timinmass101

As a long time fan of Sonic Youth and Kim Gordon I just find this pathetic. Either 1) Kim was ignorant, misinformed and misspoke or 2) is trying to sell books. I've never believed Kim to be ignorant.
 
How is this any different than Marshall Mathers wanting to "punch Lana Del Rey right in the face twice, like Ray Rice ..."
 
Ironic that two former greats, a misogynistic rapper and a feminist rock hero both resort to verbally assaulting Lana Del Rey to further their own no longer relevant careers. Pathetic.
 
Lana ... You go girl! Clearly, what you do, you do best.

Emile Haynie says a lot of nice things about our girl.
 
From Grantland - February 24, 2015
 
http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/from-ghostface-to-lana-del-rey-to-heartbreak-super-producer-emile-haynie-goes-solo/
 
When you started working with Lana Del Rey, were you looking for a change away from hip-hop? Or did that just kind of happen?
 
I had been tinkering around a little. There was a few singers I had worked with here and there, but nothing that was really connecting. Lana, that first time we ever worked together, we made the song “Blue Jeans.”
 
 
There was so much debate around her when she first came out — a lot of arguments about her authenticity and all that. It hasn’t affected her in the long run: She’s extremely popular these days. But did you pay attention to that stuff back then? Did it bother you?
 
I paid attention, and I shouldn’t have, because it pissed me off. She would get accused of not writing her own songs and I’m like, “I’m in the studio with her!” Then there’s the funny one where it’s like, “Her dad financed her whole career.” That came out before she had a record deal. I’m like, “Wait, I’m producing her album, we’re in my studio, and there ain’t no budget, so what is this imaginary funding from her quote-unquote rich dad?” I also know plenty of artists with rich dads who try to buy their kid a record deal. It ain’t happenin’.
 
Now that’s all kind of gone away. It was weird, though. It was this weird sexist energy of, like, “How could this pretty woman possibly write all her own songs, style herself, direct her own videos?” People wouldn’t believe it.
 
I’ve seen it all in the studio. I’ve seen the very indie “Sit in a corner and write everything,” and I’ve seen, unfortunately, the more manufactured pop shit. She’s not that. I’ve witnessed her voice, I’ve witnessed her writing, I’ve witnessed her creating this stuff. So I was like, if it becomes successful, it’s a matter of time before people get over the conspiracy theories and just kind of decide whether they like her. I always said give it some time and the truth will come out. She’s pretty badass.
 
 
Some people seemed to take umbrage with her stage persona, which was surprising.
 
I mean, what’s Bob Dylan’s real name? I don’t think Master P was born Master P. I’m pretty sure! It’s insane. It’s completely insane.
 
 
From Complex - February 23, 2015
 
http://www.complex.com/music/2015/02/emile-haynie-profile-we-fall
 
When did you decide to leave NYC and go to L.A.?
 
I was in the middle of starting Lana’s second album and I introduced her to Dan Auerbach [of The Black Keys], who ended up producing it. All of us were supposed go to Nashville to work together and I couldn’t do it. I was miserable at the time. I was like, “I need to go to L.A. I want to stay with my family. I’m writing songs, and it’s insane because she’s my favorite artist, but I’m just going to go to L.A.”
 
 
Did you turn down a lot of projects?
 
Yeah, everything.
 
 
Really? Any big ones?
 
I don’t wanna diss anyone. Not working on Lana’s second album, that’s like my sister, and we love each other. That was a massive move. I felt terrible. Before she got with Dan and it worked itself out, there were some tense moments. She got quite upset sometimes. It was painful for me to feel like I might be leaving her hanging. The beauty of the relationship that we have is she understood, and she knew what I was dealing with, she knew I had to do what I had to do, and she was so supportive the entire time.
 
We met years ago just to make tunes, and now it’s become so much more than that. This is her album, this is her baby. She just knew on a friendship level what I was doing and she didn’t get bummed. She sang a song on my album. She would come in and listen to my album and give me all this great advice.
 
Thank God for her. That was trying. It was right at the beginning, I didn’t know what I was doing at that point. She had her songs written. She wrote her entire album. It was a production. That’s Lana, she does that. Lana doesn’t do the generic co-write thing, Lana sat and wrote her songs. I just knew I had to write, and it wasn’t a writing gig with her—it would be a producing gig. I had to write, I had to write. It didn’t matter if the songs got produced and never came back, I had to write. I would’ve went crazy if I didn’t.

Emile Haynie says a lot of nice things about our girl.
 
From Grantland - February 24, 2015
 
http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/from-ghostface-to-lana-del-rey-to-heartbreak-super-producer-emile-haynie-goes-solo/
 
When you started working with Lana Del Rey, were you looking for a change away from hip-hop? Or did that just kind of happen?
 
I had been tinkering around a little. There was a few singers I had worked with here and there, but nothing that was really connecting. Lana, that first time we ever worked together, we made the song “Blue Jeans.”
 
 
There was so much debate around her when she first came out — a lot of arguments about her authenticity and all that. It hasn’t affected her in the long run: She’s extremely popular these days. But did you pay attention to that stuff back then? Did it bother you?
 
I paid attention, and I shouldn’t have, because it pissed me off. She would get accused of not writing her own songs and I’m like, “I’m in the studio with her!” Then there’s the funny one where it’s like, “Her dad financed her whole career.” That came out before she had a record deal. I’m like, “Wait, I’m producing her album, we’re in my studio, and there ain’t no budget, so what is this imaginary funding from her quote-unquote rich dad?” I also know plenty of artists with rich dads who try to buy their kid a record deal. It ain’t happenin’.
 
Now that’s all kind of gone away. It was weird, though. It was this weird sexist energy of, like, “How could this pretty woman possibly write all her own songs, style herself, direct her own videos?” People wouldn’t believe it.
 
I’ve seen it all in the studio. I’ve seen the very indie “Sit in a corner and write everything,” and I’ve seen, unfortunately, the more manufactured pop shit. She’s not that. I’ve witnessed her voice, I’ve witnessed her writing, I’ve witnessed her creating this stuff. So I was like, if it becomes successful, it’s a matter of time before people get over the conspiracy theories and just kind of decide whether they like her. I always said give it some time and the truth will come out. She’s pretty badass.
 
 
Some people seemed to take umbrage with her stage persona, which was surprising.
 
I mean, what’s Bob Dylan’s real name? I don’t think Master P was born Master P. I’m pretty sure! It’s insane. It’s completely insane.
 
 
From Complex - February 23, 2015
 
http://www.complex.com/music/2015/02/emile-haynie-profile-we-fall
 
When did you decide to leave NYC and go to L.A.?
 
I was in the middle of starting Lana’s second album and I introduced her to Dan Auerbach [of The Black Keys], who ended up producing it. All of us were supposed go to Nashville to work together and I couldn’t do it. I was miserable at the time. I was like, “I need to go to L.A. I want to stay with my family. I’m writing songs, and it’s insane because she’s my favorite artist, but I’m just going to go to L.A.”
 
 
Did you turn down a lot of projects?
 
Yeah, everything.
 
 
Really? Any big ones?
 
I don’t wanna diss anyone. Not working on Lana’s second album, that’s like my sister, and we love each other. That was a massive move. I felt terrible. Before she got with Dan and it worked itself out, there were some tense moments. She got quite upset sometimes. It was painful for me to feel like I might be leaving her hanging. The beauty of the relationship that we have is she understood, and she knew what I was dealing with, she knew I had to do what I had to do, and she was so supportive the entire time.
 
