Madonna covered an Elliott Smith song in the name of artistic freedom or something

Yesterday, Madonna unveiled secretprojectrevolution, a 17-minute film/desperate late-career footnote created in conjunction with VICE and intended to be the tip of a spear called Art For Freedom, an "online global initiative to further freedom of expression." Also: "to help fight oppression, intolerance and complacency." All of that seems delightfully ignorable, though her performance last night at a launch party for the project wasn't: In the video below, you'll see Madonna performing Elliott Smith's "Between The Bars," after having been escorted to the stage by prison guards. This is apparently a protest of the prison system (because, y'know, "bars"), and there's no doubt it will cause major change in the prison-industrial complex. Because if there's one thing guaranteed to start a social revolution, it's a 55-year-old pop star mangling a gorgeous ballad, aided by an interpretive dancer wearing a ski mask. [h/t to Radio.com]