BlueJeans

Thank you ! It’s surely an ambitious project (you can see it with the album’s visual universe) but the music doesn’t follow through for me. « Stupid Love » was very disappointing and the album sounds very long... i do like « sour candy » but mostly Blackpink’s parts. « 911 » had an interesting video concept and execution.

It’s my favorite part of all theee songs. « God I wish I was with my father »

I understand what you’re saying, @vrtvie. Although I don’t have a problem with this style of song, I too find them more hermetic. I’ve listened to them a few times (not a lot, I must admit) and I still have a hard time understanding the melody progression. For instance, « Text Book » has this James Bond verses and then a poignant, ethereal chorus and I have a hard time connecting the too. I’ve also always admired Lana for her songwriting skills. Even if I didn’t always understand them because they’re personal, they all still made sense and told a story in their own way (don’t come at me with Betty Boop, you know what I mean ?). And I’m often scratching my head with those three songs... it probably means something to her, so that’s good but it’s like a bunch of words and concepts and ideas thrown together to me.

I listened to all three songs and Text Book is the standout for me, at the moment. Wildflower Wildfire is nice but hasn't touched me yet, might happen after a few spins. As for Blue Banisters, I feel like the snippet she shared is the best part of the song. The rest gives me the impression that the song is going in a dozen directions but without cohesiveness. But that's after my first listen, so that impression will probably change.

Wait, how did I miss this, I'm going to listen to them right away (but oh gosh, it's like her artwork gets worse and worse with each release......)

I just realized that Rock Candy Sweet somehow made me think of pop, dynamic and fun while Blue Banisters makes me think of the same country-ish, folksy blues she put out with Chemtrails... I think I was looking forward to the former more...

Living legend

I'm gonna say it: "Artpop" had some great music (although some tracks were too lackluster for my taste) but veeeery few of them would have had any impact on the radio. Which, granted, is not necessarily the goal here. But I keep reading on YouTube how this track or this track would have been a hit and there's not a chance that would have happened, even with heavy promotion. Mind you, I love a lot of the choruses and such but I feel like only fans and music afficionados can enjoy it, not the grand public. Gypsy could have been an OK formatted single. I did listen to it yesterday again and still really enjoy Aura, Venus, Artpop, MANiCURE. Donatella, Mary Jane Holland and Applause are cute and so is Gypsy.

I'm taking my time with this album, but this is definitely one of its stand out tracks for me.

Oh this will be a lovely pre-birthday gift (June 2) Well... If she releases it on that day, of course...

You know what, I was enjoying it without realizing it ! It's true that sometimes her voice can be drowned in vocal effects but it's often crisp and clean on this record. Cool !

Yeaaah the song is beautiful but the video doesn't do it for me. Beautiful colors and setting and I loved the idea of Lana skating. Then it looks obvious that it's a stunt double (fair enough, but I want more Lanz, is all). I miss the days when you knew that a LDR music video would be a visual experience. And I'm not gonna lie: Chemtrails was a great return to form. But anyway, this doesn't take away anything from the gorgeous song. I just don't think I'll watch its music video very often...

Lovely video, made me think of the "Ride" Lana Del Rey we left singing the blues in dusty old bars...

Por Vida was great from start to finish, for me. Isolation was a very solid album with great production and very cool tracks. I enjoyed her little EP with "I want war but I need peace". This resonates a bit less with me but I'm rooting for her.

I like it a lot. I loovve the face she does when she sings "Your daddy's rich", it's adorable. The background vocalists are doing their thang. The music video, although simple, is well shot. She's serving face face face... It's a nice cover that I welcome with pleasure !

Ideologically, yes. I doubt Biden or anybody involved in Politics to that level actually cares about making changes for the weaker people. You might come in with the best intentions but you'll have to compromise somewhere. I'm from Belgium and we have like 9 ministers for healthcare... Guess how much they earn ? Yeah, that's not really necessary. So as long as politicians get rich by doing what they do, they'll never think about the people. Once it actually costs them to be ministers (etymologically= servants), then we might see some changes. And then again... As you say, big corporations have their weight in the scale. Ugh

It could be easy money and would be a hit album... Queen of Disaster is already a hit on YouTube and TikTok without an ounce of promotion... I'm not against a cover album, though, it's new music but it does sound a bit rushed and we know how she/her team are with deadlines... But it would be a nice present for sure !

