Interesting Ordinary Pop

Interesting Ordinary Pop

Matthew Winters

There is always that girl at the party. She is instantly attractive to everyone in the room, but she keeps her distance from the pretty boys and the poppy girls, instead she favors the nerds and the smart kids. She always has the best stories in the room, like the time she met that famous man and all the "The Fear" she had when she met him. She is accessible and she has been hurt by men, but is funny about it and laughs.

If the party were the current pop music scene, British singer Lily Allen would be that girl. Pop is her game and she is at the top of it. With the help of some very good production, courtesy of Greg Kurstin of "The Bird And The Bee, "and a razor sharp wit; Lily's new album It's Not Me, It's You is a tour de force of pop.

No topic is taboo to her. "Everyone's At It" brings the idea that everyone is doing drugs to the front of the page, and with a sashaying electro beat to boot. "Not Fair" is the song for any girl that has thought that they had the perfect man until they get him into bed.

"Never Gonna Happen" is the perfect song for any person who has dealt with a member of the opposite sex who does not get the hint that you do not like them.
The most staggering thing about It's Not Me, It's You is how quick it can change gears. The anti-racist "F*** You" is placed right between the perfectly beautiful "Who'd Have Known" and "Never Gonna Happen". It can be a little jarring.
However it does not take away from the album as a whole. This album, like her previous effort Alright, Still and close kin The Streets' A Grand Don't Come For Free, has the air of bringing to light very ordinary things about life and turning them into pop masterpieces.

That is the true magic of Lily's music, and much like the girl at the party, they are both so interestingly ordinary.

Originally Published in The WSU Signpost 2/27/09