She's So Unusual

Synthesizer-laden, bustling songs that perform an incredible sleight of hand of taking themes (and even songs) and shift the focus ever so slightly to the narrator’s perspective, whose voice barrels through the instrumentation. We get songs like “Money Changes Everything” and “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”, the former a song by the Brains about a man whose girlfriend leaves to be with a wealthier man and the latter a song written by Robert Hazard about his girlfriends. The Brains’ song is retold from the perspective of the woman (a defense of women chasing money) and Hazard’s song is reworked into a statement about the right of women to have fun. All of these changes are dressed in the sort of new-wave noise that infects the whole album, resulting in bouncy songs that defy expectations, propelled along by Lauper’s undeniably powerful voice. “When You Were Mine” is a perfect cover, taking the spirit of a song and inflecting it with something new, something unique to the new voice performing it. Lauper deftly does that, not improving but completely transforming Prince’s song. “Time After Time” and “She Bop” are the first original songs on the album and, lest it be worried that all Lauper was capable of was covering other’s music, both are incredible. I am partial to “She Bop”, a stunning song intended as a double entendre (although, I’m not convinced a song that references a gay porn magazine is being sly). Nothing much more needs to be said about “Time After Time”, simply a classic song. The second half of the album really begins to fall flat. I didn’t love either “All Through the Night” or “Yeah Yeah”. The former just feels out of place in the album, it also drags a bit. I am not sure what it is about “Yeah Yeah”, but Lauper’s voice feels flatter than anywhere else in the album and toned down––something is just lacking in it. However, I do love the little voice that whines in the background during the verses and I think the dolphin noise she makes is incredible. It’s a song I really want to love, but just can’t give myself completely to. “I’ll Kiss You” is frantic, loud, and feels like it’s literally coming off the tracks the length of the song. I get the sense that if “Yeah Yeah” sounded more like this, I would be able to love it. Overall, an incredible album. I love the way Lauper crafted a decidedly feminist new-wave sound, using preexisting material (“Money Changes Everything”; “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”) and without that material (“She Bop”; “I’ll Kiss You”). A near perfect debut. I would give it a 9/10 if I could, but a 5 will have to do on here. Also, it isn’t lost on me that I described the Cardigans as punk in a prom dress and Cyndi Lauper (a new-wave phenom drawing from all sorts of punk and post-punk acts) is literally wearing a prom dress on this album cover. I tried to think of a way to continue the analogy without making it convoluted. this is the best I have: Lauper is the sort of punk that goes to prom in a punkified prom dress. It’s not perfect, but I also think this is a fucking stupid analogy to keep up.

You can stick Madonna up your arse, this is how you do perfect '80s pop.

Cyndi should have been as big as Madonna. She's more talented, and she has such a powerful voice. I can't remember the last time I listened to the whole album and I had forgotten about the range of songs that are on it. Time After Times makes this a 5 all on its own.

Cyndi Lauper, now that's a name I haven't heard since.... It was January 1985, I was visiting my parents at the lake. It's so beautiful there in the winter and it gives me the peace and quiet to work on my dancing. One morning, fresh from a hectic pirouette session, I was walking along the waterside when a young woman approached me looking, no staring, right in my direction. A playful smile across her lips and one breast hanging out, she tackled me to the ground and shoved her tongue to the back of my throat. We were swept into a whirlwind of love, sex and cheese and four magical days later, we married. Things were going well until one frightful day in late February. I returned home to find my lover naked in the kitchen on her knees, bent over with her hungry brown Sheriff's Badge pointing towards me. At first I thought it was a sexy treat for yours truly to devour, but to my horror, I turned to see my own father stood there, naked from the waist down, hanging out his foot. I gasped as one by one each of his toes climbed inside my wife's crusty anus, until the heel could no longer be seen and all that was left was shin. Her peachy bum had swallowed his whole foot and he was wearing her like a fleshy shoe. Needless to say, Cyndi and I parted ways not long after...although my father and I do often reminisce about the incident.

The fact that She Bop follows Time After Time says everything about this album. Everything she does is joyful.

A whole album of Lauper is far too much Lauper. There's some decent pop going on here, most of which has already been played to death on radio stations over the decades. I don't mind hearing a bit of Lauper now and again, but not this much, not like this, I'm drowning in Lauper.

what a disgusting voice

This is seriously out there and I love it. Took me a while to get past the immediate 'heard this a thousand times' reaction but Girls Just Wanna Have Fun would have meant a lot of things to a lot of people in '83. Fell down a Cindy YouTube rabbit hole and it seems like she was pretty radical even by early 80s standards; love the look, love the voice, love the attitude. Some of this stuff verges on Talking Heads/B52s styles - Yeah Yeah is an especially outrageous tune.

