She's a divisive figure at the very least. Some like the music but hate the attitude, some find her candor in interviews refreshing but shy away from her brand of breathy pseudo-sweet pop. Some just don't like her face. I, am in love.
Lily Allen had been trying to succeed in the music business since 2002, before she gained stellar popularity by posting her demos on MySpace. The story continues: blah-blah-blah Mockney, blah-blah drunk, blah-blah doesn't know when to shut up. Blah. Couldn't care less! Whether she's faking the accent or pretending to be lower middle-class than she actually is, I have fallen for her.
Her debut album 'Alright, Still' (2006) passed considerably under my radar. I knew she existed but could take 'er or leave 'er. It may have been the reggae influences it has or the abundance of ska bass lines - both features to which I am indifferent. Then her collaboration with, admitted superproducer and alleged tool, Mark Ronson gave us this fabulously funky piece of work.
But it wasn't until her cover of Britney Spears' Womanizer that the Lily Allen thing completely clicked for me. That song, the original, was everywhere. It's an infectious piece of trash electropop and I have to admit I always succumb to dancing to it like a formerly dethroned pop princess finding herself back on top...
Lily Allen took Womanizer and made it good.
Retroactively, I started looking her stuff up and listening to it. Now here's what struck me: Lily Allen makes really good choices. Maybe not in her personal life and arguably not at all in how she handles herself in public. But musically she's spot on. Womanizer was the right cover to do at the exact right time to start the hype on her sophomore album.
Speaking of which, 'It's Not Me, It's You' drops February 9. And if the lead single is anything to go by, it seems my love for Lily Allen might find more fertile ground in which to grow. The song itself is Allen at her finest. Light but layered melody, courtesy of one Mr. Greg Kurstin, with an especially good showing of Allen's signature lyrical style. Simple, straightforward, tinged with odd everyday poetry. I won't go into presenting the entirety of the song's lyrics here, but check this bit out:
And I'll take my clothes off /And it will be shameless / 'Cause everyone knows that's how you get famous / I'll look at the sun and I'll look in the mirror / I'm on the right track, yeah, I'm onto a winner
Hm... You can't deny she's got something there. Same goes for the single's B-Sides; the platonically homoromantic Fag Hag and the politically profane Kabul Shit... The girl has a clear voice. Both literally and metaphorically. She picks good collaborators: Ronson, Kurstin, the Kaiser Chiefs, Keane. She may pull out her third nipple on national television, frolic naked at the beaches of Cannes or speak to the press with no boundaries or forethought but in her music her thoughts are well-prepped, well-expressed and well-scored.
It goes without saying that the latter three links are Not Safe For Work.
I think I'm loving Lily Allen because she's an embodiment of now. Not in a fancy way, not in a special way. She's a regular 23 year-old girl. A bit of an arsehole and a bit of a good kid and just being honest. Yeah, she may be putting on airs at times and fame may be getting to her head and many, many other unimportant things.
But even if she weren't supporting children's charities or speaking favourably on gay rights, while being a hot mess herself, I think I still would be enamored.
It's the music that does it. I like the electro turn this upcoming album is taking. It's still distinctly hers but it's also whoever's in a good way. And it allows me to say:
In 2009, mainstream pop can be good. This is good pop.
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