Ultra Violet

Absolutely agree about the fast pacing but wouldn't the movie idea make it like a repeat of the Roanoke season? I mean I guess the difference would be that with Roanoke, we knew we were "watching" something for the first 5 eps. I definitely think there's more to this season than what we've seen already but as much as I enjoyed Roanoke (I feel like I'm in the minority there lol), I'd be disappointed if they went that route again with 1984.

Welcome, the LanaBoards community, to the Ultimate Decade-End Lana Del Rey Ranking!

 

As we all know, our favorite artist officially debuted in 2011 with her iconic breakthrough single, "Video Games", which opened multiple doors to worldwide success, universal acclaim, legend status, as well as early criticism, bias and sexism. The romantic piano ballad was only the beginning of a mysterious career that influenced hundreds of independent and new artists, as well as renowed musicians, directors and producers. This universe of broken American dreams, glamorous sadness and desperate longing went through many transformations: a mix of 90s trip hop and heavy orchestra, bittersweet 70s rock, ambient music, trap, folk and neo-psychedelia.

 

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Edit: Jan 8

 

Now it's time to rank her 2010s videography!

 

https://forms.gle/QxMF5ZNoSFgWVvi38

Remember how (when explaining the meaning behind Alphabet boy) she was talking about not following the 'formula' and 'rules' of making a song? Well it seems to me like she threw all of that out the window for K-12 because the formula of those songs are the epitome of generic.
And if she thinks adding some unexpected noises here and there like random background banging, telephones ringing, writing on a chalk board, coughing, sneezing and scraping makes her production more improved/genius and her best work yet, well.... i don't think she understands what her fans loved about her first album so much.
 
Crybaby was cohesive in the way that it made such a good story and each song was so individual, even the instrumentals themselves told a story. Highlights of that album were... every second of every song tbh, and I remember having to take it slow getting to know the album cause it was all so good I couldn't handle it. 
But with K-12 it's cohesive in the way that we can't even remember certain instrumentals from the album, and the highlights of the album are what? one or two songs that still don't match the production she used to have?
 
 
I hope we do get the K-12 instrumentals though, cause I'm begging for something to change my mind. I want to do a full on analysis of the album like I usually do but I feel like I just don't have enough to go on. This album hasn't been enough for me:/

Remember how (when explaining the meaning behind Alphabet boy) she was talking about not following the 'formula' and 'rules' of making a song? Well it seems to me like she threw all of that out the window for K-12 because the formula of those songs are the epitome of generic.
And if she thinks adding some unexpected noises here and there like random background banging, telephones ringing, writing on a chalk board, coughing, sneezing and scraping makes her production more improved/genius and her best work yet, well.... i don't think she understands what her fans loved about her first album so much.
 
Crybaby was cohesive in the way that it made such a good story and each song was so individual, even the instrumentals themselves told a story. Highlights of that album were... every second of every song tbh, and I remember having to take it slow getting to know the album cause it was all so good I couldn't handle it. 
But with K-12 it's cohesive in the way that we can't even remember certain instrumentals from the album, and the highlights of the album are what? one or two songs that still don't match the production she used to have?
 
 
I hope we do get the K-12 instrumentals though, cause I'm begging for something to change my mind. I want to do a full on analysis of the album like I usually do but I feel like I just don't have enough to go on. This album hasn't been enough for me:/

The album is great. It took me a while to get to it with all of the other stuff that’s come out recently, because I wanted to give it the attention it deserved. Mountains is amazing and the line about Elvis sounded like such a Lana line.

Cry Baby was such a better album. every song stood out and told it own story
 
on K-12, all the songs mesh and for the first few listens couldnt tell one song apart from the other. all the beats and melodies are too similar.
 
songs like Drama Club and Orange Juice are such fillers. Cry Baby didn't have a single filler
 
 
 
also disappointed to how the movie takes place in one day. i thought it was literally about her going from kindergarten to senior year ??

CB doesn’t have bad songs either, there are kind weak songs but there also weak songs on K-12, with the exception that K-12 can’t compare to the number of highlights
 
Also, CB clutter is so good too
Like, that whole era was pure gold

Masochism podcast? To tell us the project is cancelled? Like it ever existed in the first place? ok.

I somewhat agree. I feel like AHS has took a comical turn since Apocalypse. Wasn't one of the seasons of Scream Queens supposed to be camp related? Maybe Ryan is using leftovers...

I hear you, like it's somewhat entertaining but in a cheap and formulaic way. Last season started off strong and went to shit, maybe this one will be the opposite, and end up being better than the beginning lol. I'll be honest though, I'm only watching for Cody and Billie <3

the songs on K-12 that DONT follow the "narrative" are literally my favs... Show & Tell and Strawberry Shortcake prove that she could do an album without the Cry Baby character and still SLAY

I mean still... she came out with 17 tracks on CB and they’re all largely better than K-12
Dollhouse is her fist official project so of course it’s gonna be less mature than K-12, but songs like Tag You’re It, Pacify Her, Mrs Potato Head, Cake, etc... K-12 can’t relate

think they meant the EP

I had this thought too. I thought maybe she's acknowledging that it takes 2 people to ruin a relationship, and it's not scrapping the original lyrics but coming back to them with a clearer head. 
Except when she was asked in a recent interview, she only said she changed the lyrics to make it fit on the album more, and didn't say anything about a change of heart or changed perspective.

