November 27, 200816 yr 20 things you need to know about the new Lily Allen album Story filed Thursday, 27 November 2008 http://www.popjustice.com/images/stories/l/lilyallenalbum.gif 1. We've been listening to this rather a lot over the last week or two and the findings of our in depth research are that it is really extremely good: funny, sad, clever and accessible with big tunes and fresh, sometimes unique production. 2. If you liked the synthy direction of the tracks Lily has been posting on her MySpace over the last year or so you're in luck - about four or five of the tracks here fall into that category. That's one of the album's three distinct sounds. 3. Sound number two is the dreaded (but in Lily's hands not unpleasant) genre of 'acousticy'. 4. Finally, a handful of tracks echo the fairgroundish sonic playfulness of 'Alfie' from the last album. 5. 'Him' is a song about God (NO WAIT COME BACK) which ponders what He gets up to in His spare time, and suspects that despite all these things we don't know about Him it's fair to assume He's a bit bored of the whole killing each other business. So while the verses wonder about whether He drives without insurance, whether he's been done for tax evasion, whether he can remember people's names or whether he's taken smack or cocaine - climaxing with the fantastic couplet "I don't imagine He's ever been suicidal, His favourite band is Creedence Clearwater Revivial" - the chorus is less jovial: "ever since He can remember people have died in his good name, long before that September, long before hijacking planes. He's lost the will he can't decide, he doesn't know who's right or wrong, but there's one thing that he's sure of - this has been going on too long". No doubt this song will be interpreted as being wildly controversial and while there's no doubt that Lily knows what she's doing it's all beautifully phrased. Its classic Allen, really - having a laugh then catching you off guard. 6. A song called '22' finds Lily looking at the life of a celebrity and wondering where it all went wrong - "I see that look in her face, she's got that look in her eye, she's thinking how did I get here and wondering why". There'll be assumptions about who this song is about but we don't know one way or the other so we'll leave that to other people. 7. The album's called 'It's Not Me, It's You', by the way. 8. The first single, 'The Fear', is out in January. It's one of the tracks Lily posted on her MySpace ages ago. It could be adopted as an anthem for a generation of London-based microcelebrities whose lives revolve around appearances in freesheet newspapers - a celebration of defiant self-belief followed by crushing doubt and worthlessness. So you get "it doesn't matter cos I'm packing plastic, and that's what makes my life so f***ing fantastic, and I am a weapon of massive consumption, it's not my fault it's how I'm programmed to function", then you get "I don't know what's right and what's real any more, I don't know how I'm meant to feel any more, and when do you think it will all become clear? Cos I'm being taken over by the fear". The Girls Aloud fans among you will know what we mean when we say that it's all a bit 'Swinging London Town'. 9. We also like 'Not Fair', which might have been aiming for a Last Shadow Puppets 'vibe' but really hurls itself headfirst into our favourite new genre: Stupid Country. It's a song about not getting banged senseless quite to one's liking: "I'm feeling pretty damn hard done by, I spent ages giving head", "there's just one thing that's getting in the way, when we go up to bed you're just no good" etc etc. 10. The whole album's been done with Greg Kurstin (Dragonette, All Saints, Kylie, Little Boots etc) which means that it hangs together in the way that albums are supposed to hang together, but Kurstin has more tricks than most ponies in the pop paddock so showcases various different types of knob-twiddling to keep things interesting. 11. 'Back To The Start' is a song about growing up and realising you don't hate people, and that it's all better when everyone just gets along and so on. In this track Lily explores the silly decisions we make in life, like so: "when we were growing up you always looked like you were having such fun - you always were and you always will be the taller and prettier one. People seem to love you, they gravitate towards you, that's why I started to hate you so much." ...And then there's a half-rapped, half-sung, generally-trilled chorus asking for forgiveness and wondering whether it's too late to go back to the start and try again. Which is a beautiful sentiment. 12. 