I was away in San Francisco for four days, so for the first time in years I literally didn't even look at my blog—my absence was without malice, I just needed a break. I did manage to put some stuff on auto-post while I was gone, but of course I'm behind or completely missed the boat on some news.

One old-news item I wanted to post anyway is the rumored (and seemingly real) final track listing for Madonna's Celebration, a project we care a lot more about than she does (who goes along with an album/single release while on tour and unavailable for promotion?):

CD 1

(1) "Hung Up"

Love that this starts the whole thing off as it was a global smash (potentially her last one, but let's not get morbid) and reminds everyone that Madonna didn't stop being Madonna after 1991.

(2) "Music"

Another latter-career smash and signature tune.

(3) "Vogue"

This would easily have made the cut on a CD of Madonna's five best songs let alone a CD with 36 cuts, and the flow so far is flawless.

(4) "4 Minutes"

Well, there goes the flow! I would have stuck this at the end of CD 2, just before "Revolver."

(5) "Holiday"

The reason most people first fell in love with Madonna, and the beginning of another seamlessly delicious sequence.

(6) "Like a Virgin"

It doesn't hold up as well as some of her earlier stuff, but is still better than "Material Girl" and depending on how you count her biggest chart hits, this would be, I think, her second biggest hit.

(7) "Into the Groove"

This is Madonna's best song and her most "whaaaa?" in regards to it never having been an actual single. This might have made a nice kick-off song, too.

(8) "Everybody"

So glad this one made the cut. A song that has grown in importance in Madonna's oeuvre over the years.

(9) "Like a Prayer"

The perfect blend of art and commerce; no Madonna collection makes sense without it.

(10) "Ray of Light"

Nice position next to "Like a Prayer" for its mirror-image classy dance vibe.

(11) "Sorry"

I feel like the sequencing is pretty brilliant in this stretch.

(12) "Express Yourself"

(13) "Open Your Heart"

I think these songs work perfectly as a pair. Mash-up, anyone?

(14) "Borderline"

The too-long-ignored tune that became her first Top 10 hit. She now has more than she knows what to do with (as evidenced by the criminal exclusion of "Deeper and Deeper" from Celebration).

(15) "Secret"

One of my personal faves, I just wish it had been paired with "Frozen."

(16) "Erotica"

I realize this was a huge hit and I do like the song, but I think a good argument could have been made for leaving this off in favor of "Deeper and Deeper" or "Rain." If "Deeper and Deeper" could be sacrificed because it's sort of covered with the inclusion of "Vogue," isn't "Erotica" just a poor man's "Justify My Love?" I mean...this is it from Erotica?

(17) "Justify My Love"

It's kinda crazy to put "Erotica" immediately before "Justify My Love," but as long as it's on here...

(18) "Celebration"

Interesting that it's in the middle of the two-disc set (or at the end of one of the discs). It's kind of forgotten there, as it is becoming at U.S. radio and elsewhere with zero promotion.

CD2

(1) "Dress You Up"

WOW! I was so excited to see this had been included, and to see it heading up disc two is a bonus.

(2) "Material Girl"

An essential part of the Madonna story, but...shrugs.

(3) "La Isla Bonita"

A really great song that's become somewhat hated for Madonna's obsession with performing it in favor of a host of even greater songs. Had she not performed it at nearly every opportunity in recent years, this is the kind of hit that might have failed to make the cut.

(4) "Papa Don't Preach"

Still crazy-good and glad to see it, not that I ever doubted.

(5) "Lucky Star"

Madonna's first Top 5 smash, so why not have it as #5 on this disc?

(6) "Burning Up"

WOW! My other big, pleasant surprise was the inclusion of "Burning Up." I still remember being crushed when she didn't perform it on the Who's That Girl tour and being thrilled when she revived it for Re-Invention. I just love this song. I'm shocked so many Madonna songs made the cut.

(7) "Crazy for You"

This is probably Madonna's most popular song that I never loved...and I'm not sure why!

