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"Silly Little Girl"

I've been hearing someone called Avril Levigne (sp?) all over the radio and everyone raving about her. Seems like Alanis Morisette-lite to this bloke.
To the extent that the verses actually remind me of a Morrisette song called "You live, you learn".

*shrugs* Anyhoo, her record company are trying to promote her as a genuine, tortured fem-angst artist blah blah. And today I saw her video.

Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!

Can you say "Contrived Corporate Posturing"? She's about 16, nice clean skate-clothes, her "band" consists of other 16yr olds all with trendy-messy clothes and the video consists of her
(a) Running around Mall doing amusing anti-social things like stealing a slush puppy from a security guard, driving little push-cars around and, gosh, knocking a display over
(b) Playing in front of a half-pipe whilst clean-cut skater types stand about and nod.

*shakes head*
Oh man, a teen Riot Grrl trying to come off like this beacon of Feminine Solidarity? She's Britney Spears in combat-trousers. There's no difference here folks, it's the record label aiming for the disaffected-teen whilst also carpet-bombing the perky/happy teens with Spears, Aguilera et al.

I'm not ripping the song, it's ok for what it is. But the way she's being promoted is hilarious.
"She's the anti-Britney" "She's a voice for young women"
Really? You actually think that do you? As much as I'm aware Morisette had her start in bouffant-haired pop stardom, at least she's genuinely experienced life and her songs have that twang of anger.

Compare:
Alanis Morisette
"You took me for a joke
You took me for a child
You took a long hard look at my asss
And then played golf for a while
You shake is like a fish
You pat me on the head
You took me out to wine dine 69 me
But didn't hear a damn word I said"

Avril Levigne
"He was a skater boy
She said see you later boy
He wasn't good enough for her
She had a pretty face
But her head was up in space
She needed to come back down to earth"

----
Now I'm not saying she doesn't have a good voice or anything like that, I'm just saying please dont get sucked into thinking she's anything other than another production-line Dancing Bear.
Enjoy the music by all means, just don't kid yourself she's anything remotely close to Tori Amos/Alanis Morrisette/Beth Orton etc.

She's a 16-18yr old girl that sings about skater boys.
End. Of. Story.

I thought Axl Rose got away with it as well. I downloaded a live version of November Rain and there is this 3 minute piano solo before the song starts, and it rocks.

Duritz got away with it as well, when I saw them at v2002. I think he only sat down to play a piano song because he was having trouble standing up though...

I think Jools Holland gets away with for the same reason Dr John does: Boogie-Woogie Jazz is inherently cool.

But pianos onstage for music other than old-timey jazz/big band music is just plain wrong.
Keyboards are alright, Faith No More got away with it.
It's just whenever you see a piano onstage, you immediately think "Oh dear, tortured artist coming up"

Ah, but Jools Holland looks pretty cool at a piano. So him too.

And yeah, chick rock usually does suck. But Ani is pretty cool in my opinion. At least try, don't care what you think in the end, just try.

Swing, or Little Plastic Castle - Ani DiFranco. Go on, download. Apparently it's folk, but it sounds too cool.

Infact I think there should be a universal ban on playing any instrument other than the drums sitting down.

Strap a baby grand round Martin & Yorkes necks - then watch them jib.

Yep.
And piano playing encourages Rain-Man like rocking, witness Yorke and Martin and you think "I should be watching spakkers should I?"

Chicks look good at pianos cos sitting down hunched over one accentuates their cleavage.

Only keyboards men look cool with are those ones you hold like a guitar.

Rock posturing, see.

Worst keyboard playing chimp - that mop haired fool from Toploader.

Big gay mule.

Hell yes.
And on a connected theme - blokes do not belong at pianos.
Thom Yorke, Chris Martin, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Curtis Stigers etc.
Only Dr John can pull it off, every other bloke looks like a tranvestite with "emotional difficulties"

Pianos = Girly instrument

Chick rock sucks.

Ever seen a woman looking comfortable playing a geetar, bass or drums?

Nope.

Leave it to blokes, we got muscles and grit n stuff. And we can grow beards.

Something I've been introduced to and really getting into now is Ani DiFranco... anger anger feminist music. Well, part of the time.

There are songs that do make me squirm at the lyrics, but the music is pretty damn good. There are a good decent bunch of fantastic songs, and she really is an excellent lyricist.

Try if you can to get some of these, just to try anywho. Freakshow, Little Plastic Castle, Swing, and School Night.

School Night is probably one of the only songs I've ever heard that really affects me. Really beautiful, and lyrics [song and wrote] are amazingly hitting.

School Night.

She went over to his apartment
Clutching her decision
And he said, did you come here to tell me goodbye?
So she built a skyscraper of procrastination
And then she leaned out the twenty-fifth floor window
Of her reply
And she felt like an actress
Just reading her lines
When she finally said
Yes, it's really goodbye this time
And far below was the blacktop
And the tiny toy cars
And it all fell so fast
And it all fell so far

And she said:
You are a miracle but that is not all
You are also a stiff drink and I am on call
You are a party and I am a school night
And I'm lookin' for my door key
But you are my porch light

And you'll never know, dear
Just how much I loved you
You'll probably think this was
Just my big excuse
But I stand committed
To a love that came before you
And the fact that I adore you
Is but one of my truths

What of the mother
Whose house is in flames?
And both of her children
Are in their beds crying
And she loves them both
With the whole of her heart
But she knows she can only
Carry one at a time
She's choking on the smoke
Of unthinkable choices
She is haunted by the voices
Of so many desires
She's bent over from the business
Of begging forgiveness
While frantically running around
Putting out fires

But then what kind of scale
Compares the weight of two beauties?
The gravity of duties?
Or the ground speed of joy?
Tell me what kind of gauge
Can quantify elation?
What kind of equation
Could I possibly employ?
And you'll never know, dear
Just how much I loved you
You probably think this was
Just my big excuse
But I stand committed
To a love that came before you
And the fact that I adore you
Is just one of my truths

So I
I'm goin' home
To please the one I so love pleasing
And I don't expect
He'll have much sympathy for my grieving
But I guess that this is the price
That we pay for the privilege
Of living for even a day
In a world with so many things
Worth believing
In

I confuse them with The Libertines

Both good