Wryta Thinkpiece

Thank you, Darling! This is just the beginning!

It was a bit sad just because she always said how she wanted to be a pop singer, but her family wasn't too approving of the music or the style (take the latter with a grain of salt, as I vaguely remember how she put it.) But it limited her potential so much, and she was too good for that, and especially too good for a lot of the YouTubers she sang with and the YouTubers that were so mean to her, some of them being people she did covers with. But we all know who's going on tours and singing with Conor Oberst and who's fighting back tears from someone calling them a "weeaboo" while wailing Japanese into their Blue Yeti microphone for YouTube. First Aid Kit > MoA days, all the way.

My pleasure! I love sharing my favorite artists/groups.

Right? Their harmonies are practically flawless. I do love The Big Black and The Blue, "Hard Believer" and "I Met Up With The King" are from that album; it's a very mellow album, very true to its folk roots, it took me a while to listen to the whole album, but it was worth it, especially the second time listening through it. "Pervigilo" is from Drunken Trees EP, "Tangerines" and "Cross Oceans" are others great song from that EP, and "Little Moon," too. Definitely worth a listen if you're into mellow sounds.

This is a sister duo from Sweden. I actually used to talk to Johanna every now and again back in '09 on YouTube before she and Klara hit big; she did covers of Asian pop songs under the name MoA (which was who I knew her as,) but never told any of the subscribers her real name, where she lived, or any of her music history. She frequently deleted and made accounts on YouTube for her covers, but after she deleted "moamelody," she didn't make another account. Stories of why she deleted her account and pretty much all traces of her covers are mixed. One said that when she entered a 2NE1 contest, someone found out who she was and that she was signed to a label, got her disqualified, and that the news spread like wildfire from there. Another story was similar, saying that she got in trouble for using her label's instruments for the covers she made without the rights to do so. The MP3s of her covers are a hit and miss with searches; there used to be a MediaFire account with a huge folder of them, but it got deleted, though some of them are still floating around. She did one of Ami Suzuki's "ONE," which I might still have on one of my Zunes. But I digress, she has a successful career with First Aid Kit, and a very beautiful voice, as does Klara. This is one of their songs from their new album, The Lion's Roar, Johanna sings at 2:34: And a few personal favorites...

Definitely do! Such a wonderful album. "Hiding Out" rendered me speechless the first time I listened to it, and "The Cliff Waltz" had to be one of the best concluding tracks on an album that I've heard in the past year, the instrumental is so time-stopping. Her siblings have great talent, too. Check out Eisley and Merriment!

I hope it's not an issue that I'm doing separate topics for the artists. This is the third topic. Another great group. Stacy King has such a beautiful voice. A Minor Bird was one of the albums I listened to the most in 2012 next to Born to Die. I love the whole album, honestly, but these are definitely my top four.

Another favorite that I came across last year. I can't get over her accent. <3

... But I wanna hula-hoop with Lana.

Seagulls.

Oh, god, I'm gonna have a ball with this topic. I'LL SAVE THE REST FOR ANOTHER POST. THERE'S JUST TOO MANY.

Young & Beautiful vs. Hollywood's Dead

I do know a little Latin. Him and I don't see eye to eye though And I actually didn't take a liking to Noir until...what...two weeks ago? I sat down, turned it on, and closed my eyes, listening to it with my "inner self," something my Acting professor would have us do when he really wanted us to pay attention to and really feel what he was saying. I'm not too into the verses or the intro, and the lyrics altogether are just commonplace to me, but goddamn is "Noir" raw in delivery. I personally am just really fond of the chorus, Lana just sounds so scorned and there's just so much wrath when she sings it, that's what I love more than anything. She totally got possessed by Emilie Autumn on that track. If Emilie collab'd with her and composed the backing track with her, it would have been so sick. I wouldn't rant or rave about anything else with "Noir," though. Raw delivery and an erotically angry chorus, and that's all it's got, the backing track restricts "Noir" from being any more exquisite. BUT I FUCKING LOVE IT THOUGH

No worries, I totally understand! I know you're speaking generally, but I do have to say that in retrospect, I find myself a bit contradicting and conflicted, as I agree with everything you said just as much, if not said it myself to a lot of people I've talked about/listened to Lana with. I'm just so desensitized to the thrill I used to get from tracks like "Cola" and "G&M." I can listen to them and love them, but getting into them like I used to is a whole other story. I think I just need a break from the two more than anything. ... "Bloody..." ...I'm just not going to even go there, but As for the Tumblr overexposure with certain Lana songs... I am going to stop there to avoid having a Hipster moment. "Y&B" and "DP" are still candidates though, and I still wish I tasted like Pepsi-Cola or at least like Lemon Meringue pie. Someone make me Lemon Meringue pie, pls.

TEN!

