litewave

Your posts are always so intriguing. Thank you for sharing. I absolutely love reading them!
 
It is certainly an odd occurrence to have Lana mention all these specific details connected to Peg Entwistle's story but for her to not be aware of their symbolic significance. So many of the lyrics make sense in light of the Entwistle story.
 
"Climb up the H of the Hollywood sign, yeah
In these stolen moments, the world is mine (do it, do it)"
 
​The symbolism of the H is probably the most identifiable symbol, obviously having jumped from it and falling to her death, but the "do it, do it" part especially haunts me, as I interpret it as Entwistle's inner consciousness telling her to commit suicide. 
 
"We're the masters of our own fate
We're the captains of our own souls"
 
This part also seems relevant to the story, perhaps acting as a justification of leaving behind the world, since we are all in control of our own fate and our own souls under this philosophy.
 
"They say only the good die young
That just ain't right"
 
Entwistle died at a very young age - 24 to be exact.
 
"Then, we dance on the H of the Hollywood sign, yeah
'Til we run out of breath, gotta dance 'til we die"
 
That last part has an uncanny resemblance!
 
It really is unusual that Lana has written this song, unaware of its other meanings. I like the theory that this is a case of Jungian synchronicity

Lana has just denied knowing of the Peg Entwistle story:
 

 
If she really didn't know about it then this looks like an example of synchronicity, a meaningful coincidence that Carl Jung posited is mediated by the collective unconscious or a deeper order of the world.

Just to remind ya'll that these interpretations don't deny the obvious or literal ones but rather parallel them... Here goes another one.
 
Lust for Life
 
Lana revisits the Hollywood theme, which metaphorically refers to time (movies/stories) and fame, all this set in a larger, timeless whole (the name of the A-ha song "Minor Earth Major Sky" comes to mind). Lust for Life is a brisk and optimistic song but it also has an implicit darker side. Although it celebrates life, passion and self confidence, it also hints at a tragedy connected with the H of the Hollywood sign - the actress Peg Entwistle, who committed suicide by jumping from the H.
 
The notion of a ladder has been pointed out as significant by the director of the album trailer and besides there being a ladder attached to the H (as well as to the other letters of the Hollywood sign), the letter H itself looks like a section of a ladder, with the horizontal piece in the middle as a rung. Towering above the earthly West Coast "city of angels" (associated with the "entrance to the underworld" in Tropico), the ladder may symbolize a connection between the earth and heaven known as Jacob's Ladder, which appeared in a dream of the biblical figure Jacob, with angels ascending and descending on it. Lana also referred to this notion a day before the release of Lust for Life when she posted a short clip on Instagram of a little song of hers in which she sings that she would trade everything for a stairway to heaven and take her time as she climbed up to top of it.
 
But when you are on a ladder and you are not vigilant there is the danger of falling. According to Abrahamic religions as well as esoteric accounts of man's origin there was a major spiritual fall at some point in the past, when man lost contact with heaven/God and got mired on earth. His consciousness closed, as the narrowly focused ego became separated from the heaven-oriented soul. What followed is the human history as we know it. Through the arc of long and often arduous history, the fallen ego was gradually revived and lifted from the caves to the age of space flights and the internet.
 
And so the soul's partner is back, Stargirl and Starboy reunited. But watch out, Lana is hanging out on top of the H with a self-proclaimed "King of the Fall". The word "fall" has a double meaning. One meaning is the season of the fall (autumn), as evidenced in The Weeknd's fall tours. After his first international tour in spring 2012 followed the fall tours: The Weeknd Fall Tour (2012), The Weeknd Kiss Land Fall Tour (2013), King of the Fall (2014), and The Madness Fall Tour (2015). In the song Starboy he aptly mentions: "I come alive in the fall time". His latest tour is titled Starboy: Legend of the Fall Tour, even though it is scheduled to last from February to July 2017, so it refers either to his already established status as the "legend" from the past seasonal fall tours, or to the second meaning of the word "fall". The second meaning of "the fall" is spiritual and is reflected in the general content of his songs: fame and decadence. In the song The Fall, he sings about falling to the ground, and in Starboy he also refers to the Brad Pitt movie Legends of the Fall. The title of this movie seems ambiguous: imdb says that it refers to the biblical fall from innocence, although "the Fall" part was translated as the season (autumn) in countries such as Sweden and France, while in Germany and Spain it was translated as "Passion". Anyway, even in the season of the fall we can find a spiritual meaning: the season is connected with harvest, which in a New Testament parable signifies the end of the age when the righteous are "ripe" for entering heaven and the "wheat" is separated from the "chaff".
 
