I will be the first to admit, I enjoy crappy entertainment. I watch TV shows and movies that no one in my age bracket would ever admit to and talk about them openly with my friends and colleagues. I am an unapologetic fan of Avril Lavigne. I picked up her debut album “Let Go” after hearing the first single and I’ve been listening to her brand of bubblegum punk ever since. This morning I watched her latest video “Girlfriend” and even I, with my 14 year old girly taste in music couldn’t believe what I was hearing (or seeing for that matter). I don’t know how the decision was made to create this horrible piece of, and I use the term loosely, music was made but whoever masterminded this song should never be allowed in music again. The song itself is completely devoid of the charm and honesty that I saw in both her previous albums in songs like “Anything But Ordinary” and “My Happy Ending”. Those other two albums were written, if not by a strong maturing young woman, at least with them in mind. This new song and video strip away all the things I loved about the first two albums, and Avril herself, and leave us with another Britney Spears. Granted this one has better guitars but that’s not saying a whole lot.

Avril seems to be going backwards. She used to make songs about crushes and lost loves and now she’s moved into the trap a lot of young women sadly fall into. The song and video show once again how young women are portrayed in a lot of media. As vicious bitches who will stop at nothing to get the man they desire. There is a gang mentality, girl on girl violence and a general lack of anything even remotely resembling empowerment. It’s a shame really. Avril seemed to be offering so much more.