countercouper

She's no Rilke, but Lana's an exceptional lyricist by contemporary pop standards. She has a distinctive sense of humor, a sharp eye for imagery and a phenomenal ear for wordplay—when she tries:
 

You look like a Florida native
"Are you?" I said, at the rate of
Slow molasses from the state of
Vermont with a southern drawl
 

The way your face is shaped, I wonder if you know
The way you stand up and your silhouette glows
I'm electrified, I'll be up all night now

 

He had a cigarette with his number on it
He gave it over to me, "Do you want it?"
I knew it was wrong but I palmed it
I saved it, I waited, I called it

 

Fellas, if you wanna get that invite quicker
Pack up the pickup, pick up the liquor
Go on use your charm, come on gonna get her
Ladies, if you really wanna reign them suckers
Line up your lips, plump up your puckers
It's about the only way to get them motherfuckers
 


Who's living life like it's the belvedere
Swinging all night on the crystal chandelier
Bring that Velvet Elvis over here, come on

 

You're God's favorite child, boy, believe it
Try hard to remember the day
Sick as fuck and selling yay, diamonds and getting blazed
 

Dance at night back in Alabama
Christmas lights on my teal green trailer
American flags, blue, blue streamers
 

Ponytail and lollipops, dinerettes and soda pops
New blue bathing suit, ruched tops and Cadillacs
Blue lake car to dunks, hopscotch, shit talk
Alabama hardknocks, motel dress locks

 

Baby, if you loved me
You would call me your bunny
Tell me I'm just a baby, honey
Beat me and tell me
That no one will love me
Better than you do

 

My baby has an eye for pretty things, pretty things
He thinks that little girls are butterflies and cuts their wings
Sicko, psycho, sicko, but he's my beau
Puts them on a roller coaster, lures them in with Coca-Cola
 

Salvatore, you can def' be my baby boo
Be my mafiosi rock 'n' roll high
Back to Malibu in my trailer park for two
We're like Sid and Nancy loving the fight
 

You can be my Tony Montana and I can be your Pfeiffer fire
I can take you higher, I can get you hooked on love and desire
 

Remember that little old cowgirl
Waiting for you back in that Red River Valley
Waiting back in that Tallahassee
 

He's my drugstore cowboy, Italian alloy
Classical American
And I'm America's sweetheart, cute delicious sweet tart
Sippin' on my Diet Coke, singin' in the trailer park
 

I'm a wild child, sky high, lying on your floor
I know I had a lot but, babe, I wants a little more, dum dum
I want a little more, dum dum
In my white mink pink, cigarettes from the store
We're making robberies from Tijuana to the shore, dum dum
'Juana to the shore, dum dum
I belong to a bygone era like the Bugsy Malone
Of the deep Sahara 'cause I'm on the scene
Yeah, I'm on the scene
I’m a bad jazz singer giving you the finger
No matter what you linger 'cause you like me even when I'm mean
I'm the queen
 


Cigarettes and Robitussin
Will I ever get to heaven?
It's not looking good now



 

Black eyes, short dress, let's break it down
You shoot and I pose, Polaroid frown
I'll do what you like
I won't make a sound
 


Look at you smoking in them neon lights
Under the thunder, yo, you like so nice
Made me wonder how you spend them nights
Me, I spend them looking for men I like
Like you, like you, like you

 

I had a man, he was sweet as pie
I met him as I walked right by him
He said, Baby, you so fine that when you walk
Even the stoplights stop to talk about you






 

You're the state's number one and everybody knows it
You smile all the time, 'cause how can you not show it?
When even you know that you're so to die for, to die for
What do I need to get high for?


 

If you wanna get that scholarship
Yale's not a problem, let's solve it
 

I'm the sweetest girl in town
So why are you so mean?
When you gonna ditch that stupid bitch you got
It's me you should be seeing



 

Babe, you can see that I'm danger
Glamorous but I'm deranged, yeah
Teetering off of the stage, yeah

 

You used to say that I was beautiful like Cleopatra
But you the king too, so I would say it back atcha
 

It's the voodoo Mississippi south
Sixty-nine million stars
Birds are flying out of my mouth
Spirits creeping in my yard
Hold my head, it's tilting back
Something dancing me around
Putting crystals on my neck
Lifting my feet off the ground, the ground
 

In the name of higher consciousness
I let the best man I knew go
'Cause it's nice to love and be loved
But it's better to know all you can know
I said it's nice to love and be loved
But I'd rather know what God knows




 
I said, he loves my heart-shaped sunglasses
He loves the heart shape my ass is
 

Wake up each night at the same time
Pull up the blind and look outside
And in the orange light, the fog is rising
This is life, this tonight, peace in the quiet
 

We could get high in Miami, ooh
Dance the night away
People never die in Miami, ooh
That's what they all say
 

Baby, put on heart-shaped sunglasses
'Cause we're gonna take a ride
I'm not gonna listen to what the past says
I been waiting up all night
Take another drag, turn me to ashes
Ready for another lie
Says he's gonna teach me just what fast is
Say it's gonna be all right





 
Again none of this is Rilke or Rimbaud, but taken together I think they're quite remarkable for what they are: pop lyrics. I personally don't think any of the lines in "Honeymoon" reach the level of playfulness or cleverness exhibited in the lyrics I've highlighted here, but that doesn't mean Lana's not an unusually creative wordsmith. And that's the rub, isn't it? No matter how good of a writer you are, every single time you sit down at a blank page, you have to start from scratch—and you have to really, really try. And my intuition tells me (and who can blame her) she doesn't try quite as hard as she used to.

