Some Not So Stupid Love Songsby: Matt CibulaWhen our editor saw the cover to this disc, with this attractiveyoung black woman all tarted up, he assumed she was anR&B cutie. But I have a grade-school-age daughter, so I knew better. I knew Fefe Dobson was a Canadian punk-popprincess who could belt out rockstuff better than any old Avril,and I knew I had a new favorite disc for cranking in the car.Fefe doesn’t mess around. The very first song is the very bestsong; if “Stupid Little Love Song” was released as a single, itwould blow this narrow little world wide open with its tightslashing crunching goodness. Not only is it fast and hard andfunky like a Thierry Henry penalty kick, but it’s funny too: ourprotagonist is feeling a little outmatched by her boyfriend’ssuper-accomplished family, and doesn’t know how todeal: “You’re on the road to Harvard Law / I’m on the bus toArkansas”. His mother’s a Senator, his dad’s got his own talkshow, he’s a big jocky handsome guy, and all she has for himis…pause… “Just a stupid little love song!” and they all spazzout with the guitars again. I’m not saying it’s prime Clash oranything, but the way Dobson yells “Put ‘em up!” in thebreaks is pretty inspiring.Mostly what she does is what Avril does: pop songs with anedge that helps the listener feel like they’re really goingthrough something. “Revolution Song” is a good old-fashionedpower ballad about fighting some unspecified battle, all lushand creamy with harmonies and 1970s guitar lines; “Give ItUp” is hair-metal indie-funk girl-rock that sounds like Wingerand Liz Phair at the same time, always a great idea; bigsingle “Take Me Away” could fit right in on any Classic RawkHits station, an immediate member of the club. There are alot of guitar sounds here, and they go well with Dobson’sstrong but not screechy voice.She writes all the songs here, together with some dudenamed Jay “Mentalcase” Levine of something called LefthookProductions (Levine also produces, together with fellowLefthooker/songwriter James Bryan McCollum)—I’m assumingthe lyrics are Dobson’s and all the musical textures areLevine’s, because that’s the way it always works. Havingmade that assumption, I want to say that I really like FefeDobson as a lyricist, especially as a young woman. She’s notflashy or “clever,” but she’s solid and she connects. “Bye ByeBoyfriend” is snotty but forgiving, a nice trick if you can pull itoff; “We Went for a Ride” is full of that adolescent bubble-gum sadness that has driven all weepy teenage songsforever: “I’ll be praying for a red light / To extend thisprecious night / Cause we both know where I’m going / Andwe know it isn’t right”. Mysterious! Alluring! Sexy!The strongest, if not the best, writing here is in “Unforgiven,”an angry screed against Dobson’s absentee father. It crossesthe line sometimes into sentimentality, but it still carries akick to it. Funner: “Rock It Till You Drop It,” which will captureyour heart within a half a second of you hearing OMG a guestrap by TONE LOC!!! No, I’m not kidding. And yes, it’sawesome to hear him again.Listen, this isn’t the second coming, but it’s really solid andtough. Me and my daughter can sing it together in the car,and I love that she has a few good take-no-prisoner girl-punksongwriter role models like Fefe Dobson and Avril Lavigne(the new stuff is really good, honest). But why do they allhave to be Canadian? One of those things I’ll never know...
Related Songs
The Anaheim, Azusa & Cucamonga Sewing Circle, Book...
Anaheim, Azusa & Cucamonga Sewing Circle, Book Rev...
The Anaheim, Azusa and Cucamonga Sewing Circle, Bo...
The Anaheim, Azusa and Cucamonga Sewing Circle Boo...
The Anaheim, Azusa & Cucamonga Sewing......
- Review - - Soundtrack Artists
The Anaheim, Azusa & Cucamonga Sewing Circle, ...
Lets Remember Time - Kurt Travis
Highways - Alpha Rev
Review My Kisses - Rimes LeAnn
Last Chance - Colony 5
Besame Mucho - Ray Conniff
Review My Kisses - Lara Fabian
Review My Kisses - Leann Rimes
Forgive Us We're Canadian - Arrogant Worms
Gavels From Gun Barrels - Staple
Holiday Review - Magnolia Sons
Hearts Review - Lil B
Princeton Review - Team Sleep
Small Beginnings [From Record Review] - Flash
No More Shadows - Amanda Falk
The Strip - Naked Raygun
Glimpses - The Yardbirds
Invisible Tears - Jean Shepard
Invisible Tears - Connie Smith
May The Flesh Be With You - Defleshed
Invisible Tears - Bobby Bare
Invisible Tears - Webb Pierce
Glimpses - Yardbirds
Invisible Tears - Sonny James
Invisible Tears - David Houston
Invisible Tears - David Houston
The Darker Depths - Kioskontrol
Cut 'Em Off - Dizzee Rascal
History Is Made at Night - SMASH Cast
The Waltz of the Moronic...
Tit For Tat (Ain't No Taking Back) - James Brown
The Black Review - Blee
Invisible Tears - Skeeter Davis
Unpronounceable - They Might Be Giants
Green Flash at Sunset - Jimmy Buffett
Energy Song - Xavier Rudd
Daily Mutilation - Posies
Daily Mutilation [Demo Version] - The Posies
Ode To Branson - Simpsons
The Stillest Hour - Song Of Zarathustra
Dear Sarah Shu - John Vanderslice
Into the Infinite - Aeon Zen
Into The Infinite - Aeon Zen
Think Tonight - The Futureheads
Moreover - Wire
Memory Lane - Joe Walsh
Think Tonight - Futureheads
Keep The Fire Burning - Mr. Review
My Automatic - Air Review
Low Wishes - Air Review
Young - Air Review
Rebel - Air Review
Waiting Lessons - Air Review
America's Son - Air Review
Fin - Air Review
H - Air Review
(Version: To Decline To Take A Shower)...
