At the height of Pulp's fame, Jarvis Cocker channeled all his existential dread about celebrity into a chilling epic called "The Fear." Ten years later, Lily Allen -- the funniest British pop star since Jarvis and perhaps the best -- uses the same title to explore paralyzing fame, but instead of turning inward, Lily deflects, pushing all her anxiety into a Paris Hilton wannabe, a "weapon of massive consumption" that we know isn't Lily herself because this girl "doesn't care about clever." Lily, of course, cares very, very much about clever: it's how she defines herself as an artist and as a persona. Her quips are precise in her lyrics and savage in public, as evidenced when she drunkenly baited her co-presenter Elton John at a British awards show. Such displays tend to obscure her considerable skills as a storyteller, a gift that also gets buried beneath tabloid headlines that place her among pop tarts and princesses. Lily is attracted and repelled by fame, adoring the limelight but neither the company or how it forces personal problems to the forefront, and all these contradictions fuel her second album, It's Not Me, It's You.
Like many a bright pop star before her, Allen is feeling a little bit older than her 23 years, knowing that the landscape of her life is changing, and she's dreading her 30s, which still feel very far away. Lily doesn't state this outright, of course: she puts it into the character sketch of "22," just like how she deals with the blizzard of cocaine and pills on "Everyone's at It," registering her sneering disdain for a social scene she's outgrowing yet not quite ready to leave behind. Far from being a crutch, this narrative distancing is Lily's strength: unlike so many of her too-sensitive peers, she doesn't indiscriminately spill emotions onto the page, she picks her targets, choosing to reveal personal secrets we already know -- tellingly, she never addresses her 2008 miscarriage, but happily serves up her dysfunctional relationships with her parents, something that has provided endless column inches in gossip rags. If there's an element of Lily picking low-hanging fruit here and on "The Fear" and on the George W. Bush kiss-off "F*** You" -- or even "Not Fair," a cousin to "Not Big," where Allen laments a lover who is perfect in every way except his inability to make her scream -- the key to any story is how it's told, and telling is Lily's strength, how she ferrets out bypassed details or delivers a well-worn punchline. It's Not Me pushes this talent to the forefront, in part because she works with only one collaborator here: Greg Kurstin, half of the Bird and the Bee and responsible for several cuts on Alright, Still but not the big hits "Smile" and "LDN," which were produced by Mark Ronson. Without Ronson, Lily isn't quite so glitzy or glammy, she even flirts with adult pop without succumbing to tedium. Kurstin doesn't avoid pop hooks or cheeky camp -- "F*** You" galumphs by on a two-step, "He Wasn't There" is music hall pastiche, and "Never Gonna Happen" gives Lily plenty of room to be coyly disingenuous -- but It's Not Me, It's You streamlines Allen's eccentricities and bad habits, holding together in a way the gloriously messy Alright, Still never quite managed. There's a slight drawback to this cohesion -- It's Not Me never hits heights as blinding as "Smile" or "LDN" -- but this approach does wind up spotlighting just how special a pop star Lily Allen is, how she captures all that's wretched and glorious about her time without falling into any of its traps, probably because she's clever enough to avoid them in the first place.
Video: Lily Allen - "Fuck You" (Explicit) A fun, vaguely trippy, first-person perspective video from everybody's favorite snotty Brit, off It's Not Me, It's You, out now. Lily Allen: iTunes, Amazon, Insound, wiki, web, MySpace, twitter....
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Lily Allen rolled into Salt Lake half asleep in a seagull jumper complete with bed head. Initially I hoped the seagull outfit was a thought out allusion to the miraculous city she was visiting, but it was more likely on top of the tourbus hamper. And even though her consciousness was just stirring she captivated the her new fans who were already desperate to love her.The crowd of young girls a...
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Watch Lily's performance now! Also, take it with you with this widget!:
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I remember when Lily Allen was known only for her talent and straightforward music. Right before Amy Winehouse hit it big and overshadowed. Before she was known for blogging her feelings about her weight gain. Before her media back-n-forth with Katy Perry about who’s more real. It sucks. I like [...]Related posts:Bishop Allen - The Broken String Review I found songs by Bishop Allen on YANP.
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It sounds like a friendly little ditty. The sonic atmosphere echoes like a hop-scotching children's tune, but the lyrics are brazenly adult. "So you say it's not OK to be gay/Well I think you're just evil…F*ck you. F*ck you very, very much," sings British songbird Lily Allen in the sweetest tone with only a hint of [...]
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Artist: Lily AllenTitle: It's Not Me, It's YouLabel: CapitolRating: 8/10Corporate line:"It's Not Me, It's You," is the follow-up to Lily Allen's critically acclaimed 2007 debut, Alright, Still. The album finds Lily in top form, creating a record Blender's recent "In The Studio" feature described as "part God, part country and...
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How does one create that perfect pop song? Is the recipe merely a catchy beat and simple lyrics that everyone can sing along to? Perhaps it's just the right marketing? Or is there more to it than that? If you compare
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by Will-W.Although I had my doubts, Lily Allen's sophomore effort It's Not Me, It's You , very much surpasses the greatness of acclaimed debut Alright, Still . To be honest, my expectations were lowered after hearing recent UK number 1 single The Fear . Quite literally, Lily singing about wanting to get slim and rich (in no particular order of preference), isn't treading territory that wa...
