Snyder and Finkle
Covering Madonna's entire canon. Each short weekly episode focuses on one song. Starting at the very beginning and working our way forward.
Exhausted from the never-ending (and stunning) CONFESSIONS II rollout, Mark and Kenny have a short lie-down and make a special request to the listeners of ALL I WANT TO DO IS TALK ABOUT MADONNA ahead of Season Eight’s final episodes. Please email your contributions to MarkBSnyder@hotmail.com or to @AllIWant2DoisTalkAboutMadonna on Instagram.
Kenny and Mark travel back to June 2020 and revisit their original immediate and intimate conversation about the Madame X tour - recorded a few days after experiencing the show at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in September 2019. At the time, it was the longest episode of AIWTDITAM - oh, how times have changed!
Mark and Kenny wrap up the Madame X album with this gorgeous and vibe-y final track. Topics include: Kimi Djabate, witchcraft, “Bella Ciao”, Ben Gibbard, history lessons, deep research & references, and the courage of admitting the unknown. Plus, a lost documentary idea, Madonna’s cell phone number, and following the clues and hopes for the future. “Let me know that it’s cool, Madonna
Kenny and Mark fly off the rails looking for the fun in this bonus track from Madame X. Topics include: Cape Verde archipelago, Dino D’Santiago, autotune, Mac Miller, toilets, 1987, Madonna’s toes, Judy Garland and Estelle Getty. “Let’s go dancing!”
Mark and Kenny contemplate what makes a pride anthem while discussing the finale proper from Madame X. Topics include X Gonzalez & 2019, love & hurt, messages & oppressions, guitars & strings, Peter Matkiwsky, wrapping up & holding the light, Tracy Young, Daybreakers, DJ Irene & The Alliance, Pride Island, and a whole of tragic magic. “Immigrants are America.”
Kenny and Mark make some episode corrections and get super-vulnerable discussing the lost power ballad from Madame X. Topics include: mercy & grace, Laurie Metcalfe & Scott Rudin, Tori Amos & Neil Gaiman, Bruce Norris’ play Downstate, writing letters, high powers, sinners & punishment, love & grief, flaws & cancellation, Ordinary People, and what makes the best protest music. “Look it up on your own!”
Mark and Kenny reach the destination of the journey and Madonna returns to the dance floor … or does she? Topics include: flexing the pop muscle, vibes, home & the wilderness, Picasso, sharing the search, Vogue snaps, gypsy blood, contentment, realigning values, Honey Dijon, iPods, Offer Nissim, Charlize Theron, the Boom Boom Room, Orlando Puerta, and celebrating DJ Kue. “Platinum Gold!”
Kenny and Mark lose their identities with the return of Maluma to Madame X. Topics include: Lauren D’Elia, Kaytranada, Starrah, cheap jokes, and the further adventures of Mr. Safe and Mrs. Crazy (and the dark shadow of “Soltera”). Plus - Freddy DeMann is ALIVE!!
Mark and Kenny gyrate their hips and discuss a rare cover (and banger) track on Madame X. Topics include: Blaya, tattoos, bisexuality and married women, cachaca, party sets, collaborators, and a deep dive into duet partner Anitta (and her father).
Kenny and Mark reflect on the first deluxe version track - a DIARISTIC ballad that may prove to be the true centerpiece of Madame X. Topics include: restless travel and searching, second guessing, campaign slogans, shuddering opportunities, lucidity, street singing, Mirwais’ sonic landscapes, Malawi, reflective logic, John Wells, childlike essence, Buddhist circles, Madonna’s Portuguese singing, Antartica, and the power of the 19th year. Plus, Mark finally considers a Madonna trance playlist and Kenny discovers a multitude of connections over a twenty-year time period. “Gotta get back to my journey!”
Mark and Kenny take a collective exhale while celebrating this exuberant anthem from Madame X. Topics include Krakebs, oppression, freedom, Jeff Bhasker, Saint James Joy dance parties, simplicity, bees, standing in lines, Morocco, producer choices, and how Madonna knew exactly what the Madame X album needed. “Who you talkin to?
Kenny and Mark go a little nuts over Madonna’s yearning vocals on this spare and compelling gem from Madame X. Topics include Grindr and vinyl, app fantasies and selfies, Jason Evigan and Mike Dean, self-knowledge and mystery, studying and safety, married men and married songs, trust and community, changing the narrative and attracting the drama, Katy Perry and Carly Rae Jepsen, and the thrillingly influential songwriting of Starrah. Plus, Kenny breaks down his experience with the “On Being” podcast w/ Jay Shetty and Mark shares what he thinks Confessions II will ultimately be all about.