So bear with me as I try not to look like an idiot. Numero uno, I hear "Come on, baby, tell me where his tattooed-ass beat ya." It's right based on my biased support of it because I just find it sexier. That Yale line...I hear it, and I also hear "Yeah/Yo, that's/it's not a problem, let's solve it." I do hear "love," but not too often. I also think that when she's saying the "not a problem, let's solve it," it'd segue into the tutor lyric if we instead think of it as the "you" of the song like a student (obvi Lana) having difficulty with figuring out/solving something that's otherwise very simple (which makes it a problem for them), and Lana (from the scandalous teacher's perspective) is just basically saying, "It's very simple, let's do it together," since "let's" is short for "let us," so basically the teacher is..."helping" Lana with his expertise because she's having a bit of a problem with what would be a cakewalk for him. Which, whether the problem is getting the scholarship itself or getting into Yale (because she can't get the scholarship because she doesn't have the grades to get it) is the problem, my interpretation is, basically, that sex between her and the teacher is being traded so that way he gives her the grades/letter of recommendation to get the scholarship and/or get into Yale...because I'm pretty sure not too many people are doing crack in the back of the school and acing As all across the board. So...yeah...

^^^ Forgot to just edit that post when I made a typo and posted another instead. SORRY!

Also on the "Body Electric" and "Cola" bandwagon. Paradise has a few other overrated tracks for me, "Gods & Monsters" and "Yayo" "Cola" was all for the sake of the first line, though I do think that the "I pledge allegiance to my Dad/For teaching me everything he knows" line was quite clever, but that song and "Gods & Monsters" were just sexually-charged, saucy fillers for me. Love the songs, but it's filler to me and just is an awkward segue from "American," and same for "Gods & Monsters" from "Blue Velvet." And "Body Electric" just felt so devoid of emotion and lyrically-inarticulate. "Yayo" should have been left at its AKA perfection. I respect the Paradise version, but I could have done without it on Paradise. These tracks should have been unreleased leaks. I personally think that a Paradise-esque (maybe even a more ballad Paradise style) version of "1949" and "I Don't Wanna Go/Last Girl On Earth/My Best Days" would have been a more suitable segue between "American" and "Blue Velvet," and from "Blue Velvet" and "Bel Air," Paradise-esque versions of "Hollywood's Dead" and "You & Me," except both have to keep most of their magic, just enough Paradise influence to keep it smooth.

No. You don't love Anna Calvi. Anna Calvi loves you.

Not going to lie, I did not like Mermaid Motel when I first heard it. Now? I practically go in like this, retro-trip trance every time. ESPECIALLY WHEN THE CHORUS COMES. GOD. BLISS.

"Young & Beautiful" for me. I love the first verse and everything about it, it is probably my favorite part, but everything else is just weak to me, especially the bridge. This is basically another "Dark Paradise" for me, except that I rarely go back to the studio version of DP after hearing the demo and then seeing the 52-second-long video where sings what I've been calling "the lost verse." Most of the lyrics in the Y&B and DP studio versions just seem hackneyed to me. I'll be hoping for Y&B demos over the summer and praying for a full-length demo of DP lolnevergonnahappen . Beautiful songs, but hardly Lana's best, and I'd probably involuntarily cringe if I heard someone say either of them were, but art is pretty subjective. I love all of Lana's songs because it's Lana, but I definitely have my least favorites especially "Big Bad Wolf". Be that as it may, I do try to find something to appreciate about the songs I am not the most fond of, whether it's their sound, their lyrics, or if there's a story about the song and/or references to works that were a source of inspiration (I love seeing artists do that.)

The lyrics are cute, but not much else (though I could have definitely done without the pre-choruses and bridge,) the chorus is catchy. The verses...I don't know, maybe they're why the chorus is the best part, but I just...I don't know. The way Lana sings them and the music itself, just can't get into them, but the change of pace and style for the choruses makes it worth it. Still makes me think of something I'd be listening to when I was in fourth grade. "Butterflies Pt. 2" definitely stands superior. I am so glad she did a part two.

Is it bad that I kind of want that grill? Makes sense! I could just never imagine Lana with someone wearing a grill, let alone kissing them; I've heard it usually ends up getting very funky.

... I'm going to like, overload the Entertainment forum right meow after seeing so many amazing musicians and groups not having topics here. So now I'm popping some cherries, starting with Anna Calvi, whose voice is just so raw, strong and dare I say arousing. Happy listening! This is just the beginning for some of you...

Talking about "golden grill" being a recurring thing in Lana's songs, I had an idea for the past two weeks that's been really eating at my curiosity. I'm not the only one who isn't taking it literal, right? Like... Not that, right? She so doesn't mean the FLAAAAAAAAAAAVA FLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAV grill, right? More like, just talking about her guy's grin and how radiant it is? Grill's slang for actual teeth, too, right? I think I listened to enough Nelly and 50 Cent during my childhood. I'm pretty sure I caught the drift with getting knocked in the grill. But no, really, I hope I am not the only one who hopesthinks she's just being slangtastically poetic as always.