With man's individuality and consciousness revived, his capacity for self-destruction is restored too. Although we now have a history to learn from, will it be sufficient to prevent another fall?

I saw that she dismissed the Entwistle story. In a way is a smart move because she is steering away from controversies. On the other hand, without the story the LFL lyrics make little sense, they feel like a collection of clichés. She said that she didn"t saw any ghosts in her apartment in the H sign but she depicted herself as a ghost in the trailer. I'm not convinced that she didn't know about the story. Her fixation with the H sig,n, climbing on it and living inside as a ghost, is just strange

Traps are everywhere! Regarding a binary ontology (or maybe epistemology if you like) here is a quote from a song by Katie Melua: "The piano keys are black and white, but they sound like a million colours in your mind." I am interested in getting to the root of things, so I note differences and similarities and try to create general categories. Social constructs, dogmas etc. reflect something too.
 
I didn't understand your question about using a he/him/his language to represent all... I think I always use it in connection with she/her/her.

Body Electric
 

“Elvis is my daddy, Marilyn’s my mother, Jesus is my bestest friend”

An interplay of the separating masculine archetype and the unifying feminine archetype draws out the potential of their common source into creative manifestation. Their background source could be considered a feminine extreme in that it contains everything in a state of undifferentiated unity. In this unity, the masculine and feminine orientations are inherent as naturally as plus and minus are inherent in a zero. The masculine differentiates reality while the feminine integrates it, the result being individual entities arising and interacting in mutual relations. In my understanding these are the fundamental principles of creation and consciousness. In Christianity Jesus is the ultimate example of this manifestation, being regarded as an incarnation of God in human body.


“Whitman is my daddy, Monaco’s my mother, diamonds are my bestest friend”

In this verse I identified archetypal ideas similar to those mentioned before. Whitman is one of Lana’s favorite poets while Monaco represents her idea of beauty. By words we define things and make them explicit/clear. Beauty, on the other hand, is implicitely/vaguely felt. Words analyze beauty while beauty integrates them in a harmonious whole, both actions enhancing the creation and its meaning. Diamonds symbolize a creation that is simultaneously clearly defined and beautiful. Such a creation is also durable because it prevents disintegration into parts by the analytical process and dissolution into vagueness by the integrating process.


“Heaven is my baby, suicide’s her father, opulence is the end”

Here I represented heaven and suicide with upward and downward tendencies, respectively. Fall leads to death, as the masculine/analytical process separates a part from its source, while ascension leads back to heaven, as the feminine/integrating process reunites the part with a larger reality. The two processes alternate in a cycle, resulting in the creation of multitudes of forms, our planet with its biosphere and human society being the richest place we know of. The Christian God descends to earth to die on the cross on Good Friday, only to be resurrected on Easter Sunday and ascend back to heaven. This story reminds us, who got stuck down here, that there is more to life when we open up and expand our perspectives.

The basic theme of Lana's album. I made esoteric interpretations of some specific songs too on the now defunct ldr.fm forum, but I put one of my posts on my blog here.

 

Esoteric accounts of the human condition (as well as the big religions) say that in the beginning the human was in a state of union or harmony with the divine. Some describe it as living in a garden or paradise. That era didn't last, because the human misused his will and separated himself from the divine instead of cooperating with it. In esoteric interpretations, this was a split within the human himself: his separatist masculine part (ego) suppressed his integrative feminine part (soul); there was a narrowing of consciousness and a limitation to the physical sensory perception. This spiritual fall then led to the diminishing of human vitality and ultimately to death, both spiritual and physical. I find it interesting to imagine that Lana's album (songs and videos) reminds us of the fall from that original happiness, by portraying sexual relationships that went wrong and in which Lana plays the suppressed/abused feminine part (soul).

