Unforgettable Vol. 2: Lily Allen: My Second Mixtape

Fresh off the heels of her brilliant My First Mixtape, Lily Allen released the appropriately-titled follow-up, My Second Mixtape. Compared to MFM, MSM is darker, heavier, more urban, more chaotic — like Day & Night. It’s unforgettable because from the mindset of a young artist facing the sophomore slump — an artist fed up with the scene, coming down from the freshman high, in search of a definitive, unique voice and place — comes the musical mosaic of an artist on the brink of senior status.

Whereas MFM was a UK millenial girl’s devil-may-care-but-i-care-greatly look at her persona in relation to music — all of it — MSM delves deeper to the core of her person in the midst of modern music. Like MFM, MSM has an infectious sound; it is a smattering of drum n bass, r&b, rap, psychedelic, etc. There’s dozens of themes and messages hidden within the lyrics, titles, and beats — again, Lily requires dissertations not reviews — but beyond the complexities is the simple fact that everything this girl produces, makes sense. More importantly, everything she produces makes sense of everything of which she is a product.

That said, Lily starts with her 50 Cent parody “Nan, You’re a Window Shopper,” (technically she starts with Hov repeating “Now tuned into the muhfuggin greatest”) before moving to The Game’s, “Put You On the Game.” Off the bat: parodying 50 Cent before moving into a former G-Unit member’s track that dons the line “50 Cent: NO.” Moreover, “Put You On,” opens with the line “This is the rebirth of LA, rebirth of hip-hop.” Wow. Second track on Lily Allen’s second mixtape features the line “Rebirth of LA,” the second track on a girl with an undeniably fresh take on modern music features the line “rebirth of hip-hop.” She may not be the rebirth of hip-hop, but she is a renaissance artist nonetheless. It. makes. sense.

Fast forward through “Only Love Can Break Your Heart,” “Ready She Ready,” etc. we come to the crux of the mixtape: “Shake Your Money Maker,” “Dirt Off Your Shoulder,” “Truth,” “Sweet Love (Drum n Bass remix),” “Soul Survivor (remix) ft. Shabba Ranks,” “Oh My God,” and “White Rabbit.” Point blank: this is it. Lily and the industry alike are immersed in the mantra “shake your money maker, the return of this is good; we’ll push straight for the sample, we’re in the neighborhood.” “Shake your money maker shake it straight and on my face; you’re a greedy motherf*cker now aren’t you, go bleed in a different place,” in a nutshell that is the making, breaking, and turning out of the industry and average artist. It’s a grimy world out there, lots of dirty money — and dirty shoulders: good thing she’s got mind enough to brush ’em off and move on. “Truth” is a solid Lily track, essentially it’s about a liar who leaves Lily high and dry. Allen is never one to be down and out though, “I’m goin’ the place that we both knew once and the place that you don’t know now; it’s way back when you were someone else you’ve changed and I don’t know how. I won’t say please and I’m not on my knees if I was that would be uncool.” Again, coming off of “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” and “Money Maker,” I’m sensing it’s music — rather, the industry — that lost it’s way, and lost Lily too. “I’m goin’ to the place that we both knew once, and I know that I’m goin’ alone; While I’m there if I can I’ll look for your heart, if I find it I’ll send it back home. Believe me we could’ve been great; You think you’re a man, you’re not, you’re a boy and when you grow up it’ll be too late.” Wow. Music — the industry — really let Lily down, thank goodness for rebirths. It. makes. sense. Anita Baker’s “Sweet Love,” nice track. It’s about, well, undying sweet love: Lily loves music nonetheless, regardless of everything else. “Soul Survivor,” if you don’t know Jeezy and Akon’s trap anthem by now, I suggest you stumble across another blog. That said, the song speaks for itself. The sophomore effort is a struggle for the legitimate artist. The industry will eat you alive — ask Britney — but fighting the machine and making a statement above and beyond bank statements is strictly grown man soul surviving business, aka Lily business. At the end of the day, after hustling and being on the grind — “being straight with the block” a la Jay-Z, and being “on the block disobeying the law” a la Akon and Young Jeezy — you stop, look around, and it hits you: “Oh my God I can’t believe it, I’ve never been this far away from home.” After tumbling down the rabbit-hole and venturing through the Wonderland that is celebrity, you may be worlds away from home, but if you want to find your way back just “remember what the door-mouse said: feed your head.” That’s just the first half… but we don’t have time for the second half; just know it maintains the methodical madness.

Such is the story of a true artist at the sophomore crossroads. It reminds me of Kanye: staggering sophomore album that breaks through the spectacle to the substance of music, production that reflects a purpose beyond profit, and an artist who came through the fire, wire, or firewire — in Lily’s case — stronger, not down and out. Of course, both Ye and Lily drive ’em all wild — lovers and loathers alike.

My Second Mixtape is brilliant. I say this because I remember listening to this CD for months, after getting my iPod stolen, in the dead of a New York winter, the bitterest, darkest, coldest season of my two decades and change — on subways, walking down the street, on my hustle (actual and homework hustle) — during my sophomore year of college, the year that so happened to be my crossroads. It just clicked with me, it was my soundtrack: as much as it was hers, as much as it was music’s at that time. It was dark, it came off of the first mixtape that ended with the line “felt that I was in this long dark tunnel,” and the second mixtape is the journey through that tunnel — the one that leads you to the light at the end where you look up at the sun in the sky, wonder why oh why you’d want to be anywhere else, because you see you’re alright still.

