Ever since hearing "Video Games" for the first time I have been unable to shake the fact that I like her music in some unexplained way but that I really feel like I shouldn't. To be clear, I looked for the song on YouTube after hearing a Hunger Games parody of it so I didn't have any knowledge about the song or the singer behind it and I still know very little. In truth, I am pretty detached from pop culture as a whole. I keep up with movies fairly well by using Flixster but the only television shows I keep up with are Community and Mad Men and I will often go days without ever turning on a TV, the only books printed in the last 30 years that I've read have been recommended to me by friends, and I know nothing of pop music outside of Todd in the Shadows (I don't even listen to the alternative station on the radio anymore). And don't even get me started on celebrities. I know nothing.
I have no judgment of Lana Del Rey, the human. I know nothing about her aside from a vague idea of what she looks like. Everything I could possibly gleam about her personality comes from her music and that alone makes me think that I would actually really not like her as a person. This fact makes listening to her feel like a guilty pleasure to me. She, or at least her persona, seems to have multiple personalities and I don't like almost all of them.
For that reason perhaps, maybe I should take this on a song by song basis of judgment. I will do this with a clear mind and without looking somewhere like songmeanings.net or her Wiki page. I certainly don't like all her songs but on the whole I like her and want to hear more from her so she must be doing something right:
Born To Die - The Paradise Edition (2012)
1. "Born To Die"
I'm pretty sure this is one of my favorite tracks on the whole album. It blends her two music styles (heavy, sad retro-ish beats with hip-hop) in a way that I really like. The lyrics aren't exactly her most memorable or her most focused but their simplicity is fine with me because it's really a mood that this song is going for more than anything. That mood is a bitterly realistic carpe diem and I totally buy it.
2. "Off To The Races"
Every fiber of my being tells me that I should hate this song. I should but I really, really don't. This is one of the least ambiguous songs on the album. It's about a party girl mess who is with this rich older guy who is her financial enabler. She messes up and he saves her and this is the essence of their love. A symbiosis of calamity. The narrator is unsympathetic and insincere about her feelings, sounding like she is the perfect manipulator and he sounds like he just wants a hot chick who depends on him. The end conclusion seems to be that this fuckery means true love because ultimately they can't be without each other.
So if the premise kind of makes me sick, why do I like this song? The wordplay. I am a sucker for good use of language and the choruses of this song are genuinely clever in their rhyme and pattern in a way that is also annoyingly catchy. It's not the prettiest song in terms of music but I just love the flow and although the premise of the song means I should hate it, I really respect how it is a complete idea and executed in a way that gives you the right atmosphere for what is being conveyed.
So if the premise kind of makes me sick, why do I like this song? The wordplay. I am a sucker for good use of language and the choruses of this song are genuinely clever in their rhyme and pattern in a way that is also annoyingly catchy. It's not the prettiest song in terms of music but I just love the flow and although the premise of the song means I should hate it, I really respect how it is a complete idea and executed in a way that gives you the right atmosphere for what is being conveyed.
3. "Blue Jeans"
Having this song come after "Off To The Races" is endlessly confusing to me. This was the point I realized Lana Del Rey, at least in her music, is many people. Specifically, she's many emotionally tortured people in love. The last guy was a rich, old, cigar-smoking, gold-chain-wearing dude and this guy is a sorta-punk-rock James Dean figure in jeans and a white shirt. Essentially she went from something like this:
to this:
Although when I hear this song, it conjures a lot of variations of the same idea:
What do you mean I have a fetish for this look? Why would you say that?
Aside from the description of the guy this song isn't particularly memorable to me. She'll love him forever but he randomly got up and left because that's what rebels without causes do. The music sounds like any of her other songs that fall on the melancholic side of the scale over the vague hip hop side.
Having this song come after "Off To The Races" is endlessly confusing to me. This was the point I realized Lana Del Rey, at least in her music, is many people. Specifically, she's many emotionally tortured people in love. The last guy was a rich, old, cigar-smoking, gold-chain-wearing dude and this guy is a sorta-punk-rock James Dean figure in jeans and a white shirt. Essentially she went from something like this:
to this:
Although when I hear this song, it conjures a lot of variations of the same idea:
Aside from the description of the guy this song isn't particularly memorable to me. She'll love him forever but he randomly got up and left because that's what rebels without causes do. The music sounds like any of her other songs that fall on the melancholic side of the scale over the vague hip hop side.
