Jason Merritt, Getty Earlier this year, Adele won an Academy Award for her…
Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt: Adele Is Loved Because She's White & Sounds Black
- Posted on Mar 23rd 2012 4:55PM by Theo Spielberg
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"She really has a lovely voice, but I only get suspicious when people get excited about British people who sound like American black people," he said. "Basically she sounds like Anita Baker. And people are not, you know, wild and crazy about Anita Baker. And I think about the whole, with the racism, when people love when British people sound like American black people."
As Spin so astutely noted, Baker "has eight Grammys, four platinum records and two gold records." So it seems like people did like her a fair amount.
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As Spinner recently reported, Adele was also nominated for Outstanding Song at the NAACP Image Awards in January. We are going to go out on a limb here and hypothesize that the reason that people are wild and crazy for Adele is because she's -- how do we put this -- so, so great at singing.
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March 24 2012 at 8:52 PM Report abuse Permalink -1 rate up rate down ReplyKhelama -- IN CASE YOU MISSED IT THE FIRST TIME!
It's the truth. She has the STYLE of Anita and dozens of other black women vocalists she probably grew up listening to. It is truth that whites get rich singing black and are accepted when they "caucasianize" black music, yet black people themselves are rejected by those same whites overall. It is a fact of history and life, from Elvis to the Stones, from Jerry Lee Lewis to Patsy Cline, from blues, to Jazz now dominated by whites, to r&b, to pop, swing, ragtime, The Bee Gees got famous singing black disco while Travolta played the part of a black dancer who was in fact taught by a black choreographer, the late Michael Peters who choreographed with Michael Jackson in "Beat It" and "Thriller." Black people, specifically Black Americans are responsible for the creation of every major music genre in the world and the culture that goes with it. Not to mention every major dancing style. Yet black people are rejected as equals all over the planet, even while their styles and culture are imitated by everyone and their money exploited. So he is RIGHT! Absolutely! The rabid reaction is from whites who don't want the truth told! It is RACISM and always has been! The talents of the slave was exploited to make the master rich while the slave suffered. It continues today. At some point black people are going to have wake up out of their long sleep of denial and realize that they are tree whose fruit everyone wants to sample all the while rejecting the tree.
I like white people the most !
March 24 2012 at 5:33 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyWho is this guy? Does someone know if he has a cd coming out soon and he needed some publicity? He certainly got it! Isn't that really what it's all about? Adele is awesome!
March 24 2012 at 5:15 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI love Anita Baker, and Adele does not sound like Anita Baker. She has her own unique sound.
March 24 2012 at 4:51 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyIt's the truth. She has the STYLE of Anita and dozens of other black women vocalists she probably grew up listening to. It is truth that whites get rich singing black and are accepted when they "caucasianize" black music, yet black people themselves are rejected by those same whites overall. It is a fact of history and life, from Elvis to the Stones, from Jerry Lee Lewis to Patsy Cline, from blues, to Jazz now dominated by whites, to r&b, to pop, swing, ragtime, The Bee Gees got famous singing black disco while Travolta played the part of a black dancer who was in fact taught by a black choreographer, the late Michael Peters who choreographed with Michael Jackson in "Beat It" and "Thriller." Black people, specifically Black Americans are responsible for the creation of every major music genre in the world and the culture that goes with it. Not to mention every major dancing style. Yet black people are rejected as equals all over the planet, even while their styles and culture are imitated by everyone and their money exploited. So he is RIGHT! Absolutely! The rabid reaction is from whites who don't want the truth told! It is RACISM and always has been! The talents of the slave was exploited to make the master rich while the slave suffered. It continues today. At some point black people are going to have wake up out of their long sleep of denial and realize that they are tree whose fruit everyone wants to sample all the while rejecting the tree.
March 24 2012 at 6:31 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyMerritt suffers from a hearing condition known as hyperacusis; any sound heard louder than normal begins to "feedback" in his left ear at increasingly louder volumes. This has largely influenced the reserved live setup of The Magnetic Fields, which usually consists of acoustic instruments and little to no percussion. Merritt also wears earplugs during performances, and typically covers his left ear when the audience applauds
While he personally may have difficulties perceiving sound in a normal fashion, there is no excuse for his inflicting his racist opinions on the rest of the world. Adele and Anita Baker sound nothing remotely a like. They are both very talented singers who have wowed the music industry and their fans with their talent. This person is totally ignorant and sounding a bit bitter that someone like Adele took the world by storm and people have to google his name just to find out who the hell he is. The only racism I see here is coming from him and no one else but him. He needs to check his sht out and/or stop giving interviews because he comes across looking like a total moron.
Rocker Stephin Merritt Calls Adele's Fans 'Racist', He said shes a white singer that sounds black... Is it just me or is this guy the racist...??? He said She sounds like a white "Anita Baker"....
Dose this guy have any clue what racism is????
Yeah. Accepting the copy over the original because of the package the original comes in. That explain racism well enough for you?
March 24 2012 at 6:48 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyEvery singer has their own voice no way does she have a black voice I think Adele has more of a country music voice and by the way I listen to R&B all the time and love it especially the music from the 50's until now.
March 24 2012 at 4:16 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyShe CAN'T have a BLACK voice lady because she is white. What he means is she has a BLACK STYLE of singing and you know it! Stop pretending you don't know what he's saying. Your reaction to what Adele herself should be woman enough to admit, that she was influenced by black music, suggests what he says is true. You are racists who would rather eat glass than admit that most white singers who make it in these fields do so by imitating black artists. You who love them then can accept black music without accepting black people directly. That makes you both hypocrites AND racists. He's right.
March 24 2012 at 6:46 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyShe CAN'T have a BLACK voice lady because she is white. What he means is she has a BLACK STYLE of singing and you know it! Stop pretending you don't know what he's saying. Your reaction to what Adele herself should be woman enough to admit, that she was influenced by black music, suggests what he says is true. You are racists who would rather eat glass than admit that most white singers who make it in these fields do so by imitating black artists. You who love them then can accept black music without accepting black people directly. That makes you both hypocrites AND racists. He's right.
March 24 2012 at 6:46 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI don't agree, she doesn't sound black, to me. She isn't trying to sound black, only, she just wants to sing and this is what comes out...... I don't know who this person is who said this...but he is the racist, not her. I love her voice, and if, to people, she sounds black, I think that is a conpliment. I love R&B music.
March 24 2012 at 4:15 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyShe CAN'T have a BLACK voice lady because she is white. What he means is she has a BLACK STYLE of singing and you know it! Stop pretending you don't know what he's saying. Your reaction to what Adele herself should be woman enough to admit, that she was influenced by black music, suggests what he says is true. You are racists who would rather eat glass than admit that most white singers who make it in these fields do so by imitating black artists. You who love them then can accept black music without accepting black people directly. That makes you both hypocrites AND racists. He's right.
March 24 2012 at 6:46 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplySorry Spinner. Wasn't trying to spam, there's a glitch in the format.
March 24 2012 at 6:49 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate downShe CAN'T have a BLACK voice lady because she is white. What he means is she has a BLACK STYLE of singing and you know it! Stop pretending you don't know what he's saying. Your reaction to what Adele herself should be woman enough to admit, that she was influenced by black music, suggests what he says is true. You are racists who would rather eat glass than admit that most white singers who make it in these fields do so by imitating black artists. You who love them then can accept black music without accepting black people directly. That makes you both hypocrites AND racists. He's right.
March 24 2012 at 6:46 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply











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