Tonight: Lily Allen at First Avenue

*MP3: Lily Allen - "Not Fair"

Lily Allen is playing at the First Avenue Mainroom tonight with openers Natalie Portman's Shaved Head. Doors open at 7pm and the show is 18+.

MySpace

(Ian Anderson)

Lily Allen - "Womanizer" (Britney Spears Cover)

Download: Lily Allen - "Womanizer" (Britney Spears Cover)

Lily Allen takes a clever spin on this Britney Spears jam. If the production was upped, this could really make the original a good run for its money.

Lily Allen on MySpace

Lily Allen - "The Fear"

Download: Lily Allen - "The Fear"

Lily Allen has released a new single alongside a video. Better or worse than her last album?

Lily Allen on MySpace

New Video: Lily Allen - "The Fear"

The Fear video

Tay Zonday Covers Lily Allen's "Smile"

(YouTube via S-Gum)

Download: Lily Allen - "Smile"

Lily Allen had her television debut earlier this week on BBC 3 and one of her first guests was Minneapolis-based "internet sensation" Tay "Chocolate Rain" Zonday. You can see the segment from Allen's show at the top of the post. There's a short interview segment at the beginning, but then the singing starts at the 3:45 mark. Though I feel like it's my professional obligation to warn you of what lies ahead: It's Tay Zonday covering Lily Allen. It's just as bad as you might think it is.

Lily Allen MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Review: Kate Nash - "Made Of Bricks"

Kate Nash
Made Of Bricks (Fiction Records, 2008)
Grade: B-

Download: Kate Nash - "We Get On"
Download: Kate Nash - "Mariella"
Download: Kate Nash - "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You" (Black Kids Cover)

Alongside her fellow sass-rock progenitor Lily Allen, UK-based singer-songwriter Kate Nash has led a revitalization of piano-based pop music by adding heaping doses of dry-witted vulgarity and emotionally observant storytelling (though Nash doesn’t share Allen's reggae and hip-hop influences).

Both singers have used the social networking site MySpace to help bolster their careers as well as their larger-than-life personalities. Because of Kate Nash’s unique, rapid, and Allen-assisted (Nash career boomed when Allen placed her in her MySpace Top 8) rise to the top of the pops, as well as her stylized singing which a few critics have dubbed “mockney”, she has already incurred a healthy amount of backlash to go with her unprecedented success.

Whether or not she elicits such strong emotions from music fans as Made Of Bricks hits stores here in U.S. And A is yet to be determined. What can be concluded by actually listening to Made Of Bricks is that while Nash doesn't have the light charisma (or has many danceable pop songs) that Allen does, she also isn't nearly as self-absorbed.

You wouldn't ascertain that, though, by listening to Bricks tracks like "Foundations" or "We Get On", which detail the minutiae of a lover's quarrel and getting over unrequited love, respectively. On these songs, Nash brings an appropriate amount of vulnerability and a reasonable amount of wit to both her lyrics and songwriting. But the music doesn't cancel out the introspective melancholy they way that it should.

"We Get On", musically, is a fine enough slice of doo-wop inspired retro-pop. But when she sings about how she got over unrequited love by watching CSI on a Saturday night (maybe she should have watched "Garth Merenghi's Darkplace" instead?), we, as listeners, feel elated that she's over the dope. Instead of focusing on her supposed liberation, we're distracted by the bells and whistles of wordless harmonies and multi-tracked instruments. Good production is always desired, but it complement the song, not take the attention away from it.

However, there are also many tracks on Bricks where Nash sounds very promising, especially on tracks where the narrative focus is on people other than herself. Particularly worth pointing out is "Mariella", a story-song about an eccentric young girl. The track starts out in typical mope-rock fashion before slowly-but-surely becoming a winningly upbeat song about an underdog gloriously indifferent to the influence of her peers. It's here, and on the countrypolitan number "Birds", about an awkward young man expressing his feelings to his girlfriend, that Nash really shines*.

On the rest of Bricks, Nash dabbles with different forms of pop music to varying degrees (dig the folk-rock of "Dickhead" or the 80s synth-dance party of "Shit Song", not so much the neo-soul of "Pumpkin Soup") while keeping her irreverent wit and battling the forces of overproduction. It remains to be seen whether or not Nash will survive any backlash, but as long as she keenly observes the world around her moreso than her own, she'll become as great a songwriter as her supporters say she is.

Kate Nash On MySpace
Buy Kate Nash music here.

