It's Avril Lavigne's Birthday, and SOMEBODY ELSE'S

Actually, Happy Belated Birthday to Avril Lavigne, who turned 41 years old on September 27th. I had some digital portraits and stuff to share - but Saturday was co-opted by... another birthday, by which I mean, literally, a day of birth! More on that soon...

I do want to muse a bit on Avril, who remains (in my mind) the iconic Millennial. This by no means implies that she is an example for everyone else to follow (multimedia performance artists are too wacky for that). What I mean is that she is a kind of "mirror" that reflects in some ways where this generation is going.

The fact that I'm someone who appreciates Avril is surprising; I wouldn't ordinarily be much interested in a performer who is known as "the pop-punk princess" (Avril has this mode of artistry, but there are so many more facets of her talent and charisma).

As you know if you read this blog, music of all kinds is a significant part of my life. I was classically trained on the cello. As a teenager in the 1970s, I used my musical training to teach myself to play guitar. That included electric guitar. LOUD electric guitar. I played long enough (and well enough) to know "from-the-inside" that playing rock 'n roll is a genuine and difficult craft, an aesthetic effort to "make something beautiful" (remember, beauty is analogical).

In other words, rock 'n roll is more than an excuse to make noise. It's more than a rowdy electronic pillow fight. It's more than just "fun." If you consider the technologically enhanced, light-and-noise-saturated infrastructure that surrounds us day and night, that constantly puts stress on our senses in so many ways that humans never had to deal with before, it's not surprising that some people take up these new sources of sound, stress, and strain in order to craft them into something that has sonic coherence - music. That's just one approach in my effort to develop an aesthetics of rock music.

Back to Avril Lavigne. I've told this story too many times: I became interested in her when she announced in 2015 that she had Lyme disease. She disappeared for five years (from 2013-2018). During the "aughts," she had one of the most widely recognized faces on the planet. I'm not exaggerating here: You could go to China and see big advertisement posters of Avril on a skateboard drinking some brand of iced tea. She was the biggest Western artist in Japan. Her five world tours included lots of East Asian venues, because they loved her. Everyone loved this Canadian small town girl.

Then, BOOM, nothing. She got hammered by Lyme disease. I understood that. I knew what that was like. With sympathy and genuine interest, I started listening to her music. A lot of her songs I didn't like at all. Some songs grew on me slowly. Some songs were GOLD. Then, on September 29, 2018 (that's seven years ago) she released a new song, "Head Above Water." That was a very special song.

Avril did a lot for Lyme disease awareness from 2018-2021. Meanwhile, she was getting back on her feet and onto the stage. In 2022, she stopped talking about it entirely. I don’t blame her. She’s in remission, she has it under control. She has her energy back. She wants to use it. So she did two summers of a “Greatest Hits” tour, sold out Madison Square Garden, brought out thousands of nostalgic middle-aged Millennials and their teenage kids. She did the “punk-pop” stuff and wore her weird outfits. She also played some “deep cuts” from the old albums, which is where the GOLD is often buried.

Avril’s unique face, her variety of facial expressions, and her abundance of ever-changing hair make her a great “subject” for my digital portrait practice work. Photographs and videos are all over the internet, so it’s not hard to find images to start with. But Avril is “complicated.” She has a sweet smile, but there is always that smokey black eyeliner. It’s a trademark. Then she flips the bird on you. She has changed her hairstyles, color streaks, and all that stuff. Sometimes there are mountains of hair.

Her Instagram post for her birthday was brilliant! “41…. Let’s go” but it was the photo, the deadpan expression, and the chic glasses worn “granny style” that made this a great image. The seemingly ageless “iconic” Millennial teenager may start moving in the direction of the gracefully “maturing” middle-aged Millennial “cool auntie.” The real woman beneath the various dramatic personae has been around for some time, and she’s had a lot of suffering — more than we’ll ever know. Going forward and stepping into the “forty-somethings” will be a challenge for her and the rest of her generation. Perhaps they’ll be led on roads their elders never knew.

Happy Birthday, Avril! Be well. I don’t know whether or not you remember much the God who “kept your head above water,” but He has not forgotten you and He continues to hold you up. You are one of the celebrities I have “spiritually adopted” and I am praying for you.

This blog post, however, indicates SOMEBODY ELSE… My GRANDDAUGHTER Catherine was born on Saturday evening. She has the same birthday as Avril, which is fun. I need to get some pictures to welcome her properly into the Janaro Clan. It might have to wait until the Baptism this coming weekend.

Stay tuned for that….