4. "Video Games"
I have heard this song 20 times and I still have trouble figuring out what the heck it's supposed to be about. It's not the most confusing song here and it seems to be really trying to say something but I kind of struggle with what that is so here's my interpretation: This song is about distraction and attention. She loves this guy and will do anything to get his attention but he is often dismissive of her because he is so wrapped up in the joys of the modern world. She is only able to finally get him to notice her by joining in his activities and becoming just as absorbed in the superficial and distracting. Basically, she's in love with a frat boy. Or an very social nerd. I'll go read an interpretation after this and realize I'm way off but that's my idea and I'm sticking with it.
As for the tune, it's really the music itself that seems to have drawn me to Lana Del Rey in the first place and this song would be the one most responsible. A lot of the music I listen to is of the genre-blending variety and is usually about tragic love so it almost seems like this song was what I usually listen to run through a heavy pop filter.
I have heard this song 20 times and I still have trouble figuring out what the heck it's supposed to be about. It's not the most confusing song here and it seems to be really trying to say something but I kind of struggle with what that is so here's my interpretation: This song is about distraction and attention. She loves this guy and will do anything to get his attention but he is often dismissive of her because he is so wrapped up in the joys of the modern world. She is only able to finally get him to notice her by joining in his activities and becoming just as absorbed in the superficial and distracting. Basically, she's in love with a frat boy. Or an very social nerd. I'll go read an interpretation after this and realize I'm way off but that's my idea and I'm sticking with it.
As for the tune, it's really the music itself that seems to have drawn me to Lana Del Rey in the first place and this song would be the one most responsible. A lot of the music I listen to is of the genre-blending variety and is usually about tragic love so it almost seems like this song was what I usually listen to run through a heavy pop filter.
5. "Diet Mountain Dew"
I think this song is about nothing. It's just about road tripping to New York or something. I acknowledge that this could actually be a personal inside joke or something but otherwise, the lyrics are utterly inconsequential.
Musically, there's not much of note here. It's more on the hip-hop happy side of things and there's nothing about this song that is inherently offensive but there's nothing really worth noting. If this is anyone's favorite song, I will be floored.
Musically, there's not much of note here. It's more on the hip-hop happy side of things and there's nothing about this song that is inherently offensive but there's nothing really worth noting. If this is anyone's favorite song, I will be floored.
6. "National Anthem"
I still have no real idea what is meant by "I'm your national anthem" but in spite of this, the song still does make sense to me even if it seemed a bit jumbled the first three times I heard it. I think she's describing a one night stand interspersed with other examples of indulgence like money, drugs, and fancy things. I honestly think the chorus is really nice at the "red, white, blue" bit but I'm not a huge fan of the rap-like nature of the choruses. I can respect well-written rap and this just isn't all that impressive to me.
It's at this point in the album when I start to get exhausted by all the repeated themes and lines and wonder if there's anything else she can do since I haven't been particularly interested since the very beginning. . .
I still have no real idea what is meant by "I'm your national anthem" but in spite of this, the song still does make sense to me even if it seemed a bit jumbled the first three times I heard it. I think she's describing a one night stand interspersed with other examples of indulgence like money, drugs, and fancy things. I honestly think the chorus is really nice at the "red, white, blue" bit but I'm not a huge fan of the rap-like nature of the choruses. I can respect well-written rap and this just isn't all that impressive to me.
It's at this point in the album when I start to get exhausted by all the repeated themes and lines and wonder if there's anything else she can do since I haven't been particularly interested since the very beginning. . .
7. "Dark Paradise"
. . . And then I say thank you! This is definitely one of my favorite songs of hers. It's a little underwhelming in the beginning and the bit about the "singing your song" comes off more lazy than evocative to me but the bit before the chorus and the chorus itself are really pretty. It's the heavy sadness in her songs that drew me to her in the first place so obviously her most depressing song would be a favorite. The lyrics are obviously about a dead lover and while they are simple and not particularly unique, I just love the way she sings them and the rhythm which almost makes me think of a flowing river.
. . . And then I say thank you! This is definitely one of my favorite songs of hers. It's a little underwhelming in the beginning and the bit about the "singing your song" comes off more lazy than evocative to me but the bit before the chorus and the chorus itself are really pretty. It's the heavy sadness in her songs that drew me to her in the first place so obviously her most depressing song would be a favorite. The lyrics are obviously about a dead lover and while they are simple and not particularly unique, I just love the way she sings them and the rhythm which almost makes me think of a flowing river.
