"Bedtime Story" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her sixth studio album Bedtime Stories. The song was released as the album's third single on February 13, 1995 by Maverick Records. Written by Björk, Nellee Hooper and Marius De Vries, the Icelandic singer-songwriter was offered the chance to write a song for Madonna's album; she composed a demo which was later partially re-written and whose title was changed to the present one, after which the actual song was produced by Madonna and Nelle Hooper. "Bedtime Story" was the third single from the album. It also appeared on her 2001 compilation album GHV2 in a shorter edit form.

"Bedtime Story" is a mid-tempo electronic song with acid-influenced "pulsating"^[1] house beats, ambient and techno tendencies and an underlying skeletal synth melody influenced by minimal trance music. The song also contains the presence of a drum machine, organs, gurgles, handclaps and has an intricate rhythmic structure. Furthermore, it has drawn comparisons to the style of new age music. A considerable departure from Madonna's work at the time, the track abandoned the singer's then pop-R&B-based repertoire in favor being more unconventional and electronic. The song starts with groans and eventually progresses into whispered speak-sung vocals, and the lyrics are about the joys of the unconscious world; scholars and academics have noted that the song contains lyrical subtexts.

Critically, "Bedtime Story" received favorable reviews; music critics praised the track's hypnotic and electronic style, and deemed it an underrated song which could have had great potential, claiming that it could have been the new "Vogue". Commercially, the song was a moderate international success, reaching the top ten in the United Kingdom, Italy and Australia, yet missing the top forty in United States, peaking at forty-two. Nonetheless, the song was a major club hit, peaking at number one in the Hot Dance Club Songs.

The music video for "Bedtime Story" was directed by Mark Romanek in Universal Studios, and features surrealistic and new age imagery, with influences from artists such as Remedios Varo, Frida Kahlo and Leonora Carrington. At a cost of $5 million, it is also one of the most expensive music videos of all time. In the video, Madonna is seen as being the subject of a scientific test, in which she falls asleep and travels into a dream world. The video received acclaim from critics, being deemed as one of Madonna's most artistic music videos, and it was stored in a collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The video was additionally screened in various film theatres in the United States.

"Bedtime Story" has left a legacy, with several critics, writers and scholars claiming that the song foreshadowed the singer's move towards electronic music in her future work; it was also written that it was part of the singer's influence in popularizing Sufism and the Mevlevi tradition in mainstream Western culture. Nevertheless, it has been described as one of her most unfulfilled potentially successful singles. "Bedtime Story" is also one of Madonna's less represented and performed songs; despite this, the song was performed at the 1995 BRIT Awards in London, and a remixed version of the track was used as an interlude on her Re-Invention Tour in 2004, with a whole new video, directed by Dago Gonzalez, being used.

Background[link]

According to the book Madonna: Like an Icon by Lucy O'Brien, Madonna wanted to "make an impact" on the soul musical scene,^[2] and started working with prominent producers from the R&B market. Aside from this, however, Madonna also wanted to explore the British club musical scene, where genres such as dub had been growing in popularity.^[3] In such a way, she decided to work with several European producers and composers within the electronic scene, including Nellee Hooper, who pleased Madonna due to his "very European sensibility".^[4] Inviting Hooper over to Los Angeles,^[5] sessions started taking place in the Chappell Studios of Encino, California.^[6]

"Bedtime Story" was written by Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk, Marius De Vries and Nellee Hooper, and co-produced by Nellee Hooper and Madonna. According to the book Björk: wow and flutter by Mark Pytlik, she was offered a chance to write a track for Madonna's upcoming album, Bedtime Stories.^[7] Accepting the offer, the Icelandic singer wrote a song initially named "Let's Get Unconscious".^[8] Once the song demo had been finished, De Vries and Hooper rearranged the track and the final version was called "Bedtime Story".^[9] The song was eventually issued as the third single from the album.^[10]

Musical composition and lyrics[link]

