Vertimus

For all we know, this 'delay' may give her the time and opportunity to re-conceive the entire album, as she did LFL, scrap the other half of the songs, and not release anything until late fall or winter of next year, with the final result being nothing like the 'revenge' album she initially conceived. At this point, considering how many 'political' songs she said she had recorded and left unused from LFL, and how quickly she composes in some cases, she might well have a bank of some 50 or more songs we've never heard and don't know even exist, and then there's everything new she's written and recorded....anything is possible with someone as fluid and mercurial as Lana, and perhaps indecisive too.

I personally hope she now leaves WW, BB and TB off the new album. We're heard them, we have them, and we're probably fairly acclimated to them now. I am. I'd rather hear completely new music. Especially if the album is relatively short in terms of tracks. The phrasing distracts me every time.

The worst thing about this news is that 'adding new songs;' or in this case, perhaps just one new song, right at the end is kinda what fucked up LFL, via 'Coachella' and 'Change,' and perhaps others. I do like 'Change' overall, but it sounded rush-recorded, last-minute, underdeveloped, and her phrasing was off ("people are powerful beins'). Some or many of us are presumably creative individuals, and so understand that what you're working on at the present moment usually absorbs all your attention and enthusiasm, and in this, Lana is probably no different. But.

Look at her LFL tour: massive crowds everywhere. I agree 100%.

Most people who attempt to 'cancel' artists, celebrities and other public figures today are petty nobodies who want power, now that they've seen that they've achieved a modicum of it. They have little sense of psychology, history, the history of the Arts, or our American laws; nor do they have respect for any of those. They are motivated by that drive for power as well as their emotions and a false, inflated sense of self stemming from the fact that they lack a genuine sense of themselves as worthwhile. You're 100% correct about "the weird entitlement/ownership" some people adopt in relation to artists and others. We know a great deal about LDR but there's a massive continent of information that we don't know and never will. So we can make generalized statements--guesses, really--about why she might have taken this or that action, or more specific guesses based on specific things she's said or done publicly, but let's face, we're all a mystery to one another. Almost 60 years after her death, educated specialists in various fields are still trying to fathom the mind, life and actions of Marilyn Monroe. The same is true of Billie Holiday, James Dean, Sam Cooke, Elvis, Marvin Gaye, Jeff Buckley and still-living figures like Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan. It's okay to speculate, and fun, but everyone should keep in mind that few if any of us know LDR as a friend or acquaintance, which, if true, would probably give us a little more insight into who she is. But no one should be condemning or attempting to ostracize her, or destroy her career or back catalog. Humble yourself and realize all you don't know. Just yesterday an IG site played a clip of Lana and Jack in the studio, and the poster believed it proved the NFR! title track and 'Dark But Just A Game' were once the same song. Maybe it's true, I didn't see proof of that in the video presented. As Joni Mitchell said long ago in 'Sweet Bird'; change 'they' to 'we' or 'I.': No one knows They can never get that close Guesses at most Guesses based on what each set Of time and change is touching…

She's what, 36 now? She's a full, definite adult, chronologically speaking, and moving into, gulp, 'middle age.' That doesn't necessarily mean anything in terms of the kind of music she'll compose and record, but it might. Hasn't she said many times she wants children? If so, the time is pretty much now, biologically speaking. And a child, or children, might change her music and vision a great deal, or just a bit, or not at all. I think we'll have a lot of great music ahead, but I can't see a lot of 'bangers.' But, you never know. Time will tell. That's how I feel as well.

Could be. That's not how I remember it, as I've only used a few sources, but it's possible. I got a mess of songs via Honeymouns.

Honeymouns had posted links to 'Thunder' and 'Serene Queen,' among many others, on his IG before it got taken down.

Serene Queen, one of her very best unreleased. What a sound it has.

If 'Thunder' is on the new album, great. I think it's one of her best unreleased tracks--the phrasing, the lyrics, the vocal intonations--everything is perfect as it is. If she's rerecorded it, I hope she doesn't otherwise change a thing. I'm another of those who feel that 'Best American Record' was completely ruined on NFR! If by chance she has altered 'Thunder' in ways I don't care for, I'll just replace the new version with the old.

I certainly agree with the UV comment--which is one that is seldom heard here. In addition to the standard UV, I've created my own version of UV called 'Ultra Violet,' which has all the deleted tracks plus Black Beauty, Old Money, West Coast, Cruel World, Is This Happiness and one or two others.

Since the advent of the 'album' itself as a kind of artistic statement (which some believe started in 1958 with Frank Sinatra's 'Frank Sinatra Sings For Only the Lonely') instead of just a loose collection of songs, musicians like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Joni Mitchell, the Velvet Underground, and Bob Dylan have placed songs with purpose as the first track and last, and the order of all the others has often mattered (look at 'Abbey Road,' for an extreme example). Sometimes the songs tell a story of a kind, sometimes it's the way the songs sound that make a difference. From a commercial standpoint, the record companies in the 1970s always wanted a banger as the first track, something that would immediately catch the listener's attention--which is just common sense. Most of these ideas have continued right into 2021. R.E.M., Jeff Buckley, Tori Amos, Twenty-One Pilots, Amy Winehouse, Lord Huron, Father John Misty, Kaleo and others certainly pay a lot of attention to the order of the songs, as we know from interviews. But I agree with you, once I know what the artist's vision for the order was, I don't care much. I remove the track numbers and list them alphabetically in iTunes, and listen to them that way, or randomly on shuffle, or search for a certain track I want to hear.

I'd rather the three singles not be on the new album, or maybe not all three. We can always add them ourselves later if we feel they fit. I'd rather hear all-new music.

It would be great if she's use that beautiful B&W selfie as the cover.

