How Well Do Avril's Videos Fit With the Song?

[Zach]

You're taking the video too "literally"! It has a deeper sense ! I think you should read my interpretation (on page 2)! The floating off into the sky means that the grudge she had for the guy finally disappear!

I don't know... So many people try to find out a good interpretation to the "Wish you were here" video when we all know that it's pretty flat and meaningless and yet people find the "Don't tell me" video too messy or incomprehensive when there are lots of elements for a good explanation of the video...! At least something happened during that video, she didn't just take a bath and cried fake tears like in "WYWH" ...

LOL well maybe it's just because I find Don't Tell Me to be a really dull song overall, and because Avril never seemed to be into it much either (she said she wouldn't have written it if she could go back and that the video was her least favorite of her videos) that I don't like the video either. It's one of the very few Avril songs that I almost actually dislike (the others being Nobody's Fool and Hot).

And the thing is, there isn't supposed to be a deep, hidden or symbolic meaning for Wish You Were Here. It's very straightforward, so if you try to "interpret" it you're going to fail because that's not the purpose of it like it is for, say, Nobody's Home. Her simple, no-bullshit songs are usually my favorites.

[Presley5]

LOL well maybe it's just because I find Don't Tell Me to be a really dull song overall, and because Avril never seemed to be into it much either (she said she wouldn't have written it if she could go back and that the video was her least favorite of her videos) that I don't like the video either. It's one of the very few Avril songs that I almost actually dislike (the others being Nobody's Fool and Hot).

And the thing is, there isn't supposed to be a deep, hidden or symbolic meaning for Wish You Were Here. It's very straightforward, so if you try to "interpret" it you're going to fail because that's not the purpose of it like it is for, say, Nobody's Home. Her simple, no-bullshit songs are usually my favorites.

What do you mean by "no-bullshit" songs...? 'Cause to me "Don't tell me" is a really honest and "no-bullshit" song lol... So I need your definition to see if it fits ! To me it's not dull, just serious and I kind of like the "calm" and "reflective" Avril !

Another question : When / where did she say that "Don't tell me" was her least favourite video? I know you've met her several times so I was wondering if she told you this in person. Maybe she wasn't into the song 'cause she wrote it before "Let Go"'s release.. Perhaps it would have been more adequate to put it on her first record and maybe not as a single, even though I think it was a smart choice (at least as a good continuity for her second album) and it introduced us the "moody" Avril Lavigne!

To bad if she really doesn't like "Don't tell me" 'cause it's well-written for a girl of her age at the time, a great work! It seems like we don't have the same taste in Avril's music ! I just love "Don't tell me" "Hot" and "Nobody's fool" xD!

I guess we could at least agree on "My Happy Ending", "Nobody's home" and "I'm with you" as both beautiful songs and videos ^^!

[Zach]

What do you mean by "no-bullshit" songs...? 'Cause to me "Don't tell me" is a really honest and "no-bullshit" song lol... So I need your definition to see if it fits ! To me it's not dull, just serious and I kind of like the "calm" and "reflective" Avril !

Another question : When / where did she say that "Don't tell me" was her least favourite video? I know you've met her several times so I was wondering if she told you this in person. Maybe she wasn't into the song 'cause she wrote it before "Let Go"'s release.. Perhaps it would have been more adequate to put it on her first record and maybe not as a single, even though I think it was a smart choice (at least as a good continuity for her second album) and it introduced us the "moody" Avril Lavigne!

It was written before Complicated, so it was well before UMS and yeah I mentioned before that could be a reason why I don't think it fits with the rest of the album (although neither do Who Knows or Freak Out). But yeah, usually her simple, no-bullshit songs are my favorites but sometimes not - like Don't Tell Me. I liked it when I first heard it in 2004 but I kind of just "grew out" of it.

She said it was her least favorite video in 2006 in one of the Q&As she used to do on her website:

Question:
If you could redo any of your music videos, which would you redo and what would you change about it? Much love, Avril Bandaids.
Answer:
hahaha...well I guess my least fav video is for 'Don't Tell Me' But my fav is 'He Wasn't' It's soooo me - to bad it wasn't a single in the states though...

See, I never thought DTM was a good first single because it doesn't really represent the album at all, like What the Hell didn't! I always thought Take Me Away or Together would have been a really good introduction to the album. Together was her favorite song (or one of them) from that album too.

To bad if she really doesn't like "Don't tell me" 'cause it's well-written for a girl of her age at the time, a great work! It seems like we don't have the same taste in Avril's music ! I just love "Don't tell me" "Hot" and "Nobody's fool" xD!

I guess we could at least agree on "My Happy Ending", "Nobody's home" and "I'm with you" as both beautiful songs and videos ^^!

That's why it's good she does something different for every new album I guess!

[BogoGog24]

^ In retrospect, I think DTM was actually one of the better single choices for UMS. It had commercial appeal and displayed the harder sound of UMS without straying too far from her pop roots. TMA would have been way too dark for a radio song (not to mention it's quite short) and Together, while a favorite of mine, just doesn't sound right at all for radio. The end bit where she keeps shouting "Together! Together!" gets annoying after awhile and would probably give me such a headache that I'd turn the radio off.

[Flexible Perplexity]

When You're Gone! I LOVE that video!