Lana Del Rey - Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (2023)

Rough and Rowdy Ways springs immediately to mind.

It's interesting that she seems to have mentioned Dylan in interviews as a major influence, but I don't think he's come up in her lyrics (he's no Brandon Flowers, after all!)

She references “Lay Lady Lay” in “Tomorrow Never Came.”

She has referenced Dylan’s songs 4 times.

https://lanadelrey.fandom.com/wiki/Songs_from_other_artists_referenced_and_mentioned_in_songs_and_poems

i was about to proclaim this as her best, but then i went back and listened to Cinnamon Girl and realized there's nothing on here as good as that one. it's certainly ONE of her best though

speaking of referencing other artists...

aside from the title, i'm pretty sure the bridge is a nod to portishead

xxp Thanks to both! A few of the “references” on that fandom page are debatable (and one is from an unreleased song I’ve never heard). Guess I didn’t catch the “Lay Lady Lay” line in the Sean Lennon duet!

Getting back to the new one... "Fingertips" is such a remarkable song? It's like passing into a new kind of songwriting... stream of consciousness reflection.

On "Margaret" (which is lovely) – the melody of that line "The soul that you bring to the table" feels very Swift-ian to me (though I can't cite a particular song of hers offhand); I wonder if it's specifically an Antonoff move. By the way, the idea & melody of what comes next – "The one that makes me sing / In a minor key" – that's just wonderful, right??

not the biggest fan of Margaret but the line "btw the party's december 18th" makes me LOL, reminds me of when rappers will announce the release date of the next record and inevitably blow way past it

Yeah, I can’t think of another song that includes the date of a forthcoming wedding… I think it’s really cute, and it makes the album feel so “up to the minute.”

I'm still having serious problems with the length of this thing; it wears me down. But that's cool, I guess.

The Chili Peppers mention a lot of bands in their songs but that's probably influenced by the conversational/reference-heavy lyrics of hip-hop

xp I feel like she's maybe not so uninterested in "curation" of her albums in this phase; they're sort of done when she's finished adding stuff? IMO, she could have left the last few tracks off this one (and, arguably, the interludes – although I actually don't mind those), and it would have been a masterpiece; but she figured why not throw a few more on? It's almost a playlist aesthetic or something, IDK.

*not so INTERESTED in...

(and to be clear, I don't hate the last few tracks, they're good – just not quite as awesome or next-level as the rest)

i just deleted the interludes and I like it much better.

the megapreacher interlude is good tbh: stoned echoey giggling behind someone yelping "why are you so infatuated with me??" to god is a v funny idea for a lana del rey track

like skits and interludes on hip hop albums, these things just have very limited replay value for me

Anyone notice the Leonard Cohen line floating around in "Kintsugi" -- "that's how the light gets in"?

I listened to this last night, it was OK but yeah kinda boring. Only a few songs asserted themselves melodically for me, mostly it all felt of a not-very-exciting piece.

For now, NFR remains her high-water mark for me.

As a relative LDR newcomer (and perhaps possessed a bit with the "zeal of the convert"), I have been surprised to learn how highly NFR! is rated (no dig on those who love it, of course). To me, it's a solid ★ ★ ★ ½ album – probably her best to that point – but the songwriting doesn't approach the level of what comes afterwards. It feels like an album anchored by a few great songs, and then fleshed out with some good/OK ones.

Billboard is reporting that Lana has recently become engaged. (Best wishes, Lana!)

Here's a pic her of her fiancé, in character as Rolling Thunder–era Dylan.

Evan Winiker?

What happened to the guy that was kissing his male cousin? I remember he and Lana visited his family in jail too so I assumed they were solid.

i don't know who that was. her last well known relationship was with the guy who was a cop

or at least, the last relationship of hers I knew about (maybe the only one TBH)

What happened to the guy that was kissing his male cousin? I remember he and Lana visited his family in jail too so I assumed they were solid.

that was jack donoghue of seminal witch house band salem

I reviewed Ultraviolence, Lust For Life, Norman Fucking Rockwell! and Blue Banisters for Shfl.

Nice reviews – I appreciate the Banisters one in particular!

i don't think her and jack donoghue were actually together i think that was mostly just to titillate gay ppl on twitter (successful)

As today's LDR spin is BTD Paradise Ed., I realized that song talking about Springsteen & Elvis ("American") also mentions The Crystal Method... that classic trio!

Candy Necklace; up there with Tulsa Jesus Freak as my favourites from 21st century Lana.

I wuz unaware of these cover connections:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FsZS4FFXsAAYH0M?format=jpg&name=large

I didn't know about the blue bannisters one but the new one I saw mentioned elsewhere. that's obscure enough I don't think most people will have ever seen the original

Interesting that the new Boygenius record has the following lyric (in a song called "Leonard Cohen") – must be something in the air:

Leonard Cohen once said
"There's a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in"

Lana’s IG acct is public/followable again (for the moment)

Listening now - pretty but dreary, may reveal itself more on future listens.

Weird stupid thought that just popped into my head: I would love to hear a Polly Jean Harvey cover of this record.

Looks like LDR is playing a bunch of festivals this summer… I wonder if she’ll tour in the fall.

Still digging into the album but I'm enjoying it...I was going to say something lazy like "not up to the standard of NFR" but then I went back to that for the first time in a while and wow her writing has come so far since then.

(so many references to skinny dipping and otherwise disrobing - why does Lana hate clothes?)

yeah she's doing Outside Lands in SF; I hate festivals so no thank you, but I really liked the last smaller show of hers I went to (the NFR tour)

The back-to-back hit of "Paris, TX" → "Grandfather" is so absurdly lovely, it almost feels like a put-on... like when a filmmaker does something (in a movie) so audacious & virtuosic, your reflex is to laugh in disbelief.

Her vocal on "Paris" on remarkable – that clean, pure tone; I can't think if she's sung like that on a record before?

Here's a really nice (and early) example of an LDR artist name + lyric callout:

The headlights from passing cars
They illuminate my face then leave me the dark
The voice of Nirvana says, "come as you are"
And I will
The nighttime is almost ours

not new album related, but my kid pointed out too me that "Dealer" ripped off "us and them"

this is a few years old obv, from the NFR tour, but I was at this show and it was amazing; take a listen to this, particularly when the band pick up toward the end of the song and see how she sings along. I'm pretty positive this was a really pivotal and transformative show for her, since she referenced it at least twice in the lyrics of songs on the next album (she also did Diamonds and Dust with Joan Baez). Look, do I think LDR is the next Leonard Cohen, Joan Baez, or Joni Mitchell? No, not really, but I really appreciate that she aspires to that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI8gg-PextE

she could, thoughm pretty easily be the next Bobbie Gentry

That was really nice, thx for posting it (I had never seen video of her performing; other than that old SNL clip...)

Anyone think the album should have led with the title track? It's got that sweep.

I’m ok with « The Grants » as an opener but the track list could have clearly been edited and structured better.