[MUSIC] THE SAVAGE ANIMAL "The Videography of Avril Lavigne"
05.01.13
BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
Avril Lavigne used to be kind of awesome. It’s hard to believe she has been around since 2002 when “Complicated” first came out. At the time it was a little hokey and I mocked it, but as time went on I grew to appreciate her a little bit. I think the main two reasons is that she got really hot and that pop rock music got SOOOO bad around this time that she was the victor of the old “lesser of two evils” mentality. But she also matured. While her style of music isn’t exactly my thing, you can tell she was evolving and growing as an artist. She does have a good voice and has proven her longevity. Not bad for a Canadian girl with arm warmers and a neck tie.
Then you have to ask yourself, would you rather be with Chris Brown or Chad Kroeger? On one hand people are going to look at you and then look at him and wonder if you have any self-respect and on the other hand you’d be with Chris Brown. That’s right, after a marriage to the singer of Sum 41 she moved on to “TV personality” Brody Jenner and onto Chad Kroeger. It’s not fair to call him a “singer”, but he’s the guy whose voice we hear when we all turn off Nickelback songs. So I really have to question her sanity. Where did things go wrong? That’s not for me to decide. Maybe she sees something we don’t? Maybe she’s deaf? Maybe she likes writing about bad relationships so she’s like a “method-actor”? Who knows!
Enough preface ramble. It’s time to get off that skateboard you skater boi. We can be lame and gossip about her love life all day, but I’d rather put my eyes and ears to the test.
It’s time to watch the music videos of Avril Lavigne…
Track: "Complicated”
Album: ”Let Go”
Year: 2002
Director: The Malloys
These cool kids go to the mall and pick on a nerdy kid who has to work a job. Then they go skate around while cutting to them doing silly things. There is a lot of little things going on, like Avril’s amazing dunking skills, in this. It’s a montage of what I assume the bad kids on Degrassi do on half days from school. This was where most people first heard of Avril Lavigne. The TRL era was still alive and kicking and she showed up and made a pretty big slash off the bat. This video was in heavy rotation. Rating: 6.5 Track: "Sk8er Boi”
Album: ”Let Go”
Year: 2002
Director: Francis Lawrence
Yikes! This song might be the white kid version of “Umbrella”. It’s just one of those lame and shitty pop songs that somehow infects your brain. I guess by that, it does its job and proves to NOT be lame and shitty. It’s a conundrum. “Canadian Conundrum”; that’s a cool nickname OR album title. But yeah, there’s a video here. It’s a fast paced video of Avril, her tie, and some skate boarding, and zany adolescent antics. The video has a lot of energy and even if you like the song or not, it’s easy to watch and attempt to process. The director is Francis Lawrence, so that says a lot. Fun video. Rating: 7.5 Track: "I'm with You”
Album: ”Let Go”
Year: 2002
Director: David LaChapelle
I remember this song being played A LOT as well. It’s catchy and isn’t bad for a ballad. Her voice slightly borders that line of interestingly good and slightly jarring. It’s that voice of a dozen girls you’d rather not know. All in all, it works out for the best. This is a slow dramatic video. Av wanders around a party in one part and the other part has her walking down a empty wet road at night. The visuals are interesting and the creative take on the editing made this a pretty good video. Rating: 8.5 Track: "Losing Grip”
Album: ”Let Go”
Year: 2003
Director: Liz Friedlander
I forgot about this song. The tempo is kind of cool and it’s actually one of her better rock tracks. I’m surprised to say that I like the song more than the video. The video is a bit lack luster. The strobe lights during the breakdown and the close-up shots are interesting, but it’s basically a fake “live video”. It’s supposed to present the bands “performance vibe”, but in a controlled environment of their own set. Papa Roach’s “Last Resort” comes to mind during that short tirade. Anyway… She performs for a crowd and pushes, punches, and shoves her way through everyone. Then she gets carried around by the crowd which I guess was supposed to be her “crowd surfing”. Eh. Rating: 5.5 Track: "Mobile”
Album: ”Let Go”
Year: 2003
Director: Unknown
I think this one might have snuck by me. It’s a cool enough song, but I don’t remember ever seeing this. Av walks down an empty trip while strumming a guitar and singing directly at the camera. The shots are interesting, but simple enough. This is a no-nonsense video. No gimmicks or anything like that. It matches the song nicely. It’s okay, but perfectly forgettable on all accounts. Rating: 6.0 Track: "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
Album: Cover Song
Year: 2003
Director: Marc Lostracco