Cyndi is in peak form here. So fun, upbeat, quirky, and dancy!

Fun. They just wanna, y'all. So interesting. Like, do you think the person who made this was just a character that Cyndi Lauper played for a number of years, or is this truly what she's like when she's just hanging out eating egg rolls with her friends? Some good, infectious tunes and some that I'd be fine never hearing again. Also, it never really dawned on me how sort of ominous the music of "She Bop" is for a song about masturbation. Different strokes *ahem* for different folks, I guess.

Cyndi Lauper est si unusual qu'elle a créé un groupe Facebook s'appelant "Si toi aussi" mais que personne ne s'est jamais identifié à ses publications.

One of the pleasures of this project is discovering delightful new favorites. Another great pleasure, like today's, is rediscovering artists and music that I've taken for granted and giving them a deserved closer look. Cyndi Lauper is an absolute jewel and I am so happy to have spent some time with her. I was 15 when this album came out and Cyndi Lauper became a phenomenon. It's hard to express how novel she was, especially because I think she has had so much influence on style since then. I think I had it in my head at that age that being outside the mainstream meant being gloomy. For me, she was someone who was not only exuberantly different, but always fun and humorous. Wow! This could work! Just the cover of this album makes me smile with its pose and primary colors. We're going to have some fun! And this was fun. The four hit singles, which yesterday I might have told you were a bit worn out, shone brightly on a careful re-listen. (The three music videos, a big part of the old MTV days that I hadn't watched in decades, are masterpieces.) As I had never owned this album, I loved hearing the whole thing, with six other songs that were all enjoyable. I love the variety of styles and moods. "She Bop" is wicked fun, and "Time after Time" has some of the most lovely lyrics. This was the introduction of a national treasure.

The history books suggest this album was released in November, 1983. I suppose that's technically true, but there isn't an album that sounds like the watershed year of 1984 as much as this album does. And it's impact was really felt for ALL of 1984. It goes to great lengths to SOUND like it's from 1984. Look no further than my favorite song from the album, "All Through The Night". It's close to a perfect song, save for the decision to lay that synthesizer on in a way that only the '80's would allow. There were seemingly countless master works released in 1984. This one comes right out of the gate with 6 absolute bangers before losing steam on the last four songs. But that six-pack of songs (one, it should be pointed out, was written by Prince Rogers Nelson, perhaps 1984's most prolific artist who could go no wrong at the time) belong in a time capsule. The, ahem, timeless "Time After Time" is Cyndi's signature song. Her "Bridge Over Troubled Water". The song current and future generations cover, cry to, and slow dance to at proms. It's the one song certain to keep Cyndi Lauper around in whatever way people listen to the radio and music for years to come.

This album is so good it’s actually staggering. It really has everything and sounds unbelievable

a lot more interesting and deeper than I'd expected. captures a more realistic 80s vibe as a whole rather than the oversold plastic neon highlights that 80s music lists usually share.

"If you're lost, you can look and you will find me Time after time"

So much fun to revisit this album! It is chock-full of great 80s hits. Still, I learned a few new things after spending some time with this today. Like “When You Were Mine” was written by Prince. Over the years the monster hits off this have overshadowed a lot of other great material on this album, so it was a real pleasure to listen to it from beginning to end. Cyndi Lauper is one of the great feminist pop icons. Her songs are lyrically powerful, incredibly well-crafted and highly entertaining. One of the greatest 80s albums around!

The fact that I’ve never even bothered to look up this album is bewildering to me. I LOVE Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and have for such a long time. Time After Time is a fucking classic and a half. God this album is just exceptional. Cyndi really knocked it out of the park, He’s So Unusual into Yeah Yeah is just a banger of a closure to this wonderful album!

yoko-esque jumpscare at the end there but pretty fun

It’s hard to convey just how massively popular Cyndi Lauper was in the early 80’s, especially if you weren’t around to see it. Just a massive, massive superstar and the songs on this record (at least the first half) are pretty much baked into my DNA solely because I was drawing breath at the same time they were released. A lot of that had to do with me being a WWF fan as a child…she did a crossover with the WWF and, I think brought them a ton of attention and into the mainstream a little bit. She had Captain Lou Albano play her father in the video for Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and then later appeared at one of the Wrestlemanias,if I recall. Honestly, I’m pretty sure I thought she was Captain Lou’s actual daughter as a child. If you asked me to name the first 4 celebrities that come to mind when it comes to 1980’s pop culture, Cyndi Lauper would be on the list, along with Weird Al Yankovic, maybe Hulk Hogan, and definitely ALF. Yep…that about sums up the person I am. This album has a really strong front half, and a second side that’s not as strong and pretty clearly indebted to some of the sounds of the time, like Talking Heads, The Police and B-52’s. I suspect this album is on the list because of its cultural impact more so than as an example of the album as an art form, and I’m ok with that…I’m feeling nostalgic today. Four stars… …and be sure to pour one out for Captain Lou Albano.

