Half worth a damn

Avril Lavigne is known for being the princess of punk-pop and she takes that to a whole new level on her newest album, The Best Damn Thing, by spitting out lyrics consisting of the likes of "Hell yeah/I'm the motherfucking princess" and "And now you're somehwhere out there with a/Bitch, slut, psychopath."\nLavigne's third album comes complete with a parental advisory warning, something that will surely please the parents of the teenage following her type of music targets.\nThe album starts on what is perhaps its highest note with the single, "Girlfriend," where Avril urges her interest to leave his current girl for her. The song works with a cheerleading-type of sound, with chants, claps and has a catchy tune that makes it a perfect listen-to-while-you're-getting-ready type of song. \nAlthough she was recently married, you'd hardly know it by the makeup of the album. It continues with the upbeat, poppy anti-dude song, "I Can Do Better," where Avril continues her ranting ("I'm sick of this shit/Don't ask why/I hate you now."). \nSongs like "The Best Damn Thing" and "I Don't Have to Try" continue the upbeat cheerleader theme, and though the lyrics sometimes annoyed me so much that I had to skip the songs ("I'm the one who wears the pants/I'm the one who tells you what to do"), the beats were still catchy in that teen-princess kind of way. \nAvril performs at her best on songs where she's not simply trying to keep up her queen of punk reputation. "Innocence," "When You're Gone" and the album's closer, "Keep Holding On," showcase a deeper side of Lavigne and give hope that she's at least slowly maturing musically and lyrically. \nThough she hasn't come too far from the days where lyrics as ridiculous as "I'm not the milk and Cheerios in your spoon" appeared on her debut album, The Best Damn Thing is fun with several catchy pop tunes and is at least more listen-able than her sophomore album (which sold less than half as many as her debut). Perhaps if she can get over her preoccupation with keeping up her punk look and just focus on music, Lavinge will continue to develop. Pop this album in if you're looking for something fun and simple, just don't expect it to actually be the best damn thing.