We met years ago just to make tunes, and now it’s become so much more than that. This is her album, this is her baby. She just knew on a friendship level what I was doing and she didn’t get bummed. She sang a song on my album. She would come in and listen to my album and give me all this great advice.
 
Thank God for her. That was trying. It was right at the beginning, I didn’t know what I was doing at that point. She had her songs written. She wrote her entire album. It was a production. That’s Lana, she does that. Lana doesn’t do the generic co-write thing, Lana sat and wrote her songs. I just knew I had to write, and it wasn’t a writing gig with her—it would be a producing gig. I had to write, I had to write. It didn’t matter if the songs got produced and never came back, I had to write. I would’ve went crazy if I didn’t.

Emile Haynie says a lot of nice things about our girl.
 
From Grantland - February 24, 2015
 
http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/from-ghostface-to-lana-del-rey-to-heartbreak-super-producer-emile-haynie-goes-solo/
 
When you started working with Lana Del Rey, were you looking for a change away from hip-hop? Or did that just kind of happen?
 
I had been tinkering around a little. There was a few singers I had worked with here and there, but nothing that was really connecting. Lana, that first time we ever worked together, we made the song “Blue Jeans.”
 
 
There was so much debate around her when she first came out — a lot of arguments about her authenticity and all that. It hasn’t affected her in the long run: She’s extremely popular these days. But did you pay attention to that stuff back then? Did it bother you?
 
I paid attention, and I shouldn’t have, because it pissed me off. She would get accused of not writing her own songs and I’m like, “I’m in the studio with her!” Then there’s the funny one where it’s like, “Her dad financed her whole career.” That came out before she had a record deal. I’m like, “Wait, I’m producing her album, we’re in my studio, and there ain’t no budget, so what is this imaginary funding from her quote-unquote rich dad?” I also know plenty of artists with rich dads who try to buy their kid a record deal. It ain’t happenin’.
 
Now that’s all kind of gone away. It was weird, though. It was this weird sexist energy of, like, “How could this pretty woman possibly write all her own songs, style herself, direct her own videos?” People wouldn’t believe it.
 
I’ve seen it all in the studio. I’ve seen the very indie “Sit in a corner and write everything,” and I’ve seen, unfortunately, the more manufactured pop shit. She’s not that. I’ve witnessed her voice, I’ve witnessed her writing, I’ve witnessed her creating this stuff. So I was like, if it becomes successful, it’s a matter of time before people get over the conspiracy theories and just kind of decide whether they like her. I always said give it some time and the truth will come out. She’s pretty badass.
 
 
Some people seemed to take umbrage with her stage persona, which was surprising.
 
I mean, what’s Bob Dylan’s real name? I don’t think Master P was born Master P. I’m pretty sure! It’s insane. It’s completely insane.
 
 
From Complex - February 23, 2015
 
http://www.complex.com/music/2015/02/emile-haynie-profile-we-fall
 
When did you decide to leave NYC and go to L.A.?
 
I was in the middle of starting Lana’s second album and I introduced her to Dan Auerbach [of The Black Keys], who ended up producing it. All of us were supposed go to Nashville to work together and I couldn’t do it. I was miserable at the time. I was like, “I need to go to L.A. I want to stay with my family. I’m writing songs, and it’s insane because she’s my favorite artist, but I’m just going to go to L.A.”
 
 
Did you turn down a lot of projects?
 
Yeah, everything.
 
 
Really? Any big ones?
 
I don’t wanna diss anyone. Not working on Lana’s second album, that’s like my sister, and we love each other. That was a massive move. I felt terrible. Before she got with Dan and it worked itself out, there were some tense moments. She got quite upset sometimes. It was painful for me to feel like I might be leaving her hanging. The beauty of the relationship that we have is she understood, and she knew what I was dealing with, she knew I had to do what I had to do, and she was so supportive the entire time.
 
We met years ago just to make tunes, and now it’s become so much more than that. This is her album, this is her baby. She just knew on a friendship level what I was doing and she didn’t get bummed. She sang a song on my album. She would come in and listen to my album and give me all this great advice.
 
Thank God for her. That was trying. It was right at the beginning, I didn’t know what I was doing at that point. She had her songs written. She wrote her entire album. It was a production. That’s Lana, she does that. Lana doesn’t do the generic co-write thing, Lana sat and wrote her songs. I just knew I had to write, and it wasn’t a writing gig with her—it would be a producing gig. I had to write, I had to write. It didn’t matter if the songs got produced and never came back, I had to write. I would’ve went crazy if I didn’t.

Emile Haynie says a lot of nice things about our girl.
 
From Grantland - February 24, 2015
 
http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/from-ghostface-to-lana-del-rey-to-heartbreak-super-producer-emile-haynie-goes-solo/
 
When you started working with Lana Del Rey, were you looking for a change away from hip-hop? Or did that just kind of happen?
 
I had been tinkering around a little. There was a few singers I had worked with here and there, but nothing that was really connecting. Lana, that first time we ever worked together, we made the song “Blue Jeans.”
 
 
There was so much debate around her when she first came out — a lot of arguments about her authenticity and all that. It hasn’t affected her in the long run: She’s extremely popular these days. But did you pay attention to that stuff back then? Did it bother you?
 
I paid attention, and I shouldn’t have, because it pissed me off. She would get accused of not writing her own songs and I’m like, “I’m in the studio with her!” Then there’s the funny one where it’s like, “Her dad financed her whole career.” That came out before she had a record deal. I’m like, “Wait, I’m producing her album, we’re in my studio, and there ain’t no budget, so what is this imaginary funding from her quote-unquote rich dad?” I also know plenty of artists with rich dads who try to buy their kid a record deal. It ain’t happenin’.
 
Now that’s all kind of gone away. It was weird, though. It was this weird sexist energy of, like, “How could this pretty woman possibly write all her own songs, style herself, direct her own videos?” People wouldn’t believe it.
 
I’ve seen it all in the studio. I’ve seen the very indie “Sit in a corner and write everything,” and I’ve seen, unfortunately, the more manufactured pop shit. She’s not that. I’ve witnessed her voice, I’ve witnessed her writing, I’ve witnessed her creating this stuff. So I was like, if it becomes successful, it’s a matter of time before people get over the conspiracy theories and just kind of decide whether they like her. I always said give it some time and the truth will come out. She’s pretty badass.
 
 
Some people seemed to take umbrage with her stage persona, which was surprising.
 
I mean, what’s Bob Dylan’s real name? I don’t think Master P was born Master P. I’m pretty sure! It’s insane. It’s completely insane.
 
 
From Complex - February 23, 2015
 
http://www.complex.com/music/2015/02/emile-haynie-profile-we-fall
 
When did you decide to leave NYC and go to L.A.?
 
I was in the middle of starting Lana’s second album and I introduced her to Dan Auerbach [of The Black Keys], who ended up producing it. All of us were supposed go to Nashville to work together and I couldn’t do it. I was miserable at the time. I was like, “I need to go to L.A. I want to stay with my family. I’m writing songs, and it’s insane because she’s my favorite artist, but I’m just going to go to L.A.”
 
 
Did you turn down a lot of projects?
 
Yeah, everything.
 
 
Really? Any big ones?
 