She's no Rilke, but Lana's an exceptional lyricist by contemporary pop standards. She has a distinctive sense of humor, a sharp eye for imagery and a phenomenal ear for wordplay—when she tries:
 

You look like a Florida native
"Are you?" I said, at the rate of
Slow molasses from the state of
Vermont with a southern drawl
 

The way your face is shaped, I wonder if you know
The way you stand up and your silhouette glows
I'm electrified, I'll be up all night now

 

He had a cigarette with his number on it
He gave it over to me, "Do you want it?"
I knew it was wrong but I palmed it
I saved it, I waited, I called it

 

Fellas, if you wanna get that invite quicker
Pack up the pickup, pick up the liquor
Go on use your charm, come on gonna get her
Ladies, if you really wanna reign them suckers
Line up your lips, plump up your puckers
It's about the only way to get them motherfuckers
 


Who's living life like it's the belvedere
Swinging all night on the crystal chandelier
Bring that Velvet Elvis over here, come on

 

You're God's favorite child, boy, believe it
Try hard to remember the day
Sick as fuck and selling yay, diamonds and getting blazed
 

Dance at night back in Alabama
Christmas lights on my teal green trailer
American flags, blue, blue streamers
 

Ponytail and lollipops, dinerettes and soda pops
New blue bathing suit, ruched tops and Cadillacs
Blue lake car to dunks, hopscotch, shit talk
Alabama hardknocks, motel dress locks

 

Baby, if you loved me
You would call me your bunny
Tell me I'm just a baby, honey
Beat me and tell me
That no one will love me
Better than you do

 

My baby has an eye for pretty things, pretty things
He thinks that little girls are butterflies and cuts their wings
Sicko, psycho, sicko, but he's my beau
Puts them on a roller coaster, lures them in with Coca-Cola
 

Salvatore, you can def' be my baby boo
Be my mafiosi rock 'n' roll high
Back to Malibu in my trailer park for two
We're like Sid and Nancy loving the fight
 

You can be my Tony Montana and I can be your Pfeiffer fire
I can take you higher, I can get you hooked on love and desire
 

Remember that little old cowgirl
Waiting for you back in that Red River Valley
Waiting back in that Tallahassee
 

He's my drugstore cowboy, Italian alloy
Classical American
And I'm America's sweetheart, cute delicious sweet tart
Sippin' on my Diet Coke, singin' in the trailer park
 

I'm a wild child, sky high, lying on your floor
I know I had a lot but, babe, I wants a little more, dum dum
I want a little more, dum dum
In my white mink pink, cigarettes from the store
We're making robberies from Tijuana to the shore, dum dum
'Juana to the shore, dum dum
I belong to a bygone era like the Bugsy Malone
Of the deep Sahara 'cause I'm on the scene
Yeah, I'm on the scene
I’m a bad jazz singer giving you the finger
No matter what you linger 'cause you like me even when I'm mean
I'm the queen
 


Cigarettes and Robitussin
Will I ever get to heaven?
It's not looking good now



 

Black eyes, short dress, let's break it down
You shoot and I pose, Polaroid frown
I'll do what you like
I won't make a sound
 


Look at you smoking in them neon lights
Under the thunder, yo, you like so nice
Made me wonder how you spend them nights
Me, I spend them looking for men I like
Like you, like you, like you

 

I had a man, he was sweet as pie
I met him as I walked right by him
He said, Baby, you so fine that when you walk
Even the stoplights stop to talk about you






 

You're the state's number one and everybody knows it
You smile all the time, 'cause how can you not show it?
When even you know that you're so to die for, to die for
What do I need to get high for?


 

If you wanna get that scholarship
Yale's not a problem, let's solve it
 

I'm the sweetest girl in town
So why are you so mean?
When you gonna ditch that stupid bitch you got
It's me you should be seeing



 

Babe, you can see that I'm danger
Glamorous but I'm deranged, yeah
Teetering off of the stage, yeah

 

You used to say that I was beautiful like Cleopatra
But you the king too, so I would say it back atcha
 

It's the voodoo Mississippi south
Sixty-nine million stars
Birds are flying out of my mouth
Spirits creeping in my yard
Hold my head, it's tilting back
Something dancing me around
Putting crystals on my neck
Lifting my feet off the ground, the ground
 

In the name of higher consciousness
I let the best man I knew go
'Cause it's nice to love and be loved
But it's better to know all you can know
I said it's nice to love and be loved
But I'd rather know what God knows




 
I said, he loves my heart-shaped sunglasses
He loves the heart shape my ass is
 

Wake up each night at the same time
Pull up the blind and look outside
And in the orange light, the fog is rising
This is life, this tonight, peace in the quiet
 

We could get high in Miami, ooh
Dance the night away
People never die in Miami, ooh
That's what they all say
 

Baby, put on heart-shaped sunglasses
'Cause we're gonna take a ride
I'm not gonna listen to what the past says
I been waiting up all night
Take another drag, turn me to ashes
Ready for another lie
Says he's gonna teach me just what fast is
Say it's gonna be all right





 
Again none of this is Rilke or Rimbaud, but taken together I think they're quite remarkable for what they are: pop lyrics. I personally don't think any of the lines in "Honeymoon" reach the level of playfulness or cleverness exhibited in the lyrics I've highlighted here, but that doesn't mean Lana's not an unusually creative wordsmith. And that's the rub, isn't it? No matter how good of a writer you are, every single time you sit down at a blank page, you have to start from scratch—and you have to really, really try. And my intuition tells me (and who can blame her) she doesn't try quite as hard as she used to.

Loving how Cockroachella is listed at 0:00, hope she keeps it that way lol

I'm surprised to hear people connecting to the message, not because I don't believe in it, but because it feels super hollow. 
 
