Avril Lavigne: C/D?

this may be my favorite post ever.

I saw Avril recently -- probably on MuchMusic -- and she said almost the same thing.

Then she said she's ditching the tie.

Priceless.

As one, I think I can say sans the post-adolescent self-loathing (but with adolescent self-loathing to spare!) that a good majority of people hate teenagers, because they're dumb.

Especially in the Avril case, with Complicated and Sk8r Boi's incessent whining that preppies just don't get them, and they're tired of being outcasts. Nevermind the borderline racist (yes, I said it) mentality of putting people into such groups -- I'll let it slide, that's what teens do -- but c'mon, skaters aren't the outcasts? It's nerds.

That's why DEVO will always be the ultimate punks.

I think I was trying to make a point, but lost it when DEVO sprung to my mind. Damn. Well, I'll go listen to them now. Right.

Then again, maybe "mainstream" teenagers are, after all, as dumb as their adult counterparts.

But seriously, I've worked with damaged and hurt (street, abused, neglected) teens for a long time, and they never cease to surprise me (perhaps because I'm dumb?) with their intelligence and insights.

I have this theory that those of us who had crappy transitions into adulthood, if we haven't confronted and in some way "dealt" with them, we tend to view childhood -- and especially adolescence -- as something bad.

I've seen perfectly "nice" adults fuck up their kids royally, and usually over something trivial -- like "if you won't follow the rules of my house, get out!" People: do you ever stop and think what happens to kids out there when no-one but their equally lost friends are looking out for them?

Sorry. Something I got a lot of thoughts and surprising emotion about. I'm not necessarily defending Avril, per se, but just that sense that it's the feeling of being outcast that matters to many, whether it's objectively true or not.

Now back to our scheduled programming...

Wow. The new Avril Lavigne single is dripping with attitude. In fact, it's the best song I've heard this year.
It's incredible - like she's finally ditched all the precious: I'm a little punk rocker - in favor of a much more teenpop approach to relationships. So where Sk8tr Boi was about how her relationships weren't conventional (they had emancipated themselves from the highschool set and were touring professionally) this is set in the standard context of boyfriend -girlfriends. But in doing so, it's the most punk song I've ever heard her sing. It reminds me of Blondie in terms of investing the mundane with attitude.

"Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your girlfriend. Hey, hey, you, you, I think you need a new one," is far more aggressive. In contrast to Sk8r, where she steals the boy away from his old girlfriend is completely overlooking in favor of the larger tension (he's great, and you missed your chance), here she's actively stealing him. And the opening: Hey, hey, you, you, is almost like a faster: "Ai, Oh, Let's go," without the beat between the noise ("Hey" "Oh") and the narrative ("You, you" "Let's go"). So she's editing out the Ramone's pause in favor of thrusting herself forward. There's huge amounts of pose in here - down to the hand-clapping, which almost sounds as though she applauding herself as she sings. Or maybe even the Stones, singing: "Hey, hey, you, you get off of my cloud," which is probably the more obvious touchstone. Which is perfect! Because she's aggressively pulling you in like the Stone's song chases you away. It's the same attitude, but used to different means.

"Ok fine I want you mine you're so delicious. I think about you all the time you're so addictive. Don't you know what I can do to make you feel alright? (Alright, alright, alright)" Combining the speedy breathlessness of the first two statements, which the echoing 'alright' of the third, it's as though Avril is coming overwhelming the target (and us) by pounding us over and over with the Possibility of Her. By the time it gets to "alright, alright, alright," it sounds like we're responding to the song ourself (also through Avril's voice) agreeing to her. She's puppeting both the predator and the prey - so that she never has to fail.

And then the song launches into the greatest thing I've heard - certainly this year and possibly last as well. "Don't pretend I think you know I'm damn precious / And hell yeah, I'm the motherfucking princess / I can tell you like me too and you know I'm right. (alright, alright, alright)" She simultaneously needs this guy, and doesn't need him at all. She's fine without him - sneering: "You know I'm damn precious." - but she's only saying it because it'll let her get him. And when she sings "I'm the motherfucking princess," she completely slays the entire Paris Hilton album. Just the implicit contradiction of using the word "motherfucking" while describing herself as a "princess" is completely honest, jarring, confusing, and refreshing. It means that a "princess" can use the word "motherfucking." It also means she has a sense of humor about being a "princess." It also means that she's a "princess" /because/ she uses words like "motherfucking," which makes her "precious" which she also understands.

This is thus far my favorite song of 2007. And I predict it'll be in the top 5 if not at the top 1 by the end of the year. I can't imagine anything displacing it. It's much better than the Veronica's 4eva - which was near the top of my list last year.

Mordechai Shinefield (Mordy) on Monday, February 5, 2007 11:31 PM (3 weeks ago)

dud af, fuck outta here

She found god

https://www.billboard.com/amp/articles/columns/pop/8480271/avril-lavigne-billboard-cover-story?__twitter_impression=true

Interesting story -- glad she's better.

https://toxictiktoks.tumblr.com/post/635617900676415488