I guess this is a video. In early 2003, she performed this song a few times and they made it into a music video. They would eventually add it as a bonus track. I missed this song and to be honest I’m glad I did. I’m a big fan of this song in general. I loved the Guns N’ Roses cover from the 90s and the original is a classic, but this one doesn’t seem to grab the same kind of emotion as those. It’s just a pretty girl singing a great song, but without the imploding soul it deserves. The video is a live cut that looks like an award show rip. It is what it is. Rating: 5.0 Track: "Don't Tell Me"
Album: ”Under My Skin”
Year: 2004
Director: Liz Friedlander
The song is pretty literal. The story of the video is basically narrated by the lyrics. Avril’s boyfriend leaves, she gets pissed off and throws a tantrum, and then goes into stalker mode. Apparently the dude feels guilty or something but it ends with her feeling empowered and leaves him. It’s shot well and looks good, but this is pretty cookie cutter. In terms of video AND song. This is the type of stuff I was expecting going into this one. Hopefully I’m pleasantly surprised like I have on a few of these again as we move forward. Rating: 6.0 Track: "My Happy Ending"
Album: ”Under My Skin”
Year: 2004
Director: Meiert Avis
This is another song I completely forgot about. I remember the video and the song better than I probably should. Avril runs down the street and enters an old looking cinema. She sits in the seats and dramatically watches own love story, sings at the camera, and rocks the piano on the stage. The visuals are actually pretty well done. The projection effect behind her while she plays piano is a cool effect. It also helps that it’s one of Avril Lavigne’s better tracks. Rating: 6.5 Track: "Nobody's Home"
Album: ”Under My Skin”
Year: 2004
Director: Diane Martel
This is vaguely familiar, but not really. I think I would have remembered this video. It’s a really awesome looking video. The old scratchy looking shots look awesome and the narrative is well presented. The black haired version of Avril is living on the streets and has a horrible time. My only thing is why she decided to go the black hair route. It looks fine and all of that, but why does “dark hair” have to be associated with trouble. Yes, I AM nit picking an Avril Lavigne video. It’s a solid video, what can I say? Rating: 7.5 Track: "He Wasn't"
Album: ”Under My Skin”
Year: 2005
Director: The Malloys
I’m a sucker for music videos like this. White wall videos with bands rocking out is just cool. I think I feel that way because of the “March of the Pigs” video by Nine Inch Nails. So I guess Trent Reznor is to blame for me to being amused and entertained by this video? I guess?.... okay? My head might explode. Anyway, the video has good energy, quick cuts, lots of action, “attitude”, and serves its purpose. Rating: 6.5 Track: "Girlfriend"
Album: ”The Best Damn Thing”
Year: 2007
Director: The Malloys
This was a huge song when it came out. It’s ridiculously catchy and bouncy. It’s sort of this generations “Hey Mickey”. The song is silly, harmless fun. The video is just as bouncy. It’s two sides of a story. One is a nerdy preppy one with red hair and then a troublemaker with black hair. Again with he the hair color discrimination! There is some back and forth at a mini golf course cut in with Avril rocking out in a girls bathroom. It ends with the nerdy red head trying to attack the mean black haired one but failing while Rockstar Avril gets the dude. A lot going on. Good energy, colorful shots, and tons of Avril but the story could have been better. Rating: 7.25 Track: "When You're Gone"
Album: ”The Best Damn Thing”
Year: 2007
Director: Marc Klasfeld
A young pregnant woman’s husband is away at way, an old man’s wife just died, and teenagers aren’t allowed to date or something. There are tons of sad examples of someone not being able to be with the person they love. It pretty much covers the spectrum of emotion. The shots, the emotion, and the cuts are all top notch. It’s a pretty sad video. Something like this could be cheesy, but I can honestly say this is well done. Rating: 6.5 Track: "Hot"
Album: ”The Best Damn Thing”
Year: 2007
Director: Wayne Isham
I think I successfully avoided this song. I’ve not heard it nor have I seen this video. It’s a pleasant enough pop rock song. I like the way the video looks. The brightness, the color, and the smoothness of the cuts are what stand out most. She’s in disguise and costume throughout the most and the less she’s “in-character” the more she’s her real self. This is kind of an obvious narrative, but it’s fun to see her literally act it out. Rating: 6.0 Track: "The Best Damn Thing"
Album: ”The Best Damn Thing”
Year: 2008
Director: Wayne Isham
Avril plays three different characters again. The song is A LOT like “Girlfriend”. It’s another cheerleader-chant bounce songs and then it goes into a normal pop rock song. It’s a pretty forgettable song. The only interesting about the song is how much it sounds like another one of her songs. The video is fine. It’s nothing to write home about, but it’s enjoyable. One Avril is a cheerleader, one has pink hair is a wholesome rocker, and then her in a hood rocking out with the band in a very hip-ly designed “practice area”. Nothing too awesome here. It closes with Lavigne doing the splits in the cheerleader outfit. That’s worth points. Rating: 6.5 Track: "Alice"
