500 words about Avril Lavigne
Pre-bed channel surfing led to me momentarily happening upon a rerun of this afternoon's Much on Demand (MuchonDemand?) , which, these weeks being these weeks and said weeks being the weeks following the release of Avril Lavigne's latest single and CanCon restrictions being CanCon restrictions, meant I unsurprisingly enough got to see Ms. Lavigne in video form.
I thus note my pleasure that she remains looking rather fecund, and continues to very carefully balance the trashy and drunk-doable with the inaccessible starlet thing. Full marks to her stylists. They wanted to plant the idea in my head that I could hypothetically bump into her and Spouse41 outside some shitty club, talk some smack, give said kid a titular Fat Lip/Pain for Pleasure and lead her giggling approvingly away to the corner for her Happy Ending. And they did. Crafty buggers.
With Ms. Lavigne's continued movement deeper into the heart of her third decade, I can also happily report that the trend line involving the progressive removal of her clothing continues where we left off after album number 2. It would appear fishnet legwear has now fully supplanted ersatz neckties as Ms. Lavigne's identifier of choice. This development I greet with considerable glee. And, I daresay, redirected circulation.
Mind you, enough talk about that. How about some sensible cultural commentary?
See, I believe this video marks the first time we have seen an interface between the concept of Lavigne and the concept of choreography, more specifically the school that traces its ancestry back to Michael Jackson and his assorted zombie groupies.
Yup, li'l Avril has taken it upon herself to do the dance routine thing. Now, we're talking entry level here: Avril, looking calculatedly accessible in her aforementioned hosiery, sort of shimmies in the middle of a pack of reasonably attractive contemporaries; not quite a full-on "Baby One More Time" dance-pop setup, more shades of Gwen Stefani crossover girlrock/dance-pop. Hesitant and restrained as it might be, the line has nonetheless been crossed.
Interestingly, other shots in the video make a point of showing Avril, true rocker that she is, playing along on guitar. Its smells suspiciously like the music video director got cold feet that this might be cited as the video where Avril went Britney and needed a visual counterweight. And, to be fair, Avril looks more natural hammering away on an electric guitar than Lance Bass ever would.
Still, I can't help but feel that with Ms. Spears's fade into self-parody, the brains behind Avril Inc. have realized the coast is clear to drop the act. When bubblegum starlets lipsynching over canned beats dreamed up by fabulously wealthy black men was the hegemonic force in youth music, it was absolutely essential Avril keep both feet planted on the stage, guitar slung over her shoulder, clothing loosely covering her skin. Anything less would call into question her place as pop's Joan of Arc, standing at the head of the army of instrument-wielding non-dancing eyeliner-wearing rebels.
But those days are gone. France is free. My Chemical Romance has sacked the capital. And I'm jonesing for a piece of Joan's ass.
Edit: The artistry in question:
I thus note my pleasure that she remains looking rather fecund, and continues to very carefully balance the trashy and drunk-doable with the inaccessible starlet thing. Full marks to her stylists. They wanted to plant the idea in my head that I could hypothetically bump into her and Spouse41 outside some shitty club, talk some smack, give said kid a titular Fat Lip/Pain for Pleasure and lead her giggling approvingly away to the corner for her Happy Ending. And they did. Crafty buggers.
With Ms. Lavigne's continued movement deeper into the heart of her third decade, I can also happily report that the trend line involving the progressive removal of her clothing continues where we left off after album number 2. It would appear fishnet legwear has now fully supplanted ersatz neckties as Ms. Lavigne's identifier of choice. This development I greet with considerable glee. And, I daresay, redirected circulation.
Mind you, enough talk about that. How about some sensible cultural commentary?
See, I believe this video marks the first time we have seen an interface between the concept of Lavigne and the concept of choreography, more specifically the school that traces its ancestry back to Michael Jackson and his assorted zombie groupies.
Yup, li'l Avril has taken it upon herself to do the dance routine thing. Now, we're talking entry level here: Avril, looking calculatedly accessible in her aforementioned hosiery, sort of shimmies in the middle of a pack of reasonably attractive contemporaries; not quite a full-on "Baby One More Time" dance-pop setup, more shades of Gwen Stefani crossover girlrock/dance-pop. Hesitant and restrained as it might be, the line has nonetheless been crossed.
Interestingly, other shots in the video make a point of showing Avril, true rocker that she is, playing along on guitar. Its smells suspiciously like the music video director got cold feet that this might be cited as the video where Avril went Britney and needed a visual counterweight. And, to be fair, Avril looks more natural hammering away on an electric guitar than Lance Bass ever would.
Still, I can't help but feel that with Ms. Spears's fade into self-parody, the brains behind Avril Inc. have realized the coast is clear to drop the act. When bubblegum starlets lipsynching over canned beats dreamed up by fabulously wealthy black men was the hegemonic force in youth music, it was absolutely essential Avril keep both feet planted on the stage, guitar slung over her shoulder, clothing loosely covering her skin. Anything less would call into question her place as pop's Joan of Arc, standing at the head of the army of instrument-wielding non-dancing eyeliner-wearing rebels.
But those days are gone. France is free. My Chemical Romance has sacked the capital. And I'm jonesing for a piece of Joan's ass.
Edit: The artistry in question:
Labels: avril lavigne, crushes, deryck whibley, music, pop culture, video
posted by Tom at 2:02 AM
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