"I was at coachella and it was lit and then Trump did some stupid shit that we're lucky didn't escalate and I thought about all these flower crown kids out here and their families, except wait coachella is full of the children of the people who cause incidents like this and that the real pain is outside of the gates of this rich white circle jerk" "Did I mention I was born in the wrong era?"
 
It's not on the album though, so I don't feel particularly annoyed about it's existence anymore. 

Her early drafts were better tbh
 

maybe she chose this beat as a dig at the generic beats that she heard from coachella or something 

Is everyone just letting lana slap some lyrics together and then call it a song now? Is her management asleep? I feel like she used to work at and craft her lyrics, there are so many awkward lines here that should have been tweaked and worked on. I think her trying to be political and send a message has really interfered with her songwriting. It's too blunt, too on the nose. No subtlety or depth at all. UGH. At least now we are sort of getting the production we wanted for hunnymoon.....

I'm an Introvert, too, and I empathize with others, especially those in music/media, as it must be a constant challenge when so much visibility and access, especially now, is demanded of them. Perhaps for that reason, I'm vested in seeing them thrive on their own terms. I do know that introverts are easily misunderstood, and I've no doubt Lana is an introvert (INFP, if we're going to use MBTI). I'm not even saying Lana should or has to change; I personally enjoy that she's created and defends her own little world. 
I'm saying I can identify what the general 'rift' is between her and media, or even her vs. other modern artists. It's less about 'authenticity' and more about why she refuses to play ball like everyone else.
 
Take Grimes, for instance. She's also a pretty eccentric, introverted dreamer type. She too creates her own little worlds. She too seems highly sensitive and highly intuitive. The difference is she's open. She may be naturally shy and self-contained, but she's able to discuss her weaknesses, strengths, and concerns in interviews, she constantly interacts with fans on Tumblr/Twitter, she promotes other people's work, she's very open about her current obsessions and influences, and she takes an active interest in the world around her. That last part is crucial in how people perceive her. In many ways, she's become the poster child for what an alternative pop star should be: innovative, excited about progress and people, eager to share, quirky but relatable. Basically, Grimes isn't afraid to let people see behind the scenes; she's cards face up. She's okay with being a work in progress as an artist and a human being. This is what people empathize with/appreciate nowadays in musicians — someone who seems like a slightly cooler version of themselves; someone who they could possibly be if they worked hard at it. (Gaga preaches this sort of thing, too.) The media likes people like this too because they seem 'normal' and 'unpretentious.' And let's face it: less of a threat.
 
And this is the sort of thing that terrifies and turns off Lana. She idolizes untouchables and wishes to be that way herself. She shows no real curiosity in the world around her, or in other people beyond the few she's put on a pedestal. In a way, she couldn't have come at a worse time — in an age where idols have been discarded and deconstructed, she longs to remystify them, and be one herself. (No wonder she says she feels detached from culture). As Brett Easton Ellis might put it, she's very Empire in a post-Empire age (and by the way, I hate BEE's worldview). At the same time, she's the perfect glamorous and dramatic antithesis to everyone else's boring transparency and normcore attitudes.
 
So, it makes sense that today's journalists, who have gotten used to media-trained pop stars and eagerly clumsy DIY kids, are alarmed by Lana and her layers and veils. No wonder they try to decode her, and no wonder she resents them.
 
I personally enjoy LDR's attempt to restore a defiantly detached individualism at a time when that sort of thing is being vilified as outmoded and dangerous; it's almost punk rock. At the same time, I wonder if there's any way for that to be seen as a positive thing by most people.

Can you imagine being prosecuted and going to jail for this? "What are you in for?"

Oh ok..

If only Y*ur Girl had leaked instead

A++ first post. 

Is it normal for Ed to be responding to fans on Insta and telling them that they don't know if they're going to cancel the album now and that "She's not ok"? That seems so wildly unprofessional.

She's no Rilke, but Lana's an exceptional lyricist by contemporary pop standards. She has a distinctive sense of humor, a sharp eye for imagery and a phenomenal ear for wordplay—when she tries:
 

You look like a Florida native
"Are you?" I said, at the rate of
Slow molasses from the state of
Vermont with a southern drawl
 

The way your face is shaped, I wonder if you know
The way you stand up and your silhouette glows
I'm electrified, I'll be up all night now

 

He had a cigarette with his number on it
He gave it over to me, "Do you want it?"
I knew it was wrong but I palmed it
I saved it, I waited, I called it

 

Fellas, if you wanna get that invite quicker
Pack up the pickup, pick up the liquor
Go on use your charm, come on gonna get her
Ladies, if you really wanna reign them suckers
Line up your lips, plump up your puckers
It's about the only way to get them motherfuckers
 


Who's living life like it's the belvedere
Swinging all night on the crystal chandelier
Bring that Velvet Elvis over here, come on

 

You're God's favorite child, boy, believe it
Try hard to remember the day
Sick as fuck and selling yay, diamonds and getting blazed
 

Dance at night back in Alabama
Christmas lights on my teal green trailer
American flags, blue, blue streamers
 

Ponytail and lollipops, dinerettes and soda pops
New blue bathing suit, ruched tops and Cadillacs
Blue lake car to dunks, hopscotch, shit talk
Alabama hardknocks, motel dress locks

 

Baby, if you loved me
You would call me your bunny
Tell me I'm just a baby, honey
Beat me and tell me
That no one will love me
Better than you do

 

My baby has an eye for pretty things, pretty things
He thinks that little girls are butterflies and cuts their wings
Sicko, psycho, sicko, but he's my beau
Puts them on a roller coaster, lures them in with Coca-Cola
 

Salvatore, you can def' be my baby boo
Be my mafiosi rock 'n' roll high
Back to Malibu in my trailer park for two
We're like Sid and Nancy loving the fight
 

