Matthew Rettenmund

Last updated
Matthew Rettenmund
Matthew Rettenmund.jpg
Matthew Rettenmund circa 2022
Born
Matthew Rettenmund

(1968-12-25)December 25, 1968 [1] [2]
Michigan [2]
Alma mater University of Chicago [3]
Occupation(s)Editor and author
Known forEncyclopedia Madonnica, Boy Culture

Matthew Rettenmund (born December 25, 1968 [1] [2] ) is a Michigan-born editor, founder of Popstar! magazine and blog Boyculture.com, as well author of different books, including 1995 works, Encyclopedia Madonnica which debuted with solid reviews and sales, and the novel Boy Culture , which was later adapted into a movie in 2006 and in a spin-off web series in the 2020s with rave reviews.

Contents

Rettenmund moved to Chicago and began his first forays in media in 1987. He later moved to New York where made his publishing debut at St. Martin's Press, after working as an editorial assistant. Through his career, Rettenmund has worked in LGBT-targeted magazines such as Mandate and Torso, and penned articles in a variety of publications, including The Advocate and Esquire magazines. Various international media outlets have acknowledged him as a savvy pop culture commentator, including Pitchfork , El País and Instinct magazine.

Life and career

Matthew Rettenmund was born in 1968, in Michigan, United States. [1] [2] He identified himself as gay since his early life. [3] He moved to Chicago, and studied at University of Chicago. [3] He was featured inside their The University of Chicago Magazine in 1993. [4] Rettenmund made his first forays in media in 1987 working for literary agent Jane Jordan Browne in Chicago, whom Rettenmund called her a "mentor". [4] [5] After college, Rettenmund moved to New York and went to work as an editorial assistant at St. Martin's Press. [3]

Matthew Rettenmund made his publishing debut with St. Martin's Press' book Encyclopedia Madonnica (1995), based in the life and work of American singer Madonna, obtaining solid reviews and sales as well, [6] [7] followed by his novel Boy Culture the same year, [6] celebrated upon its release by reviewers as an "example of a new and more sharply observant class of gay fiction". [8] The lattermost work also inspired the name of the blog Boyculture.com which he founded, [6] [9] and was later adapted into a film in 2006, and a spin-off web series in early 2020s. Described as a "standout in the gay film genre", [10] Queerty editor Cameron Scheetz, remarked the film as a "game-changer for putting gay sex and sexuality on screen in an honest, authentic way". [11]

In 1998, Rettenmund became founder and editor-in-chief of Popstar! magazine. [12] [13] He has worked in a variety of other publications, including Mandate and Torso magazines in the 1990s, [14] and has also penned articles for various media outlets, including The Advocate , [9] PrideSource and Esquire. [9] [15] [16] Rettenmund helped Bethenny Frankel run her own website. [6]

In 1997, The Advocate acknowledged his "notable" success as an editor and writer, [3] and almost two decades later, in 2015, magazine's editor Neal Broverman remarked his versatility career. [6] Media outlets such as El País , Pitchfork , Xtra and Instinct magazines have acknowledged him as a savvy pop culture commentator. [17] [7] [10] In 2014, HuffPost 's Senior Culture Reporter, Curtis M. Wong called his blog Boyculture a "popular gay blog". [18]

Books

Re-prints

Collaborations

  • Queer Baby Names. 1996. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN   978-0312147112 (with Jaye Zimet)
  • Mlvc60: Madonna's Most Amazing Magazine Covers: A Visual Record. 2018. Boy Culture LLC. ISBN   978-0578403304 (With Anthony Coombs)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Who's That Girl (Madonna song)</span> 1987 single by Madonna

"Who's That Girl" is a song by American singer Madonna from the soundtrack of the 1987 film Who's That Girl. Written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard, it was released in Europe as the soundtrack's lead single on June 29, 1987; in the United States, a release was issued the following day. In 2009, it was included on Madonna's third greatest hits compilation, Celebration.

<i>The Advocate</i> (magazine) Bi-monthly American magazine covering LGBT-interest topics

The Advocate is an American LGBT magazine, printed bi-monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a website. Both magazine and website have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) people. The magazine, established in 1967, is the oldest and largest LGBT publication in the United States and the only surviving one of its kind that was founded before the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan, an uprising that was a major milestone in the LGBT rights movement. On June 9, 2022, Pride Media was acquired by Equal Entertainment LLC known as equalpride putting The Advocate back under gay ownership.