'f*** You', previously known as 'GWB' and 'Guess Who Batman', is Lily's big political rant against George W Bush. It might have seemed quite daring when it was written but with a new President already picking out curtains for the White House you can't help but feel that the world has now moved on and that the song (still a few months from release) might have been better off with a bit of a lyrical spring clean. It wouldn't have taken much, just a few changes of tense here and there. Still, the tune, from its Carpenters-meets-Theme-From-Neighbours intro to the incredible "f*** you, f*** you very very much" chorus, is irresistably fun and sweary. Sample lyric: "do you get a little kick out of being small minded? You want to be like your father, it's approval you're after, well that's not how you find it. Do you really enjoy living a life that's so hateful? 'Cos there's a hole where your heart should be you're losing control a bit and it's really distasteful. You say you think we need to go to war. Well, we're already in one". *Ben Elton face* 13. What with this being a second album, 'Chinese' is the obligatory on-the-road/missing-everyone-back-home tune. One of the things we like about this track, and a few others on the album, is that it looks at one of the criticisms levelled at Lily and the slew of girls who charted in her slipstream ("it's all just songs about sitting around doing nothing") and doesn't give a $h!t. Instead, it throws the criticism back by celebrating the joy of sitting around doing nothing in a warm, romantic and likeable way. Here is how it goes: "I see you from the sky and I wonder how long it will take for me to get home. I wait for an hour or so at the carousel, I have a cigarette to pass the time because the traffic's hell. I don't want anything more than to see your face when you open the door - you make me beans on toast and a nice cup of tea, we'll get a Chinese and watch TV". Blub-o-rama etc. (This all depends on whether you like Lily or not - if you're not a fan you'll probably want her to be sitting on that baggage carousel crying for eight hours.) 14. The album finishes with a nice song about Lily's dad Keith. "I'm so pleased I never gave up on him - although you wouldn't believe some of the things he did. Everyone said you have to give him some, and I'm glad I gave it to him cos now everything's fine." V nice. 15. Never Gonna Happen has got AN ACCORDION IN IT. 16. 'Who'd Of Known' is the one Lily had on her MySpace with Take That's 'Shine' chorus. (It's lovely.) 17. We don't know what the sleeve will look like - chances are it won't look much like our $h!t screengrab of an iTunes music folder. 18. We're beginning to regret this '20 things' idea now. 19. Still, almost there. 20. In summary, at the end of one of our longest and most shoddily written Popjustice posts of recent times, this album is a big relief and incredibly enjoyable, and it's still getting better with every listen. The lyrical themes range from the sublime to the ridiculous, but nobody says this sort of stuff quite like Lily Allen. Most people never even say it at all. After what seems like a lifetime of pointless media coverage and a truly woeful television programme it's great to have Lily back on popstar duty and we reckon the material here is strong enough to remind a lot of people why they liked her in the first place.
December 22, 200816 yr http://www.7digital.com/artists/lily-allen...not-me-its-you/ Album clips on there yeahh.
December 26, 200816 yr I have the album. Yay for knowing special friends. I've listened to it twice and at the moment it's not a patch on 'Alright, Still' but I still loveeee. Don't be fooled by the album clips especially the one for 'Back To The Start' tis my fave. The album will probably leak within the next week I'd have thought.
December 28, 200816 yr Hmmm j'adore still but I really don't see anything doing well as a single at all really after 'The Fear'. I'd have thought it will go: The Fear > Everyone's At It > I Could Say. The only track I dislike is 'Chinese' I'm all for her having random real life lyrics but this is just silly. Edited December 28, 200816 yr by Ryan
December 28, 200816 yr the clips sound really good, i have a soft spot for Who'd Have Known f*** You could be an alfie style hit
December 31, 200816 yr LOVE THE CLIPS!! I could stay is just AMAZING, hopefully a single! can't wait for the hole album
January 3, 200916 yr 'Back to the Start' IMMENSE I so want to hear more of this :o :D 'Chinese' sounds really interesting too I think those are my favorite unheard tracks, I was a little surprised to see ALL of Lily's myspace trackson the album (not because they don't deserve to be just I never thought she would want for half of her album to be leaked all over the internet before it's been released) but I'm still certain this will be one of THE must-have albums of 2009 - bring on February!
January 4, 200916 yr I know I'm really late, but I can't stop listening to I Could Say. Overtaken Friday Night as my favourite Lily song I think :wub: Absolutely love The Fear too, can't wait for this album!
January 18, 200916 yr OMG the new chorus for Who'd Of Known is horrible. The demo is amazing but I really hate the final version.
January 21, 200916 yr I love the new 'Who'd Of Known'! I really do seem to be the only one though. Really nice and sweet song makes me feel all warm lolz.