You can be my Tony Montana and I can be your Pfeiffer fire
I can take you higher, I can get you hooked on love and desire
 

Remember that little old cowgirl
Waiting for you back in that Red River Valley
Waiting back in that Tallahassee
 

He's my drugstore cowboy, Italian alloy
Classical American
And I'm America's sweetheart, cute delicious sweet tart
Sippin' on my Diet Coke, singin' in the trailer park
 

I'm a wild child, sky high, lying on your floor
I know I had a lot but, babe, I wants a little more, dum dum
I want a little more, dum dum
In my white mink pink, cigarettes from the store
We're making robberies from Tijuana to the shore, dum dum
'Juana to the shore, dum dum
I belong to a bygone era like the Bugsy Malone
Of the deep Sahara 'cause I'm on the scene
Yeah, I'm on the scene
I’m a bad jazz singer giving you the finger
No matter what you linger 'cause you like me even when I'm mean
I'm the queen
 


Cigarettes and Robitussin
Will I ever get to heaven?
It's not looking good now



 

Black eyes, short dress, let's break it down
You shoot and I pose, Polaroid frown
I'll do what you like
I won't make a sound
 


Look at you smoking in them neon lights
Under the thunder, yo, you like so nice
Made me wonder how you spend them nights
Me, I spend them looking for men I like
Like you, like you, like you

 

I had a man, he was sweet as pie
I met him as I walked right by him
He said, Baby, you so fine that when you walk
Even the stoplights stop to talk about you






 

You're the state's number one and everybody knows it
You smile all the time, 'cause how can you not show it?
When even you know that you're so to die for, to die for
What do I need to get high for?


 

If you wanna get that scholarship
Yale's not a problem, let's solve it
 

I'm the sweetest girl in town
So why are you so mean?
When you gonna ditch that stupid bitch you got
It's me you should be seeing



 

Babe, you can see that I'm danger
Glamorous but I'm deranged, yeah
Teetering off of the stage, yeah

 

You used to say that I was beautiful like Cleopatra
But you the king too, so I would say it back atcha
 

It's the voodoo Mississippi south
Sixty-nine million stars
Birds are flying out of my mouth
Spirits creeping in my yard
Hold my head, it's tilting back
Something dancing me around
Putting crystals on my neck
Lifting my feet off the ground, the ground
 

In the name of higher consciousness
I let the best man I knew go
'Cause it's nice to love and be loved
But it's better to know all you can know
I said it's nice to love and be loved
But I'd rather know what God knows




 
I said, he loves my heart-shaped sunglasses
He loves the heart shape my ass is
 

Wake up each night at the same time
Pull up the blind and look outside
And in the orange light, the fog is rising
This is life, this tonight, peace in the quiet
 

We could get high in Miami, ooh
Dance the night away
People never die in Miami, ooh
That's what they all say
 

Baby, put on heart-shaped sunglasses
'Cause we're gonna take a ride
I'm not gonna listen to what the past says
I been waiting up all night
Take another drag, turn me to ashes
Ready for another lie
Says he's gonna teach me just what fast is
Say it's gonna be all right





 
Again none of this is Rilke or Rimbaud, but taken together I think they're quite remarkable for what they are: pop lyrics. I personally don't think any of the lines in "Honeymoon" reach the level of playfulness or cleverness exhibited in the lyrics I've highlighted here, but that doesn't mean Lana's not an unusually creative wordsmith. And that's the rub, isn't it? No matter how good of a writer you are, every single time you sit down at a blank page, you have to start from scratch—and you have to really, really try. And my intuition tells me (and who can blame her) she doesn't try quite as hard as she used to.

She's no Rilke, but Lana's an exceptional lyricist by contemporary pop standards. She has a distinctive sense of humor, a sharp eye for imagery and a phenomenal ear for wordplay—when she tries:
 

You look like a Florida native
"Are you?" I said, at the rate of
Slow molasses from the state of
Vermont with a southern drawl
 

The way your face is shaped, I wonder if you know
The way you stand up and your silhouette glows
I'm electrified, I'll be up all night now

 

He had a cigarette with his number on it
He gave it over to me, "Do you want it?"
I knew it was wrong but I palmed it
I saved it, I waited, I called it

 

Fellas, if you wanna get that invite quicker
Pack up the pickup, pick up the liquor
Go on use your charm, come on gonna get her
Ladies, if you really wanna reign them suckers
Line up your lips, plump up your puckers
It's about the only way to get them motherfuckers
 


Who's living life like it's the belvedere
Swinging all night on the crystal chandelier
Bring that Velvet Elvis over here, come on

 

You're God's favorite child, boy, believe it
Try hard to remember the day
Sick as fuck and selling yay, diamonds and getting blazed
 

Dance at night back in Alabama
Christmas lights on my teal green trailer
American flags, blue, blue streamers
 

Ponytail and lollipops, dinerettes and soda pops
New blue bathing suit, ruched tops and Cadillacs
Blue lake car to dunks, hopscotch, shit talk
Alabama hardknocks, motel dress locks

 

Baby, if you loved me
You would call me your bunny
Tell me I'm just a baby, honey
Beat me and tell me
That no one will love me
Better than you do

 

My baby has an eye for pretty things, pretty things
He thinks that little girls are butterflies and cuts their wings
Sicko, psycho, sicko, but he's my beau
Puts them on a roller coaster, lures them in with Coca-Cola
 

Salvatore, you can def' be my baby boo
Be my mafiosi rock 'n' roll high
Back to Malibu in my trailer park for two
We're like Sid and Nancy loving the fight
 

You can be my Tony Montana and I can be your Pfeiffer fire
I can take you higher, I can get you hooked on love and desire
 

Remember that little old cowgirl
Waiting for you back in that Red River Valley
Waiting back in that Tallahassee
 

