Lana Del Rey

Doesn't look like anyone's mentioned her version of "Once Upon A Dream" from Maleficent? I like that one a lot, ymmv.

Couldn't read past this:

"Del Rey’s whiteness is unstable because it seems somehow faintly disturbed by the knowledge of its formation. Why else the death wish? Why else do her lips circulate independently of her face?"

Which, no matter how many times I read it, is entirely devoid of any meaning.

my eyes could not focus on anything in that piece

Fundamental to the article's falseness is her assumption that whiteness in America is riddled with guilt. Even if she thinks it should be, there's no evidence that it is for most white Americans, certainly not enough that it would play into the aesthetic of someone like LDR.

Kind of waiting for Lex to come back and explain why he loves this but maybe his work here is done.

It's a funnily shitty piece, at least

Um btw American whiteness is riddled bigtime w guilt for a certain amount of white women of various identities on various social media, right or wrong. Felt like that ws who who they were writing for/as

Oh yeah sure, for some people it is but the piece is so full of generalisations I can't tell who she thinks she's talking about. Given that LDR shrugs when she's asked a mild question about feminism, I don't imagine she's losing any sleep over the legacy of slavery.

the image of lips circulating independently of the face reminds me of this

http://youtu.be/bvXKBdkg7MM?t=1m23s

would watch a LDR version of Not I

https://vine.co/v/MQhgrH9lnT2

\the image of lips circulating independently of the face reminds me of this

my first thought was the billy idol video for Eyes Without a Face

"Ultraviolence" sounds like a cover version of "Ecstasy" by JJ No.2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biVETVmwxgg

ha I thought JJ72 were back for a moment

Man, listening to "Ultraviolence" late at night, along, is a really desolate experience.

Upcoming album is called Honeymoon, will include a cover of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" (hmm), will sound less like Ultraviolence and more like Born To Die/Paradise (yesss) and be "noir-ish". Trying out stuff in the studio with Ronson at the moment.

Probably still ages away so I'm going through the catalogue of unreleased stuff to make the wait less hard. Really loving "Prom Song (Gone Wrong)" at the moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PABXOO8XbLY

I bet her record company are relieved she's going back to that sound.

I'm really excited for a new album so soon. I play Born To Die and Ultraviolence a lot.

there def are a lot of unreleased cuts & bonus tracks that i keep in rotation and love dearly

ive been keyed into 'gods & monsters' and 'summertime sadness' lately both are 10/10

I'm sure I read somewhere that she's recording Music to Watch Boys to properly for this new album.

Sad Girl has become my latest favourite.

xp o wow yea that is on the wiki as true -- that song is often called 'driving in cars w/ boys' on demos & is incred

Gods and Monsters is so, so good I kind of have to watch myself so I don't over-listen to it. It's testament to the songwriting that Jessica Lange's barely-capable cover version is still pretty powerful.

Driving in Cars is fantastic, so that's good news. If she ever wants to properly record Prom Song, Back To The Basics and Queen of the Disaster too it won't hurt my feelings. Come to think of it I'm not a big fan of Ronson but I'd really like to see what he could do with Back To The Basics.

I saw her at the Shoreline in the Bay ARea last night; first of all the traffic getting there and leaving is a fucking nightmare beyond words now, don't ever go there. I missed Courtney Love except for the last two songs and those I saw over a screen in the bar area; she sounded surprisingly great. As for LDR: she was wonderful live, she's obviously moved well past that nervous stage period that almost doomed her, or maybe she's just more captivating live than she actually seems over video. I could not believe she sold out a place this size, I have not seen this level of slavish fan devotion for a more unlikely person since...the first solo Morrissey tour maybe? There were a lot of fashion fans, to be expected, but there is some other contingent of very devoted young people. I don't know what that says. Either way, I'm glad the show was as good as it was because the 2 hour parking lot traffic jam made me want to decapitate everyone.

that's so interesting. it's cool she's found a passionate cult fanbase. she really is that kind of artist: seeming to exist in a world totally her own, which is a pretty cool accomplishment for someone who came up in the hypecycle, which is so good at flattening differences. gaga tried so hard to be weird in this environment and failed. lana del rey is weird.

anyway, i'm not really that big of a fan but i like the idea of an artist who can produce something as...specific as "video games" and hope she finally found a niche that appreciates her unironically. the new album was good too.

here is another lana del rey song i enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFjqZpZZ5jI

venturing into the field tonight, wish me luck

good luck, report back!

i don't know if it's weirder to be surrounded by a couple thousand teens screaming along to "ultraviolence" or to be surrounded by a couple thousands teens listening reverently to a very straight-up leonard cohen cover (non-hallelujah category). but damn do teens love lana (the one next to me screamed "i love you so much!" completely unprompted in the middle of a song).

it's pretty amazing how much ldr has improved as a singer onstage--totally owning the material, able to change up the melodies easily, etc. when her singing is on she's a pleasure to listen to, and she has a weird but effective stage presence--i don't recall seeing someone get as much mileage as she does out of doing nothing. her band was great--any tone dads in attendance should have enjoyed the guitarist, and the level of taste they brought to the music got me thinking about how much of lana's shtick is that everything is presented so tastefully except for her ridiculous lyrics.

born to die still sucks on a number of levels but i've been revisiting ultraviolence and it's very strong 1-6 before hitting a rough patch. as much as i'm loath to give auerbach credit for anything, portishead by way of a guitar store employee wound up being a smart place to take this music.

I enjoy the fact that much of the guitar heroics on UV come from Kenny Vaughan, who did the same in Lucinda Williams' Car Wheels-era live band.

oh interesting! i wasn't sure how much of it auerbach did himself. there's some nice playing on the record.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPU8XJcA__k

would be a killer album closer imo, will probably wind up as the opener

we've gone full torch

I know she covered 'Summer Wine', but I always wonder why she doesn't do 'Some Velvet Morning'.

It took Primus several years to get around to covering "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," even though the song was made for them. She'll get to it.

Shirley Bassey Sings The Chili Peppers

Gorgeous song. Agree that it really should close the album.

really unexpectedly impressed by this

Oh good this is the LDR I fell in love with

"everything you do is elusive to even your honeydrew"

woops honeydew

Marry me, girl
be my fairy to the world
be my very own constellation
A teenage bride with a baby inside
getting high on information
And buy me a star on the Boulevard
it's Californication

http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/lana-del-reys-new-single-high-by-the-beach-is-the-sensual-stoner-jam-your-summers-been-waiting-for

excellent!

proper audio w/ the sweary bits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxjw_8RpoNI

oh yeah it's on spotify with full swears too

once again sounds more "album track" than "single" to me but I'm not complaining

I think I'm at the stage where I love everything she does. This is just great.

Hope the album is still coming out next month.

not only do i love this but i have very belatedly fallen for ultraviolence

It kinda peters out in the back half but that opening run of 5-6 tracks easily the best stuff she'd done up to then imo

Agree that the first six songs are really what make the album but Old Money is one of my favourites too.

New video has twist ending:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnxpHIl5Ynw

Having recently fallen in love w her, I have to say that I find Ultraviolence to be a bit monochrome. While I have a soft spot for productions that are all hazy distorted echo effects—and have little love for hip hop—after a while the songs start to sound the same to me – which is in pretty stark contrast to the quasi genre-experiments of her earlier stuff.