(Jonathan Graef)

*God help us all if Nash starts listening to The Replacements, or if someone ever plays her "Here Comes A Regular." Because if she does, she'll write an outcast song so achingly poignant and well-observed that none of us will be able to go outside ever again. In equation form, it's "Here Comes A Regular" + "Mariella"= devastating classic.

Videos: Lily Allen Covering ELO; Reunited Led Zepplin Playing "Kashmir" At First Reunion Show

(Lily Allen, "Mr. Blue Sky", ELO Cover. YouTube, via Stereogum)



(Led Zepplin, "Kashmir" at the O2 Arena. YouTube via Blabbermouth and Idolator)

(Jonathan Graef)

Lily Allen Is A Smug Bitch And Other Subtle Characterizations

Download: Lily Allen -"Everything Is Just Wonderful"

The last issue of Rolling Stone has one especially useful little tidbit: an article containing various performers' reactions to Radiohead's release of In Rainbows. I decided to make it a separate post because the types of comments left on it would be more discussion-based and wouldn't have much to do with talking about RS in general.

has some good songs, but she's kind of dumb sometimes. On Radiohead's decision to allow fans to pay whatever they want for In Rainbows, she had this to say: "It's arrogant for them to give their music away for free - they've got millions of pounds. It sends a weird message to younger bands who haven't done as well. You don't choose how to pay for eggs, why should it be different for music?"

Well, that's rich coming from someone who owes much of her success to MySpace, which is a more-or-less free publicity vehicle. I'm not sure what the weird message Radiohead is sending is supposed to be, and I'm don't know why paying for luxury items is equated with paying for food, but how on Earth is doing something nice for your fans arrogant? Would it be arrogant to play a free show?

Now that we're all over the novelty of Radiohead's method, I think we can appreciate that this might not be as revolutionary everyone initially raved. I think Mike Mills from R.E.M. hit the nail on the head with his reaction: "My faith in humanity is not such that I would leave it up to the consumer to decide how much to pay for music. At the same time, I enjoy watching Radiohead take that risk. I wish them the best of luck."

(Note to Mike Mills: R.E.M. has a lot of cash from that $100 million dollar deal you signed…you guys could probably afford to do this)

Similar reactions highlighting the viability of this model for successful performers came from Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam, and Will.i.Am of the Black Eyed Peas.

I still feel good about what Radiohead did. I suspected that it might not be as viable for new bands who don't have much of a following, but is this really that different than putting up your album to stream on MySpace? It's pretty easy to get programs that extract music from a page without paying anything. I feel like Radiohead's plan might be the solution casual music listeners need to get back into buying albums. And die-hard Radiohead fans are still going to shell out full price for the hard copy when it comes out, so I don't see how this could hurt them. On the other hand, I do see how this could be an issue for a smaller band without the support base of diehards who will buy and cherish everything they ever do.

Now that the hype and hysteria is over, what do you all think about the way Radiohead released In Rainbows? Is this a viable model for small bands? Is the public ready to start setting the cost?

Lily Allen MySpace Page

(April Wright)

Common + Lily Allen - "Drivin' Me Wild"

I was a little skeptical of this collab because it seemed a little too in the moment with Lily Allen's rapid rise to fame and all. But now that I hear the song, I think it works pretty well. Common is a great lyricist, the song is littered with funny little snippets that are easy to miss if you're too busy shaking your ass.

Plus, the video features Astronaut Lily Allen! Out of this world! I'm just surprised Will Oldham wasn't in there with her.

(April Wright)

Lily Allen Cancels Tour

So, I was wrong. I've been wrong before, but it still hurts. Lily Allen has cancelled her tour. She posted this on her MySpace page earlier today:

"Hey Guys ,
I'm writing to tell you that I have cancelled many of my May and June tour commitments in America . The reason for this , is because my mummy and daddy are very rich , and I have never been in a position where i have actually had to do any hard work before . I thought that being a popstar meant going out getting trashed with famous people and sleeping in all day . The fact that this is not true has come as a huge disappointment to me , and as a result I am throwing the towel in .

No but seriously , I have been on tour with this album for a year now , I have fulfilled every commitment up to this point . I am tired , but more than that I don't think I have been giving my best performances recently . I have been getting really drunk because i've been so nervous about doing bad shows , and I don't want people spending money on a going to see a show that isnt the best it could be . I am not falling apart at the seems , I am not suffering with exhaustion , I am not pregnant , and I am not going to rehab . I will be here in America , promoting the album and also starting to write the second album , which I am beyond excited about . The LA and New York shows will still be happening , and I am still playing Coachella and Bonaroo and all the other festivals .

