Frank Kogan

I used to write bad poetry 'song lyrics' as a teenager just like everyone else!

But Ashlee's not writing bad poetry. If you're just listening to catchy choruses, you might think she is: catchy-chorus-wise, there's no discernible difference between Ashlee Simpson or Fefe Dobson or Avril Lavigne. But look what Ashlee can do that Avril can't: I'm always, always, always late / And my hair's a mess, even when it's straight. Two lines, and you've already got a clear character.

Avril's lyrics are...well, to be honest, I can't actually remember any Avril lyrics, hold on. Here we go: I can't stand the way you act, I just can't comprehend / I don't think that you can handle it / I'm way over, over it. It scans fine, it rhymes, it's even catchy--but she's just filling space and it shows. She doesn't finish her thought up in that first line. She doesn't need another "over" in that last one. She doesn't actually say anything--and that's why it's so easy to dismiss her as brainless and bratty and incapable of writing a good song on her own.

Or here's a better comparison:

Stay there, come closer, it's at your own risk / Yeah, you know how it is / Life can be a bitch.

Uh, okay, I guess so. Versus:

Shut up! Come back! No I didn't really mean to say that / I'm mixed up, so what? / Yeah, you want me, so you're messed up too.

These are from Avril's "Runaway" and Ashlee's "Love Me for Me," respectively, which are essentially the same song: The Messy Girl's Guide to Love. Except that Avril is unfocused and indistinct, where Ashlee is clear and meaningful.

Avril meanders from her own bad day (some vague shit about crashing the car and her phone being out of range, which I guess happens if you're in Canada) to her push/pull lyric, to some more vague shit about life being a bitch and how she just wants to scream and lose control and run away.

Ashlee stays focused: this is a song about herself and her guy, and the conflict between wanting him closer and wanting her space, from beginning to end. Her push/pull lyric is the center of the song. And she manages to slip in the best lines of all time: My head is spinning but my heart is in the right place / Sometimes it has to have itself a little earthquake. And the other best lines of all time: Here I am, perfect as I'm ever gonna be / Stick around, I'm not the kind of girl you wanna leave. And more best lines of all time: It's been three days / You come around here like you know me / Your stuff, my place / Next thing you know, you'll be using my toothpaste. See how much life is contained within those three lines? These people, this place, the essential conflict. Those are the opening lines, by the way--she doesn't waste time, or words.

And that's the thing. Ashlee's writing pretty fucking good poetry: detailed, evocative, every word earning its place, with a voice that's strong and distinct. Avril's writing bad poetry, because Avril operates under your assumption: pop lyrics don't have to do anything other than rhyme or scan well.