He's my drugstore cowboy, Italian alloy
Classical American
And I'm America's sweetheart, cute delicious sweet tart
Sippin' on my Diet Coke, singin' in the trailer park
 

I'm a wild child, sky high, lying on your floor
I know I had a lot but, babe, I wants a little more, dum dum
I want a little more, dum dum
In my white mink pink, cigarettes from the store
We're making robberies from Tijuana to the shore, dum dum
'Juana to the shore, dum dum
I belong to a bygone era like the Bugsy Malone
Of the deep Sahara 'cause I'm on the scene
Yeah, I'm on the scene
I’m a bad jazz singer giving you the finger
No matter what you linger 'cause you like me even when I'm mean
I'm the queen
 


Cigarettes and Robitussin
Will I ever get to heaven?
It's not looking good now



 

Black eyes, short dress, let's break it down
You shoot and I pose, Polaroid frown
I'll do what you like
I won't make a sound
 


Look at you smoking in them neon lights
Under the thunder, yo, you like so nice
Made me wonder how you spend them nights
Me, I spend them looking for men I like
Like you, like you, like you

 

I had a man, he was sweet as pie
I met him as I walked right by him
He said, Baby, you so fine that when you walk
Even the stoplights stop to talk about you






 

You're the state's number one and everybody knows it
You smile all the time, 'cause how can you not show it?
When even you know that you're so to die for, to die for
What do I need to get high for?


 

If you wanna get that scholarship
Yale's not a problem, let's solve it
 

I'm the sweetest girl in town
So why are you so mean?
When you gonna ditch that stupid bitch you got
It's me you should be seeing



 

Babe, you can see that I'm danger
Glamorous but I'm deranged, yeah
Teetering off of the stage, yeah

 

You used to say that I was beautiful like Cleopatra
But you the king too, so I would say it back atcha
 

It's the voodoo Mississippi south
Sixty-nine million stars
Birds are flying out of my mouth
Spirits creeping in my yard
Hold my head, it's tilting back
Something dancing me around
Putting crystals on my neck
Lifting my feet off the ground, the ground
 

In the name of higher consciousness
I let the best man I knew go
'Cause it's nice to love and be loved
But it's better to know all you can know
I said it's nice to love and be loved
But I'd rather know what God knows




 
I said, he loves my heart-shaped sunglasses
He loves the heart shape my ass is
 

Wake up each night at the same time
Pull up the blind and look outside
And in the orange light, the fog is rising
This is life, this tonight, peace in the quiet
 

We could get high in Miami, ooh
Dance the night away
People never die in Miami, ooh
That's what they all say
 

Baby, put on heart-shaped sunglasses
'Cause we're gonna take a ride
I'm not gonna listen to what the past says
I been waiting up all night
Take another drag, turn me to ashes
Ready for another lie
Says he's gonna teach me just what fast is
Say it's gonna be all right





 
Again none of this is Rilke or Rimbaud, but taken together I think they're quite remarkable for what they are: pop lyrics. I personally don't think any of the lines in "Honeymoon" reach the level of playfulness or cleverness exhibited in the lyrics I've highlighted here, but that doesn't mean Lana's not an unusually creative wordsmith. And that's the rub, isn't it? No matter how good of a writer you are, every single time you sit down at a blank page, you have to start from scratch—and you have to really, really try. And my intuition tells me (and who can blame her) she doesn't try quite as hard as she used to.

It is amazing to read this. I actually think this is her most diverse and ambitious record. I feel like she's never sounded so strong. But that's just my opinion.
 
I agree 100% with the lyrics thing though. If she believes she's the songwriter of our generation, why is she using trigonometry as a metaphor to difficulty?

I agree with the general consensus that she needs to challenge herself. As much as I admire her work and connect to her viewpoint more than most artists right now, there's something missing in her work ethic as an artist. Doesn't she want to grow? Learn a new instrument, try playing with new forms/elements of expression? Explore a new way of writing or singing? Learning to produce? Where's her hunger? It's like she's paralyzed in a very specific, very evocative spot creatively. She can go 'deeper and deeper' but she can't move PAST it. It feels like compulsion. It can be beautiful and compelling and euphoric when she gets it right, but I'm starting to wonder, like others, where it can go from here. Surely, this is some sort of finale.
 
For someone who has traveled much of the globe, she acts like no place exists but LA. For someone who claims to be a writer first, I sense no drive to push herself further, to become more nuanced, imaginative, precise. For someone who seems, at heart, mainly preoccupied with existential ponderings, she refuses to offer us a true peak into her intellect. She'd rather link to a famous philosopher's video than share her own opinion. Similar thoughts on why she covers Nina Simone and quotes TS Eliot on record — to add a weight her own work cannot provide yet.  For awhile, that evasion felt like mystique, now it's beginning to reek a bit of fear. She's managed to create a pseudo-reality for herself where she gets to play the frigid icon who never explains, but she's painted herself into corner, one where she cannot let loose and experiment and fuck up and be FREE. She professes her love of being WILD and FREE,  but she seems quite conservative and inhibited at the end of the day. I mean, the fact that she hates Thai food (and also "spicy and exotic" food) actually says a lot about her tolerance for 'openness to new experiences'. I maintain the belief that she's actually closer to Little Edie of Grey Gardens than Marilyn Monroe — a grandiose recluse. And that is fascinating. But there's many ways to create haunting art that deviates from the themes she's already worn thin. I'd like to see her explore her devout solipsism a new way. Or even better, let go of it, connect with the real world and join humanity. At some point, the bubble needs to burst.
 
