I find an album to be satisfactory if it makes me want to dance, if it makes me want to belt it in the middle of a boring recitation c’mon, we all have them and if it makes me create playlists based on the songs alone (thank you, Genius!).
On Lily Allen’s new CD, ‘It’s Not Me, It’s You,” all three goals are accomplished, but unfortunately not to the point where I’ll add the CD to my ‘Most Played” list.
To push the poetic boundaries a bit more from her last album which was pretty much only known for the hit ‘Smile” Allen has done great new things with ‘It’s Not Me, It’s You.” ‘Back to the Start” is my new running song. She has kept her great beats and has produced the kind of song you should play when you are on the bus going to and fro.
Now, I am not too into the whole Brit pop/punk scene. I’m more of a classic rock and major wailers kind of chick: Guns N’Roses, Journey, Skid Row and, of course, some ‘Final Countdown,” along with too many others to list.
Honestly, I thank the inventors of noise-blocking headphones. They are my god. We don’t need to get into that.
When I first heard ‘Smile,” I changed the song. Are you kidding me? No way was someone going to make me chuckle while making fun of those who don’t. I’d rather be called a sweet child of Axel’s than Lily’s pathetic lobotomy victim, I thought. Either way, one of my friends sat through the song with me… Maybe my ‘Foreigner” album could take the back seat for an hour or two.
Well, I did some background and listened to her previous album. No offense, Lily lovers, but I am so not subscribing to those mellow tones of ‘Alright, Still.”
I need enough of a beat that I actually wake up when my iHome goes off in the morning. Her original album only had maybe two songs that made me want to go running on a treadmill and another two songs that are hysterically funny.
Well, out of a total 12 songs, I subscribe to four. I am not about to tattoo her name on my body anytime soon.
Either way, her new album had some merit to it, and she employed an extremely funny wit in talking about the idiocy of people today. I chuckled on the bus. Probably not the best thing when people start looking. Crap.
Allen’s songs were spunky and funny, not completely worth my soul, but a few of her lines from ‘F*ck You” were playing in my head last recitation. ‘Back to the Start” is a song that really makes me want to go running, so that put a smile on my face, plus it is a great song to break the monotony of rock songs on my iPod.
Overall, Allen’s album was satisfying, but at the same time, I would not suggest this album to for anyone who really loves the Kinks, Aerosmith or Bon Jovi, seeing as her songs have a much larger pop influence, along with some much edgier beats.
It was a good album and checked off the items on my list, but other than that, it’ll just join my library on my beloved iPod.
If Allen is representative of music in Britain today, it is time to say goodbye to acid punk clubs and the like this album is more likely to be played at middle school dances.
That doesn’t mean I’ll throw out my gel and pink hair dye, but I will subscribe to the teeny bopper sound of Lily’s album, ‘It’s Not Me, It’s You.”
Reagan is a member of
the class of 2012.
