Ah, we all love the 17-year old girls; they're stupid, sassy, and earnest enough to believe that the shit that they turn out is actually original. Welcome to the world of Avril Lavigne, who surely has recently had a street named after her in her tiny Albertan town (purely conjecture) since her album's release.

Question is, is all the hype worth it? Well, she does talk smack about girls who get pregnant too soon (the annoyingly spelled "Sk8R Boi"), nonconformist guys masquerading as preps ("Complicated"), and the ever-special ennui associated with being, well, a teenager ("I'm With You," "Mobile," "Anything But Ordinary," etc.). The beats and lyrics are all predictable, as is the rap that our wannabe Compton diva attempts to pass off on "Nobody's Fool". But who cares? The songs are catchy enough to spread around your walls as flypaper, and Avril herself, notwithstanding liner notes, is intriguing enough toting her "I'm not an image" image.

If you're wanting to impress friends by finding the credibility in contemporary pop music, you'd be better off finding meaning in a Mandy Moore single; the songs are dreadfully cheesy and, well, annoying. As is Avril, obviously. Much of the appreciation of this album (if you're not 12) will come from the irony that you're listening to such an album, to the laughs you'll get lip-synching "Things I'll Never Say" in the mirror while your roommate is out for coffee with friends. It's regression back to the days when you didn't care if pop music was bad, you just wanted some image. And Avril, my dear, that's all you are, no matter how many times you tell us that you pierced your fingernails or you sleep like a bat, you little individual, you!