pazz jop '11

[jfm]

Yeah, I know Adele gets lumped into that retro-soul bag but I hear it more as just classic pure pop...reminds me of early Elton John as much as classic soul. And it's not nearly the retro shtick of an Amy Winehouse...meaning, I don't get the sense that she and her team are trying to re-create the actual sound of older records and older artists.

True, she's part of the whole British soul continuum, from Dusty to Annie Lennox and all. There's just been so many of them recently (Winehouse, Duffy, Florence). (And to be fair, Winehouse's first album was not really retro. It's just that she figured out where the market was.) Anyway, I don't have a problem with Adele. We could do a lot worse, pop-star wise.

[Gray]

Anyway, I don't have a problem with Adele. We could do a lot worse, pop-star wise.

She's got serious pipes, solid production, and better than average songs. Strong buy.

[F-Stop]

I love plenty of Tom Waits stuff. He's just long since in that category of I Don't Need to Hear More, for me. (Which I had maybe unfairly consigned PJ to, as well.)

Hipster.

[Hank IV]

...I Don't Need to Hear More, for me. (Which I had maybe unfairly consigned PJ to, as well.)

That's where I've had her from Day 1. Never turned my crank, floated my boat, etc, etc, etc.

[Apeville]

Someone sent me a link to an Adele song on youtube. I listened to it and thought- wow, she's got a nice full voice and the production is pretty solid. And then turned it off after about 95 seconds.

[Mr. Pointy]

i really liked PJ's Let England Shake collection - though, true, collections of tunes damning England/Western war and imperialism are many, this stands out for a few reasons, mainly that where she has a rep for her raw and visceral stuff, this is deceptively light and poppy. definitely worthy of the best of the year praise.

[Lee G]

Someone sent me a link to an Adele song on youtube. I listened to it and thought- wow, she's got a nice full voice and the production is pretty solid. And then turned it off after about 95 seconds.

Yeah, the songs aren't necessarily killer in and of themselves—"Rolling in the Deep" hits people so hard because it's got a great chorus, not so much that it's an awesome song overall—but she manages to make the most of them for sure.

[itchybro]

...reminds me of early Elton John as much as classic soul.

For me he was at his zenith trying to re-create The Band.

[jeffx]

yeah, really can't front on "rolling in the deep". pretty great song all around. i imagine the rest of the album is mostly boring torch songs and overproduced pop detritus, simply because that's historically how those soul diva records are usually padded out. and not just recent history, either, i'm talking all the way back.

[mte]

let england shake knocked me out, even though i'd been off the pj harvey train for most of the last decade—it was my pick as best album of the year, even though i don't have much to say about it, really. (beyond that voice! the mood!)

i think i'd like the destroyer and tuneyards fine if i listened to them all the way through. i liked a lot of stuff this year—mastodon, the new fall, uncle acid, YOB, gates of slumber, gang gang dance—but i couldn't be bothered to really lobby on behalf of much of it. i mean, if you like any of those bands, you'll probably like what they released this year. if you don't, you won't.