Never liked Cyndi Lauper. She has a nasal, whiny singing voice that makes me think of nails on a blackboard. She always seems on the verge of shouting as though she has a serious chest infection and her voice has to squeeze past congestion. I keep expecting her to start coughing her lungs up at the end of each song. She was sold as being quirky and unusual, but always came over as being slightly unhinged, in a sad way. I didn't enjoy the big hits on this album when they were being played everywhere and time hasn't improved this situation. The music is pretty basic synth pop, bland, the sort of music played by those part-time bands that play at weddings for middle-aged people to dance to. I was thinking about a 2-star rating for a little while, but as I got into the second half I realised this is a definite 1-star for me.

Her voice is so damn annoying drags way too long. Instrumentation cool 2/10

I have listened to this more than any other album in my entire life. This is largely because when my daughter was quite young, about 3, I brought home a copy on vinyl, and it completely captured her imagination - even more than Side A of "Yellow Submarine," which was the first record I had procured for her. Her obsession with Cyndi Lauper still continues to this day, years later, despite having been exposed to things like Taylor Swift. You might think that listening to something over and over, day in and day out, for years would make one tire of it. Well, not in this case. In my opinion, this is one of the most contagiously fun and catchy pop albums of all time. I've always loved it, even when I was a kid myself. I first heard it about the same age as when my daughter did. It became part of the pop landscape, and it has endured ever since, like some kind of musical constellation. What would a wedding reception be without "Girls Just Want To Have Fun"? Her subsequent albums have diminishing returns, but on this album, she was on fire. My ability to judge its merit is inseparable from my personal experiences with it and how it has simply become part of the fabric of my life through my daughter's joy.

Love this album. The 80s production really works and Lauper is such an amazing singer that she carries the album through and through. Far from the first time I've listened to this all the way through and will be far from the last.

Just a fun album. It feels like Lauper had a great time making this, and it makes for a really special kind of listen. I wish I got as much enjoyment out of my job as Lauper seems to get out of hers! Great hit after hit that, since I wasn't around when this album came out, I wasn't oversaturated with by the radio. Allows me to actually enjoy the songs for what they are now.

Oh hell yea. Great big but also tight drum sound. Cyndi's voice just cuts so well and is so expressive. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun is a hit of hits. When You Were Mine is a great cover. Time After Time kicks a lot of ass. She's Bop isn't my favorite, but i like that its kind of a dirty sound. He's So Unusual into Yeah Yeah is everything. That album was amazing.

Everything you could ask for from New Wave. A high energy wacky performance from the eclectic style of Cyndi Lauper layered with bright synths and melodies. Track after track we get massive pop sensations, not just the decade-defining hits "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and "Time After Time" but plenty of other standout tunes you can't resist singing or dancing too. The energy quiets down near the end, with the only weak point being the closer, but otherwise this is one of my most revisited pop album.

What an insane debut. She goes from the unstoppable cosmic blast of joy in Girls Just Want to Have Fun, to the tenderness of Time After Time, slays a Prince cover, turns out an anthem about masturbation in 1984, and drops one of the best sing along songs of all time (All Through the Night). And that’s just in the first 6 songs. I’ll admit I haven’t listened to the back half too often. She threw a decent ska track in there (Witness)—OK I can go with her on that one. “I’ll Kiss You” is a little iffy but I can’t fault the techno funk intro at least. The Betty Boop interlude “He’s so Unusual” is harmless fun I guess. “Yeah Yeah” almost sounds like Oingo Boingo in a good way, but the vocal overdubs are a little too distracting. OK now I get why this might be a little overlooked. The huge drop off of the last three leaves you with some doubt about where the record stands in music history. But I don’t care. She did 5 stars worth in the first 20 minutes, so she gets to flex on the world with a weird victory lap after that.

