Frank Kogan

Trust perhaps isn't the right word - it's more about knowing what you're getting (whether that's good, bad, plagiaristic or creative). I have seen enough of Avril on telly and in the papers over the last three years to get a mental image of what sort of person she is whilst I listen to her music (whether that image is conjured up by her PR team or whatever is a completely different thread - I'm happy to make my own judgements based on what I see and read). I didn't know Ashlee had a tv show until this afternoon, and so her lyrics (and, I guess, her music) are disembodied for me right now. Until I 'get to know her better' (which I fully intend to do) my jury is out. I've mentioned how important personality is to me for pop music elsewhere - that's one of the ways I differentiate pop from eg dance music or hiphop. I could be here all night on this one, my views are by no means fixed and this opinion could change by next week!

> you must care about lyrics if you care whether the singer "means what she says."

:) Ah you've got me there. The reason I have been hanging around this post all bloody day is because I read Frank's column interpreting Ashlee's lyrics, and thought "how the hell does he know she means all that?" I wanted to firstly challenge Frank on this (which he has answered) and secondly try and work out why I don't think about lyrics that way. So this conclusion (that I don't care about lyrics) isn't quite what I meant. I definitely place less emphasis on lyrics than music and image. If the lyrics aid the music and image all the better, but on their own they could never inspire that 'OMG!' factor that you guys seem to be getting with Ashlee. Perhaps she'll be the one to change my ways?
Right I am DEFINITELY going to bed now.