track 30: rain

1992 was a big year for Madonna fans. That summer, she appeared in Penny Marshall's film A League of Their Own (with one of my personal favorites, Lori Petty!) and sang the song "This used to be my playground" on its soundtrack. In Miami, we were all abuzz with the news that she was buying a mansion on the bay, just houses down from Miami's beautiful Vizcaya House. (Always my favorite place to go on field trips.) When the Miami Herald published the news, along with the address, my friend Diana and I drove down just to drive past the house (okay, a couple of loops) in awe. Awful.

In October, she was the Queen of all media, with the release of her first proper album in 3 years, Erotica, through her own boutique label, Maverick, and days later, the publication of her naughty book of photography, Sex. On October 20, the day the album was released, my dad actually drove me to South Miami, where we had breakfast at Denny's and then went to Specs music store, where I bought Erotica. I didn't listen to it until I was on my own, though. I remember really liking it and I have especially always loved "Rain."



The book was a trickier purchase. It was $50 and I was still saving up my lunch money and allowance while going to classes at MDCC. I wasn't working yet; A month later, I would get my job at Toys R Us. But there it was, October and I had no money. I was a devoted Madonna fan and I needed to pay for Sex!! I became desperate. I take a handful of my least listened to CDs to sell them at the used music store. Paula Abdul's Spellbound and Skid Row's Slave to the Grind okay fine, but INXS Kick and X?? U2's Achtung Baby? Clearly I was insane. Surely something was affecting my judgement and making me sell these actually good albums for a book by Madonna!?!? Gay gene? I think yes. I even considered (and frankly, attempted) pawning a camera I got for a photography class in high school that I could never get the hang of using. Finally, I had enough. And the bookstore is sold out. All the bookstores are sold out, this book is like gold!! I order a copy. It's literally less than a week before they get more in and on Saturday, my mom drives me down to pick up my copy. A little old lady working at the store rings me up, takes my dirty U2/INXS stained blood money and says, "I hope you enjoy Sex."

It's at home in Miami on a shelf somewhere. It's a pretty cool book, although the metal covers + spiral binding does not = look at this book often. I'd never buy it today. Whenever I see anyone on Facebook or Myspace or back in the day, OKCupid, list it as one of their favorite books, I immediately check them off as a person I can't be friends with. I'm not sure what that says about me.