowned World Tour was having to accommodate two albums and some sacrifices were made. Those sacrifices were literally every single pre-1994 hit and "Swim", by the looks of things. Just pretend I posted that weird ass GIF @Pop Life had of Madonna swimming with the fishes. Enjoy!
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eatyourself
Swim is top 10 Madonna songs to cry for to me. The amount of times me as a little gay boy would blast the first three tracks of Ray of Light during the shower, crying my eyes out during Drowned and Swim and losing myself with the title track... Literally a song that's shaped me in some way.
eatyourself, Aug 31, 2020
Music Is Death, Chezam, soratami and 6 others like this.
Poor Swim! I suppose this was a good enough time for it to be out though.
Pop Life, Aug 31, 2020
phoenix123 likes this.
I love "Swim", but the score I gave it may have been slightly boosted due to the amazing production. I mean, comparing it to the other songs I gave a 9 to, it isn't quite exactly on the same level as them.
Oddly enough, I'm not mad about its departure. It must be the case that it (narrowly) belongs to the weaker half of "Ray of Light" (and it's still a 9/10 song - talent!).
The lyrics are very affecting, while song itself is pretty much a sonic sister to "Frozen" (hmm's and all) and the closest "Ray of Light" comes to a filler track (which it isn't, obviously). Oh, and I love how the song literally sounds like having a dive in the deep dark blue ocean.
And the "fun" fact that "Swim" is the only song from that album to feature a flute. "Utopia" moment.
Also, now that "Swim" was eliminated - is "Skin" the longest lasting song that has never been performed live? An accolade. Although that title should've been taken by "To Have and Not to Hold".
Edit: Nevermind, just realized that "Till Death Do Us Part" and "Rescue Me" are also in contention for that title.
Swim is an underrated song but I think now was a good time for it to go.
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torontodj
I thought @Pop Life hated Swim so much I was excpecting a minimum of 2 or 3. Somehow 5 seems generous! But of course what one considers lesser Madonna is still amazing.
torontodj, Aug 31, 2020
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MilesAngel
Swim is my fourth least favourite song on the album but I still gave it 8.5. The backing track emulates what it sounds like when you are swimming underwater, with it's bubbling synths.
MilesAngel, Aug 31, 2020
Let's move this along girls, I've got a bed I want to go to.
evilsin and Maki like this.
Put your head on my shoulder baby
Things can't get any worse
Night is getting colder
Sometimes life feels like it's a curse
2020 anthem, tbh. Deserved top 50!
Babyface, Aug 31, 2020
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Maybe someone wants to tell me story to send me to sleep?
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