Adele

There are bad things going on in Adele’s house. Dishes, lots of them, are being thrown, there’s a renovation project gone horrible wrong,  and there’s some demented court jester writhing around in a room filled with white powder. And that’s just the first minute of the video for “Rolling in the Deep.”

Then there’s a model of a miniature city, the buildings erected all in white, that goes up in flames as further symbolic proof that all has gone wrong.  (Or maybe it stands for the fire that has started in Adele’s heart). Our favorite are the seemingly thousands of water-filled glasses trembling along to the bass beat. It’s a great visual that does seem matched to the line about finally seeing everything “crystal clear.”

Having said that, I have absolutely no idea what this video is about. It’s abstract as they come. Adele sits in a chair never rising as she sings, oblivious to the destruction going on in the other rooms. We don’t know why the jester’s scenes are shot in black and white. Maybe it’s just an artistic choice or maybe it means something much more. Sometimes there’s no need to have a linear storyline and this video proves it. It’s compelling and fascinating in a kind of “Hmmm, am I supposed to understand this?” way. I hope the answer is no, I’m not.

What do you think the video is about?