Another Year In Pop: 6

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

It's nu-mumpop vs old-mumpop! And some other stuff in the busiest week so far this year!

[Poll #1136678]

There is another BIG POLL to come on Poptimists today - DON'T TOUCH THAT DIAL especially if you like BORING OLD ROCK MUSIC (erm). EDIT: BIG POLL delayed until tomorrow, sorry dudes.

Comments

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Wiki says Adele is from Norf Lahndahn. As much as I like the bit of Norf Lahndahn where I live, I can't quite comprehend why she's extolling the virtues of Tottenham as the majority of said locale is really quite grim (no offence martinskidmore!). Not even background-grim in a optimistically cheerful Junior Spesh people-actually-live-here way, but in a soul-crushing rubbish-strewn retail park estate oh-god-lets-move-to-Slough-instead kind of way. Though it's not as bad as Edmonton.

[koganbot]

Thank you!

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Wess Lunnun 'swell more wicked enn-way. Blatantly.

[koganbot]

Btw, every other song on Adele's MySpace is dreadful.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I don't think she's even consciously extolling Tottenham per se - in fact I don't think she's consciously thought about the lyrics AT ALL, there aren't any specifics of anything in there, it's entirely composed of vague platitudinous we-shall-overcome clichés or just plain LIES. Like in the first verse:

"Is there anything I can do for you dear? Is there anyone I can call?"
"No and thank you, please Madam. I ain't lost, just wandering"

Since when do people do this in Tottenham! Or even in London! Or ANYWHERE. It's as bad as Sandi Thom, except instead of yearning for a golden age which never existed, Adele's pretending it still exists.

And then:

I like it in the city when the air is so thick and opaque
I love to see everybody in short skirts, shorts and shades

We're a verse and a chorus in and this is the closest we get to ANY kind of specific visual imagery about this hometown she's been going on about - and it could be ANY city in the world. Adele's an Everygirl and this is her Everytown, and instead of making her feelings and her home seem universal enough to ring true she makes them sound banal and cardboard.

I like it in the city when two worlds collide
You get the people and the government
Everybody taking different sides

Shows that we ain't gonna stand shit
Shows that we are united
Shows that we ain't gonna take it
Shows that we ain't gonna stand shit
Shows that we are united

What shows that?? What, in any of your lyrics, shows that we are united?? "Everybody taking different sides"??? I can't go on. Adele is so fucking stupid. How has this dumb bitch managed to be so successful?

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

This is an excellent example of why I don't normally bother paying attention to lyrics :)

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Sometimes they just LEAP OUT at you!

Adele's music: zzzzzzzzzz.

[koganbot]

These lyrics are impressively idiotic.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I think I was being a bit harsh on Tottenham above. It's an ok place really, just probably not worth writing an emotional song about. I mean, Ickenham is a perfectly great place to grow up, but if I was going to write a wistful song about it I'd write about the tiny patches of it that I experienced, or at least try and capture what makes it unique.

Wherever it is she's from, I find it all a bit strange.