maysparkle

Everyone in this thread writing think pieces on NFR
 

Bye, NFR is not bad at all and it is (one of) her best. How can you say that when that album has Venice Bitch ,The Greatest and California amongst other career highlights?
 
I love both COCC and BB, but in my opinion none of the tracks there are as strong as the NFR highlights.

Woo hoo!!! That's a great review. 4 stars! 

Hopefully I uploaded this correctly 
 

I don’t think everyone has started to hate NFR, but rather, people are realizing (and Lana herself has suggested this) that the reason it is so lauded is because it represents a shift from the things that Lana was ruthlessly and unfairly criticized for. And now that Lana seems to be going against the grain of that after the criticism she’s endured within the last year, the record in the broader context of her discography retrospectively shows critics’ arguably performative favouring of Lana. So I’d say it’s not that NFR is inherently a disingenuous record, but rather that more external audiences are just against the idea of Lana being her unapologetic self as much as possible. 

This site is actually the only place I know about where that consensus (fortunately!) doesnt exist. NFR kinda started a civil war between Lanaboarders which hasn't still ended I think, hahahaha

NFR! is honestly probably my favorite Lana album to this day, but that doesn't necessarily mean I think it's her best? It definitely is safe in some ways that Blue Banisters, for instance, isn't. If that makes sense. It's much easier for critics to drag her for what she's doing on Blue Banisters compared to NFR, in my opinion.
 
She feels much more exposed on this new album to me.

I was listening to nfr today & How to Disappear came on and I started cackling. The production of that song is so fucking funny, the circus sounds, the bells I started laughing cause I forgot that version existed. It makes me think of fleas dancing in a circus 

lana's "tropes" really make her lyricism & music even more in-depth & artistic, roses, chateau marmont, diamonds, classic rock musicians, hollywood, palms, "daddy", trailer parks, tattoos, motorcycles, etc. would the lana del rey experience be the same if she didn't mention "blue" in every other song? i don't think so!

NFR is and will always be my favorite Lana album, but the reason the general public liked it so much was because it was so easy to listen to. It wasn't what Lana typically does and now continues to do. Lana wasn't widely taken seriously as an artist until NFR, and now people expect her to just make a million remakes of that album which isn't fair to her in the slightest. I wouldn't say that NFR is less authentic, if anything I think it's one of her most authentic pieces of works yet, but the lyrics and sound felt more like they were playing it safe than her previous albums did (which I don't think was the intention by any means). Blue Banisters doesn't play it safe at all. Lana plays with her voice and she makes unusual production choices and she's so vulnerable and open in the lyrics that it can be jarring or almost uncomfortable to listen to at times. And that's what Lana has been doing her whole career. You can go all the way back to No Kung Fu and get that same feeling. She didn't do that as much on Norman which is why I think it's widely known by the public as her magnum opus. It's her most accessible album. I just really don't think that people who only know and like Lana for NFR are going to fully understand or be able to appreciate Blue Banisters. 

she says "too lana" like it's a bad thing  what does that even mean? although nfr isn't quite filled with all of the "lana tropes" (which i personally love those "tropes") it's still made by the exact same woman who made born to die, paradise, etc. i don't even think lana's music is that "melodramatic" and honestly, this is a matter of personal taste but, i'd rather listen to lana's "melodramatic" music filled with "lana tropes" then something which is made for the critics or a wide audience, lana's music is polarizing, it's unique, it's not for everybody, but it's geniune, it's real, it's true art, especiall in a day & age where people seem to value money & commercial value over real artistry

I love that part in Cruel World where she sings “and I’m so happy….. now that Jack Antonoff is gone!!!!!” 

Exactly. Stereogum and their readers are examples of the "too cool indie dorks" I mentioned yesterday. NFR! is their *safe* album. The album it's okay to like by Lana. Anything else and they're outside their comfort zone... daring to have an opinion outside the hivemind. It's transparent, and honestly, hilarious. NFR! may be one of her best albums, but that doesn't mean she hasn't made music just as good since then (or even before).

