West Coast

Cherry vs Gods & Monsters

ngl I'm a big high atm listening to this classic from down under Tame Impala - The Moment

I honestly hope Lana comes back to headline Osheaga this year, but rumour has it Lizzo is getting that spot. Choices.

It was her time indeed. I'm so nostalgic of Lana from that time period. 2014 was her year. The Coachella performances are iconic, the shortlived Ultraviolence era is iconic, the album, the visuals, her looks/hair/makeup from that year. I honestly miss this Lana: the mysterious, not so annoyingly California, seductive/femme fatale, rock-y songstress Lana. Ugh, The fucking flavour.

Exactly. I feel like Jack didn't push Lana at all. I very much remember reading an article in which Lana was very impressed with some sort of chord progression Jack was working on and saying she wanted that for NFR and that ended up being the instrumentals for Love Song... one of the songs I very much think its instrumentals is non-existent. The whole thing just made me realize how much of a "Yes man" Jack is, or he just goes along to get along. I'm not only blaming him for the album's weaknesses, they are both responsible for that. I agree with you on this also, there are a lot of lyricism highlights on the record, but also a lot of songs that just sound... eh. While I very much like Venice Bitch, I can't stand the actual "it's me your little Venice bitch" line, also Fuck it I luh ya has got to be the cringiest line Lana has ever uttered for an eponymously named song. Also, the Kanye West namedrop in The greatest, was so unnecessary too and to me it was like Lana tried to be edgy. I feel like it's a bit too late for WHF/LP7 to differ from NFR, because Jack basically confirmed that he and Lana they never really stopped working on songs together. My hopes for the next record to actually differ from NFR aren't very high. I feel like we're going to get more or less of the same style, not the same album, but the same beige/generic acoustic vibe.

I liked your comment at first, but then I realized that you implied that NFR is on the same level as Ultraviolence, and that the follow up record, in that case WHF/LP7 will be as equally "good" as NFR. If anything Lana should make a 180 change from that record and go into a completely different direction with an entirely new producer/collaborator for this album to be remotely interesting to me.

Musically Lana is capable of so much more than what she has displayed on NFR. I feel like the album was just too surface level for Lana. The fact that she says she has recorded a full rock album with Miles Kane but doesn't want us to hear it is shady. Her music process post Honeymoon doesn't fascinate me as much as what it used to to be honest. I feel like Honeymoon is the last album from Lana on which she gets in the studio and she has a full concept for a record and wants it to have like "x" amount of songs and sound a very specific way. Both LFL and NFR differ from that. I feel like nowadays Lana just gets in the studio and records song after song; cherrypicks what she likes most and makes a record with that. There's not the same attention to detail or intention to make a cohesive album with a specific sound/production and, dare I say, concept album? Didn't Jack say in an interview that he and Lana they basically met and just recorded a bunch of songs and never really stop? Also, on LFL, while the album's roll out was rushed due to leaks, I feel like Lana kept going back to the cutting board to add/remove songs (still can't believe that we have Coachella, but never got Yosemite). The real surprise on White Hot Forever/LP7 to me would be that Lana actually has a concept this time around.

It's not a whole lot, but here's all the Lana stuff I've collected since 2012, besides the physical copies of her albums: The standard edition (and coloured version) records I have: The special editions, boxes, singles I got so far: Just because it's my favourite album it deserves its own category AND because it's the most beautiful collector's edition type of thing Lana has put out: The few official clothing I own: All the Lana relating things I was given/got/kept at her concerts: Magazine covers: And to top it all my two autographed items: That's about it. I think I'm going to start a "Vinyl collection" thread unless there's one already.

listening to this classic a lot lately

It's just foolish in my opinion how the rollout of her projects comes off as totally unplanned and unprepared. Amateur through and through.

Wow a concept. I will be sourly disappointed if we don't get a matcha tea cup photoshoot in there too.

We also all know that they were probably more interesting concept of songs than the alleged "Red Hot Chilly Peppers influences" we supposedly ended up having. Just saying. The way Lana describes her albums prior to their release never cease to amaze me.

All her albums deserve that. We're probably going to get some tacky violet picture courtesy of Chuck let's be honest. Side note, the fact that this went from an actual poetry book, to some homemade handbinded diary type of thing, to a fucking spoken word album... it has me dying over here. Does this woman not realize how foolish she looks sometimes?

NFR was Lana being too comfortable in her own ways and not reaching for higher heights. Agree that it was a much needed improvement from LFL, but with a closing track like Get Free I expected Lana to go down some weird/ethereal psychedelic and/or doo-wop road, but she instead went for the safe "cute & light acoustic" freeway. It paid off from a "critical" point of view, but to be honest critics acting like Lana is at her peak when she couldn't be more beige and generic is quite the insult to her past records. But I've made my case already. Personally speaking White Hot Forever better not be some tedious piano/acoustic guitar driven album. It better pop off. Without going back to an Ultraviolence type of sound, I feel like with an album title like that she could easily make some intense, summery and psychedelic tunes. Anything but the flat and dry sound of NFR will do at this point for me.

