When she was 20 years old, Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone trekked from her native Michigan to the middle of Manhattan with nothing but the clothes on her back, the baggage from her suffocating Catholic family and peroxided blond ambition.

Ever since, she's been in the middle of the pop-music scene, and in the middle of controversy.

Today, she's officially middle-aged.

Madonna's 40th birthday seemed the perfect time to talk to her about her extraordinary career. What regrets does she have? What's still in store? Where exactly is La Isla Bonita?

But mostly, why, even after 15 years of staggering success, do naysayers still dismiss her as little more than a peekaboo-midriff Marilyn wannabe?

"She will do anything, say anything, wear anything, mock anything, degrade anything to draw attention to herself and make a soiled buck," the New York Post's Ray Kerrison wrote of her in 1991. "She is the quintessential symbol of the age: greedy, self-indulgent, sacrilegious, shameless, hollow."

Then there was Luc Sante in the New Republic in 1990: "a bad actress, a barely adequate singer, a graceless dancer, a boring interview subject, a workmanlike but uninspired songwriter."

Indeed, Madonna's peculiar style - lustily exploiting herself, constantly changing images, and all the while remaining firmly in control - has not been to everyone's taste, and clearly has been a barrier to her acceptance as a serious artist and creative force.

But now that she's 40, it's hard to argue with her success. She's more than the little ingenue that could; she's a self-made mogul who has shaped a career as strong and efficient as her famous figure.

"She's talented," says senior MTV newsman Kurt Loder, who knows Madonna and her career better than almost anyone. "If she were just a hype, if she was just somebody who takes her clothes off, she'd be on 'Baywatch.' We wouldn't even be discussing her."

Loder was nice enough to sit down recently and talk about Madonna at 40. Good thing. Getting in touch with the middle-aged Material Girl herself is something else altogether:

Voice-mail message left, 10:15 a.m.: Uh, this is Tamara Ikenberg from the Baltimore Sun, and, ummm, I was wondering if I could talk to Madonna about her 40th birthday.

Voice-mail message returned, 10:25 a.m.: Madonna will not be available for an interview about her turning 40. Thanks so much for your asking, though!

Whatever. Like she even got the message.

So in lieu of an interview, I offer the following: an extensively researched, well-reasoned and impartial analysis of the immaculate misconceptions about the Madonna phenomenon.

OK, so it's more of a droolingly awe-struck birthday card, or possibly even a thank-you note, fueled as much by blind adoration as pesky facts.

So she didn't return my call; she still gave us "Get Into the Groove," didn't she?

Thanks are in order.

1. Madonna is a talentless tart

There were plenty of acts in the '80s that relied solely on image and gimmick; on hair, mascara and the like. But the likes of such Madonna wannabes as Regina, Stacey Q, Elisa Fiorillo, Kylie Minogue and other New Romantics and New Wavers like Kajagoogoo, HAIRCUT ONE HUNDRED and Spandau Ballet have disappeared into the pop Bermuda Triangle of '80s compilation discs. Madonna hasn't.

"People whose fame is just built on novelty and hype come and go," Loder says. "They lose their fan base. The fans move on to the next novelty."

And it's not as if Madonna is living off her classic material. She has said she never intends to sing "Material Girl" or "Like a Virgin" live again.

"If you do that, then you're in danger of becoming a nostalgia act," Loder says. "She's not some young crumpet. It would be ludicrous to be singing 'Like a Virgin.' "

The quality and endurance of her work, in fact, has redeemed her from some potentially disastrous career moves. There was the "Sex" book, of course, and her bleep-fest on Letterman, to name just a few.

If she were just an image, an empty, calculating controversy hound, such media missteps might have destroyed her. But she always lands on her feet after these falls from grace. It's hard to stay angry at an artist who's produced such an ebullient, satisfying body of work.

It's highly unlikely that Forrest Gump could balance motherhood, mega-stardom and a multimillion-dollar empire, while still fitting in time for yoga class.

