From the solitary and almost fairy-like piano opening of ‘Black Star’ it’s apparent that the cocky facade of Avril Lavigne’s last album has melted into something a little more thoughtful. The notes trickle ever so gently and with such magic that it’s difficult not to feel the wave of melancholy build up inside you. It’s so pretty. And so contrived. To be perfectly honest it reminded me of the Christmas Coca Cola adverts.
On Goodbye Lullaby there isn’t a thirsty polar bear in sight, but there is that distinct stench of advertising that often seems to provide the consumable glue between the sincere and the spurious.
After ‘Black Star’ (also the name of her perfume, £14.99) twinkles away into the sky, ‘What the Hell’ proudly appears. On first listen it’s a blatant ode to cuckoldry, like the girl from The Offspring’s ‘Self Esteem’ eventually got her fingers round a pen and wrote a lyrical response in between handjobs and text messages. After a second listen (if you give it one) it can also be seen as a vulnerable and amusing request for acknowledgement in a relationship.
Plus, the video is hi-larious.
In between the scenes of Avril looking hot and emasculating her pathetic admirer, there is some truly amazing product placement with Sony electronics gaining some obvious screen time. As you may be aware, sex sells. The messages are clear:
To boys: buy a Sony Home Entertainment System and Avril will wake up naked in your bed. Judging by the promiscuous lyrics of the song, she probably slept with your friends an hour earlier so best buy the Camera Phone and Vaio Laptop to make sure she showers in between.
To girls: as long as the storyboard of your life looks like it could turn into porn at any moment, guys will buy you clothes.
The flippant approach to sex continues in ‘Smile’, a rather light-hearted song seemingly about getting rohypnoled. Last time I checked, people don’t like being date raped. Then again I’m only young and have a lot to learn about girls:
Last night I blacked out I think
What did you, what did you put in my drink
I remember making out but then
I woke up with a new tattoo
your name was on me and my name was on you
I will do it all over again
So that’s what happened!
‘Smile’ can either be interpreted as a tribute to being emotionally stable and Zen, or as just a witless account of what actually happened with her and Brody Jenner. At least they apparently spelled each other’s names correctly in their respective tattoos. Even though some of the upbeat songs might evoke the ‘Get thee to a nunnery’ response I had to her last album, if you want to appreciate this part of Goodbye Lullaby you have to remember that even though it’s trashy, it’s only in a harmless dress-up kind of way.
These songs are also meant to reassert the context of independence that frames the more emotive songs that take up the majority of the album. This time around, whoever was in charge cleverly placed some small statements of self awareness in there to counter any accusations of acidic whoreishness. ‘Push’ reminded me of the Alanis Morissette influence on Let Go, and ‘Wish You Were Here’ features lyrics like:
There’s a girl
who gives a shit
behind this wall
You’ve just walked through it
A girl who acts all that but is actually just masking her insecurity. Who’d have thunk it?
Although these elements make this a well constructed album, they aren’t enough to give it complete credibility. Maybe it’s because the stripped-down songs are over produced (and under-written), or more likely, because I just don’t care about her divorce. The girl who sung ‘Sk8er Boi’ splitting up with the guy from lesser pop punk band Sum 41 is the stuff of internet parody, not Shakespearean tragedy. The songs are pleasing but where they should be elevated with graceful touches they’re instead bluntly reinforced as slogans (see titles like: ‘Everybody Hurts’, ‘4Real’ etc). There are good intentions here, but the presentation makes it about as evocative as her clothing line.
So why have I listened to it so much?
Partly because I’m a guy and my genetics force me to enjoy songs about her acting slutty, even if I know they’re dumb. But also because objectively, it’s not a bad album. It comes across as more factitious than authentic but you can blame a music industry seeking safe profits for that. Whether this strips it of its creative merit is up for debate. My example is that even though the Coke ads were about selling you a product, they’re remembered for how the song ‘Holidays are Coming’ independently made people feel. Even though advertising can sometimes be art, this album is proof that it doesn’t work the other way round.
Nonetheless, like sugary drinks, I’ll enjoy this album as a guilty pleasure. It would serve me right if my next glass is spiked and I wake up with ‘Avrul’ tattooed on my ass.
C
Tags: avril lavigne, brody jenner, deryck whibley, divorce, goodbye lullaby, let go, sum 41, the best damn thing, under my skin, what the hell
