By West Village Bill
The first time I saw this video of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" over at Joe.My.God. last month, I was immediately hooked. My favorite part of the video is when she shimmies in her chair and sings (backed by the sound of clapping hands?), "Throw your soul through every open door. Count your blessings to find what you live for." Nice! And I dig the sword-wielding dancer kicking up dust. And the bouncing glasses of water set in motion by the insistent bass drum.
I bought the song and video and played them almost obsessively. And then I played it for my friend Jen, who also got immediately hooked and bought Adele's first album, 19. Adele's second album, 21, which includes "Rolling in the Deep," will be released on Feb. 22.
The song I'm listening to constantly now is actually from a while back: David Gray's "Full Steam," which features queer icon Annie Lennox. I've been a fan of Gray's for a long time but only recently caught up with his Draw the Line album that came out in September 2009 and features this song. "Full Steam" is a beautiful and forceful condemnation of the capitalist Western world's self-destructive impulses. That may not sound like the makings of a great pop song, but it really is.
Here's a video of Lennox and Gray talking about the song. I had the experience Gray describes in which the more I listened to the song, the more I grasped its meaning.
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