According to Allen, the biggest misconception people have about her is that she's out of control. "I'm actually a bit of a control freak," she says. As part of her therapy after the miscarriage, Allen had to sit in her room on her hands doing nothing. "It was the hardest thing for me -- my therapist says one of my coping mechanisms is to always be thinking of the way out. Like this hotel, I've memorized all the exits." Her candor is one of the things that has set Allen apart from other girls behaving badly -- unlike her American counterparts, Allen doesn't make excuses for herself or deny her actions. She has a knack for saying what's on her mind and doing what she wants in ways that elicit both sympathy and outrage. "I think I've been more cautious about journalists," she contends. And in turn, they're becoming more cautious about her. In an interview with Perez Hilton, the gossip queen cautioned: "It's always dangerous when you're known more for your behavior than your music." And went on to say that he's "disappointed" by what he's heard of her newer material. "Her life now is not what I'm interested in. I want you to think about what you're writing. Songs are supposed to be timeless... Amy [Winehouse] is a fuck-up, but she still sold two million records. If [Lily's] not successful, no one is to blame but herself."
Not surprisingly, Allen's producer Greg Kurstin sees it from a different angle, although he doesn't entirely disagree. "She puts a lot of pressure on herself. I've seen her go through a lot of transitions. Lyrically, she's a lot more political. And she's drawing from more personal experiences." As such, one of those experiences is her own ambivalence toward her celebrity -- written about in the song, "I Don't Know," Allen's numb ode to fabulousness à la Iggy Pop's "Nightclubbing." "I just write what comes out of my head. It's not intentional," says Allen. "I just can't do anything else." Remember too that this is someone who has tattoos around her wrist of an Om, Star of David, Buddha, the Islamic crescent moon and star, a cross and Homer Simpson. "I'm not interested in writing twelve love songs," she contends. "I don't think I'm good at love songs. I'm not really good at being in love," she chuckles. "The other thing is to write about the world without being preachy, which is hard."
So far she's doing a good job. The new album, tentatively titled Stuck on the Naughty Step, is more accomplished and varied than its predecessor. "He Wasn't There" is a letter to her dad that picks up where "Alfie" (about her brother) left off. Then there's "CCR," in which Allen suggests that God was in the world prior to 9/11 and that "his favorite band is Creedence Clearwater Revival." Kurstin laughs about the song: "I can't imagine anyone [else] in England using that as a reference. It's typical her -- unexpected." The humor's more coal-black, too: "Not Fair" is about a guy who is wack in the sack, even though she's "spent ages giving [him] head." And on "Everyone's At It," she tells it like it is -- or was: "When will we tire of putting shit up our noses?/ It's meant to be fun but it just doesn't feel right."
If Naughty Step sounds like a 23-year-old trying to find her voice, that's because it is. Not to say Alright, Still was a fluke, but that this record is more of a risk. She co-wrote the songs sitting with Kurstin at his piano, which is way harder than writing lyrics for finished tracks, as she did before. And though she's had premature segues into TV show-hosting and putting her name on a fashion line in the past two years, she won't go back to any of it if music doesn't work out. "I wake up every day and think I'm actually pretty bad at it. I work hard at getting better. But if this record flops, I'll probably go back to school," she ponders. "I've always liked architecture." And with that, it's time for Allen to head back to the studio with Kurstin and the piano to get out whatever's on her mind -- God, Allah, Yahweh, Buddha, Krishna, and Homer willing.
Hair by Johnny Stuntz at Photogenics beauty at smashbox * Makeup by Amy Chance for Chanel/ celestineagency.com * Manicure by Miranda Auty * Photography assistant: Daniel Hebert * Stylist's assistant: Philip Roberts
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