evilentity

Are you familiar with any of Lana's discography? Because I don't believe in a literal Bill, Bill. Sorry to invalidate your experience existence.

I'd read that. A 5,000 word @longtimeman post is bound to be more worthwhile than 500 typical 10-word posts made around here. Yes, this was another thought I had that I should have included in my essay-length post. It's another reason why I don't think people should get too hung up on national origin in excluding Barrie from consideration here. I think the phrase "Best American Record" is meant more to evoke the same sort of grandiose artistic ambition associated with the concept of the "Great American Novel" than nationality.

Not sure whether we should be doing this here or in Lanalysis instead, but whatever... Sorry guys, I'm with @@longtimeman on this. I think this is primarily a song about Barrie (and kind of a harsh one, maybe even unfair). Let's break it down: "My baby used to dance underneath my architecture" Barrie was not only living in the shadow of her metaphoric architecture, her career and fame as @Lona Delery noted, but he was living with her under her roof, probably on her dime, in her fancy houses. Literally under her architecture. (@bummersummer made a similar point above.) And he's the only significant musician other she had during her post-fame period where she was rich enough to live in fancy houses. "Houses of the Holy" See @@longtimeman's post about that. "He was cool as heck" Potentially a callback to "Yeah, my boyfriend's pretty cool/But he's not as cool as me" in "Brooklyn Baby", a Barrie song, and perhaps "Shades of Cool". The repetition of the line almost seems to emphasize this. "But you were so obsessed with writing the next best American record But there was nothing left by the time we got to bed" This is consistent with the picture she painted of Barrie in interviews and "Is This Happiness" (@SissyReed alluded to this) as someone focused on their art, more than she, perhaps to the detriment of everything else. (Ha, I'm amused just thinking about how blasphemous the idea of neglecting Lana in the boudoir probably seems to most of her fanbase.) "How does that taste cumming out" As @Sjp1988 suggested, perhaps a sly reference to Barrie being the origin of her saying "My pussy tastes like Pepsi-cola"? "You did it all for fame Baby, how's life treating you now It's over" Alleging that he did it all for fame seems harsh, perhaps a little unfair (and projecting to some degree), but Barrie did quit Kassidy to move to LA and pursue a solo career and live with his famous significant other. No part of that worked out. "He was '70s in spirit, '90s in his frame of mind" Definitely describes Barrie well, as he's heavily influenced by classic rock and Nirvana. "Baby, how you feeling now That I told you We're through" Lana was the one that broke things off. (Although it's questionable if she actually did tell him or just ghosted.) "All the roads lead to you Like the 405 I drive through Everynight and everyday" Not dispositive, but suggestive of her time living in California post-fame which points towards Barrie. Also, if taken semi-literally Barrie continued to live in LA for a time after they broke up. "I see you for who you really are Why the thousands of girls Love the way Bill plays guitar" Barrie is an accomplished guitarist. And "thousands of girls" instead of millions is fitting for Barrie/Kassidy. OK, now to deal with some of the Barrie counter-arguments: As @Vonn pointed out, she never says the person actually achieved fame. I really don't think I could buy a producer theory for this song unless the line was "You were so obsessed with making the next best American record", but the line is "writing". I think Mertens is too much of an artistic polymath to fit this. I don't see him having a single-minded focus on music, let alone "writing the next best American record". Absent a specific candidate-- like Jimmy Gnecco, Lady Gaga, Chuck-- I'm inclined to believe that names she likes to reuse like Ray, Bill, Salvatore are just that: names she likes to reuse. Just because she likes the names. (I'm not even sure all her Jim mentions refer to Jimmy Gnecco, though perhaps Jim Morrison.) That said, like K, they could be invented pet names that do refer to a specific person. (I think there's a good possibility Ray at least began as a name for Arthur Lynn.) I do think there is a case here for this being about Arthur. I'm sure he's into Led Zeppelin. The "American" part fits better. Based on his website and old Instagram posts I'm sure he's a studio rat. But this really seems like it's about a more recent relationship, post-fame, and overall screams Barrie to me. And wouldn't it be a little too on the nose to put Barrie's name in the song? (Or Arthur's?) I'm not sure Lana would be as quick to namedrop in song these days as she was when she tossed off "Jimmy Gnecco" and "So Legit". This might be a deliberate way to obscure. I don't think some of the lyrics really fit the theory that it's about herself. But I am sympathetic to this theory in the sense that there's some amount of projection going on here. Mmm... I think people are making too much of this. Barrie moved to the US and (I think?) recorded his album in the US, has a lot of American musical influences, and stayed in LA for awhile after they broke up trying to get his solo career going. Plus consider Lana's comments at the Brits suggesting she really didn't think of herself as an "international" artist because she lived in the UK while recording BTD there. Never underestimate Lana logic. Really? I'm not necessarily convinced all those songs are exclusively about one guy or about a specific guy, let alone the same guy. You know, back in 2011, 2012 when she was saying stuff to that effect in interviews she wasn't consistent. One interview she'd say they were mostly about one guy, the next she'd say two guys. Taken with other interview comments she's made about songs written about past lovers becoming about the person you're with now, I think Lanalysis is inherently a fool's game (that I nonetheless enjoy playing).