Maybe she SHOULD start by traveling somewhere new. If she were in Seoul or Tokyo or Cairo, would she just shut her eyes to the present moment? Has anything new inspired her since she first started making music? She prides herself on 'always being inspired by the same few things,' but either her relationship to those things needs to change, or the actual content does. As beautiful and intriguing as Honeymoon is, it is safer than Ultraviolence, where she tried on new sounds, moods, perspectives, eras of living. Honeymoon all feels like a daydream of youth and romance long dead and gone. I'm okay with that, if it really IS the "swan song" for the Haunted Hollywood LDR. It's hard to tell where Lana's head is at now. On one level, she seems to be getting more metaphysical, on another, she seems to want to stick to shallow tropes. It's almost like she's afraid to show how smart she actually is. There's some vanity vs. intelligence schism within her that I've never understood, but seems to hold her back. It's always sad when women dumb themselves down, and the reasons are always rooted in fear of rejection.
 
TL;DR:
I get that she's aiming to be an Auteur, therefore consistent in her themes, but I mean, even Woody Allen eventually ventured outside of the neurotic tics of the Upper West Side....

I agree a lot with this. I feel like Lana is really staying in an artistic "safe zone" and that's part of the reason why she won't perform on TV or anything. We know she hustled back when she went under Lizzy Grant, performing everywhere, and I think she's said that she sees herself as a singer. But... singers sing. It's disappointing that she seems unwilling to perform or promote a lot of her new material.
 
Lyrically, she continues to write awkward lyrics that circle around similar themes. I wrote once that Honeymoon feels like a parody of an LDR song, and while I have since warmed greatly to the song, the lyrics still feel like someone went through a checklist of Lana references. Being misunderstood? Unusual sexual metaphor? Ill-advised mention of violence? Loving a bad boy? It's like those "Lana Del Rey song title generators" that were popular in the year following Born To Die's release. While I think Lana revisiting certain themes makes her stand out among her contemporaries (we wouldn't have Lanalysis if she didn't have such revered items as diet mountain dew, the chateau marmont, or pink flamingos), it's really easy for it to feel like a retread as opposed to a thread tying her world together.
 
Musically, she continues to show a knack for great melodies. But production-wise, she gets a little monotonous. I like Honeymoon, but I tend to skip the songs after a certain point. When 24 actually starts sounding like the Bond theme it was meant to be, it's great, but the build-up to that part of the song is excruciatingly slow. I literally forget Religion is on the tracklist every time I listen to the album. Similarly, I don't remember how the verses of Art Deco go. God Knows I Tried is a beautiful song, but someone should have told her "okay, stop here." Having the equivalent of a musical editor isn't "compromising your vision." Art doesn't have to be a one-man process. On a positive note, the bridge of TLY is probably one of my favorite musical+lyrical moments in her entire discography, and the best one on Honeymoon. I get chills listening to it every single time.  
 
Visually, I haven't really cared for her official music videos much in general. I like her homemade videos because they're so innocent and direct. It's the closest you can get to having a visual representation of what Lana pictured when she made that song. I wish she would bring that lo-fi but intimate quality back. I mean, she's rich, she can probably afford to clear the rights for her clips and have better quality shots of her, so it doesn't need to be some 240p artifact-ridden mess. It was so unique; none of her contemporaries have done anything like that, to my knowledge.
 
Honestly, if I'm frustrated with Lana, it's because I feel she could be doing so much better. We know from her unreleased catalog that she's an incredibly flexible artist. Her voice sounds unique no matter what her range is. Yet I feel like with all her released bodies of work, there's something holding them back. Too self-indulgent at times? Some poor song choices? Lazy lyrics weighing down otherwise beautiful songs? I have a hard time explaining what it is. But I just really want Lana to deliver that album that's going to be (almost) universally recognized as an enduring body of work. Her "Dark Side of the Moon," if you will (no, that's not my favorite Floyd album, but it's a solid one and that's undeniable). If sales are anything to go by, BTD is the closest she's come to that - it's the album that refuses to die. I love Lana so much, I want the best for her artistically and commercially (and any word that ends with a -ly) but I feel like she's holding herself back and I don't know why. Is she afraid of her potential? Afraid of success? Afraid of being the object of the internet's scorn again?
 
I'm certain that everyone else here who has expressed disappointment at Lana's artistic/commercial choices feels the same way I do - we feel Lana isn't doing her best or not getting the recognition she deserves; we just all have different ideas on what the ideal is or how to achieve it.
 
I'm gonna go listen to Honeymoon now because for all the flaws I've listed, it's still one of my favorite albums of 2015.

I think you're letting your investment in commercial success cloud your enjoyment (and to a certain degree, opinion) of her output. A lot of this smacks of being really attached to other people's opinions and characterizations of Lana instead of your own. Which is unfortuante but I notice that a lot of fanbases get caught up in this way of thinking. Most grow out of it eventually and just relax. Living vicariously through pop stars is a bit pathetic but I realize it's a phase.
 
I saw someone make a comparison of Lana and Bjork awhile ago. They're completely different artists, and Bjork is far less polarizing and controversial, but her trajectory was very similar. She started relatively strong considering the material she was putting out. She had a shtick and never veered from it. Her albums are all markedly different, but still rooted in the same world (the alien experimental art world). She's still a household name, but doesn't sell albums and hasn't been a commercially viable artist since the late 90s. Yet critics fall head over heels for her and she still has a very solid fanbase. I see Lana going this route.
 
Lana's refusal to succumb to commercial/mainstream demands the way say, The Weeknd  has (arguably her most perfectly matched contemporary) is not somethign to shit on just because you're not happy she's not doing 2012 numbers. You should applaud her for settling into her vision confidently, for not doing things she doesn't want to do (television and interviews), and for being true to herself overall. I guarantee you that if she felt forced to be or do things she wasn't interested in, she'd unravel, like anyone would.
 