Mark and Kenny confess their latest cravings while musing on this illusive and near-classic ballad from Madame X. Topics include paper clips and major keys, desire and experience, Starrah and Swae Lee, On the Waterfront and The Wizard of Oz, bananas and pizza, Rae Sremmurd and Spider Man, Nuno Xico and Carson McCullers, “old choreography” and pigeons, swagger and grillz, Mike Cruz and Joe Gauthreaux & Leanh, and the idiosyncrasies that make this song so special. Plus, Mark has a crush (and a kiss) with a fellow subway rider and Kenny splices and dices with a stalker named Madonna. “Rush Rush Rush on You!”
Kenny and Mark get vulnerable and stay sensitive to discuss one of the most polarizing and criticized songs in Madonna’s entire canon. Topics include: Portuguese lyrics, taking a big risk, embracing awkwardness and metaphors, privilege, costs, oppressive poetry, legacy, the embarrassment of vulnerability, and the challenge embracing all of the personal and intense narratives in Madame X. “Lonely is the path”
In the midst of the “I Feel So Free” launch, Mark and Kenny flee to Cape Verde to dissect this anthemic duet w/ the mighty and inspiring Orquestra Batukadeiras. Topics include David Banda’s security, community singing, generational mentorship, radical joy, recapturing the enthusiasm, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, the darkness of survival, Emmanuel Adjei, communal tasks, unself-conscious joy, Queen Mabel, and Eva Peron returns! This episode is dedicated to Robert (Bob) Snyder (1948-2026).
Kenny and Mark get out the oracles and peer into this reggae-tinged anthem from Madame X. Topics include scratchy pianos, Starrah, autotune vs. clean vocal, Quavo, Athens, GA, Sondheim & Streisand, being a sound level diva, rebirth, future & past, Great Depression propaganda, Anne Frank and the lack of empathy, The Little Drummer Girl, Angels in America, a troubling Eurovision 2019, Solange, Aretha Franklin & Curtis Mayfield’s Sparkle, the weirdness of promotional singles, Natalie Merchant and revisiting old songs, and how recording new songs after performing them on a world tour might transform a new album by Madonna. Plus, Kenny finds a new stage name, Mark leads a “Future” singalong in the NYC subway, and a potential new conversation about a very party-ful song in the Madonna canon.
Mark and Kenny light up some clove cigarettes to discuss the daring and deliciously disconcerting third song from Madame X. Topics include illusionary disco, plethoras of motifs, threatening strings, the Wooster Group, nostalgic coos, useless founding fathers, Casey Spooner, not-so-secret villains, disruptive choirs, James Baldwin, new democracies, Jonas Akerlund, Taylor Swift, Patti Smith, trash cans, Party Girl Vera, sparkly nail polish and dangerous lace gloves, confusing time stamps, the illusions of nostalgia, Madame X’s short story, and the numbing (and ongoing) conversation about Madonna’s gun imagery and gun control. Plus, Mark climbs down a fire escape and Kenny holds out for the VIP section on Pride Island. “WAKE UP!”
Kenny and Mark don their Supreme Hoodies to dive deep on the extreme and WHACKY second track from Madame X. Topics include the 2018 MetGala, Eurovision, Tchaikovsky, A Clockwork Orange, the material life, truth vs. fiction, screen entrapment, insomnia, reading plays, Instagram whoredom, Mykki Blanco, evil cardinals, watchful matrons, the GLAAD Awards, and the turbo-charged return of old friend Joan of Arc. “It’s a beautiful life …”
Mark and Kenny break out the wigs (and, yes, the eye patches) to launch Season Eight: Zero Fucks Given with an epic conversation about the first song and single from Madame X. Topics include: eye twitches, pineapple, pandemic impact, skincare, pussy hats, Cher and a potential Mamma Mia 3 movie, Lisbon, Estere and Stella, Starrah, Dino D’Santiago and his band Expensive Soul, the ups and downs of fado, Amalia & Celeste Rodrigues, the return of Mirwais, the fable of Martha Graham, The World of Madame X documentary, the yellow scarf, the risk of narratives in pop music, Kate Langbroek, MALUMA, Shakira, Edgar Barrera, Alice in Wonderland, flirting in different languages, the Billboard Music Awards, Diana Kunst and May Morgo, the abundance of accessories, an interrupted wedding, lost remixes, the Year of the Clavicle, and the overall schizophrenic quality of Madame X. “Can we just get to the 1, 2, cha cha?”
As the launch of Season Eight nears, Kenny and Mark revive and explore one of the great long form interviews Madonna gave during the first decade of her career with the genius Carrie Fisher over two issues of Rolling Stone in the summer of 1991. Two iconic women discuss men, marriage, mothers – and share stories about god, death, ecstasy and spankings. For the entire episode, subscribe here: www.patreon.com/alliwant2doistalkaboutmadonna