This is where we're going to disagree even further. I think that from Cruel World to Pretty When You Cry, the album is a ten across the board. Outstanding tracks one after the other. I understand that for a lot of fans lyrical redundancy is a huge issue for them on Ultraviolence, though I kinda felt that way when I first heard the album, nowadays that doesn't bother me as much. I think that Ultraviolence's strength lies in its intoxicating and atmospheric production. Though I prefer the single version (the Rob Orton mix? Anyway the Official Audio on Lana's YouTube page) of West Coast, it truly is a masterpiece in its own right. When Lana sings the bridge in Sad Girl, it's probably the highlight of the album to me. The instrumentals on all these tracks are just otherwordly. As for the rest, well Money Power Glory as its strength and weaknesses, I don't really care for Fucked My Way Up To The Top. Old Money is a gem in my honest opinion. The Other Woman is a fine cover. The reworked version of Black Beauty is amazing, though it sounds off a little in some part. Guns and Roses... and Florida Kilos actually grew on me over time and I actually enjoy it now. The album is not perfect, but it's my favourite. It's a solid 8-8.5/10. I simply do not feel this way about NFR, I definitely enjoy songs like the title track, Venice Bitch, California and to a certain extent The greatest, but even on these songs I find myself cringing over the lackluster production. I simply do not enjoy how flat/dry and tinny the instruments and overall instrumentation and voice mixing sound on this record . I know it doesn't seem to be a huge problem to most fans on here, but it is for me. After listening to records like Born To Die, Ultraviolence and Honeymoon, which all had their strength and weaknesses, but overall sounded pretty amazing and outstanding. A record like NFR to me sounds utterly flat and quite forgettable from a production/instrumentation and mastering point of view. From the first track it sounds off; the piano (and overall instrumentation) in the title track sound so cheap and tinny, too much ambient/white noises, and utterly flat and compressed vocals. To me NFR is more like a 6, maybe a 7/10 on a good day. I guess we're going to have to disagree about this forever, I went back to listening to the album a couple times over the past five months and I still feel the exact same way. What's worse is that the few tracks that I actually liked are already losing their luster. I just simply do not think of NFR as being this amazing record that stands out in Lana's discography. To me it stands out in other ways.

No worries, I'm nominated for the "Can you come up with something else?" category (amongst other things) at the Lipsters for a reason you know, it's all good. If Lonerism is your favourite Tame Impala record than you are probably going to love Melody's Echo Chamber as well! Songs like Some Time Alone, Alone and Endless Shore are probably going to give you all the Lonerism feels you know and love!

Shades of Cool and Ride are the only videos that deserve a 10 and you know it. Freak and White Mustang don't deserve more than a 5 given that they are just repurposed footage and MAC, Venice Bitch and that whole messy triple video don't even deserve a 1 and that's that on that. The rest dangles between 6 and 9.

I know we got different views on NFR, but I'm glad we can agree on this. Lonerism is otherwordly and Innerspeaker is an incredible record as well. I love current too, though I really enjoy the first half of the record (after The Less I Know The Better I kinda lose interest... until New Person (which is an even more incredible track live!)). I also think that the Posthumous Forgiveness is the best single released from The Slow Rush thus far, such an amazing track, the second half of that song is gold. Though I kinda feel the same way about the other singles as I feel about the second half of Currents: amazing production, but a tad repetitive song construction, they kinda lack the bridge/climax moment that songs like Let It Happen, The Moment and Eventually have. They still stand out though. Can't wait for the rest of the record to come out next month! Sort of related but have you heard of Melody's Echo Chamber's self titled album? It was produced by Kevin Parker and was released around the time of Lonerism too it definitely feels like a sister album to it!

You're back! Danny DeVito I love your work!

I co-signed this.

I honestly totally forgot to include it! I somehow do not regret that though.

That's actually really interesting. I feel like it would've benefit the record to tighten it up a little and cut down on some songs. In that sense I agree, with both Love Song and Bartender it was like one piano ballad too many. I personally would've chosen Bartender over Love Song. Also while I think that Hope is lyrically one of her strongest song, I feel like it should've been relegated to unreleased material in its current format. Or make it something like 3 minutes instead of its current almost 6 minute format. This has also been said several times but Venice Bitch not closing the record is shocking. It would've been the perfect album closer in my honest opinion (though LFL was far from being her most cohesive project, Get Free remains her best album closing track in my opinion). It would've make the album more enjoyable to me, strictly from a tracklist point of view. My ultimate song placement would've been as follow: 1. Norman Fucking Rockwell 2. Mariners Apartment Complex 3. Fuck it I Luh ya 4. Doin' Time 5. Cinnamon 6. Bartender 7. How To Disappear (Piano version of course) 8. California 9. hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have - but i have it (shorter version) 10. The greatest 11. Happiness is a butterfly 12. Venice Bitch

After writing a little essay about West Coast in the the "Ultimate, Decade-End Lana Del Rey Ranking" thread, I went back to listen to Ultraviolence from start to finish. Honestly this album is just amazing. The production is so rich, detailed and layered. I understand that the raw/rough, live band type of sound was not, and is not for everyone. But to me, it's such an experience and every time I'm listening to it I feel like I can get lost in its sound and just analyze how detailed and impressive it really is. West Coast truly is Lana's most amazing song in that regard, it's a sonic experience from start to finish. Now here's unto the unpopular part. I feel like Lana post Honeymoon has gotten somewhat sloppy and disinterested with the production of her records. On Lust for Life there were gems, but it was pretty uneven; the the worst cohabited with the best and it was overall a little too tainted with cheap trap beats. On NFR, though it's nothing like LFL, it feels like the entire record was meant to sound flat and tedious. There are definitely instrumentation highlights on the record (Venice Bitch), but the rest of the album, in that regard, is almost completely forgettable and it just sucks. The few songs that I like on the record are already losing their luster and it's not even been six months since the album's release. It sucks that I feel this way about her album, but I haven't been "transported" or impressed from start to finish by her albums after Honeymoon.

In honor of Lana performing again at Coachella, let's take a moment to appreciate this iconic moment:

you were nominated for worst taste for a reason you know.