<i>Madonna</i> (album) 1983 studio album by Madonna

Madonna is the eponymous debut studio album by American singer Madonna, released on July 27, 1983, by Sire Records. In the late 1970s, Madonna was establishing herself as a singer in downtown New York City; alongside her Michigan boyfriend Stephen Bray, she put together a demo tape with four dance tracks and began pitching it around local nightclubs. She managed to get Mark Kamins, the resident DJ at Danceteria, to play "Everybody" —one of the songs from the tape. The song was met with a positive reception from the crowd, and Kamins took Madonna to Sire Records, where label president Seymour Stein signed her on for three twelve-inch singles. Following its release on October 2, 1982, "Everybody" found success on the dance scene, and the label approved the recording of an album.

<i>You Can Dance</i> 1987 remix album by Madonna

You Can Dance is the first remix album by American singer and songwriter Madonna. It was released on November 17, 1987, by Sire Records. The album contains remixes of tracks from her first three studio albums—Madonna (1983), Like a Virgin (1984) and True Blue (1986)—and a new track, "Spotlight". In the 1980s, remixing was still a new concept. The mixes on You Can Dance exhibited a number of typical mixing techniques. Instrumental passages were lengthened to increase the time for dancing and vocal phrases were repeated and subjected to multiple echoes. The album cover denoted Madonna's continuous fascination with Hispanic culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borderline (Madonna song)</span> 1984 single by Madonna

"Borderline" is a song by American singer Madonna from her debut self-titled studio album (1983), written and produced by Reggie Lucas. In 1982, Madonna was signed on by Sire Records for the release of two 12-inch singles; after the success of first single "Everybody", the label approved the recording of an album, and the singer decided to work with Lucas. "Borderline" is a pop song with post-disco elements whose sounds recall the music of the 1970s, while the lyrics find a woman complaining of her lover's chauvinism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holiday (Madonna song)</span> 1983 single by Madonna

"Holiday" is a song by American singer Madonna from her self-titled debut album (1983). It was written by Curtis Hudson and Lisa Stevens-Crowder for their own musical act Pure Energy, and produced by John "Jellybean" Benitez. Hudson came up with the lyrics of the song while watching negative news on television, and together with Stevens-Crowder worked on the music. They recorded a demo, which was turned down by their label Prism Records. Afterwards, Benitez pitched the track and offered it to several artists, including former The Supremes singer Mary Wilson, but it was rejected. Around the same time, Benitez was working with Madonna on her album; after realizing they needed a song for the project, Benitez thought of "Holiday" and approached Hudson and Stevens-Crowder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everybody (Madonna song)</span> 1982 single by Madonna

"Everybody" is a song written and recorded by American singer Madonna and produced by DJ Mark Kamins. In 1982, the singer was living with her former Michigan boyfriend Stephen Bray in New York, and since dance music was in style, they created a demo with four dance tracks, one of which was "Everybody". Madonna, who was not signed to any record label at the time, pitched the tape on her own: she would go to local nightclubs and try to convince the DJs there to play it. She met and befriended DJ Mark Kamins at Danceteria nightclub, who played "Everybody" to a positive reception from the crowd. Afterwards, Kamins took the tape to Sire Records, where Seymour Stein, the label's president, signed Madonna for two twelve-inch singles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secret (Madonna song)</span> 1994 single by Madonna

"Secret" is a song by American singer Madonna from her sixth studio album, Bedtime Stories (1994). It was released by Maverick Records on September 26, 1994, as the lead single from the album. The singer originally recorded the song as a demo with producer Shep Pettibone. However, Dallas Austin replaced Pettibone's role as the producer and reworked its composition, earning him a writing credit alongside Madonna. It was a departure from Madonna's previous musical style, since up to that point in her career, her music had mostly consisted of big-sounding dance tracks and melodic ballads. "Secret" combined the pop and R&B genres with instrumentation from an acoustic guitar, drums and strings, while lyrically talking about a lover having a secret.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Isla Bonita</span> 1987 single by Madonna

