After over a decade of music from P!nk, it should be evident to everyone now that she was born in the wrong era. If we’d watched Alecia Beth Moore‘s meteoric rise in the late 70s instead of the 2000s, she would have embraced punk instead of pop. Even when she debuted with dance-pop like her contemporaries did (Britney, Christina, Mandy, Jessica, etc.), she still had an edge. No disrespect to those singers who used coy sexuality to relate to their fanbase. I’m a fan of them all for that very reason. Pink traded that in for toughness that put her in a different sphere—more at home with Joan Jett than Madonna.
Like punk rockers, anger and toughness (or the illusion of it) drive much of P!nk’s music. On her latest album, The Truth About Love, she calls her husband “an a-hole,” saying she hates every stupid word he says and refers to love as “nasty, salty, and smelling of armpits.” Anyone who’s experienced a toxic relationship can identify!
The title of the collection’s lead-off single is “Blow Me [One Last Kiss].”
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Pink fans rely on her for just this sort of trash talk, as a vehicle for the same frustrations they might be feeling. Of course, recent life events have had the singer in relatively good spirits. The Truth About Love drops a year after she had her first child and six months after her sixth wedding anniversary.
Her last album, 2009’s Funhouse, followed P!nk’s brief separation from Carey Hart, something she referred to with a sarcastic glee in nearly every song. But even with the resurrection of her marriage and motherhood, she hasn’t softened.
Pink’s voice and bad demeanor, despite her newly minted domestic tranquility, ultimately fuel this album. She knows her brand. The power rocker “How Come You’re Not Here” grabs attention immediately.
She’s just as self-assured in “Slut Like You,” a third-wave feminist anthem about female empowerment and embracing one’s true identity. It’s a bold and confident track that speaks to the strength of women everywhere. P!nk declares that she doesn’t “need to be a good girl” or “try and be good all the time.” She’s unapologetic in her identity and encourages other women to be the same. The song is about being yourself, regardless of society’s expectations. It’s a reminder that it’s OK to be a little bit of a slut sometimes.
“Walk Of Shame” is an ode to the morning after. She sings of waking up in a stranger’s house “wearing last night’s dress… like a hot-ass mess.”
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Pink told Glamour magazine that with songs like this one and the previously mentioned “Slut Like You,” she’s taking the power of the word “slut” back and the sexual freedom it denotes. “I’ve always had an issue with [the idea that]: ‘OK, we’ve both decided to do this,” she said. “Why am I a slut and you’re the player? You didn’t get anything from me that I didn’t get from you.'”
In ‘The Great Escape,’ the album’s closer, she addresses the use of antidepressants in a comical way “There’s a lot of humor and sarcasm always in my lyrics,” she told MTV News. “There’s ‘The Great Escape,’ about how I feel the entire world is trying to numb themselves down, whether it be painkillers or antidepressants.”
Pink does have her softer side, as evidenced by the ballad ‘Just Give Me a Reason.” This stripped-back piano piece, written by Pink with Fun’s Nate Ruess, is about the desire to hold on to a relationship even when it looks like it’s crumbling.
Overall, Pink’s album The Truth About Love is a powerful collection of songs demonstrating Pink’s ability to write music that connects with her audience deeply. The album is full of emotion and passion, and the lyrics are relatable. It’s a great album that will stick with you. Pink’s fans should not hesitate to add it to their collection.