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Fucking brills. Seamlessly genre skipping from vaudeville to baroque, pop and rock to hip-hop and everything in between, we are in love. And that's all ya need to know.
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After nearly four years, Lily Allen has finally begun to make headlines for all the right reasons again. Next week will see the release of the original MySpace Starlet's sophomore attempt, It's Not Me, It's You , featuring the thoughts and fears of a 22-year-old poised at the precipice of adulthood. Not a girl, not yet a woman, as a wise woman may have once said years ago. Accordingly, the ...
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Fucking brills. Seamlessly genre skipping from vaudeville to baroque, pop and rock to hip-hop and everything in between, we are in love. And that's all ya need to know.
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Anyone who loves music will tell you that they love learning tid bits about their favorite artists. In fact, when people post things like that here on mog I store that information away in a little part of my brain, one that I make sure to keep organized at all times. Some of the news you get is good, and sometimes you kind of wish you had never learned it in the first place.I am currently deali...
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I don't like country music.And I don't like Lily Allen.So why on earth am I enjoying this so much?!Video instead of audio because it's a very cool one:Could it be a symptom of swine flu?Oink oink!
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Brand new video from Lily Allen for her new European single; off her sophomore release, It’s Not Me, It’s You. I’m with Liz (over at MyPoproks) on questioning how this joint is getting radio play? It’s a fresh song but how can you edit out the fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck? Haha…
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Lily Allen has a lot riding on her shoulders. First, she's got to live up to the platinum successes of her 2006 debut Alright, Still on her sophomore album It's Not Me, It's You, due in 2009. Girlfriend took 3 years between albums and is working with Alright, Still producer Mark Ronson and Greg Kurstin (Beck, Rilo Kiley).In what will be the three years between Allen's two albums the pop world h...
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Lily Allen rolled into Salt Lake half asleep in a seagull jumper complete with bed head. Initially I hoped the seagull outfit was a thought out allusion to the miraculous city she was visiting, but it was more likely on top of the tourbus hamper. And even though her consciousness was just stirring she captivated the her new fans who were already desperate to love her.The crowd of young girls a...
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Well I don't pay attention to much of the stuff that goes on throughout MOG. So while I was asleep, can someone update me on what the fuck the MOG Music Network is? And...why should I care????
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"The Fear" is the lead single by British singer Lily Allen, from her second album It's Not Me, It's You, released on February 10, 2009. I became aware of it through my British friends Sonya & Shuie, a husband and wife duo, who perfromed a superb and soulful cover that I think surpasses the pop treatment given to Lily's single. Here's a video of Sonya & Shuie with lyrics. Notice how Shuie is pla...
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Lily Allen is boss. End of. A supposed symbol of our modern day youth culture Lily is as far removed from our average 23 year old as Channel 4’s Skins is from teenage kicks in suburban Ireland. However her appeal is wide and tonight’s attendance at The Academy is as varied…
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Paying homage to the iconic country music star Porter Wagoner and his 20+ year long running show bearing his name, Lily Allen kicks up a southern heel in her new video for Not Fair, from her latest album, It's Not Me, It's You.While the lyrics of the song stray towards the provacative side, Allen keeps her charming appeal alive in a white body/pantsuit and gold pumps to die for. The farm animal...
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A couple new ones off of the upcoming It's Not Me, It's You , out February 10th. Lily fans are giving it solid reviews so far. Thanks to Kickin The Peanuts . Lily Allen - Not Fair Lily Allen - Who'd Have Known PigeonsandPlanes
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Myspace is premiering the new Lily Allen album, It's Not Me, It's You, beginning today, so fans can get a listen before the album hits stores next Tuesday.Allen's music has been compared to artists as varied as Kate Bush, the Scissor Sisters. She's got a short US tour scheduled for April beginning in San Diego.
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New video for Lily Allen's track "22" which is off of her *It's Not Me, It's You* album.Pigeons and Planes
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What's this? Two [2!] Lily Allen posts in a row? Yeah, that's how we're rolling this morning. Admittedly, not the HUGEST Allen fans here, although we can say that old girl worked it out on her new album, It's Not Me, It's You.One of the highlights of the album is The Fear, a gorgeously constructed song that we can't deny the beauty of. But then we got a buttery smooth and luscious remix from Ou...
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Lily Allen has set up a new blog to post messages against unauthorised file-sharing from fellow musicians.In a message to fellow artists, Allen said file-sharing was "having a damaging effect on British music. "It eats away at opportunity for new artists because there is less money for record labels to spend on signing and developing new artists. The majority of British artists are against file...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Everyone's at It |
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| 2 The Fear |
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| 3 Not Fair |
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| 4 22 |
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| 5 I Could Say |
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| 6 Back to the Start |
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| 7 Never Gonna Happen |
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| 8 F*** You |
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| 9 Who'd Have Known |
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| 10 Chinese |
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| 11 Him |
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| 12 He Wasn't There |
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| 13 [CD-Rom Track] |
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Click to purchase…
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 "It's Not Me, It's You")
