evilentity

One of the songs I've most wanted her to cover. Man, I really need to finish my second covers-themed podcast. My outline for it is getting really, really long. Also, praise @ for these videos.

I think the only devices they know how to operate are electric chairs.

So I'm guessing it was a cover then if it was really short? Wait... don't take the time to answer that. Just upload it ASAP!

If you can get together enough people to cover their own costs plus my own and an assistant's and compensate each of us for our time at my current hourly wage, I'd be happy to guide this tour.

See here and here.

So she might start varying her setlist with unreleased tracks including some of my biggest faves once I decide she's not worth seeing live again for awhile?

I feel like I've answered this question before in some detail (in status updates?), but for the life of me I can't find it right now. I did find some previous discussion about this beginning here and continuing off and on over the next several pages of that thread. (However, that discussion is an example of why we shouldn't take every pronouncement of the legendary CG of LDR.FM literally or as inerrant without receipts.) The track is almost certainly not Lana playing, though I think the Reverbnation profile is probably legit. It was archived as early as November 16, 2011 (which is late enough that she was becoming known so it's possible someone faked the account, but early enough that that's less likely) and lists details about three 2008 shows that she really did perform. The one thing that gives me pause is that the photo, despite looking like her during her short blonde hair phase, does not actually apear to be of her. Maybe she found the picture and used it because she liked it? The title of the instrumental guitar track on that account, "for brandon", is a very Lizzy-esque title, but it's definitely not her playing. Her guitar playing on the songs she is believed to have played on is nowhere near that advanced. As she says in "For K Part 2" she doesn't play a good guitar. Also, I asked Alice BrightSky about this when I contacted her for the Early Shows section and she agreed: "Hm.. I have no idea but it's definitely not her playing the guitar." I've always wondered if the title might be referring in some way to Brandon Wilde, another singer/songwriter in the Williamsburg music scene whose song "Love in Cars" she covered at a show where musicians covered each other's songs. Or perhaps it's some other Brandon entirely. Depends what you consider her first tour. If you mean her first tour between "Video Games" and BTD then it was generally this.

Where's when @@SitarHero needs him?

Don't think it's really accurate to call it "unreleased". Looks like it was previously available for purchase: https://web.archive.org/web/20130520135306/http://www.mylifeonastick.com/shopping/ And it looks like the label will be releasing a remixed version of the album soon: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/the-lost-tapes-remixed/id988891438?l=en

Someone find that interview.

Six officers have been charged in the death of Freddie Gray, one with second-degree murder: http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/01/us/freddie-gray-baltimore-death/index.html

It's not just one specific quote. It's the general attitude throughout your posts rationalizing almost anything police do. Couldn't agree more. We shouldn't be so afraid of making missteps. And people should be cut a little slack for minor missteps if they're acting in good faith. But that doesn't mean other people shouldn't point out our missteps. I know my style of argument can be very confrontational, but I hope you can look past that to the points I'm making. The answers to these questions are long and complicated, but they're not at all mysterious. You could fill a library explaining them, so I'll summarize the answer to most of them in one word: Racism. That will sound incredibly glib at first. But the more you think about it, and think about American history, the more you'll see it's not. Take for example why American police (or white Americans in general) fear blacks. Part of it is that they wildly overestimate black criminality due to racist attitudes and biased media coverage, but part of it is because black people do commit a disproportionate amount of crime in the US. However, if you ask why that is, you will uncover a myriad of systemic and socioeconomic problems. But if you keep asking why, and ask why those problems exist, in almost every case they have significant roots in racist policies and discrimination. So it's statements like "Having racism as an excuse for everything regarding darker people without searching for other reasons are getting quite tiresome" that seem empty. That approach is itself not very searching. Where have I ever defended the rioting? I've spent a lot of time defending the victims in the police brutality cases I mentioned, but not the rioting. I've said it's important to understand the frustrations motivating the rioting, but I've never defended it. What part of "I don't condone the rioting at all" was unclear? Excuse me for not clutching my pearls about it or making a sufficient performance of outrage to satisfy you. And regarding my supposed "one-sided perspective" on the videos. Just because I come down on the other side doesn't mean I haven't considered the police perspective. I understand how these incidents happened. But the problem is current policing practices are geared towards viewing these types of situations from a one-sided perspective and making hair-trigger reactions accordingly before there is a chance to consider any other interpretation of the situation, to devastating consequences. That needs to change. I think you missed the point here. I don't think the objection here was about factual accuracy so much as tone. There is a high rate of unemployment there. They are marginalized by American society. But as I explained before, you described them is such a way as to denigrate them, not to understand what's motivating their frustrations. I honestly don't think that's what's motivating anyone here in this thread so far. If you think that's what I'm doing you're definitely mistaken. I'm more than willing to call bullshit on what's considered the politically correct anti-racist dogma when warranted.

