Thread by @rsh_elle

I have never listened to Avril Lavigne's monster debut album Let Go.

so @punkgoespod bought me a brand new CD copy yesterday, and we're livetweeting my first listen starting... NOW

There are bigger albums I haven't heard, but none as significant to my generation... I know every radio hit and single cover, but never considered myself enough of a fan even to pirate it lol

but at this point, it'd be like me not knowing Hybrid Theory! sooooo let us begin!!

Losing Grip does sound a bit like Alanis Jr with a bigger mix? The chorus guitar tone is crunchy as FUCK

Losing Grip would have sat perfectly between Limp Bizkit and Britney... it's no wonder Evanescence became a juggernaut 2 years later

lyrics aside, Complicated is CLEARLY a country-pop song, and I have no idea how it got A&Red into being a 16-year-old teen pop-rocker's debut single

Avril's Canadian enunciation is adorable

An obviously great pop song, though it kinda baffled me at age 12 and confuses me for different reasons now. Avril should do a full Nashville version in another 20 years

I reaaaaaaaallly did not like Sk8er Boi at 12! But its kitschiness has come back around to being enjoyable pour moi

HE WAS A PUNK, SHE DID BALLET
WHAT MORE CAN I SAY?.........................................

The verse / chorus key change from D to F is pretty incredible tbh

did Avril write it as Sk8er Boi because calling herself the Sk8er Grrrl would be too on-the-nose?

I'm With You has an immaculate arrangement... a gentle, surprisingly subtle waltz that worked really well on pop radio? I was not emo enough to appreciate this at 12

It's VERY difficult to pull off a power ballad like this at 16, AND make it believable, kudos Avril 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

I don't think Mobile was an official single, but Aus radio played it as a 5th promo single for the album.

This is 100% a country song

Mobile - very good as is, would have even more impact if cut down to a 2-min power-pop song

There was so much fuss at the time about Avril supposedly writing the album herself, unlike those OTHER pop tarts... and yes, she was co-writing with total pros. But you can't pull off songs like these without great pop instincts

Two songs in 6/8 on one album! Unwanted would've made a solid single for any medium-level pop-rock band in 1996. That is a compliment... Avril had strong rock-singer presence too

Avril sounds a few years younger on this? Feels like the album's first filler track, tbh. Doesn't have the melodic sensibility of the others

I should note that @punkgoespod is listening to Let Go on my actual teenage CD player

I hope this played over the end credits to several teen coming-of-age films

gee Avril, DRAMATIC MUCH? (weren't we all)

is this The Corrs?

I think the brilliance of Let Go is that it wasn't THAT different from any number of pop-rock, country or even teen pop acts of the late '90s... but it was sung, packaged and marketed in a way that FELT like a genuine sea change. Avril feels like her authentic teenage self

when this album's corny, it feels like it's on Avril's own relative youth and inexperience... not because some A&R's given her some regurgitated love ballad for track 9

Sixpence Somewhat the Richer

ok, I'm very confused by the fact that Michelle Branch preceded Avril - why didn't she become the megastar? Maybe because she was feigning maturity, whereas Avril seemed her age

The white-girl rap has killed me

Cheerios is a Katy Perry-level image🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

btw, Chad Kroeger was 27 when his future wife released Let Go? Guess Chavril really were the Canada's answer to Jay-Z and Beyonce

FYI, Paramore released All You Know Is Falling in 2005, Taylor Swift her self-titled in 06, what even is time

Ok song, but they really frontloaded this album huh? The momentum's kinda gone by this point

I wish Naked was like, 10x more emo, but it's a very respectable and moody closer

OMG, she almost dropped the title of her second album in the final track

I would say that Let Go lives up to the hype - for a pop record of its time, it's surprisingly consistent. And 18 years later, it's proven more influential than anyone could've predicted at the time

I mean, this is almost an Avril video (and a great one, too)

so thank you (and pls follow) @punkgoespod for buying me Let Go on CD! a true 2002 artifact!! It makes me super happy that I can still get new experiences from my childhood days

Hell yeah, and look forward to discussing on a future episode 😎

P.S. I'll definitely catch up with Under My Skin, though I'll refrain from livetweeting that one in full lmao

@threadreaderapp unroll

Oh yeah, I was surprised there was only 1 pop-punk track!