The Prestigious 'No Tomorrow'/'SOS' Song of the Month Award

There was no point mentioning my favourite song of April as March's winner 'SOS' was still straddling the charts and my internal jukebox for much of the month. It didn't help, of course, that everything was a bit April-showers. Dull. Track of the month would've been, if I'd've been threatened at gun point to chose or die, The Kooks' 'Niave' (I know them! - except I don't - but I sort of do - I'll explain later).

In contrast, there are two main contenders in May, which is still only 8 days young, which together promise a sunny summer, a shake-up of the political world and a generally refreshed look on life. The first of these songs has been around for a good while on an album first released early last year ('Fires'), Nerina Pallot's 'Everybody's Gone To War'. As beautiful in sentiment as it is brilliant in chick-with-guitar-ness. Not the whining rockstar rant you'd expect when pop meets politics, as afterall, when negativity meets negativity, negativity always wins. Furthermore, the whole Band Aid debacle proved just how horrible it can be when pop and politics collide.
Yes, the song is laden with references to the US' occupation of Iraq but rather than evangelically pointing the finger at Bush & Blair and casting them to gates of hell for being what is essentially unlawful killers (ho-hum, this is no politics blog), Pallot merely raises a knowing eyebrow and quips in a side breath "should you really be doing that?". It's like we're back on the playground. The boys are off playing war and all little Nerina wants to do is play with dolls and play happy families and live in a world full of love, kindness and thoughtfulness. This song is the result.
Also, though I really shouldn't concentrate on the politics involved here (as let's face it, we'd all much rather be in some dank, smoke-infested, drug-trafficing, hooching nightclub dancing until 3am with homosexuals and maybe even kissing them!!!), but let's look at the facts... Pallot's song hits the radio and a week later Labour back-benchers and the British media are all calling for Tony Blair to stand down. And, Bono's Africans are, tragically, still hungry, but we're all aware of it.
Now, that my friends, is PopJustice.

Orson are from Hollywood. Rhianna is from Barbados. Pallot is American. What on earth has happened to this Brit-pop revival we were all promised at the end of last year? Will Young is busy released mildly inspiring but conversely dull-as-brain-rot ballads, Girls Aloud are off conquering foreign lands (Australia) and are preparing for the most arse-kicking tour the world has ever seen (!!!) after having released two ballads in a row. The Arctic Monkeys little fairground ride has ended and after queuing for four hours for a cheap thrill that's over in thrity seconds everyone's left thinking, "is that it?" The 'New & Improved Recipe' of the Sugababes don't taste quite as sweet as they used too. Maximo Park, Frapp, Lady Ellis-Bextor (come back soon!!) and M.I.A. are all A.W.O.L. (though in M.I.A.'s case it's actually M.I.A. (missing in action)). I digress.
You know what we really need? A vivacious, charismatic, bubbly, talented, young British singer/songwriter/urban poet/popstrel who will make the sunshine this summer even if we've all got sunstroke and are a bit sick of it. Enter Lily Allen and her debut single 'LDN'.

It's sort of appropriate to talk about 'LDN' after 'Everybody's Gone To War'. Pallot and Allen are clearly kindred spirits, both brought down by the stark humanness of the real world, but intelligent (or sheltered) to ignore it all, look at a pair of chaffinches fly across the sky, smile, whistle a happy tune and think of other things. 'LDN' begins with Lily embracing the beauty of London by bike and she precedes to paint a picture for us of what she sees. Listening closely to the lyrics ("when you look with your eyes/everything looks nice/but when you look twice/you can see it's all lies") it's clear that the London Lily Allen sees is not the London we're supposed to see.
However, you could be mistaken for thinking this song was a joyous celebration of the brilliantness of life with the ska-pop melody and sunny chorus refrain of "sun is in the sky oh why oh why would I wanna be anywhere else?", that is, in a word, ace. You'll forgive me for my simplicity and unoriginality I hope as I sit here giggling at a verse half-rapped half-sung about an O.A.P. getting mugged that rhymes "Tesco" with "al fresco" that sounds so summery I'm starting to apply lotion. (*wink*)
Weirdly, Allen's summery spin on events has made me only more excited about moving to London for uni in September and embracing a "do I give a fuck?" anonimity. That could be me getting mugged. They could be my crackwhores. Isn't life just so fucking brilliant when you learn to ignore it?