The conventional iconoclast - Cyndi Lauper

Cyndi Lauper’s career has been built upon defying people’s expectations of what she was willing to do, and what they thought she wasn’t capable of doing. At first, everyone assumed that she was just some little Betty Bop caricature in punk-ish Marilyn disguise – an idea that seemed to be confirmed by the cutesy, unsubstantial songs that she cheerfully screeched with her deceptively girlie soprano voice. But even then, she refused to play the role that had been assigned to her by showing some of the considerable complexity and depth that lay underneath the bright colours and loud teenage anthems that shone at the surface. Or to speak in a clearer fashion, Cyndi is a superb songwriter capable of retelling the daily tragedies that afflict people’s lives in a way that makes them sublime without falling into pretension. Simply put, Cyndi is awesome.

And it is thanks to her qualities as a songwriter and her desire to explore and expose the seemingly banal mysteries of daily life that Cyndi has managed to carve a place for herself in the pantheon of unfairly ignored and misunderstood artists. Flexing her highly versatile voice to suit every imaginable situation and mood, traveling across all possible styles and genres (often within the same song) and posing awkwardly like a feral child fighting against the constraints of adulthood, Cyndi has managed to fool everyone into thinking that she is just a joke, when in reality she is a world class singer capable of awe-inspiring displays of vocal virtuosity, as well as a crafter of deeply moving, yet surprisingly understated songs.



Lauper has led a life that’s as shocking within the limits of what’s socially acceptable as is her music: not very much at all. What has always truly set her apart from other singers, though, is the fact that her music has no lofty purposes, nor does she aim to produce ‘works of art’ for the sake of vanity. She just explores whatever she wants at her own pace, and always tries to bring something very personal into the process. From the joyous female empowerment anthems of her début She’s So Unusual to her latest ventures into trip hop, pop standards and acoustic rock, she has always taken just the bare bones of every concept and song she comes across with, and filled them with the flesh of her own experiences and imagination. Long before Madonna found an exclusive God that could help her to convince the world that her music isn’t rubbish because it’s spiritual, or Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan decided to disguise their utter banality behind Stevie Nicks’ veil of faux neo-pagan mysticism, Cyndi was addressing deeply troubling matters from a very human point of view, talking about reality in a particularly pedestrian way that’s truly lofty because it presents everything as it is. Exceptional by means of simplicity seems to be the rule with her.



So, after having gone through minimum wage jobs, forgotten gigs at seedy bars, an unstable career the increases in quality of which have invariably translated in decreased public interest and support from her record company, Cyndi has finally settle into middle age with a very loyal following and the realization that critics, that strange race that takes everything at face value in their attempt to find depth in all things, have always been able to recognize her exceptional talent and the true reason behind her unfairly attained outcast status: she is just herself.

To end this post, I’d like to remind you to go to buy Cyndi’s records at Amazon. Enjoy! :-)

I’m Gonna Be Strong [’95 Version]

This amazingly beautiful and deeply moving ballad shows Cyndi at her best; from the soft, almost fearful beginning to the explosive end notes, her qualities as a vocalist are wonderfully showcased. Personally, whenever I hear this song the image of a breaking dam appears in my mind. I know that this is bizarre (that’s how crazy I am ;-P), but the emotional devastation that’s reflected in this song, which ends in furious waves of emotion that wash up the remainders of a past life that shall never return as it was, and sinks into a barren calm after a few instants, is a good simile. Video.

Shine

I really love this song! It’s a very peculiar dance number that combines a heavy percussion line with an airy, delicate background full of small details that build a bright, luminous picture. I also like a lot the changes in rhythm and cadence of the verses, which are given touches or reggae the first time around, and then explode into a kaleidoscope of violins that evoke a forest at spring. It’s one of Cyndi’s most interesting songs, mainly because it’s neither rock nor dance, but has elements of both genres in abundance. Not to mention that the lyrics are gorgeous. From her album of the same name, finally released in 2004!

Insecurious

This is an interesting track mainly for one reason: it’s a songwriting collaboration between Diane Warren and Desmond Child, but sounds nothing like the things that they normally do. It’s a very cheerful and bouncy rock song that seems to want to recapture the sense of teenage rebelliousness that La Lauper’s early songs had, and the lyrics seem to reflect that by presenting some rather awkward word play that wouldn’t be out of place in a child's first attempts at writing poetry (ugh!). Overall a very enjoyable song, it’s definitely one of the highlights in her album A Night To Remember (1989).

Water’s Edge

This is one of Cyndi’s most beautiful and curiously enough, commercial ballads. It’s also one of the only two occasions in which her trip hop and techno heavy album Shine slows down the pace and gives us ballad lovers a bit of a treat! It’s very, very melancholic and sad, with a soft, slow melody that delicately rises in the chorus, like little waves of soft rain in a cold day. Needless to say, this ought to have been a hit, but unfortunately the album didn’t receive even the smallest amount of promotion. Video of a live performance.

Ballad Of Cleo And Joe

There’s more to this song that meets the ear (:-S – gosh, ‘witty’ writing seems to be the norm with me today ;-P). Seriously, underneath the cold, aggressive beats and bizarre Middle Eastern-inspired ornamentation, there bubbles a sense of desperation and incertitude that’s only magnified by Cyndi’s cries and the subject matter of the song, which opposes the grim reality of an underclass gay man’s life to the illusory world of lights he enters every night as a drag queen. The video remix is hilariously cheap and tacky, with a heavily pregnant Cyndi dancing in front of what looks like rubbish bags while dressed as a disco ball! I told you she was fabulous! :-D