Wow, mhen, si Cyndi Lauper (siyempre nag-isip ako for a while kung Cyndi o Cindy) sa Launch, singing Time After Time. Baka kasi nalilimutan na ng mga tao na si Cyndi Lauper talaga ang kumanta nito at hindi Everything But the Girl (at dahil tamad mag-spell ang mga tao, EBTG). Siyempre naalala ko tuloy ang dance number sa Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion.

Oo, halatang iisa lang ang pinatutunguhan ng aking blog post - 80s music.

Ever since I heard Christian Bautista's cover of Breathe's Hands to Heaven, I thought this is the end of that part of the 80s that I truly cherished, along with Johnny Hates Jazz and (yes I admit) Rick Astley. Yes, the 80s is indeed creeping back into FM radio and I don't mean weekend revues. I figure, let Christian have his remake. There are too many song competition winners (and their runners-up) and too few songwriters willing to subject themselves to non-existent royalties so, what the hey, mine previous decades' songs, for all I care. Just as long as not one more newbie will cover Breathe's How Can I Fall.

Alas (yes, Vicky, ALAS), I heard the end last Friday night.

On the way home from ATC with Kaye, between plans for next weekend and commenting on LB people we saw that afternoon, I heard the familiar first few notes of song in question. I initially thought, it cannot be.

Then I heard 'Give me time to care, the moment's here for us to share'.

You've got to be kidding me.

Even Kaye had something to say about the cover. We were guessing, is it Christian again? No, said Kaye, it must be Lance Raymundo. Who cares, this guy is covering How Can I Fall and it's not even a decent cover.

Doing covers and actually recording them and releasing them as a single is pretty risky, even more when the song being covered is only a few years old (case in point: Coldplay's Yellow). Yes, 80s songs are obscure enough not to be recognized by the already Ritalin-hungry 10-22 (you can correct my constructed demographic range) kids. Go ahead, cover as much as you want. But I say, there are two basic rules for legitimizing a remake. One, better have the singing prowess to even or surpass the original. Two, do it in a totally different yet convincing arrangement.

The problem with unidentified singer's remake of How Can I Fall is that he merely imitated the singing style of what's-his-face-lead-singer-of-Breathe. It didn't help that the arrangement was lackluster. And please tell me this: why end the song by repeating the first line of the song? Obviously, there was an attempt to make the remake a tad different from the original (uh, yes, it WAS different). I'm picturing the song ending with an ellipsis (which for Vicky is a major crime, of course) - not a good idea.

Final analysis: this is precisely the pitfall of new singers unsure of the songs that fit their vocal range and quality and are merely relying on their producers, handlers, record executives, etc. for material to use for their albums. It is very convenient to pluck songs from obscurity but there is such a thing as integrity and heart, as with all creative processes.

Fearless forecast: yet another Breathe song will be covered (my prediction is All That Jazz). Worse, Johnny Hates Jazz's Different Seasons wil have a second lease in life.

Meanwhile, I am comforting myself with my newly-purchased Urbandub CD.