I'd like to apologise to anyone who has bought tickets , but you can get your money back , if you take 'em back to the place you bought them from ."

(Ian Anderson)

Lily Allen Finally Announces Minneapolis Tour Date

Lily Allen announced more tour dates this morning, including a Minneapolis date. Comment back if you want to go with me. I want to rent a party bus and just flip out.

Here they are:

5-13 Seattle, WA - Everett Events Center
5-15 Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
5-16 Tucson, AZ - Club Congress
5-17 Phoenix, AZ - Marquee Theatre
5-19 Boston, MA - Tweeter Centre (KISS 108 KISS Concert 2007)
5-21 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
5-22 Lawrence, KS - Liberty Hall
5-23 Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
5-24 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
5-26 Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall
5-27 Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre
5-28 Baltimore, MD - Sonar
5-30 New York, NY - Roseland Ballroom
6-01 Charleston, SC - Center Stage at the Plex
6-04 Cleveland, OH - House of Blues Cleveland
6-05 Indianapolis, IN - Vogue Theatre
6-06 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
6-08 Dallas, TX - The Palladium Ballroom
6-12 Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Revolution
6-13 Orlando, FL - House of Blues
6-15 Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo Festival
6-21 Bath, England - Bath Pavillion
6-23 Glastonbury, England - Glastonbury Festival
6-29 Werchter, Belgium - Werchter Festival
7-06 Kinross, Scotland - T in the Park Festival
7-07 Paris, France - Solidays Festival
7-13 Barcelona, Spain - Summercase Barcelona
7-14 Madrid, Spain - Summercase Madrid
7-18 Cornwall, England - Eden Sessions
7-28 Yuzawa-machi, Niigata, Japan - Naeba Ski Resort (Fuji Rock Festival)
8-10 Oslo, Norway - Oyafestival
8-11 Gothenburg, Sweden - Way Out West
8-15 Sagres, Portugal - Surf Festival
8-18 Staffordshire, England - Weston Park (V Festival)
8-19 Chelmsford, England - Hylands Park (V Festival)
8-24 Krakow, Poland - Coke Live

(Ian Anderson)

Lily Allen, Alright, Still

Ah, summer. The sunny blue … skies. And the warm, the warm, the …. Okay, so I don’t really remember anything about summer. Or blue skies. Or the sun. This admittedly stood in the way of fully enjoying Lily Allen’s unrelentingly summery Alright, Still, which is the sunniest record since … since … Uh, I can’t remember any other sunny records right now. Give me a couple months.

For some reason, Capitol Records decided to delay this CD’s release, despite being a huge hit in Britain upon its release there last July. This, of course, has only upped the expectations for its domestic release. If you’ve heard anything about the hyped-to-death album, you’ve likely heard everything about it – about its light, reggae-inflected sound; about Allen’s lilting, spirited delivery; about the songs that are beyond catchy. All of those rumors are true, as evidenced on the big single “Smile” and the perfect pop confection “LDN.”

That said, there is a surprising amount of drab filler on Alright, Then, such as the inane “Take What You Take,” which sounds like it was unearthed from a 1995 time capsule. (Allen sings “Say what you say, do what you do/Feel what you feel, as long as it’s real,” over a midtempo dance beat. Somewhere, the Spice Girls and the New Radicals are collaborating on a lawsuit). These songs make the record’s middle sag, but this only means either end is held up by pure pop buoyancy. It kicks off with “Smile” and the joyous “LDN”, and closes out with the playful, sibling-ribbing “Alfie” and a blissed-out Mark Ronson-produced remix of “Smile,” which ends the record on a Stax-reverent high.

Though Allen has become the poster child for the New Music Industry - she was signed to English label Regal Records last April mainly because of the songs on her MySpace page - Alright, Then is charmingly old-fashioned. Horns (albeit largely sampled) blare serenades, and Allen’s oft-discussed potty mouth lets loose rarely. Beats are strong, but only to provide Allen with a solid foundation for her sweet melodies.

Alright, Then isn’t quite the pop phenomenon you’ve heard about, but the record’s surrounding hype would have prevented that regardless. Instead, Alright, Then is exactly what you want to hear this time of year. It’s warm, it’s pleasant, it’s everything Minnesota lacks in February.

A word of warning, however: hearing Allen chirp, “Sun is in the sky, oh why, oh why/Would I wanna be anywhere else,” as she does on “LDN,” won’t make your sub-zero wait for the bus any warmer. It’ll just make it catchier, which, if you listen hard enough, is almost the same thing.

(David Brusie)