Avril Lavigne returns with perfection

For those of you who have recently seen me wildly singing in my car, I'll answer the question and say it's been to the new single from Avril Lavigne called "Girlfriend."

It's a return to the pure pop/rock fun of her sublime 2002 debut album "Let Go."

Just as she was in her smash song and video for "Complicated," (which is my cell phone ring, so I can have a little piece of happiness with every call) Lavigne returns as a refreshing ball of energy — sassy, livid and pure fun.

"Girlfriend" allows her to show her brash attitude. It helped make her a fixture on the teen music scene five years ago. She sings to a boy about her dislike of his girlfriend and her desire to be with him. Lavigne is known for butting heads with record execs and she obviously won the battle for a wider vocabulary than in previous songs, because she exclaims at one point with delightful conviction, "I'm the mother@#$%*@! princess!" Awesome.

"Girlfriend" is a rousing kick-to-the-face, forceful, animated song serving as a better mood enhancer than any anti-depressant Pfizer could ever create.

The video is more like her "Complicated" video than any other in her body of work. In "Complicated" she and her bandmates ran amok inside a mall. "Girlfriend" has her playing multiple roles as she wreaks havoc in locations like a mini-golf course. Pink streaks in her blond hair, she bounces around while belting out this acrimonious jolt of a song with so much vehemence it's hard to sit still.

An added bonus to the video is she can be seen wearing a shirt with a tie printed on it, a throwback to the necktie fad she popularized. I was honestly sad to hear her say she was retiring the look, because it symbolized a piece of youth and history being put away. It's back though, along with Lavigne in full, uninhibited splendor. Ties for everyone!

Bubblegum aside, no mistake should be made about Lavigne's weight as a songwriter. She's not only capable of creating some of the most fun songs I've ever beard, but is honest and gifted with reaching into her listeners' deeper feelings.

Her second album was darker, a reflection of a difficult period in her life, she's said. "My Happy Ending" is a wrenching, yet cathartic break-up song with lyrics like "We were meant to be, supposed to be, but we lost it. All of the memories so close to me just fade away. All this time you were pretending, so much for my happy ending." This is emotionally pitch-perfect writing that captures the sadness of letting go of wonderful times shared with someone special, juxtaposed with the anger stemming from the loss.

Her song "Mobile" from her album "Let Go" is about the back and forth of spending time with loved ones at home, then having to leave as life's changes arrive. I listened to "Mobile" countless times, often on a plane as I made the journey from college in Arizona to my home near Seattle and back again.

Some of Lavigne's most affecting songs are not on studio albums, but these are some of her best about love and loss and I'm not ashamed to say when I listen to them and the mood strikes just right, my eyes well up.

The first Avril Lavigne concert I went to lives on as one of my finest memories. By some miracle my date and I had spots on the floor in the special standing room only section against the stage.

Arriving hours early to ensure front row enjoyment, we ran from the start of the line down to the floor of the auditorium, finally reaching the stage.

We did not quite make the front row, but we were still close enough I could count the individual bracelets circling Lavigne's wrists. I've seen her twice since then, each time more than worth the price of admission, but that first performance, opening with "Sk8er Boi," one of her best songs, is still my favorite.

Lavigne found her "happy ending" with husband Derryck Whibley of Sum 41 and says marriage inspires her to write more upbeat songs. At a time when it seems many people are putting their careers in front of their relationships I admire Lavigne for balancing the two.

I've anxiously started counting down the days to the April 17 release of Lavigne's new album, almost certain it is just the start of another wave of priceless memories.

Chaz Holmes is the Columbia Basin Herald news assistant. He is a constant source of entertainment in the newsroom with his quirky choices of music.