Vertimus

Barrie is a brilliant vocalist in my opinion---his work with Kassidy was amazing--but his solo career, thus far, has been a creative nightmare (no pun intended). He's literally dropped off the world stage. So I hope he's actually put some work into this record, as his last album sounded like it was recorded in a bathroom with a handheld tape recorder from the early 70s. Is this 'Riverside' the same version we already have, leaked 5-6 years ago that was 3:46 minutes? It's somewhat hard to believe LDR would record a new version with him. It's a beautiful song except for the line, "I'm up a creek and you're my paddle,' which is "cringey."

Were 'you there,' 6 years back or so, were you Stanning Lana at that point? I was. FMWUTTT came out right after their feud, such as it was, and Lana did say, to paraphrase, 'Lorde criticized her for her lyrics about the Hamptons and the lifestyle Lana was projecting, and then Lorde stole her sound.' I think the FMWUTTT are pretty clear--"'I'm a dragon, you're a whore | Don't even know what you're good for | Mimicking me is a fucking bore." And then Lana changed her sound completely, from BTD/P to UV. We know that a lot of songs more like those on BTD/P, like 'I Talk to Jesus' and 'Living Legend' were dropped from UV, and the album was given a tougher edge. The Lorde thing went on for a long time, in different ways, like bad karma for Lana, including David Bowie saying Lorde's "sound was the future' before he died, and we know Lana admires Bowie--she had just quoted him on 'Terrence Loves You'---and Sam Smith, on SNL of all places, bringing on Lorde as a guest musician when he was the musical act that night--Sam Smith, whose Bond song won out of Lana's.

Isn't 'Fucked My Way Up To The Top' partially about Lorde and Lorde copying Lana? They did have a brief public feud about the time so many things started to go wrong for Lana, like the SNL appearance. This current 'feud' and article are probably fake, and are merely feeding off the past and trying to present it as contemporary.

Hilarious. Yes, Stans wanted an 'unreleased' album, but I think most wanted the unreleased but leaked material on a separate, stand-alone album, not mixed in with new material. Now that she's doing this, she may continue this practice going forward, with 'Serene Queen,' 'JFK,' 'Hollywood,' 'Valley of the Dolls,' 'Angels Forever,' etc. Personally, I would expect critics to take notice and at least mention this, if not drag her for it. I may not like her choices on occasion, but I stand by her total right to make whatever artistic choices she sees fit. It's lyrically very clever too. I miss the sometimes-humorous LDR of that era.

I agree with you, it is on us. But somehow I feel LDR's major creative/commercial era is over (and of course I may be wrong). The lazy COCC cover, the lack of promotion she did for that album, the horrendous NFR! release, the 'American Classics' album that wasn't released last Christmas Day, that last rambling telephone interview she did with Annie Mac, the 'question to the community'...it all seems kind of sad to me. What happened to the dynamic quality she used to embody, the verve, the sense that she was above the fray, at least to all appearances?

It may be true, or not. But we do know that she scrapped an earlier version of the album which presumably contained a lot of new material, which we may see later on another project. To me, BB the album still seems like a compromise, something lukewarm, neither hot nor cold. But we'll have to wait and see. I personally wish BB, TB and WFWF were also not on the album. When it is released, like NFR!, we'll have heard at least half of it.

Regarding "other endeavors," she mentioned that she's writing a theatrical piece--presumably a musical--and contributing songs to a new version of the famous 'Alice' books by Lewis Carroll. And she's got the new poetry book/album coming out, and the American Standards album, and she's probably started working on the follow-up to BB. Lord knows what else she's gotten into since those announcements.

Very well said. We should think of ourselves and everyone else as free. Free to think what we want and act as we want. Obviously, others will think and act in accordance with their own inner dictates and desires; that's their business. Some may think they have the high moral ground, but no one wants to hear about it, so it's best to keep it to yourself; if you actually do have it, there's no need to shout it out to the heavens. There's so much cheap moralizing around today.

I am certainly not criticizing COCC. It’s one of my 3 favorites of her albums. I’m talking about the critical reaction and the lack of ripples it made in the culture.

The Metacritic score is 81/100, which isn't bad, of course, but is like, what--a B - or a C +? After LFL and NFR!, I didn't see the massive amount of reviews, good or bad or in the middle, for COCC that those albums received.

I'd like to see that too, but I have a feeling that's not what we're going to get. I also have a feeling the critics wil more or less ignore it as they did COCC. There seems to be a general sense that she's gone 'low dynamic,' and as much as I like 'Arcadia,' I think it supports that.

Full agree.

I am still one.

‘Arcadia’ is beautiful. Clumsy lyrics, but I like what she’s expressing. I love how it ends lyrically. I like ‘Arcadia’ much more than BB. It and ‘Dealer’ are a good start, along with the 3 singles. A lot will depend on the completely new tracks. Why the date delay?

I created an album in iTunes called 'I Hear The Birds On The Summer Wind' where I keep all of Lana's unreleased tracks--regardless of how they got out into the world. There's about 80 songs on it at present. So I do actually, physically have 'Living Legend,' 'Cherry Blossom,' etc. But I'm looking forward to what the songs will sound like on BB. Even if they're identical, I'll be happy. 'Living Legend' is one of my all-time favorites of her catalog.

I wouldn't mind a little fine tuning and clarity.

I think if you have a track in your iTunes account and on your phone, you really do have it. You have a physical file on your Mac or PC.

Sweet Caroline and Sweet Carolina are different songs.

We've been told there's some big surprises coming tomorrow or shortly--could it be that one is that the Barre-James collaboration is new or recent? Is it possible he's back in her life in some capacity? He wouldn't necessarily have to have left Glasgow; they could have written it by phone and Mac. If he responded to 'California,' no one could be surprised. And Lord knows his career is diving. His 'new' album is terrible, amatuerish in the worst way.

I recall that just after UV's release, she said she was thinking of "rereleasing it with different songs," which I thought pretty peculiar--why do that and confuse everyone when you could just release another album with another title? So maybe 'Living Legend,' 'I Talk To Jesus,' 'Wait For Life,' 'Fine China,' 'Color Blue,' etc. were those songs she wanted to place on the UV rerelease. Could it be that there will be a Part II to BB, and that's why we were told 'it doesn't end' and Ben did the () thing?

Remember she said it was just her "screaming her head off," and an insider said the lyrics were not much, so 'Dealer' could be anything at all, from execellent and unprecedented to a mess. Maybe a fun mess.

We know she loves

After the public non-reception COCC received in the press, no matter what she has written for BB, few may care. They loved her for NFR!, and with that, their interest in her may have peaked. We'll see how they respond to BB. The three singles didn't get much of a critical ripple either.