The Fear

            What drew me to Lily Allen’s music was her catchy and fresh take on pop, but I stayed for her cheeky lyrics. Sometimes, she is simply sharing her life experiences flippantly; others she is making genuine commentaries on society, and wrapping it up in a delightfully tongue-in-cheek package. The lead single of her sophomore album, “The Fear,” seems to combine the two perfectly. It is focusing on the consumerist behaviors and thought processes that plague our society, as well as what we have come to value through the years.

            The verses are written as if Lily really believes that looks, fame, and money are the most important things in life, while the chorus shows how she feels she is losing herself by the constant presence of said beliefs.

            I looked up an interview of Lily speaking about “The Fear,” and could not believe my eyes when I discovered the advertisement before the video was for an anti-aging skin product. I then noticed a picture ad next to the interview of L’Oreal makeup artists at the Cannes 2013 Film Festival. In the interview, Lily described the song as being about how she is “not really liking…the way the world has become so obsessed with celebrity culture and aesthetic beauty and money and consumerism.”

This obsession manifests itself in propaganda, and apparently is virtually unavoidable. Recently, there has been an increase of action against the perpetuation of shallow and degrading content in the media. Hopefully such voices will be heard and changes will be made. In the meantime, however, I will appease myself by listening to Lily’s powerful and feisty music.