8. "Radio"
I kind of hate this one. The lyrics are silly to me and the overly sweet nature of the song is so strange when she's essentially telling this guy who she likes to like her back because she's famous now. Annoying premise, annoying style, and strange analogies that don't fully work. Cinnamon isn't really sweet. Sugar venom isn't a thing. Who licks vitamins?
I kind of hate this one. The lyrics are silly to me and the overly sweet nature of the song is so strange when she's essentially telling this guy who she likes to like her back because she's famous now. Annoying premise, annoying style, and strange analogies that don't fully work. Cinnamon isn't really sweet. Sugar venom isn't a thing. Who licks vitamins?
9. "Carmen"
This song pretty much sucks me in from the beginning because I am a sucker for strings, especially dirge-sounding strings, and my interest in the music continues throughout the whole song even when they go away. As for the lyrics, it's nice to hear her tell someone else's fame story other than her own, especially one that is so bitterly realistic and there's actually some really good writing here. My big problem with this song is the flow of the lyrics in the choruses. Actually, maybe it's not the flow. Maybe it's her singing. Or maybe I'm not a fan of the looped voices. Something about it sounds incorrect to me. It doesn't deter me from liking the song but I cringe a bit during the "laughs like God" line.
This song pretty much sucks me in from the beginning because I am a sucker for strings, especially dirge-sounding strings, and my interest in the music continues throughout the whole song even when they go away. As for the lyrics, it's nice to hear her tell someone else's fame story other than her own, especially one that is so bitterly realistic and there's actually some really good writing here. My big problem with this song is the flow of the lyrics in the choruses. Actually, maybe it's not the flow. Maybe it's her singing. Or maybe I'm not a fan of the looped voices. Something about it sounds incorrect to me. It doesn't deter me from liking the song but I cringe a bit during the "laughs like God" line.
10. "Million Dollar Man"
This was kind of the song I was waiting for from finding Lana Del Rey: a straight up throwback song. I think this is some of her best singing (or at least most controlled) and everything about this song kind of makes me happy that it exists. My one problem with this song is her pronunciation of "flower" in the first line. Pains me every time.
This was kind of the song I was waiting for from finding Lana Del Rey: a straight up throwback song. I think this is some of her best singing (or at least most controlled) and everything about this song kind of makes me happy that it exists. My one problem with this song is her pronunciation of "flower" in the first line. Pains me every time.
11. "Summertime Sadness"
I don't really know if this song makes sense but I think it's supposed to be more of a feeling song like "Diet Mountain Dew". Point is: it achieves it's goal perfectly and I love listening to it. Who cares about the flaws (okay, the stutter trend in music makes me angry but still)?
I don't really know if this song makes sense but I think it's supposed to be more of a feeling song like "Diet Mountain Dew". Point is: it achieves it's goal perfectly and I love listening to it. Who cares about the flaws (okay, the stutter trend in music makes me angry but still)?
12. "This Is What Makes Us Girls"
I really love the story telling in this song and it's really strong lyrically. It's not a very unique song musically, especially at this point in the album, but I think it's a really great end to the album if you don't have any of the extended stuff. While I kind of disagree with the thesis of the song, it is kind of the perfect thesis for the album as a whole which is why it fits so well at the end. Almost every song is about a tortured romance of some sort but this one is about friendship and how it can get ruined or pushed to the side in pursuit of love. I see what you did there, Lana.
I really love the story telling in this song and it's really strong lyrically. It's not a very unique song musically, especially at this point in the album, but I think it's a really great end to the album if you don't have any of the extended stuff. While I kind of disagree with the thesis of the song, it is kind of the perfect thesis for the album as a whole which is why it fits so well at the end. Almost every song is about a tortured romance of some sort but this one is about friendship and how it can get ruined or pushed to the side in pursuit of love. I see what you did there, Lana.
13. "Without You"
This song thematically is kind of a response to "Radio" that feels far more honest. It's pretty much about, screw the fame because it means nothing without you. It's not sugar-coated in any way and it's actually very desperate. I'll take this one over "Radio" any day.
