Sisters of Avalon

Sisters of Avalon is the fifth studio album released by singer and actress Cyndi Lauper. Thematically the album expounded on the issue of complacency and ignorance in popular culture and the discrimination of minorities, gays, and women. Songs like "Love to Hate" and "You Don't Know" address the entertainment industry and media and their corruption. "Ballad of Cleo and Joe" is a song about the double life of a cross dresser. "Say a Prayer" is about the AIDS epidemic. The record takes a deviation from previous projects, incorporating a blend of electronica production with a variety of antiquated instruments such as the guitar, zither, appalachian dulcimer, slide dulcimer, and omnichord. There is a permeating pagan theme highlighted by the track "Mother," an ode to Gaea. The album was released in 1996 in Japan and in 1997 in other parts of the world. The Japanese version features a bonus track, "Early Christmas Morning". The track "Lollygagging" is a hidden track which is nothing more than Lauper and her musicians attempting to record the song "Hot Gets a Little Cold" but making a musical mistake and laughing about it.