I don’t wanna diss anyone. Not working on Lana’s second album, that’s like my sister, and we love each other. That was a massive move. I felt terrible. Before she got with Dan and it worked itself out, there were some tense moments. She got quite upset sometimes. It was painful for me to feel like I might be leaving her hanging. The beauty of the relationship that we have is she understood, and she knew what I was dealing with, she knew I had to do what I had to do, and she was so supportive the entire time.
 
We met years ago just to make tunes, and now it’s become so much more than that. This is her album, this is her baby. She just knew on a friendship level what I was doing and she didn’t get bummed. She sang a song on my album. She would come in and listen to my album and give me all this great advice.
 
Thank God for her. That was trying. It was right at the beginning, I didn’t know what I was doing at that point. She had her songs written. She wrote her entire album. It was a production. That’s Lana, she does that. Lana doesn’t do the generic co-write thing, Lana sat and wrote her songs. I just knew I had to write, and it wasn’t a writing gig with her—it would be a producing gig. I had to write, I had to write. It didn’t matter if the songs got produced and never came back, I had to write. I would’ve went crazy if I didn’t.

FADER - June/July 2014

Her portrayal of those relationships, though, has prompted mixed reviews among feminists. Some criticize the way she seems to idealize powerlessness and servitude, while others appreciate her fluid embodiment of different identities, as well as her candor about both her desire and her weakness. In any case, her comments on the subject will be disappointing for both camps:

“For me, the issue of feminism is just not an interesting concept,” she says.  “I’m more interested in, you know, SpaceX and Tesla, what’s going to happen with our intergalactic possibilities. Whenever people bring up feminism, I’m like, god. I’m just not really that interested.”

Fortunately, her ambivalence about politics doesn’t undo any subversiveness that may be embedded in her work (though, nor does it excuse any ill it may cause). When pressed, she adds, more illuminatingly,

“My idea of a true feminist is a woman who feels free enough to do whatever she wants.”

***

THE NEW YORK TIMES - June 12, 2014

A recurring criticism was that her songs about being swept away by love were anti-feminist in their passivity; she contends that she was writing about private, immediate feelings, not setting out doctrine.

“For me, a true feminist is someone who is a woman who does exactly what she wants,” she said. “If my choice is to, I don’t know, be with a lot of men, or if I enjoy a really physical relationship, I don’t think that’s necessarily being anti-feminist. For me the argument of feminism never really should have come into the picture. Because I don’t know too much about the history of feminism, and so I’m not really a relevant person to bring into the conversation. Everything I was writing was so autobiographical, it could really only be a personal analysis.”

***

During her Ultraviolence promotional interviews, Lana Del Rey was attacked by the media for not being a feminist, which relied heavily on the soundbite “Whenever people bring up feminism, I’m like, god. I’m just not really that interested.”

How is this an admission of not being a feminist?  Is the lack of interest in discussing feminism tantamount to not being a feminist?  Further when you add in both the statements from Fader and New York Times, it is clear that Lana does have a sense of what feminism is to her:  “My idea of a true feminist is a woman who feels free enough to do whatever she wants.”  &  “For me, a true feminist is someone who is a woman who does exactly what she wants,”
 
Aren’t these sentiments that Lana describes the basis of feminism?

She further clarifies that “Because I don’t know too much about the history of feminism, and so I’m not really a relevant person to bring into the conversation.”

Furthermore, multiple statements from people who have worked with Lana (Dan Auerbach, Emile Haynie, Rick Nowels,  Dan Heath) all talk about how much control she exerts over her creative and production process.

While Lana may be a reluctant figure of feminism, where does all this hate from the feminist community come from?  (Jezebel, Ms., Kim Gordon, etc.)

Emile Haynie says a lot of nice things about our girl.
 
From Grantland - February 24, 2015
 
http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/from-ghostface-to-lana-del-rey-to-heartbreak-super-producer-emile-haynie-goes-solo/
 
When you started working with Lana Del Rey, were you looking for a change away from hip-hop? Or did that just kind of happen?
 
I had been tinkering around a little. There was a few singers I had worked with here and there, but nothing that was really connecting. Lana, that first time we ever worked together, we made the song “Blue Jeans.”
 
 
There was so much debate around her when she first came out — a lot of arguments about her authenticity and all that. It hasn’t affected her in the long run: She’s extremely popular these days. But did you pay attention to that stuff back then? Did it bother you?
 
I paid attention, and I shouldn’t have, because it pissed me off. She would get accused of not writing her own songs and I’m like, “I’m in the studio with her!” Then there’s the funny one where it’s like, “Her dad financed her whole career.” That came out before she had a record deal. I’m like, “Wait, I’m producing her album, we’re in my studio, and there ain’t no budget, so what is this imaginary funding from her quote-unquote rich dad?” I also know plenty of artists with rich dads who try to buy their kid a record deal. It ain’t happenin’.
 
Now that’s all kind of gone away. It was weird, though. It was this weird sexist energy of, like, “How could this pretty woman possibly write all her own songs, style herself, direct her own videos?” People wouldn’t believe it.
 
I’ve seen it all in the studio. I’ve seen the very indie “Sit in a corner and write everything,” and I’ve seen, unfortunately, the more manufactured pop shit. She’s not that. I’ve witnessed her voice, I’ve witnessed her writing, I’ve witnessed her creating this stuff. So I was like, if it becomes successful, it’s a matter of time before people get over the conspiracy theories and just kind of decide whether they like her. I always said give it some time and the truth will come out. She’s pretty badass.
 
 
Some people seemed to take umbrage with her stage persona, which was surprising.
 
I mean, what’s Bob Dylan’s real name? I don’t think Master P was born Master P. I’m pretty sure! It’s insane. It’s completely insane.
 
 
From Complex - February 23, 2015
 
http://www.complex.com/music/2015/02/emile-haynie-profile-we-fall
 
When did you decide to leave NYC and go to L.A.?
 
I was in the middle of starting Lana’s second album and I introduced her to Dan Auerbach [of The Black Keys], who ended up producing it. All of us were supposed go to Nashville to work together and I couldn’t do it. I was miserable at the time. I was like, “I need to go to L.A. I want to stay with my family. I’m writing songs, and it’s insane because she’s my favorite artist, but I’m just going to go to L.A.”
 
 
Did you turn down a lot of projects?
 
Yeah, everything.
 
 
Really? Any big ones?
 
I don’t wanna diss anyone. Not working on Lana’s second album, that’s like my sister, and we love each other. That was a massive move. I felt terrible. Before she got with Dan and it worked itself out, there were some tense moments. She got quite upset sometimes. It was painful for me to feel like I might be leaving her hanging. The beauty of the relationship that we have is she understood, and she knew what I was dealing with, she knew I had to do what I had to do, and she was so supportive the entire time.
 
We met years ago just to make tunes, and now it’s become so much more than that. This is her album, this is her baby. She just knew on a friendship level what I was doing and she didn’t get bummed. She sang a song on my album. She would come in and listen to my album and give me all this great advice.
 
Thank God for her. That was trying. It was right at the beginning, I didn’t know what I was doing at that point. She had her songs written. She wrote her entire album. It was a production. That’s Lana, she does that. Lana doesn’t do the generic co-write thing, Lana sat and wrote her songs. I just knew I had to write, and it wasn’t a writing gig with her—it would be a producing gig. I had to write, I had to write. It didn’t matter if the songs got produced and never came back, I had to write. I would’ve went crazy if I didn’t.

Emile Haynie says a lot of nice things about our girl.
 
