Why Cyndi Lauper kicks ass....

I'm listening to the new Cyndi Lauper CD: "At Last", a collection of older pop standards.

She does a cover of "Unchained Melody" on this record that is amazingly subdued and soulful. Now Cyndi can sing the shit out of a song better than Whitney, Christina or any of the other pop hags that are big today. But Whitney would've wailed her way through that song with so many vocal acrobatics that the song itself would be lost. Cyndi didn't .... she took the biggest show-off song on the record and sang it slow and cool, making it a very memorable cover.

Having the talent and knowing when NOT to use it is just as important as knowing WHEN to use it.

was a couple of years ago on a televised tribute to Joni Mitchell . . . she did a very downbeat version of "Carey" that was one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard . . . gotta check and see if that concert is on a CD somewhere . . .

on Howard Stern about 10 years ago and it totally blew me away. She is awesome.

I saw her in concert years ago on a Halloween night. That was a very interesting experience. And she was on the Tom Snyder show once and Tom made some not so subtle comments about her toking up in her dressing room.

Seems like Cyndi "broke" about the same time as Madonna. Madonna has vastly eclipsed her commercially, despite the fact that Cyndi Lauper is much, much more talented.

at the 10th Anniversary concert for John Lennon's death was INCREDIBLE. It was never released and I looked literally 10 years for it and finally found it on Napster (RIP) a few years ago. Its also on the video of the concert (which is LOOOOOONG out of print). SImply brilliant.

Went to the Roxy a few weeks ago to see her and BOTH shows for that night were sold out long before show time. Wish I would have taken that scalper up on his offer. The guy looked like Gene Simmons and Alice Cooper had a kid. He looked too cliche even for the Strip. (Whoda thunkit, a scuzzy scalper at a Cyndi Lauper show. But anyway...)

of a song whose name I forget....but it was really awesome.
I've always like Cyndi Lauper...

... but what really made me fall head over heels was when she brought a blackboard out on stage on the old Arsenio Hall show and asked him to punctuate this sentence: Where John had had had Mary had had had had had had had had the teacher's approval. (old joke)

The look on Arsenio's face was priceless.

Then she proceeded to give a hilarious lecture on the past perfect tense that totally baffled Arsenio.

Then there was that incredible "mind meld" thing she did w/ some planted audience members on the old Johnny Carson show ... an ever lengthening string of "strangers" connected "finger to temple, in a trance," reciting a constantly more rhythmically complex nonsense line in unison.

Or when she told a really weird, terrible (and long) joke about an Irish bartender. Didn't get a laugh, so she said, "Maybe it would be funnier in Japanese." Brought out a Japanese guy who told the entire joke again ... the only thing you could pick out was the fractured Irish bartender's name.

OK ... I guess you had to be there, but it WAS funny.

AND she's one of the planet's most soulful singers.

But she's smart, too.

.rog.

Oh, Yeah ... Where John had had "had," Mary had had "had had." "Had had" had had the teacher's approval. (They were comparing test papers.)

and thought they were very good. I know that "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," but I am also grateful she finally changed her clothes. Is it true that she & Boy George had the same dresser?

And you all know how much I hate pop music, but she was/is a true artist in that realm, and in the realm of real music.

Way back, even when she came out and I hated pop music even more (I was in high school then), I thought, "Holy hell - this is not just the only decent female in the pop music realm, she's like a bring-back of the phenomenal greats of the 1940s and 1950s".

I think she's totally the cat's meow, and her skill level is so far above Whitney, and Dion, and that wretched filthwhore Beyonce and every other POS wannabe artist of the last two decades. lauper is a goddess! A true musician, and not willing to sell herself out to make a few bucks and get higher on the popularity realm.

I have always had, and probably will always have, the utmost respect for her.

Years and years ago I thought she should focus on doing old American pop/jazz standards because her voice is incomparable. This new album is a step towards that.

I saw her perform a couple years ago (she opened for Cher) and she was fantastic. She has SO much vocal talent but her zany personality and weird NY accent overshadowed it - most people never realized just what a set of pipes she has.

...the same time "She Bop" was climbing the charts. To this day, it's one of my all-time favorite albums.

If Cyndi's new release is even half as good as SHE'S SO UNUSUAL, I'll gladly pick up a copy!

Can't beat the wax. LOVIN it all over again like I was 13 with her posters all over my room. I had it BAD for her!! Still do.

(Too much disclosure???) ;-)

I'm glad she doesn't wear quite so much crazy makeup, and talk in that fake voice anymore.

it's OK to love Cyndi. I was in college when she first got big, and I loved her then - her voice was amazing. She went off on a weird wrestling tangent for awhile, but I'm glad she's kept at it.

BTW... I'd recommend her new CD to anybody - it's great. Evidently she was a big Nina Simone fan because she does a number of songs I associate with Nina - an English version of "Ne me Quitte Pas", "My Baby Just Cares for Me" and "Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood".

I'm a huge Nina Simone fan, and it's a joy to hear Cyndi's versions of these songs.

and didn't get it. I hate when I do that. I have such committment anxiety when buying music I haven't heard, even if by an artist I already adore. I'll probably carry it around a few more times before setting it down on the counter along with my $15.99.

Just because Cyndi Lauper OWNS whatever stage she appears on. Talk about your PRESENCE!

:bounce:
dbt

Never really liked her voice all that much, but always thought she was one of the more intelligent singers.

Just caught some clips and she completely blew me away with "Walk on By" and "Stay."

This is one of the great cover albums. Some of this stuff is better than the originals.

(And I remember the originals.)

It's a fantastic cover album. She also does a slightly reggae-tinged version of "Sunny Side of the Street". Definitely worth owning.

My wife wanted to go see her back when the first album came out (not the Blue Angel album, though).

I went, despite the fact that i expected it to be a fluff show, at an outdoor venue, west of Chicago.

Well, i can admit i was WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!!! The band was kickin' and she was phenomenal! The next time she came through town (True Colors tour), i bought tickets the minute they came on sale and we had 3rd row center seats at the UIC Pavillion. Even better, show. (Rick Derringer, Sue Hadjopolous, the guy from Rainbow on keys, etc.)

She is a terrific singer, with a great style, and a charismatic lady.

Very cool!
The Professor

I love her.

I agree with Al Franken. When Cyndi and Madonna both burst on the scene back in the early MTV days, he - and I - would have bet our last nickels on Cyndi becoming the bigger star.

but I think she got real sick for a few years. That's why her career didn't take off in my opinion. This is what I remember reading quite awhile back.

Same thing happened to Chris Stein of Blondie, who had a rare blood disease, which is the reason Blondie broke up for years.

I'd buy it if it was available.

. . .the "Seven Deadly Cyns". Not sure about that though. We have it as a good CD for the car. We have all her albums, but best of's are good for singing along in the car.
The Professor

that's it! Definitely worth having on long road trips.