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T O P I C     R E V I E W
georgejr	I just heard the two singles by these girls back to back on the radio a few minutes ago. Since I know everyone is dying to know what I think I will tell you I am not a fan of prefabricated pop music. I do like electronic music and all that stuff but not commercial packages put together by labels to sell CDs (ie Britney, Backstreet Boys, etc.) Having said that, I prefer Vanessa Carlton of the two. First of all, her song is simply better in my opinion. Secondly, she has a lot more talent judging by her piano playing and singing. I saw the videos for both songs a week ago and I can pretty much come to the same conclusion...Avril Lavigne's video was her and her teen bandmates running around the mall wreaking havoc and being 'cool' while singing the song. Not to mention she looks so much like Sarah Michelle Gellar it's crazy. Vanessa Carlton's video was pretty much her at a piano on the back of a truck or platform, very understated. So based on all this I can only feel like Avril Lavigne is yet another studio creation to sell albums to young girls. She may be able to sing and play guitar (I think) but I still don't think she is better than Vanessa Carlton. Maybe it's just 5:30 am and I want to go home, listen to Achtung Baby and go to bed
duncanbox	Gerry Leonard and Jeff Allen are actually on Avril Lavigne's record. I'm not huge fans of either- but that's a plus for Lavigne. Sybil
BryterLayter77	My sister has Avril Lavigne and Vanessa Carlton's CDs, and she blasts them regularly on her stereo system. So, I've had the opportunity to listen to both CDs, although I didn't listen to them by choice. To be honest, I can't place either Avril Lavigne or Vanessa Carlton in the same category as Britney Spears or the Backstreet Boys. The most important distinction, to me, is the fact that Lavigne and Carlton write and perform their own material, or should I say more musically self sufficient. In short, Lavigne and Carlton don't need to rely on a Max Martin type for their hits, since they can write hits for themselves. Furthermore, record labels are trying to get Lavigne and Carlton to appeal to that group of girls who are either too old or too cool for Britney Spears. With that being said, Lavigne and Carlton's music borders on the formulaic. Lavigne's lyrics, simply put, are weak and trite more times than not. For Carlton, she can be too over the top for her own good, while she also has a tendency to incorporate too many musical ideas for one song. Yet, to listen to their material, I can also hear flashes of promise from both of them. Its not as if they are completely terrible and need to be discarded immediately. Lavigne does offer strong melodies at times, while also providing some decent acoustic numbers. For Carlton, she has guts, providing a decent cover version of the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black." That's a move that could give any artist a lot of grief if its not done correctly. Overall, I will say that both artists have strengths and weaknesses, but considering the fact that Lavigne is 16 and Carlton is 22, they'll probably get better over time. How much they'll improve, that's a different story all together. Right now, I would give the early advantage to Vanessa Carlton, whose music right now is much more sophisticated than Avril Lavigne's. Richard
ericka	vanessa carlton does tend to overdo it a bit, but her music by far has more depth and maturity than avril lavigne's.
DUNCANStwirler7	Ok ok ok, I must admit it, I do have the Avril cd... Jen
Andrew Poe	Vanessa Carlton is 'eh' for me (really if she could make stuff like Carole King or Carly Simon or Joni Mitchell then I would be happy). Avril sounds like a country singer to me (I swear "Complicated" would work as a country song just needs fiddles and steel guitars). Andrew Poe
BryterLayter77	Truth be told Andrew, "Complicated" was recently a hit country song for Carolyn Dawn Johnson. Both songs, though, are totally unrelated, with different lyrics and music. Richard
Storybug18	I have Vanessa Carlton's CD, and I like it. It's nothing groundbreaking, but she is a good musician for her age. There's only one song I don't like on the CD, and that's only because the lyrics are too sweet and cheesy for my taste. The rest of the lyrics on the CD could get a little lofty, but I think she does okay with them. She plays the piano wonderfully. Check out her song "Wanted" to see what I mean. I can't say much about Avril Lavigne; I've only heard "Complicated." I've seen the video and wasn't really impressed with it. The music is okay, but it's like she's trying to be too bad-ass or something; I can't really put my finger on it. And, I have doubts about any musician who has a song titled "Sk8er Boi" (sic). But, who am I to judge? She is only seventeen after all. Maybe she'll grow out of her skater phase. But if it just came down to talent, I would have to say that Vanessa Carlton is the winner. Cheers, Sam
Mr Writer	I had no idea Avril existed... anyway, Vanessa has talent, she plays piano and I love piano. But her lyrics are awful, they are just too typical, she didn't think about them too much. The music is good in most songs, and a few are very very good. I think she can do something better than "Be not nobody" but only time will tell
Rina316	I don't like either one of those girls, they're music sounds like a fad
Nneoma	I dont like either one of them , but somehow that '1000 miles' song is catchy and hard to get out of my head when I hear it at the grocery store
serenasheik	Admittedly i have both of those cds and also Michelle Branch's debut. I actually really like Avril L. There are actually some well done songs (tired of complicated and Skater Boy) but track 1 and track 4 are very well done. I would not put any of these women in the Brittany Spears category or teeny boopers. They all three have alot of talent. I like the fact they write their own material and perform it well LIVE with no help of mixed crap and lip synching. I will even admit that i do like BBMAK. they write and play their own material and do not merely rely on a Swedish songwriter to write and produce their material. I do like women singers like these who actually give a positive role model to kids and show them that they dont have to be all skinny etc to be self confident. It is nice to see new artists emerging that have talent. It is unfortunate for Vanessa Carlton (and her great song Ordinary Day) and Avril, that they are kinda standing in the shadows of Michelle Branch. Hopefully they can make their own style and way. Cheers Shane
JessicaB	I think it's interesting to note that Vanessa Carlton used to be a ballerina. She was studying at some ballet academy (I imagine like Center Stage) and would skip her ballet classes to write songs. She is (or has) even coreographing a ballet to her own CD, so a few special dates are not going to be her in concert, so much as in a ballet recital. I'm not sure what I think of this aside from it being notable. I like her music well enough and have heard good things about her CD. I don't have it. The title kind of makes me cringe, but that's because I like proper grammar. (But don't hold me to using it all the time. I won't not mess up. ) As for Avril, I like her music okay too. I don't have her CD either. I don't like that she spells it "Sk8r Boi", but I do enjoy the song and video. She's 17 (maybe 18 by now) and she looks like she's having fun. I like people who have fun. Will she last? I don't know. I hope for her sake she does, because she dropped out of high school to 'go for it' with her music. She may be cute, but she's probably not ready for the real world post-TRL. ------------------ Jessica "There is no chance at all. We are all trapped by a singular fate. No one ever finds the one."
aileen	My daughter prefers Avril to Vanessa. I am atleast happy that she is getting away from the little disney made pop groups. She is actually into the fact that Avril can play the guitar and write her own songs (we are finally moving in the right direction, woot). And the most surprising thing is she asked me to buy the Vines for her, and it all started because she started listening to Avril.