From Grantland - February 24, 2015
 
http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/from-ghostface-to-lana-del-rey-to-heartbreak-super-producer-emile-haynie-goes-solo/
 
When you started working with Lana Del Rey, were you looking for a change away from hip-hop? Or did that just kind of happen?
 
I had been tinkering around a little. There was a few singers I had worked with here and there, but nothing that was really connecting. Lana, that first time we ever worked together, we made the song “Blue Jeans.”
 
 
There was so much debate around her when she first came out — a lot of arguments about her authenticity and all that. It hasn’t affected her in the long run: She’s extremely popular these days. But did you pay attention to that stuff back then? Did it bother you?
 
I paid attention, and I shouldn’t have, because it pissed me off. She would get accused of not writing her own songs and I’m like, “I’m in the studio with her!” Then there’s the funny one where it’s like, “Her dad financed her whole career.” That came out before she had a record deal. I’m like, “Wait, I’m producing her album, we’re in my studio, and there ain’t no budget, so what is this imaginary funding from her quote-unquote rich dad?” I also know plenty of artists with rich dads who try to buy their kid a record deal. It ain’t happenin’.
 
Now that’s all kind of gone away. It was weird, though. It was this weird sexist energy of, like, “How could this pretty woman possibly write all her own songs, style herself, direct her own videos?” People wouldn’t believe it.
 
I’ve seen it all in the studio. I’ve seen the very indie “Sit in a corner and write everything,” and I’ve seen, unfortunately, the more manufactured pop shit. She’s not that. I’ve witnessed her voice, I’ve witnessed her writing, I’ve witnessed her creating this stuff. So I was like, if it becomes successful, it’s a matter of time before people get over the conspiracy theories and just kind of decide whether they like her. I always said give it some time and the truth will come out. She’s pretty badass.
 
 
Some people seemed to take umbrage with her stage persona, which was surprising.
 
I mean, what’s Bob Dylan’s real name? I don’t think Master P was born Master P. I’m pretty sure! It’s insane. It’s completely insane.
 
 
From Complex - February 23, 2015
 
http://www.complex.com/music/2015/02/emile-haynie-profile-we-fall
 
When did you decide to leave NYC and go to L.A.?
 
I was in the middle of starting Lana’s second album and I introduced her to Dan Auerbach [of The Black Keys], who ended up producing it. All of us were supposed go to Nashville to work together and I couldn’t do it. I was miserable at the time. I was like, “I need to go to L.A. I want to stay with my family. I’m writing songs, and it’s insane because she’s my favorite artist, but I’m just going to go to L.A.”
 
 
Did you turn down a lot of projects?
 
Yeah, everything.
 
 
Really? Any big ones?
 
I don’t wanna diss anyone. Not working on Lana’s second album, that’s like my sister, and we love each other. That was a massive move. I felt terrible. Before she got with Dan and it worked itself out, there were some tense moments. She got quite upset sometimes. It was painful for me to feel like I might be leaving her hanging. The beauty of the relationship that we have is she understood, and she knew what I was dealing with, she knew I had to do what I had to do, and she was so supportive the entire time.
 
We met years ago just to make tunes, and now it’s become so much more than that. This is her album, this is her baby. She just knew on a friendship level what I was doing and she didn’t get bummed. She sang a song on my album. She would come in and listen to my album and give me all this great advice.
 
Thank God for her. That was trying. It was right at the beginning, I didn’t know what I was doing at that point. She had her songs written. She wrote her entire album. It was a production. That’s Lana, she does that. Lana doesn’t do the generic co-write thing, Lana sat and wrote her songs. I just knew I had to write, and it wasn’t a writing gig with her—it would be a producing gig. I had to write, I had to write. It didn’t matter if the songs got produced and never came back, I had to write. I would’ve went crazy if I didn’t.

Emile Haynie says a lot of nice things about our girl.
 
From Grantland - February 24, 2015
 
http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/from-ghostface-to-lana-del-rey-to-heartbreak-super-producer-emile-haynie-goes-solo/
 
When you started working with Lana Del Rey, were you looking for a change away from hip-hop? Or did that just kind of happen?
 
I had been tinkering around a little. There was a few singers I had worked with here and there, but nothing that was really connecting. Lana, that first time we ever worked together, we made the song “Blue Jeans.”
 
 
There was so much debate around her when she first came out — a lot of arguments about her authenticity and all that. It hasn’t affected her in the long run: She’s extremely popular these days. But did you pay attention to that stuff back then? Did it bother you?
 
I paid attention, and I shouldn’t have, because it pissed me off. She would get accused of not writing her own songs and I’m like, “I’m in the studio with her!” Then there’s the funny one where it’s like, “Her dad financed her whole career.” That came out before she had a record deal. I’m like, “Wait, I’m producing her album, we’re in my studio, and there ain’t no budget, so what is this imaginary funding from her quote-unquote rich dad?” I also know plenty of artists with rich dads who try to buy their kid a record deal. It ain’t happenin’.
 
Now that’s all kind of gone away. It was weird, though. It was this weird sexist energy of, like, “How could this pretty woman possibly write all her own songs, style herself, direct her own videos?” People wouldn’t believe it.
 
I’ve seen it all in the studio. I’ve seen the very indie “Sit in a corner and write everything,” and I’ve seen, unfortunately, the more manufactured pop shit. She’s not that. I’ve witnessed her voice, I’ve witnessed her writing, I’ve witnessed her creating this stuff. So I was like, if it becomes successful, it’s a matter of time before people get over the conspiracy theories and just kind of decide whether they like her. I always said give it some time and the truth will come out. She’s pretty badass.
 
 
Some people seemed to take umbrage with her stage persona, which was surprising.
 
I mean, what’s Bob Dylan’s real name? I don’t think Master P was born Master P. I’m pretty sure! It’s insane. It’s completely insane.
 
 
From Complex - February 23, 2015
 
http://www.complex.com/music/2015/02/emile-haynie-profile-we-fall
 
When did you decide to leave NYC and go to L.A.?
 
I was in the middle of starting Lana’s second album and I introduced her to Dan Auerbach [of The Black Keys], who ended up producing it. All of us were supposed go to Nashville to work together and I couldn’t do it. I was miserable at the time. I was like, “I need to go to L.A. I want to stay with my family. I’m writing songs, and it’s insane because she’s my favorite artist, but I’m just going to go to L.A.”
 
 
Did you turn down a lot of projects?
 
Yeah, everything.
 
 
Really? Any big ones?
 
I don’t wanna diss anyone. Not working on Lana’s second album, that’s like my sister, and we love each other. That was a massive move. I felt terrible. Before she got with Dan and it worked itself out, there were some tense moments. She got quite upset sometimes. It was painful for me to feel like I might be leaving her hanging. The beauty of the relationship that we have is she understood, and she knew what I was dealing with, she knew I had to do what I had to do, and she was so supportive the entire time.
 
We met years ago just to make tunes, and now it’s become so much more than that. This is her album, this is her baby. She just knew on a friendship level what I was doing and she didn’t get bummed. She sang a song on my album. She would come in and listen to my album and give me all this great advice.
 
Thank God for her. That was trying. It was right at the beginning, I didn’t know what I was doing at that point. She had her songs written. She wrote her entire album. It was a production. That’s Lana, she does that. Lana doesn’t do the generic co-write thing, Lana sat and wrote her songs. I just knew I had to write, and it wasn’t a writing gig with her—it would be a producing gig. I had to write, I had to write. It didn’t matter if the songs got produced and never came back, I had to write. I would’ve went crazy if I didn’t.