It’s really weird, to be honest. Even for 80s pop, it’s just a little bit out there. However, that’s what makes this album for me. All the weirdness in instrument choice and melodies culminates into a captivating album. The first half is definitely more geared toward pop sounds while the second half is where those oddities are mainly present. Favorite track: Girls Just Want to Have Fun

It’s fun when some 80s pop comes up on the list. I did not know this entire album…only the bunch of tracks that were hits. Cyndi Lauper is a treasure and her hits from this album are iconic. The other tracks that I discovered today are also great. Applause!

Classic rock is classic. Cyndi Lauper is one of those treasures that we don’t celebrate nearly as much as we should.

This whole album was utterly fantastic. I wasn't expecting to like it so much but it was incredible the whole way through. The last few songs weren't the best but even those were catchy after a couple of listens. She really has a strong, unique voice and the tunes were all interesting (in an 80s sensibility sort of way). I can't get "Witness" out of my head.

I never owed this album. I didn't need to; all the songs were all over the radio and TV. Top notch pop production with some stud session players. Heavy synthesizer per the day but still sounds fresh. Of course, Cyndi Lauper's voice and vocal range are the stars. Six singles were released from this album with five hitting the Billboard top five: "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", "Time After Time", She-Bop", " Money Changes Everything " and " All Through the Night." Her cover of Prince's "When You Were Mine" is a hidden gem. 5/5

She’s So Unusual Interested to hear this, I love Girls Just Want To Have Fun and Time After Time, classic 80s pop songs and they still sound great despite their ubiquity. Money Changes Everything is a great little new wave-ish synth pop song. I’m not familiar with the original but it’s a great opener with a nice drum sound and melodica solo. When You Were Mine does sound like a Prince song, but it suits her brilliantly well and I love the synth and guitar arrangement, the sound and overall feel. With Girls and Time After Time that is a great opening 4 songs, energy and excitement along with some genuine tenderness. She Bop carries that one too with a great 80s sounding synth and drum groove and All Through The Night is also a great song, with an excellent 80s shimmering falling synth. Witness is good, but maybe a little dip from the previous songs, but it does have a pleasing Ska effervescence. I’ll Kiss You is a great upbeat bit of polished angularity, with a nice dip into the softer pre-chorus. Has a slight B-52s vibe. I hate He’s So Unusual. But Yeah Yeah is great, a nice closer with great energy and I love that organ. It’s a great, fun listen, upbeat, infectious with a generous helping of fizzy quirkiness, but with a bit more depth and edge than you might expect, and with a couple of all time classics in Girls and Time after Time. I don’t think it’s quite a 5, but it is close, ultimately a very high 4. 👠👠👠👠 Playlist submission: Time After Time

Another pop pillar of my youth I haven’t sat down to listen to in many years. The songs are masterfully constructed, though at album length I found the signing trying - a little too much and too sustained of that high and tight thing. Clearly by intent: the odd Betty Boop homage towards the end makes it clear Lauper knows what she’s about. The solid backing in a lower register on Time After Time really balances that aspect out and for me it could use more of that. Still super iconic and great.

Brazening a Prince cover and two huge statements in the first three songs, Lauper's pop instincts remain pretty much perfect the whole way through. The piquancy of her unusualness drops a little as she nabs the rhythm from 'Pressure Drop' for 'Witness', but she pulls it back with the uncontained sexuality of 'I'll Kiss You'. The highlight among so many highlights is 'She Bop'--the kind of unbridled pop nonsense that only comes around once in a blue moon. As significant a statement about the unknowability of what make pop pop as 'My Sharona' or 'Louie Louie'. It's probably about wanking. I hope it's about wanking.

This record probably houses two of Cyndi's most famous releases - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Time After Time. It's a very pop heavy record, with the iconic sounds of the 80s including heavy synths and electronic drum beats. Coupled with Cyndi on the album cover, full of costume jewellery, fishnets, bright make-up and that glorious mullet, it signals a grand entrance to what 80s pop was really known for. Best: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun; Time After Time Worst: All Through the Night

8.7/10 This is everything a pop album should be from the vocal ability, catchy earworms to relatable lyrics from happy go lucky to more solemn emotions encased in just 1 tape

A great example of early 80s New Wave, where guitar solos were replaced by synths. Lauper shows off her songwriting chops and made a phenomenal debut album. It was almost too good and there was nowhere to go but down, she never had the same success on her later albums.