2. Madonna is a has-been

Wake up and smell the peroxide, people!

This year, Madonna leads the number of nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards, blowing away all other acts, pre-Madonna, mid-donna and post-Madonna. The birth of her daughter, Lourdes, and her new New Age weirdness have put her back in the spotlight - Vanity Fair cover story, "Oprah" appearance and all.

With 11 No.1 singles, she's the most successful female pop performer in history. Loder calls her new album, "Ray of Light," "her best record," explaining that it "partakes of all the stuff in the air."

"But it's a Madonna record, there's no question about that," he says. "It has some beautiful melodies in it. It's really well-done."

3. Madonna represents the downfall of feminism

Puh-leeze!

Here's Madonna in a 1995 interview with Norman Mailer: "I've been accused for years and years, especially at the beginning of my career, of setting the women's movement back because I was being sexual in a traditional way, with my corsets and push-up bras and garters and this and that. ... My whole thing is you use all you have, your sexuality, your femininity, ... your intellect."

Ever notice that when Madonna touts "Blonde Ambition" it seems natural, but when the Spice Girls spout "Girl Power," their puerile version of the same message, you want to strangle them with the straps of their mini-backpacks? And Madonna hardly presents a one-dimensional characterization of femininity. Over the years, we've seen her in power positions, sexual positions, even the lotus position.

4. Madonna's songs are shallow

OK, if repeating themes equals shallow, this could be a valid point.

Take for example "Frozen" (from the current "Ray of Light") and "Open Your Heart" (from 1986's "True Blue"), almost lyrical twins despite the 12 years between them:

"Frozen": You're frozen when your heart's not open/ Give yourself to me/ you hold the key

"Open Your Heart": Open your heart to me, baby/ I hold the lock and you hold the key

And then there are her song titles: "Lucky Star," "Little Star." "Like a Virgin," "Like a Prayer." "Material Girl," "Bad Girl."

Her work mostly focuses on relationships and love. But that doesn't necessarily translate into simpering and facile.

A handful of songs also have demonstrated a social consciousness. "Papa Don't Preach" discussed teen pregnancy; "Oh,

Father" was a haunting meditation on child abuse beyond the physical. And Madonna, a committed AIDS activist, positively spotlights minorities and homosexuals in her videos, concerts and lifestyle.

5. Madonna is an egomaniac

Sure, she's a notorious control freak and discipline nut, but she also knows her limits.

"She's a musician whose metier is collaboration," Loder says. "She always finds the certain kind of people she wants. She co-writes, she co-produces. She'll be the first to say, 'I don't have the best voice, and I'm not the best songwriter.' But she finds people she can work with, and she can do stuff with them that she can't do on her own."

One might say the ultimate expression of Madonna's egomania is her insistence on acting. But it's hardly been an image %J booster. With few exceptions ("Evita," "Desperately Seeking Susan"), the reviews have been stinging, and deservedly so. You'd have to have a healthy ego to survive films like "Shanghai

Surprise" and "Who's That Girl?"

6. Madonna is generic and unoriginal

Hardly. No one can duplicate her catchy, seductive hooks and perfectly crafted pop packages. True, she's using electronica these days, but it's still infused with her character.

She isn't and never will be Lilith fare. She never whines about being victimized or oppressed in her songs in the way that makes you just want to smack Jewel upside the head with a Birkenstock.

She's not a packaged diva like Janet Jackson or Mariah Carey, either, Loder says. "They're total creations," he says. "They have nothing to say at all."

Madonna is an original. No one can touch her. Not flash-in-the-pan peroxided imitators. Not Terumi Matthews, who played her in a cheesy made-for-TV biopic. And definitely not her detractors.

So happy birthday, Madonna, we hope you enjoyed your gift.

In "Like a Prayer," you say: Life is a mystery, everyone must stand alone.

And you do.

Even if you won't return our calls.

! Pub date: 8/16/98