Vertimus

I don't think she would care that much about presumably negative fan reaction to 'Country Lana' when her music doesn't really fall into any category to begin with--it's is not Alternative, it's not genuinely Pop by and large, it's not Rock--it's not Indie if that term is even used anymore---it's surely not Americana--she seemed to have a style and category all her own with BTD, but she surrendered that sound within 18 months--UV sounded nothing like BTD/P. By her own admission, Honeymoon was "more like the first two" (Freak, Art Deco, High By the Beach), and then LFL was a complete grabbag of various sounds and styles. She changed everything up again with the more intimate, low-key songs on NFR! and basically stayed in that mode for the next two albums. OB was another grabbag of sounds and styles a la LFL. With legends and respected musicians like Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, the Weeknd, Stevie Nicks, Joan Baez, Father John Misty, Taylor Swift, and Courtney Love praising her and saying publicly that they're anticipating her next release, I think it's unlikely that she'd take actual or imagined 'fan silence' too much to heart, especially when her stans know she's been referring to songs like Ride as 'essentially country' for years. I think it's more likely that she was personally unhappy with whatever the first iteration of Lasso was, and perhaps her label was as well, especially since she described the songs as less personal and broader in terms of lyrical focus. So she went back to the drawing board and TRPWS resulted--which she's still promoting as something in a County mode via the Southern Gothic tag. When has Lana not been indecisive? It seems to be an ingrained part of her personality. As I've mentioned, of all the artists I've followed religiously, none--0--have ever announced and then postponed albums or changed their announced titles, said things like "I don't know when it's coming out," etc. Lana is the only one. I've been used to it for several years now. Also--it's not as if her cover of Country Roads was strong (even Courtney Love criticized it)--some fans may have interpreted it as a sign of things to come on Lasso, and just decided to remain mum.

But weren't we promised those two singles before the end of 2024?

If the album has 13 tracks, whether one or more is Tough or Country Roads or not, there's a chance we will all love 3-5 of the new tracks--or at least one--so that's something to look forward to. I was listening to I Can Fly from Big Eyes yesterday, and while I've never been a great fan of that song, I heard in it a lot of good things we haven't gotten from Lana in a while, at least to my ear. There's a lightness, ease, distance, and beauty to I Can Fly that I'd like to see on TRPWS.

Why don't we all get drunk and screw?

Something must be going on--either in terms of getting TRPWS out or in delaying or reconfiguring it again. It's unlikely she's kicking back, getting to know Jeremy better, enjoying married life and her new house and surroundings--it's possible, but unlikely. We know of very few periods--if any--since 2012 when she did a lot of nothing.

Most romances are doomed, just look at your own experiences, those of your friends and family, plus the ratio of successful romances to those that stop suddenly or break off in time. Look at all the lonely people in the world, and all the lost souls--NYC is full of them. It's hard enough--it was hard enough--in fairly homogeneous societies and cultures, which are disappearing fast, and that much harder in broader cultures. It seems today people everywhere have more differences than commonalities. So Lana's sadcore songs will always hit with a certain wounded or disappointed segment of the population. I'm the kind of person who likes the negative side of life acknowledged, and that is the main thing that initially drew me to Lana--the BTD title track, Summertime Sadness, the "I'm tired of feeling like I'm fucking crazy' from Ride, Old Money, Swan Song, 13 Beaches, White Mustang, The Greatest, WFWF, and Suburban House though Lana didn't write it. Over time, I've learned to love the happier Lana songs as well--from American through Violets For Roses and bittersweet songs like Hollywood Bowl. I'd also like to see some legitimately sad or at least 'honest about life' songs on TRPWS that really hit, and I think we will. They're her natural métier. Henry seems to be that sort of a song. I also suspect this is true. For me, it was not a change for the better, but I can see how she and others on her team might have found his work overwrought---though I don't.

I agree--probably a combination of things, some we know about and one or more we don't. I have a feeling that the "Gee--so many artists are releasing country albums right now" was a ruse or obfuscation, a face-saving measure--which is fair.

What about the potential resentment some Stagecoach attendees may have that Lana is headlining Stagecoach in the first place--especially with no additional TRPWS news or a single by April 25th? Or even with a single? Because as we know, Lana's singles usually have limited appeal and reach outside of Spotify and the Lanasphere. If I were a tried-and-true Country music fan, I'd probably be rolling my eyes that Lana Del Rey is headlining such a venue and asking 'WTF? Let her headline Coachella.' It's in situations like this that people may accuse her of 'jumping on the bandwagon' or 'doing the trendy thing.' Releasing Lasso about the time of her Waffle House waitressing gig would have been perfect. That was the perfect set up for her to headline Stagecoach.

She as much as said, and over a year ago, that the industry embracing country music has had an influence on Lasso and TRPWS and her ambivalence about them. So that's not speculation. What we don't know is how much of Lasso was tossed or rewritten, or how much Lasso was altered or reconceived in the process of turning it into TRPWS. And maybe she's reconceived TRPWS again since the last announcement. Who cares if the industry is going country as a trend? As the oldest form of American music, anyone doing a country album at any time isn't much of an original idea, regardless of what genre they're associated in the public mind. Who cares if some critic or fan says, "Lana's jumping on the country bandwagon!" It should be a non-issue.

My feelings exactly.

Exactly--lush orchestration--think how lovely Wait For Life still is. It's one of the unsung stars in her crown. Or 13 Beaches. I don't expect we'll get much or any of that on TRPWS, given Lana's comments about it, near and far, but we can hope. Some want a more basic, cleaner sound with Lana speaking directly from the heart, and others, more the chamelon soul Lana of old, dramatic, role-playing, powerful, Romantic with a capital R, intense. I'm in the latter camp.

As I see it, she'll probably take breaks from him, leaving him in Louisiana while she returns for periods of some duration to Los Angeles--she very likely has to return to LA for all sorts of things like fittings--I can't see every costume designer/maker flying to Louisiana to accommodate her or her expecting them to. And so see friends, to gain inspiration, be around more sophisticated people, and to get away from the more stultifying aspects of Louisiana, depending on where exactly they're living and the time of the year. There's a strange vibe in that part of the Deep South that has purely to do with nature--swamps full of high humidity, blazing heat, stagnant water, alligators, mosquitos, and Spanish moss are wonderful to visit and experience, but don't suit, I believe, the 'average person.' I think most people would find them oppressive to live in full-time. I grew up in Nashville and South Florida, and I couldn't wait to get away from the extreme humidity of the Miami warmer months, though the heat, in and of itself, I liked. That makes sense right now. She's been writing about wanting to leave LA for a while if her lyrics reflect her actual inner feelings. Better Louisiana than Oklahoma.

But did she move permanently to Louisiana? It seems doubtful she would make so complete and drastic a move. My money is on her maintaining at least one Los Angeles home and moving between them.

Kazoos?

History has proven that we cannot.