The soundtrack to my teenage years, but somehow I never actually had the album or listened to the album straight through before. I also apparently never really took a close look at the album cover art, which is stunning and spot on, showy and fun at first glance but also deeply melancholy, nostalgic, and even a touch hopeless. Turns out the picture was taken by Annie Leibovitz in Coney Island, which tracks. I've always liked the hits - Time after Time, Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Money Changes Everything and She Bop - especially back in the day. I do feel like Time after Time still stands up today; obviously 80's but simple and pretty enough to still be timeless. I'm sorry I had not previously heard When You Were Mine. Lauper's voice is clear and strong and emotive and perfectly suited to the bouncy but by turns subversive and sentimental songs. I don't love every single track, and even the good ones sound dated now, but there's no denying that all together this is a great album and a stunning debut.

Probably wouldn't have given this album a listen outside of something along the lines of this. I did not realize time after time was on this album. Most of the songs on this are absolute classics, music I grew up with and didn't even realize. Lots of love for this one. Great place to start.

I hadn't heard this album in full until this review, though its influence on the 80s is undeniable. The fact that half the album is hits is saying something. Money changes everything and i'll kiss you are welcome additions to the rest of the hits - girls just want to have fun, time and time, she bop, all through the night, and he's so unusual. The whole album is bristling with female energy - that's the best way I can put it. It's a great perspective and it's never vapid - sometimes the music industry dumbs down the music of female artist unfairly. All through the night is pure poetry and my favorite song on the album. Totally inspired by late nights of teenage love where everything that led to that moment is gone and there is no future - just the present and it is good. A phenomenal accomplishment.

Rimelig top-heavy, men virkelig fine sange der og hendes stemme er fed. Til sidst bliver det lidt for meget "obligatorisk reggae" / "basic bitch UwU'

This is a happy record to hang out with, and an example of pick ‘n’ mix A&R-driven track listings working pretty well. Time After Time slays.

Quite the same the whole way through. One of these songs is a classic and the rest are simply repeating what worked. But why did it work? Because music had to be feel-good, preppy. It had to have a catchy chorus that was easy enough to dance to. That's all it is; nothing potent, nothing special, or particularly bitchin' enough for this girl to have fun (although she desperately does want to, so certain lyrics are at least relatable).

Define "mixed feelings". On one hand, this really isn't my music. Yes, Girls just want to have fun is catchy is all sorts of ways, but I think I can safely say generic pop music hasn't been my thing back then and certainly isn't my thing today. However, there is a lot of versatility in this album, as well as some undeniable historical impact. So I will err to towards the positive with my rating, if only for the sake of She Bop.

decent '80s pop album with all the hits, and ? [EDIT: I do like "All Through The Night" though..]

Cyndi Lauper’s voice has always been like nails on a chalkboard to me and listening to a whole album of it should be a war crime. Time after time is a great song though

And you say, "Well, who can you trust?" I'll tell you, it's just nobody else, it's money the instrumental arrangements feels kinda boring to me tho, just a kick snare kick snare thing going on for all the songs but her voice has got a really distinctive personality

Very top heavy, loses momentum in the second half. Sounds dated because of when it was made but the bangers still bang!

Прослушивание 1: Обзор на треки : 1 Ну типичная попсня для конца фильма 2 А почему это хит? ну и попсня! 3 Норм синтезаторы, но всеравно попсня 4 Красиво поёт)))) но посня.... 5 Гитара классная, но пепсня посня... и что за бобы? я не шарю? 6 Очень хотелось скипнуть песню, какая же она скучная.... попсня..... 7 Может заставить дрыгать ногу, аккуратно. Мотив отдалённо напоминает кантри. А контри говно! Как и попсня! 8 Что за межпланетная попсня. Эти синтезаторы с космическими звуками надоели! Но вторая половина чатично норм...... 9 Ладно.... нет слов... а зачем это тут? Опопсеть можно... 10 Ачё, звучит попсово! Я даже добавлю этот трек :) единственный с альбома правда..... Прослушивание 2: На фоне слушать сложно, но можно! Очень сильно бьёт в голову, не делайте песни громкими. Песня 4 заставляет задуматься..... едешь в закат на воей фуре и не понимаешь что происходитт то вообще.... как ЕГЭ сдать.... как сказать матери, что куришь.... сложно.... Альбом явно не должен быть в этом топе, слишком он посредственный. Возможно для тех лет это прорыв, но сейчас это звучит ужасно. Добавил 6, красиво, погорячился). Переслушивание 3: не могу... я не дослушал.... Вывод: Устаревшая попса на любителя. Понравится тем кто любит красивый голос, или старые синтезаторы. Я бы такое слушать не стал, но некоторым друзьям порекомендую. 2/5 или 4/10 или 4,8/12

Not much stood out. Side note: Cool pic for the cover art. Also, only a year after Papyrus released and she already had some weird look-alike font in use lol. // Favs: All Through The Night / He's So Unusual Score: Decent 2

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The 80s are strong with this one and I really don't feel like this album has aged particularly well. I've heard covers of Cindy Lauper songs in somewhat different styles which I really enjoyed. The originals I don't enjoy, as it turns out.

