A column dedicated to great songs, old and new.
April 18, 2006
Written by Cyndi Lauper and Rob Hyman
From She's So Unusual, Portrait Records, 1984
Alright. After a good number of years in denial, I think it's time we all admit that fashion-wise, the 80s were actually more embarrassing than the 70s. Let's face it: the clothing and hairdos of the Reagan years make the 70s look like the height of moderation, taste and restraint. The fact that "Retro 80s" kitsch is still kinda fringe-y and cultish (in comparison to still-very-popular 70s kitsch) is hugely indicative about the skittish feelings Americans have about the 80s.
She's So Unusual
Cyndi Lauper
Though much of our collective ill-feelings about the decade are well-earned (especially politically), it's important to remember that a lot of innovative and great artists emerged and/or crystallized their vision in the 80s (especially in the early part of the decade), and many, many great songs were written and released.
Cyndi Lauper's debut album, She's So Unusual, came out in 1984. She had already paid dues with her band Blue Angel before making this first solo record, but her hiccupy, high-pitched vocal style was a novel sound for most pop music listeners in 1984. Coming on the heels of the dance-hit "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", "Time After Time" seemed like a major stylistic switch-up; an emotion-charged rumination which most of us never saw coming.
The guitar intro to the song immediately sets a reflective tone, but it's the lyric and vocal to "Time After Time" which really get me. The lyric consistently evokes memorable, just-shy-of-sentimental imagery, right from the beginning. Dig an excerpt from the first verse:
Lying in my bed I hear the clock tick,
and think of you
Caught up in circles,
confusion is nothing new
Flashback, warm nights--
almost left behind
Suitcase of memories,
Time after....
Sometimes you picture me--
I'm walking too far ahead
You're calling to me, I can't hear
what you've said
Then you say, "Go slow"
I fall behind
The second hand unwinds
For me, there's always been something sad and disconnected about these words. "Confusion is nothing new" hints at pattern of discontent, and the 2nd stanza is a precise description of lovers who can't quite fall in line together, for whatever reason. What saves the song from being a complete downer, though, is the chorus, which contains a straightforward and (as far as I can tell) completely unironic promise:
If you're lost you can look, and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall, I will catch you, I will be waiting
Tme after time
Anyone who's heard the chorus can testify to its heart-tugging sincerity. There's undeniable truth in those words, an earnest insistency, and it comes through in Cyndi's impassioned vocal (the wistful, lone male background vocal, provided by cowriter Rob Hyman, adds poignancy as well). I remember seeing a live performance of the song, around 1985, with Cyndi and Patti Labelle, which concluded with both of them on the floor, whispering the refrain over and over. It was intense, powerful stuff. I'm sure the song's intrinsic power is the reason why one of the greatest musical artists of all time, Miles Davis, covered the song on his 1985 You're Under Arrest album. Several other solid cover versions have been released since then, but for me, none come close to Cyndi's original, which still evokes its own suitcase of memories, time after time.
pcm
Purchase:
She's So Unusual
$7.97 at Amazon.com
$7.99 at Tower
Records
Though sometimes reductively referred to as simply an "80s Icon", Lauper has continued to write and release some fanastic work. For a starter kit of her post-80s work, I recommend Hat Full of Stars (1993) and the Shine EP (2001).