Aural Sects

It's Not Me, It's You by Lily Allen - Review

It’s Not Me, It’s You [Explicit] by Lily Allen

I bought Lily’s first album back in 2007 when I first got back into music again. I love how she sings with her accent. And how her vicious lyrics are juxtaposed with happy music. She continues that format on the new album, but she’s improved her lyrics and there is more variation in the music from song to song.

I’m very fond of Everyone’s At It. I really support the message of the song. And not just because I was raised by a Hippy Mom to use ‘alternative’ medicine.

The Fear fascinates me. It feels like the younger sister of Fall Out Boy’s America’s Suitehearts, lyrically.

It’s Not Fair bothers me. Particularly these opening lines:

Oh, he treats me with respect,
He says he loves me all the time,
He calls me 15 times a day,
He likes to make sure that I’m fine

The rest of the song is about the guy being a premature ejaculator who doesn’t ever get her off in bed. And yet:

Then i remember all the nice things
that you’ve ever said to me,
maybe im just over reacting
maybe your the one for me.

That is one seriously fucking messed up relationship. Naturally, the music is utterly adorable and bouncy and fun. There’s even a banjo, which gives it kind of a country feel. And that makes sense in a way, since so many country songs by women are about being in abusive relationships and the women loving the men anyway because they think that’s what the deserve.

22 is about that fear of growing older and being alone, specifically as it pertains to women. The ending of one’s beliefs in fairy tales, basically. It’s almost wistful musically, though not enough to get depressing.

I Could Say fits very nicely after It’s Not Fair and 22. It’s about being better off for no longer being in an abusive relationship. It is sort of a repudiation of the angst of 22. Musically it’s a little wistful and a little uplifting. Very nice.

Back To The Start hurts. The narrator was an absolute asshole to someone when she was growing up. Cruel and vicious and she regrets it deeply. But she’s not stopping at apologizing:

This is not just a song
I intend to put these words into action
I hope that it sums up the way that I feel to your satisfaction

I actually teared up just now reading the lyrics. We’ve all done that, been cruel in the way only children can, to someone. Ouch.

Never Gonna Happen is hilariously cruel. The narrator lets the guy know that he’s only a piece of ass to her. She’ll fuck him, but he’s an idiot if he thinks there is anything more to it. And the music has a carnival feel to it that really makes the lyrics all the more amusing.

Fuck You is my most favorite song though. I was going to quote my favorite bits of the lyrics, but dude I love every single line. The music is light-hearted, bouncy and just adorable. And the lyrics are pointed and very, very much exactly what I’d love to say to the homophobes, misogynists and racists of the world. If you were to only buy one song from this album, you should get this one.

Who’d Have Known is a pretty straightforward song about being unsure of how a relationship is going. The music makes it feel far more melancholy than the lyrics would imply.

Chinese is about missing your lover. The narrator either works a lot or travels a lot, or both. And she misses her boyfriend who always makes her feel safe and loved. It’s quite sweet.

Him. Look, I get it, most of the Western world is covered in religiosity but I get really tired of hearing people angst about it. Songs like this just bore me. Probably because a) I wasn’t raised in any organized religion and b) I asked these questions when I was in 5th grade. I’m so far past this crap it’s not funny. Musically it’s beautiful. Lyrically it’s not bad at all. But I just really, really don’t care for this topic. And I really fucking loathe the revisionist assertion that ‘god’ doesn’t get his rocks off from people killing/being killed in his name.

He Wasn’t There pisses me off. For example:

Now you see I never thought you’d be a constant person in my life
And I don’t think that you would be if you’d have stayed with your ex-wife
I know you waited but there is no need, no need to apologize
Because I know you always loved me very much.
You are my hero in disguise.

I don’t get any sense that she’s being ironic or sarcastic. So instead we get a song about a fuckwitted girl that lets a married man use her for sex, ignore her when it’s inconvenient and just shit all over her. And she’s happy about it. It’s revolting. Unless we’re supposed to gather from the musical choices (it sounds like something from the 1920s) that this is the sad mentality of a woman from back then. If that’s the case, then spot on. Otherwise? But either way, the lyrics are extremely off-putting.

So of the 12 songs on this album I utterly adore 6 of them, like 3 of them and dislike 3 of them. Since it was only $3.99, I don’t feel that it was remotely a waste of money. Had I paid more than $10, however, I would’ve been less pleased.

Final Verdict: I definitely recommend this album.

It's Not Me, It's You by Lily Allen - first reactions

Image via Wikipedia

Lily Allen’s next album It’s Not Me, It’s You is available for streaming on her myspace page (music autoplays).

I’d already heard The Fear and Everyone’s At It and quite liked them. But they sounded very similar musically, so I was kind of worried about the way the rest of the album was going to sound. Happily, there is some real variety in the sound on the album and the songs are delightfully vicious.

Right now my favorite is Fuck You, the lyrics to it are wonderful and it’s sung in this pretty, light tone that just makes it all the more delicious.

I can’t wait to get this album!

It’s Not Me, It’s You [Explicit]