SAMANTHA LUND
Editor in Chief
lundsr@plu.edu
I was driving back home from Thanksgiving dinner alone last Thursday using Spotify in my car and singing very loudly. Very, very loudly. My Spotify hit âHelloâ by Adele, and once wasnât enough. After repeating it four times, I realized I still hadnât heard her new CD â25.â
I knew what I had to do. I grabbed my phone while driving – I know I should have stopped but I didnât – and went into iTunes and downloaded the entire album.
â25â is the pop singerâs third studio album. It has 11 tracks and was released Nov. 20, 2015.
As a sidenote, this was the first album Iâve been willing to put real human dollars toward since getting my student Spotify subscription three years ago. The fact that Adele chose not to put her music on streaming sites was a betrayal of our relationship. Iâd been resenting her for a while, but it all ended when the album came on.
The first track, âHelloâ started, and even though Iâd just listened to it, I sang along once more. Itâs just that good.
The next track, âSend My Love,â begins with a heavy beat that ties you into the experience. Adele hasnât gotten old, her music isnât a repeat from the album â21.â Itâs new and shiny. Itâs ear crack.
Even without knowing the words youâll find yourself humming along. The beats are catchy, and Adele shifts from strong music to soothing melodies seamlessly. Between tracks three (âI Miss Youâ) and four (âWhen We Were Youngâ) she takes you from a dance floor to a love song.
âWeâre burning down the highway skyline/ On the back of a hurricane that started turning/When you were young,â Adele sings in âWhen We Were Young.â
Itâs no wonder Adeleâs album shattered Billboard records and sold over four million copies in a week. â25â looked at the Frozen Soundtrack and Taylor Swiftâs â1989â and laughed in their faces as it passed them by. Sales of â25â accounted for 41 percent of all music sales the week it came out.
Adele made the decision not to allow her music on streaming sites like Spotify and Apple Music. Music sales are down about 25 percent across the board because of streaming sites, and several artists, including Taylor Swift, have banded together to not stream their music. It was a risky choice, especially with listeners like me out there that take those decisions personally and choose not to listen to their albums at all if it means I have to shell out $10. But, if we can learn anything from Adeleâs recent success, itâs that these streaming services may not have as much of an affect as we think.
Now Iâm on track 10, âAll I Ask,â and Iâve caught onto a few words that Iâm belting out. I canât help but thinking, Damn this song is amazing. It speaks to me. Maybe Adele gets me completely. And then, of course, I start to cry. No shame. No shame.
Adele swiftly shifts from âAll I Askâ to her final track âSweetest Devotion,â which leaves you on a happy note. In the â70s-esque music festival song, Adeleâs 3-year-old son actually makes a cameo, which is only appropriate because he was the inspiration behind the piece.
Then the album is over. But Iâve still got another hour left to drive. Repeat.
