Being a pop star lends itself to narcissism, but Ashlee Simpson's songs take self-absorption to new levels. The titles of her first two albums, Autobiography and I Am Me, are indicative of the contents: songs about what it's like to...
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Being a pop star lends itself to narcissism, but Ashlee Simpson's songs take self-absorption to new levels. The titles of her first two albums, Autobiography and I Am Me, are indicative of the contents: songs about what it's like to be a young pop star, actress and target of the tabloids. To her credit, Simpson does co-write her own material (even if she's apparently doesn't always sing it live), so at least it's her own life that's under the microscope in the lyrics to songs such as "Shadow," which is frank in its discussion about big sister Jessica's stardom and the strain it put her family; and "Autobiography," on which she proudly declares herself "a badass girl in this messed up world."
The theme that Simpson's lyrics return to again and again is this: "I'm nothing but trouble and I'm high-maintenance, but I'm worth it, so love me anyway." On "Pieces of Me" she sings: "I am moody, messy/I get restless and it's senseless/How you never seem to care/When I'm angry, you listen/Make me happy, it's your mission/And you won't stop 'til I'm there." Other songs chart the ups and downs of relationships, a facet of her artistry that got really interesting once her life became fodder for the gossip sites. You can hear the words to the song "Boyfriend," for instance, as a rejoinder to Lindsey Lohan, who claimed Simpson had stolen her squeeze, pop hunk Ryan Cabrera.
In the end, Simpson is still a mess, wondering, as she does in "Catch Me When I Fall," "Who will be the one to save me from myself?" If that's not a lyrical epitaph for our woe-is-me celeb-saturated culture, what is?
