YUNGATA

A. Oh children are just so sonically beautiful, so we get along well. But I get the feeling you don't like my babysitting skills.
 
Q. What's your favourite holiday?

Lana blinks excessively during interviews! I think in the Q awards interview it is most apparent, can’t tell if she’s pulling off that flirty/ innocent look sometimes or if it’s her form of the eye-twitch people get when they are nervous


She stresses many of her words and she tends to blink for a little too long. Lmao! Might be the reason why many people think she looks doped out (00.50)

Licking her lips during performances and interviews. During her performance in Poland she was licking her lips so much that the lipstick from her bottom lip was wiped off



Telling people “thinking of you”
The iconic Lana stare she does in every photoshoot
Tweeting important things in ALL CAPS and occasionally adding a "X" at the end

"i'm your national anthem: self-affirmation through patriotism"

I like her cheeky smiles

some would even call it very.... Lolita

New game:
Take a shot every time she says sonically, visually or thematically.

10. Don't trust anyone

What if she's doing it unironically though.

My friend and I have this joke that Lana's version of dancing is sitting, looking somber and moving her hands.

New game:
Take a shot every time she says sonically, visually or thematically.

Aw, i’ve returned to this thread only to see that the feminism discussion has ended . Anyway, as always, i am so glad to see this being discussed, and i loved reading everyone’s thoughts. It’s these sort of turns in the conversation that make me really like coming here. Time to add my rambling to the now past discussion and i warn you: i feel very scatterbrained right now and unable to organize my thoughts well. Anyway...
 
 
The thing about feminism and feminist discourse--something that i think too often gets overlooked or forgotten--is that, more than just looking at women--what they do and say, what they stand for, whether or not they’re "feminist" or "anti-feminist"--we need to hold the magnifying glass up to men, the male perspective, and even attitudes toward men and male roles, as they’ve existed socially and historically. The coin cannot exist without both sides. The battle against feminism is not only represented by those ideas, thoughts, practices, customs, etc. that are in opposition to the movement's tenets, but also the negative attitudes toward the existence of the movement itself--the threat to change things. There are so many powerful, insidious things that work toward reinforcing patriarchy--it’s a weird self-preserving system--and the bad rap that feminism gets on a broad scale is a perfect example (feminism is “annoying” or “extreme” or “crazy” etc.) The status quo always has many things that are fighting for and helping it to be preserved. I think sexism is the first column that needs to be smashed in order for the whole multi-faceted, complex power structure that globally governs and oppresses to come crumbling down.
 
Anyway, that's all just a preface to what i really wanted to say...
 
Regardless of one’s views on Lana’s lyrics from a feminist perspective, i think it would be hard to deny how unsafe her lyrics and ethos are, and that, in a sense, is very subversive when you consider the sort of things that women (and men!) are “supposed to” sing about/represent, and how a female artist is expected to carry herself. Lana Del Rey’s lyrics give a voice to a complex perspective that is often belittled, shunned, and shamed. Here we have the seizing of a platform for a marginalized view (people tend to hate when things don’t fall neatly into binaries), and, sadly, as is to be expected, there are attempts to silence it. Patriarchy and sexism rear its ugly head again.
 
I love the “looking to get fucked hard” line in G&M. That’s anti-feminist? Why? How? What strikes me as anti-feminist is thinking that that line is anti-feminist. This line of thinking is doing nothing but defining sexual views for women and how they should express thoughts on sex. Mother/Whore oppressive dichotomy 2 the max. It’s bullshit. And by the way, "Femme Fatale" is just a problematic trope that does no favors to feminism. More binaries.
 
The prevailing cultural perspective on sex is SO weird--how sex is ubiquitous, oversaturating almost every aspect of society, yet it’s often met with such resistance if it doesn’t neatly fit into our accepted, monogamous, normative framework. I don’t get all the knee-jerk reactions to the cursing/sexuality on Paradise, and the suspicion that it is intended to shock. What is shocking about cursing or talking about sex in pop music in the year 2012? We’re talking about someone who already has a substantial back catalogue of songs that touch upon plenty of “controversial” topics, from drugs to pedophilia. Homegurl could’ve busted out plenty of more “shocking” stuff than what we’ve heard so far of this new release. My pussy tastes like Pepsi Cola is so playful. Cum on guis, didn't u all want playful Lizzy back in the fold? Yes, obnoxiously and predictably, that line is the one thing that outsiders have really latched on to more than anything else about this release (who didn’t see that coming?) but that doesn’t qualify it as shock value in its intent.
 