All I read before frantically clicking was "Lana getting a facial"... Disappointed.

Cum on u know u like little girls... :troll:

This forum rn Fun fact: Connie Booth, the actress playing the "witch", was the neighbor of former forum member @@SugarVenom/@Chloe.

Or Donald Trump. Or politics. I've indulged in the speculation myself, but c'mon people, chill out until she confirms what this is all about. I actually take offense to this. It's not pure hatred. I oppose Trump because what he stands for violates nearly everything I believe in as an American. (Hell, what he stands for even goes against most of the conservative Christian values I was raised with!) Harm him? The chants I've seen talk about wishing him to fail and not be able to harm others. Nothing about harm coming to him. But go ahead and overreact as usual. Flippity floppity. Um... should we be worried about you? ...like the one of her satanic book?

This better be sarcastic. Don't even try to come in here with that Pizzagate bullshit. People almost got killed over that shit.

Speaking of witchcraft, I've always wondered if Lana ever recorded a cover of Frank Sinatra's "Witchcraft" ever since I stumbled across this September 7, 2012 Instagram post by Felix Howard, who produced her cover of "Chelsea Hotel No. 2", released the following March. He certainly already knew Lana by that point. (I already tried messaging him about this 3 years ago on Soundcloud, but never received a response.) Of course, he also could have recorded it with someone else or posted it apropos of nothing.

June 21, the next ritual day in the sequence following those she tweeted, is not only the summer solstice, but her birthday.

It's really a shame LDR.FM doesn't exist anymore so I could substantiate my making the first reference to Baphomet on a Lana forum. Edit: Actually my early Baphomet references were on this forum in these status updates: She's really into the masters of every puppet...

inb4 the Nina Simone cover this time is "I Put a Spell On You"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czXXxpQkaMM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kux7EMqKlA @@SitarHero

I'm increasingly convinced interplanetary colonization will be necessary for the long term survival of the human race. That said, the number of nearly fucking impossible problems that need to be solved to make that happen is so great that it underscores just how vital it is to protect the one environment hospitable to human life that we have. We need to give ourselves as much time as possible.

You're not a gangster

Due to my kid getting a bilateral ear infection, I finally got the chance today at work to listen to this properly without an infant squalling over it. Space is what makes this song work, to the extent that it does. And I'm not talking about the galactic kind cars float through in the video. The entire strength of the song rests on the anticipation created by the sparseness of the arrangment-- lazily unnecessary and unnecessarily lazy Emile flourishes aside. (What the hell do the gun sounds have to do with anything?) For me, the highlight of the production is the brilliantly simple but effective use of that xylophone or chime sound or whatever accenting the first of each of those note pairs. But overall, the song is not particularly inspired (in Lana voice) lyrically, melodically, or structurally. I suspect the song title was truncated to dampen the obvious comparison to "Young & Beautiful" as it is not too surprisingly, given Rick's involvement, reminiscent of Nowels leaks-era production. I am surprised by how much, erm, love it's been getting from pop music critics typically cool to Lana. But maybe all it takes is production that mostly gets out of the way for people to appreciate the loveliness of her voice, however reverb-drenched. As for the video, while I still don't think it completely works, it is the anti-Tropico. Like Elvis, Marilyn, and John Wayne in the garden of Eden, classic cars floating in space is the essence of Lana's aesthetic distilled, what with her love of things vintage, SpaceX and Tesla and all, but it's not as heavy-handed, and doesn't scream bloated budget (though it may have been) or self-indulgent as much as Tropico. (I think Tropico would have worked better as three distinct music videos.) And thank the heavens there's no fucking monologue on this celestial jukebox this time around. As a first taste of the album, it's no "West Coast" or "Honeymoon". To be honest, I'm a bit concerned by her bringing a bigger pop producer on board in Benny Blanco and her comment that she made her previous albums for herself and this one is "for the fans". I don't at all hate it-- I'm just underwhelmed-- but I'm crossing my fingers "Love" is a bit of a head-fake the way HBTB was, because if this is going to be the direction of the entire album, this longtime fan would probably prefer she go back to making music for herself.

Yes. (See here. If you need additional receipts for any facts in that post, just ask.)

^ My guess is it has something to do with where it was recorded.

^ Yes, good to see you back here, @@Madrigal. Don't be stranger than a stranger.

Except he didn't. An anonymous tumblr that was called quietnowfromtheend if I recall correctly leaked them first. @Bookbinder just re-uploaded them to his own tumblr and tried to steal credit for it. Edit: Wait, I remember what it was called. It was called quietnowfromtheendgame.

¿Por qué?

I have zero interest in this rumor or whether or not it could be true, but "Fuckin' Problems" is the height of performative straight hypermasculinity.

[iNSERT TWITTER THINKING FACE EMOJI HERE] What would you propose?