Vertimus

I personally loved most of LFL, though I never play 'Coachella,' 'Change,' 'Love,' 'Get Free,' or the title track. To me, it's certainly no more awkward that NFR!, which I felt was padded with retreads.

I agree completely. On all the new songs, she's essentially writing from a position of strength, especially VFR, BBS, SC, and IYLDWM. Arcadia too.

For me, the one who sounds most like Joni is Zella Day. I would have preferred Lana singing it alone, and without the little happy fillip Lana added, which isn't in the original.

I have no proof, but the vocal is different, slower, more wounded than declarative, more hesitant. Anyone else?

I love NOTG too; the problem with NOTG, LL, CB and 'Thunder' is that I've had copies ever since they leaked, and have heard each hundreds of times, and so it's hard to really get excited about them and be objective about them in the same way as the other tracks. 'Thunder' of course has been rerecorded, and as I like the original version a lot better, that also puts it to some degree in the dog house.

Thank you. I do like 'Wild At Heart' a great deal because it's a pure pop song, and she's goes the extra mile with the additional refrain at the end, which really makes the song for me. I've always seen 'For Free' as a broad metaphor as well as perhaps Joni's personal experience. It's about humility and being humbled, which I think is applicable to all people and all walks of life. It has a sad and universal quality. Lana's cover doesn't really bring out the pathos in the lyrics the way the original does. The same for 'Dance Till We Die.' Dancing is a metaphor; she's saying, "we're not going to give up on anything until our last breath." That she mentions Joni, Joan Baez, Stevie Nicks, and Cortney Love isn't really significant.

On BB, 'Textbook,' 'WFWF,' 'IYLDWM,' and 'VFR' are all among her very best work on any album, at least for me, and 'BBS' and 'Arcadia' are terrific. COCC had a few masterpieces too: 'White Dress,' 'Yosemite,' and the title track. I rate both albums among her very best, despite the slightly sleepy sound of COCC. I still wish she had performed 'For Free' alone. What did you think the masterpiece tracks on COCC were?

I agree, and it's a very difficult subject to put into words, especially with an artist like Lana, who has adopted so many personas and nom de plumes. A "stylized persona" is like a mask the singer adopts for a specific song or album, or even for an entire career. There's also the matter of "speaking directly from the heart," as opposed to somewhat distancing one's self from a song's content via a persona. Lastly, I think there's the 'genuinely inspired song" as opposed to the song "concocted via the songwriting craft," though of course a song can be a mixture of the two. "Concocted songs" can be great. A good 'classic rock' example would be Stevie Nicks and her early songs with Fleetwood Mac, especially 'Landslide.' Her four early songs with FM (or five, if you count 'Silver Springs,' which was cut from 'Rumours' but appeared as a literal b-side) seemed to come straight from her heart, pure and raw, but as the years passed, her songs, both with FM and in her solo career, quickly became 'concoctions' until she became something of a parody of herself, and, to some in the press, a laughing stock. I see songs like 'Sweet Carolina,' the COCC title track, 'Yosemite,' and 'Violets For Roses,' among others, as coming straight and pure from Lana's heart and soul, with as little distancing as possible. I consider what the 'Lust For Life' title track ended up becoming a "concoction," and 'Groupie Love" as well.

I think we experience more of the genuine Lana on BB, the album, than on any other, with COCC being a close second. I believe it's this genuine Lana we'll continue to see on albums of original work, until she either feels she's exhausted it or until she feels like stepping into personas and roles again.

I consider it something of a novelty track, but at least it seems humorous, as DC Cooper pointed out here, and I miss Lana's early humor and light touch. I skip it a lot too.

I don't dislike 'Beautiful.' I don't mind the Picasso line--it's certainly better than an obvious and overused classic rock reference or a name drop of a semi-famous friend. I play the full song whenever it comes on shuffle. I like both versions. I like it more than the title track, which I still can't embrace and don't play when it comes up on shuffle. For me, other than TB and WFWF, the songs that really stand out are IFLDWM, VFR, and BBS. I consider BB a great record, certainly one of her best in my ranking.

To me, 'Beautiful' seems like one of those last-minute, somewhat rushed and underboiled tracks that Lana always seems to have a lot of faith in, like 'Coachella,' 'Change,' and 'Looking For America.' It's just okay to me.

For me, 'Dealer' is just a trifle, almost a novelty track. It doesn't bother me. It would be interesting to hear Lana doing both parts. To me, it's unfortunate that the wider public always seems to get to know primarily what are essentially Lana's B-side tracks, like the 'Summertime Sadness' remix, 'Doin Time,' and now 'Dealer.' The broad public has never heard the essences of her work, all her best material.

I think it is now my favorite too. It's the most satisfying, in terms of tone and emotional range. I'm glad she sounds happy, fulfilled, and at peace on some of the songs, or at least is moving in that direction as an individual and as an artist. It's like she's confronting her demons directly, as on WFWF, and it's paying off in dividends for her--it's freeing her. On both BB and COCC, she's no longer suffering primarily from unrequited or disappointed love, and she's got other things and themes on her mind as well, as on 'DTWD' and 'NAWWAL' on COCC. On 'Sweet Carolina,' she's able to give love and comfort to her sister freely and confidently. 'IYLDWM' and 'VFR' both show Lana in control of her emotions and the relationship, and even 'TJF' was far from desperate in the way, say, '13 Beaches' or 'TBD' were. She's showing us and the world that she can write and sing about more than suffering and the misery and illusions that often accompany love, and she's still making it interesting and beautiful, as on the COCC title track. Bravo, Lana.

Thank you! Even Lanapedia has it wrong. All the best.

What is Lana saying late in VFR, that sounds like Merthys Alley? Thank you. Is it ‘murders in the alleys’?

If you're not looking for extremes, I think it's her most pleasing album, in terms of tone.

My Song of the Year, by any artist: 'If You Lie Down With Me.' And 'Violets For Roses' is the only major contender.

Wonderful. Thanks for sharing.

Understood. I like them both equally.

Maybe it will contain some or all of the 'new' songs Lana wrote from BB, but which were pulled from it sometime about June-July. But it's been widely assumed that her next album release will be the Americana/Folk/Country project, or her collaboration with Zella Day.

In a good way, at least for me.

Yup, she said she thought it needed more studio time, that it was one the bare side, instrumentally.

Me too. I haven't tired of it in the least. It still sounds absolutely fresh to my ears, like all her best music.

Not so; I'm not a big fan of NFR! at all, but I love COCC.