This song thematically is kind of a response to "Radio" that feels far more honest. It's pretty much about, screw the fame because it means nothing without you. It's not sugar-coated in any way and it's actually very desperate. I'll take this one over "Radio" any day.
14. "Lolita"
This song for me is a case of, "I see what you were trying to achieve with this song but I still hate it." This beat is utterly migraine-inducing and the childish rhymes and singing come off more creepy than clever. The message is conflicted and not like the singer is conflicted but like the lyrics don't know what they are trying to achieve. I always skip this one and think of "Gothic Lolita" by Emilie Autumn, a song with a similar idea but a million times better executed.
This song for me is a case of, "I see what you were trying to achieve with this song but I still hate it." This beat is utterly migraine-inducing and the childish rhymes and singing come off more creepy than clever. The message is conflicted and not like the singer is conflicted but like the lyrics don't know what they are trying to achieve. I always skip this one and think of "Gothic Lolita" by Emilie Autumn, a song with a similar idea but a million times better executed.
15. "Lucky Ones"
Hang on, everybody! This love story isn't tortured almost at all! It's happy! This song actually reminds me of a song from a musical. Hell, this song could be the last song of a musical that was a love story where the couple just couldn't get together until the very end. This is your happy ending. See, I can like happy. I just like realistic happy over something that will rot my teeth.
Hang on, everybody! This love story isn't tortured almost at all! It's happy! This song actually reminds me of a song from a musical. Hell, this song could be the last song of a musical that was a love story where the couple just couldn't get together until the very end. This is your happy ending. See, I can like happy. I just like realistic happy over something that will rot my teeth.
16. "Ride"
This is the first song on Paradise and I really think it's one of the strongest. It's got this nice folksy sound that fits well with the road tripping idea. Lana Del Rey likes to evoke feelings of "Americanness" in her songs and I feel like this one achieves that the best. It's not about fame or excess or tortured love but just about being disaffected and trying to get away with endless road ahead of you. If this song doesn't end up during the climactic scene of a movie, I will be utterly shocked.
This is the first song on Paradise and I really think it's one of the strongest. It's got this nice folksy sound that fits well with the road tripping idea. Lana Del Rey likes to evoke feelings of "Americanness" in her songs and I feel like this one achieves that the best. It's not about fame or excess or tortured love but just about being disaffected and trying to get away with endless road ahead of you. If this song doesn't end up during the climactic scene of a movie, I will be utterly shocked.
17. "American"
This is the first of three songs that sounds to me like there was very little effort put into them. The subtext of Americana has rapidly become in-your-face text and the rest of the lyrics aside from that amusing conversation in the beginning feel like they were just tossed together. Also the beat puts me to sleep. It's not even minimal, just boring.
This is the first of three songs that sounds to me like there was very little effort put into them. The subtext of Americana has rapidly become in-your-face text and the rest of the lyrics aside from that amusing conversation in the beginning feel like they were just tossed together. Also the beat puts me to sleep. It's not even minimal, just boring.
18. "Cola"
This is the same song, right? Just with even weirder lyrics that fit together even worse and a much better beat?
This is the same song, right? Just with even weirder lyrics that fit together even worse and a much better beat?
19. "Body Electric"
More random statements about herself mixed with a repetitive chorus. Is this song about anything (other than dancing maybe)? It was at this point I really wondered why there was not more effort put into this. It was churned out not long after Born to Die. I hope this isn't a prediction for the future of her music because if so this might be the last CD of hers I will have.
More random statements about herself mixed with a repetitive chorus. Is this song about anything (other than dancing maybe)? It was at this point I really wondered why there was not more effort put into this. It was churned out not long after Born to Die. I hope this isn't a prediction for the future of her music because if so this might be the last CD of hers I will have.
20. "Blue Velvet"
When I saw this song on here I laughed in joy and relief. This choice of cover is almost too spot-on. I love the original and she sings it just fine. It's not one of those covers that really changes the way you look at the original but it does it justice.
When I saw this song on here I laughed in joy and relief. This choice of cover is almost too spot-on. I love the original and she sings it just fine. It's not one of those covers that really changes the way you look at the original but it does it justice.
21. "Gods & Monsters"
I kind of knew I would like this song from the title. Never judge a song by its title but really, I couldn't resist. It's a typical theme of overindulgence like "National Anthem" but with far more interesting lyrics. I really love the metaphors in this song. Lana Del Rey seems to really like analogies and uses them to varying success.
