Lily Allen - This summers biggest racist?

while lily's got some intimation of who's calling the shots in her vid, i think part of the reason these "i'm different!" songs always veer towards "lol at gold chains" is because they're never really going to bite the hand that feeds them.

I do definitely think race has a part in it. I mentioned "Bad Romance" upthread because the first half or so (everything but the ending, that is) is basically what this video would look like if there were no racial stuff

(also because the whole fake-handlers-illuminati-conspiracy angle is just so cliched at this point that it baffles me how person after person can treat it as not cliched.)

i don't think it's really "lol hip hop" ... i mean the cover art of 'alright, still' trades in obvious hip hop visuals. also one of her first songs was a remix of "window shopper"

i think it's more... "lol at girls like miley cyrus who approach rap culture in a really baldfaced, sloppy manner" which is a valid point of critique but i don't think the video makes that point well at all, and is in fact mostly guilty of the same sins

that's the thing - the message is so vague (beyond that lily allen obv thinks she's above everything in pop music) that there's no wrong way to be offended by it

The video's message is so muddled though. It opens satirizing the music industry for suggesting Allen is too fat and for enforcing impossible beauty standards, then just one minute later gawks mockingly at black women for having actual asses.

i think it's more... "lol at girls like miley cyrus who approach rap culture in a really baldfaced, sloppy manner" which is a valid point of critique but i don't think the video makes that point well at all, and is in fact mostly guilty of the same sins

Yeah, I've been trying to put this exact thought together, but it came to J0rdan first.

knowing more about allen and paying closer attention the video may nuance your sense of what she's going for, but no one owes you a look through wikipedia before saying "fuck this shit"

well, people getting paid to write about you might benefit from having something to share, but casual viewers are free to just say "no, this sucks"

i think fuck this shit has been everyone itt's initial response

yeah there's a valid point that could be made about how it's apparently 'hard out here' for black women (who aren't the lead artist at least) to be in videos for anything other than ass-based purposes (which in turn fuels this same generalisation about them in both directions) but can't see how this video was aiming for anything like that when it's just showing the exact same thing in the same way even if it's meant to be sarcastic, tongue in cheek or whatever

I see what this is trying to do, but the satire feels too forced, too direct, too slapstick. Crudely so. It's not half as smart as it thinks it is or it ought to be. In fact it's not even as smart as the stuff it's meant to be exposing, which isn't saying very much.

That's a nice summation of Allen overall.

Well, this won't be getting Best Music Writing anytime soon: http://flavorwire.com/424859/hard-out-here-proves-lily-allen-is-the-pop-star-we-need-in-2013

We live in a post-Miley Cyrus / post-trollgaze world.

Sure, the video for (and the lyrics in) “Hard Out Here” is heavy-handed — not to mention the fact that the cadre of mostly black backup dancers twerking and getting their asses slapped in slow motion muddies the satirical message a bit. But the pretty blatant disses at the heavy hitters on the current pop charts are perfect. There’s Cyrus’ twerking, Gaga’s cheeky product placement and transparent media critiques, even a reference to Robin Thicke’s embarrassing bragging about the size of his penis, and acknowledgment of all three performer’s cultural appropriations. All comparisons of raw talent aside, Lily Allen seems to be the only pop performer still standing who has the self-awareness and wit to nail such a timely message in the space of a four-minute pop song.

how soon we forget weird al

not to mention pink

not to mention

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ht5RZpzPqw

People think of Weird Al first and foremost as a comedian, I believe.

that piece makes no sense

how can you write these two sentences back to back and not notice a problem

Sure, the video for (and the lyrics in) “Hard Out Here” is heavy-handed — not to mention the fact that the cadre of mostly black backup dancers twerking and getting their asses slapped in slow motion muddies the satirical message a bit. But the pretty blatant disses at the heavy hitters on the current pop charts are perfect.

"the execution of this video and song is heavy-handed and muddled but also PERFECT"

I am no expert on youtube views but isn't 70 000 low for someone as big as Lily Allen?

Youtube freezes view counts on first-day/viral videos in the initial hours.

yeah there was a while where "301 Views" was a pretty reliable indicator of "this is big"

It's getting hard out herre...

:(

can't respect writers who start sentences with "Sure"

sure you can

"Sure" followed by equivocation. It's the Jonah Goldberg Rule.

Popjustice like it too. Apparently it's heart is in the right place..hmm.

http://www.popjustice.com/songs/lily-allen-hard-out-here/

"While her last album showcased the sort of scalpel-sharp social commentary and deft put-downs that have been missing from pop in the age of #clubLOLZ, Allen fans will have to make do, for now at least, with a cover of Keane's Somewhere Only We Know to mark her return. And it's nice and pleasant and all those sorts of adjectives, with Allen's delicate and deftly nuanced vocal rooted firmly on the right side of schmaltz. Fingers crossed the comeback proper is slightly less warm and cosy, though."

Translated, this means its fucking awful, yeah?

(From The Guardian).

scalpel-sharp metaphors

Here's the Keane cover/ad for people who haven't seen it yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqWig2WARb0

People who I respect *like* that advert.

I think it's a good helping of cuddlestein for the holiday, and the creation/animation is top-notch.

Not sure why Keane and not sure why Lily Allen.

think it sucks - wtf is the point of it - like "oh we just don't think enough of cartoon bears as we stuff our faces and spend at christmas, won't someone spare a thought for fictional characters created by a department store, they are literally the only living things on earth who don't get to share in the xmas fun".

bear-hating hare freaks won't let the bears sleep

LET THINGS SLEEP

why is the john lewis xmas advert a cultural event in this fucking country, vile racist performer or no

i like when she actually points out that she's being SARCASTIC in the lyrics as if we didn't get the drift

lily allen is human trash

Whatever, I like the ad itself. Just don't care about the music in it.

I fear it being reproduced for the US, because I know they'd use Zooey Deschanel.

it's an ADVERT

i like that keane song and can think of far worse things for lily allen to do than cover it. especially today.

it's an ADVERT

So that disqualifies it dead stop from being likable in any way?

she covered it about a week ago

as i said, she's being fast-tracked to national treasure status, and even being a vile racist more than once isn't going to stop her

it is totally on you and not my problem if you want to give a shit about an advert

why is the john lewis xmas advert a cultural event in this fucking country

because Woolworth's went bust is the tragic but likely true answer

Hey guys, guys, I don't know WHAT you're talking about because get this: I don't watch TV. In fact, I don't even know if I own a TV.