LiamViljoen

Ariana? I do not stan for that insufferable little girl.

Jeez. First Lorde steals Jaime King now this

This week, Lana Del Rey's first major release, Born to Die, turns 3. Definitely the fans' favorite era, the album was promoted with eight singles, a big amount of beautiful videos that went incredibly viral on Tumblr, two tours, interviews, a re-release/EP, a short film and more. The album sold more than 5 million copies and it's still charting all around the world. It was met with mixed reviews from critics, but half of them were paying attention to Del Rey's personal life instead of the album itself. Now that we're in 2015, Born to Die is among Billboard's best albums of the decade (so far) and it is waiting for more magazines and half-decade lists to praise it just like it deserves.   "Born to Die", the album's second single is the perfect opener – sonically and thematically. You can hear the beautiful violins and loud trip hop beats while she's singing about a young girl fantasizing and trying to survive in a world of dangerous, drug addict men. The song peaked at No. 9 in the UK and its iconic video was an internet sensation. The first promo single and fan-favorite "Off to the Races" is a masterpiece in terms of production and lyrics. While the title track is slow and depressive, "Off to the Races" is a violent alt-hip hop song about an "old bad man" and her sick relationship with him. The lyrics are more than romantic or sexual – they express how maddening love can be. The story-teller "Blue Jeans" features one of the most interesting lyrics from the album. This aggressive trip hop/soft rock song was released as the third single, accompanied by two videos. The first one is a home-made vintage film while the second is a beautifully directed, black and white work of art with a deep meaning. "Blue Jeans" became a Top 40 hit in some Europe countries and it is, without a doubt, one of Lana's most memorable songs/videos. We need to take a moment to think about the perfection of "Video Games", the album's lead single. The mystery behind it and its iconic video. The Top 10 hit was the beginning of a worldwide star, the creation of something important. It was just a simple yet intriguing video, but the whole Internet was talking about it. The majestic melody, romantic lyrics and powerful chorus make "Video Games" her best ballad. Going back to the trip hop/alternative hip hop sound, "Diet Mountain Dew" is a sexy retro song about a pretty girl wondering if her love for this bad man will last forever. The fifth single, "National Anthem", was a commercial failure due its lack of airplay and performances. Its lyrics are clever and open to a big amount of interpretations. In the controversial, high-budget video, Lana plays Marilyn Monroe and Jacqueline Kennedy, while American rapper ASAP Rocky is JFK. It was named one of the best music videos of the decade. "Dark Paradise" was released as the sixth single in order to promote the album, its re-release and the Paradise Tour. Just like the rest of the album, "Dark Paradise" has a very melancholic and dramatic melody. Its music video never saw the light of the day. "Radio" is probably the only optimistic song on Born to Die. The lyrics discusses themes such as hard-working, fame and overcoming. With "Carmen", the second promo single, the album goes back to its dark sound – but this one is definitely the darkest. Del Rey sings about this 17-year old girl Carmen that everybody loves with soft and gloomy trip hop beats in the background. "You said I was the most exotic flower," is the opening line of the jazzy "Million Dollar Man". The fans love when Lana performs this song live – it's an even jazzier version and her vocals are almost always on point (and sometimes they're just funny). The worldwide hit, "Summertime Sadness" is the eleventh song on Born to Die, and the second co-written by the amazing Rick Nowels. The indie pop/trip hop/shoegazing ballad was a hit in Europe in 2012 – it reached the No. 1 spot in Poland and became the 21st best-selling single in the UK that year. In 2013, French DJ Cedric Gervais had his breakthrough with his first single; a Grammy-winning progressive house remix of Lana's "Summertime Sadness". Both the original version and the remix were Top 10 hits in North America, Oceania, South America and Europe. The last song on the standard edition of Born to Die is the rebellious "This Is What Makes Us Girls". The outro of the song is just an epic way to end this incredible album. The deluxe version includes the ballads "Without You" and "Lucky Ones" and the sexy "Lolita".  
VIDEOS
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
PHOTOSHOOTS/COVERS
 

 
What's your favorite song from Born to Die? Least favorite?
Favorite thing about this incredible moment for popular music?
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clGpZdf3bwY
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I don't think she's quite found a sound she's satisfied with. BTD/P was influenced by the label and UV seems to be an album used solely to gain artistic credibility (at least to me). With Honeymoon i'm hoping she goes into it uncompromising and puts out a record that isn't geared towards sales or anything other than producing a final product that represents accurately and competently the enigma that is Lana Del Rey. 
 
I wonder how long until she starts giving descriptions of the album that end up not fitting the final product at all

Jeez. First Lorde steals Jaime King now this

Don't forget Taylor Swift too... I really want to know what happened between Lana and Jaime. Even though it's really none of my business, it's crazy how fast Lana went from being at the birth of Jaime's baby boy (that she struggled to conceive for so long) to being completely deleted from Jaimie's life. Like Wtf happened there??

Jeez. First Lorde steals Jaime King now this

If you purchase it from iTunes/Amazon/her official store, you'll get the FROOT of the month.

ithoughtthechickenwaslovely.gif

(So Legit playing softly in the background)
 
Guess we can rule his name out then.

So is RedOne on the album?

More room for Auerbach to come make album of the decade 2.0!

Wasn't Lou Reed meant to feature on Brooklyn Baby? I just feel like Lana's more specific about collaborating with artists (this is her show) but if she finds the right moment and the right artist then I'm sure she'd go for it.

Wasn't Lou Reed meant to feature on Brooklyn Baby? I just feel like Lana's more specific about collaborating with artists (this is her show) but if she finds the right moment and the right artist then I'm sure she'd go for it.

@@iwasborntodie is the new @@merman

Wasn't Lou Reed meant to feature on Brooklyn Baby? I just feel like Lana's more specific about collaborating with artists (this is her show) but if she finds the right moment and the right artist then I'm sure she'd go for it.

Why do you have to be so rude? Let him post whatever he wants, gifs are awesome and u r boring

@@iwasborntodie is the new @@merman

Wasn't Lou Reed meant to feature on Brooklyn Baby? I just feel like Lana's more specific about collaborating with artists (this is her show) but if she finds the right moment and the right artist then I'm sure she'd go for it.

Lana doesn't ususlly feature collaborations with other artists she respects on her own albums. I think she wants them to feel as personal to her as possible.
 
I could see Courtney playing guitar on a track or something, but not much more.

@@iwasborntodie is the new @@merman

Guys, don't forget to tweet your questions (with the hashtag, #AskMarkRonson) about Honeymoon for this tomorrow:
 

http://lanaboards.com/index.php?/topic/3814-ultraviolence-pre-release-thread/#
Can't remember exactly what page but I think around 200 pages in the whole thread turned into a troll fest and and imploded on itself
 
Were you not around back then?
...those were dark, dark times

That rhymes

Well I hate to post three times in a row, but apparently no one can think of anything relevant to the topic, so I'll get us started.
 
Well, I'm starting to really anticipate Lana's idea of "surrealist" lyrics. I often see you guys saying that she'll never sing about anything but romance, men, etc. but I mean a lot of songs from AKA are very surrealist in style and theme. Particularly Oh Say Can You See (an absouloute gem from the Lizzy era) and if we get an album of songs of that lyrical quality I might just die.
Other examples of Lana's surreal theme:
For K Pt. 2
Gramma
Mermaid Motel
 
So yeah, in other words I'm still desperate for a comeback of SURF NOIR. I know so far her statements on the record haven't sounded the slightest bit similar to AKA (but Raise Me Up IS kinda "orchestral grunge") but I mean the fact is with how unpredictable Lana can be my guess is probably as good as hers