To be a bit stunned by Lily Allen’s new album

[AngeloMysterioso]

Oooofff. I mean it might as well be called Fuck You David Harbour, You Cheating Bastard. Safe to say she’s set a new bar for diaristic songwriting. I feel so sad for her, I know she’s not everyone’s favourite person but it’s always been clear that all she wanted was to love and be loved and she seemed so happy with him- he popped up on her podcast with Miquita Oliver a few times and seemed so genuine in the way he spoke about her… for it to all collapse in such spectacularly public and hideous fashion must have been awful to endure, so I don’t blame her for working through it by going back to what she does best but still… blimey. I feel like I’ve been spying in their bedroom or something after listening to it!

They are both very talented but in very different ways.

You could also say that about contraception.

Well you could say that, but only on the basis you could say any old nonsense

We are not all horrified by the knowledge that our parents had sex. Why should we be?

Totally agree. Look at all the people who revered (and still do) male rock stars like Steven Tyler, Jimmy Page etc who literally had sex with children and no-one said a word about it!

Did people refuse to listen to AW after she was convicted of assault? Or is physical violence ok?

Errm... you do realise contraception works by preventing that life from beginning in the first place, right? 🤔

It's utter nonsense say contraception and abortion are the same thing. I'm pro choice but Lily Allen was careless and stupid using abortion as contraception.

Maybe you should tell the pope.

David Bowie.

Ah sorry I thought you’d listened to the album - she makes it super clear on there that she felt strong armed into and then he broke the rules they set anyway. The whole thing is like reading her diary which is just about how much she hates him.

I’m Lily’s age and I do think she’s a really interesting barometer of our generation. All this stuff seemed so liberating and feminist when we were younger but the problem is, if you live by the sword you die by the sword. And even if it’s all above board and consensual on paper, it’s never that simple is it? There’s a reason why she felt she had to agree to opening the marriage - she was on the back foot in that relationship even as a rich and famous pop star (and is now discussing the element of shame and humiliation she feels in dating again at 40). I really don’t know what we as women need to do to win this game but this ain’t it.

I'll repeat my previous response to you. You, or the Pope, could say any old nonsense, it's still nonsense.

Have very hard, strong boundaries.

I genuinely feel really sad at the way people are judging her abortions, and/or her attitude towards them. Coming from an Irish family, I have hosted various relations over the years who had to come over here to get an abortion when they couldn’t get one at home. And I’ve had one myself. So I’m well aware of how emotionally and mentally complex the situations can be. But still I don’t feel that they need to be discussed in hushed tones, with shame or reverence or respect. It’s biological matter being removed from your body, not unlike a wisdom tooth, or your tonsils, or a cyst. Others may choose to view it through a different lens, and that’s up to them, but it doesn’t mean we all have to. And if Lily doesn’t want to, that’s up to her.

No I haven't listened to the album but I read the relevant quoted lyrics and I've heard plenty of her other well-known songs. She looked very happy when they got married and in the film when they show a reporter around their New York home. However, if she agreed to infidelity rules against her inclination it was always going to end in disaster.

But still I don’t feel that they need to be discussed in hushed tones, with shame or reverence or respect.
Is anyone saying that? I see it more from the point of view of acting like a responsible adult.

It’s biological matter being removed from your body, not unlike a wisdom tooth, or your tonsils, or a cyst.

It really isn't. I'm happy that the UK has possibly the most liberal abortion laws in the world but saying it's no different from getting your tonsils out is just as nonsensical as the pp saying contraception is no different from abortion.

I don’t have to like her choices with sex workers to like her music. I tend to be a person who separates the artist from their art.

i haven’t gotten ahold of the latest album yet. I’m not in the Uk, but I’ve managed to hear a few songs and was impressed. My first thought was about how singers, especially a certain brand of female singers, have to evolve as they age. If they keep trying to make bubblegum pop, they just look ridiculous. These songs still sound like Lily Allen, but an older, maybe not so wiser Lily Allen. Singers like Katy Perry should be taking notes.

I’ve not heard it yet…. But hee songs always were a bit like that ‘fuck you, fuck you very mu-uuuu-ch’ was one from years ago wasn’t it?
I used to be a fan and deleted her off devices when I had my daughter many years ago. Then she’s had a few years of not doing much due to becoming a mother herself didn’t she?
I do love her voice though, The song she sang for the John Lewis Christmas advert was lovely

This is bonkers no? From an artistic point of view? You love the album or you don’t ?

There’s got to be a separation between the artist and the craft no?
the voice /the sound/the substance /the Art

what on earth has the substance of the art got to with how you feel about what’s going in someone’s scatty personal life or how many abortions they’ve had - isn’t the torture of the personal , fodder for the Art etc

I mean from a historical perspective
I love David Bowie/Mick jagger/Jimmy pages music but know they were revolting pricks for having a well documented relationships/ liaisons with 14/15 year olds.
Rank

I love Picasso but what a crackpot mysoginist he was .

if you like her album listen to it - why on earth would your feelings about her as an individual ( bizarre) impact on how you feel about her music

Did I even suggest that it hasn’t been done before? No. So why mock me? I am alluding to this specific work of art. The achievement is that Lily has done this after years of not producing music. And I am pleased to see that this work is critically acclaimed despite the hate on MN of all places.

No one said abortion and contraception are the same.

If you had any kind of critical thinking ability you would understand the provocation.

Surely she's no better or worse than Taylor Swift who apparently sees every conquest as song material? What will she use for material when she's married?!
Can't say I follow her but being a dance Mom her music is sadly unavoidable!

Why people feel the need to air their dirty washing in public is beyond me!