Chart Week: April 21, 1984
\nSong: \u201cTime After Time\u201d – Cyndi Lauper
\nChart Position: #36, 2nd week on the chart. Peaked at #1 for two weeks in June.<\/p>\n
I recently read an article<\/a> suggesting, based on an analysis of information from Spotify, that for the majority of us, the music we listen to between ages 11\u201316 form the basis for the music we listen to as adults.[1]<\/a> I suppose this helps explain why I so love the music of 1984; that was the year I turned 13. Then again, that was a truly magical year for music so I don\u2019t know if it matters whether I was 12\/13 or some other age. It likely would have stuck with me regardless.<\/p>\n And I don\u2019t know that it necessarily set the musical standard that I\u2019ve stuck with my entire life. I certainly still listen to a lot of music both from and influenced by that period. And I come to a full stop when I hear a countdown from 1984. But I\u2019ve also been listening to, primarily, alternative and indie rock for well over 20 years now. And I\u2019ve always taken pride in keeping up with the latest trends in those genres rather than just listening to old tunes over and over. Witness my year-end music lists I spend hours putting together each December.<\/p>\n Still it was comforting to know that there may be some deep, biological explanation for why the music from 1984 still has such a strong effect on me.<\/p>\n Last week I listened to a good chunk of this countdown. Unlike the 1984 countdown I heard in February, we are now starting to get into the heart of the music that defined that epic year. It featured four songs from the Footloose <\/em>soundtrack. Lionel Richie, Madonna, and Van Halen were all on the chart. And there were two Cyndi Lauper songs.<\/p>\n \u201cGirls Just Wanna Have Fun\u201d is one of the iconic songs of that era. Helped immensely by its goofy video and Lauper\u2019s unique look, it is one of those songs that seems undeniably connected to a specific moment in time yet will be played and loved forever. Lauper was this wacky, likable, non-threatening feminist who was intent on carving out a new place for women in music and society. Based on this song, she didn\u2019t seem all that different from Weird Al Yankovic, an artist who would provide more comic relief than artistic quality.<\/p>\n Then she dropped \u201cTime After Time\u201d as her follow-up single and began staking a claim as one of the biggest, most important artists of the year. I think she also blew everyone\u2019s minds a little. \u201cWait, is that really Cyndi Lauper singing this serious, somber song?\u201d<\/p>\n Folks woke up quickly. With good reason, as it is an incredible song. As I recall, I tried to resist it. It was written for people at least 10 years older than me. When I was just trying to hold girls hands and maybe get a kiss, I couldn\u2019t understand the emotional weight behind a track like this. Yet it still resonated with me, even if I couldn\u2019t quite grasp what Lauper was singing about.<\/p>\n That emotional content is something I learned to appreciate as I aged. Plus, getting older means you can admit to liking slower, deeper songs that are made more for quiet moments alone than for dancing around with friends.<\/p>\n I swear I hear this track at least once a week on SiriusXM. Which makes me happy. I think people unfairly recall Lauper\u2019s look, her unforgettable New York accent, and the video for \u201cGirls Just Wanna Have Fun\u201d and dismiss the rest of her career. They\u2019ve turned her into a de facto one-hit-wonder even though she was far from that. She had four Top 5 hits in 1984 alone, then added another #1, a #3, and a #6 before the end of the 80s. It\u2019s good that some other people out there remember \u201cTime After Time\u201d which is, by far, her best song.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t believe me? The writers behind Parks & Recreation were down.<\/p>\n