	"Bedtime Story" noicon Madonna sings lyrics regarding unconsciousness and a rejection of logic, accompanied by house beats, ambient and new age-inspired qualities, the usage of drum machines, synths and organs as well as an intricate rhythmic structure. Its electronic style contrasted Madonna's pop and R&B-based repertoire of the early-mid 1990s.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

"Bedtime Story" is an electronic song, which, according to sheet music published by Musicnotes.com of Alfred Publishing Co. Inc, is written in the key of G minor and has a moderate tempo of 108 beats per minute.^[11] The song is a notable departure from Madonna's previous works and the other songs from the album, which are more R&B and new jack swing-driven;^[12] unlike Madonna's more up-tempo, melodic work, the song is slower and has less of a net melody, and also contains a complex rhythmic structure;^[13] it also places much emphasis on atmospheric qualities,^[14] containing an ambient-influenced tone. The track, furthermore, contains a "pulsating"^[15] and a "deep, bubbling"^[16] house beat which has drawn stylistic comparisons to acid house music,^[17] a "skeletal" synth arrangement, influences of trance, more specifically, minimal trance,^[18] as well as techno tendencies.^[19] The song's instrumentation, on the other hand, is synthesized, consisting of drum machine, loops, organs, strings, gurgles, handclaps, as well as a digitally-altered "homophonic" choir.^[20] The lyrics are a hymn to the joys of unconsciousness and a rejection of the supposed constraints of reason and language, hence the line "Words are useless, especially sentences, They don't stand for anything, How could they explain how I feel?"^[17] The song is linked to the ending of the previous album track, "Sanctuary", and starts with its chords.^[17] After this, the skeletal synth arrangement begins, over which the singer can be heard groaning. This is followed by sound of the drum machine and machine handclap. Madonna sings the song in a subdued, speak-sing manner, with the line "Today is the last day I am using words". In the song, Madonna sings certain lines in a hypnotic style.^[21] The ending of the track has a pulsating beat and a mix of the lead synth, with Madonna's voice whimpering and uttering "Ha-ha-aahs". It ends abruptly saying "And all that you every learnt, try to forget, I'll never explain again" making the listener believe that it was all the part of a dream.^[17]

According to Victor Amaro Vicente in his book The aesthetics of motion in musics for the Mevlana Celal ed-Din Rumi, the song’s music bears many resemblances to new age-era music and different forms of Sufi-inspired music;^[22] its slow atmospheric qualities have drawn comparison to "Mevlevi-Sufi Relaxation";^[23] the song's intricate rhythmic structure has also drawn comparison to the zikr ceremony; the song's "steady and continuous rhythmic loop is suggestive of zikr".^[24] Björk, one of the song's writers, has been credited for giving the song its particular style. According to Marius De Vries as recorded by Lucy O'Brien in her book Madonna: Like an Icon, one of the song's writers, the track's architecture is "distinctly Björkian" and the Icelandic singer "has such a particular and idiosyncratic approach to the construction of lyrics and phrasing".^[25] In a chapter of Music and technoculture written by Charity Marsh and Melissa West, it is stated that one can hear the influence of Björk in Madonna’s vocals during the song.^[26]

Lyrically, despite being a song about a trip to the unconscious, scholars have noticed subtexts within the song's meaning. Postmodern and new age themes seem to have been explored within the song's lyrics, especially with regards to their incapability of articulating the concept of the truth, as well as the song's theme of meditation and relax.^[27] Islamic mystic and sexual themes have also been noted within the song's lyrics.^[28] According to Vicente, the "clichéd references to "honey", "longing" and "yearning", and even the sexual connotations of being "wet" on the inside" relate not to "secular" love, yet to "ecstatic" Sufi poetry.^[29] The song's lyrical themes contrast from those of her previous work, which was overtly sexual and based on erotic love; on the other hand, they explore concepts of movement which are "central" to Sufi philosophy, such as "leaving" and "going out".^[30] According to Vincente, these "subtly" allude to "achieving fana through sema (getting "lost" and "leaving logic and reason to the arms of unconsciousness")".^[31]

Reception[link]

Critical[link]

Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk was one of the song's writers, and it has been noted that the song's style is influenced by her music.