I understand the artistic frustrations you have, with lyrics or videos or whatever, but you're going to have to accept that you're in the minority since she's getting the best reviews of her career and despite the bare-bones budget, the last two videos have gotten a great reception too (and this is coming from someone who agrees that the videos have gotten a little unimaginative, but I can still find things to admire about them on a technical level).

I liked your post, because I think it's posts like these that are what message boards are for, and agree with some of what you've said, especially on the lyrical side.
 
But I think if you reframe your conception of LDR from commercial pop singer to the most successful indie artist in America, a lot of what you've written in the last 3 paragraphs become irrelevant.
 
Sonically, if she ever stopped singing in the disaffected style, I would stop listening. For every fan that likes her for what she's not, there will be 10 fans who like her for what she already is.
 
 

I don’t intend to write on LB for a while so I put all my thoughts about the HM era here and it came out a bit lengthy sry for that
 
I would entitled this review “LDR hits a wall with Honeymoon”, but in fact is more accurate to say that she hit several walls at once with this release. I said in my earlier posts that I don’t understand her rush to come out so soon with an album after UV. Commercially didn’t make any sense as it is confirmed by the dismal sales of HM. She wasn’t ready to promote and her shy and awkward promotion of HM is a clear indication of that. I feared that she will come out with an album that will be the bad middle point of being in the same time subpar commercially and critically. The critics didn’t panned the album but no one is enthusiastic about it as were some of them with UV. This album just doesn’t make sense from the standpoint of her career and taken together with the botched UV era is creating a lack of perspective on her career which has inevitable influences on everybody who’s following her.
 
The lyrical wall. When you put out slow music you put inevitably your lyrics to the front. She was widely criticized for her cliché-istic writing by using a lot of well-known poetic references, pop imagery and for the over use of location names and icons. When you’re aware of that you have to be extra careful to not abuse it again because otherwise you’re putting yourself in the trolling category. At this point in her career trolling is just infuriating and lame. BB, MPG, FMWTT was enough of trolling, she didn’t needed more emphasis on how misunderstood and how mistreated she is by the critics. That’s why I don’t like the cover of DLBM, as it is an unnecessary lament especially after the UV era when she was praised plenty. Another major critical point regarding the lyrical content of HM is about the narrow sided artistic vision of hers. Honeymoon opens a bit towards more nuances about relationships but not enough to create the feeling of her moving forward artistically. I felt that HM is a combination of BTD and UV lyrically but there are present the same overused tropes in her work: escapism to nowhere and from nothing specific, being desperately in love and lonely after the inevitable disappointment. In my opinion the critics gave HM a better evaluation that it deserves. This is maybe due to their ridiculous negative overreaction during the BTD era and they are compensating here. I would gave HM a 6/10 for the lyrics but in the same time I’m convinced that she cannot put out an album with the same lyrical pitfalls and be taken seriously.
 
The sonic wall. Many critics and listeners are saying that all LDR songs sound the same and they are boring. If we analyze the melodies or the genre variety on her albums we can objectively say that they are surprisingly varied. I don’t know many artists who have on the same album rock, blues, pop and jazz (UV) or jazz, pop, trap (HM) songs. I think that the problem resides rather with her delivery. Lana is capable of a wide variety of vocals ranging from operatic highs to low contra-alto warbles. The problem is her disaffected tone in her voice, like she is so bored to sing that song. You don’t know, for example, if watching the boys is boring or sexy (probably both which is awkward). There are no sustained emotional highs on HM despite some songs are clearly demanding it. It’s like she’s afraid or restrained to sing emotionally which is disappointing. This coldness in her delivery makes HM a difficult listen and is diminishing the beautiful sonic constructions she came up with. I give HM 7/10 for the sound. I think that she reached another wall here because this type of singing is not enjoyable for longer periods and she needs to change it for her next albums. I have to say that I changed my opinion on HM after several listens and I think that UV is better than HM. HM had better potential but falls flat mainly because of her cold delivery (sadness with no emotion is off-putting).
 
The video and imagery wall. We discussed here how after Tropico her videography became lackluster. Tropico was a huge mistake which highlighted both her unchecked artistic freedom and her limitations as a video artist. In my opinion, her best videos were BTD, BJ, NA and Ride, beautifully shot with cohesive stories and imagery. But Tropico was a mishmash of ideas, frankensteined together, too much even for trolling purposes. Her last good video was SOC, but the emphasis on that old dude just didn’t make any sense when you’re considering who her audience is. Her videos just don’t add lately anything to her artistic appeal, they are just dismissed as awkward or surreal by the critics (see MTWBT video) and they don’t have any significant commercial impact. She needs to let the reins of her videos in the hands of people who understand her vision but who can execute it rightly (like Woodkid did). I never really cared about or liked her album imagery tbh. BTD cover is iconic with that steely stare but UV’s sad boring look cover is forgettable and the HM cover is just bad while suggesting the disconnection between her and the listener. Moreover, her public image slowly became uncool, especially when we count her numerous subpar public appearances and photo shoots. These things are not directly related to the album but it affects the perception of it. Her image is tired and boring. She needs to brake this sad potato meets Priscilla Presley image which will be very difficult because she’s so entrenched in it and there is a chance that people will not be into the new image.
 
