Blogocentric Formulations

Kiss Me Like The World Is Ending

"Barrel of Monkeys" 
Day 9





"Kiss Me Like The World Is Ending"
by Avril Lavigne
from Love Sux (2022)

This is probably my favorite song off Avril's Love Sux album. It's not the one I've listened to the most at this point, but it's the one that most consistently puts a smile on my face and that I think is a perfect mix that captures her evolution as an artist. It's upbeat, a little punk rock, and has that positive message that I've mentioned in a few other posts that I think is missing from a lot of songs in this genre. It's a hopeful and energetic song that is oddly romantic given that it's a pop-punk anthem.

I'm seriously considering writing a short story inspired by this song (or maybe I'll attempt yet another ill-fated "Musicology Anthology"  entry based on this album next year; it's a challenge that I always start with the best intentions and rarely seem to ever get started on in earnest. But it's not since "Damage"  (the song I wrote inspired by The Band CAMINO's song of the same name) that I've had such a fully-formed vision of what kind of a story a song can tell based on my interpretation of the lyrics.

After having spent the ten days of this challenge revisiting Avril Lavigne's entire catalogue, I'm super-bummed that I've missed a couple opportunities to see her in concert. I wasn't even aware of this album around the time she was doing the Love Sux Tour, and I can't say I would have gone even if I had because the closest venues to me were Las Vegas (and Winchester, NV) in September and October 2022 when there were still COVID concerns at big public events (like concerts!), and I literally just missed her Greatest Hits Tour earlier this year by a couple of months. She was in Los Angeles (and Las Vegas, again) in May and June, and the tour literally had its last stop less than two weeks ago. I would have loved to have gone to a show on the Greatest Hits Tour since she played so many songs from so many different eras.

Hopefully she'll have a new album and a new tour soon. Based on her album releases to-date, I wouldn't be surprised if she dropped a new album sometime in 2025. Her average (mean) time between albums is roughly three years, and if Love Sux released in February 2022, it's probably a good bet that she's finishing up whatever she's currently working on and angling for a release sometime soon, now that her Greatest Hits album and the accompanying tour has wrapped up. Whatever she does next, I'm definitely here for it!

BTW, if this entry sounds a little like a wrap-up of a ten day event on Day 9... it kind of is. That's because my pick for Day 10 is something a bit different and isn't necessarily an "Avril Lavigne song" per se. I hope that you've enjoyed this brief journey through Avril's discography and come back to visit during "The Soundtrack of Your Life"  when I'll have another of her songs (or maybe a couple!) to share from my listening over the past year. Like I've mentioned, this album featured prominently in my listening this year. Multiple tracks will probably show up on my Spotify year-end summary.



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