missdecadence

This is what he said in a Scottish newspaper about it
 
“For me, talking about it would make things not real between you and your partner.
“The reason why I’m speaking about it now is that it’s a been a long time since then.
“It all happened when I went to London, as Lana was meant to be staying for a few days.
“But she couldn’t stay as she had to do a big interview in America for her new album which was coming out.
“I was just chilling out in the hotel and out of the blue, I got a message from my cousin saying, ‘Sorry that you and the missus have broken up’.
“I was like, ‘That’s news to me — where did you hear that?’
“And it was on this website. I was thinking it was a load of s*** and gossip. But it wasn’t. That’s how I found out.
“Looking back, it probably wasn’t easy living with me — I’m an insomniac and have depression.
“I understand why she did it.”
 
“I had saved up a bit but I felt like a burden on Lana as she was having to take care of me.
“And I don’t like that, I like to provide for myself.
“I felt, as her partner, I had to protect her.
“When you go out with someone who has a bit of a profile, it’s hard to not let things affect you. She’d phone me upset about something that had been written about her — that happened a lot in the beginning.
“It’s a big difference comforting your girlfriend about her friend upsetting her, compared to the New York Times doing it.
“I tried to think about being a protective boyfriend and making sure she got on stage every night.”
 
“I must be the only person from Yoker ever to be on that(TMZ). They are obsessed with fame in the States.
“But I wanted to move there, as I felt there was no point in me going from Kassidy back to Yoker.
“So it made sense to explore new avenues. I felt it was time to put the big-boy pants on. It was time to see if we could live together. I made a plan not to pursue music right away. I wanted to clear my head and spend a bit of time with the missus.”
But in that London hotel room his dream was shattered.
 
“She couldn’t say it to my face. And my plan to go back with her was dead.
“I was sitting in that hotel thinking, what the f*** do I do now? But there’s no bad blood between us.”
 
“I got this s***hole apartment in Venice Beach. One room. We call it a bedsit, they call it a studio.
“I had some old songs that I’d written in Glasgow, I worked on some new ones and before I knew it, I had an album done.
“Now I need to find a home for it. It’s pretty dark, jazzy in parts and spacey in other parts.”
 
But is the album about Lana? Barrie said:
“I know people will think that.
“I’d say 50/50 because the type of songwriter I am, I usually write 50 per cent metaphor and 50 per cent of my thoughts. So yes, she’s in the album, she was a huge part of my life.”
 
One memorable moment was when Barrie — who released his previous solo work as Nightmare Boy — found himself at the Cannes Film Festival.
It was for the movie The Great Gatsby, for which Lana recorded the official song Young And Beautiful.
Barrie recalled: “She asked me to go to a party and I said, ‘Hell no,’ as I didn’t think I would fit in — but in the end I went. It was this big mansion up in the hills.
“It only clicked it when we were driving there that it was Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich’s place.
“Tobey Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio were there too.
“The big thing for me was standing 15ft away from Martin Scorsese — I just saw his big caterpillar eyebrows.
“I told Lana to go up and get a photo with him. It was a bit mind-blowing.”
 
“I can’t escape that link to her, and I’m fine with that.
“The majority of my fanbase is her fans. There’s nothing wrong with that. She’s a brilliant singer.
“We had done a bunch of songs together that no one’s ever heard.”
 
“We seldom talk now, but in general it’s OK.
“There’s no point in having bad vibes. I had a great time with her.
“And you never know, it might happen again.”
 
I think Barrie has an alcohol problem as well, I used to watch his periscope and follow him on Instagram and there was always Jack Daniels and coke everywhere all over his house and pretty much anywhere he was. In his Venice apartment he had a shelf with about 15 empty Jack Daniels bottles on it and you'd see him playing piano with Jack Daniels bottle on the piano and even when he makes videos in his house theres always coke and Jack Daniels bottles in his living room lol

What if it was a Diet MTN Dew demo, but recorded with the Phenomena?!
 
