Why Avril Lavigne’s Under My Skin Will Never Be “Forgotten”
If I say the name Avril Lavigne, the words pop punk princess, or skater boi, will probably pop into your head at some point. And while yes, Avril is definitely known by millions for being the 2000s answer to Cyndi Lauper, and as that skater boi chick, there was a period of time (that somehow a lot of people forget about) when Avril actually tried to go goth. That period of time was during 2004 in the wake of her sophomore album, Under My skin.
On the album, which is now 17 years old, Lavinge took a bold step away being the rebel chick on a skateboard, and sunk into the shadows of her former self. With a noticeably more gothed up appearance, Lavigne was out to make a statement on her sophomore album — that she wasn’t just this MTV pop star who rocked arm bands and converse high tops — she had feelings about things and the world was gonna know about that.
Those feelings manifested themselves on the first single, released in March 2004. It was a little song called “Don’t Tell Me” — perhaps you remember it? I remember when I heard the song debut on the radio. Yes, I was there for the radio world premiere on z100 New York. It was awesome. I loved how bold, direct, and sassy Avril was on that song. She was much more pop punk than she had been on any song off Let Go. Being that it was 2004, I enjoyed her step in that direction. Pop punk was everywhere in ’04, and so for Lavigne to jump right in, being that she was a popstar and all, well, it was pretty damn awesome. I couldn’t wait for the upcoming album to come out in May. But until then I awaited the “Don’t Tell Me” video. Because then I knew at least I could see it on MTV or Fuse whenever. I didn’t have an iPod, or an mp3 player, at the time so if I wanted to hear the single, I had to wait for it on the radio. I know tht sounds way archaic, but that’s how life was pre Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and all that good stuff that’s come to define our ways of life.
I went to Tower Records the day Avril’s album came out, and bought my copy of the physical cd. As soon as I got home, I listened to the cd in full, and I kept it spinning for almost a year straight.
Somewhere during the time I was enjoying Avril’s cd, “My Happy Ending” came out as the follow up to “Don’t Tell Me.” As someone who was experiencing mixed feelings in a relationship, and an impending breakup, “My Happy Ending” was “everything” I wanted in a song. It was even more relevant after me and that guy broke up. Because he was “everything that I wanted” and we lost it. During one of my countless plays through that song, I realized how incredibly relatable the lyrics were to my situation. And it made me think about how relatable these lyrics were to everyone who was breaking up, or recently broken up with someone they really thought was the one. I realized Avril hadn’t been so relatable on her previous album. This one was a song that spoke to me and likely every listener who knew the feels. The songs on Let Go were more obscure lyrically.
But “My Happy Ending” wasn’t the only song on Under My Skin to be relatable. In fact, most of the songs, with the exception of “Nobody’s Home” felt super relatable.
“Nobody’s Home” was interesting. Especially the video. I had never seen Avril in that state of vulnerability before. It was really interesting to see herself put herself out there. The “Nobody’s Home” video was so 2005, and a perfect fit in a TRL lineup of MCRs’ “Helena” and Hawthorne Heights’ “Niki Fm”. Avril was embracing the time period when goth was transitioning into emo. And doing it with ease.
Looking back, I see how UMS was really a perfect fit for the time period. Since there was no Hayley, or broody pop star on the scene, Avril did what she could to fill that gap. She blended pop punk with goth rock. The album is a rollercoaster of emotions It had lots of light an dark — lots of goth moments that were countered with pop moments. “He Wasn’t” was an exceptional banger. The album finished out in a somber tone with the track, “Slipping Away” — a song that left me wanting more. The cd version didn’t have that bonus track. But don’t tell the kids that.
In a lot of ways I always felt that Kelly Clarkson’s album, My December, was her version of Avril’s Under My Skin. The anthems, the haunting vocals were extremely similar, the pop moments countered by the goth moments were also very similar. I feel like those two albums are distant cousins of sorts.
There’s no doubt UMS is a classic, and a true testament to how pop music was in 2004. Pop music was undergoing a transitional period. Things were getting dark. More broody, more angsty. Kelly was having a breakdown. And so was Ashlee. Emo was emerging, but the clouds hadn’t set in just yet. No one knew who Paramore was. But the world would know soon enough. Avril was right in that element. But her time spent in that phase would be shortlived. I’d spend more time enjoying UMS than Avril would spend touring the album. Probably because I thought the album was insanely good. And all these years later, it still is.
But I feel like UMS has gotten lost in the shuffle through the years. No one talks much about Avril’s somber sophomore smash, and yet people know the songs. Everyone knows “My Happy Ending” and “Nobody’s Home”. And yet UMS as an album isn’t spoken of much. Maybe it’s because the kids who loved and respected angsty Avril grew up , and left their teen years in a garbage dump somewhere. Maybe it’s because the youngsters today are too young to know there was a time when Avril wasn’t the bubblegum blonde we now know her to be. But I remember that time in Avril’s career, that time when Avril showed the world that it was okay to wanna punch the mirror because a guy just wanted you for sex, and it was okay to wanna be alone. I remember it like it was yesterday. And it’s hard to believe it’s been a lot longer than that.
