I listened to Cyndi Lauper’s first record last week (She’s So Unusual, 1983), for the first time in years, and once again I was surprised at its staying power. I always thought (as an adult anyway) that it was great, but hopelessly marred by its super-dated sound bank. With distance, now of +/-25 years, the sounds are easier to forgive.
What seemed deeply synthetic then seems less so: the sounds are synthesized, but at least they’re being played by a real band. The timing and dynamics are great, and the passion and power of the record are more obviously rooted in the New York punk/new wave scene (most clearly her wild and aggressive voice).
She’s coming to Toronto to headline Pride Day (moved from its usual date because of the f-ing G8 summit). I’ll be there.
PS: I just now found out that the little old-timey He’s So Unusual wasn’t an original. Here’s the 1929 version, by Helen Kane, from what movie I do not know.
(bad) monkey X 
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