Thanks
 
 
Indulge this theory for a second, please, I'm feeling pretty good about it:
 
Lana has gone on record saying that her first three singles--"Video Games", "Born to Die", and "Blue Jeans"--are a trilogy. As a fanbase, it's our job to read really far into this. A safe point to jump to is that these songs are a trilogy in the sense that they're all about the same love story. I readily accepted this for a while and assigned this trilogy to her criminal love story, K. "Blue Jeans" has the most detail of any of these three songs, specifically relating back to "For K", so this as a logical jump of intuition. But if you think about it, really think about it, these songs don't have any particular details in common. Sure, they're all mournful. But it ends there.
 
Just recently, some stalkers insiders made it vaguely apparent that they were positive "Video Games" is about Mike Mizrahi. Mike's story doesn't cohesively fit with the mysterious K's, so we're all left in the dust of that trilogy theory. But that's how Lana herself described it--a trilogy. So what if these three songs aren't a trilogy in the sense that they all connect back to one guy, but that they connect to three separate things she holds dear. For instance, what if this trilogy is about the three most important loves of her life?
 
It makes sense, doesn't it? She cast Bradley Soileau in "Born to Die" based on his appearance, which bears some striking similarities to Jimmy Gnecco's. And just reading this thread, it's impossible not to get the sense that these were Lana's most important relationships--held above Bill and possibly Chris and whoever she dated as a teenager. "Video Games" being about Mike, "Born to Die" being about Jimmy, and "Blue Jeans" being about K.
 
Problems with this:
- Born to Die. Very K, right? Wrong. Who's to say that she means die in the literal sense? She sings last thing I saw before I died, and lo and behold, she's not dead.
- Bradley Soileau, the model equivalent of Jimmy Gnecco, is also in "Blue Jeans". So that song must be about Jimmy, right? Wrong. See, she was already in a professional relationship with Bradley at that point, and maybe even a less-than-professional one. People were fascinated with his image. Business-wise, casting Bradley was a natural move. She originally cast him for "Born to Die" based on his looks--but did she ever say the same for the decision in "Blue Jeans"? As far as I know, the answer is no.
 
Shower me with praise or comments.

this thread went from 0-100 hella fuckin fast

This is so off topic, but Chuck candids make her look like she's walking so smooth and model-esque, and then you have poor Lana who always looks like she's stomping. Or that her legs can bend in different directions.

pat should of stayed away from reeve

reminds me of this
 

 
although i think it would be interesting if we had a thread discussing lana's (current and continual) influences on the music industry. i read in an article somewhere about how the current state of pop has become more melancholic, or "inward" and immediately thought of her potential (unspoken) impact 
 
also, as a bit of an aside, is just me or do people use the word sonic like all the fucking time these days? outside of this forum, and without irony! seems like its become such a blog-worthy adjective in the recent year or so. i swear before 2011 i never saw that word being used unless it was followed by 'the hedgehog' 
 
(unless i just never paid the proper attention)

PARTITION
In "Partition", the camera takes us inside a palatial estate that almost looks like it could have been the setting for the "Born to Die" video. See the exterior and interior below:

 
In the first of several scenes curiously similar to ones out of "National Anthem", we find Mrs. Carter seated at an immaculately set table, barely noticed by her rapper husband peering over his newspaper:

 
In her mind, she embarks on a sexual fantasy. Again she channels Rosalita:

 
Her rapper husband feels up her leg in a vehicle:

 
She puts on a show for him, donning a sequined flapper headdress like Lizzy wears in this photo:

 
Silhouette techniques like something out of "Summertime Sadness" are employed:

 
Beyoncé pole dances like Lana in Tropico over a sexy French spoken interlude like in "Carmen":

 
Like A$AP Rocky in "National Anthem", her rapper husband watches her performance voyeuristically, smoking a cigar:

 
 
JEALOUS
Beyoncé is a jealous, jealous, jealous gurrrrrl. This video begins in the same estate reminiscent of "Born to Die" as in "Partition". In one scene, the former Miss Knowles is draped over a pinball machine like Lana in "Ride":

 
In another we see a "tunnel lined with yellow lights":

 
 
ROCKET
Like "Blue Jeans", "Rocket" opens on a black & white close-up of a reflection of the artist's face in a ripple of water:

 
Later in each video we watch the artist submerge her face in water in slow motion:

 
 
MINE
Like Lana in the poster for Tropico, we find Beyoncé re-enacting Mary in the Pieta:

 
Also, is that another Shaun Ross cameo?
 
