Avril Lavigne’s self-titled album from 2013 was highly slept on by the music industry and the general public. The album still contained some of Avril Lavigne’s iconic piano ballads and heavy rock influences. The album itself is a Here’s To Never Growing Up.
However music critics grew tired of her ideas and anthems. Many music critics responded with mixed reviews. Avril Lavigne’s self-titled album was her least successful album to date despite having Here’s To Never Growing Up and Rock N Roll as buzz singles. The album peaked at #5 on the BillBoard 200 yet suffered from low sales.
If the songs What The Hell, Wish You Were Here, Everybody Hurts, Not Enough, and Smile were included on this album, the this album would have been more of a success. Now if Avril paid attention to the backlash of controversy over the Hello Kitty music video, then her career and album sales would not have suffered.
Avril Lavigne went back to her rebellious punk rock roots on the song Here’s To Never Growing Up. It's about being young and wanting to be young forever while living in the moment by having fun. The song itself is a nostalgia trip. Its music video on YouTube received millions of views online. Here’s To Never Growing Up was a hit and the lead single.
This song has a moderate tempo of 82 bpm and is composed almost entirely in the key of F major. This song has a moderate tempo similar to Complicated from 2002. The song has a “punch” in its sound due to constant usage of a kick drum. Guitars and drums are the melody.
At the beginning is where Avril references English rock band Radiohead. Ironically Radiohead is also featured in the chorus. At the chorus, she continues "We'll be running down the street yelling kiss my ass"
Avril declares her celebration to never maturing in the second verse. It is clearly a "celebration of being forever young".:
This is who we are
I don't think we'll ever change
They say 'Just grow up.’
but they don't know us
We don't give a fuck!
And we’re never gonna change
The songwriting on Hush Hush conveys such deep meaning as the song emits a barrage of feelings. Feelings such as regret, anger, hopefulness, and desperation. Hush Hush is a piano driven ballad that is an original song written by Avril Lavigne herself.
The song starts with a calm vibe where Avril whispers “hush” repeatedly. She seems to be trying to calm someone down or maybe even herself. This could have been after a fight or a breakdown. The chorus is full of pain and regret. She whispers in a peaceful and comforting way “hush hush” planing to ease the sorrow along with the mood.
Verse 2 is where Avril is now filled with regret.
[Verse 2]
When I try to forget you
I just keep on remembering
What we had, it was so true
And somehow we lost everything
Hush hush, now (Hush hush, now)
The chorus is also filled with pain, sorrow, and regret as well.
Rock N Roll has some fun, rebellious anthems. The song is about care-free non-conformance where Avril sing-shouts lyrics in her usual cadence and piercing voice. Her usual piercing falling cadence shimmers throughout the song. Chords from the guitar are electronically synchronized to a full drum kit.
This rock song is similar to classic rock anthems such as I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll, Detroit Rock City, I Wanna Rock, and We Will Rock You. The song itself pays homage and tribute to the genre of rock music hence the appropriate title.
Avril does not care about conforming to current trends of music set up by the corporate executives who control the music market. She does not care about conforming up to the standards of mainstream hipster music. Verse 1 sums up everything about Avril not conforming to current trends of music.
[Verse 1]
I don't care about my makeup
I like it better with my jeans all ripped up
Don't know how to keep my mouth shut
You say, "So what?" (What)
I don't care if I'm a misfit
I like it better than the hipster bullshit
I am the motherfuckin' princess
You still love it
You know what she’s really all about. She reminds us that she is still the princess of rock ‘n roll. It was due to her success int he early 2000s that she had earned this nickname. Avril Lavigne is the Punk Rock Princess. She stays true to what she does. She does not care about reputation unlike everybody today.
The chorus is full of rebellion as hinted in the lyrics.
[Chorus]
When it's you and me
We don't need no one to tell us who to be
We'll keep turning up the radio
What if you and I
Just put up a middle finger to the sky?
Let 'em know that we're still rock n roll
Hello Kitty as a song was a PR disaster. The Hello Kitty music video was slammed by the news media along with the press. Avril Lavigne was accused of racism and cultural appropriation (or misappropriation depending on how you look at it) over the video's stereotypical depiction of Japanese culture. Avril Lavigne did not take the backlash very seriously which her hurt music career in a sense.
Mix the subgenres of J-pop, dubstep, and EDM, and the result is this song called Hello Kitty. The song is clearly inspired by J-pop. The song uses both the Japanese language and English language.
Bitchin’ Summer is a mid tempo carefree song about harmless rebelliousness. The motto to the song Bitchin’ Summer is “Come and party, do it while we're young”.
The time period of this song takes place just seconds before school is out. Everyone is waiting on the bell. The anxiety and tension is high in the air. The sun is shinin' down. A couple seconds, kids will be raisin' hell.
Now school is finally out! It's gonna be a bitchin' summer. Nothing else matters. So we might as well party while we're young.
Falling Fast is a song that would fit appropriately on a Taylor Swift album due to its melody and pop rock elements. The song seems to be a pop rock crossover. The whole song is about falling fast.
I rate this album 3/5***!
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