Elsemarie159

You can't listen to this album without crying.

i don’t get why lana gets so mad when people say she has a persona? like it's baffling to me. she obviously does have a persona, or at least had for the first three albums she put out. and so many well respected artists had personas as well so it’s not like it’s an insult to her art.. if anything crafting a persona takes a lot of skill and careful storytelling so it’s a compliment.
 
it’s like she wants to have her cake and eat it too. to be considered a completely genuine artist whose every song is autobiographical AND sing about drug lord boyfriends and taking on the role of a classic femme fatale at the same time. girl you gotta pick one

I saw her in 2013 in Hamburg and last year in Berlin and I was kind of disappointed after the show, to say the least. The difference was huge in my opinion. I remember her singing Heart Shaped Box in 2013 and the goosebumps I had . I do understand that she is afraid of not hitting the notes but not even trying anymore is a let down for me. And I guess that the more afraid she is, the more difficult it gets to hit the notes. Like you all said before, maybe a vocal coach would be helpful, showing her techniques or taking away the fear. Because I don't think it's because of pure laziness that she doesn't sing that much anymore.
 
The positive surprise for me was her singing Yayo - only her and her guitar, which felt very intimate and real to me. I really liked the little medley, too. After a lot of thinking I bought tickets for her show next year in Berlin - I'll go there without expectations so that I won't be disappointed again. But I do pray for a live performance of Shades of Cool

I know we will most likely still write how impressed or disappointed we are of a certain performance in its own thread, but I thought that maybe we could have a discussion here. And I mean a discussion, please don't just write stuff like "I hate Lana's dancers" or whatever and just end it there.
I just thought we could have a discssion on how she got where she is today. We have slowly seen her skipping lines in songs, relying more on pre-recorded backup vocals, sometimes showing up on stage in what I think we all could say a uninspiring outfit (yes, I'm looking at you, black-sweater-and-leggings look). What are your thoughts on how she went from a dolled up, crying-from-her-soul singer to a mellow, soft-singing casual looking singer? Do you think she'll go back to what she used to sing before? (2012, 2014, 2015, whatever year you'd like to think of)
 
I don't think she's always bad these days. I think she was pretty great at Lolla Brazil in 2018 - she skipped around on stage and seemed energetic in her own way and had pretty good vocal moments. I don't think she was great at the beginning of her career either although her way of singing was pretty unique.
I think it might be two things - one, she clearly isn't the same person she was when she recorded BTD and she might have played a persona she had in her mind to fit the aesthetic and the images she was singing about, things she isn't exactly singing about today, and thus, her way of singing changed. That southern accent she could have as Lizzy was cute, but it wasn't exactly her, it was yet another persona (in my opinion) and I guess she ditched that once she became Lana.
Second, I wonder if she knows that just seeing someone you've seen perhaps daily in videos and pictures on the internet might hype a fan up enough that they'll still be satisfied with her minimal effort performances? Fans travel across the country and/or overseas to see her (I did) and some go to several of her shows, so she kind of knows there will always be people out there who will love her, no matter what. Maybe she knows that she can skip lines and fans will still be grateful and dream of seeing her again. Maybe she knows that just seeing her can be enough to make a fan's day when they've been dreaming of seeing/hearing her live for years? And yeah, I know I kind of don't make sense here, I would personally expect more as a fan if I got to see her for the first time and she's barely singing - I'd pretty much only get a live instrumental with her band.
 
So how do you think she got to here? Is she "just" performing on festivals for the cash they bring? Is she getting too comfortable? (nothing bad with feeling confident on stage though, she finally has it) Is she just getting lazy? Or is it something else?
I don't know, but I just feel like this can't be good when even reporters/reviewers start to pick up that half (or nearly) of the setlists are BTD songs and start to question why she's not singing.
 
Apologies for writing an essay.
 
Edit: let me just add that I'm glad she added some new songs to the LATTM tour, I've always wondered what PWYC would sound like live and now I know (although I haven't heard it live, just through videos). Her medley was pretty as well. I don't think it would hurt to switch out a few more songs to keep it interesting, especially for fans who see her several times.

