REFUSING TO LET GO: A Review of Avril Lavigne's "Let Go" in 15 Parts (1/15)

We do a lot of ridiculous stuff here at the Sleeping Village--that, I can not deny. However, this mammothian effort on the part of Ancient Hand serves as a response to said frivolity. Nothing--and I mean nothing--is more serious than dissecting, in painstaking detail, the seminal debut of early 2000's pop monarch Avril Lavinge. I won't attempt to justify this miniseries, as the author does a significantly better job than I ever could. Thus, I'll leave you with this: Refusing to Let Go is significantly more than a considerable effort. This is much grander than a mere celebration. This, dear readers, is a magnum opus. Also, for the haters: Avril is metal as fuck. There. I said it.

The miniseries before ye is divided into a glorious fifteen parts, beginning with today's introductory statement. Tune in on a weekly basis to dive into the latest installment! - Ed.

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Written by: Ancient Hand

Music is one of the most widely recognized, cherished, and commodified art forms this world has ever seen. Nowadays, music is present in nearly every aspect of our lives: scores for films, in shopping plazas, on public transit, in our homes, and even in our ears through wireless earbuds. The incredible popularity of this art form has been rising steadily over the years as music itself has undergone many evolutions with different branchings of genres and levels of experimentation. Music is even an identifier of cultures across the globe.

What about albums that transcend culture and seem to be the epitome of music to an entire generation? This happens on occasion; an artist will seem to take over the world and garner the attention and acclaim of not only many different people--but many different types of people. While some artists don’t necessarily have the acclaim of everyone, and sometimes they are simply the poster child for the vocal majority, some artists are able to exist in the culture of a time rather than a culture of a group of people. One such artist is Avril Lavigne. Anyone over the age of 20 knows who she is and heard her anthemic choruses blasting out of 2001 Honda Civics nearly two decades ago. The particular album in question is her critically acclaimed 2002 album, Let Go. 

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In this 15-chapter exposé, we will be discussing this album--one of music’s most structurally sound and pivotal pillars that has stood the tests of time, memes, criticism, and cultural revolution. Many of you may be asking “Why are you writing this?” or “Why in the hell would I want to read this?” And the simplest answer to your quiere is another question: because is knowledge not one of the most beautiful things to take part in? Knowledge is a key component of ascending to the fullest potential you have within you. Knowledge is key to understanding, participating in, and changing the world around you. Many of the things we encounter in our daily lives require a closer look, and doing so with an art form that has seen far too much commodification, sullying, and disrespect is a key part of being an active thinker in this day and age.

In order to be this active thinker and world-changer, understanding music and its power is key. The importance of music I described in the very first paragraph was not just to segue into discussing this album; I truly meant it as something we can grow to better understand through our discussion of Let Go. Knowing what makes this album so incredible and so impactful will allow us to better understand music as an art form-- and thus, better understand the world we live in.

Before we move any further, I feel it is necessary to establish the “absolute truths” of this discussion. Obviously, at its most basic and fundamental level, this is a long review; I am not discussing the history of this album nor its personal impact on me. I am discussing what makes each individual song so downright incredible and how it contributes to one of the finest artistic masterpieces of the Twenty First Century. Therefore, I want to make it clear that (1) I am working with the belief that Let Go is amazing, and acting with that as a fact. I understand people have differing opinions, and while I would fail to see things from your perspective or try to understand you if you disagree with that statement, I feel the need to make it abundantly clear that I am writing and analyzing with this statement as a fact. Are opinions facts? No, but I believe this is the closest any opinion can come to operating as a fact. The next absolute truth I am operating on is that you are somewhat aware of both Avril Lavigne’s artistry and the culture of the early and mid 2000’s. Should I seek to expand this into a multi-volume collection, I shall provide more detail on these key aspects. However, at this point and time, I believe that these aspects of our world are not totally lost from the general consciousness, and they do not require a long winded explanation.

Once the discussions of individual songs have concluded, we will discuss how we can take this knowledge and apply it to music in general, and, in turn, how this can assist in thinking more efficiently, effectively, vibrantly, and world-changingly. Now, without further ado, I am proud to introduce my extended and uncut review of Avril Lavigne’s Let Go.

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Tune is next week as we dive deep into the first track on Let Go: the groundbreaking classic "Losing Grip."