Monday Roundup Mix
featuring Avril Lavigne, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bad Bunny, and more!
Avril Lavigne’s debut album, Let Go, turned 20 last week. I don’t remember the first time I heard her, but I do remember that Avril was suddenly everywhere, so I asked my mom for the CD. She consulted with her hip, young hairdresser who told her the album was “rated PG” and would be fine for me. (Guess she did not consult anyone about *NSYNC’s album, No Strings Attached, which I owned/loved and which was made not-PG by the inclusion of “Digital Get Down.”)
Up until this point, I was mainly into pop groups like *NSYNC, S Club 7, and Dream. To a 10 year old, Avril could not have been more different. She swore on her album! She played an instrument! And it wasn’t just her sound; her menswear, edgy style was such a shift from other pop stars. Suddenly, all the girls in my class were clamoring for Converses, stealing ties from dad’s closets, and buying spiked jewelry from Claire’s. Avril was our first exposure to the idea that being a ~woman in music~ could look like something else.1
Twenty years later, Avril is having a comeback moment alongside the recent pop-punk revival. Last year she collaborated with Travis Barker and WILLOW on WILLOW’s album and earlier this year she joined Olivia Rodrigo onstage to perform “Complicated,” which Olivia covered throughout her recent Sour tour. Now Avril’s capping off the nostalgia trip with a deluxe 20th anniversary edition of Let Go which features previously unreleased songs including her version of “Breakaway,” a song she co-wrote and was later recorded (and made a huge hit) by Kelly Clarkson. Today’s mix features 2 songs from the reissue of Let Go: my favorite b-side from the original album, “Things I’ll Never Say,” (yes, the PG innuendo in the chorus of this was lost on me in 2002) and her version of “Breakaway.”
I will always have a soft spot for Avril as she was such an important part of my listening history and fandom journey, so I’ll take any opportunity to revisit Let Go. I’ll also take any opportunity to remind you that Avril put out a new and very fun album, Love Sux, earlier this year. Long live the rock chick!
Here’s the roundup mix of songs, some new and some old, I’ve enjoyed over the past few weeks:
Things I’ll Never Say- Avril Lavigne
Breakaway- Avril Lavigne
Spitting Off the Edge of the World- Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Perfume Genius
Sleep Tight- Holly Humberstone
PIERCED ARROWS- Hurray For The Riff Raff
Want Want- Maggie Rogers
Home By Now- MUNA
Otro Atardecer- Bad Bunny, The Marías
All My Love Is Coming Back To Me- S.G. Goodman
Keep Driving- Harry Styles
Beautiful Song- Horsegirl
Tired of Taking It Out On You- Wilco
Thanks as always for reading and thank you even more if you pass this along!
Too be clear- I do not think there was anything “wrong” with or “bad” about these pop groups I loved, Avril’s album just felt like a clear departure.