Idolator

Madonna made her initial foray into the pop world just around the time I started buying albums at the nearby Pathmark, and if there was one parental mandate I was to follow in my record-purchasing, it was this: No Madonna albums. I grew up under the guidance of super-Catholic parents, and my mother was not all that pleased by the whole Madonna/virgin/wayward bride/Holy Mary Mother Of God juxtaposition afforded by her imagery at the time, hence the ban. (I should probably confess here that I cheated on this a bit when I bought the 12-inch single for Madonna's "Material Girl." Hey, it wasn't an album, so not only was I abiding by the rules, I learned what a remix was!) Apparently Madonna hasn't forgotten about how she can get Catholics all riled up, even in this post-priest scandal, "let's make the Church smaller in order to save it" age. Because everyone's retro now! More »

I guess this ad for the Catholic Church's World Youth Day, which ran in the Australian edition of Marie Claire, is both an attempt to remind the children that Jesus was the biggest influence on all the good music in the world and show them that just one trip to their local confessional will wipe away any number of sins—even those involving deadly weapons!—and get one started on the path toward righteousness, stained-glass window depictions, et cetera. (Click the thumbnail for the full-size version.) [copyranter]