Today is August 25 and the Navigate the Chaos question to consider is "How often do you improve upon the original?"
American singer Cyndi Lauper and Irish recording artist Sinéad O'Connor both stood out by improving upon an original.
Despite Herman Melville’s observation "It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation,” navigating the chaos might involve imitating others.
Take the song "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" for example. The song was written by Robert Hazard, who recorded only a demo of it in 1979.
Hazard's version was written from a male point of view.
Four years later, in 1983, American singer Cyndi Lauper released her own version this time from a feminist view conveying the point that all women really want is to have the same experiences that men can.
The single was Lauper's breakthrough hit, reaching number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and becoming a worldwide hit throughout late 1983 and early 1984.
Irish recording artist Sinéad O'Connor’s remake of "Nothing Compares 2 U" was a song written and composed by Prince for The Family and the song was featured on their eponymous album The Family. O'Connor’s version was released as the second single from her second studio album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got.
This version, which O'Connor co-produced with Nellee Hooper, became a worldwide hit in 1990. Its music video received heavy rotation on MTV. Its lyrics explore feelings of longing from the point of view of an abandoned lover.