"Bedtime Story" has received generally positive reviews from critics. Lucy O'Brien, in her book Madonna: Like an Icon, wrote that "'Bedtime Story' was a vivid track that foreshadowed Madonna's move towards electronica".^[32] In the same book, O'Brien asserts that one of the song's writers, Marcus De Vries, claims that it was a "brave decision", yet, that "Madonna captured the atmosphere of it beautifully".^[33] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic, in a review for the album as a whole, wrote that, along with other tracks, it was amongst the "best songs on the album" and that they "slowly work their melodies into the subconscious as the bass pulses".^[34] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine praised the song, claiming that the song had unfulfilled potential and that it "could have been the next "Vogue"".^[35] In a review for her GHV2 album, he also described the song as a "trippy follow-up to the mainstream hit "Take a Bow"" and gave it an "A" rating.^[36] Victor Amaro Vicente in his book The aesthetics of motion in musics for the Mevlana Celal ed-Din Rumi wrote that that the song's "complex rhythmic texture" made it a "dance hall favorite in the mid-1990s".^[37] Rikky Rooksby, in his book The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna, wrote that the song was similar to the music of English alternative/electronic pop band Everything but the Girl, and claimed that "in contrast to most other songs of the album, this is one track that could have been longer and more trippy than it is".^[17]

Commercial[link]

On the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, the song peaked at number forty-two on April 29, 1995,^[38] becoming the first Madonna single since 1983's "Burning Up" not to reach the top-forty. Had she reached the top forty, she would at the time have become the third woman in the "rock era" with the most top 40 hits, behind Aretha Franklin and Connie Francis.^[39] It would have given her a consecutive string of thirty-three top 40 hits, starting from her single "Holiday" back in 1983. Nonetheless, the song's "loss" of radio airplay and sales prevented it from peaking within the US top forty.^[40] The song spent seven weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.^[41] On the other hand, it was highly successful in the U.S. Hot Dance Club Songs chart, where it peaked at number one and spent sixteen weeks on the charts.^[42] Furthermore, it also charted on various national charts, including the Hot Dance/Music Maxi Singles play, peaking at three,^[43] as well as the Rhythmic Top 40 at forty,^[44] and the Top 40 Mainstream at thirty-eight.^[45]

In Australia, the song entered the ARIA Singles charts on April 9, 1995, peaking immediately at number five, where it stayed in that position for three weeks.^[46] It fell out of the top ten in the fifth week, and eventually exited the charts after a total run of nine weeks, falling to forty-four on its last week in the charts.^[47] In New Zealand, in the RIANZ Singles charts, it debuted at forty on 7 May, moving up two positions to thirty-eight which was its peak, and leaving the charts the next week with a total run of two weeks.^[48]

In the United Kingdom, the song entered the charts on the week of February 25, 1995,^[49] and achieved top five success,^[50] entering and peaking at number four on the The Official Charts Company Singles.^[51] It left the top twenty two weeks later,^[52] eventually spending nine weeks on the nation charts.^[53] The song has been reported to have sold 97,428 copies in the United Kingdom as of August 2008, making it, according to that year, Madonna's 50th best-selling single in the country.^[54]

In other European countries, the song also found some success. It peaked at number thirty-eight in the Belgian Wallonie Ultratop charts in Belgium on 8 April, with a total run of one week.^[55] In the Dutch Top 40 in the Netherlands, it entered and peaked at forty-six on 15 April and stayed on the same position the next week, with a total run of two weeks.^[56]

Music video[link]

Background and synopsis[link]

