Vertimus

And let's not forget a key line from OB: "I know, I know that you hate me." Lana is Cinderella and will win in the end. She's already winning artistically--do we hear artists and legends like Joan Baez and Bruce Springsteen, like Stevie Nicks, the Weeknd, and Courtney Love praising Taylor, Billie, et al? These artists didn't praise Lana when it was convenient and advantageous to do so, in front of a massive industry audience, but from their homes, from the studio, from the road. I'm very happy Taylor praised Lana but calling her a "legacy artist" or whatever she said exactly makes Lana sound like she's been performing as Lana Del Rey for 30 years instead of 12. Lana isn't even 40 yet. She's not Dolly Parton or Joni Mitchell. She and Taylor are only 4 years apart in age.

Lana needs to re-connect with some ‘negative’ female archetypes like the Erinyes, the Gorgons, and the harpies, the Lana of ‘Live or Die’ and ‘Velvet Crowbar,’ and kick some music industry ass. We know she has it in her; she’s “run with the wolves.” I think the industry simply does not respect her for the reason I said above. She’s a lady, she belongs to another, earlier era of civility—and they “take her kindness for weakness.” and they’re envious of her for a dozen reasons. It’s a bit of a perfect storm.

Lana is like that nice person, male or female, in class or in the office, who is too nice and has an good heart and gets stepped on by all the sharks and overlooked when it’s time to give out the promotions.

So sad, setting her up with 5 nominations just to let her down hard. Was it intentional? As far as I’m concerned, the industry and media still hates her because she’s everything they’re not. God bless Taylor for bringing her on stage and RECOGNIZING HER.

No. He had his era, and it was long. He wrote some amazing songs before he became really popular (I.e., sold out) and started marrying models.

All they do is pat one another on the back, the whole industry, just like the Oscars. It’s as if they have no sense of self or inner security. Desperate, desperate for awards and attention.

It’s inexcusable.

I loathe all the political crap being spilled here—I believe 100% in Art for Art’s Sake.

It’s politics and career ass-sucking.

So much bullshit PC talk. It’s really grating.

If LDR gets AOTY, it will make up for everything, but I feel 95% of America (and other viewers) is/are still saying, “WHO is LANA DEL REY?”

All this reminds me of the ‘What the fuck happened here?’ lyric from ‘I Talk to Jesus.’

Let’s hope for the last one.

All of this is why Marlon Brando said award shows were bullshit, and he was talking about the very best, the Oscars.

Yeah, I don’t think she’s upset right now. She has a long history with the press and industry. She’s not stupid. She’s probably grateful to be nominated and part of the event.

It’s so embarrassing. Joni needs no introduction and certainly doesn’t need to be called “one of the greatest creators of all time” or whatsoever asinine thing Brandy said.

What a trial watching the Grammys is. One hour of content spread over 210 minutes.

That's also what I'm hoping for. I think Lasso is a great title. It says a great deal simply. After OB, which I did not find cohesive, I'd also like Lasso to be cohesive.

The sad thing about all of these award shows, especially today, is that there is no effort to be objective on the part of the judges. Look at all the award nominations Joni Mitchell is receiving for a very tepid live album, on which other singers perform most of the songs. BUT. She's Joni Mitchell, she's a legend, she's influenced several generations of artists as well as the general public (including me), she didn't die after a very serious illness, she's in old age, and so of course, she must be nominated for awards no matter how unmusical and fourth-rate her 2023 live album is. So political correctness (and kowtowing to same), popular opinion, popular movie tie-ins, big business and commerce, publicity, campaigns to win, race, ethnicity, age, gender, reputation, all these things go into choosing the winners--as they did in choosing the nominees. Talent seems to matter last, or the artistic worth of a particular album, song, or project. I'd of course like Lana to win one or more Grammies, but I stand with Marlon Brando in thinking these award shows are arbitrary and not worth much. Even the Academy Awards don't count for much any more.

She's up against some stiff competition, popular movie tie-ins, and industry favorites. I think her best shots are Best Alternative Music Performance and Best Alternative Music Album. I do think she'll win at least one, but I don't see a sweep

Understood. I still love VFR and IFLDWM, they’re still two of my Top 5 of all her tracks. But it is OB that I don’t care, and I place it at the very bottom of her music catalog.

Yeah, Country in terms of music can mean anything today, and hopefully, the album will be more 21st-century Americana than what passes for Country today, which I consider Country Pop, and which is so stilted and repetitive. The snippet from the song with Laird sounded a lot more like 21st-century Americana to my ear. I don't mind collaborations, but I assume that means, among others, Nikki Lane, who I'm not a fan of at this point, but I hope there are no covers, or only one at best. CRTMH was a flop for me. Still, great news, something to look forward to, thanks, Elle and team.

Yes, Hitchcock is a sterling example. And The Birds still bites harder than most much more excessive films today. Look at fashion and the art world. The latter doesn't exist anymore except as high finance and bourgeois acquisition, while the former has almost nothing to do with 99% of the population in the West. That's one reason why shows like The New Look are important, to remind or educate people about the world that once was, and, contrary to so much education today, was certainly not all bad (by any means). I've seen historical example after example of 'artists' being given free rein and then totally ruining their careers because, at that point in their lives, they still needed some tight reining in by producers or studios who were creative professionals and/or knew better. A great historical example, if ultimately a minor one, is the Monkees, who were a studio-created band. After their first 15 months of global success, they demanded to write and release the songs they desired and take over the direction of their television series. As a result, they collapsed creatively, and the show was canceled. They attempted something of a comeback with the plotless, would-be-trippy movie Head, which they named after oral sex, and it and their last-gasp effort with a one-shot television special were total artistic and commercial failures. And that was the end.

I agree; sharp, almost too clear. Honestly, I think most creators strive for artistic vision today over pleasant listening experience, and that includes filmmakers too, which is why so much of today's art fails and fails to reach a sizable audience of any kind. Look back to the great Golden Age of Hollywood when films were routinely geared towards a general public, and yet masterpiece after masterpiece was produced, and the writers, actors, and directors were still allowed to put some of their signature creativity into their work. I think Lana's rise and success--as well as the respect she's received from her peers in the industry--is due to her being a genuine artist with an authentic vision. Sometimes she creates middle-of-the-road songs like Tomorrow Never Came, Arcadia, or Margaret but the balance of her work is very visionary, like When the World Was at War, 13 Beaches, Gods & Monsters, Money Power Glory, Ultraviolence, Cola, Bel Air, Heroin, Swan Song, and Old Money among others. It's difficult to hear those songs and then just walk away from Lana as an artist. No one else is doing what Lana is doing or 'world building' the way she is in terms of her vision.

So Lana is singing Blues Skies? I prefer the Jim Reeves version to those by Ella Fitzgerald, Sinatra, and Willie Nelson. Based on The White Cliffs of Dover, can we assume it's going to be a jazz version a la the Fitzgerald version? I can see the wisdom in that since it was composed as jazz. It's an American Classic too; I wonder if Lana considered it for that fabled album that may never see the light of day.