"La Isla Bonita" is a song by American singer Madonna from her third studio album True Blue (1986). Patrick Leonard and Bruce Gaitsch created it as an instrumental demo and offered it to singer Michael Jackson, who turned it down. When Leonard met Madonna to start working on True Blue, he played the demo for her. Madonna came up with the title, wrote the lyrics and produced the song with Leonard. It's her first song with Latin influences. Its instrumentation features flamenco guitar, Latin percussion, maracas, and includes four lines sung in Spanish. The lyrics talk about an island named San Pedro, whose location has been debated. Madonna said the song was her tribute to Latin Americans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vogue (Madonna song)</span> 1990 single by Madonna

"Vogue" is a song by American singer Madonna from her soundtrack album, I'm Breathless (1990). Written and produced by herself and Shep Pettibone, it was inspired by voguing, a dance which was part of the underground gay scene in New York City. The song was released as the lead single from the album on March 20, 1990, by Sire Records and Warner Bros. Records. "Vogue" is a house song with influences of disco, which contains escapist lyrics describing the dance floor as "a place where no boundaries exist". Its middle eight features Madonna name-dropping several actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood. "Vogue" was later included on three of Madonna's compilation albums: The Immaculate Collection (1990), Celebration (2009), and Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones (2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bedtime Story (Madonna song)</span> 1995 single by Madonna

"Bedtime Story" is a song by American singer Madonna from her sixth studio album, Bedtime Stories (1994). It was released as the third single from the album on February 13, 1995, by Maverick Records. The song was written by Björk, Nellee Hooper and Marius De Vries; it was the only time Björk wrote a song for a Madonna album. She re-wrote a demo of the song to the current version, which was then produced by Madonna and Hooper. A mid-tempo electronic and house song with acid, ambient and techno influences, "Bedtime Story" has an underlying skeletal synth melody influenced by minimal trance music. The track's unconventional, electronic sound was a departure from the pop-R&B-based tracks throughout the rest of the album. Lyrically, the song talks about the joys of the unconscious world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rain (Madonna song)</span> 1993 single by Madonna

"Rain" is a song by American singer Madonna from her fifth studio album Erotica (1992). The song was released on July 19, 1993, by Maverick Records as the album's fifth single internationally and the fourth single in North America. It was later included on her ballad compilation album Something to Remember (1995). The song was written and produced by Madonna and Shep Pettibone. A pop and R&B ballad, "Rain" features a more "friendly" composition than the other singles released from the album. Lyrically, the song likens rain to the empowering effect of love, and as with water's ability to clean and wash away pain. Like the other songs on Erotica, sexual contact is also a possible interpretation of the song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">This Used to Be My Playground</span> 1992 single by Madonna

"This Used to Be My Playground" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna. It is the theme for the film A League of Their Own, which starred Madonna, and portrayed a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Madonna was asked to record a song for the film's soundtrack. At that time she was busy recording her fifth studio album, Erotica, with producer Shep Pettibone. They worked on some ideas and came up with "This Used to Be My Playground" in two days. Once presented to director Penny Marshall's team, the song was released as a standalone single on June 16, 1992, by Warner Bros. Records. However, it was not available on the film's soundtrack due to contractual obligations and was later added to the Olympics-inspired Barcelona Gold compilation album, released that summer. The song was included on Madonna's 1995 ballads compilation Something to Remember.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madonna as a gay icon</span> Aspect of Madonnas reputation

American singer and actress Madonna is an ally recognized as a gay icon. She was introduced, while still a teenager, by her dance instructor, Christopher Flynn, an openly gay man who mentored her. Since then, Madonna has always acknowledged the importance of the community for her life and career, declaring that she "wouldn't have a career if it weren't for the gay community".

<i>Madonna: Truth or Dare</i> 1991 film by Alek Keshishian

Madonna: Truth or Dare is a 1991 American documentary film by director Alek Keshishian chronicling the life of entertainer Madonna during her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour. Madonna approached Keshishian to do an HBO special on the tour after watching his Harvard senior project. Initially planned to be a traditional concert film, Keshishian was so impressed with the backstage life that he persuaded Madonna to make it the focus of the film. Madonna funded the project and served as executive producer. The film was edited to be in black-and-white, in order to emulate cinéma vérité, while the performance scenes are in color.

