Musician: Avril Lavigne
Publisher: RCA
Copyright: 2011
Summary: Goodbye Lullaby is Avril Lavigne's fourth released album and strongly deviates from her previous musical style, sounding quite like the old MTV Unplugged sessions, in which musical artists performed on stage with only a set number of musical instruments and live singing. While still classified as pop and rock, Goodbye Lullaby's overall tune is lighter on the beats and focuses on Lavigne's views on life and love. What the Hell does have an upbeat tune and discusses how love feels and the need to break free of limitations now and again. Similarly, Stop Standing There discusses love and the need for people to not waste any time and get to fully understand their loved ones and live life fully. Continuing the love theme, I Love You is a rather sentimental description of loving someone in their entirety and for loving someone for sharing a past together. Goodbye speaks of having to move on to new things despite still having feelings for someone.
Critical Evaluation: Goodbye Lullaby was a rather strange album and while it did deviate strongly from Avril Lavigne's previous musical style, the songs varied in intensity and often felt like they were from two separate albums. While her vocals were as strong as ever throughout, songs like What the Hell and Alice were most reminiscent of her previous style and many of the others were almost like ballads with acoustic accompaniment. Instead of starting and ending with the two strong and more rock-influenced songs, the album could have blended the styles of songs within the track listing and perhaps provided a more varied and alternating musical experience. For example, Minutes to Midnights by Linkin Park alternated between heavy rap songs like Bleed It Out and What I've Done with Leave out All the Rest and Shadow of the Day. Like in movies, the tension of a CD has to be alternated to keep the listeners on their toes.
Listener's Annotation: Blending together love ballads and Avril Lavigne's familiar rock beats, Goodbye Lullaby is her newest studio album that contains the hit song What the Hell.
Information About the Musician: Avril Lavigne is a Canadian singer and songwriter who has been performing since her teens. She is mainly known for her rock-punk songs Complicated and Sk8ter Boi, as well as her heavy eye makeup and skater fashion.
Lavigne has released three albums before Goodbye Lullaby. Read more about the artist at her website.
Genre: Pop; Rock
Curriculum Ties N/A
"Booktalking" Ideas:
- For those who had Avril Lavigne's old hit songs stuck in their head for days on end, Goodbye Lullaby will be a nice change and add some new titles into their mental playlist. Blending a range of styles, Avril Lavigne shows that she will not be stuck into the same niche and will branch out and try different musical styles.
Listening Level: 15+
Challenge Issues N/A
Why This CD?: US Billboard Ranked Album
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