FADER - June/July 2014

Her portrayal of those relationships, though, has prompted mixed reviews among feminists. Some criticize the way she seems to idealize powerlessness and servitude, while others appreciate her fluid embodiment of different identities, as well as her candor about both her desire and her weakness. In any case, her comments on the subject will be disappointing for both camps:

“For me, the issue of feminism is just not an interesting concept,” she says.  “I’m more interested in, you know, SpaceX and Tesla, what’s going to happen with our intergalactic possibilities. Whenever people bring up feminism, I’m like, god. I’m just not really that interested.”

Fortunately, her ambivalence about politics doesn’t undo any subversiveness that may be embedded in her work (though, nor does it excuse any ill it may cause). When pressed, she adds, more illuminatingly,

“My idea of a true feminist is a woman who feels free enough to do whatever she wants.”

***

THE NEW YORK TIMES - June 12, 2014

A recurring criticism was that her songs about being swept away by love were anti-feminist in their passivity; she contends that she was writing about private, immediate feelings, not setting out doctrine.

“For me, a true feminist is someone who is a woman who does exactly what she wants,” she said. “If my choice is to, I don’t know, be with a lot of men, or if I enjoy a really physical relationship, I don’t think that’s necessarily being anti-feminist. For me the argument of feminism never really should have come into the picture. Because I don’t know too much about the history of feminism, and so I’m not really a relevant person to bring into the conversation. Everything I was writing was so autobiographical, it could really only be a personal analysis.”

***

During her Ultraviolence promotional interviews, Lana Del Rey was attacked by the media for not being a feminist, which relied heavily on the soundbite “Whenever people bring up feminism, I’m like, god. I’m just not really that interested.”

How is this an admission of not being a feminist?  Is the lack of interest in discussing feminism tantamount to not being a feminist?  Further when you add in both the statements from Fader and New York Times, it is clear that Lana does have a sense of what feminism is to her:  “My idea of a true feminist is a woman who feels free enough to do whatever she wants.”  &  “For me, a true feminist is someone who is a woman who does exactly what she wants,”
 
Aren’t these sentiments that Lana describes the basis of feminism?

She further clarifies that “Because I don’t know too much about the history of feminism, and so I’m not really a relevant person to bring into the conversation.”

Furthermore, multiple statements from people who have worked with Lana (Dan Auerbach, Emile Haynie, Rick Nowels,  Dan Heath) all talk about how much control she exerts over her creative and production process.

While Lana may be a reluctant figure of feminism, where does all this hate from the feminist community come from?  (Jezebel, Ms., Kim Gordon, etc.)

Perfect - get the publicity and then stop short of having to stand by your words 

Emile Haynie says a lot of nice things about our girl.
 
From Grantland - February 24, 2015
 
http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/from-ghostface-to-lana-del-rey-to-heartbreak-super-producer-emile-haynie-goes-solo/
 
When you started working with Lana Del Rey, were you looking for a change away from hip-hop? Or did that just kind of happen?
 
I had been tinkering around a little. There was a few singers I had worked with here and there, but nothing that was really connecting. Lana, that first time we ever worked together, we made the song “Blue Jeans.”
 
 
There was so much debate around her when she first came out — a lot of arguments about her authenticity and all that. It hasn’t affected her in the long run: She’s extremely popular these days. But did you pay attention to that stuff back then? Did it bother you?
 
I paid attention, and I shouldn’t have, because it pissed me off. She would get accused of not writing her own songs and I’m like, “I’m in the studio with her!” Then there’s the funny one where it’s like, “Her dad financed her whole career.” That came out before she had a record deal. I’m like, “Wait, I’m producing her album, we’re in my studio, and there ain’t no budget, so what is this imaginary funding from her quote-unquote rich dad?” I also know plenty of artists with rich dads who try to buy their kid a record deal. It ain’t happenin’.
 
Now that’s all kind of gone away. It was weird, though. It was this weird sexist energy of, like, “How could this pretty woman possibly write all her own songs, style herself, direct her own videos?” People wouldn’t believe it.
 
I’ve seen it all in the studio. I’ve seen the very indie “Sit in a corner and write everything,” and I’ve seen, unfortunately, the more manufactured pop shit. She’s not that. I’ve witnessed her voice, I’ve witnessed her writing, I’ve witnessed her creating this stuff. So I was like, if it becomes successful, it’s a matter of time before people get over the conspiracy theories and just kind of decide whether they like her. I always said give it some time and the truth will come out. She’s pretty badass.
 
 
Some people seemed to take umbrage with her stage persona, which was surprising.
 
I mean, what’s Bob Dylan’s real name? I don’t think Master P was born Master P. I’m pretty sure! It’s insane. It’s completely insane.
 
 
From Complex - February 23, 2015
 
http://www.complex.com/music/2015/02/emile-haynie-profile-we-fall
 
When did you decide to leave NYC and go to L.A.?
 
I was in the middle of starting Lana’s second album and I introduced her to Dan Auerbach [of The Black Keys], who ended up producing it. All of us were supposed go to Nashville to work together and I couldn’t do it. I was miserable at the time. I was like, “I need to go to L.A. I want to stay with my family. I’m writing songs, and it’s insane because she’s my favorite artist, but I’m just going to go to L.A.”
 
 
Did you turn down a lot of projects?
 
Yeah, everything.
 
 
Really? Any big ones?
 
I don’t wanna diss anyone. Not working on Lana’s second album, that’s like my sister, and we love each other. That was a massive move. I felt terrible. Before she got with Dan and it worked itself out, there were some tense moments. She got quite upset sometimes. It was painful for me to feel like I might be leaving her hanging. The beauty of the relationship that we have is she understood, and she knew what I was dealing with, she knew I had to do what I had to do, and she was so supportive the entire time.
 
We met years ago just to make tunes, and now it’s become so much more than that. This is her album, this is her baby. She just knew on a friendship level what I was doing and she didn’t get bummed. She sang a song on my album. She would come in and listen to my album and give me all this great advice.
 
Thank God for her. That was trying. It was right at the beginning, I didn’t know what I was doing at that point. She had her songs written. She wrote her entire album. It was a production. That’s Lana, she does that. Lana doesn’t do the generic co-write thing, Lana sat and wrote her songs. I just knew I had to write, and it wasn’t a writing gig with her—it would be a producing gig. I had to write, I had to write. It didn’t matter if the songs got produced and never came back, I had to write. I would’ve went crazy if I didn’t.

He just read the whole indie blogosphere down boots, baby! Loves it.

Emile Haynie says a lot of nice things about our girl.
 
From Grantland - February 24, 2015
 
http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/from-ghostface-to-lana-del-rey-to-heartbreak-super-producer-emile-haynie-goes-solo/
 
When you started working with Lana Del Rey, were you looking for a change away from hip-hop? Or did that just kind of happen?
 
I had been tinkering around a little. There was a few singers I had worked with here and there, but nothing that was really connecting. Lana, that first time we ever worked together, we made the song “Blue Jeans.”
 
 
There was so much debate around her when she first came out — a lot of arguments about her authenticity and all that. It hasn’t affected her in the long run: She’s extremely popular these days. But did you pay attention to that stuff back then? Did it bother you?
 
I paid attention, and I shouldn’t have, because it pissed me off. She would get accused of not writing her own songs and I’m like, “I’m in the studio with her!” Then there’s the funny one where it’s like, “Her dad financed her whole career.” That came out before she had a record deal. I’m like, “Wait, I’m producing her album, we’re in my studio, and there ain’t no budget, so what is this imaginary funding from her quote-unquote rich dad?” I also know plenty of artists with rich dads who try to buy their kid a record deal. It ain’t happenin’.
 