I saw her new IG posts--is there any hard news?

What is the truth, exactly. This may be complete misinformation or only partially correct--and if it's only partially correct, we really can't blame whoever is spilling all this, not when we're dealing (no pun intended) with LDR.

LDR said Dealer was just her “screaming.”

Most of it is cowardly bullying, but it happens to most public figures today. No one is so Woke, so Liberal, so Free of Taint as to be spared from a mob attack.

I'd also like to see some terrific album graphics, but I really think she's been spooked about them since UV. She doesn't have to look sexy or sensual, but there's no reason she cannot create some some beautiful and memorable cover art.

This is true...he's publicly praised Parker Milsap, Foster The People, Lana, Billie and many others...even Kate Bush back when she was starting out...Parker Milsap says John called him and told him how great a vocalist John thought he was. He has nothing to prove to anyone, nor do I think he's trying to 'stay relevant' or glom attention off younger musicians. Even if the great era of his career was relatively short, for 5-7 years he made some of the greatest and most diverse rock music ever. And he sang about homosexuality at a time when it wasn't cool to do so, even if in what today would be considered a politically incorrect manner. As far as age differences between the listener and the artist, any person of any age can potentially appreciate any artist from any era. If that weren't true, how would younger people today appreciate Joni Mitchell's classic 70s era? Or John Coltrane? Or Ella Fitzgerald? Or even late 20s and 30s warblers like Annette Henshaw and Ruth Etting? Or the classic Rolling Stones, or Blondie, The Patti Smith Group, or Joy Division? The inverse is also true. Lana sings about human emotions and human experiences. Why should Elton not be able to relate directly to a song like 'Summertime Sadness,' 'Ride,' 'Old Money' or 'Wildflower Wildfire'? He's not dead yet. And he has a lifetime of memories to reflect upon. And we know Springsteen and Joan Baez love Lana's music, and Stevie Nicks to some degree, and Courtney Love. Among, probably, many other prominent artists and musicians.

I agree. She's doing what she wants to do as an artist, now more than ever, and that is her priority, period--and all that is on her mind. Clearly she doesn't care much about album graphics anymore, interviews, magazine covers, glamour, bright lights, red carpets.

No, it's not pointless, and I'm glad you responded. You're right: most of the world still expects an official, professional 'Pop rollout' a la Lady Gaga, Beyonce or Justin Bieber, with sexy/attractive photos, magazine covers, press coverage, interviews--just like LDR used to do, gracing the cover of Rolling Stone multiple times, giving long interviews, releasing an incredible number of photos of herself, being an international style icon for some 18 months, etc. So of us still expect that, or long for that, but COCC confirmed that those days are apparently over, at least for the time being, and by her own choice. The three new singles cover art supports that as well, as did the bland 'nothing' cover art for 'MAC' and 'VB' a few years back.

Late to the conversation, but though LDR is still technically a 'pop star,' I don't think she's released anything in the 'Pop' genre since Paradise, with 'Ride,' 'American' and 'Bel Air.' Pop is meant to be commercial; that's it's main purpose. 'Ultraviolence,' as released, was purposefully not Pop music, except, perhaps, for 'West Coast.' 'Honeymoon' was not a Pop album and really had no 'Pop radio-friendly' cuts except maybe 'Religion' and 'HBTB.' By this time, I was thinking of LDR as an Alternative artist (like Jeff Buckley or Tori Amos), though I still consider her musical genre to be 'Hollywood Sadcore' personally. As we know, the 'LFL' album was partially an attempt to produce a few pop radio-friendly tracks, including the title track, 'Love,' 'TNC,' and especially 'BPBP.' None received much radio play or were commercially successful as singles, which, to LDR and many of us, is neither here nor there. 'NFR!' was not a Pop album, but another album that was like 'Honeymoon' in that it continued her move away from Pop. 'COCC' has a Pop track: 'Wild At Heart,' but the rest is not Pop in any traditional sense, though some might consider 'DTWD,' 'NAWWAL' and 'TJF' to be Pop. The three singles just released from 'BB'/'RCS' are obviously not Pop. I don't think LDR wants to be known as a Pop artist, like Ariana Grande or the Jonas Brothers. That's been her whole point since 'UV.' I don't think when Bruce Springsteen, who continues to rave about her public, thinks of her he thinks of LDR as a Pop artist, and Joan Baez probably doesn't either, nor Stevie or Courtney. They, more than anyone, can understand her desire to change, evolve and grow, and being taken seriously as a musician.

100% agree. 'Art For Art's Sake,' like the MGM logo claims as the lion roars. 'Everything is political' is true only if the individual in question sees, and chooses to see, everything as political. LDR should be free to do as she pleases. That would be a genuine act of revenge against the bolsheviks that have cropped up everywhere. Let them rage, let them howl, let them stress themselves into an early grave. That's their problem, their choice. As far as 'disturbing art' goes, Lana's released a bit of that, like 'Gods & Monsters,' 'Ultraviolence,' 'Money Power Glory,' 'Heroin' and 'The Greatest'......her vision of the end of the world and 'life on Mars' is fairly powerful. But her most disturbing track is the officially unreleased 'Live or Die,' in which she and her thuggish boyfriend travel around shooting random individuals while a chorus of cheerleader-like 'Heyyyyyys! erupt in the background. To me, it's one of her very best. Part of being an artist is looking into the darkness.

At this point, it's hard not to believe she does it on purpose or with extreme carelessness. The medical community unfortunately targets two related groups of people, with two related 'personality disorders,' with not learning from their mistakes, ever. For us, since we do know about this absurd habit of hers, there's nothing to do but expect and accept it, or stop stanning LDR.