Year In Review - The Black Keys
Sweet Soul Review - Pizzicato Five
National Movie Review - Deltron 3030
Yours and Mine - Fountains Of Wayne
Broadcast The News - Verona Grove
New York Times Book Review - J Church
Jazzcore Fusion - Cause for Effect
A Certain Pleasure - Erin McKeown
Shudder, St. Kilda - Sights And Sounds
Poetry for the Poisoned, Pt. IV: Dissection...
Apply Some Pressure - Maxïmo Park
Freeway - Smash
Connections - Criteria
Vic'try Polka - Andrews Sisters
Hype - Tegan And Sara
The Pharmacist v. The Secret Stars (Version: To De...
Poetry For The Poisoned Pt. 4 - Dissection...
Mother - Thin White Rope
Mother [#] - Thin White Rope
Don't Do The Crime - UB40
Bogart The Change - Cerberus Shoal
You Deserve This - Bad Astronaut
Don't Do The Crime - UB40
Watch You Lose - Tommy Lee
Roll The Fire - Conception
Something Sentimental - Vaughn Monroe
You Can't Soar Like An Eagle When You Hang Out Wit...
Last Night - I, Ludicrous
Red Letter Day - The Ordinary Boys
Red Letter Day [*] - The Ordinary Boys
Cheap Paper With Full Color Advertisements...
Afternoon with the Axolotis - Hum
Nothings Says "i Love You" Like A Restra...
Procession of Black Doom - Unholy
All Alone [From the Music Box Review] - Al Jolson
Flicker - Kathryn Williams
Peace On Earth - Adrian Belew
Fur Stop Caring - Right Away, Great Captain!
Revue - Squeeze
Parade - Vic Chesnutt
22 Steps - Andy Stochansky
There Is Nothing Wrong with Hating Rock Critics...
Monsterous - Motley Crue
Fictitious Guide - Atheist
Manhattan - War
LET'S GO AWAY FOR AWHILE - Neil Young
Monsterous [Demo Version] - Mötley Crüe
More Psycho Messages - Tech N9ne
Message To MURS Skit - Tech N9ne
22 Steps - Damien Leith
High Wire - Badlands
... in the Spirit - Faust
Manhattan - The War
Back Home - Eric Clapton
...In The Spirit - Faust
High Wire (Badlands Cover) - Adrenaline Mob
High Wire - Adrenaline Mob
Blood Collection - Wintersleep
Sunburn - Ohgr
A Year In Review - Handguns
The Year in Review - Her Space Holiday
Review Our Lives (Epic) - Fear Before
King Of Tuesday Night - The Planet Smashers
Where You End And I Begin - Enemy Logic
007 - Innpeach
Image of Myself - Zonaria
Strafford - Matt Pond PA
Gasoline - Garrison Starr
All Alone [From Music Box Review of 1924]...
Take It From Here - Timberlake Justin
Be the Speak That You Change About - Mixtapes
Take It From Here - Justin Timberlake
[MP3s] David Stephenson - Free MP3 Downloads...
Bernadette and Her Crowd - Vic Chesnutt
The Star Carol - Aaron Neville
Ascension - John Frusciante
Tower of Lies - Axel Rudi Pell
Time The Conqueror - Jackson Browne
Train Song - Phish
Straight From The Heart - Earth Wind & Fire
Black Light Blue - Shelby Lynne
The Funny Thing About Getting Pistol Whipped Is......
The Funny Thing About Getting Pistol Whipped Is...
The Gales of 1838 - Great Lakes Myth Society
Theory Of The Crows - The National
Weary Mothers (People's Union #1) (3:34) (Joan Bae...
Celebrity Head - Powderfinger
Rich People Die Unhappy - Butch Walker
Fever - Neko Case
Apply Some Pressure [Original Demo Version]...
Apply Some Pressure - Maximo Park
Big Bang Two - Chameleon Circuit
The Walls Have Eyes - The Photo Atlas
Miles In Memories - Ernest Tubb
Eff The Sun - The Gothsicles
My Confession - Engelbert Humperdinck
Slow Down - Alejandro Escovedo
Boiled Frogs - City and Colour
Change Up - Mister Metaphor
All These Governors - The Evens
Meaningless Movements - Kisser Andreas
Dalking Man - Popes of Chillitown
Crouching Camber Hidden Sniper...
Apply Some Pressure - Mark Ronson
Come Into My Life - Robert Plant
Life On A Break - Karl Wolf
Amateur - Saint Etienne
Yeezus - Kanye West
Roll Call - J. Cole
Roll Call (EP) - J. Cole
Roll Call - J Cole
Straight from the Heart - Earth, Wind & Fire
Straight From The Heart - Earth, Wind & Fire
Andrea - David Arn
Seize The Day - Adjusted
Modern World - The Jam
The Modern World [Album Version] - The Jam
The Modern World [Version] - The Jam
Plan A - The Libertines
THE MODERN WORLD - The Jam
La Jalouse - Jane Siberry
More Psycho Messages (Skit) - Tech N9ne
The Modern World - Jam
Western Wall - Emmylou Harris
Plan A - Libertines
Western Wall - Rosanne Cash
Straight From The Heart...
The Evil Prince - Frank Zappa
Sixty Seconds to Fall In Love - Sunny Intervals
A Flat Tent - Wire
If I Had My Life to Live Over - Lou Rawls
If I Had My Life to Live Over/Let Me Call You Swee...
If I Had My Life to Life Over - Kate Smith
Repentagram - Demiricous
The Heckler - Mustasch
If I Had My Life to Live Over Again [DVD]...
Factor Misery - Omega Lithium