<i>The Immaculate Collection</i> (video) 1990 video by Madonna

The Immaculate Collection is the second music video compilation by American singer-songwriter Madonna. Released by Warner Music Vision, Warner Reprise Video and Sire Records on November 13, 1990, to accompany the audio release, it contained music videos for the singer's singles released between 1983 and 1990. Although it did not contain all of Madonna's music videos at that point, the collection marks the first time the clip for "Oh Father" (1989) was commercially available worldwide, as it was first limited to the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bibliography of works on Madonna</span>

This is a list containing the different written works about Madonna, including biographies and other literary forms. Many authors have written more than one book about Madonna and these have been published in multiple languages other than English, including German, French, Dutch, Spanish and Italian. The releases have sometimes become bestsellers and have faced varied reception from critics and academics. The staff of Xtra Magazine commented that "she has inspired a mini publishing industry all her own". Maura Johnston said that "the appetite for books on Madonna is large, and the variety of approaches writers, editors, and photographers have taken to craft their portraits is a testament to how her career has both inspired and provoked". On the report of Eric Weisbard "only Madonna books proliferated" compared to her other contemporary fellows from the 1980s. Evelyn Briceno from La Tercera described her as a character worthy of biographies, photo books and various analyses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Cain (writer)</span> British writer and broadcaster (born 1974)

Matt Cain is a British writer and broadcaster. He is best known for the novels The Madonna of Bolton, The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle, Becoming Ted and One Love.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madonna and sexuality</span> Aspect of Madonnas career

American singer-songwriter Madonna has been considered a sexual icon and defined by an author, as the leading sex symbol of the postmodern era. Many have considered Madonna's sexuality as one of the focal points of her career. The Oxford Dictionary of English (2010) even credited her image as a sex symbol as a source of her international stardom. Her sexual displays have drawn numerous analysis by scholars, sexologists, feminists, and other authors. Due to her constant usage of explicit sexual content, Madonna faced censorship by MTV for her videos, as well as by other entities for her stage performances, and other projects in her early career.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Películas y series: Matthew Rettenmund". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 15 April 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Azzopardi, Chris (April 1, 2016). "Confessions of a Madonna Superfan". Gay Vegas . Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Matthew Rettenmund". The Advocate . August 19, 1997. p. 38. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Matthew Rettenmund". The University of Chicago Magazine . 86–87: 32. 1993. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  5. "Jane Browne Petersen". Browne & Miller Literary Associates. pp. 42–45. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Broverman, Neal (September 14, 2022). "The Encyclopedia Madonnica Turns 20". The Advocate. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  7. 1 2 Hays, Matthew (October 7, 2015). "Inside the mind of the 'Encyclopedia Madonnica' author who can't stop adding entries (Madge was great in 'Evita'!?)". Xtra Magazine . Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  8. Dymond, Erica Joan; Jiménez Murguía, Salvador (2022). The Encyclopedia of LGBTQIA+ Portrayals in American Film. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 47. ISBN   978-1538153918 . Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 Rettenmund, Matthew (February 16, 2018). "A Writer Just Archived Every LGBT Character on Television, Ever". The Advocate. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  10. 1 2 Andrew, Corey (August 9, 2020). "The Cast Of The Hit Film 'Boy Culture" Returns For The Sexy New Spin-Off Series". Instinct . Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  11. Scheetz, Cameron (September 29, 2023). "WATCH: Sex work romance 'Boy Culture' team reunites for long-awaited sequel". Queerty . Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  12. "Twins for Tweens". Los Angeles Business Journal . July 16, 2006. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  13. Olson, Elizabeth (May 28, 2007). "OMG! Cute Boys, Kissing Tips and Lots of Pics, as Magazines Find a Niche". The New York Times . p. 1. Archived from the original on December 8, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  14. Krauss, Kenneth (2014). Male Beauty: Postwar Masculinity in Theater, Film, and Physique Magazines. State University of New York Press. p. 282. ISBN   978-1438450018 . Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  15. Rettenmund, Matthew (January 20, 2023). "The Queer Lives She Has Changed: Why Madonna Still Matters to LGBTQ+ People". PrideSource . Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  16. Rettenmund, Matthew (June 24, 2017). "A Penis on Every Page: The Rise and Fall of Playgirl". Esquire . Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  17. Avedaño, Tom C. (October 11, 2014). "Lady Gaga se alía con Tony Bennett para rejuvenecer". El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  18. Wong, Curtis M. (September 17, 2014). "Madonna Devotee Matthew Rettenmund Aims For 'Encyclopedia Madonnica: 20th Anniversary Edition'". HuffPost . Retrieved October 28, 2023.