Adele (Singer)

Rufus Wainwright Prepares To Go Totally Solo at Davies Symphony Hall

By JAMES ROBINSON Rufus Wainwright is quick to acknowledge that he's asked for a certain type of patience from his fans in recent years. There was Prima Donna, the opera he wrote, the stark All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu, which featured adaptations of three of Shakespeare's sonnets. He's also ... More >>

The High Five: Great New Songs from Janelle Monae, Best Coast, Laura Mvula, and More

Welcome, time-crunched and over-stimulated music fan, to All Shook Down's High Five -- a place where Byard Duncan wades through the shit to find you the hits. Well, five of them, anyway. It's not too much of a stretch to say that this week's selections are united by their meticulous construction. W ... More >>

5 Reasons Why Drunken British Musicians Are the Best Drunken Musicians

Why is it that when British people drink too much, they become 10 times funnier? It's not just the accents (though that does definitely help). There is just something specific to coming from that island -- and we have no idea what it is -- that inspires a special next-level of unhindered glee and co ... More >>

The 2013 Grammy Awards: Few Surprises Despite Lots of Fun.

The Grammy Awards are dull and insipid every year, but at least for the last two years the Recording Academy managed a few surprises: In 2011, Arcade Fire won Album of the Year, providing a climactic reality-check for thousands of indie partisans; in 2012, the awards attempted to both grapple with t ... More >>

Jessie Ware Quietly Wins Over Rickshaw Stop, 1/24/13

Jessie Ware Rochelle Jordan Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013 Rickshaw Stop Better than: A good portion of the soul music we lazy Americans make these days. So: for like the billionth time, the British are coming, enacting step No. 9,384 in their dastardly plan to sell all our own exports back to us. Most r ... More >>

10 Great Songs About Cheating on Your Lover

Depending on your perspective, cheating's a little bit naughty, a whole bunch of fun, or one of the worst things you could possibly do to another human being. Here are our 10 favorite songs about not being able to keep it in your pants when you're supposed to. "Cry Me A River," Justin TimberlakeThe ... More >>

Adele's "Skyfall" James Bond Theme: Why Does She Sound So Sleepy?

Like everyone else on Earth, we are huge Adele fans. When 19 came out, we had our minds blown by the sheer passion and power on display from this absurdly young woman, and couldn't help but wonder if the album was a one-off or a fluke (remember -- not even Amy Winehouse managed it twice). But then, ... More >>

Frank Ocean: The Only Band That Matters

Frank Ocean. Even his name sounds like it was dreamed up, because it was. Ocean is 2012's Clash, its Radiohead, its -- if you insist -- Animal Collective. From his no-name-on-the-cover mystique to the 10-minute opus, pre-career record company troubles and a grassroots indie following, he's an altern ... More >>

Darq E Freaker's 'The 3-D Mix': London Beats to Blow Up Your Ears

Here's a little something to blow up your ears this weekend: A new mini-mix by London grime/dubstep producer Darq E Freaker, initially put together for British MTV. Darq E Freaker is a still relatively up-and-coming producer over there, known among other things for producing Tempa T's wickedly confr ... More >>

The Best of SXSW Music: Friday 3/16/2012

If you're familiar with chaos theory, which in its basic form is the attempt to find patterns in the random acts of shit on Earth, then you may understand the difficulty that comes with describing a full day at SXSW. To break down the chaos, Village Voice Media's roving music editors have selected t ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

Sizzle & Fizzle: Highs and Lows from the Last Week in S.F. Music

The Grammys: A Timeline of Madness and Misery

The 54th Annual Grammy Awards happened yesterday. Which we're sure you know already. If you missed it, however, you may have missed some of the weirdest details. So here, for your convenience, is a timeline of events. Get comfortable, 'cause this thing was a three-and-a-half-hour carnival of absurdi ... More >>

Adele's Grammy Performance: A Reminder of the Scary Power of an Honest, Gorgeous Song

Every once in a while, you come across a performance that reaches into your body, grabs your soul with two hands, and shakes you back into full awareness of the seriously insane power of music. It sounds sappy and clichéd, and it is. But that's exactly what Adele did at the Grammy Awards yesterday ... More >>

