Lana Del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell (2019)

Interesting! I got bored of "The Greatest" before it was half through yet like "Fuck It I Love You."

the latter has some of those sweet guitars I'm hoping there's a lot more of on the album (someone should give her a no-pianos rule for the next one)

Can't believe how much The Greatest has that Rutles-y Cheese And Onions flavour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePaHG6g7uFw

wow, wtf. had to stop listening to that lest i get too used to the association.

ahahaha

lol omg

I like these two (and the video) but aren’t there a lot of singles from the new album already (7?) ? Is it gonna be a double or something ? Otherwise there might not be a lot left to discover...

there's been 6 so far ("looking for america" isn't on the album) but the album is 14 tracks and out in a week, so still 8 new tracks

Oh ok, thanks !
Almost half out already then... but I like all of them so looking forward to hearing the rest !

The piano outro to « The Greatest » is so warm and lovely.

Sia vs Cat Power vs LDR, each The Greatest is pretty great imo

eh fuck it i love you doesn't really come together for me, the greatest is nice. not a patch on the venice bitch/mariners double drop

i like both but i'm not blown away by either like i was with "mariners apartment complex"/"venice bitch"

^ agree

Yup. I guess most people would agree too.
But I really like these two latest, "FIILU" maybe a bit more than "The Greatest".

https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/the-greatest/

This Billboard story is interesting.

Speaking of haphazard track listings and cover art, this bit is great:

The album title was just something she came up with when she randomly harmonized the name of the American illustrator while recording “Venice Bitch,” though she recognizes that she and Rockwell -- an idealist whose cozy depictions of Boy Scouts and Thanksgiving turkeys graced magazine covers for half the 20th century -- have both explored big questions about the American dream in their work. And then there’s the artwork she has been using for the record’s singles: bizarrely casual iPhone photos that feel a bit tossed-off because, well, they are.

“Every time my managers write me, ‘Album art?,’ I’m just like, send!” she cackles, pantomiming taking a selfie. “And they just send the middle-finger emoji back to me.”

The title track is great, one of her best songs.

You're not kidding!

She so gradually became an excellent vocalist that I barely noticed how much she's upped her game in this respect, we're a million miles from the Betty Boop routine on "Off to the Races"

Also the mastering job seems unusually dynamic throughout, which I really appreciate

has this leaked?

it has!

ugh, I wanna hear it, I have super high expectations for this album after the string of excellent singles.

the leak I had was 1/2 shitty sounding.

the already released songs are certainly louder.

New leeak is clean.

On first pass I'd only ditch "California". "How to Disappear" is a lovely little standout. I like that her stuff has essentially an inverse relationship with percussion compared to...whoever her peers are supposed to be at this point

the leak I had was 1/2 shitty sounding.

― akm, Tuesday, August 27, 2019

yes

she def has a better handle on controlling her leaks these days. I spent some time researching how all that other unreleased stuff flowed out and it was pretty messy. I mean, what amounted to like 4 albums worth of demos and outtakes and alternate mixes from the time immediately before and during Born to Die.

I wonder if she's still planning to do an odds n' sods collection.

OK, I would ditch "Bartender" and "California" but the rest is solid or better. I think this is her best album - wittier, woolier, simultaneously less serious and easier to take seriously.

I think this is her best album

will believe it's better than ultraviolence when i hear it but hoping you're right

It's not as tight obviously but I think it's a lil more distinctive

I hadn't realized Antonoff worked on almost every song. Dude's a machine.

Lastly I have now heard "Looking for America" and it's gorgeous enough that I don't begrudge its overall dopeyness. It deserves to be on the album (though I am aware it was recorded too late for physical consideration)

the shitty leak from a week or two ago was sourced from a cassette that shipped really early and is missing "how to disappear" but thanks for the heads up that it leaked in good quality

on first listen it's probably beaten out ultraviolence as her best, my only real complaint is it's a little long. i might cut "doin' time" because it's a little out of place and "bartender" which is one of the weaker tracks but by no means bad. it's all very solid

I actually like having Doin' Time in there, it feels strangely personal

hum better than Ultraviolence ? Glad to hear that and even more excited !
"Doin' Time" does sound a little out of place among the already released material but it's a nice light summer song so I guess it will be a kind of bubble in the album.
The album will be released this week, right ?

yeah it's out on the 30th

"venice bitch" is still the clear standout but i especially like "cinnamon girl" and "how to disappear" too

for some reason I never really clocked "Hope is a dangerous thing..." much when it first came out but it's fucking me up now

I had fifteen-year dances
Church basement romances, yeah, I've cried
Spilling my guts with the Bowery Bums
Is the only love I've ever known
Except for the stage, which I also call home, when I'm not
Servin' up God in a burnt coffee pot for the triad
Hello, it's the most famous woman you know on the iPad
Calling from beyond the grave, I just wanna say, "Hi, Dad"

on first pass this album is very good

"hope is a dangerous thing..." works much better as album closer than single

Well, what a difference this new rip makes.

totally agree re: hope. it didn't do much for me before but it got me a little choked up when i heard it at the end of the album

Well it was certainly a weird track to release as a single, even without listening to the rest of the album.
That said, "Venice Bitch" was also a weird choice if you consider its length, especially in today's 3min tracks culture !

Does the album keep the full jam at the end or is it shorter?

it's the same length

'hope is a dangerous thing' is one of my favorite songs of hers, the lyrics are incredible.

the pre-chorus on fuck it i love you is so lush and beautiful, i just wish the actual hook was stronger

Au contraire: "Bartender" boasts some of the album's sharpest lyrics.

Yeah the pre-chorus on "FIILU" is the best part of the song (but the part right before, in a kinda of staccato, is also great to enhance the rhythmic contrast of the song).

Goddamn it Alfred, when you're right, you're right.

the stutter in that song is such a great choice