Avril Lavigne - Rock N Roll (Music Video) [+ Review]

Earlier today, pop-punk princess Avril Lavigne released her new music video for the track 'Rock N Roll', from her (upcoming) self-titled fifth studio album. The track itself channels Lavigne's usual punk-rebel flair and as usual, is jam-packed full of attitude and rebellion. It's like she's never aged right? The track holds onto its rock-anthemed roots and delivers in terms of the powerful beats and guitar solo but the lyrics may not appeal to everyone or add anything extra to the song. The track on a whole is pretty standard from Lavigne and probably won't be winning her any new fans, but, it's sure to please her existing ones who have been long awaiting her return to music, since the good ol' 'sk8er boi' days. However, the most spectacular thing about this track is by far its music video. Don't know what I'm talking about? Well have a watch below: 

The music video incorporates a comic-book-esque cross-over, with bold prints and weird 'characters' to add to the narrative. The opening of the video is more like a parody of a cheesy commercial with Avril talking on her phone to a non-coherent person at the end, whilst she slots in memorable song lyrics 'he was a boy, she was a girl' from the aforementioned track 'sk8er boi.' And here comes the fun part. Switching from comic book title screen, Lavigne switches into rebellious Army attire while an underlying story plays over to set the scene. Now, Lavigne, her friend (Winnie Cooper/Danica McKeller) and a dog sit in a restaurant (the dogs wearing clothes, of course) and spotting a girls not-ripped-enough outfit, she goes to work to 'Avril Lavigne approve' it. 

Then Darth Vader appears. Ok, it's not Darth Vader but, seriously, it could be his cousin or something. Except he's wearing a fake moustache, which Lavigne notices, ripping off and exposing his true identity to the whole restaurant. Shock Horror. Seeing that he has been exposed, the Darth Vader look-alike catapults his entire meal off the table (what a waste) and begins throwing condiments and a baby at his nemesis Lavigne. Did I mention that Lavigne's eyes look really blue in this whole video? Is it just me? Oh and there's a lobster. Don't ask. There is very little actual dialogue in this mini-film with characters communicating through on-screen titles, apart from a couple of instances later on. 

The whole video is a highly visual affair with a mix of colours, different mediums of art and humour mixed in with a whole lot of weird. Possibly the funniest event in the whole video is when Lavigne and her friend (and their dog) crash the car, because, surprise surprise, they've let the dog drive. Even though he's a dog. And he has a drinking problem. And he's a dog. Go figure? Then Lavigne and her friend share a tender kiss over their deceased dog. Just when I think we've reached the weird limit on this video, Lavigne discovers a hidden guitar with a saw attached, which she uses to chop the villain in half. Only after he turns into a bear-shark. Yes, you read that right, a bear-shark. She chops his shark head right off of his bear body. It's an interesting sight to behold. 

If I haven't enticed you enough to watch the video yet I don't know what will. Trust me, you won't be disappointed. It's 5 minutes of pure eccentricity. I'm sure they'll be people who will watch this and not understand it at all, or simply won't enjoy it, but for me, the video was the best part of everything to do with this song. It's a visual feast of imagination. 

Music video and song reviewed by Mel.