Now that’s all kind of gone away. It was weird, though. It was this weird sexist energy of, like, “How could this pretty woman possibly write all her own songs, style herself, direct her own videos?” People wouldn’t believe it.
 
I’ve seen it all in the studio. I’ve seen the very indie “Sit in a corner and write everything,” and I’ve seen, unfortunately, the more manufactured pop shit. She’s not that. I’ve witnessed her voice, I’ve witnessed her writing, I’ve witnessed her creating this stuff. So I was like, if it becomes successful, it’s a matter of time before people get over the conspiracy theories and just kind of decide whether they like her. I always said give it some time and the truth will come out. She’s pretty badass.
 
 
Some people seemed to take umbrage with her stage persona, which was surprising.
 
I mean, what’s Bob Dylan’s real name? I don’t think Master P was born Master P. I’m pretty sure! It’s insane. It’s completely insane.
 
 
From Complex - February 23, 2015
 
http://www.complex.com/music/2015/02/emile-haynie-profile-we-fall
 
When did you decide to leave NYC and go to L.A.?
 
I was in the middle of starting Lana’s second album and I introduced her to Dan Auerbach [of The Black Keys], who ended up producing it. All of us were supposed go to Nashville to work together and I couldn’t do it. I was miserable at the time. I was like, “I need to go to L.A. I want to stay with my family. I’m writing songs, and it’s insane because she’s my favorite artist, but I’m just going to go to L.A.”
 
 
Did you turn down a lot of projects?
 
Yeah, everything.
 
 
Really? Any big ones?
 
I don’t wanna diss anyone. Not working on Lana’s second album, that’s like my sister, and we love each other. That was a massive move. I felt terrible. Before she got with Dan and it worked itself out, there were some tense moments. She got quite upset sometimes. It was painful for me to feel like I might be leaving her hanging. The beauty of the relationship that we have is she understood, and she knew what I was dealing with, she knew I had to do what I had to do, and she was so supportive the entire time.
 
We met years ago just to make tunes, and now it’s become so much more than that. This is her album, this is her baby. She just knew on a friendship level what I was doing and she didn’t get bummed. She sang a song on my album. She would come in and listen to my album and give me all this great advice.
 
Thank God for her. That was trying. It was right at the beginning, I didn’t know what I was doing at that point. She had her songs written. She wrote her entire album. It was a production. That’s Lana, she does that. Lana doesn’t do the generic co-write thing, Lana sat and wrote her songs. I just knew I had to write, and it wasn’t a writing gig with her—it would be a producing gig. I had to write, I had to write. It didn’t matter if the songs got produced and never came back, I had to write. I would’ve went crazy if I didn’t.

edited to move content to first post

edited to move content to first post

Emile Haynie says a lot of nice things about our girl.
 
From Grantland - February 24, 2015
 
http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/from-ghostface-to-lana-del-rey-to-heartbreak-super-producer-emile-haynie-goes-solo/
 
When you started working with Lana Del Rey, were you looking for a change away from hip-hop? Or did that just kind of happen?
 
I had been tinkering around a little. There was a few singers I had worked with here and there, but nothing that was really connecting. Lana, that first time we ever worked together, we made the song “Blue Jeans.”
 
 
There was so much debate around her when she first came out — a lot of arguments about her authenticity and all that. It hasn’t affected her in the long run: She’s extremely popular these days. But did you pay attention to that stuff back then? Did it bother you?
 
I paid attention, and I shouldn’t have, because it pissed me off. She would get accused of not writing her own songs and I’m like, “I’m in the studio with her!” Then there’s the funny one where it’s like, “Her dad financed her whole career.” That came out before she had a record deal. I’m like, “Wait, I’m producing her album, we’re in my studio, and there ain’t no budget, so what is this imaginary funding from her quote-unquote rich dad?” I also know plenty of artists with rich dads who try to buy their kid a record deal. It ain’t happenin’.
 
Now that’s all kind of gone away. It was weird, though. It was this weird sexist energy of, like, “How could this pretty woman possibly write all her own songs, style herself, direct her own videos?” People wouldn’t believe it.
 
I’ve seen it all in the studio. I’ve seen the very indie “Sit in a corner and write everything,” and I’ve seen, unfortunately, the more manufactured pop shit. She’s not that. I’ve witnessed her voice, I’ve witnessed her writing, I’ve witnessed her creating this stuff. So I was like, if it becomes successful, it’s a matter of time before people get over the conspiracy theories and just kind of decide whether they like her. I always said give it some time and the truth will come out. She’s pretty badass.
 
 
Some people seemed to take umbrage with her stage persona, which was surprising.
 
I mean, what’s Bob Dylan’s real name? I don’t think Master P was born Master P. I’m pretty sure! It’s insane. It’s completely insane.
 
 
From Complex - February 23, 2015
 
http://www.complex.com/music/2015/02/emile-haynie-profile-we-fall
 
When did you decide to leave NYC and go to L.A.?
 
I was in the middle of starting Lana’s second album and I introduced her to Dan Auerbach [of The Black Keys], who ended up producing it. All of us were supposed go to Nashville to work together and I couldn’t do it. I was miserable at the time. I was like, “I need to go to L.A. I want to stay with my family. I’m writing songs, and it’s insane because she’s my favorite artist, but I’m just going to go to L.A.”
 
 
Did you turn down a lot of projects?
 
Yeah, everything.
 
 
Really? Any big ones?
 
I don’t wanna diss anyone. Not working on Lana’s second album, that’s like my sister, and we love each other. That was a massive move. I felt terrible. Before she got with Dan and it worked itself out, there were some tense moments. She got quite upset sometimes. It was painful for me to feel like I might be leaving her hanging. The beauty of the relationship that we have is she understood, and she knew what I was dealing with, she knew I had to do what I had to do, and she was so supportive the entire time.
 
We met years ago just to make tunes, and now it’s become so much more than that. This is her album, this is her baby. She just knew on a friendship level what I was doing and she didn’t get bummed. She sang a song on my album. She would come in and listen to my album and give me all this great advice.
 
Thank God for her. That was trying. It was right at the beginning, I didn’t know what I was doing at that point. She had her songs written. She wrote her entire album. It was a production. That’s Lana, she does that. Lana doesn’t do the generic co-write thing, Lana sat and wrote her songs. I just knew I had to write, and it wasn’t a writing gig with her—it would be a producing gig. I had to write, I had to write. It didn’t matter if the songs got produced and never came back, I had to write. I would’ve went crazy if I didn’t.

Emile Haynie says a lot of nice things about our girl.
 
From Grantland - February 24, 2015
 
http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/from-ghostface-to-lana-del-rey-to-heartbreak-super-producer-emile-haynie-goes-solo/
 
When you started working with Lana Del Rey, were you looking for a change away from hip-hop? Or did that just kind of happen?
 
I had been tinkering around a little. There was a few singers I had worked with here and there, but nothing that was really connecting. Lana, that first time we ever worked together, we made the song “Blue Jeans.”
 
 
There was so much debate around her when she first came out — a lot of arguments about her authenticity and all that. It hasn’t affected her in the long run: She’s extremely popular these days. But did you pay attention to that stuff back then? Did it bother you?
 
