You’re So Good To Me: Why “Hot” May Be The Perfect Pop Song

By Christian Lipski

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I do not like Avril Lavigne’s corporate persona. It may have had a grain of truth to it six years ago when she released her first CD at the age of 17, but it’s gotten increasingly hollow as she has grown up. For fans of the Venture Bros., she’s the Master Billy Quizboy of the music world. For the rest of you, she’s the mom who insists on wearing belly shirts and toe rings even though she’s 50. The discrepancy between her character and her actual age is growing with every passing day, but as long as it attracts buyers, the label will still insist on it. And as long as the label has a contract, Avril’s gonna do it.

I’ve had the chance to listen to the rest of the album The Best Damn Thing, and nothing there is any different from anything she’s ever done before. Snotty teen attitude from a post-teen and songs about how girls rule and boys drool. I don’t have anything against teen pop per se, but when it’s an obvious formulaic ploy it’s a little insulting. And boring.

So all of this intro is to set the stage for me to gush about the one redeeming song on the album, “Hot.” At first repulsed by the video (see last issue), I’ve come to suspect that this may be the perfect song, and I’ll tell you why.

Having the advantage of a team of professional songwriters and producers, the mechanics of the song are honed: the tune clocks in at 3:23, a little long for a pop single, but there’s no wasted time: no solos, just hooks. It rolls along at 144 beats per minute, so it has inherent energy, faster than your average rock song. But it’s the music and lyrics themselves that pull me in. With no one’s kind permission, I’ll break it down and look at the parts that make up the whole.

Wasting no time, the song loudly kicks right into what I call the “chorus hook”—it’s not the main chorus containing the title of the song, but more of a refrain at the end. It’s the main hook, played in half-time (half as fast as the rest of the song), and crunches the chords G D Am C (I V ii IV), which is the same progression as Smash Mouth’s “All Star,” for example. Other songs with this classic chorus progression are “SOS” by ABBA, “Major Tom” by Peter Schilling, “Believe” by Cher, and “Closing Time” by Semisonic. It’s a soaring sound. The lyrics themselves aren’t poetry, but they’re universal. And regular as clockwork, this hook is repeated once every minute, to keep it in your head.

Ah – ah – ah
You’re so good to me
Baby Baby

Verse 1 – drums, guitar

The sound drops to a muted chugging guitar and drums, but playing faster now, at the full 144 bpm. The lyrics here are odd—they don’t seem like the average, slick Diane Warren-type sentiment. They’re actually rather guileless and naïve, and that’s why I figure that these are straight from Avril. I think that around this time she was engaged to Deryck Whibley (Sum 41), which explains the lyrics’ personal and positive nature.

I wanna lock you up in my closet, when no one’s around
I wanna put your hand in my pocket, because you’re allowed
[add second muted guitar]
I wanna drive you into the corner, and kiss you without a sound
I wanna stay this way forever, I’ll say it aloud
[prechorus]
Now you’re in and you can’t get out

At this point, guitars and reversed cymbals expand out from the sides into the chorus, revealing that the introductory hook was nowhere near as loud as this song can get. The sound pans out like Cinemascope. The lyrics contain trademark Lavigne words like “ridiculous” and “fabulous,” both with the accent on the final syllable.

[Chorus 1 in half time]
You make me so hot
Make me wanna drop
You’re so ridiculous
I can barely stop
I can hardly breathe
You make me wanna scream
You’re so fabulous
You’re so good to me
Baby Baby
You’re so good to me
Baby Baby

[verse 2—add pop tones on keyboard]
I can make you feel all better, just take it in
And I can show you all the places, you’ve never been
[add backing vox, with little or no effects, in a weaving backdrop]
And I can make you say everything, that you never said
And I will let you do anything, again and again

Now you’re in and you can’t get out

[1:42 Chorus 2]
You make me so hot
Make me wanna drop
You’re so ridiculous
I can barely stop
I can hardly breathe
You make me wanna scream
You’re so fabulous
You’re so good to me
Baby Baby
You’re so good to me
Baby Baby

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