Best of 2011 Reviews: 21 by Adele

I decided to let y'all know what I'd been listening to during 2011, so why not start with newly minted album of the year?
Adele's sophomore knock-out 21 is a curious record. It certainly isn't curious in themes, but just how fresh it is.
In the hands of Katy Perry, Rhianna, ect. this album just would've been solid in terms of lyrics. The lyrics are great, don't get me wrong. But we've heard this story millions of times over. Love is not unusual in the music business at all.
What makes 21  extraordinarily amazing is the class of the instrumentation and amazing abilities of Adele's voice. That is what really drives the album.
Whereas 19 was very jazz influenced, 21 turns to the blues and Motown of the sixties and seventies to give it a distinct sound in the dance/electronic driven pop music biz. If you were to hear an Adele song on the radio (and I'm sure you have) you could immediately distinguish it from any of the artists I mentioned earlier, or a rap group, or something like that. It doesn't sound like anything that's been so popular in a long time, and that is a very very good thing.
While a lot of people are probably rolling their eyes every time Rolling in the Deep comes on the radio (pun intended), the whole album doesn't feel like that. It gets better with every listen and you realize something
different with every spin.
The standout track without a doubt is Someone Like You, although it's effect is getting weaker with all of it's radio airplay. There's something magic in the song. It's just Adele and a piano. And that's where she works best in my opinion. The lyrics are raw yet polished and classy, the sparse-ness of it all making it perfect.
An entirely under-rated track on the album has to be the Carole King flavored One And Only. Backed by a choir, strings, and guitar, the love song almost sounds like a gospel song. There's soul enough for Adele and two of her radio airplay peers here.
Many of today's music critics and fans have been wondering "Who is going to be the Zeppelin of  this decade?" Who are future generations going to remember? Surely not Nicki Minaj and Rhianna? I think we're going to remember Adele.

-Randi

In Which I Review The Grammys

Three award ceremonies took place yesterday: The BAFTAS, The Tumblr Movie Awards, and The Grammys.
If you want to know about the Tumblr Movie awards, Harry Potter won everything.
If you want something from the BAFTAS, you want this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s2D6gs1Ui0
Now, onto the Grammys. I've conveniently  split the post into two sections, one for the stuff I liked, and one for the stuff I didn't.

THINGS I LIKED/LOVED/FANGIRLED OVER
-Adele. First of all SIX Grammys well earned and a soaring performance of Rolling in the Deep that made me actually love the song again (it had a little too much radio airplay). It really goes to show how much talent this girl has, and how amazing 21 is. Truly one of the best records of last year. Second, how classy is she? Third, really amazed at how good Adele sounded after vocal surgery.
-Lady Gaga being classy. Mad props for Gaga. Going into the awards tonight, pretty much everybody knew that Adele was going to win everything. While some people tried to steal the show and failed *coughcoughKatyPerryandNickiMinajcoughcough*, Mother Monster kept it classy in a crazy but well played outfit. She didn't perform, and didn't cry when she didn't win anything. For the record, I loved some of the songs from Born This Way and The Fame Monster, but I loved Adele more. Thanks for keeping it cool Gaga.
-LL Cool J, praying before the show for Whitney Houston. I gained so much more respect for him at that moment. The cloud of Whitney's death hung over the show, but they carried on in a respectable manner about it. Very cool J indeed.
-The Civil Wars. These guys are so cool. I love the song, and I love the harmonies. It was a welcome addition to the show.
-Amy Winehouse's parents accepting her Duets awards with Tony Bennett. It was a sad reminder of the loss of a brilliantly talented woman.
- Paul McCartney, being awesome.
-Bruce Springsteen, being awesome.
-The Beach Boys, being awesome with Foster the People and Maroon 5 (although Mark Foster looked so nervous. Poor boy! I'm sure he'll become more comfortable on stage soon).
-Remember last year when everyone said Taylor Swift was pitchy at the Grammys? Remember when she wrote a retort in the form of song about sounding pitchy? Well last night she gave a pitchy rendition of her retort on being pitchy. Although, again, not a big fan, I thought that took some courage, so that's pretty cool.
THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE/HATED/WAS NOT OK WITH
-Let's get this out of the way shall we? Nicki Minaj and her blatant attempt to be Lady Gaga. I remember thinking after the performance "I want my three minutes back." 1. The song sucked. 2. It make my stomach turn. 3. It was such an example of how far music has fallen, and making it more ironic was that it was at the Grammys. Seriously?
-Katy Perry. I don't get the hype. Her songs are all bubblegum and she's more known for ever changing hair colors than musicianship. Wasn't a fan of the jumpsuit, and wasn't a fan of the performance.
-Chris Brown. First of all, why are awarding this guy? I believe in forgiveness, but it's too soon. Domestic abuse is horrible, and Chris beat Rhianna until the staff at the hospital couldn't recognize her. THEY COULDN'T RECOGNIZE A WORLD FAMOUS POP STAR. That sends a pretty clear message. And he thinks all is forgiven because he thanked God in his acceptance speech? Not so. Not happy about his win.
-One of the trending topics on Twitter today was "Who is Paul McCartney?" I have very little hope in humanity.

What did you think? Let me know in the comments!


-Randi