pawn shop blues

Interesting question. I get what you're asking. Well, if we're literally taking every single line she's ever written and every music video as pure autobiography (including things like Rikers Island, biker gangs, having a "Las Vegas past" and living in a trailer park in NJ and living in motels and living in the south, being a teen alcoholic, escaping a cult, etc.), there's a good chance she would have either been dead at this point or so incredibly burnt out that she would not be writing and singing songs to a worldwide audience, she would probably just be trying to survive. I think I might actually be less interested. I mean, I would be impressed she has survived everything (again, reading every single lyric as verbatim and not allowing any metaphorical readings), but I think a big part of her appeal is the mystery and trying to unravel what is actually the truth and what is more metaphor/imagination. Also, I think knowing that it's not all autobiographical adds extra layers to her songs. I really like being able to get different readings out of a song depending on how you interpret it. But I don't think I'm alone in thinking this. She said herself in an older interview something like "everything great is real and not real, including myself" and I think that's true and part of why there is so much fascination with her and her life (besides good music, obviously) and why there's been a million think pieces written about her. I get why she's been frustrated when interviewers have called her a character, because it's not. That doesn't mean everything she's written is factual, but that's not the point. Not factual doesn't mean not authentic. I think she's always written from an authentic emotional space, and used references/history/scattered life experiences to paint a picture of what she's been through in her life. To me, there's no real difference between that and a songwriter who has a lyric like "you broke my heart in two." Was that person's actual heart actually broken into two pieces? No, of course not, and almost no one would label that song as phony or fake because talking about whether the person's heart was physically damaged is not the point, it's just a way of describing an experience/emotion they've been through. Lana does essentially the same thing, but just takes it a step further (or maybe multiple steps further). Sorry for the novel.

Just got through the first full listen of this album and I'm not sure what to think. I never thought I would hear a Lykke Li song like Jaguars in the air. Not that's it bad, just...different. I need to replay that one a little more. Deep End is still just as catchy as when it first came out and the title track feels like a good sonic summary of the record as a whole. I really like Last Piece. I can see why this album is going to divide fans, but none of her records have ever sounded the same. I'd rather her keep changing and growing and having distinctive eras rather than trying to keep redoing WR/INL.

Maybe I'm just in the right downer mood, but I am feeling this album so much. I wasn't expecting this, given that Trigger Bang was the only single I really liked (at least, the only single I liked when I originally heard it). I was expecting something much more upbeat, but I am down with the sadness.

Hard to judge too much from the trailer, but the music will definitely be on point. I'm hoping for a success for everyone.

Every time I listen to Two Nights, I keep waiting for the chorus to go into something bigger, and then it just kind of ends. Not sure how I feel about it yet.

The Only is so great. I love the energy of the whole WR era.

I have such trouble telling him and Charlie Puth apart.

Beautiful new video. She's always delivered such beautiful visuals.

Curious to see if she'll actually appear on camera or if they'll just insert the audio she recorded from her phone.

I kinda like this lo-fi/VHS/homemade aesthetic she's going for this era. It feels like a document. Just her living her new life and expressing what's going on/what she's feeling. Definitely a change from the more cinematic INL.

I wish I had as much confidence as she has walking down the street. I think it looks nice.

I've heard so much about TIA I think I need to check it out.

The fact that Lana not willing to take 3 selfies with a fan has turned into a thing shows how incredibly sweet she has been to fans since day one (even though obviously the media blows things up and twists things, but still).

"do we think she drunk cries to kylo ren?"

I think, just because I kind of now associate them with the LFL era, I'd prefer another afterthought EP/Paradise situation where she releases the tracks she's already teased, has one or two videos, goes on another tour (though probably smaller than the one she was just on), and then takes some time to come up with a brand new concept. idk why, I just have a feeling some of these outtakes/unreleased songs are going to feel out of place if she tries to tag them along with a brand new full-length album.

This whole thing is such a mess.

Torn between listening to the new songs and saving as much as the record for when it comes out.

I would say yes. It's one of my favorite visual albums. I think the director Vincent and Florence worked really well together and I loved how they interpreted some of the songs.

The song's not that bad after a couple of listens, but the video is basically recreating Miley's video.

Wasn't dark synth pop kind of what LFL was going to be initially?

Interesting. Not sure how I feel about this. I'll have to keep listening.

I'm sure she loves it as much as her other records, if not more, but it's just harder to perform live. The songs are longer, slower, and require a lot of vocal support to be able to carry out the notes, since a lot of the phrases are really drawn out. It's also pretty heavy in reverb and atmosphere, which can require a lot of adjusting to get it to play right for a larger audience. Also, considering she started it right after Ultra, she was probably still in a dark place and maybe doesn't want to revisit that too much, especially if she's including Ultra songs on the setlist.

Is she going to start telling interviewers she is from Detroit? I don't see how her story is anywhere comparable to Eminem's, on almost any level.

If this Sylvia/Dear Sylvia track sounds anything like it does in my head, Jack is like the worst person to produce it, so I'm glad this rumor isn't true.

I'm curious too just because, when talking about Malibu and when I think she was talking to MTV, she's mentioned how she's felt that she hasn't shared that much of her story. I'm curious what she considers her true story and what she's never talked about.