Adele

[deeconsistent]

I feel like we see this movie every couple of years. A female musician hits the scene who doesn't really fit into the sexy ingenue category and she gets a huge amount of attention (usually foll9wing awards season) for being "the real thing who doesn't rely on her looks". Two albums down the road, her albums are barely able to chart. Norah Jones, Jennifer Hudson, Macy Gray are a few who spring to mind. Not that I'm begrudging her her success or that I think she lacks talent, but I don't think her current popularity represents a cultural shift. I think this type of trend counterprogramming is, in itself, part of the status quo.

[Hamatron]

It will be interesting to see how her success in the U.S. plays out. Right now, she's really part of a wave of strong female singer/songwriters that have been coming out of the U.K. lately (this group includes Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse, Kate Nash, Duffy... etc.) If she doesn't have a long-lasting career in the U.S. I bet she could have one in the U.K. for sure. Plus, it's not uncommon for a performer like her to put out one or two hit albums, then cultivate a loyal fanbase that leads to decent album and concert sales once the Top 40 lose interest.

But like I said, I personally am worn out by her ongoing relationship failure as her main (only?) source of inspiration. It got old when Kelly Clarkson did it too. Mix it up a little, Adele!

[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.

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.

It's not quite as cut and dried as you make it sound.

I don't think she has gone to cause trouble, that doesn't come across in her song. More that she hasn't gotten over him, she accepts that he has moved on, but she wants him to remember what they had once had and wishes him well.

I don't think the someone like you, is exactly the same, or at least I hope not!

I just took it as her first real love has moved on and she's writing about it.

[cowabunga]

Apr 18, 2011 6:10:15 GMT -4 @helenka said:

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.

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.

It's not quite as cut and dried as you make it sound.

I don't think she has gone to cause trouble, that doesn't come across in her song. More that she hasn't gotten over him, she accepts that he has moved on, but she wants him to remember what they had once had and wishes him well.

I don't think the someone like you, is exactly the same, or at least I hope not!

I just took it as her first real love has moved on and she's writing about it.

I agree. I think that's an incredibly literal interpretation to think she's showing up begging to be the other woman and not remotely what she means when she's singing that. Adele said herself that that song came about after writing a lot of angry "I don't need you" songs and she started to feel ashamed that she was writing about him and their time together so negatively when it hadn't been all bad. She said that she was having a particularly bad day post-break up and could imagine bumping into him years later and she was still alone and miserable. I don't know why, but I love the honesty in that - it's really relatable. I don't think it is necessarily a reflection on her permanent state of mind towards that relationship/guy, just a product of how she was feeling and her fears at the time of writing that song. I think the song is fantastic though, I felt like I had been sucker punched in the stomach the first time I heard it... I couldn't tell you the last time I really felt a song that was being played on the radio. So yes, while I am someone who loves mindless, fun, pop music (from guys or girls) - it certainly is refreshing to hear something else.

I doubt every album of hers will be about the breakdown of a relationship. I think it's a matter of her writing music to suit where she is at a given time and it just so happens that both times coincided with a break up. It will be interesting to see what direction her music takes after this album though.

[spider]

I like her music but man, if I were her ex I'd be begging into the witness protection program by now.

[Hamatron]

No, I get it. I am hearing the song as very literal, and I understand that there are more shades to what happened and that there's more context and background and unexpressed emotions in what she is trying to say.

I think it's just that it's been two albums of these types of songs from her and it's wearing a little thin on my ear/brain. I think "Someone Like You" was literally the breaking point for me. Sort of like when a best buddy breaks up and you console them... and sometimes that friend carries on a little too long and you start to avoid their offers for girls' night out because you don't want to spend another evening listening to their drunken rants.

Adele is doing that, only it's through my playlist, hah.

[JeanBean]

I feel like we see this movie every couple of years. A female musician hits the scene who doesn't really fit into the sexy ingenue category and she gets a huge amount of attention (usually foll9wing awards season) for being "the real thing who doesn't rely on her looks". Two albums down the road, her albums are barely able to chart. Norah Jones, Jennifer Hudson, Macy Gray are a few who spring to mind. Not that I'm begrudging her her success or that I think she lacks talent, but I don't think her current popularity represents a cultural shift. I think this type of trend counterprogramming is, in itself, part of the status quo.

Well said.

[Augustus]

Apr 18, 2011 7:46:01 GMT -4 cowabunga said:

I doubt every album of hers will be about the breakdown of a relationship. I think it's a matter of her writing music to suit where she is at a given time and it just so happens that both times coincided with a break up. It will be interesting to see what direction her music takes after this album though.

In interviews she's said she sure doesn't want to need heartache to write songs and hopes to be able to write them during happier times just as well. Then again I give her a break on that, she was 19 and 21. But if she continued on the same streak for years and years? Yeah, no thanks.

After listening to her album for so long, I really went looking for some upbeat music.

[bornslippy]

So shes Gwen Stefani 2.0 so far?

[save lilo!]

Exactly, I have totally TOTALLY thought about the future in which an ex is happy and I am not. I would not want to know about it and knowing he is married (especially to the girl immediately after me) would make me utterly miserable. Even more so if he and I had a good relationship where ultimately, I would wish him well, but in the back of my mind (and I assume many others), I would wonder why it wasn't me. I think it's a thought process everything could identify going through after a breakup with someone you loved very deeply. IMO, that's what makes the song so sad and beautiful at the same time. It's hard to capture that much emotion in 3 minutes, and it's a little easier with some imagery and imagination.