SONG OF THE DAY
“Rolling In The Deep” by Adele (21, XL Records, 2010). Written by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth. Produced by Paul Epworth.
WHY TODAY?
First mentioned in one of WNHU’s/ Kristen Bayusik’s Friday playlists in February of this year, this song is obviously hot right now, and is getting good radio time, so it got my fist pumping to the beat in the car this past Sunday while hubby and I were doing errands. Then I called my deliciously well-groomed-in-music brother, Jon, for his birthday today and we chatted up the song’s bass line a bit more, a recent cover he’d heard, and Adele in general, so it became fitting as a tribute song that I should blog for him on this his 2011 b’day. HBD, JJKIS!
INTERESTING FACTS (a la wikipedia)
– The song has been described by Adele as a “dark blues-y gospel disco tune”.
– The song has been positively received by music critics. It peaked at #1 in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland, and became a top ten hit in Austria, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, and Norway. The song debuted at #2 in the United Kingdom, becoming Adele’s third top ten single, and at # 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Adele’s second single to chart in the United States and also her first top 20 song. The song has been certified Gold by the RIAA.
– As of April 2011, the song has sold over 1,000,000 digital copies in the US alone.
– The song features “martial beats”, “pounding piano chords” (played by Neil Cowley) and “chanting backing singers”. Adele’s vocals have been described as having a “a hint of [Wanda] Jackson’s dirty-blues growl.”
– According to Nadine Cheung from AOL Radio Blog the song is “sung from the perspective of a scorned lover, who is finally able to see the light, but despite regretful sentiments, reconciliation is not an option here.”
– The song received critical acclaim for Adele’s powerful vocals, the powerful set of lyrics and the song’s instrumentation. The Sun called the song “an epic, foot-stomper of a pop anthem with thumping piano and a vocal you would expect from a veteran of 20 years on the road.” Bill Lamb from About.com gave it 5 stars out of 5. He said: “‘Rolling In the Deep’ […] wastes no time in presenting the stunning bluesy authority of her voice. Less than five seconds in she begins proclaiming the rise of emotion that results in fantasies of revenge against a lover who has done her wrong. Hers is a voice that can raise chills up the spine, and, when she is in a mood like this, the sense of foreboding will rivet your attention. Once you hear “Rolling In the Deep,” you will be counting the days before the full album can be heard”. Jason Lipshutz from Billboard complimented the song’s “sweeping chorus” and felt that the song “places a similar emphasis on its refrain but its multilayered instrumentation gives the English singer’s wail a previously unheard depth.” Lipshutz also praised Adele’s vocal performance by writing, “Adele’s noticeable leap in vocal confidence highlights the track. She gracefully lingers on the last line of the verses and attacks the sorrowful chorus’ first words, “You could have had it all,” head on.”
– The video begins with an abandoned house, where Adele is sitting on a stool singing. During the video, the scenes shows thousands of glasses filled with water that vibrate to the beat of a drum, a mysterious person dancing in a room with white flour and dust, the drummer playing the drums behind the stairs, plates being thrown and breaking on the wall in front of the staircase, and finally, a white model of a city which is set on fire by fireworks at the end of the song.
– A cover by Mike Posner was leaked to the web as a Pop Version of the song.
– 21 is the second album by English singer-songwriter Adele. Adele has admitted that 21 was inspired by her last break-up and it broke her heart when writing the songs. She has revealed that 21 was also inspired by folk rock band Mumford & Sons’s album Sigh No More because it holds a lot of memories of her ex-boyfriend.