The music video for "Bedtime Story" was directed by Mark Romanek over a course of six days in Universal Studios, Universal City, California.^[58] At a reputed cost of $5 million,^[59] it is one of the most expensive music videos of all time, and the most expensive at the time, with the music video for one of her earlier singles, "Express Yourself", which was also reported to have cost $5 million.^[60] Shot by cinematographer Harris Savides, the video was made on 35 mm film lense.^[61] Furthermore, Tom Foden was the video's production designer.^[62] Due to the vast number of digital effects required for the video, post-production lasted for weeks.^[63]

On 10 March 1995, the video was given a cinematic release at three different Odeon Cineplex film theatres in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City.^[64] The video was shown in various cinemas, such as in Santa Monica, California at the Broadway Cinemas, in Manhattan, New York at the Chelsea Theater, and in Chicago, Illinois at the Biograph Theater.^[65] Unlike most of Madonna's videos which debuted on either MTV or VH1 television channels, "Bedtime Story" was first put into circulation in Z100. In order to promote the video, Madonna did a special known as Madonna's Pajama Party on March 18,^[66] where the singer could be seen reading a bedtime story in Webster Hall in New York City. At the event, "cutting-edge" tribal and trance remixes, made by disc jockey and producer Junior Vasquez, were also played.^[67]

The video starts off with a blue monitor screen with an eye showing the inscription "Welcome".^[68] The video progresses inside a blue space ship-style room with Madonna lying prostrate in what seems to be a scientific experiment. The imagery cast in this section of the video have drawn comparisons to hermeticism.^[69] The video progresses into a sequence of dreams, containing varied surrealistic, mystic, new age, sufi and Egyptian imagery and symbolism. Such include a scene in which Madonna lies on a rotating sunflower, and images of a woman with long hair, an alchemist-type man holding a cube with Madonna's face on each side as well as rotating sufi dancers. Some scenes were inspired by the 1968 Armenian film The Color of Pomegranates.^[70] The dream sequence progresses with surreal and unusual clips, including Madonna in a pool with half-shown skulls. A scene in which Madonna, dressed in a light dressing gown, gives birth to doves, can also be seen; the image has been compared to the work of René Magritte, and Frida Kahlo's 1932 painting My Birth.^[71] Suddenly, she floats down a corridor in a white gown, until she appears in a black-and-white projection in a cinema-like room. As the music gets more dramatic, the dream grows intense, with images of skulls and scars appearing, and the singer can be seen wading through space. A scene in which Madonna's eyes are replaced with her mouth and her mouth with an eye precedes the ending, influenced by the work of Frida Kahlo, in which she wakes up and looks out.

Reception and analysis[link]

The music video for "Bedtime Story" has received generally positive reviews from critics ever since its release. MTV, when writing an article on the pop culture references of Britney Spears' "Hold It Against Me" music video, claimed "Bedtime Story" was an "Ultra artistic" video.^[72] Lucy O'Brien praised the video, calling it "one of her most experimental" music videos and a "Dali-esque epic",^[73] causing it to enter "the portals of high art".^[74] In a 1995 edition of Billboard, the video was called an "elaborate clip".^[75]

The video has been noted for its surrealistic references. Corinna Herr, in the "Where is the female body? Androgyny and other strategies of disappearance in Madonna's music videos section of the Santiago Fouz-Hernández and Freya Jarman-Ivens book Madonna’s drowned world: new approaches to her cultural transformations 1983 – 2003" wrote that "Visual references to surreal paintings seem to be a key to Madonna’s world of images" and listed "Bedtime Story" as one of these videos. In the same book, it has been written by Fouz-Hernández and Jarman-Ivens that Corinna Herr considers videos including "Bedtime Story" to be "in relation to alchemical and hermeticist traditions, investigating in particular the concepts of androgyny and masquerade".^[76] She has also written regarding the video's new age influences and concept of an idealised world, one "which she is not necessarily a part, but to which she nevertheless seems to be attracted".^[77] The music video has also drawn comparisons to Tarsem Singh's films The Fall (2006) and The Cell, in the sense that they both incorporate elements of Islamic mystic imagery, such as in the scene where the swirling dance is executed, as well as the floating cube.^[78] The video has been exhibited and permanently kept in different art galleries and museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, as well as the Museum of the Moving Image in London, which has now been closed.