 
XO
In "XO", Beyoncé orchestrates perhaps the largest NYC land grab since Dutch settlers bought Manhattan Island from Native Americans for 24 bucks, stealing the famed amusement destination from the Queen of Coney Island herself:

 

 

 

 
 
***FLAWLESS & SUPERPOWER
Since I can't find any Lana plagiarism in either of these videos, I'm just gonna go ahead and assume they must be borrowed from the "Dark Paradise" and "Cola" videos that never materialized. @@Ultraviolence Watch these. One of them may be the closest thing you'll ever get to your precious "Cola" video.
 
 
HEAVEN
Here we have the biggest plot heist since Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds ripped off Gremlins. In "Heaven", Beyoncé portrays a woman mourning her deceased female bff in a series of flashbacks. Sound familiar? Of course it does. It's the plot of Lana's "Summertime Sadness" video. Not content to copycat one Lana video, "Heaven" filches from a few. A shot in a church mirrors the chapel in "Born to Die":

 
In a flashback, Beyoncé's girlfriend sprays alcohol at a campfire party echoing scenes in "Ride":

 
And we see her and her gal pal riding in a car like Lana & Jaime King:

 
She only barely tries to disguise her copying Lana's recitation of the Lord's Prayer in Tropico by saying it in Spanish. Oh, and speaking of Spanish, here's Rosalita yet again:

 
 
BLUE
Sure, there's another "tunnel lined with yellow lights":

 
The sequined bra is back:

 
And she evokes Lizzy's showgirl style:

 
But most saliently, this song is about Beyoncé's, uh, baby Blue love, the black baby daughter she had with a rapper. What a blatant "National Anthem" ripoff!

 
 
GROWN WOMAN
Last but not least, the video for "Grown Woman" consists of home footage of Beyoncé's childhood performances, a clear homage to Lana's DIY videos.
 
 
 

Beyoncé is certainly no stranger to accusations of plagiarism in her videos. Considering the large number of videos comprising her eponymous visual album, it would not be surprising if some of them were less than original. Did she copy Lana Del Rey?
 
Compare the album cover design and font to a Paradise box set booklet:

With Tropico, the "Ride" video, the "Blue Velvet" promo for H&M, and the "Song of Myself" promo for L'Officiel set to the intro to "Cola", Lana released some sort of video for almost every song on Paradise. One could argue that even the idea of releasing videos for the entire album is derivative. Now let's look at those videos.
 
 
PRETTY HURTS
Much like the opening bars of "Ride", the opening bars begin with the image of Beyoncé singing into a slender microphone, wearing a mostly white dress against sparkly blue stage curtains:

 
The song's themes—eating disorders and the dark side of being a beauty queen—are straight out of "Boarding School", "Brite Lites", and "Pin-Up Galore". Indeed, here we see Mrs. Carter in Ms. Grant's short-cut meth-haired beauty queen style complete with sash accessory:

 
Beyoncé also replicates Lana's arched back & cupped hand underwater poses from the "Blue Jeans" video:

 
She not only borrows Tropico co-star Shaun Ross, but doubles down on the African albinism by casting Diandra Forrest. To top it off, Beyoncé even has the audacity to lift Lizzy's iconic trademark sequined bra:

 
 
GHOST
In "Ghost", Sasha Fierce is not herself, assuming the identity of Lana's Rosalita alter ego from her "Song of Myself" video for L'Officiel:

 
 
HAUNTED
The "Countdown" singer's video for "Haunted" begins with a hauntingly familiar countdown straight outta one of Lizzy's DIY "Gramma" videos:

 
Then in true diva style, Beyoncé makes her male servant light her cigarette for her like a little bitch like Barrie at a Lana show:

 
The whole video imitates the imitated Lynchian style of Lana's "Blue Velvet" promo for H&M complete with the requisite Doppelgangers:

 
Yet it borrows scenes from "National Anthem" & Tropico. Black guys gambling? Check.

 
Strippers giving lapdances to white businessmen? Check.

 
People in whiteface? Check.

 
Bubbles? Check.

 
Originality? ...Anyone? Bueller?
 
