35 Years Later, ‘She’s So Unusual’ Still Exudes Youthfulness and Vibrancy

Something has always drawn me to “She’s So Unusual” — ever since I heard the thrums of the first measures of “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” when I was but five years old, I was hooked. Perhaps it was Cyndi Lauper’s remarkable, impressively versatile voice. Or maybe it was the rousing, yet comforting techno-rhythm of the instrumentals. In any case, the album still embodies the same dazzling, eccentric freshness as it did 35 years ago, when it was first released.

Indeed, “She’s So Unusual” was certainly an unexpected album on all fronts: Though critically successful, her last recording — the band Blue Angel’s self-titled album — was not quite so commercially, to the point where Lauper had to file for bankruptcy. As such, the album represents a reemergence, on Lauper’s part, into the forefront of the music sphere. And what a way she did so: “She’s So Unusual,” Lauper’s debut solo album, became a worldwide hit, hitting fourth place on Billboard 200 and staying on the list for 77 weeks. It received nominations for Album of the Year and Record of the Year at the 1985 Grammys, while its artist won the New Artist of the Year award. From this album came the momentum that propelled Lauper to success, particularly in her second album, “True Colors.” It presented her as an artist that was capable of accomplishing nearly anything.

This emerging prowess strongly manifests itself in “She’s So Unusual,” where Lauper confidently and suavely throws herself into so many genres and styles. While “Time After Time” is mellow and reflective, with its comforting synthesizer chords layered over an unassuming guitar and a smooth pop rhythm, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” imparts a funky, happy, disco-like mood, bursting with youth, carried forward by incredibly catchy keyboard riffs and synthesizer improvisations. As “All Through The Night” coasts by with meandering arpeggiations, “She Bop” commands undiverted attention through its ever-changing instrumentation but relentless, intense sensuality. Weaving through soft rock, synthpop, soul and punk, Lauper creates a mosaic for herself in “She’s So Unusual” that fully embodies the end of the new wave in the early 1980s.

And yet, while doing so, Lauper manages to craft an image for herself — one that is distinctively hers. This is championed foremost by her unique, sharp, beautiful vocals: Their versatility, flexibility and dexterity create a surprisingly, yet convincingly, powerful through-line through “She’s So Unusual.” The same full-bodied, unabashed vocal inflection — slightly nasal, slightly rugged — that Lauper uses to showcase the fun of unbounded freedom in “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” mellows into an authentic passion for another in “All Through the Night,” while morphing into a hardened yet emotional reflection on reality in “Money Changes Everything.” Perhaps this notion manifests most strongly in “When You Were Mine.” Originally performed by Prince, Cyndi Lauper transforms the song into one that is truly her own. Not only does she fill the orchestration with the synthesizers that characterize much of the album, but she also captures the essence of her original voice by layering multiple vocal tracks in different octaves. Furthermore, she takes her sharp, powerful, high-pitched “pop” vocalization from “She Bop” here, where it becomes a natural release of despair and despondency.

Beyond purely musical aspects, however, “She’s So Unusual” contains its fair share of important emotional and political commentary. Between the lines of the romantic ballads and the edgy, slightly-rebellious songs that Lauper performs lie important social messages that we, as listeners, can still learn from today. “Money Changes Everything” serves as a lamentation toward the sidelining of love in favor of material purpose or gain. Meanwhile, underneath the guise of a dance-song, “She Bop” discusses female masturbation and the social taboo therein, reflecting that Lauper was entirely unafraid to sing about controversial matters, even in her first album. “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” reflects a desire for women to have the same social experiences as men. In fact, Lauper rewrote the lyrics for her song, having deemed the original ones misogynistic, and has since been referred to as a motivator for young women and an “anthem of female solidarity.”

“She’s So Unusual” represents a budding artist’s desire to create music in diverse genres, embody a cultural-musical trend, find her independent, self-assured voice, and discuss the issues important to her — and she accomplished so in an intense but artful, bombastic yet intentional way. Indeed, it was through “She’s So Unusual” that Cyndi Lauper found her eccentric, yet totally convincing, place in the world of music — which she still holds, given the popularity and relevance of her music today. This blend of masterful vocal sonority and unabashedly open commentary underneath continually catchy grooves never grows old, bringing listeners in — time after time.