A pretty teenager earns her spurs

Dame Fortune has dealt the UK pop music scene a most auspicious hand for the new year with the arrival of new, young and very talented female singers and songwriters. Will one of them turn out to be another Joni Mitchell or Marianne Faithful? Only time will tell. But for the moment, they evince massive potential for success and create an exciting watchful moment for music lovers.

Among the most talked about and most listened to these days are Amy Winehouse whose first album is already in the hit lists, Angela Via, Megan McCaulay, Gia Farrell and the one with the biggest web following who also happens to be the youngest of the lot, Lily Allen.

That her father the distinguished British actor Keith Allen was in the cast of the acclaimed indie film Trainspotting has surely scored Lily a lot of points with the hip set. But the pretty and intrepid teenager actually wanted to earn her spurs by herself and she has now done so with the release of Alright, Still..., an album where she performs 11 of her own compositions.

Released in the fall of 2006, Allen’s debut effort instantly captured the attention of kids like her, thanks to the sock-it-to-your-face lyrics and the breezy melodies. One’s initial reaction to it is that this is a lot of fun what with reggae, London ska, hip-hop and other pop influences like punk alternating in the CD. And it is lots of fun taking on one cut after the other, until you listen closely to the lyrics and find out that here is a song is about baby brother smoking weed while another is about a boy friend who is f–king that girl next door. Shocking!

By the end of the year though, Alright, Still... has landed in the best of lists of several music critics. Now, I do not think that this is merely because of those daring lyrics. I think that what intrigued reviewers most about Allen’s album was the combination of fun music with uncomplicated arrangements and raunchy lyrics rendered by her crystal clear vocals.

You get the feeling that a girl with a voice like hers, should be singing in church. But Lily Allen is not. The music says she should be having wholesome fun. She is not. Instead she is coaxing other kids to dance to her beat while stunning society with her all too honest way of telling stories about events, things and people around her.

Smile was the first single release. This one is about an ex-boyfriend who is "calling me up on the phone/ so you can have a little whine and a moan." The other cuts in Alright, Still... are Knock ‘em Out, LDN, Everything’s Just Wonderful, Not Big, Friday Night, Shame for You, Littlest Things, Take What You Take, Friend of Mine and Alfie.

The album is presented in two versions. One has a toned down set of lyrics for some songs so that kids can listen to the music. The other one contains of course, the explicit versions. In case you are interested, the CD I listened to and which we have selling in the local stores contains the explicit versions.

Take That is back

Barely two weeks into the new year and we already have a comeback story to rejoice about. Take That, the most successful selling group from the UK since the Beatles, is back after 10 years. And in a big way. The comeback album entitled Beautiful World with the single Patience, is now No. 1 in the British charts. Come to think of it, the return of Take That might just turn out to be one of the biggest events in pop music in 2007.

Still news from the UK. The Top Five albums in the list are Beautiful World by Take That; Back to Black by Amy Winehouse; Eyes Open by Snow Patrol; Razorlight by Razorlight; and Undiscovered by James Morrison.

The Top Five selling singles are A Moment Like This by Leona Lewis; Proper Education by Eric Prydz; Patience by Take That; Window in the Skies by U2; Smack That by Akon featuring Eminem.

The top music videos in the UK are Smack That by Akon featuring Eminem; Patience by Take That; Irreplaceable by Beyoncé; I Think We’re Alone Now by Girls Aloud; and Last Christmas by the animated character Crazy Frog.