Topic: Lily Allen- Inform The American

It's pedestrian as f*ck! Urban as in marketed.

Bad.

I heard the hype and tried so so hard to like it, but when it comes down to it, it's totally boring.

Pop music biting Mike Skinner's style? The Arctic Monkeys did it alright to a certain extent, but Lily Allen, although however appealing a young female artist taking a pop angle on this style may be, is boring, flat music with no substance at all.

I expected far more, and ended up being very disappointed.

My girlf likes her a lot. I hate her song about how the guy dumped her so shes going to get revenge by shagging his mates :slanted:

She was in some rag I leafed through the other day, the pull quote was "a power greater than anything on earth put me here so why should i answer to anyone?".

I'm outside the demographic she might appeal to. Shrug.

I like what I understand of her lyrics, even if they're sometimes frothy and affected, the musical backing fails in comparison and is the weakest element in most of the songs (harmonywise—the sound is excellent, almost perversely tasteful in all the right ways). To me, the album's two singles, LDN and Smile, plus Littlest Things are the outstanding tracks, especially the latter, and in particular the way she sings "and you could tell that I was nervous, so you held my hand".

Some of the rockist sentiments in the hype are very irritating—"AT LAST, somebody who writes her own material" and so on—but I agree with many of the lauders in many ways: it is invigorating to see a self-propelled and self-prompted young female artist breaking through big time, seemingly, without her intentions being compromised all that much. Her professed (and by many—repudiated) realness I don't care that much about; I don't know anything about Keith Allen except what I found on Wikipedia, and that didn't make me any wiser as to some people's antipathy towards him, and even if he's as smug a rotter as some claim, I don't see why that should tarnish his daughter. "But she chooses whichever approach/personality/style seems fit for the occasion at hand"? Yes, and in doing so she very much portraits the life of many a young dame in our time.

On another subject: why is it "littlest" and not, say, "little"?

Poisonous Dart: If you want a "safe for hip hop heads" LDN-version, check out the link below. It's LDN underpinned with the Fix Up, Look Sharp-beat (i.e. The Big Beat-beat).

Lily Allen - LDN (2)

i think she's ok. its sort of at the same level as neneh cherry. pop rap innit. actually not a million miles from the streets either but mebbe more musical....

She isn't liked because she has a famous Dad who is a "alternative" comedian/personality who rose to fame in the early 80s. He is, by many accounts, somewhat unpleasant as an individual.

I saw Lily Allen at the Big Chill without having read any of the hype or backlash and I thought she was very good. The album has some great tracks on it, as you say PD. Pop music all night long....

The Keith Allen thing doesn't annoy me so much (although the one time I've been in a room with hi, he didn't exactly shine as one of life's nice people to be around), but I do get annoyed by the MySpace hype/free advertising that gets attached to her, ignoring the fact that she is very well-connected already without Murdoch's help.

I think a couple of the tracks on the album are fun enough, but I probably wouldn't have bought it myself - but like bleep, my other half is a big fan. Is it a girl thing, I wonder?

she seems all right i guess, i can't really get too excited about her music to be honest. neither does she inspire hate.

the only thing that i can imagine people getting worked up about is that her accent seems a little put on. she's a posh north london girl who's trying to speak and sing a bit street.

but that's what teenagers do, isn't it? nothing to get angry about. i'm glad that we have pop stars like her- people that are so attuned to, and similar to, their audience. i mean, after the nadir of all those boy bands singing ballads while sitting on stools, to have a pop star that does all the things proper teenagers do, and sings about them, is great.

still don't like her songs all that much, mind, but i like the idea.

I dont like her voice at all. It's thinner than a rizla and it just sounds really unpleasant. She comes across as being very bratty and irritating, I guess teens and popists might get the horn for that but it does nothing for me.

There are thousands of people on myspace way better than her - the only reason she's been picked up is because of who her dad is. Kieth Allen was a Blur hanger-on at the height of Britpop, and as such has probably split lines with practically every decision maker in the UK music industry who now feel that they owe him a favour. It's bollocks celebrity feudal groucho club patronage.

But if you like her tunes PD then go for it. I've spent all morning listening to Steely Dan FFS, so I cant exactly lecture anyone on grounds of taste.

simon silverdollar said:

the only thing that i can imagine people getting worked up about is that her accent seems a little put on. she's a posh north london girl who's trying to speak and sing a bit street.

but that's what teenagers do, isn't it? nothing to get angry about. i'm glad that we have pop stars like her- people that are so attuned to, and similar to, their audience. i mean, after the nadir of all those boy bands singing ballads while sitting on stools, to have a pop star that does all the things proper teenagers do, and sings about them, is great.

still don't like her songs all that much, mind, but i like the idea.

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Amen!

She seems to be getting a lot of hate for a) not being authentic urban / cockney / whatever and b) being heavily marketed. That sounds like rockist talk to me...

"Kieth Allen was a Blur hanger-on at the height of Britpop, and as such has probably split lines with practically every decision maker in the UK music industry who now feel that they owe him a favour. It's bollocks celebrity feudal groucho club patronage."

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That's complete speculation. I got the impression that they weren't that close and she was brought up by her mum, can't really imagine the old git calling in any favours for her to be honest.

Nepotism: the bane of western civilisation.

"Daddy, daddy daddy! I want to be an [actress/model/singer/fashion designer/the head of state] right now!!"

"Okay, okay....wait a minute, daddy's very busy trying to score some of his special white powder at the moment."

"WAAAHHHHH!"

"Alright, alright, I'm making the calls...look, Hello...is that the head of [Virgin Records/Elite model ageny/the Supreme court]?..."

simon silverdollar said:

the only thing that i can imagine people getting worked up about is that her accent seems a little put on. she's a posh north london girl who's trying to speak and sing a bit street.

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she might be posh, but her dad isn't - swansea via south london does not a posho make. would love to hear more stories about his behaviour, the big gossip that i am.

He hung out with New Order and the YBAs during the late 80s to mid 90s.
He wrote the lyrics to John's Barnes corny rap in "World in Motion" and that god-awful "Vindaloo" Euro 2000 song.
One of his fave pranks was to stick his finger up his arse, hold a pint, and then whist sticking it in someone's face ask: "Does this lager smell off to you?"

Imagine "Bartman" with a reggae beat and sung by Lisa - there you go.

"I hate her faux accent having guts"

Yup. But then I heard a Baltimore remix of that popular track and it was quite good. Isn't she, like, this year's Dido or something? Hahahahaahahaha! kissofdeath! *walks away swinging pointed tail in hand*

She is a female mike skinner

She makes good pop records