The likability/hype wall. “I wish I was dead”, “I fucked my way to the top”, “I’m not interested in feminism”, “I make everything for myself” these statements did an irreparable damage to her career. Her words were twisted by the journalists for sure but what counts is the end result which is tragic for Lana. I will put here the Gaga diss also which was another terrible blow for her, turning against her the majority of one of the most numerous and compact fandoms in pop. She was perceived as a threat by many fandoms whose faves have no chance when comparing them with Lana’s voice, beauty and music. Many Lana fans contributed to this with their obnoxious behavior on twitter and forums and now there are many stans rooting for her to fail. She became isolated from the GP which has no information about her and whose perception about her is rather negative and she became limited to her small fanbase who is following her activity on the internet. Let’s face it, the hype is dead and she has a very low likability factor today which explains the crumbling interest in her album. Likability is a subjective thing and is very easy to destroy it and is very hard or next to impossible to regain it. There is always other artists ready to pick up your audience (Lorde, Martinez, Halsey, Banks, Day, etc.).  If we are taking in account her lack of confidence and her inability to perform live there is practically no chance that she can turn this situation around. The next bad thing for her will be the lack of interest in her tour which is closely related to her sales (who would pay 50$ for her ticket and not buying an album for 15$?).
 
The promotion wall. Depression is a hard sell. First, you have to do it right and with high artistic credibility. Secondly, the way you’re presenting the album will have a great effect on how people are perceiving it. If you put the album out without any promotion there is a good chance that people will not take notice or that they will judge it on their own terms. I’m still not over about her assessment that UV and HM are basically words that have a cool sound to them. Really Lana, that’s all you’re saying and you’re trying to sell me your 1 hour of disaffected depression? One of the most annoying things regarding the album and the promo is the length of the songs. They are dragged indefinitely with purposely slow vocal deliveries and with endless repetition of some lyrics (GKIT). Well, I suspect that she did this on purpose so that no songs will fit the radio formats. But why would any artist in their right mind do that when hits are moving records and keep the interest alive? I would say something about BTD here. BTD sold continuously in relatively small numbers, except for the opening weeks in Europe. The momentum was kept by her high profile in the mainstream media and fashion in 2012 and by her only hits in the US, YB and SS. I hate that SS remix, but I have to admit that a large part of the sales after 2012 are due to these hit songs which were played relentlessly on the radio. She had 4 hit worthy songs on BTD: BTD, BJ, VG and SS which were enough for a buying decision. She went hitless on UV and HM and the consequences are dire: her albums are off the radar in 2-3 weeks after the release. Why wouldn’t she have a hit? My opinion is that she’s afraid to perform live in the mainstream media and hits would put a huge pressure on her to do so. I speculate that she had taken a decision to not do live TV anymore. No TV performances and no radio? Let’s be real this is an insurmountable wall regarding her promotion which will push her towards irrelevancy sooner than later. The drop in interest regarding her music from album to album is huge and I would be curious how many stans will be on this site after 3 years from now. Go to the MarinaBoards to have a taste of that.
Sometimes I bashed her management for not doing enough or doing stupid things regarding her career. Well, I don’t like that Mawson guy a bit, but I have to admit, looking back with more objectivity, that is a miracle that they made out of Lana a relatively big name in music on the strength of one good song and an awkward video. None of the songs on BTD were close to the artistry of VG, and she was terrible performing live (that’s why I will never understand how could Interscope take the decision to put her on SNL). If I had been an executive, after watching her live performances as Lizzy Grant I would never gave her a contract tbh. From her attitude while singing I would never felt that she wants it badly and she’ll do everything what it takes to shine her work.
 
She’s talented no doubt, a good songwriter and a very good studio singer and I will be ever grateful for her beautiful music (included HM) but lately, for the first time since I’m a fan of hers, I felt that there is a possibility in the future when I will not care about LDR anymore. And this is the biggest wall for any artist: when they are starting losing their hardcore fans. But she probably doesn’t care. I would have liked her more to perform confidently for her fans, on some improvised stage, new songs from HM, televised for the fans who will never have a chance to see her performing live, than kissing on lips some deranged fans who thinks that this is appropriate.

Was wondering if it had been pointed out! 

 
An ad to a video I was already watching, with a misspell. Tragic, lmao.

Yeah, seems that way. She's such a different artist now to the one I, and most others, first encountered on BTD.
If we're honest, there's nothing commercially appealing on UV or HM, when compared to the kind of music that sells big. But it's like she occupies this really unusual, almost unique middle ground. Good name recognition, infamy even, that most would attempt to spin into something bigger. I increasingly admire her no-fucks-to-give attitude, even if at times it's frustrating for us! Like others mentioned, there doesn't really appear to be a strategy, at least not a typical or cohesive one you'd expect from someone of her level.
I'm so curious to see what her next move is.   

I think it makes perfect sense actually.
 
What you have to remember is how heternormative Lana's music and imagery has always been.
 
Given that her persona is pretty much a female take on 20th century heterosexuality (which even the lesbian undertones in Summertime Sadness are perfectly consistent with), I think Lana figured out that a song like MTWBT could easily include too many objectifying shots of men, e.g., homoerotic shots of them shirtless, and be "off brand".
 
I think it was a conscious decision on her part to emphasize: (1) the femaleness of the gaze and (2) the "heterosexuality" of the boys being watched (by having them play basketball - I'm surprised she didn't have them playing baseball).
 
Maybe I'm overthinking this, but if you stop and think about it makes perfect sense.

I think it makes perfect sense actually.
 
What you have to remember is how heternormative Lana's music and imagery has always been.
 
Given that her persona is pretty much a female take on 20th century heterosexuality (which even the lesbian undertones in Summertime Sadness are perfectly consistent with), I think Lana figured out that a song like MTWBT could easily include too many objectifying shots of men, e.g., homoerotic shots of them shirtless, and be "off brand".
 
I think it was a conscious decision on her part to emphasize: (1) the femaleness of the gaze and (2) the "heterosexuality" of the boys being watched (by having them play basketball - I'm surprised she didn't have them playing baseball).
 
Maybe I'm overthinking this, but if you stop and think about it makes perfect sense.