笑里藏刀搞阴乐 唱翻全英冠军篡位完封! 英国乐坛蛮横搞怪，排行小公主诞生 ★权威杂志"NME""莉莉 将要改变你对流行音乐的看法" ★"MOJO"杂志 年度最佳流行专辑 ★"WORD"杂志 充满原创力，首首歌曲都是强打 ★"ATTITUDE"杂志 为流行音乐和女性主义跨出了一大步 ★"Q"杂志 今年夏天必备盘 ★"UNCUT"杂志 流行歌坛最棒且最具突破性的一张专辑 ★"Time Out"杂志 代表伦敦新声重要代表作   她跟Arctic Monkeys一样，崛起于网路；跟Paris Hilton一样，都有个名人老爹。是以她个人专辑未出版前，居然已经成了媒体名流。拜myspace之赐，全世界不知多少人已经先见识过这个耍弄小聪明、看来既可恶又可爱的女生；如今她批评英国足球队与贝克汉的话又顿时成了全英新闻头条。从这些事来看，很容易找到理由讨厌这个叫Lily Allen的人，以及那首仅靠网路下载就登上全英单曲榜第13名，实体发行后顺利空降冠军的单曲〈Smile〉；更别提她那最早的限量黑胶单曲〈LDN〉在ebay上已被哄抬至100英镑的天价。   也许这一切确实很有炒作意味，可听过Lily Allen那些经常走着Ska / Raggae因而很有夏日风情、半念半唱的歌，却很难忍住不跟着哼。首张专辑《Alright Still》由曼彻斯特知名DJ混音搭档Future Cut（也就是几年前曾找来歌姬Jenna G合组Drum’n’bass / Urban三人队伍Un-Cut的那两位）与全才嘻哈制作人Mark Ronson等各方要角坐镇的制作群，以放克、Space-Age Lounge甚至是Madchester风格为底，给足了这才二十出头的女孩极大的发挥空间，让她无碍的说自己想说的话，那些关于男女朋友之间，有点滑稽的情节与情绪，比方「You ask if we can still be lovers / I’ll have to introduce my brothers」这类摆明是为了押韵但又很好笑的歌词。也许正如ID杂志所言︰「When’s the last time we had an opinionated female pop star？」，于是当新世代听见这么有主张，彷彿电影《Mean Girl》真人版的女生，伴随着悠然的律动，那热烈的回应就此爆发了。NME照例很夸张地说她将改变我们对流行乐的想法，我们不妨先听着她的《Alright Still》愉快地度过燥热难耐的夏日！   (by 博客来)   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Alright, Still is the debut album by British pop singer-songwriter Lily Allen, released on 14 July 2006 by Regal Recordings. Recording the album began with sessions between Allen and production duo Future Cut, and Allen's work garnered publicity on the Internet as she posted demos to her MySpace account before they were officially released. The songs are heavily influenced by Jamaican ska music, and their lyrics are conversational and farcical.   Because there are many instances of strong language in a great majority of the album's songs, it was released with a Parental Advisory warning, though the song "Friday Night" remains censored on all versions of the album. The album was released to generally positive reviews among music critics. It was commercially successful in the United Kingdom, having been certified 3× platinum. Alright, Still has sold over 3 million copies worldwide. The album earned a nomination for Best Alternative Music Album at the 50th Grammy Awards. (wiki)   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------   by Heather Phares   Like most British pop, Lily Allen's debut album, Alright, Still, overflows with impeccably shiny, creative productions. However, Allen attempts to set herself apart from the likes of Rachel Stevens, Natasha Bedingfield, and Girls Aloud with a cheeky, (mostly) amusing vindictive streak in her lyrics that belies the sugarcoated sounds around them. You know exactly what she means when she says her ex is "not big whatsoever" on "Not Big"; later, she revels in being the one that got away on "Shame for You." However, this nice-then-naughty approach is at its best on Alright, Still's singles, which open the album in a one-two-three punch. Another ex-boyfriend kiss-off, "Smile," has a silky verse melody that just barely conceals her spite, which finally spills over on the chorus: "At first, when I see you cry/It makes me smile." But even here, Allen keeps her revenge sweet -- she sounds like she's singing about how ice cream or puppies or being in love makes her smile, which gives the song an extra sting. "Knock 'Em Out" is an even sassier, more stylized battle of the sexes than the Streets' "Fit But You Know It" (and could very well be the response from the girl in Mike Skinner's song). And "LDN" is a glorious summer confection, even if "it's all lies" underneath the Lord Kitchener sample and "sun is in the sky" chorus. Alright, Still's production and arrangements, courtesy of Greg Kurstin, Mark Ronson, and Futurecut, balance Allen's tart observations with a backdrop of pop-grime beats and freewheeling, feel-good ska that makes her sound playful and kittenish instead of just catty. While the album doesn't exactly go downhill after its opening salvo, it does lose some steam, particularly with "Take What You Take," a song that feels out of character with the rest of Alright, Still because it's uncharacteristically dull, and "Alfie," which falls especially flat as the album's final song. Allen softens her tough-girl pose more successfully on "Little Things," a ballad that celebrates the mundane moments of a dying relationship ("You'd take me out shopping and all we'd buy was trainers/As if we ever needed anything to entertain us") and "Everything's Just Wonderful," where "bureaucrats that won't give me a mortgage" are the targets of her ire instead of a previous (or soon-to-be previous) boyfriend. As with Nellie McKay (another young, opinionated woman eager to make herself the maverick in her chosen style of music), the dichotomy between Allen's sweet sound and ironic lyrics could be seen as either witty or clever-clever. Still, enough of Alright, Still works -- as pure pop and on the meta level Allen aims for -- to make the album a fun, summery fling, and maybe more. [The U.S. version of Alright, Still includes a remix of "Smile" and the 50 Cent parody "Nan You're a Window Shopper" as well as U-MYX software, which allows listeners to make their own remixes of "Smile" and "Knock 'Em Out" -- not an essential addition, but a surprisingly fun one nonetheless.]