I paid attention, and I shouldn’t have, because it pissed me off. She would get accused of not writing her own songs and I’m like, “I’m in the studio with her!” Then there’s the funny one where it’s like, “Her dad financed her whole career.” That came out before she had a record deal. I’m like, “Wait, I’m producing her album, we’re in my studio, and there ain’t no budget, so what is this imaginary funding from her quote-unquote rich dad?” I also know plenty of artists with rich dads who try to buy their kid a record deal. It ain’t happenin’.
 
Now that’s all kind of gone away. It was weird, though. It was this weird sexist energy of, like, “How could this pretty woman possibly write all her own songs, style herself, direct her own videos?” People wouldn’t believe it.
 
I’ve seen it all in the studio. I’ve seen the very indie “Sit in a corner and write everything,” and I’ve seen, unfortunately, the more manufactured pop shit. She’s not that. I’ve witnessed her voice, I’ve witnessed her writing, I’ve witnessed her creating this stuff. So I was like, if it becomes successful, it’s a matter of time before people get over the conspiracy theories and just kind of decide whether they like her. I always said give it some time and the truth will come out. She’s pretty badass.
 
 
Some people seemed to take umbrage with her stage persona, which was surprising.
 
I mean, what’s Bob Dylan’s real name? I don’t think Master P was born Master P. I’m pretty sure! It’s insane. It’s completely insane.
 
 
From Complex - February 23, 2015
 
http://www.complex.com/music/2015/02/emile-haynie-profile-we-fall
 
When did you decide to leave NYC and go to L.A.?
 
I was in the middle of starting Lana’s second album and I introduced her to Dan Auerbach [of The Black Keys], who ended up producing it. All of us were supposed go to Nashville to work together and I couldn’t do it. I was miserable at the time. I was like, “I need to go to L.A. I want to stay with my family. I’m writing songs, and it’s insane because she’s my favorite artist, but I’m just going to go to L.A.”
 
 
Did you turn down a lot of projects?
 
Yeah, everything.
 
 
Really? Any big ones?
 
I don’t wanna diss anyone. Not working on Lana’s second album, that’s like my sister, and we love each other. That was a massive move. I felt terrible. Before she got with Dan and it worked itself out, there were some tense moments. She got quite upset sometimes. It was painful for me to feel like I might be leaving her hanging. The beauty of the relationship that we have is she understood, and she knew what I was dealing with, she knew I had to do what I had to do, and she was so supportive the entire time.
 
We met years ago just to make tunes, and now it’s become so much more than that. This is her album, this is her baby. She just knew on a friendship level what I was doing and she didn’t get bummed. She sang a song on my album. She would come in and listen to my album and give me all this great advice.
 
Thank God for her. That was trying. It was right at the beginning, I didn’t know what I was doing at that point. She had her songs written. She wrote her entire album. It was a production. That’s Lana, she does that. Lana doesn’t do the generic co-write thing, Lana sat and wrote her songs. I just knew I had to write, and it wasn’t a writing gig with her—it would be a producing gig. I had to write, I had to write. It didn’t matter if the songs got produced and never came back, I had to write. I would’ve went crazy if I didn’t.

Emile Haynie says a lot of nice things about our girl.
 
From Grantland - February 24, 2015
 
http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/from-ghostface-to-lana-del-rey-to-heartbreak-super-producer-emile-haynie-goes-solo/
 
When you started working with Lana Del Rey, were you looking for a change away from hip-hop? Or did that just kind of happen?
 
I had been tinkering around a little. There was a few singers I had worked with here and there, but nothing that was really connecting. Lana, that first time we ever worked together, we made the song “Blue Jeans.”
 
 
There was so much debate around her when she first came out — a lot of arguments about her authenticity and all that. It hasn’t affected her in the long run: She’s extremely popular these days. But did you pay attention to that stuff back then? Did it bother you?
 
I paid attention, and I shouldn’t have, because it pissed me off. She would get accused of not writing her own songs and I’m like, “I’m in the studio with her!” Then there’s the funny one where it’s like, “Her dad financed her whole career.” That came out before she had a record deal. I’m like, “Wait, I’m producing her album, we’re in my studio, and there ain’t no budget, so what is this imaginary funding from her quote-unquote rich dad?” I also know plenty of artists with rich dads who try to buy their kid a record deal. It ain’t happenin’.
 
Now that’s all kind of gone away. It was weird, though. It was this weird sexist energy of, like, “How could this pretty woman possibly write all her own songs, style herself, direct her own videos?” People wouldn’t believe it.
 
I’ve seen it all in the studio. I’ve seen the very indie “Sit in a corner and write everything,” and I’ve seen, unfortunately, the more manufactured pop shit. She’s not that. I’ve witnessed her voice, I’ve witnessed her writing, I’ve witnessed her creating this stuff. So I was like, if it becomes successful, it’s a matter of time before people get over the conspiracy theories and just kind of decide whether they like her. I always said give it some time and the truth will come out. She’s pretty badass.
 
 
Some people seemed to take umbrage with her stage persona, which was surprising.
 
I mean, what’s Bob Dylan’s real name? I don’t think Master P was born Master P. I’m pretty sure! It’s insane. It’s completely insane.
 
 
From Complex - February 23, 2015
 
http://www.complex.com/music/2015/02/emile-haynie-profile-we-fall
 
When did you decide to leave NYC and go to L.A.?
 
I was in the middle of starting Lana’s second album and I introduced her to Dan Auerbach [of The Black Keys], who ended up producing it. All of us were supposed go to Nashville to work together and I couldn’t do it. I was miserable at the time. I was like, “I need to go to L.A. I want to stay with my family. I’m writing songs, and it’s insane because she’s my favorite artist, but I’m just going to go to L.A.”
 
 
Did you turn down a lot of projects?
 
Yeah, everything.
 
 
Really? Any big ones?
 
I don’t wanna diss anyone. Not working on Lana’s second album, that’s like my sister, and we love each other. That was a massive move. I felt terrible. Before she got with Dan and it worked itself out, there were some tense moments. She got quite upset sometimes. It was painful for me to feel like I might be leaving her hanging. The beauty of the relationship that we have is she understood, and she knew what I was dealing with, she knew I had to do what I had to do, and she was so supportive the entire time.
 
We met years ago just to make tunes, and now it’s become so much more than that. This is her album, this is her baby. She just knew on a friendship level what I was doing and she didn’t get bummed. She sang a song on my album. She would come in and listen to my album and give me all this great advice.
 
Thank God for her. That was trying. It was right at the beginning, I didn’t know what I was doing at that point. She had her songs written. She wrote her entire album. It was a production. That’s Lana, she does that. Lana doesn’t do the generic co-write thing, Lana sat and wrote her songs. I just knew I had to write, and it wasn’t a writing gig with her—it would be a producing gig. I had to write, I had to write. It didn’t matter if the songs got produced and never came back, I had to write. I would’ve went crazy if I didn’t.

FADER - June/July 2014

Her portrayal of those relationships, though, has prompted mixed reviews among feminists. Some criticize the way she seems to idealize powerlessness and servitude, while others appreciate her fluid embodiment of different identities, as well as her candor about both her desire and her weakness. In any case, her comments on the subject will be disappointing for both camps:

“For me, the issue of feminism is just not an interesting concept,” she says.  “I’m more interested in, you know, SpaceX and Tesla, what’s going to happen with our intergalactic possibilities. Whenever people bring up feminism, I’m like, god. I’m just not really that interested.”

