Adele

[Strawberry]

What bothers me about Gaga isn't the fact that she's visual, it's the fact that she basically told young girls that she couldn't be famous without objectifying herself. I don't care if she thinks she'd doing it on her terms, she's still buying into it and selling it wholesale. What sort of message is that???

[Deleted]

What I like about Gaga is that she's not afraid to look absolutely hideous; even if she shows off her body, she's constantly questioning and playing with traditional standards of beauty.

In general, though, I despise pop and dance music--yet I can't figure out what's supposed to be special about Adele's music other than the fact that some of the songs I've heard are slower and less, I guess, electronic than most pop. I do like her voice, but the songs I've heard certainly don't seem very innovative lyrically. Actually, "Someone Like You" gets on my nerves: The speaker in the song is visiting an ex-boyfriend who's married in order to tell him "for me, it's not over"? That's kind of low, huh?

(In any case, Adele needs to get over her real-life ex. He sounds like a major asshole in the interviews she's given.)

As for enunciation--how is Adele's bad? The only thing I've noticed is that on "Someone Like You" she pronounces "instead" as "instayed," which is annoying as hell. She's not the only singer I've heard with that affectation, though.

[Hamatron]

I cringe sometimes when listening to her music. I know she's young, but there's a lot of things about her writing that scream co-dependency and low self-esteem.

And yeah, the lyrics to "Someone Like You" are really embarrassing. She hears that her ex is now happily married, so she shows up on his doorstep in an attempt to remind him of their relationship. And then she's disappointed to discover that he has actually moved on and that his wife trumps her in terms of love, and concludes that she will also move on by finding someone just like her ex? Giiirrrl.

It's the wording, I think. It's not that weird to have tea or something with an ex after you have both moved on in life. It's normal to look for a little of that old spark. But the way she tells that story makes me want to pull her aside and give her some self-esteem-building exercises.

I remember Fiona Apple's second album When the Pawn... was great, and was about all the range of emotion people go through when a relationship falls apart. Rather than revisiting this for her third album, she wrote songs mostly about fumbling towards self-acceptance, and making peace with herself. It would be nice to see Adele take a similar path, though she already has two breakup albums under her belt.

[mrpeanut]

Apr 17, 2011 4:38:40 GMT -4 Strawberry said:

What bothers me about Gaga isn't the fact that she's visual, it's the fact that she basically told young girls that she couldn't be famous without objectifying herself. I don't care if she thinks she'd doing it on her terms, she's still buying into it and selling it wholesale. What sort of message is that???

Did she say that in terms of the music industry, period, or in the context of becoming a famous pop star? It sounds like a pretty candid recognition of the reality of the situation, not necessarily an endorsement of it as an ideal to strive for. As far as pop stars go, Gaga's probably the one who plays to the male gaze least and is clearly willing to embrace an unconventional/off-putting aesthetic.

I like Adele a whole lot and think the way she described the different between her and the pop girls pretty diplomatically, but I do think you could take the "I make music for the ears" comment as a bit condescending. Pop music has historically had a strong visual element, but that doesn't mean that it has no worth as music in and of itself when the visual aspect is taken away.

[Deleted]

Apr 17, 2011 15:38:11 GMT -4 Hamatron said:

I cringe sometimes when listening to her music. I know she's young, but there's a lot of things about her writing that scream co-dependency and low self-esteem.

And yeah, the lyrics to "Someone Like You" are really embarrassing. She hears that her ex is now happily married, so she shows up on his doorstep in an attempt to remind him of their relationship. And then she's disappointed to discover that he has actually moved on and that his wife trumps her in terms of love, and concludes that she will also move on by finding someone just like her ex? Giiirrrl.

I don't think she's concluded she really will find someone just like the ex, she's putting on a brave face and pretending to him that she's getting over it, when it reality, she's still in love with him. The fact that the lyrics are cringeworthy and embarrassing is kind of the point - it's why so many people connect to Adele's music. Many people say 'Someone Like You' has moved them to tears because it expresses exactly the way they feel/have felt about an ex. It may not be emotions that people are particularly proud of, or that reflect their best and strongest qualities, but they're real. Adele's not the first singer to do this, of course, but she's the one for this current generation.

[Hamatron]

Yeah, I get that interpretation. I understand why people would be moved or feel something during that song. It just doesn't work for me. What I described in the post is a pretty literal interpretation of the lyrics, where others will hear more shadings.

ETA: I actually wince for more reasons than one with that song... there's several points where she sings in a much higher-pitch than usual and it sounds painful (to me).

I enjoy a lot of stuff Adele has done, but for me it's getting to the point where I feel like she's singing the same tune over and over again.

[Coffeecakes]

To me when I say music for the ears, I mean someone that can actually sing. Lady Gaga makes dance music yet she can sing her ass off while on the other hand, Katy Perry and Rihanna sound like refried ass. To me it's about the voice. As a singer, I expect you to do the most basic shit, be able to sing.

[Deleted]

Apr 17, 2011 16:40:24 GMT -4 Coffeecakes said:

To me when I say music for the ears, I mean someone that can actually sing. Lady Gaga makes dance music yet she can sing her ass off while on the other hand, Katy Perry and Rihanna sound like refried ass. To me it's about the voice. As a singer, I expect you to do the most basic shit, be able to sing.

I agree. I'd never lump Gaga in with most other pop singers because, whatever you think of her songs, she can sing. She's also determined to make herself look decidedly unsexy, even if she's usually half-naked, and I think that's definitely innovative in the current pop climate.

As for Adele's self-esteem issues, that's what I get from her songs and from interviews as well, and that's why her lyrics irk me. That British awards show performance someone linked at the beginning of the thread--I read somewhere (maybe here) that she said she started crying onstage because she was imagining that ex making fun of her for still having feelings for him. Oh, come on! If anything should tell her she needs to get over that asshole, it's that. How could she repeatedly give him the satisfaction?

Then again, I suppose she's the one crying all the way to the bank.

ETA: I actually wince for more reasons than one with that song... there's several points where she sings in a much higher-pitch than usual and it sounds painful (to me).

I agree! I love her smoky voice, but her upper register is kind of unpleasant.

ETA: I don't know how reliable the source is, but I just read that this relationship she keeps singing about ended three years ago and lasted only three months. Oh, honey, NO.

[rascal]

I really love her voice but after listening to the whole album, I'm ready for songs that aren't just about breaking up (I was sort of surprised that almost all the songs where of that subject). It gets old fast, IMO. It could be that I'm not in that head space.

[Deleted]

Just once, I'd like for a female singer to come on the scene and no one feels the need to tear down other female stars in order to build her up. Adele's great for those who like her style of music (she bores me to tears, mostly). Gaga's great for those who like hers (me and my husband, middle aged and non-trendy music buffs). It doesn't have to be one or the other or some sort of ranking system where the woman gets points for saying whatever, dressing however, or weighing some particular amount.

I do love Adele's latest video, though, the one with her sitting in the chair. It's very moving.