Fly The Unusual Skies
March 6, 2011 8:44 PM   Subscribe

(SLYT) -- Suppose you are a pop star out on tour. Suppose that one night, your flight gets cancelled, stranding you -- and lots of other passengers -- and that subsequent flights also get cancelled and delayed, and that the other passengers are starting to get really angry, to the point that some tempers are starting to flare. What do you do? Well, if you're Cyndi Lauper, you get one of the airport mikes and lead a singalong.
posted by EmpressCallipygos (55 comments total) 63 users marked this as a favorite
 
I adore that woman.

Class all the way.
posted by Narrative Priorities at 8:47 PM on March 6, 2011 [4 favorites]


Wow, been a fan forever and this just makes me love her all the more! Girls just want to have fun, indeed!
posted by agatha_magatha at 8:52 PM on March 6, 2011


That made my day. Thanks for posting this.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 8:52 PM on March 6, 2011


<3
posted by mwhybark at 8:54 PM on March 6, 2011


I ♥ Cindi Lauper.

I fly. Frequently. Often. A LOT. As in, I've flown more this year than at least 95% of humanity has flown in their life.

I have a secret. It's my ringtone. It goes like this:

Ma nah ma nah doo do dee doo do. Man nah ma nah doo do dee do.

So someone will call me. I'll be in an airport, as I often am. Someone will call me, and my phone will go....

Ma nah ma nah doo do dee doo do. Man nah ma nah doo do dee do.

And everyone around me will smile. These are people in a dark, despair ridden place we call "any fucking airport in the world." And they hear this, and they smile.

That's what Cindi did there. And far better than me? SHE WROTE WHAT SHE DID THERE!

I ♥ Cindi Lauper.
posted by eriko at 8:55 PM on March 6, 2011 [24 favorites]


I really wish I could have seen the reaction of the customer service folks.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 8:55 PM on March 6, 2011 [1 favorite]


The easier it becomes for every. single. person. to whip out a camera and record these things, the harder it gets to watch them. The cameras are all I see. Nobody wants to just enjoy a moment and have a story to share; they MUST record it.

That said, I'm glad someone did because this is pretty nifty of her to do.
posted by moviehawk at 8:57 PM on March 6, 2011 [25 favorites]


I believe if you do something like that, you go straight to heaven. "What's that? Led a sing-a-long with stranded passengers in an airport. Please, go right in. There's beer in the cooler."
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:04 PM on March 6, 2011 [29 favorites]


So, what, I can't do this if I'm not Cyndi Lauper? What a rip!
posted by tumid dahlia at 9:04 PM on March 6, 2011 [3 favorites]


I really wish I could have seen the reaction of the customer service folks.

I assumed that the woman behind her in the bright yellow was with an airline
posted by threeants at 9:04 PM on March 6, 2011 [2 favorites]


Full marks for the blue nail polish also, just thought I'd mention that.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 9:07 PM on March 6, 2011 [3 favorites]


Every day, and in every way, Cyndi Lauper justifies my lonely decision in taking her side in our Grade Four Debate: Lauper vs. Madonna.

Thanks, Cyndi. Thanks, Madge.
posted by Capt. Renault at 9:08 PM on March 6, 2011 [27 favorites]


Her voice still sounds good too. That's pretty neat she was able to just start belting it out without studio trickery.
posted by marxchivist at 9:16 PM on March 6, 2011 [2 favorites]


She is the awesome.

And: my favorite cover.
posted by you're a kitty! at 9:19 PM on March 6, 2011 [3 favorites]


Her voice still sounds good too. That's pretty neat she was able to just start belting it out without studio trickery.

If your voice sounds great on a crappy phone recording while you're exhausted and stranded at the airport, that's when you know you're an awesome singer. She also has always seemed to be a genuinely nice and warm person.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 9:20 PM on March 6, 2011 [12 favorites]


If your voice sounds great on a crappy phone recording while you're exhausted and stranded at the airport, that's when you know you're an awesome singer.