The kind of pop that I really don’t vibe with. Some songs are fun in a “sing along road trip” kind of way, but not something I’d listen to on my own time. Gotta say though, All Through the Night was kind of a bop.

The 80s were a hard time for music. Technology was making a lot of new sounds possible and it seems that very few people stopped to wonder if they SHOULD use those new, blippy-bloopy, zip-zap synths just because they could. The end result is a lot of music that's just not good. This album among them. "Time After Time" is a fairly well-written song and Cyndi Lauper is a pretty talented vocalist so the album is saved from a failing mark ... but only just.

I don’t think I can do this. It’s just a pop album right? I know as a man, this probably isn’t targeted towards me, but I mean it’s starting with a song that would have a 10am slot on a light rock radio station. Money changes everything. I wish it changed the chorus. I’ve never heard this next song. Girls? Having fun? Nah I’ve heard this song actually. In every gas station, roller rink, shopping mall, grocery store, dentist office, tv show, bus depot, and terrorism hostage video since I was born. It’s not for me. I actually don’t hate this one. It’s got that sort of melancholy 80’s tone that appeals to me at times. It’s kind of nice to start. Although the lyrics are dumb and again the repetition is just so gratuitous. It wears out its welcome. Pass. Every tv/movie prom scene ever. Man this album had the hits. Again, what can I say? I hate this song. I really don’t understand the appeal. It’s pop. Is this supposed to be a “great work” like the Beatles stuff we’ve heard or even fun like Boston? These are driving to work radio ballads that are kept on low volume. OH GOD MAKE IT SHE-STOP. This is BRUTAL. That chorus is poison. What is happening. Is she drunk? Off kilter schmaltz with garbage lyrics. Nah. Reggae guitars. The worst genre of music ever to exist seeping into an already bad pop album. This is a mess for me. This one sounded kind of interesting for a second. Kind of driving and cool, but it just devolves into her vocals and other garbage. The weird techno driving is a little cheesy and dated but better than literally anything on this album. Guys. This is kids music. Is this comedy? I’m embarrassed to be listening to this. It’s all too dumb. The lyrics are childish and rote. This album is not good. I get that people have fond memories or really like dim, catchy pop music. Hey I like dumb stuff, but please don’t attempt to make it high art. It’s dumb. End of story. This was unlistenable and made me feel embarrassment, misery and eventually anger that my Spotify algorithm has been ruined by allowing mainstream nonsense to be played. 1 HIGHLIGHTS: None

Hot Garbage

Two massively overplayed pop songs, neither of which I care for surrounded by a collection of lifeless filler

This feels like a warning about how American centric this list may be. With so many exciting and innovative artists making music in the 80s, it seems incomprehensible to me that this uninspired and clichéd album could be in anyone's top 100,000 albums, let alone 1000. There's a couple of songs on here, Girls Just Want To Have Fun and Time After Time that are okay, a few that are mediocre and the rest are just incredibly grating with Lauper's vocals turning a bland song into an annoying one. The idea that someone, who presumably has listened to at least several thousand albums thought this was an album to be lauded has made me feel quite angry. It's like claiming Meghan Traynor is the most innovative and exciting artist of the 21st century. Absolute toilet.

very repetitive lyrically, not much variation in the music and veryyyy 80’s. generally not a fan, but there were a few likeable songs, though they were too long since it was just the same over and over again.

Day345 - an icon. the first six songs are amazing, she’ll be in the rock and roll hall of fame in 2025 and it will be long overdue