 
DRUNK IN LOVE
In addition to lyrics that sound like a first draft of "Brite Lites" ("Flashing lights, flashing lights, you got me faded, faded, faded"), this intoxicating concoction's potency is poured from "National Anthem", where Lana grinds on another snifter-wielding rapper, A$AP Rocky:

 
 
BLOW
The cotton candy confection of the music masks Lana-like lyrics ("Every time I close my eyes", "I'ma let you be the boss of me", "Give me that daddy long stroke" and an interlude in French) in a video easily summarized as "pin-up girls at the roller derby". We also see a close-up of a disco ball a la her DIY "Yayo" video:

 
And Beyoncé perched on the hood of a car in a fuck-me pose like Lana in the "Born to Die" video:

 
In this case, we're lucky that "Blow" doesn't Soileau. Bradley sucks.
 
 
NO ANGEL
In an inversion of Lana's "angels forever" refrain, the "Halo" songstress proclaims, "You're no angel either, baby." She asks, "Tell me do you want to ride?" Like Lana in "Ride", Beyoncé is Queen of the Gas Station, knocking off Lana's hot long curly hair and cut-off jeans look. Unlike Lana, at least she's responsible enough to only be figuratively smokin' at the pump.

 
We see chicks on the back of motorcycles:

 
Tacky word bling:

 
And pole dancers making it rain:

 
 
YONCÉ
In "Yoncé", she continues the ghetto theme, banging around with her gang of ghetto girls like Lana in Tropico:

 
Who does Beyoncé think she is to appropriate all these signifiers of ghetto culture from gangsta Nancy Sinatra? Rather uppity if you ask me.
 
 
CONTINUED...

Here's the January 2012 BBC article saying "Her left hand is tattooed with a capital letter 'M' for her grandmother, Madeleine [sic]".
 
But in a status update today, @ flagged this 2011 i-D Magazine interview where she said the 'M' stood for "Magic, 'cos I need it [laughs]".
 
I've always been skeptical of the grandmother explanation from day one. It always struck me as the kind of post hoc explanation someone might concoct for a tattoo they regret or for which they're embarrassed about the real original inspiration. That "Gramma" may be about her other grandmother and she once claimed it stood for "Magic" do nothing to lessen my skepticism that we're getting the real story here.
 
Like the OP, my pet theory had long been that it stood for Mike Mizrahi. Until I saw this:

 
This was briefly the avatar for the YouTube account that originally posted "Let My Hair Down". (Receipts here and here. Note: Alex DeLarge is not my real name.) This account apparently belongs to Adam Tagliamonte, a.k.a "Tags", from Lizzy Grant and the Phenomena. This suggests the stylized 'M' symbol may predate her relationship with Mizrahi. Unfortunately, Tags was not that helpful when I asked him some questions, including about the symbol's significance. Supposedly, those recording sessions that leaked back in January came from Tags. If whoever got those from him hasn't burned their bridges with him in the course of them leaking it'd be cool if they could try to ask him about this. Until then the magic 'M' remains a mystery...

no need to wonder it’s a fact

Probably a good idea if you're fucking your way to the top.

This thread will be the reason I'm not hired someday.

can u guys just write diss tracks instead of fighting [2]

Gaga is not a uncultured fuck like most pop stars who barelly knows how to write their own names. She is a parir with Lana on that matter which makes me wanna make a point: Yes education makes a difference LOL. Like Gaga or not like Gaga ( I don't)  she can give a decent interview (when she wants it and when her ego is taking a vacation somewhere sunny), talk about subjects other than music. If you ask me she is even more outspoken and articulated than Lana.
 
When Gaga wants too ,which is almost never, she can be interesting because she got herself the trouble to educate her johnny walker brain. Her songs and outfits can be interesting when she wants too and actually puts effort on it.
 
I dislike Gaga because her lyrics are crap these days. Her speech is beyond delusional and her ego is the size of planet earth. All that doesn't take away her talent tho she is just not using her talent. IMO these days she is lazy with her bacon which is music. The rest ( fame, outfits, interviews, production and all the crap)  took the center of her world and music got into second plan.
 