I hate to use this as an example  but it WAS one of the first times i realised that 'extreme' lyrics are usually just metaphores or exaggeration which just tell a story better. 
When Halsey was talking about her hfk album she said that she turned the real life even of arguing with someone in a taxi  to fist fight in a limousine.  
 
So if Lana Del Rey is real,  to me,  she is exactly how Lana/lizzy feels inside. Of course Lana has never been totally about the money,  but songs like National Anthem, Money Power Glory and FMWUTTT are probably just fleeting little jokes she's made for herself (we know that's the truth with MPG so.  ) based on what she sometimes fantasised about,  but we all know she could never REALLY be that person. 
 
If Lana Del Rey were real,  I think we would question her so much more,  because she really would be the problematic,  crazy,  messed-up-relationship-driven person in her songs,  rather than it being a momentary phase or feeling she had

Mel saying that K-12 has a more mature sound is the total opposite to what I hear. Just because the character is supposed to be more mature, doesn't mean the lyrics and production are.
Sorry, i really can't get my head around this.

The download link I got from buying the vinyl has TNBAR named as "The Next Best American Record (Standard Production Master)" and FIILY as "Fuck it I love you- RE1" while all the other songs are just their titles.
Anyone know what's up with that?

lets be really honest here, K-12 was a let down, the end

The download link I got from buying the vinyl has TNBAR named as "The Next Best American Record (Standard Production Master)" and FIILY as "Fuck it I love you- RE1" while all the other songs are just their titles.
Anyone know what's up with that?

she says fuck WAYYY too much. a true turn off... this is coming from a hip hop fan 

At the end of the movie when the bubble with the school inside bursts into the pink cloud (Crybaby's magic) I think it would have been nicer if it burst into a pink AND blue cloud since the guy was also half of the effort, and then the cloud should have blended to become PURPLE to symbolise a mixture of duality, bringing two sides together, you can do greater things when working together, etc. 

I don't like how Lana changes the lyrics while singing live. It catches me off guard and takes me out of the song.

At the end of the movie when the bubble with the school inside bursts into the pink cloud (Crybaby's magic) I think it would have been nicer if it burst into a pink AND blue cloud since the guy was also half of the effort, and then the cloud should have blended to become PURPLE to symbolise a mixture of duality, bringing two sides together, you can do greater things when working together, etc. 

I sadly agree with all of you. I appreciate the album because I get what she was trying to convey with this album (and because she's an excellent songwriter imo - though she's overusing swear words in this album - so she could sing about anything and I'd love it) but having to put myself in the same place I was when I was, let's say 14 years old feels kinda weird. Perhaps it's because I was 15 when I heard Cry Baby for the first time and now I'm almost 19 and in my second year of college... I don't think I've grown out of the character but I feel like the evolution should be proportional to all the years she's spent on writing this album lol
 
I also feel like the specific concept shows how dedicated she is with her art but also holds her back a lot. Show & Tell, Fire Drill, and maybe even Detention and Drama Club are the only songs similar to Cry Baby in the sense that they both use childish metaphores but with adult themes, not just straight up high school songs. I don't think any adult could relate to songs like Nurse's Office or Wheels On the Bus.
 
What I hate the most is that the album is so visual, like AlexII mentioned, the sole purpose of some songs/verses is to introduce to characters/talk about the general environement of Cry Baby, and sometimes it isn't portrayed well in the film, perhaps because of lack of budget, like every time I hear The Principal I picture so much more than what is shown in the movie and it upsets me... I really hope that next time she invests the money more carefully, like some of the CGI is kinda unnecessary. 

Agree. "Show & Tell" is maybe the only song on the record that I would argue is near-perfect and could work on Cry Baby if you found a slot for it.
 
I think the album's struggles are mainly just due in part to how extremely conceptual it is. With Cry Baby, you have to remember that she recorded a decent chunk of the songs (i.e. "Pity Party" and "Cake") without an explicit storyline in mind. And even then, Cry Baby's storyline is relatively loose with a ton of vague characters, brief plots and locations, whereas the concept for K-12 is the first thing Melanie created on the album, and it focuses on events and ideas around 1 isolated building with a consistent cast of characters over a (before the film was written) 13-year span with only 1 song per year.
 
I'd say the first 3 tracks on K-12 are easily the worst (Wheels On The Bus and Class Fight are nothing but exposition), and other good songs are almost completely ruined by a failure to find a good lyric (the "fucking damn Barbie" line in Lunchbox Friends) or more unnecessary exposition (the whole second verse in Nurse's Office).
 
The album also suffers from that, while it's a sequel to Cry Baby, the whole metaphor pattern is largely omitted (sans the 3-4 songs about the music industry) and with Cry Baby you can apply most, if not all, of the songs to real life (whereas K-12's relatability only goes in the "oh that happened to me in third grade" way or isnt relatable at all because it's political, specific to her experiences as a famous musician, or just generally can't be related to by anybody like in the case of Wheels On The Bus).