The first album I have chosen for 2011 is a 2006 favorite of mine, Lily Allen's "Alright, Still."Allen is a British pop singer-songwriter who got famous on MySpace and whose personal life has made kind of a joke of her lately, although I don't think that should take away from what she has to offer through her talent. Her debut is amazingly upbeat and catchy with a Jamaican ska feel, and the lyrics are playful and sometimes even a little silly.
Favorite tracks of mine include "Knock 'Em Out," "Not Big," "LDN" and "Take What You Take" but the crowning jewel for me is "Everything's Just Wonderful." From the elevator music-meets-pop feel of the melody to the angry lyrics set to a "shrug it off" kind of attitude just does something a little special for me.
Surprisingly, I really don't like the track "Smile," the first single off the album, very much at all, but the rest of the album is pretty solid, and the highlights (and there are many) are especially stand-out.
If you like this album, you might check out her sophomore release "It's Not You It's Me" (2009). I haven't really given it a good listen but it was critically well-received as well.
I remember hearing the song “Smile” on the radio and thinking what a fun summertime song it was. I immediately went and bought it at I tunes when it came out and listened to it quite heavily that year. I never really gave the rest of the album much of a chance so it will be interesting to see if it catches my fancy.
ReplyDeleteStill enjoy the song “Smile” quite a bit, and it is making me long for the good old days of driving around with the windows rolled down listening to some fun music. “Knock em’ out” at first doesn’t appeal to me much. I am not a fan of the spoken word style of music, but as the song goes along it becomes more and more catchy. I also really like the fact that you can hear her accent as she sings. I have always wondered why people like Rod Stewart sort of mask their accents when they sing, making them sound more Americanized. “Everything’s just wonderful” was the only other song I had heard up until this week. I like the retro feel to the song, and I think the chorus showcases how pretty Lily can make her voice sound. “Friday Night” was another fun song, and I liked the storytelling done throughout the song. As an artist Lily can definitely appeal to the female crowd, I just am not sure if she translates over so well for men. The piano accompaniment on “Littlest Things” is very nicely done, and gives a more mature sound to Lily’s more fun paced music. The only other song I liked was “Friend of Mine.” While I think Lily is very clever lyrically and can definitely be an upbeat alternative when you are having a crappy day, I am just not sure I am ready to go out and buy her album. There were a few high points, but overall it was not enough to get me hooked in. I’m glad Laura brought her back to my attention so I had a reason to listen to the rest of her album.
This week was one of my favorites from Laura to date. There is something about British humor that cracks me up. She is so sarcastic and rude and I get excited for the next dig. I do not have any problem with ‘Smile’ and consider it a highlight since she vocalizes more on the opening track. “LDC” was the least sarcastic, but had a pleasant and catchy chorus. The mariachi band(?) in the background was also a nice touch. ‘Everything’s Just Wonderful’ was a highlight for me. Unlike Cee Lo, she says “Fuck You” in a manner which comes off as sincere. “Not Big” was hilarious and was probably my favorite on the album. ‘Friday Night’ had one of the best beats and ‘Shame for You’ had one of the best lines in “OMG you must be jokin me, if you think that you’ll be pokin me’. The reggae feel on ‘Friend of Mine’ was a nice change of pace. None of the tracks are boring and each stand out from each other. The beat and the lyrics in ‘Alfie’ were equally humorous and lived up to the title. Is ‘Nan you’re a window shopper’ about a guy picking up prostitutes?
ReplyDeleteI went through ‘It’s Not Me, Its You’ once and liked what I heard, but not as much as the debut. Good start to the new year.
Lily Allen was a fun listen this week. Alright, Still is not an album that begs to be taken seriously, it thrives on reggae grooves and Lily’s charm. “Smile” is a much better listen now because it’s not being played hourly on the radio and the muzak in most retailers. I hit repeat on this track a few times, just a great fun song. My favorite tunes on this album are either hip-hop influenced or Caribbean based like the catchy “LDN” which makes me draw comparisons to early No Doubt. Most of my picks going forward will try to be from genres we haven’t really explored like reggae, blues, r&b, etc. I dug the ska influenced “Friday Night” and the silly lyrics about a drunk Lily ready to fight club skanks. The staggered piano and beat on “Little Things” is reminiscent of a J-Dilla or Madlib track, which grabbed me immediately. Lily’s laid-back approach sometimes leaves me to just groove with the music and ignore her completely, like on “Friend of Mine”, which would have been better served with a guest verse from Damian Marley. “Nan, You’re a Window Shopper” is hilarious, but mostly because it’s a parody of a 50 cent song. Along with Thomas, this is one of my favorite Laura picks.
ReplyDeleteWhen Lily Allen first started releasing tracks on her Myspace page 6 years or so ago, she was a breath of fresh air. She was making a sort of pop music, but it was pop music built on a different foundation than everything else that was coming around. The British pop scene has always been a little different (and better, for the most part) than what we have over here, and Lily was a fresh face that seemingly came out of nowhere, making inroads into the sight of American music listeners.
ReplyDelete"Smile" starts off 'Alright, Still' with Lily's biggest hit to date, and the song that rocketed her into the public consciousness. "Smile" is a really laid back track, and it immediately showcases Lily's trademark vulgarity and sense of humor. "Knock Em' Out" takes some cues from the UK garage scene, most notably the group The Streets, with its spoken word verses, telling a story in a very British fashion. It's a funny track, but one I used to skip over fairly often when I was listening to the album regularly a few years ago. Ever since the first time I heard it, "LDN" has been my favorite song by Lily Allen. Even though I know that the cheerfulness in the song is a cover for the trouble that lurks within its lyrics, the song never fails to put me in a good mood. I really like the elevator music that kicks off "Everything's Just Wonderful", and the production throughout the song is really on point. "Friday Night" showcases a "darker" side of Lily, and it really works well for her, going counter to the typical image of a cute young girl. "Little Things" is one of my favorite songs on the album, and I can really see where Justin's coming from comparing the piano line to J-Dilla. "Take What You Take" is probably the most straightforward pop song on the album, but it's definitely another of my favorites. I can't really explain what makes this song stick out so much for me, other than that the chorus is pretty great.
Overall, the album works as a great showcase for a terrific young talent with something that most performers of her ilk lack, a true personality. Lily writes about every day life in a way that makes sense to normal people, which is refreshing in a world where pop stars only sing songs about things that only people with as much money as they have can truly understand. While her second album wasn't quite as great, I'll still be following Lily closely for a long time to come.
'Alright, Still' Album Rating: 84%