I have to wait for the whole album to see how the title track fits as a title track. It may be incidental to the meaning of the other songs, or it may be central. The song itself is pretty good, if a little interludish given the Weeknd's prominent role. It is (a little) symmetrical to LDR's prominent role in Stargirl, because as a feature song, it is a very good one from the POV of the feature artist.  She got the sweetest part of his vocal range and the contrast with her sultry beat-poetry voice is really striking. Yet it's still an egalitarian song; I think both sing all the parts at different times. I don't think it's generic in the sense of any pop songs I'm currently hearing (certainly it's a non-generic feature song);  however, it is derivative intentionally of earlier pop times. I like the ambiguity in the song, or people thinking that taking off clothes or climbing the H is metaphorical. Not saying they're right, but a large part of the charm of LDR (for me) is in not knowing they're wrong. The lyrics and the melody seem characteristic of her, and the production is wonderful. I'm hoping the album credits will show her as lead producer as they did with HM songs.

The only 'hidden meaning' to me is that it is perhaps meant to sound like a rocket launch countdown (3 ... 2.... 1 ... Take off!) which goes with the whole space theme.
 
Apart from that it just means take off your clothes and get fruity, and also maybe shed your skin and turn a leaf. Seriously I'm pretty sure there is no super deep meaning to it lol
Edit: but I still like your theory!

I think it just means to enjoy life, like strip yourself of your worries and concerns and enjoy yourself; have a lust for life instead of worrying.

I already wrote this in the lyric thread, but it's obviously not "take off all your clothes cause lets have sex"
I think it's taking off clothes being open, being free and natural and exposed cause you don't care and aren't hiding anymore. It's like 'live life without covering your true self up' because they have a lust for life, not lust for sex. In the song anyway
I do like your theory though. It fits the theme

I think it's not about being naked it's about letting everyone know how you truly are, the "take off all your clothes" is like a metaphor to not hide yourself beneath a kind of cover, throwing down our "wall" 

Don't ask me why I'm thinking of stuff like this in the middle of the night, but I was just thinking about how out of place the repetition of this line sounded. Now, it is a song with The Weeknd, who infuses a lot of his music with sexuality, and there are a lot of allusions to sex in the song itself, but again, the repetition of this line seems uncharacteristic of Lana, to say the least. 
 
So, with that being said, here's another possible interpretation. Side note: I'm not religious and haven't been in a church for a long time, so I literally found this out by googling. 
 

 
It just reminded me of the line in "Swan Song", where Lana references Ayn Rand by saying "Put your white tennis shoes on and follow me." Thoughts?

Even though the lyrics are trashy, I actually like the 'Take off, take off' bit because it also reminds me of a rocket coundown (3, 2 , 1 Take off!) which goes with the whole space aesthetic.

Exactly how I see it; it's not about being naked it's about letting everyone know how you truly are, the "take off all your clothes" is like a metaphor to not hide yourself beneath a kind of wall, a cover 

I don't know if she actually means taking off clothes, im taking it as a metaphor, shes singing about shedding away everything because through someone else shes found a reason to let them open her up, to find happiness ect ect 
At least thats how i see it.

As long as no one falls from the H.

As long as no one falls from the H.

As long as no one falls from the H.

As long as no one falls from the H.

Lana wrote a song:
"I'd trade it all for a stairway to heaven.
I'd take my time as I climb up to the top of it.
I'd trade the fame and the fortune and the fuckin' legend
I'd give it all away if you give me just one day to answer one question.
I'd give it all away if you give me just one day to answer one question"
http://instagram.com/p/BTAU9BbjLvs/
Caption:
"I'm not gonna lie- I had complex feelings about spending the weekend dancing whilst watching tensions w North Korea mount.
I find It's a tightrope between being vigilantly observant of everything going on in the world and also having enough space and time to appreciate God's good earth the way it was intended to be appreciated.
On my way home I found myself compelled to visit an old favorite place of mine at the rim of the world highway where I took a moment to sit down by the sequoia grove and write a little song. 
I just wanted to share this in hopes that one individual's hope and prayer for peace might contribute to the possibility of it in the long run. 
Hope everyone has a nice day, 
with love from California"

Best American Record
 
Damn this is a good song.

