Much current British pop seems a reaction to Amy Winehouse‘s success, seeking to capture the qualities that made her popular without the self-destructive issues that make her personal popularity unsustainable. Adele, for instance, was a clear ploy to work the retro side of the Winehouse equation without the crazy drug addict stuff, while Lady Gaga’s somewhat inexplicable larger popularity on that side of the pond indicates that she successfully triggers a latent affection in the British public for eccentric exhibitionists. Can’t anyone manage to combine the two?