 
ANYWAY, regarding the snippets...i heard them only once, so i can't really give much of an opinion. I’m not going to get hung up on 1:30 low quality samples. I will say this though: i hear many production decisions that blow BTD’s production away. Maybe the songwriting is a notch or two below what she produced for BTD, but a lot of the arranging and production, i feel, really "corrected" a lot of BTD's flaws. This is just a preliminary assessment though, so i need to sit with the EP for some time before really deciding anything. Burning Desire, though...oy, that is one bad song.
 
I have to say, i am surprised that the consensus is unfavorable so far, i really didn’t see that coming. I don't see how this is that much of a departure. I’m also surprised by the reaction to the new Yayo vocals. So many times in the past people have lamented about the restrained vocals on BTD while praising her live vocals, yet when we get pretty much what so many of you have wanted out of a studio vocal from Lana, there is all this talk about how shitty the vocals are! I also don’t understand this one-definitive-version-of-a-song mentality. I suspect that anything that could have been done to Yayo, no mater what, would be viewed as an abomination simply because it’s not the AKA version. Why do we have to look at it as a better/worse situation though? It’s a different tone and mood that is captured in the new recording. Do you find it worse because of reasons having to do with the arrangement, production, and performance, or is worse simply because it’s not the version you have always loved? I don’t know, i guess this is an uncommon view, but there is little more that i love in music than having variations of a piece. That's something i adore about Lana's catalogue.
 
 
So wait, have we determined what this emoticon is expressing? ----->

Exactly! Live at The Jazz Cafe was exquisite, too. I loved it when she changed the lyrics up a bit at the iTunes Festival. Yeah the demo's such an easy listen but so perfect. The extra harmony before the chorus is so sweet. Lots of people dismiss Radio as boring or average, but in my opinion it's the best song on BTD. It's such an uplifting song but still has fairly meaningful lyrics.

SONICALLYYYY

Actually, "All my dreams and all the lights mean nothing without you" is pretty powerful, coming from the person/character of Lana Del Rey. Falling in love is to her, what immortality is to some. (See Last Girl on Earth.)

I'm super stoked for this album, she just continues to deliver quality music and I just really appreciate that.

I feel like that's because we're in a world were we believe this sort of idea about sex to be dirty and unacceptable. But I think this is an exploration of Lana's personal sexuality. Of course it's harder for us to connect to it because it's not how we feel about sex. However this vein of sexual exploration has been constant through Lana's work and while I don't think it's there for shock value, I do believe it's just what turns her on. Lyrics are personal and we should remember she's not necessarily writing for us but for herself, even just as a cathartic measure.

I like her cheeky smiles

Radio is a lush, magical masterpiece
Tell me this is not wonderful/adorable in every way conceivable:
 

fixed it for you.

fixed it for you.

Radio is a lush, magical masterpiece
Tell me this is not wonderful/adorable in every way conceivable:
 

Radio is a lush, magical masterpiece
Tell me this is not wonderful/adorable in every way conceivable:
 

I'm going to assume you meant to say Radio

I love Radio as a demo so much. I also just generally love the lyrics. Hey little bit of Lanalysis here, have you noticed differences in the lyrics for the studio and live versions of Radio?
Studio:
Baby love me cause I'm playing on the radio
 
Live:
[My] baby loves me cause I'm playing on the radio
 
It's really subtle but I've been thinking about it on and of for weeks and it's kind of like in the studio lyrics she's asking to be loved. However, in the live version to me it more implies she's only loved because of this which is kind of sadder. I have no idea why I typed all this now I kind of just remembered.
 
But anyway, which Carmen demo you prefer? The piano one or the a capella version?

Hey Video Games is a nice song, it's how I fell in love with Lana but it's not a strong song. It's what pulls you towards Lana but after you hear the rest of BtD, it comes off as very subpar, to me anyway.