I think critics and everyone liked NFR because it was a watered down version of Lana so it was easier to digest. It’s a cute album, easy to listen to but to call it her best or to try to act like nothing will top it is just silly. Lana said it herself, if everyone likes it maybe it’s not that good. Again, it’s a cute album but it’s like a watered down version of Lana. 

These posts remind me of a conversation I had with a friend after NFR came out. They really liked the record and I said something like, “wow, that’s great, you should definitely check out some of Lana’s other albums, like Ultraviolence and Honeymoon!” And they had the audacity to look me in the eye and say , “no thanks, those albums are too Lana, like they’re too melodramatic for me.” I was quite perturbed by that comment and can vouch for what everyone is saying about the general public being more receptive to a record that veers away from what they typically associate with Lana (hence, my friend using ‘Lana’ as a descriptor in and of itself). 
 
While I love NFR and think it’s an amazing record, people’s dismissal of her other 7 records is exactly my issue with the culture. Beating a dead horse, I know — but the entire point of Question for the Culture was valid, and is applicable to any woman (and I guess a bit further, any person) existing in any space, professional or not (I can attest to this personally).

I've noticed this so much since NFR. I don't know if it was others seeing the heavy acclaim it got or what, but after that album, a lot of artists have started trying to make their own mini NFRs. I find it kind of funny that BTD and NFR have been influential to other artists despite being such different albums. I wonder if people will start emulating Blue Banisters if it does well 

The Walmart of producers, cheap and affordable. 
No offence to him, I think he's a talented musician and he's made great songs for and with Lana, but lately he seems a bit... artistically tired.

Like Lana said herself: if everyone likes it, maybe it’s not that good!!

yet, now it seems like everybody wants their chance at working with jack antonoff and creating their own beachy/folky bodies of work... even when she's more "likable" & "accessible" she's an influential trendsetter

Thank God Lana makes music for herself and her fans and not for so called music critics who seemingly live in their little echo chamber—thinking they make and break careers.

I agree with everything here, especially the highlighted part, like to me this is one of the few factors that enabled 'NFR!' to receive such critical acclaim. It was her least controversial album. Lana definitely echoed that when she said "what was not to like about NFR!?" she knew what was up. 

it's honestly stupid to compare every album she's ever made/will eventually make to nfr, is she supposed to do the exact same thing for the rest of her career? are all of her past albums completely irrelevant garbage because she made a record which they think is valid enough?  artists grow, shift, change, & experiment, it's such a foolish pedestal to put her on, especially since lana's hinted at the fact that she wasn't happy about people respecting her only when she made an album which was "happier" and more "gp friendly", they could only respect her artistry if it didn't push the boundaries and go beyond the comfort zones of the today's music landscapes, there will never be another lana del rey, or born to die, or ultraviolence, she created something truly unique & special, yet they only respect her vision if it's one they can be comfortable with  

I absolutely dread the fact that critics now consider 'NFR!' to be the blueprint of Lana albums, like the one that she will need to top. In my honest opinion, 'Blue Banisters' stands on its own and does not need to be compared in any capacity to her so called "career height". 
 
I know I've said a lot about 'NFR!' since day one, and I have definitely softened up to that album, but I still have so many issues with it; while I think it's a good album, the demo-like production, tin can mixing and oftentimes cringe lyrics are seriously ruining the whole experience for me. In that regard, 'Blue Banisters' is overall miles ahead.

"premature evaluation" is correct, i'm starting to feel like i was too harsh on the album after i first listen, but i'm thinking that i'm going to warm up to it a lot more (even though i haven't listened to it since it first leaked)  give it time, all of her albums will be considered classics in time  

ok besties doing my big Lana re-listen in prep for BB and BTD is THAT BITCH. I know everyone says UV this, UV that but the iconography of this record? BTD? DARK PARADISE? CARMEN? WITHOUT YOU??? ahhh. my soul is not ready for Paradise