I kind of knew I would like this song from the title. Never judge a song by its title but really, I couldn't resist. It's a typical theme of overindulgence like "National Anthem" but with far more interesting lyrics. I really love the metaphors in this song. Lana Del Rey seems to really like analogies and uses them to varying success.
22. "Yayo"
Another throwback song! I like the sound of this song but if I was standing in the recording booth I would be shouting, "Diction, please!" The lyrics are so fifties I could cry in joy. One question though: what the heck does yayo mean?
23. "Bel Air"
This is a really different sound in a lot of ways, particularly the chorus. I think the instruments are pretty but overall, I don't really know how I feel about this song aside from thinking that this isn't a great choice for the last song on an album. I'm pretty sure it's just about the singer wanting forgiveness for cheating and there's not much to say about the lyrics because it's the sound of this song that is most unique. I just don't know.
So Lana Del Rey has some songs that I really like and some that I really hate but I think ultimately, she comes out on top in my book. If nothing else, she has a very unique sound that appeals to me in a lot of ways. I like the sadness, the pain, and the bitter realism. Her lyrics are uneven and sometimes she repeats herself a lot but someone can be broken of that. I really like when she does throwback songs but I think I actually like her own personal sound more as long as she has control on how the feel of the song is supposed to blend with the lyrics. I prefer her dark beats to her hip-hop ones but there are a lot of times where they are well-suited ("Off The Races") and times where the two styles are put together ("Born To Die", "Summertime Sadness") in a way that I really like.
All in all, I have to say that I feel better about liking her now that I know why.
[**UPDATE (4/21/13): "Young And Beautiful" is perfect.]
This is a really different sound in a lot of ways, particularly the chorus. I think the instruments are pretty but overall, I don't really know how I feel about this song aside from thinking that this isn't a great choice for the last song on an album. I'm pretty sure it's just about the singer wanting forgiveness for cheating and there's not much to say about the lyrics because it's the sound of this song that is most unique. I just don't know.
So Lana Del Rey has some songs that I really like and some that I really hate but I think ultimately, she comes out on top in my book. If nothing else, she has a very unique sound that appeals to me in a lot of ways. I like the sadness, the pain, and the bitter realism. Her lyrics are uneven and sometimes she repeats herself a lot but someone can be broken of that. I really like when she does throwback songs but I think I actually like her own personal sound more as long as she has control on how the feel of the song is supposed to blend with the lyrics. I prefer her dark beats to her hip-hop ones but there are a lot of times where they are well-suited ("Off The Races") and times where the two styles are put together ("Born To Die", "Summertime Sadness") in a way that I really like.
All in all, I have to say that I feel better about liking her now that I know why.
[**UPDATE (4/21/13): "Young And Beautiful" is perfect.]
Hi, just wanted to clarify a few things in a friendly way :)
ReplyDeleteLana Del Rey is a persona, a stage character. Her real name is Elizabeth Grant. Her songs widely revolve around the American Dream, and almost sickly sweet, perhaps even little girl like 'die for you' kind of love. Her songs are also inspired by 'Lolita', the classic novel. Her music is an art, it is almost literature in music. I am by no means a literature expert, so I recommend you research more into analysis's of her music, but her real personality is not a reflection of her music, and vice versa :) The use of such themes in her songs, one may argue, may even be criticising the American culture mentioned in her songs.
Honestly, I wrote this a while ago and after listening a bit more, this became really clear without further analysis. It was always clearly a critique and deconstruction but how much she herself supported or participated in the ideas was always the ambiguous part. "Lolita" was a particularly obviously example because even though I don't like the song, I like the book and have read it multiple times knowing it is about the American dream.
DeleteIt's just that whenever someone creates a persona, no matter how much or little it's based in reality, it makes me interested in the actual person behind it and even though I have listened to her music a lot, I still don't feel like I know the actual person behind the songs. I've read a little about her pre-music life, but I still have little to go off. I just know that I like the vast majority her music (and now can't wait for her new album).
Ahh, I understand :) I love Lana, but I agree that her whole false persona prevents us from truly knowing her. I believe a lot of her fascination for undying love and the American Dream comes from her rather bleak past as a struggling singer who dealt with alcoholism and pretty influential break ups :) I agree, hopefully in her next album, she'll be more herself. :)
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