Gaga is not a sell out IMO she is a smart business women that saw a hole in the market and reinvented herself to fill that hole. The Fame Monster was a good album. Born This way is embarrassing if you take in consideration that Gaga is one of the few pop artists out there that is a actual musician. One of the few that can put melodies to her own songs, play instruments and if she wants actually she can produce herself. Also she writes her own crapy songs but at least she writes them
 
Same with Lana. She is not as complete as a musician as Gaga but MY FUCKING GOD Lana does know how to write songs, damn good songs. She is also good with visuals, Lana is a good visual artist. That makes a difference IMO. Lana is a incredible song writer. Look at how many leaks we have besides AKA, Sirens and BTD and Paradise albuns. Lana is not even 30 and has over what 250 songs out there if you put all in the same trunck?? So many good songs guys incredible.
 
I don't think Gaga whines at all compared to Lana. She is a ego maniac but not a cry baby at all. The I was bullied is a way to connect with the audience that are orphans of Michael Jackson. Because imo she got the MJ type of fans not Madonnas LOL. Lana on the other hand...cries a river every single interview.
 
I can't care less for artpop because imo is going to be shit. But I am looking for to hear her jazz album which I think has good chances to be really good.

My fucking god, there are a few reasons Lana is better than Lady Gaga and you managed to list exactly zero. I can say all the same things about Lana; in fact, it's almost like you're begging me to.
 
10-minute pretentious music videos?
 

 
Generic crap dance songs?
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7071BFk97c
 
Considering herself to be an avant-garde artist?
 
 
 Playing the victim?
 
 
No sell out required?
 

 
 
Everyone keep doing the most, meanwhile I'm not allowing this to be some kind of uninformed circle jerk. I won't say some of the things you people are saying about Gaga are untrue but there is some self-awareness that is sorely absent.

hnnng
 
You were the indie queen of Coney Island
All the girls thought they could sing, but they’re really not shit
I don’t get it
 
You’re looking like a duck, you’re talking like a baby
How the fuck is your song in a H&M commercial, crazy?
I don’t get it, your taste once exquisite
 
What happened to Brooklyn, what happened to New York?
What happened to my scene, what happened to sadcore, core?
 
You called me the queen of the downtown scene, babe
How the fuck would you go switch it up and then replace me?
I don’t get it, I’m so legit
 
Tell me, was it ‘cause I wasn’t platinum in jewels?
That perhaps you thought I was a little bit even uncool
Kid, was that it?
 
Elizabeth, you suck, I know you’re selling twenty million
Wish they could have seen you when we booed you off at SNL
You’re hurt, I know my words don’t hurt, yeah
 
Oh, girl, I see you walking around in your diamonds
Thinking that you’re number one
You’re so funny, ‘cause honey, you’re not
 
What happened to Brooklyn, the last frontier?
They said you could make it anywhere if you could make it here
But where, no magic in the air
 
What happened to Brooklyn, what happened to our scene, baby?
Have we all gone Lana crazy?
Remember when the streets used to be dangerous and we were born bad
And we were born bad?
 
Sadcore, sadcore
The boys used to punch each other in the face and girls were walking around wasted
And everyone had a good night, come back in sunlight
Sadcore, core, core
 
I love you Lana but
 
I'm inclined to believe what @@DUKE / Lady Gaga said about the Brooklyn scene. Idk, I don't think there's much you can do to discredit the earliest struggling beginning of Gaga's career (other than her killing Lina Morgana ).

personally my thoughts on the whole thing after reflecting on both Gaga and Lana's EERILY SIMILAR career paths is that Lana's attitude and perspective must be drastically different now than it was when she wrote this song. If she still feels this way- there is a serious lack of self-awareness on this issue. Take out the gaga references and this could be any girl from that same scene writing about Lana now.
 
 
 

Haven't listened to it yet but I really wish it didn't leak. It's going to get really old really fast that people are so bothered about it.
 
But honestly LOL if you seriously think Gaga is SOOOO much better than Lana and that Lana "has a long way to go" before she can shade her then why even be on this forum like seriously. I like Gaga & her music but the ridiculous amount of praise her fans give her disgusts me. People act like she's god. Also, Lana can make whatever kind of songs she wants, she doesn't have to like who you stan for and this song wasn't even supposed to be heard anyway so shut upppp oh my god.
 