In Lana's art, America is a symbol of God's creation, from the heavenly East Coast to the earthly West Coast, with the nostalgic 1950s-1960s period representing the garden of Eden/Paradise. In the beginning the music of creation unfolded harmoniously under God's benevolent guidance. But the ego of man tried to be too much like God and "write the next best American record", which was an obsession that led to man's extreme self-assertion, separation from God and soul, and falling out of universal harmony.   The soul sings:   My baby used to dance underneath my architecture   The architecture here is the celestial firmament, the spiritual realm of the soul. The baby is the soul's individual expression, the ego, which went down to earth, to the material realm. In the beginning the ego was full of joy and energy, derived from its dynamic contact with the soul. This means that man's spiritual and material sides were in a healthy balance.   To the "Houses of the Holy"
 
"Houses of the Holy" is a Led Zeppelin song from the 1970s, where the singer courts his girl to let him take her "to the movies, to the show". It is a sexual song with spiritual overtones and also with references to Satan. The relationship between the ego and the soul has a masculine-feminine dynamic, which is reflected in human sexual relationships.
 
Smoking on them cigarettes
 
Turning white into black (innocence into experience), burning with passion, breathing the spirit of life.
 
He was seventies in spirit, nineties in his frame of mind
 
Although influenced by the 1960s hippie ideals, the mood of the 1970s turned from the hippie emphasis on community toward individualism (the "Me" decade). This individualistic trend continued in the 1980s and received a new boost in the 1990s from the collapse of communist governments in Eastern Europe and Soviet Union, even as the boundaries between countries and cultures further weakened and unification of the world accelerated. Individualism is the nature of the ego, while collectivism is the nature of the soul.
 
The ego did need to distance itself from the soul - but only for a while, in order to build the mental and physical structures that the soul could infuse at their reunion. But the ego became "obsessed with writing the next best American record", for fame. Its focus on self-aggrandizement and self-gratification isolated it from the soul, from others, and from a larger reality. Man became trapped on earth, ran out of energy and ran out of life.

Body Electric
 

“Elvis is my daddy, Marilyn’s my mother, Jesus is my bestest friend”

An interplay of the separating masculine archetype and the unifying feminine archetype draws out the potential of their common source into creative manifestation. Their background source could be considered a feminine extreme in that it contains everything in a state of undifferentiated unity. In this unity, the masculine and feminine orientations are inherent as naturally as plus and minus are inherent in a zero. The masculine differentiates reality while the feminine integrates it, the result being individual entities arising and interacting in mutual relations. In my understanding these are the fundamental principles of creation and consciousness. In Christianity Jesus is the ultimate example of this manifestation, being regarded as an incarnation of God in human body.


“Whitman is my daddy, Monaco’s my mother, diamonds are my bestest friend”

In this verse I identified archetypal ideas similar to those mentioned before. Whitman is one of Lana’s favorite poets while Monaco represents her idea of beauty. By words we define things and make them explicit/clear. Beauty, on the other hand, is implicitely/vaguely felt. Words analyze beauty while beauty integrates them in a harmonious whole, both actions enhancing the creation and its meaning. Diamonds symbolize a creation that is simultaneously clearly defined and beautiful. Such a creation is also durable because it prevents disintegration into parts by the analytical process and dissolution into vagueness by the integrating process.


“Heaven is my baby, suicide’s her father, opulence is the end”

Here I represented heaven and suicide with upward and downward tendencies, respectively. Fall leads to death, as the masculine/analytical process separates a part from its source, while ascension leads back to heaven, as the feminine/integrating process reunites the part with a larger reality. The two processes alternate in a cycle, resulting in the creation of multitudes of forms, our planet with its biosphere and human society being the richest place we know of. The Christian God descends to earth to die on the cross on Good Friday, only to be resurrected on Easter Sunday and ascend back to heaven. This story reminds us, who got stuck down here, that there is more to life when we open up and expand our perspectives.

The ladder might be another reference to Peg Entwistle - the girl had to climb the ladder attached to the H before jumping to her death. There might be some more general symbolism about the danger of falling after climbing to a top...
 
The ladder may also symbolize Jacob's ladder, a connection between heaven and earth. Lana's ghostly appearance and position above the city indicate she is in the heavenly realm.

The sand in the hourglass has almost run out, indicating the end of an "era". The symmetric shape of an hourglass may also symbolize a duality (feminine/masculine, heaven/earth...), with emphasis shifting between the two orientations with the passage of time.
 
The chalice is used in both Wiccan and Christian rites. In Wicca it is the Great Rite, which Wikipedia says is performed "when the coven is in need of powerful spiritual intervention to help them through a difficult time". In Christianity it is the Eucharist, which invokes the presence of Christ. The chalice may also represent the Holy Grail from medieval legends, the goal of spiritual quests.