Nikka Costa: Show Preview

Katy B: Show Preview

The Top Five Pop Songs of 2011

2011 was the year Beyonce got knocked up, Lady Gaga arrived at the Grammys in an egg, and a soul singer from London took over the world. Tomorrow we'll be bitching about the worst pop moments of the year, but today, here are our favorite pop hits from 2011. 5. "Till The World Ends," Britney Spears ... More >>

Drake's Take Care: A First Listen

​ Funny thing about Drake: I'm forced to care. This goes beyond my duties as a music writer; rap now is in a state where someone like Drake or Rick Ross becomes the sun and everyone surrounding becomes an orbiting satellite. I'm a huge fan of co-Money Youngins Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj, and I ... More >>

Album of the Year: Handicapping the Race for the Best Record of 2011

It's almost November -- the month when music scribes pull their ears out of whatever Sonic Youth/Public Enemy/Kate Bush playlist they normally exist to and begin cramming for that all-important professional exercise: The annual Best Of list. Picking the 10 or so best new albums of the year and placi ... More >>

Deconstructing Adele's Sanity-Preserving Video for "Someone Like You"

It's humiliating to be imparted a thuddingly obvious life lesson by an individual 14 years your junior. They've circumvented the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom. In the new video for her massive hit "Someone Like You" (at 7.9 million YouTube views and counting), English soul singer Adele t ... More >>

Sizzle & Fizzle: Highs and Lows from the Last Week in S.F. Music

An Open Letter To Adele (For Being Awesome)

​ Dear Adele,We'd like to congratulate you on being in the Top 3 of the Billboard chart, with your incredible 21 album, for 22 weeks straight now. For 12 of those, you've been at No. 1, and we couldn't be happier for you. It's an amazing feat.We think this achievement is incredible for a numb ... More >>

The Summer Anthem: Does It Get Better or Worse with Age?

​We pop music critics are wired in such a way that articulating a love for Aja and Scott Walker is significantly less difficult than articulating the love for the person we share a toothbrush with. We're a revolting phylum, I know. However, one notable exception is Rolling Stone editor Rob Sh ... More >>

Sizzle & Fizzle: Highs and Lows from the Last Week in S.F. Music

Adele, Future Queen of Divas

Metallica Fans More Likely to 'Do It' on a First Date, Dumb Survey Says

"Nice to meet you. Wanna do it?"​Surprise! Metallica and Nirvana fans are more likely to have sex on a first date, while those who like Coldplay and Adele are the least likely to go all the way.Those are the findings of a not-entirely-scientific survey by online dating site Tastebuds, which matche ... More >>

Tune-Yards Featured in Rolling Stone, Because 'Bizness' Is Amazing

Anna M CampbellTune-Yards' Merrill Garbus​So we're into predictions lately. Here's one: 2011 is going to be a great year for Tune-Yards, the Oakland-based project of Merrill Garbus, whom you may as well start thinking of as the one-girl Dirty Projectors of the West. (A problematic comparison, but ... More >>

Nadastrom on Whether Dutch House Is Dead, and Is Moombahton a Real Genre?

Blood for life. Dave Nada and Matt Nordstrom. There's really no typical way to classify DJ/Producer/Comedy duo Dave Nada and Matt Nordstrom, better known as Nadastrom, as anything but original. With music that makes you want to start a mosh pit yet salsa dance at the same time, their parties have ... More >>

Last Night: Noisettes at the Rickshaw Stop

​Noisettes Rickshaw Stop July 28, 2009 Better than: Any show I've seen in a long time. America hasn't yet fallen under the spell of London trio Noisettes, but it's gonna happen soon. They are well known in their homeland, and their latest single, "Never Forget You," leaps out of my speakers whe ... More >>

Last Night: Adele at The Warfield

Adele The Warfield January 29, 2009 Better than: Watching Amy Winehouse frolic a step away from death. British singer/songwriter Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (known simply as Adele) totes a voice that's dripping with old soul, yet she's only 20. When she took to the stage last night at the Warfiel ... More >>

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