Saturday, July 18, 2009

On repeat.

When it comes to music, I tend to listen to the same artist non-stop for a period of time. Right now, that artist is Lily Allen.

The first song I heard by her was "Not Fair," which was recommended to me by a friend. I immediately loved this song, and was surprised by its rather feminist undertones. The song, to me, is about her being unhappy with not being satisfied in bed. The idea that women should (and deserve to) enjoy sex is a very feminist idea, but it isn't something that is discussed often, especially in the music world. Lily Allen calls out her lover for not putting in the effort to satisfy her, saying "all you do is take," and she isn't subtle about this topic. hat's a large part of why I love her music.

Her song "22" is also feminist in its lyrics. It tells the story of a 30-year-old woman whom "society says her life is already over." This touches on a really messed up reality for women in Western society, where they are de-valued as they age, much like the objects they are treated as. Their only hope often seems to lie in the hands of men, who if they choose a woman, can return some of her value to her. I think that Allen captures this idea well in this song, as well as the unhappiness that this problem can inflict.

I don't know much about Lily Allen as a person, but as a musician, I think highly of her. I recommend her music to all our readers who aren't afraid of blatant lyrics about sometimes-challenging topics.

4 comments:

wondering said...

The first Lily Allen song I ever heard was "Fuck you" - in the video that a bunch of teen fans put together.

So. Awesome.

Amelia said...

I really like that song, too. It amazes me that she made it, just because it doesn't seem "cool" to write a song as blatant as that one. But she did, and I love her for it.

lindsay said...

She keeps me sane at work! I love the album with those songs.

Patrick said...

I have been listening to Lily Allen since I stumbled upon her on youtube parodying an English Cadbury Candy Commercial. I started searching her songs and quickly became enamored with her catchy beats and awesome lyrics. It is funny because the first time I listened to "22" I was thinking that Aimee (or do you go by Amelia now?) would really enjoy her for her lyrics. Anyway, it's my first time reading your blog and I find it very interesting and I will definitely look forward to what else you have to say!