My guess is that should Biden win, he'll be soon escorted out. He's in no state of being the leader of a nation. And I say this with empathy, not mockery. As for Trump, I believe he has a much bigger support than the media portrays it. Somehow, it's become intolerable to be a conservative in 2020 and you get burned at the stake so people are just staying quiet and voting for who reflects their views. I'm not an American so I'm an external observer and I must say I can't remember at time (from my own living memory) where the two big parties were so opposed in what they deem to be a battle between good and evil. I remember someone posted "Sure you have the right wing and the left wing but we're still part of the same eagle." Anyway, I continue to follow the results. Regardless of the outcome, I think civil unrest will be prevalent in the US.

Diet Mtn Dew (all versions combined)

It's in a lane of its own... Incredible, really !

Honestly, this could go in so many directions: - He heals and downlplays it - He heals and plays the "humility" card "You know what, it was worse than I thought - then again I always said it - but it's no joke" - His team suggested to fake it so that it would cancel indefinitely the next debates (but that doesn't suit with his "psychological profile", I don't see him "faking weakness") - Biden got it too

So lovely... She truly is beautiful on so many levels.

I think the "Bonus Tracks" solution would be the best way to go, because they would "find a home" (I like the way you put it), pleasing the fans that enjoy them, all the while leaving room to new material. Regarding her look, I think that her going back to the pin up look could have worked because the GP does like to recognize who they like. But the ploy wouldn't have worked forever. And it would surely have become burdensome for her, too. Regarding the eras visual identity, I wasn't implying that every mv should be an extension of the album cover, rather in the same spirit. If you're presenting some cute, bubbly, heavenly, dreamy in an album cover, wouldn't it make sense that the songs' visual reflect that ? That's why Teenage Dream and Firework fit that era quite well, California Girls takes the cake, while E.T was a darker take on the "dream". Last Friday Night was again bright and colorful and playful. The One That Got Away to me was the first left turn but it was the end of the era after all. They wanted to cash on the album and cash another number one but the GP had probably seen too much of Katy. They did make use of her pin up image, though, while not being the focus. Finally, I would say every promotional live performance echoed the general theme. Same with the tour. Prism was all over the place and, while it gave the hits you expected, I think that's where the GP started getting confused about who Katy Perry was, as an artist. You can't really define her. Regardless of what they do, artist usually stick to their brand. Artists who do too much confuse the GP. A very interesting example is Nelly Furtado. Her album sales between "Loose" (which debuted with more than 200K sales in its first week ) to "The Spirit Indestructible" (which sold around 6K in its first week) is one of the most spectacular drops in the industry. And all because she thought she could ride on her success wave. That doesn't mean the music is bad per se, and as long as she's happy with it, more power to her. But I just think it's a fascinating illustration of how the GP gets confused when it gets too many mixed messages from an artist they know. That's why I think she had found an interesting balance between nostalgia and freshness in the "Chained to the Rhythm" mv. You could recognize the colorful bubbly fun pop star but in a dystopian universe.

Right that was my point, I loved all these songs but they were separate releases and that's great the way it is. Why not focus on quality instead of quantity. I mean the songs are already available on all digital streaming platforms, why does her team (or her) feel the need they must be included on the record ? To me, it looks a bit disingenuous to me, like "Alright, please buy my album even though it features songs you already purchased/streamed". But perhaps I missed something and those songs had always been announced as part of the album of course ! I see on wikipedia that they're featured under the "Smile" so... In which case, it wouldn't be odd at all and I'm rambling for nothing. But that being said, I do feel like she lost herself as an artist. Everything she releases is different but not in a good way, I've rarely seen that. Of course, artists are free to do whatever they wan, however and whenever they want but take the "Witness album for example. Dark, esoteric, cold cover. Alright, different image, sure let's go with it. What does she put out (visually) ? - Chained to the rhythm: love the song and love the music video but we have colors, bubbly, fun with a twist. That's a completely different vibe, isn't it ? (Imo, that should have been the way to promote the album.) - Bon Appétit: weird single choice but ok. The aesthetic of the music video's final scene fits the record I guess. - Swish Swish: fun music video but again, where's the album's visual identity in this ? - Save as a draft: ... - Hey Hey Hey: colors, psychedelic, clumsy and way too much of everything. Again: nothing to do with the album's theme or artistic direction. And you can spot that artistic dissonance rearing its head during the "Complete Confection" era and get stronger in the "Prism" era. Again, I'm not trying to bash her, I actually think she's very interesting to discuss in terms of image, music, eras, persona... So I hope I didn't often anyone in the process.