Falling Asleep To Madonna, and the Sister Sue Book Club

Dare to Tell the Truth: Madonna Album Flop

I hate marketing. And I must admit, I’ve been an inflictor of the first order during my youth, on behalf of many publishers and studios.

I couldn’t always make a living writing, so I turned to the dark side. I have flogged other people’s work for money.

What a racket.

Madonna Ciccone has a new album relase with a 8-figure marketing budget. Nice, right? I have been in the corridors of expensive market manipulations myself, in book publishing and feature reporting. With all the hoop and la.

I understand quite well how the actual “product” (a music recording in this case) can be mediocre, unmemorable— and yet dominate the culture news for weeks, as a real triumph. It sucks all the air out of the room.

I remember crying to my editor Bill Tonelli once about getting a harsh review in Esquire for my newest title, and he chided me: “Please. Only 12 books will get reviewed this year, and yours was one of them.”

He’s right, it’s a miracle to get a widely-…