(8) "Who's That Girl"

A surprise inclusion considering it was shockingly left off of The Immaculate Collection.(note: everything from TIC made the cut here except for the bonus track "Rescue Me.") It's a slight song, but as a #1 tune and the title song of a movie and a tour, it's a smart addition. I always preferred "Causing a Commotion," but Madonna probably considers that as valuable a creative production as a sneeze.

(9) "Frozen"

(10) "Miles Away"

It's borderline embarrassing that "Miles Away" is on this collection, even though its huge-hit status in Japan makes it deserving (there)...I mean, to leave off "Deeper and Deeper," a bona fide hit, or "Human Nature," a non-hit that was still more of a hit and that has become a bit of a signature song, is kind of weird. But I think Madonna loves it, it's a great song and it sure works well next to "Frozen."

(11) "Take a Bow"

I take it back...this is the biggest Madonna smash that I don't like. Yucky. But a must-include considering it is the biggest hit of her career. (Who remembers this???)

(12) "Beautiful Stranger"

Coming off the Ray of Light phase, this is one of Madonna's many sterling movie songs and I'm glad it wasn't forgotten.

(13) "Hollywood"

(14) "Die Another Day"

I really think leaving off "American Life" was brave, ego-wise. "Hollywood" wasn't much of a hit, but it's a catchy tune that people probably have heard thanks to its constant recycling on Access Hollywood and other celebrity shows. "Die Another Day" is an odd duck of a song, but all the more reason to include it. Put it next to the song that follows and it's amazing the same person recorded both songs and had Top 10 hits with each.

(15) "Don't Tell Me"

This song is due to pop up on tour next go-round.

(16) "Live to Tell"

At one time rumored to have been left off, let's be grateful that heretical notion was fabricated or is at least now outdated. Classy to the max.

(17) "Cherish"

Another surprise for me was the decision to include "Cherish," her sweetest song (aside from the saccharine "True Blue") and one of her best-written. Why it's popping up after the introspective "Don't Tell Me" and "Live to Tell" and—more inexplicably—why it's followed by the apparently sex-charged and edgy "Revolver" is beyond me. 

(18) "Revolver"

I like the track that this comes from, so I'm hopeful I'll like the final Madonna version. I would have put this with "4 Minutes" and "Erotica" and "Justify My Love."

Overall, despite two glaring objections (the lack of "Deeper and Deeper" and the inclusion of "Miles Away"), the lack of anything from Evita (!) and the above minor quibbles, I think this is a great selection and arrangement of the hits that make up the Madonna message. Not sure who really get credit for this, but...good going, Stranger!

With thanks to my pal Macguffin54 for some help, here is the graveyard of some of the singles (U.S. and otherwise) that were rejected. Reading this over, I think the pickings are slim here regarding anything that really should not have been dismissed:

"American Life"

"American Pie"

"Angel"

"Another Suitcase in Another Hall"

"Bad Girl"

"Bedtime Story"

"Buenos Aires"

"Bye Bye Baby"

"Causing a Commotion"

"Dear Jessie"

"Deeper and Deeper"—should have been on there

"Don't Cry for Me Argentina"—I miss this...

"Drowned World/Substitute for Love"—will undoubtedly be repped by the video

"Fever"

"Gambler"—would have been shocking, but I love it

"Get Together"

"Give It 2 Me"—surprised it was rejected in favor of "Miles Away"

"Hanky Panky"

"Hey You"

"Human Nature"—surprised it was overlooked

"I'll Remember"—#1 hit

"Jump"

"The Look of Love"

"Keep it Together"—would have been nice, but "Cherish" is nice, too

"Love Don't Live Here Anymore"

"Love Profusion"

"Me Against the Music"

"Nothing Fails"

"Nothing Really Matters"

"Oh Father"—would have been a surprise, but it's such an amazing song

"One More Chance"

"The Power of Good-Bye"

"Rain"

"Rescue Me"

"This Used to Be My Playground"—#1 hit

"True Blue"

"What It Feels Like for a Girl"

"You Must Love Me"—I'm surprised this was left off

"You'll See"