Live performances[link]

"Bedtime Story" has only featured in one of Madonna's concert tours, the Re-Invention Tour, remixed and shown in a video form. The video was shot in April 2004 at Culver Studios in Culver City, California and contained scenes of Madonna using a white costume (very similar to the costume she used in her "Sorry" video) singing in front of a mirror and laying down on a big scanner. A beautiful white horse can be seen with her during the video riding on a white desert and running through white sheets. Additionally, the song was performed at the 1995 BRIT Awards. For this performance Madonna wore a white Versace dress and long hair extensions. This performance also ranked # 4 on Marie Claire Magazine's "30 Best Brit Award Moments" list. ^[79]

Legacy[link]

"Bedtime Story" has frequently been cited as one of the songs with the most unfulfilled potential in Madonna's career;^[80] nonetheless, the song did enjoy some success, being a club "favorite" in the mid-1990s.^[81] It has also been described as the record that foreshadowed Madonna's usage of electronic music in her following work. According to Victor Amaro Vicente in his book The aesthetics of motion in musics for the Mevlana Celal ed-Din Rumi, the song was influential and left a legacy on Madonna's work, especially on her album Ray of Light, which, according to him, owes "its contemplative and electronic techno rave character to "Bedtime Story"".^[82] Lucy O'Brien, in her book Madonna: Like an Icon, wrote that the song "foreshadowed her move towards electronica" and labelled it an "embryonic moment that went a lot further on the next few albums".^[83] In a review for the Bedtime Stories album on a whole, Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine wrote that the song was "the germ that would later inspire Madonna to seek out and conquer electronica with the likes of William Orbit and Mirwais".^[84]

Official Versions[link]

01."Bedtime Story" (Album Version) 4:53
02."Bedtime Story" (Album Edit) 4:08
03."Bedtime Story" (Junior's Wet Dream Mix) 8:35
04."Bedtime Story" (Junior's Single Mix) 4:53
05."Bedtime Story" (Junior's Wet Dream Dub) 7:30 **
06."Bedtime Story" (Junior's Dreamy Drum Dub) 9:34
07."Bedtime Story" (Junior's Sound Factory Mix) 9:18
08."Bedtime Story" (Junior's Sound Factory Dub) 8:19 **
09."Bedtime Story" (Orbital Mix) 7:43
10."Bedtime Story" (Lush Vocal Mix) 6:48
11."Bedtime Story" (Lush Vocal Mix Edit) 4:44
12."Bedtime Story" (Luscious Dub) 7:38
13."Bedtime Story" (Percapella Mix) 6:30 **
14."Bedtime Story" (Unconscious In The Jungle

Mix) 6:29 **

Release history[link]

Charts[link]

References[link]

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2011)

bedtime story

A father reading his daughter a bedtime story: Madeline, by Ludwig Bemelmans

A bedtime story is a traditional form of storytelling, where a story is told to a child at bedtime to prepare them for sleep.

Bedtime stories have many advantages, for parents/adults and children alike. The fixed routine of a bedtime story before sleeping has a relaxing effect, and the soothing voice of a person telling a story makes the child fall asleep more easily. The emotional aspect creates a bond between the storyteller and the listener, often a parent and child.

Bedtime stories can be read from a book, or rather, fictional stories made up by the storyteller. The stories are mostly rather short, between one and five minutes, and have a happy ending. A different form of bedtime reading is using longer stories, but dividing them up, thus creating cliffhangers. Children will look forward to their bedtime story, and a fixed routine is installed.

This article about children's literature is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e