If you enjoy the whip-smart lyrics and general sass of Lily Allen, feminist smackdowns of unimaginatively sexist music videos and biting satire, then Allen’s new song Hard Out Here is something you’ll definitely enjoy.
The video kicks off with Lily lying on an operating table having liposuction (and working some seriously gorgeous eye makeup) while a surgeon and a horrible music executive tut over what a state she has let her body get into.
Her bewildered “Uh…I’ve had TWO babies” is a wonderful retort that perfectly hits on the ridiculous post-baby weight loss obsession that the media has when it comes to famous mothers. And that’s just 34 seconds in.
It only gets better from there, with Lily taking on double standards:
If I told you about my sex life, you’d call me a slut / When boys be talking ‘bout their bitches no one’s making a fuss
The implication that male bits = strength:
Forget your balls and grow a pair of tits
And the pressure put on women to be thin:
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If you’re not a size 6, then you’re not good looking / Well you better be rich or be real good at cooking
There’s also some pretty great digs at Miley Cyrus’s propensity for twerking and a particularly brilliant send up of Robin Thicke’s lame balloons from his Blurred Lines video, where Lily uses balloons that are actually funny and does some hilariously dorky dancing in front of them.
It perfectly illustrates how she has more self-awareness and humour in her fiercely manicured little finger than Thicke does in his entire body. Plus she does a mean robot.
It’s classic Lily Allen, smart, catchy and brimming with snark and she looks amazing in the video while remaining completely covered up throughout, something quite refreshing in the age of Rihanna and Miley and their respective allergies to wearing pants.
I think my favourite part is where Lily sneers:
Don’t you want to have somebody who objectifies you? / Have you thought about your butt, who’s going to tear it in two?
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Which is a great response to T.I.’s horrendous line “I'll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two”, again from the gross Blurred Lines. This song is pretty much the antidote to Robin Thicke.
So are you a Lily fan? And what do you think of the video and song?