Great cleaning music

God

I love how this album starts. The band strikes an excellent initial fun and energetic entrance, and then Cyndi Lauper's voice pierces through like a trumpet soloing on top of an orchestra. When the chorus of this first track lands, I'm already thinking about how this sound is so perfectly 80's; how so many other choruses and songs and acts all borrowed from this idea. "Time After Time" for me is one of those songs where when I start to hear it, I get stopped in my tracks and get a rush of warmth and nostalgia and just a bunch of feelings. I don't necessarily attach it to any specific moment(s) in my life, but it's just so good that I have to pause and appreciate it. In 1995 she performed it live on Howard Stern's radio show with a dulcimer and a basic Shure $100 SM57 mic. She has a violinist and an organist with her too, but this simple setup leads to one of my favorite performances of any piece of music ever. I don't know when I heard it first (I was 5 at that time so probably it was years later), but it was my first time hearing her and being like "I like this music". The climactic moment where she sings the high harmony "I will be waiting" is pure art magic. I really adore the lyrics of "Time After Time", they are simple and profound and I think that those are often the lyrics that resonate the most with me. More approach-ability and less verbosity for the sake of complexity. I love the visual imagery throughout with her weaving in and out of problems with the pace of a relationship and how it connects to time and an actual clock next to her bed. Thinking about a list of the most quintessential 80's songs, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is near the top. It's the sound of 80s energy, it's so lyrically apt for the 80's, and it must be one of the songs that the everyday person thinks of when they think of 1980's music. It's an amazing song and one of the most fun songs ever. "When You Were Mine" is a super underrated bop as well. I covered it with my friend Jake for a birthday party concert a few years back. There's nothing quite like getting to know a song by learning all it's ins and outs. "She Bop" is also a standout track that is easily forgotten about. I love this album art. I've written before on this list about how I love when album artworks captures some kind of "moment in time", and this is a great example. It's the early 1980's, fashion is starting to explode into crazy saturations, music is starting to shed it's warm timbres in favor of sharper and edgier synthetic sounds, and everything feels a bit more vibrant. I've gone back and forth about this being a 4 or a 5. At first I thought it was a strong 4 as I knew it had "Girls Just Want to Have fun", and then I noticed that this album also has "Time After Time" on it. For me, those tracks along with "She Bop" and "When You Were Mine" are just too good to not be a 5.

Great album! Quirky, yet accessible.

Always loved this album. Kinda bubble gum pop, but takes me back to good times. Favorite song: Yeah Yeah

Easy 5-star!

Masterful fusion of pop and new wave.

A blast of an album from start to finish. Brings back great childhood memories.

Eine wichtiges Album. Darum hat auch Miles Davis den Song Time after Time gecovert.

Probably an extra point for '80s teen nostalgia

Loved!

Geez, I love this album so much. I've loved it since my Dad got it when it came out in 1983, and I love it now. I was also a big wrestling fan as a kid, and the Cyndi Lauper/Capt Lou team-up was all a kid could ask for. Is it perfect? No, I find the last 3 songs on the album are definitely the weakest. However, I'm still giving it 5 stars, one for each hit on this album, +1 for the wrestling connection. :star::star::star::star::star:

Really? Do you need a review for this album. It's quirky, fun, party music with just the right touch of pathos. I mean, Girls Just Want To Have Fun is on this album. A versino of Prince's When You Were Mine done in the least Price way is on this album. The sad and soulful Time After Time is on this album. The ever so slightly dirty She Bop is on this album. This was an enourmous hit when it came out in 1983 fueled by the party atmosphere in clubs and MTV in general. Even today, Girls Just Want To Have Fun is a staple of anything 80s plus alt-rock stations. Teenagers today still listen to it and Time After Time shows up in Rom-Com movies. I could go on by why? You all know this album and why it's great.

Perfect 80s pop. Loved it.

An upbeat ride on the unusual bus

She's so good! I love this album. Her voice is amazing. All the big songs still hit me. I added the Prince cover When You Were Mine to a playlist earlier this year and love it whenever it comes on

Another great album by a female artist.

Some people can sing really well, some have a beautiful voice, and some have “ a sound” - Cyndi Lauper has all of those.

Bold and enjoyable 4.6

Sorry Madonna, Whitney, Janet... this is my favorite female solo pop album of the 80s.

The cover of Girls Just Want to Have Fun is so known and kind of silly that you sleep on how good she is. This was so much better than I was expecting.

This album is Cyndi Lauper's legacy. Besides the title track from the follow-up album, TRUE COLORS, I imagine if anyone thinks about Cyndi, they're gonna think about this album--and its big hit more specifically. From the quick overview I did, it just seemed nothing else she did (besides "True Colors") could really ever compare to how big and explosive her debut was. Which I don't think is a bad thing, entirely. Like, if you're gonna have a legacy, this album is a pretty good one to have. For one, as overplayed as "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" may be... It's still "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". It's one of the biggest and most iconic songs of the 80's, and not for no reason. It's huge, it's anthemic, and, dammit, it's just plain fun. And "fun" is the word I'd apply to the rest of this album. Sure, it's all pure bubblegum. No one's suggesting you should live off of it. Take it from someone who chews a lot of Juicy Fruit, though: it's really tasty gum. Produced in the most superbly 80's New Wave pop kinda way. Lauper sounds like she's having an absolute blast recording this thing. Add on top of that a pretty good of my favorite early Prince single... Honestly, I have a hard time thinking of any negative points I feel worth bringing up. Maybe the fact that "He's So Unusual" is hard-right panned? And then in that same ear on "Yeah Yeah" you've got this squeaky Harley Quinn voice? And "Witness" might be the weakest song? I'unno. None of that makes me want to give this album any less than a 5, anyway. It's just fun, and that's all I, a girl, want.