January 22, 200916 yr The Observer Review: ***** (Yes, 5! :o) It's been two-and-a-half years since the release of Allen's 2.5 million-selling debut album Alright, Still. The girl exploded onto a grateful pop scene like a female Mike Skinner with catchier tunes, spawned a slew of largely dreadful snotty girl imitators... and then appeared to spend two years trying to be Jade Goody. Those of us who suspected she was one of the great pop singers and lyricists of her age began to wonder if she was too busy being yet another embarrassing celebrity to do the hard work of making music again. Lily Allen It's not me, It's You Regal, CD 2009 Yet Allen kept insisting that she was just taking her time to get the difficult second album right, and, for once, the delaying tactic has paid off. It's Not Me, It's You is a wonderful record, and, better than that, a pop album brave enough to have a go at defining the times. If Allen wanted to dodge the inevitable backlash about her lack of working-class authenticity and play it safe, the worst possible thing she could do was write songs about George W Bush (f*** You), drugs (Everybody's at It), celebrity (The Fear), God (Him) and her father (He Wasn't There). She went right ahead and did it anyway. This is heroic pop star behaviour. The album's first single, The Fear, is the state-of-the-nation hit that Britain deserves. As the country cringes in the face of recession, Allen's simple connections between celebrity, consumerism and a culture that feels aimless and scared capture the moment, as classic pop is meant to do. It's followed by the best example of her other side, the dirty, personal-political joke. Not Fair sees producer Greg Kurstin invent electro-bluegrass, and deals with the dilemma of meeting the perfect caring, sharing boyfriend, who, unfortunately, is rubbish in bed. "I look into your eyes I want to get to know yer/ And then you make this noise and it's apparent it's all over," Lily deadpans as the song linedances jauntily. It's Not Me, It's You is buoyed by Kurstin's bravura blend of unlikely musical styles - music hall, country, tango, klezmer, Eurovision - and Allen's dismayed and amused take on the perennial modern life is rubbish theme. It's all agreeably reminiscent of peak period Madness, while the dreamy deftness of the more electronic moments echoes Abba and the Pet Shop Boys. Elsewhere, f*** You is an anti-Nazi rant in the style of the Carpenters; Him is a faux-naive pondering of God's character which features the line that his favourite band is Creedence Clearwater Revival; He Wasn't There forgives her dad, Keith Allen, for crimes past over synthetic swing; and the stunning 22 is the kinder twin of Amy Winehouse's f*** Me Pumps, in its take on a woman who parties away her twenties and then has nothing better to aim for than getting a man. Like Winehouse, Allen embodies a post-feminist feminism that young working-class girls might understand on an instinctive rather than intellectual level. Nothing on the album is really aimed towards men, unless they're the butt of the joke or the object of desire. And in the latter category, Who'd Have Known and Chinese are lovely evocations of the simple pleasures of the beginnings of love affairs. (Parents be warned, though: much of this record will prove too rude for Lily's many pre-teen fans.) The best thing about It's Not Me, It's You, though, is Allen's voice. Frankly, I don't give a damn if she learnt cockney at the feet of Dick Van bloomin' Dyke, because it's the balance between the earthiness of her accent and the creaminess of her tone that is the killer element in her pop arsenal; the natural sad smile in her voice lends sincerity to sentiments both cruel and kind. And when our obsession with the aspirational looks increasingly like a global joke, a voice that sounds like we really talk and feel, and makes that sound beautiful, is just the ticket. Lily Allen is the perfect pop star for these crumbling times, and this album is the proof.
January 22, 200916 yr A couple of tracks have leaked. I've not heard them though. I think the whole album will leak soon. I'm surprised it hasn't already because it seems like a lot of people have heard it already.
January 23, 200916 yr On iTunes, are the acoustic versions of The Fear and He Wasn't There pre-order only or not?
January 28, 200916 yr OMG the new chorus for Who'd Of Known is horrible. The demo is amazing but I really hate the final version. I completely agree :( The new version just makes me associate it completely with 'Shine'. I couldn't hear the similarities in the demo version tbh though!
January 28, 200916 yr I've promised myself not listen to the 30 second clips or any leaked stuff until the actual release of the album! It's killing me but I think it'll be worth it
Create an account or sign in to comment