Lily — like Marshall — jokes in the booth when she says she’s the best, but a lot of truth is said in jest … from “Lily the Kid” to GQ “Lily Are You F*ckin’ Kidding Me?!” Woman of the Year in 4 years; with mixtapes illustrating the mindset of an insane genius: she makes moves. It. makes. sense.

Lily Allen – My Second Mixtape

Unforgettable, Vol. 1: Lily Allen: My First Mixtape

Good Morning. What’s so special about Saturday morning? Depends on whether the Friday night before it was memorably forgotten… Art is said to imitate life, but it is an amazing moment when the imitation collapses in the presence of life as art. Much like that one strikingly familiar stranger from an otherwise forgettable Friday night, Lily Allen is that one perfectly imperfect artist — person — in an otherwise forgettable genre of overproduced pop stars — personas. Her understated introduction to the world, My First Mixtape, was that Saturday morning wake up from the flashy Friday night of Top 40 puffery. Fear not, all isn’t lost in the MySpace generation; for the ten thousand Tila Tequilas there is Lily Allen: the reason, that just so happens to rhyme with silly. Now be polite and allow me to reintroduce herself…

My First Mixtape is a taste of why Rolling Stone said “Lily Allen is not just a pop star. She’s a genre.” Vis a vis, Allen’s albums don’t call for reviews; they call for dissertations.

The Sound: At the most basic level, MFM is a most sonically pleasing journey through music. Allen seamlessly moves from Cutty Ranks to Kenny Roberts, from More Fire Crew to the Specials; but like Bjork and basketball, I’m not sure how it works, but damn if it doesn’t work well — who knew ODB and CCR could be the new PB&J? Lily — that’s who. My First Mixtape is music that can be thoroughly enjoyed for music’s sake. It isn’t rushed, it isn’t laborious or over done; it is what it is. The sonic journey is an eclectic one, and even at the most surface level it leads the listener to believe there is so much more beneath that shell.

The Story: MFM’s tracklisting tells a story about the artist, as well as her social canvas. Take the first six tracks: Allen’s own LDN, Dizzee Rascal’s Fix Up Look Sharp, Beats Int’l’s Dub Be Good to Me, Allen’s Smile, Ludacris’ The Potion, and DJ Premier’s Pop Shots ft. ODB. LDN takes you on a stroll around London town through the eyes of Lily. The premise of the song, “When you look with your eyes, everything looks nice/But when you look twice, you can see it’s all lies.” In London, no matter how sheisty, shady, or downtrodden you are, always maintain face — so do like Dizzee and “Fix Up, Look Sharp.” Mr. Rascal speaks from first-hand experience; he knows that in public — but especially in personal relationships — you have to save face. Perception breaks from reality, but when it does you only answer to those that matter. The ones that matter, don’t mind what you do to the others — so long as you just be good to them. Still, break-ups happen; when they do, sure you’ll shed a few tears — and vinyls — feel bad for awhile, then you’ll just smile. Though, Lily’s road to recovery from a broken heart leans more towards killing than kindness. Hell hath no fury like a woman’s scorn; and Lily’s potion must’ve been exactly what Miles Davis was eluding to when he created Bitches Brew. Like Luda, Lily grew a bit of a backbone over the years, “when I was little ain’t nobody like me so they wanna fight me fight me; try to step to me now but it ain’t likely.” Since those days, she’s learned to pop shots. So it is, and here we are.

The Social Relevance: Port O’Brien once said we’re “the 21st century rendition of 1969. It’s one thing to act uncertain, it’s another to imitate. They’re closing down the music, and the music it has to wait.” We are a digitized, abridged, artificial remake of American creative culture’s capstone year. In the midst of uncertainty as to how to brand ourselves — seeing as brand loyalty and consumerism are at the crux of any possible cultural identity — or what it is about our generation that is authentic, we use that uncertainty to imitate instead of innovate. Our music is our voice, it is the most primal and basic human expression; at the heart of our humanity is an auto-tuning vocoder machine. Technology is to blame for hyper-commodofied music, and an artificial “renaissance;” but Lily and her First Mixtape hold technology to credit for her hustle and come-up, thanks MySpace. For better and worse we are the 21st century rendition of 1969 and Allen is pop music’s angel of our better nature — she waits for no one, except the music.

All of this is to say “Ello there.” What better way to introduce myself to this music blog than with my idea of an ideal musical introduction. Like Allen’s point with My First Mixtape, my point of view is that it isn’t about me — it’s about my mindset of, and in the midst of, music completely.

But really My First Mixtape is a plug for the site. As true genius requires insanity Lily wishes she “had qualities like sympathy, fidelity, sobriety, sincerity, humility; Instead I got lunacy.” Incredible.

Lily Allen – My First Mixtape

Tracklist: LDN – Lily Allen Fix up Look sharp – Dizzee Rascal Dub be Good to Me – Beats International Smile – Lily Allen The Potion – Ludacris Pop Shots – DJ Premier Taxi Fare – Mr Vegas Who Say Meh Dun – Cutty Ranks She Taught me How to Yodel – Kenny Roberts Born on the Bayou – Creedance Clearwater Revival Get Out my Life Woman – Lee Dorsey Stay with Me – Rod Stewart Up the Junction – Squeeze Knock em Out – Lily Allen Go DJ – Jammin (zinc) Drifting – Jammin (zinc) OI -More Fire Crewwwwww Friday Night Saturday Morning – The Specials Who’s the Bad Man – Dee Patten Joe Le Taxi – Vanessa Paradis (sorry) Silly Games – Janet Kay Cheryl Tweedy – Lily Allen Incredible – M Beat ft General Levy