M!ssundaztood

by

P!nk

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Okay, I admit it...I'm thirty-something, and I REALLY like Pink's music. I mean, let's face it, her voice is wonderful! I loved most of the songs on "Can't Take Me Home", and I even love more of the songs on "Missundaztood". My favorites on this cd are "Don't Let Me Get Me", "Just Like A Pill", "18 Wheeler", "Misery", "Dear Diary", "Lonely Girl", "Numb", and "My Vietnam"...ohhh forgedda 'bout it, ALL the songs on this cd are good! Of course, I was awakened by the poignant lyrics in the song "Family Portrait" which I have to say, I admire Pink for singing and putting on this cd. It's sad, brutally honest, and every parent in this world should listen to these lyrics as if they were sung by their own child. But thankfully, that's the only song on here that makes me want to cry inside. The rest are bluesy, jazzy, rock/pop sensations that just make you want to listen to them over, and over, and over, and over. Get the point?! Go ahead, buy this cd, you will not be sorry you added it to your collecion. And to Pink, if you ever read this - Keep up the good work girl! (and take care of that voice of yours, it's Golden!)

Pink's sophomore effort Missundaztood finds the 20-year-old Pennsylvanian acting less like an R&B bad girl and more like a pop-rock princess. Those expecting to find a "Can't Take Me Home Part II" are sadly mistaken. Fans of her first album must come into Missundaztood with clean ears. Gone are the urban "ching ching, bling bling" references, a new direction is evident. The once urban Pink has gone suburban, trading in the Fubu for leather and lace. Of the fourteen tracks that grace the album, only a few are R&B oriented. A far cry from her first record, which featured no rock tracks whatsoever, here they predominate. Though Lilith Fair it isn't. The production on Pink's latest offering is as slick as anything on TRL (Total Request Live). The hip-hop drum patterns that she rode to superstardom during her debut are surprisingly mute; in its place are electric guitars and folk-flavored acoustics. Also absent are many dance tracks. The only solid dance track is her first single "Get The Party Started," a post-psychedelic 60s-meets-21st-century romp. The rest of the subject matter is more introspective.

"It ain't easy growing up in World War III," she croons. There's a surprising sense of vulnerability displayed throughout the album. Here we find Pink reflective and confessional. She's a bad girl, but she has feelings. She sings about life, loss and longing. Lyrically, Pink has never been more heartfelt and revealing. Everything from parental hardship to sleazy ex-girlfriends is discussed. Vocally, Pink sounds assured and confident. In "Don't Let Me Get Me," Pink makes an effort to distance herself from her teen contemporaries: "tired of being compared to damn Britney Spears/she's so pretty, that just ain't me." Ironically, in her distancing she winds up sounding more TRL-esque on her latest album than her last.

Missundaztood is more like a masquerade. If she isn't sounding like Tori Amos or Natalie Imbruglia, she's a dredless Lauryn Hill ("Eventually") or a female Eminem ("Family Portrait"). Where Pink lacks in artistic coherence, she makes up for in creativity. In "My Vietnam" she correlates her perils to the sounds of detonating bombs. Towards the end of the song is a sonic interpolation of Jimi Hendrix's "Star Spangled Banner." While introspection dominates a majority of the album, bitterness never subsides. A healthy level of will power and optimism is present. Fans of the old man-eating Pink from the first album will enjoy "Respect," where she disenfranchises potential "playas" and empowers her fellow femme fatales. The overall vibe of Missundaztood is less aggressive and more self-determined. She takes an empowered role in such songs as "18 Wheeler" and the radio-ready "Just Like A Pill." Overall, Pinks latest album is an introspective charmer that shows the promise and versatility evident in a young and rising star.