This is what impressed me, too. As a singer myself I was all "Shit! Those people around her are out of tune and she's still got the pitch!" Totally impressed. Singing a capella isn't easy. Singing a capella with people around you who are... well meaning but flat... is practically a Feat of Strength.
posted by sonika at 9:26 PM on March 6, 2011 [10 favorites]


Cyndi Lauper will rock your socks off.

What an awesome woman.
posted by bwg at 9:31 PM on March 6, 2011


Unbelievable! I tried to sing The Safety Dance over the LAX intercom once and all I got was arrested and strip-searched.
posted by dephlogisticated at 9:37 PM on March 6, 2011 [20 favorites]


I have heard (and the internet seems to confirm) that she has perfect pitch.
posted by unknowncommand at 9:38 PM on March 6, 2011


That's just flat-out beautiful.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:42 PM on March 6, 2011


The only thing that could make this video more awesome is kittens and unicorns, then my life would be complete.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 9:44 PM on March 6, 2011


If you mean absolute pitch, then no — she's a few half-steps flat of the original recording. But her intonation is excellent.
posted by argybarg at 10:07 PM on March 6, 2011


Huh, always thought that was a Madonna song...

kidding!

but yeah actually i'm not

posted by Corduroy at 10:32 PM on March 6, 2011


That woman got chops. Cyndi Lauper Rules! She has always been a better lyricist and overall musician than Madonna.
posted by New England Cultist at 10:59 PM on March 6, 2011 [2 favorites]


moviehawk said: The easier it becomes for every. single. person. to whip out a camera and record these things, the harder it gets to watch them. The cameras are all I see. Nobody wants to just enjoy a moment and have a story to share; they MUST record it.

Though I agree with you that it is kind of neat that someone did record it so we could see it (and come on, who's going to believe you unless you have pics/video), it also irritates me. The sea of arms is really annoying and if one was blocking my view, I'd likely swat it down.

In 2003 at the last Peter Paul & Mary concert I attended (before Mary died), they let everyone film to their heart's content during the first song. Then Noel Paul made a speech, asking everyone to stop with the photography and videotaping, and made a really good point about your looking at the video later and saying to yourself, "gee, I wish I had been there."

I went to see Lady Gaga last year and the whole arena was just a sea of screens. It was especially noticable from the folks who had general floor admission, since we were seated so far above. I don't know how anyone can enjoy a concert when they're worried about taking video of it, and besides, most cell phone video is crappy (even if you've got a great camera, let's face it, the video will be jumping all over, especially if you're dancing.) I attempted only 2 pictures of the whole concert and no video, and the pictures were complete crap. I really enjoyed the concert though, without having to watch through a tiny screen.

That said, Cyndi is great and this is a very neat video! :)
posted by IndigoRain at 11:00 PM on March 6, 2011 [3 favorites]


SHE WROTE WHAT SHE DID THERE!

No, she didn't. Robert Hazard did.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:11 PM on March 6, 2011 [2 favorites]


IndigoRain; that goes for everyday life as well. Every time the kids do something cute, my wife calls out "get the camera!" Now and again I have to remaind her to just relax and enjoy the moment.
posted by Harald74 at 11:54 PM on March 6, 2011 [3 favorites]


erikso, that's my ringtone as well! (We're talking about this song, right?) It cheers people right up! As an added bonus it sticks to their brains and I can hear them humming the tune now and again the rest of the day.

I've trained the kids; you can walk up to them and go "mah nah mah nah", and they will reply "do dee dee do" without even thinking. Drives their mother nuts sometimes.
posted by Harald74 at 11:58 PM on March 6, 2011 [1 favorite]


mah nah mah nah
posted by panaceanot at 12:22 AM on March 7, 2011


If there were singer top trumps, Cyndi would so beat Madonna in every category.