I’m at a very fun 5. I’ve known Cyndi Lauper was good – Girls Just Want to Have Fun & Time After Time are quintessential 80s tracks. I didn’t know she was this good. The first 6 tracks on this one may well be all-timers, even if 3 of them are covers. Money Changes Everything surprised me, mainly because I was fully expecting the tone of this album to follow the poppier synths of Girls Just Want to Have Fun, but she pulls off that Springsteen-esque style really fucking well. Her vocals get one hell of a showcase, and it sets the tone that this album doesn’t have to be all bubblegum and sunshine. Jumping ahead, the When You Were Mine cover is pretty damn good too. She Bop is pretty fun, but I couldn’t quite place why I liked it so much. Just catchy as hell. All Through the Night is the emotional peak of the album, and I’m genuinely stunned it wasn’t the last track on the album. Beautiful, beautiful track that I’d never heard until listening through this, but it stunned me. The album sort of falls down after that – Witness & I’ll Kiss You are both really fun with their own neat production tricks and stylization quirks, but after All Through The Night, they just sort of pale by comparison. The last two tracks are where it just sort of stumbles to a finish line – the Betty Boop stuff didn’t click as well with me for a sort of feminist-driven album and just felt backwards, and Yeah Yeah has a great transition, but the rest feels like it was produced super early on in the album, and Cyndi just didn’t want it to go to waste. Either way, those first 6 tracks are so fucking good they deserve a 5 on their own, and the album doesn’t collapse so badly as to drop it any lower. When I think of 80s pop and 80s synthwork, this sort of soundscape is exactly what my brain thinks of. To hear it fully encapsulated and properly executed throughout an entire album of the era feels super satisfying, and it certainly helps that most of the tracks are about as catchy and fun as I was hoping for. It’s an incredibly easy 5 for me, even if it does sort of stumble down towards the end. I really, really enjoyed that.

This album is kind of a 2 hit wonder but to be honest, I enjoyed the whole thing.

Album 552 of 1001 Cyndi Lauper - She's So Unusual (1983) Rating : 5 / 5 One of those that made me smile real big when it was revealed as album of the day. We go way back. Freshman year of college. As a pop music fan I felt I had to choose between Cyndi Lauper and Madonna. It wasn't even close. I just love this album. No doubt I've heard it hundreds of times. I know every note of every song and enjoy it every time I hear any of them. Great vocals...fun vibe...awesome tunes...great memories. I also recommend the early album from her pre-solo years band Blue Angel...great tracks from the early 80s NYC Rockabilly scene.

She’s so talented. It’s no surprise she was top of the charts. She had a great voice! And she was backed by good songwriting and studio work. But her fame faded quickly. Maybe getting involved in the pro wrestling scene diluted her credibility? Can’t be sure. But after listening to the album and hearing not only the hits but the great singing that didn’t get airplay it’s disappointing that her career was fairly short.

perfect

Fun sound

The eighties called, and it wants to party! I give this five big beats on the drum machine and a gated snare.

4.5

im just a girl 👯‍♀️

Cyndi Lauper's debut album She's So Unusual start with a heavy punchy drums on `Money Changes Everything` to continue with the World known Hit song `Girls Just Want to Have Fun`. The style is set and the quality of the production alone is worth the listening. The album is pretty good overall, with a small dislike for the 2 ending title.

Loved it. Her voice is so unique. That intro to She Bop is.... *chef's kiss*.

Loved it, 80s pop perfection.

Girls Just Want to Have Fun. Cindy Lauper, the best.

80s vibes pur

What a fantastic and nostalgic album. I've always loved her unique vocals and spunky attitude. I didn't own this album, but I did have Twelve Deadly Cyns. I can't wait to see her live in a couple of months...it'll be a childhood dream come true.

Big fan of Cyndi and of this album. Top to bottom it's full of old favourites of mine. Very much enjoyed a revisit to this one.