Fortunately, her ambivalence about politics doesn’t undo any subversiveness that may be embedded in her work (though, nor does it excuse any ill it may cause). When pressed, she adds, more illuminatingly,

“My idea of a true feminist is a woman who feels free enough to do whatever she wants.”

***

THE NEW YORK TIMES - June 12, 2014

A recurring criticism was that her songs about being swept away by love were anti-feminist in their passivity; she contends that she was writing about private, immediate feelings, not setting out doctrine.

“For me, a true feminist is someone who is a woman who does exactly what she wants,” she said. “If my choice is to, I don’t know, be with a lot of men, or if I enjoy a really physical relationship, I don’t think that’s necessarily being anti-feminist. For me the argument of feminism never really should have come into the picture. Because I don’t know too much about the history of feminism, and so I’m not really a relevant person to bring into the conversation. Everything I was writing was so autobiographical, it could really only be a personal analysis.”

***

During her Ultraviolence promotional interviews, Lana Del Rey was attacked by the media for not being a feminist, which relied heavily on the soundbite “Whenever people bring up feminism, I’m like, god. I’m just not really that interested.”

How is this an admission of not being a feminist?  Is the lack of interest in discussing feminism tantamount to not being a feminist?  Further when you add in both the statements from Fader and New York Times, it is clear that Lana does have a sense of what feminism is to her:  “My idea of a true feminist is a woman who feels free enough to do whatever she wants.”  &  “For me, a true feminist is someone who is a woman who does exactly what she wants,”
 
Aren’t these sentiments that Lana describes the basis of feminism?

She further clarifies that “Because I don’t know too much about the history of feminism, and so I’m not really a relevant person to bring into the conversation.”

Furthermore, multiple statements from people who have worked with Lana (Dan Auerbach, Emile Haynie, Rick Nowels,  Dan Heath) all talk about how much control she exerts over her creative and production process.

While Lana may be a reluctant figure of feminism, where does all this hate from the feminist community come from?  (Jezebel, Ms., Kim Gordon, etc.)

FADER - June/July 2014

Her portrayal of those relationships, though, has prompted mixed reviews among feminists. Some criticize the way she seems to idealize powerlessness and servitude, while others appreciate her fluid embodiment of different identities, as well as her candor about both her desire and her weakness. In any case, her comments on the subject will be disappointing for both camps:

“For me, the issue of feminism is just not an interesting concept,” she says.  “I’m more interested in, you know, SpaceX and Tesla, what’s going to happen with our intergalactic possibilities. Whenever people bring up feminism, I’m like, god. I’m just not really that interested.”

Fortunately, her ambivalence about politics doesn’t undo any subversiveness that may be embedded in her work (though, nor does it excuse any ill it may cause). When pressed, she adds, more illuminatingly,

“My idea of a true feminist is a woman who feels free enough to do whatever she wants.”

***

THE NEW YORK TIMES - June 12, 2014

A recurring criticism was that her songs about being swept away by love were anti-feminist in their passivity; she contends that she was writing about private, immediate feelings, not setting out doctrine.

“For me, a true feminist is someone who is a woman who does exactly what she wants,” she said. “If my choice is to, I don’t know, be with a lot of men, or if I enjoy a really physical relationship, I don’t think that’s necessarily being anti-feminist. For me the argument of feminism never really should have come into the picture. Because I don’t know too much about the history of feminism, and so I’m not really a relevant person to bring into the conversation. Everything I was writing was so autobiographical, it could really only be a personal analysis.”

***

During her Ultraviolence promotional interviews, Lana Del Rey was attacked by the media for not being a feminist, which relied heavily on the soundbite “Whenever people bring up feminism, I’m like, god. I’m just not really that interested.”

How is this an admission of not being a feminist?  Is the lack of interest in discussing feminism tantamount to not being a feminist?  Further when you add in both the statements from Fader and New York Times, it is clear that Lana does have a sense of what feminism is to her:  “My idea of a true feminist is a woman who feels free enough to do whatever she wants.”  &  “For me, a true feminist is someone who is a woman who does exactly what she wants,”
 
Aren’t these sentiments that Lana describes the basis of feminism?

She further clarifies that “Because I don’t know too much about the history of feminism, and so I’m not really a relevant person to bring into the conversation.”

Furthermore, multiple statements from people who have worked with Lana (Dan Auerbach, Emile Haynie, Rick Nowels,  Dan Heath) all talk about how much control she exerts over her creative and production process.

While Lana may be a reluctant figure of feminism, where does all this hate from the feminist community come from?  (Jezebel, Ms., Kim Gordon, etc.)

She hasn't said specifically herself, but other sources say that she suffers from stomach ulcers, like Kurt Cobain did.  I don't think that's been confirmed, though.  Last year, during a performance at the Vicar Street Theater in Dublin, Ireland, she was said to have "broken down" during the song "Video Games."
 
Calling it a "breakdown" or a "meltdown," as some publications put it, is a gross exaggeration.  There's a really good YouTube video of the performance (
), with lots of close-ups.  You can see her wiping at her eyes a couple of times, but no actual tears showed up. 
In an interview with The Fader (http://www.thefader.com/2014/06/04/lana-del-rey-cover-interview/), the interviewer writes:
 
"I ask her why she was crying.  'I’d been sick on tour for about two years with this medical anomaly that doctors couldn’t figure out,' she says, to my surprise. 'That’s a big part of my life: I just feel really sick a lot of the time and can’t figure out why. I’d gotten these shots in Russia, where we’d just been. It was just heavy. It’s just heavy performing for people who really care about you, and you don’t really care that much about yourself sometimes. I thought it was sad. I thought my position was sad. I thought it was sad to be in Ireland singing for people who really cared when I wasn’t sure if I did.'  I’d expected self-congratulation, the triumph of finally making it. You never really know.”
 
Also, it is often said (including in the above Fader interview) that Lana said to the Vicar Street audience, "I think you’re going to have to sing it for me.”  For me?  Nooooooo.... if you watch the video, you can clearly hear her say "WITH me," not "FOR me."
 
 
 
In the beginning, when she first started performing live, she was a bit of a nervous wreck.  She admitted on many occasions that she was a nervous performer.  But that was then... One would think that, by now, 2.5 years and hundreds of performances later, she wouldn't be such a bundle of nerves.  She has, more recently, said that she still gets a little nervous at first, but by the time the first song is done, she's OK and into her groove.  I've never seen her look nervous during performances in the last 2 years, though, so she must hide it well.
 
 
LDR may be many things, but I'm certain "lazy" isn't one of them.  With as much as she does, and as on-the-go as she is, laziness wouldn't factor into the equation.  Unless we're given a good reason otherwise, let's just take her reps at their words.

Those candids are from a couple of months back. A lot can happen in that time. Even the recent pics we saw of her and Francesco in New York a from a couple of weeks ago.
 

  She has said on more than one occasion that she didn't consider herself a good live performer, at least not at first. In the beginning, her stage presence was almost nonexistent, though she's come a long way since then.
 

I wouldn't say she doesn't care... (see above). She loves her fans and has a great loyalty toward them. BBC Radio 1's tweet says she was "devastated" to have to cancel. I don't see any reason to not believe that. Lana loves her fans and would not want to disappoint them if she had a choice. Plus, cancellations are bad PR, and I'm sure she's smart enough to try to avoid that whenever possible.

I just want to see her well and happy or at least not depressed. If she has to take some time off, it is fine by me.

I can say: F*ck Virgin radio ...