The more I listen to How To Disappear, the more I like it. Such a grower.

I want a hundred of those

My ranking... 
 
 
1. California = Venice Bitch = Love Song = Cinnamon Girl = How to Disappear = The Next Best American Record = The Greatest = Happiness is a Butterfly
2. Norman Fucking Rockwell = Mariners Apartment Complex 
3. Bartender = Hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have, but I have it
4. Fuck it I love you = Doin Time 

 
 
I disagree. 
 
You can reference another artist, through using a specific instrument, The song doesn't have to sound the same. 

Bartender in the evening is an experience. It always hits me like the first time 

Oh my, reading this thread I just realised that I have a weird music taste. It's basically Lana and a handful of metal/rock bands like Rammstein, Disturbed, Metallica, Trivium and so on

Well, authors, songwriters, poets, or whatever actually do write using the first person perspective and the texts are not about their personal life. So I still think that lines in songs can be about other people - using first person perspective. And I didn't say that the whole song is not about her because I do believe the verses are defo about her. In the lyrics she also adresses someone else:
 
You moved to California, but it’s just a state of mind
And you know everyone who does it
You can't feel it and you’re tired
 
At last it was just a thought that came to me reading the interview.

the ones who don't want jack on WHF are really dumb omg nfr received 87 score and will probably get nominated for grammy and we have "the greatest" kind of rock things here. aren't you guys love toxicviolence? well she made a new UV with jack, with more mature lyrics. but you guys just really want white noise rick or some messy rock producers :/// some of y'all really don't want her to make great, quality albums. all you want is tumblr adolescent depression album. i'm tired.

Imagine not wanting Jack to produce WHF, after the obvious amazingness that is NFR. Talk about homophobia and severe lack of taste!

Ugh Bartender is STILL that song

I wasn't very happy with how the cover turned out so I made an edit and I think it looks a lot cuter now. it's my first time using photoshop so please be nice
 

Today a radio station in Germany talked about the album and played snippets of The Greatest and California and then they choose to play How To Disappear.

I wouldn't doubt if this has been brought up before, but does anyone else think Chase resembles J*sh a lot???? 
 
 
 

I just read the new NME interview where she mentions that Fuck it I love you is her most dishonest song.
 
One song on ‘Norman Fucking Rockwell!’ might make you think west coast life isn’t the cure-all people make it out to be though. On ‘Fuck It, I Love You’, she sighs, “I moved to California but it’s just a state of mind/Turns out everywhere you go, you take yourself/That’s not a lie,” as if expectations of a mental glow-up post-relocation were not met. Instead, she describes it as her “most dishonest song”, sung as if it’s about herself when it’s actually about a friend.   
I could imagine that those lines might be about Barrie/ from Barries POV. He never felt 100% at home in California and took his depression with him where ever he went. But maybe it's just my mind that wants to see Barrie references everywhere.

I think the headphones in MTWBT are a DIY craft project from what were these original beauts:
 

Surfbort

the only time she smiles on a magazine cover is when she's literally lying on top of 4 dicks 

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.

It's because she always shits on her work and makes clueless decisions to make sure her career become more and more irrelevant. Even now she keeps posting promo shots in colour on fb and insta. I barely watched the video once and im done. The b/w is just too bland. I have no interest to watch it again.

The video is forgettable. No story, is basically a collages o images and ideas without anything cohesive. I don't get what the girls are doing in the video but she needed to put her mildly talented sister in it somehow. Why didn't she let the BW parts in color? She would expressed magnificently her inner campy, white trash trailer park persona that she so carefully curated so far. I miss her boldness from the National Anthem and Ride videos. The siting with closed eyes in a coma, staring languidly to nowhere and singing like a heavily stoned person ala 60-70's shtick is getting so boring Lana. But she's working so hard guys...to fuck up her career

I expected more from Honeymoon

i hate [most of] uv and wish lana never made it