Album: ”Almost Alice”(Soundtrack)
Year: 2010
Director: Dave Meyers
This is another “new to me” video and song. The tense piano builds as Avril falls into the rabbit hole and into the Alice In Wonderland world. She has a hot black dress as she sings her ass off to some cool moody piano music. It builds up as she chases the rabbit. She eventually sits at the Mad Hatter’s tea party. I’m not 100% sure, but I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t actually Depp. Ha! She rocks the piano with big shrooms around her and magic in the air. She runs and runs. Eventually she’s in her normal clothes and out of Wonderland. That was strange. It was a casual call to the movie, but the real treat was her vocals. I can say a million snarky things, but the chick DOES have a kick ass voice. Rating: 6.0 Track: "What the Hell"
Album: ”Goodbye Lullaby”
Year: 2011
Director: Marcus Raboy
Avril is in bed with a dude, gets up, gets ready, and leaves. Her lack of clothing is notable. She then steals a taxi. Pop rock antics ensue! She is followed, but continues her spree of wreckless driving until she gets bored. She then goes into a game of street ball and screws up the game. She does hit a nice shot though. So basically, between this video and the crazy drunk from the first video we are to know that she’s a bad ass basketball player. I think that’s all we needed to take from this video. Rating: 7.5 Track: "Smile"
Album: ”Goodbye Lullaby”
Year: 2011
Director: Shane Drake
Apparently I’ve missed quite a few of her singles. She’s in a white room and goes crazy with some spray paint. As the video goes on she just rocks out and does her thing. It’s a lot of cool shots, a lot of the color green, and a healthy dose of eye liner. This is all cut with a black and white world of Avril slowly creeping around as people are all sad and dramatic. She’s casually stealing people’s broken hearts making them able to smile. It’s a simple enough concept, but she’s charming enough to pull it off. It’s a visually appealing video and is basically just really well done. Rating: 7.25 Track: "Wish You Were Here"
Album: ”Goodbye Lullaby”
Year: 2011
Director: Dave Meyers
This is another forgettable video. There isn’t much of a plot going on. It’s just her laying around being cute and emotive. Avril Lavigne lies on her floor while wearing a black dress. For some reason there are leaves. She gets up and sings. She plays a game of “he loves me/he loves me not” with a red flower until she decides to set it on fire. She eventually breaks down and cries. She is then in a bathtub. She gets out of the tub and keeps singing as she goes towards a window. It looks good, sounds good (the bridge is lame), and is better than most pop stuff I’ve had the displeasure of seeing but it’s still disposable and forgettable. I really appreciate the raw emotion the director is getting from Avril, but there’s just not enough going on. Rating: 6.75 Track: "Goodbye"
Album: ”Goodbye Lullaby”
Year: 2012
Director: Mark Liddell
Avril Lavigne’s most recent video starts off slowly. It appears to be an old black and white film. It’s uber artsy and “vintage looking” as the credits tell us this is a “Film by Mark Liddell”. A platinum blonde Avril slowly struts into a hotel room. She opens up her bags and sets things up. She undresses into her black undies. It then cuts to her in the tub and then putting make up on and getting ready for something. She plays with a camera and just sorta lurks around posh settings. She eventually breaks down sending her eyeliner flowing down her face in a stream of murky tears. She takes the platinum blond wig off and cries as the song ends. Well, that was really sad. The visuals were beautiful and she did an awesome job with her reactions. It’s probably her best visual video so far. Very nice. Rating: 8.5
Since being made public last week Mike Goodpaster’s “Unpaid Programming” has gained over 250,000 views. Without any major studio, media blitz, or backing this 33 minute independently produced comedy video has more views than nearly twenty times the population of Mike Goodpaster’s hometown Lake Station, Indiana.
In “Mike Goodpaster’s Unpaid Programming”, the commercials are the entertainment. Through a series of short commercial parodies Mike puts his twist on obscure news stories, black market home shopping, horrible products, Deutschland rap music, celebrity cyber bullying, and more. It’s not perfect, but it’s a really strong outing and I snuck in some shit that I think is hilarious. You might not think the same, but it’s a train wreck worth AT LEAST giving a look at as you slowly drive by. Check it out! (or not!)
A sequel is in the works for an early summer release.