Here's an interesting article reviewing Kim's book and comparing her and Courtney Love: https://nplusonemag.com/online-only/book-review/in-praise-of-vulgar-feminism-2/ It kicks off with a fairly lengthy discussion of the controversy over her comments about Lana.

Apparently I missed the forum rule that you have to write an essay on a topic before responding to anything anyone else has said about it. Good to know. I did give you my opinion, it just didn't take many words to express: "Though I get where the anger is coming from, I don't condone the rioting at all. But neither do I condone the bad actions of the police." Unpacking what I find objectionable in yours takes a few more. Honestly, I hadn't really intended to weigh in here. I was more interested in listening to views from American POC than filling up space with another white guy's opinion. But I couldn't not respond to some of the things you wrote. We agree on that. I'm not attempting to "destroy" you. I'm attempting to destroy the arguments you're making and the mindset you're expressing. And I'm absolutely not trying to misconstrue your points. You're either shifting your position or just not expressing yourself well. For example, you gave this "clarification": We were supposed to infer all that, that specific scenario, from the very vague phrase "sometimes for personal reasons"? I was merely highlighting the problem with the logic of your statement the way you expressed it by employing it in another context where it would be more obvious to you why it's problematic. Your wording employed exactly the same sort of logic often used to blame rape victims to blame victims of police brutality. Did you even check the video I linked? You can't say that's really how it happened because the video has no audio. But even if that's mostly accurate, he had his hands in his pockets to begin with. Why do you assume that his hand movements are him reaching for the weapon and refuse to see it from the viewpoint that his movements may be him beginning to comply with a command to put his hands up? But I forgot, police are infallible and never lie or misperceive a situation. And certainly not with a whole two seconds to assess it. Just-world fallacy Completely ignoring the role of racism and not examining the reasons why rioters are angry is getting quite tiresome. I assure you, as @@comeintomybedroom would readily attest, I'm not one of those people.

Shorter @@Viva: Cum 2 Brasil! Brazil's great because we're not racist, our police brutalize everyone equally! You're defending fatally shooting a child with a toy gun in less than two seconds after arriving on the scene? Seriously? He didn't even have the chance to comply with anything he might have been ordered to do. You implied that people only suffer police brutality when they resist. I was merely providing just a few representative counterexamples. He was shot immediately by police for holding a BB gun sold at the store. Yes, because it's an attitude that is literally letting people get away with murder. I think it happens rarely that the woman who gets raped is completely innocent. Classic victim blaming. You just contradicted yourself in your previous sentence. You just said you expect them to be completely innocent. You talk a lot about how the citizenry should be and I believe everyone agrees with your opinion. So what can the police do to make it come true? To assault them, paralyze them, kill, refuse to take responsibility for their actions - and at the same time expect the citizenry not to angrily react? I think people should be able to discuss the subject without making racist generalizations. Though I get where the anger is coming from, I don't condone the rioting at all. But neither do I condone the bad actions of the police. If you're looking for someone defending bad actions here, well, I hope whatever screen you're looking into is pretty reflective.

The implication was that if you resist in any way and are brutalized by police you had it coming. I don't care what country you're from. That mindset is really disturbing, partly because it is so pervasive. On top of that, they implied that people are only brutalized when they resist arrest (false) and that black people are to blame for their brutalization because they resist arrest and white people don't (false). If that's not what they meant to imply then they should clarify, but if calling out that bullshit makes me a bitch, then so be it.