In other news, I have an earworm singing mah nah mah nah in my head.
posted by arcticseal at 12:24 AM on March 7, 2011 [2 favorites]


do dee dee do
posted by fishmasta at 12:28 AM on March 7, 2011 [2 favorites]




Cliff Richard at Wimbledon. That's all I have to say.
posted by seanyboy at 12:56 AM on March 7, 2011 [1 favorite]


"In July 2010, she signed a deal with Mark Burnett to produce a reality show that will focus on her career and her everyday life with her husband David Thornton and their son Declyn"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyndi_Lauper

just throwing this in there
posted by Duug at 1:07 AM on March 7, 2011


I always thought "Girls just wanna have fun" was a song about sisterly solidarity (Hey girls: just tell your parents that they are squares - we are going out tonight after the working day is done because we are just too beautiful to be hidden away from the world! Party!). So I was interested to read above that it was written and originally performed by a guy. I like how the whole feeling of the song changes from this perspective. It becomes something like (Hi mum, dad - yeah sorry if I'm looking a bit tired - its just that I keep getting called up by these girls all hours of the day and night. I've just had one on the phone from an airport departure lounge in fact. I've been telling them that they need to get out a bit more to be honest - in the sun you know.)
posted by rongorongo at 1:39 AM on March 7, 2011 [2 favorites]


That was terrible, corny and embarrassing.

No it wasn't, it was bloody awesome and wonderful. I just wanted to make you all think I was going to be the first unutterable git to snark about this. :-)
posted by Decani at 3:14 AM on March 7, 2011 [1 favorite]


I've seen her perform without preparation like this. I was at a restaurant which had a band and she was out for dinner with her husband and she was recognized. At first she refused, but then she got into it!
posted by Obscure Reference at 3:55 AM on March 7, 2011 [1 favorite]


My exwife and I had a house rule that if ANYONE started the Mah Nah song, at least the other spouse had to duet until the first party stopped.

And this video was cool. CL is cool. Far cooler than running into Billy Idol at the San Diego airport back in the 80's. He was too busy being famous.
posted by Samizdata at 4:21 AM on March 7, 2011


Around the time that Cyndi Lauper was pregnant, we met her on the streets of New York.

Scene: Just a few blocks south of Central Park. Players: My mother, in from Iowa, me, my wife and my two boys (in a stroller).

Wife: Hey look, back at the corner, that's Cyndi Lauper getting out of a Limo.
Me: Really? Wow. I didn't see. (we continue to walk)
My Mother: Who's Cyndi Lauper?
Me: OMG MOM. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun?" Captain Lou Albano? Goonies? (5 more minutes of flabergasted explanation)...
Wife: You mean, the woman that's walking right behind us now?
Me: (turns around, sees Ms. Lauper) Haaagamagafabagama.
Wife: (to Cyndi) Congratulations.
Cyndi: (looks at our boys) Congratulations to you, too!
posted by thanotopsis at 4:58 AM on March 7, 2011 [6 favorites]


Awesome!

ever wonder who the three people who disliked that video are? maybe they don't get the whole thumbs up thing? maybe they're angry they weren't there? maybe being snowed in again is making me overthink this?
posted by ironbob at 4:59 AM on March 7, 2011 [1 favorite]


There are singers, and then there are performers. Rarely do the two overlap. (I cannot imagine, for example, Blue Man Group stuck in an airport doing their thing, or the Black Eyed Peas.) (Actually, I can - but consider it very unlikely unless staged beforehand...)

You have performers today who depend on Autotune to do what they can't - sing on key and clearly - and instead figure post-processing of audio tracks, costumes and well-rehearsed dance routines are much more important than, you know, actually singing.

But Lauper? Lousy audio system, no costume, no background singers - and she gets them all going. Way to go, CL!

CL is a singer AND performer. We need many, many more like her.
posted by JB71 at 5:04 AM on March 7, 2011


Cyndi Lauper is awesome. Having sadly never met her in person, I will have to be content with her guest appearance in 30 Rock's charity-song spoof ‘Kidney Now’ to solidify her eternal awesomeness (‘I'm one of the drunk ones!’).
posted by jaffacakerhubarb at 5:08 AM on March 7, 2011 [2 favorites]


Blue Man Group in an airport would be one hundred pounds of awesome.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 7:55 AM on March 7, 2011 [2 favorites]


The only camera that bothered me was the kid who kept trying to get a shot of him and her... but didn't really seem that into the whole thing. 2:1 odds he ends up deleting the photos he did take, within a year.
posted by edgeways at 8:10 AM on March 7, 2011


Blue Man Group in an airport would be one hundred pounds of awesome.

