Adele's "25" obliterates every first week sales record in history...

A lot of the posters on this forum - the ones you're talking about, are over 50, aren't they? Perhaps in their 60s? That's the impression I've got in the few months I've been here.

 

Honestly not sure. I believe at least some are, which of course would make sense as the 60's / 70's would be the music of their youth. But I've seen some younger posters chime in as well, usually adding something like "I was born in the wrong decade" at times. That's usually the tip off.

 

I like a lot of 60's/70's music myself, as well as other decades. But it seems to me, there's quite a few Beatles / Bob Dylan folks on here that don't venture much past that (I like The Beatles myself, although I can't take much of Bob Dylan's voice).

 

Well, we now know that Adele is not really Sondek's taste.. And going by that last quote Dean Martin made music for men who hated their liver and The Early Beatles made music for boys who were dangerously possessive of their girlfriends.

I've never followed 'trends'; I listened to the Beatles when everything got New Wave and listened to Ska when everything went Techno.
As for Adele; I like some of her songs, had a great voice, but I don't really like the style of singing.
But she's certainly talented and it's nice to have something musical at the top of the charts....

 

Well, thanks for hipping me to that thread. With this software, you can miss a LOT of threads if you don't go through each forum.

But, that post you linked me to doesn't do anything to refute my opinion.

 

if this was the 60's we'd have Ray Conniff plays the Hits of Adele in the bins by now.

 

You obviously haven't been around many men, have you?

 

I have the 21 album. I like some of the songs on it. I'll probably get this album at some point as well. I don't expect to love this new album, either, but was blown away with one of her new videos, the one that looked like a soundcheck. I didn't like "Hello" so much. I still have a problem with her grainy voice, but I try not to that get in the way of some good music.

And, I do not care about the lyrical content. If people let that get in their way of enjoying her music, they are missing out.

 

Yes, I am, but please don't tell my wife!

 

I read the thread. I seem what you're saying now.

 

I'm waiting for 'Pat Boone sings Adele' myself

 

I used to have a problem with her voice. A bit too much heft to it! Even now I don't think she's a great singer, to be honest... That said, I enjoy '25'. Some good songs, though it does have the feel of an album that's been worked on a long time.

 

So someone with talent actually sells a lot of music in this day and age. Yeah, I understand why you're all mad.

 

or an over 50 audiophile that seems to love her music but loves to complain how compressed her albums are.

She is not my cup of tea, but a LOT better than Diana Krall that old audiophiles generally get excited over.

 

I think her voice has a wonderful tone now. Very rich and emotive in the lower registers, and as good as it gets when she hits full 'foghorn' mode. I'd like to hear her do a full LP of covers (not an original idea, I know!). Her Dylan cover is definitive.

 

I don't have a problem with her voice on this album. Maybe because I've actually sat down at home and listened to it! With her previous 2 albums I'd hear the songs on the radio and dismiss them because I didn't think I liked her...

 

In other Adele threads I pointed out the difference in vinyl vs. cd of this title. It is definitely too compressed on cd and this doesn't let the music breathe properly. On vinyl, the tonality of the instruments is much more natural with an acoustic balance that you would expect from a capable studio recording.

The cd being pushed in volume to the point of edgy is I guess an accommodation to the ear bud generation but to avoid wearing out my vinyl I've been playing the cd most often (not to mention those 3 bonus tracks which better see a release on vinyl soon) and playing it at low volume is a satisfactory, if not audiophile experience. Adele deserves better than this frankly so I do expect one day she'll get the audiophile treatment she deserves.

 

She hardly "just vanished", unless you are considering the fact that she smartly took some time out of the public eye, so as not to have overkill. Regardless, 21 was the biggest selling release of both 2011 and 2012, and to date has sold over 30 million copies worldwide. I could go on and on listing the accolades earned by both the album and her after it was released, but those two facts alone are impressive enough. She also a major hit in 2012 with the James Bond theme "Skyfall", which was not on the album. True, she did have throat surgery to remove a benign polyp, and did have to cancel some touring to take care of it. However, when your voice is your instrument, and career, one generally would want to protect that as much as possible, so no fault on her there.

 

What does this all say? That maybe the music companies really aren't doing a good job finding new musical acts.
Clearly, acts can still sell lots of cds.

 

Yaaa!! for her!

Not exactly my style of music, but she is talented, and I would think many would celebrate sales of an artist of her calibre !!

 

I bought the cd at Target yesterday. Ripped it and listened at the gym this morning, so I cannot really comment on sound quality. I generally liked it. There are a few weak tracks, but many strong ones. I don't know the title of the song, but one of them sounds suspiciously similar to "Yesterday When I Was Young," both in theme and in parts of the melody. I haven't checked the songwriter credits so I don't know whether this was intentional and credited; if not, to my ears there is the potential of a copyright infringement lawsuit with respect to that track.

 

Yes, I agree there's definitely a suspiciously close similarity.
I think this has been mentioned in one of the recent Adele threads (maybe even this one !)
In fairness I imagine these instances can sometimes be innocent, resulting from subconscious recollection.

 

Well, as long as she doesn't cover My Sweet Lord....

 

Or counterpoint: I'm a guy squarely in the "buying physical product" demo, and I grew up on rock. Most of my vinyl purchase over the last few years have been reissues from Rush, Zeppelin, etc.

BUT... Lately I've found my taste in modern music shifting towards more electronic and female-driven music: Beach House, Grimes, CHVRCHES, Robyn, etc. I still find the occasional "traditional male rock band" I love (War On Drugs, Japandroids), but they're few and far between now.
And yes, I found myself enjoying the last Taylor Swift album (and this coming after YEARS of actively disliking everything about her music and her public persona). It's a very well-written, very contemporary, super catchy pop record. And what I've heard from the new Adele is very solid too.

So maybe the women are just making better music these days? And more men are coming around to that, "coolness" points be damned?

 

I Walk Like A Panther in 1977: "Star Wars is the kind of movie that smashes records and then is forgotten just as easily. Who's gonna care about Han Solo and R2D2 in 30 or 40 years???"