Yeah, let's not with the name-calling. So here are some counterarguments: False. In several of the recent incidents in the US that have risen to national attention the cops used excessive force immediately upon arriving at the scene. In one case, an innocent black guy was shot precisely because he was following the officer's orders! And BTW, I've seen plenty of white people "resist" arrest. But you reveal a really disturbing mindset that is sadly pervasive: That any minor deviation from complete and immediate submission to police justifies excessive force by the police, whether the police are acting on a correct understanding of the law or not. Civilians are expected to act perfectly, but our sainted police are forgiven almost any sin. That is almost completely backwards from the way it should be. Yes, cops are human, and will occasionally make mistakes, but as the manifestation of the coercive power of the state at the point of contact with the people, it is the police who should be expected to act with near perfection. Police in America have not earned the degree of reverence and deference given them by most of American society. First of all, COPS is a notoriously racist and classist show. Second... wow. Let me put this as gently and nicely as I know how. Broad generalizations about race based on anecdote and not evidence like these are basically the definition of racist generalizations. And once again there is almost certainly some unconsciously racist selective memory going on here. But let's imagine for a minute your generalization was true. Do you not think black males would perhaps have some reason to react this way? "'Thugs'". In scare quotes. I'd suggest you read up on why the word "thug" is problematic, but your use of scare quotes suggests you know all too well. Interesting how you describe rioters as "bored, possibly unemployed" and "outside the American society" in order to demonize them, not to understand the frustrations and lack of opportunity motivating this. You are correct that some of these people "have built up some hatred towards their government and the police for half of their life time", but ask yourself why. One does not need to condone behavior to understand it, but understanding the cause of a problem is critical to addressing it. Clearly.

Visit Fordham University's Rose Hill Campus where she attended college. Listening to "Fordham Road", wander through the Bronx (careful, it's a "bad neighborhood"!) on your way there and see if you can find the cheap coffee place on Valentine or the "stone Mary in the garden". On campus, stop in to the McGinley Center there and check out the ballroom where she sang at a fundraiser. Cross campus to Rodrigue's Coffee House in Alumni House where Lana played several gigs (including her first known gig and another one the same night as the fundraiser). Get caffeinated imagining Lizzy singing "Get Drunk" and "Pawn Shop Blues" here while playing acoustic guitar. Visit more venues where she performed in her early years. They're all listed in the Early Shows section. (Keep in mind that some venues have closed or moved since then. I've tried to list the original addresses in the show threads when possible, but I'm not sure it's 100% accurate.) Explore her Williamsburg stomping grounds at night listening to "Oh Say Can You See". Wander through alleys and look at the bars. Visit the trailer park where she lived, Manhattan Mobile Home Park at 4828 Tonelle Ave. in North Bergen, New Jersey if it hasn't been demolished yet. (It doesn't appear to have been based on Google StreetView photos from December.) Take the Lincoln Tunnel which inspired the "tunnel lined with yellow lights" lyric in "Yayo" as you take yourself "from this dark trailer park life." Definitely visit Coney Island. Walk down Mermaid and Neptune Avenues. Eat cotton candy and explore the boardwalk while listening to "Mermaid Motel". Ride the coasters and the Wonder Wheel. Stick your toes in the sand while listening to "Kill Kill". Lie in the ocean singing her song. Check out the aquarium before you go. Come back for the annual Mermaid Parade. You might also consider traveling down the Jersey Shore to a couple similar boardwalk destinations, Seaside Heights, where I think she wrote "Trash Magic", and Wildwood, where one of her classic photo shoots was taken. And if you're really hardcore, consider a road trip to beautiful Lake Placid, where she grew up. If you do any of this please take pictures and post about it! @@Trash Magic @@HeadBitch

It's a little unclear exactly what period of time she was talking about that she didn't have much contact with her parents, but I'm skeptical of that claim. She also tends to downplay her family's financial situation. (See this previous post of mine for more detail.) That said, I've never seen anyone making the claim that her father bought her career or studio time present any evidence. It's completely speculation. Oh, and the Miley thing? That's probably based on Hipster Runoff, ground zero for Lana mythology, miscaptioning this photo (probably knowingly and satirically) "OMG u got to hang out with Miley???!?! #jeal": It's just a photo where her sis Chuck happens to look a bit like Hannah Montana. That photo is practically a microcosm of the LDR-as-daddy-bought-label-creation myth. You have Lana and Chuck hanging out with her modestly wealthy dad at a domain name industry convention with his two of his much, much wealthier buds from the domain name world. But in the hands of Hipster Runoff they are music "industry insiders". Even her dad is identified not as her dad but as "an 'industry insider', probably scheming to 'trick' the indie blogosphere." Sorry Carles, but you managed to do that perfectly well all by yourself. The media narrative that LDR was a label creation funded by her dad is almost entirely mythical as is Lana's narrative that neither she nor her family had money. The truth is almost certainly much more boring than any of that. This is basically another retread of the "outtake" question. "Intended for". Probably only Lana or maybe David Kahne can really answer that. David Kahne has previously stated the only track he worked on with Lana besides what ended up on AKA was "C-Note", an alternate name for HDB, but after the album was finished. The NKF tracks are rumored to be among the demos sent to Kahne to attract his interest in producing her and possibly fit the description of tracks recorded first with Steven Mertens and re-recorded with Kahne. But we don't really know.