At the very least, there's an awesome internet short that could be made about them going through the TSA security checkpoint in character.
posted by quin at 8:56 AM on March 7, 2011 [4 favorites]


Not only is it remarkable that she could belt that out on demand in a freaking airport, it's also impressive that she looks just as crazy-sexy-awesome now as she did nearly 30 years ago, when that song first came out.

We had the most awesomest pop singers evah. I just wanted to make that clear.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 9:09 AM on March 7, 2011


The cameras are all I see. Nobody wants to just enjoy a moment and have a story to share; they MUST record it.

Ugh, yes. Every sizable concert I have been to recently has been like this.
posted by adamdschneider at 9:12 AM on March 7, 2011


This was filmed in the Aeroparque (Domestic Airport) in Buenos Aires a couple of days ago. A girl I used to work with was actually there and as one of the few native English speakers there was asked by Cyndi to film a version for Twitter...
posted by jontyjago at 9:55 AM on March 7, 2011


Further evidence, as if any were needed, of Cyndi Lauper's awesomeness.
posted by Gelatin at 9:57 AM on March 7, 2011


If you mean absolute pitch, then no — she's a few half-steps flat of the original recording.

Might some of that be due to age, though? I believe everyone's voice gets a tiny bit lower as they get older -- and Cyndi is 57.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:32 AM on March 7, 2011


Further evidence, as if any were needed, of Cyndi Lauper's awesomeness.

More evidence is her True Colors Residence for homeless LGBT youth which opens this spring in New York.
posted by ericb at 10:52 AM on March 7, 2011 [5 favorites]


OK, this is crazy right here ... Cyndi Lauper has been nominated for a "Best" Grammy across four or five different genres, depending on how you read it.

Best Traditional Blues Album
Best Electronic/Dance Album
Best Dance Recording
Best Female Rock Vocal Performance
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance

Not to mention the various MTV awards and lesser awards.

Oh, and she won an Emmy, too.

Go ahead, name me another person that has done something like that. If you find them, they're probably in one of many assorted Halls of Fame.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 3:43 PM on March 7, 2011


Cyndi is all kinds of awesome. She quietly puts out a new album every year or three, usually exploring a genre she hasn't really gotten into before, and then tours. And her shows are carefully bottled lightening. She will blow your socks off repeatedly, every show.

(Okay, not so much her first tour, which I saw... that was horrible. But I think it was more technical problems, bad sound check or something... it certainly wasn't Cyndi.)

Haven't bought a CL album in a few years? Well, they're all great, but I'd recommend Bring 'Em To The Brink, her club album from a couple of years ago. Great driving stuff, thoughtful lyrics, and deeper production than first meets the ear.

Or pick up Merry Christmas... Have A Nice Life!, her zydeco flavored holiday album from a few years ago. It's silly, but a lot of fun. And shockingly good.

Also, have you seen the information about her blues album? Good grief. Who'd'a thunk! I haven't picked this one up yet, but it's on my list.
posted by hippybear at 3:50 PM on March 7, 2011 [1 favorite]


In some ways it would suck to have a song follow you around for 28 years and have to perform it at every single concert, but on the other hand it's a great song, so maybe it would be awesome.
posted by mike_bling at 10:52 AM on March 8, 2011


Go ahead, name me another person that has done something like that.

I'll bite. Senator Jim Webb: War hero, Secretary of the Navy, Emmy Award winner, Distinguished Public Service Medal winner, and the celebrated author of Fields of Fire. I'm probably forgetting another half-dozen things. He'll have an EGOT before all is said and done.
posted by waldo at 6:15 PM on March 8, 2011


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