Honestly Lana > Gaga any day. The only thing Gaga has on her is sales.

Me neither. IMO was a basic (pretty cool) shade. Thats all LOL.  I can see Gaga laughing at this while no one is watching tbh.

The insults make it a decent song 

My thoughts on the matter, even though it's been talked about to death:

Being bitter about someone's success is never a good look. While it's understandable that Lizzy may have been frustrated about her own stagnant career and most likely wrote this song in a sort of therapeutic attempt to get these feelings out, I sincerely doubt that this was the extent of her reasons for penning this, like @@TrailerParkDarling claims. I think she was specifically mad at Gaga, the pettiness of the lyrics coupled with the argument with Arthur over her gives me this gut feeling tells me otherwise. Girl was PRESSED. 

I'm not a Gaga fan -- I don't mind her though -- but I really don't like this song because of the nature of its lyrics and I'd rather I never heard it. (Granted, it was never supposed to be heard anyway). It's too petty a song for me to enjoy. 

As for the Gaga-Lana comparisons, @@SitarHero did a really good job of shutting down the poorly-thought ~criticism~ of Gaga. It was laughable that those comparisons were even made! I don't know too much about Lady Gaga (Sitar can attest to this, seeing as I can't even pronounce her name properly  ) but I always had the impression that despite the seemingly "huge ego", i.e., pretentiousness, being  ~avant garde~, Born this Way being the album of the decade, etc, that for the most part, these are calculated acts and I think Gaga possesses a lot more self-awareness than she is given credit for. I don't think Gaga thinks that she's the be-all and end-all of pop music. She's far more self-aware and intelligent to truly think that, but in the same vein as @'s speculation: it's a part of a marketing strategy, whether intentional or not: if you call yourself x or y enough times, your fans, and in turn, the media, picks up on it. I don't know if any of you follow Beyonce's career, but she has the words "(future) legend" following her in the media, and why? Her team purposely marketed her as A LEGEND. So while Beyonce is a now undisputedly a ~legend~ in the media, Gaga is ~the saviour of pop music~ and all sorts of other huge titles. It's cool and I respect that. I don't think Gaga herself honestly buys into huge hype surrounding her, but rather feeds the machine because it gets attention and sales. I don't think she really, truly believes a lot of the outlandish statements she makes, where as I read Lana saying something like this:
 
 
and I think she 100% believes it. Gaga might say something akin to that but it's a part of an act she's too smart to believe or buy into.

TL;DR: Lana thinks she's this special snowflake poet but appears to be more grounded due to a more restrained attitude with the media, Gaga talks herself up like she's a God of Pop Music but possesses the self-awareness to realize that in essence, she's just another artist turning the gears in the media/music-industry machine. (And why not do it under the guise of pretentiousness and a larger-than-life-ego?) I wouldn't take each artist at face value. Feel free to disagree.

I respect your opinions but I can't help but immediately refute them:
1. Just because she only explicitly names one guy, first and surname, in all the songs she's written doesn't mean she isn't writing about others. LBR, try rhyming something with "Mizrahi". I will point out that she qualified VG, BTD, and BJ as a trilogy, but not a trilogy about the same man. There's a rather lengthy post within expanding on that, if you're open to giving it a look.
2. She's said a lot of damn things, to be honest. The count goes up to two when you consider that she also said "Video Games" is about two different guys. And while "Blue Jeans" may be vague in it's criminal references, Sirens certainly isn't, although I'm interested in hearing you explain how "Now he's in a jail cell for some thirty years now / Is this what you wished, to be serving time?", "K's a friend of mine, I think about him as he does time", and "Last year they decided that his time was up and he got re-tried / Double homicide / Now he's onto death row, not to hang around, though / Is this what you wished, did you wanna die?" are some grand metaphors for Jimmy.
 
I would say that Jimmy was an important guy. But I think they all were--at least, K, Mike, and Jimmy. I'd even agree that a lot of Born to Die is likely about him, but to discredit her long-term relationship with Mike and some glaring, obvious references to prison that totally avoid any subtlety at all just because something she said in an interview is not so wise in these analyses.
 
And I absolutely refuse to incite a race war in this thread, those posts were the epitome of harmless speculation.