Was it really? I don't even remember that anymore.

The Kill Kill EP was released under Lizzy Grant. Hence the reason why someone apparently felt the need to put "A.K.A. Lizzy Grant" on the Lana Del Ray album. I find this common fixation on categorizing artists' careers into distinct "eras" a bit obsessive and misguided, especially with respect to Lana. These are typically not neat distinctions, often fuzzy, unknowable, uncertain, or riddled with inconsistencies. It's a fool's errand, an attempt to impose an artificial sense of order onto something that is inherently disordered and resistant to neat classification. I also think there are other distinctions that are more relevant, like her career pre-fame and post-fame.

Ata's in the back doing crack, dropping b-b-nanas... Usually when I have a lyric wrong and someone tells me the correct lyric, I can tell myself it's the corrected lyric in my head enough times that I expect to hear it, and then if I go back and listen, I do hear it. That doesn't happen for me with "P-P-Pepsi". No matter how much I convince myself it's "P-P-Pepsi", and expect to hear it, I still hear "vodka Pepsi" on the studio version. Pay particular attention to the second syllable (the second 'P' in "P-P-Pepsi" or the "ka" in "vodka Pepsi"). What makes it difficult to distinguish are those accented, heavily reverbed handclapping/percussion notes on the same rhythm as "P-P-"/"vodka". If I listen closely, taking great care to distinguish her vocals from the reverbed percussion, I'm pretty certain I hear a "kuh" sound on the second syllable distinct from the reverbed percussion. I think a lot of people are hearing that and assuming it's part of the percussion or reverb, but listen more closely, I don't think it is. The vowel sound on the first syllable also sounds a little more like an "ah" sound like in the first syllable of "vodka" than the "Puh" schwa sound in "P-P-Pepsi", though that's less distinct. Although I hear the difference whether I'm listening on shitty earbuds or studio quality headphones, I recommend listening closely on good headphones. I also recommend trying different manipulations individually in Audacity-- increase or decrease the speed, pitch, or tempo, use a high or low pass filter, Vocoder, vocal remover, or noise removal using the instrumental intro as the noise profile. Telling yourself the lyric is "vodka Pepsi" and listening closely for the 'k' sound while trying one of these may make it easier for you to hear it the first time. It's easier to pick out after you've heard it once.

This reminds me of the classic joke pickup line, "How 'bout a pizza and a fuck?" (And then after the inevitable "No"/"Get lost"/"Piss off" response, "What? You don't like pizza?")

Before the MySpace relaunch, those tracks on her sparklejumpropequeen MySpace account were all in the same playlist and had no album information. Post-relaunch, they appear with the album names as you describe. My best guess is that these album titles were in a metadata field in the files originally uploaded that was not being used prior to the relaunch. I don't think there's really much we can conclude with any certainty from that. Similarly, this sums up my thoughts on trying to distinguish Sparkle Jump Rope Queen, Lizzy Grant and the Phenomena, or what have you "eras":

I've never tried contacting him, but here's more sleuthing stuff about him I posted earlier in this thread: You can see the blog post here. Apparently Trendrr bought Wiredset. If you search my Early Shows subsection for "Ghuneim" you'll get several hits. One of Ghuneim's Twitter accounts is @mediaeater. A user account called "mdg" (likely Ghuneim's initials) that links to mediaeater.com posted info about her December 2, 2008 National Underground show on BrooklynVegan. Also, those shitty cell phone videos of her Mercury Lounge show were originally posted on Qik by a user named "mediaeater". So that's all Mark Ghuneim.