Tim: This week, Avril Lavigne announced, via the traditional method of an Instagram post, that she and Chad Kroeger were separating; seems an appropriate time to wheel this out, I’d say.
Tom: Topping Mika’s Happy Ending is going to take some doing. But then, she was there first: this is now more than ten years old.
Tim: Partly because, well, “so much for my happy ending”, but also because this was the first song she released that indicated a heavier sound – Let Go was a very pop album, and the lead single from Under My Skin was in a similar vein. This, though, well, it’s almost a sign that she and Chad were destined to be together, isn’t it?
Tom: Well, I wouldn’t go that far. It’s a bloody good track, though; it basically sums up that mid-2000s angry-pop phase really well. Not sure about that destiny, though.
Tim: Fair point – probably more that she and Sum 41 lead singer Deryck Whibley were destined to be together, but then they broke up first, and then she started with Chad. Maybe she’s just making her way through heavy ’00s rock bands, I dunno.
Tom: Smash Mouth next, then?
Tim: Fine by me. Whichever she eventually chooses, I’m sure right now she’s sitting on the floor, back against the wall, bottle to her lips, and listening to this track. Though hopefully not reading this write-up.