As I write a song, I feel it first like a summer rain on my face or a punch to the gut, then I see it in my mind, and it is always cinematic. I imagine the places, the atmosphere, details, and moments: a young couple strolling through Riverside Park, a chilly winter crossing to Staten Island on the ferry. A lonely late-night wait on the subway platform.
I wrote “Lost Point” essentially in one sitting in my apartment on W. 83rd Street in Manhattan. Sure, it is a classic breakup song. It is the result of a relationship's disintegration. There is another larger component - the breakaway from people in general: the people in your family or at work who move through your life sometimes like animated mannequins, all the people on the street rushing by like whitewater rapids. I had had enough of it and summed it up in the chorus lyrics of “Lost Point” - “when I leave the people, they leave me be”.
Photo above: Jon Cryer and Rick Stear
As a kid, I bought LP soundtracks like John William's, “Star Wars”, which is phenomenal, and Ennio Morricone's, “The Mission”, which is a masterpiece. Vangelis's “Chariots of Fire” film soundtrack rocked my world, and I literally wore out the cassette tape as a teenager. The combination of this incredible music matched with the film is beautiful art.
One of my dreams as a songwriter was to have my pieces included in a movie soundtrack. The actor and filmmaker Jon Cryer made that dream come true!
Stream the soundtrack for “Went to Coney Island…” on Apple Music
I formed a band called, Girlfriend, in the 1990s with the incredibly talented singer, Robin Cryer (Jon's sister). She and I tracked the first recording of “Lost Point” in an East Village studio, and fortunately, we captured the magic. Produced by our friend, Rob McCulloch, the song became a staple in our set list, and the audience response never diminished. People would come up to us after shows and talk about how they connected with “Lost Point”. A universal truth in song.
Jon was making his independent film “Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God…Be Back by Five” at the time and asked if he could use “Lost Point" in the closing scene. Of course, we agreed. His film director, Richard Schenkman, asked for a slight lyric adjustment to the line “take a long drag off this joint”. So, in the studio, we made an edit to suit the wayward character, Richie, who is lost somewhere in Coney Island. We drafted “grab my clothes, split this joint” to replace the original line, “take a long drag off this joint”.
This complemented the main character's struggle and ended the film. Robin and I recently re-watched this film and it is SO good and captures the real Coney Island as it was in the late 1990s so well!
Original score by Midge Ure from Ultravox (what an honor to be included on a soundtrack by this master and founder of one of my favorite bands, Ultravox!).
“Lost Point” Liner Notes:
Composition and lyrics: Phil Hyland & Robin Cryer Hyland (BMI)
Performed by Girlfriend. Produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by Rob McCulloch
Lead vocals, synth and guitars: Phil Hyland
Back up vocals: Robin Hyland and Rob McCulloch
Bass: Rob McCulloch, Percussion: Dale May
Watch "Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God...Be Back by Five" on Amazon Prime!
Apple Music link to “Lost Point”
