veniceglitch

When you're building an enigma, I suppose mixing your messages and giving conflicting viewpoints within the space of a week is fine. But, humorously, I was just in a brand identity meeting for work and I ended up thinking about how disastrous Lana would be at managing any brand other than her own. When businesses contradict themselves in a message or presentation, people jump ship. Only an artist can get away with it, and as we know, even most pop singers nowadays are afraid to go "off-brand." Everything is curated and planned to a painful extent; this is why media training is now standard for stars-to-be. For Lana, everything in her world is art directed, but in interview form, when she's not in full control, it all goes scattershot. Her mind really is made of mercury, and it's both fascinating and frustrating.

Billboard speculates how UV's unusual aesthetic & its success will influence pop music.
 
"With a No. 1 debut coming, expect more brooding, rock experimentation and mystique from mainstream music's biggest stars:"
http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/6128764/lana-del-rey-ultraviolence-pop-influence?utm_source=twitter
 

When you're building an enigma, I suppose mixing your messages and giving conflicting viewpoints within the space of a week is fine. But, humorously, I was just in a brand identity meeting for work and I ended up thinking about how disastrous Lana would be at managing any brand other than her own. When businesses contradict themselves in a message or presentation, people jump ship. Only an artist can get away with it, and as we know, even most pop singers nowadays are afraid to go "off-brand." Everything is curated and planned to a painful extent; this is why media training is now standard for stars-to-be. For Lana, everything in her world is art directed, but in interview form, when she's not in full control, it all goes scattershot. Her mind really is made of mercury, and it's both fascinating and frustrating.

I think this is her very essence: equal parts art and science. I think LDR as a persona/identity is meant to be someone who lives poetically, driven only by emotion and whims, makes her 'life an art', etc.
 
But the reality is she would not be where she is if she were just a wide-eyed innocent, dreaming about life from her window sill all day, or being led around by boys. Lizzy Grant is the shadow master and commander of the LDR concept; she dreams big but she is also a doer, the ruler of her own destiny. (Her critics who think she has no agency need to wake up —  who in pop music right now has more control of their own vision than her ?)   She is very calculating, knowing, and aware of how to give form to her dreams. It surely all starts with intuition and artistic intention and emotion, but then Science Lizzy kicks in — the one who researches, studies, analyzes, experiments w/ a hypothesis, puts in art in action. A good creative director is always equally artistic and scientific, and Lizzy herself has hinted at this in interviews. 
 
I also think someone like this is naturally driven to explore esoteric and marginalized philosophy/psychology/cultural topics; I'm sure she's even aware of Crowley, Theosophy, and the like. Not sure if I buy she was in 'a cult', but the chronology specifics don't matter so much, the essence of how it shaped her does. What's exciting is that she can bring these super niche topics into the warmth of the spotlight, even if she has to paint broad strokes to do so. I honestly can't think of someone else so widely known and loved that is able to pull this off in the 21st century. Maybe Grimes, but with her, it's literally the Wiki-meets-Tumblr remix version of everything. Young artists everywhere should be inspired that women like Lizzy are finding ways to make the outre and strange palatable.

My parents always used to play Music To Watch Girls By by Andy Williams. I'm SO here for this.
 
Total lizzy grant surf revival this is what Summer Wine was leading up to. And include that cover of Where The Boys Are!!! This is so exciting honestly

That is exactly the genre I need in my life

From a recent (currently) unknown radio interview.
 
Interviewer: ... record something tonight, do you know what it is, or right now?
 
Lana: I do, yeah I do. I have this idea for this record called "Music to Watch Boys To," so. Yeah, I'm just kind of thinking about that and what that would mean [laughs].
 
Audio -
http://lizzydelgrant.tumblr.com/post/90085038067

I think mortality is actually the absolute driving force behind her art. 
And she definitely is all about 'le petite mort' — the orgasm as 'little death.'
 
Fear, threats, fetishism, denial — all attempts to control Death, by either running from it, aestheticizing it, or by gaining the illusion of power by agreeing to surrender to the ultimate unknown. 

 

I think mortality is actually the absolute driving force behind her art. 
And she definitely is all about 'le petite mort' — the orgasm as 'little death.'
 
Fear, threats, fetishism, denial — all attempts to control Death, by either running from it, aestheticizing it, or by gaining the illusion of power by agreeing to surrender to the ultimate unknown. 

 

I find it amusing that you say "Born to Die" is the only song about death in this paragraph and then discuss "Dark Paradise" (which is even more about death) in the next.
 
Let's review, shall we?
 
Born to Die - Duh, obvious. Also, she dies in the video.
Blue Jeans - Not explicit, but suggestive of a dead or incarcerated lover ("They took you away, stole you out of my life"). She drowns in the video.
Video Games - "Only worth living if somebody is loving you".
National Anthem - "Overdosing, dying". A$AP Rocky as JFK is assassinated in the video.
Dark Paradise - The whole song is about her dead lover and wishing to be reunited with him through death.
Radio - "I've been raised from the dead", "I swore I'd chase them 'til I was dead".
Carmen - "I'm dyin', I'm dyin'", French spoken part translates as "You could not live without me, I will die without you, And I will kill for you".
Million Dollar Man - Possible death reference in "Holding me tight in our final hour".
Summertime Sadness - "I know if I go I'll die happy tonight". Video is about suicide.
This Is What Makes Us Girls - "Teachers said we'd never make it out alive", "something that we'd die for".
Without You - "Your love is deadly".
 
And that's just BTD. I could go on all day with her other albums and unreleased material.

He gets it.
 
"A lot has been said in reviews about all these dodgy men referred to in the songs and, barring the bonus tracks, I don’t feel the main tracks on Ultraviolence are really about these men. They’re much more a vehicle for her own responses or narcissism, which clearly is what interests her audience, and me."
 
"This song “Pretty When You Cry” from Ultraviolence, portraying a woman checking out the wreckage of a horrible face after or during crying is a powerful notion, and it’s something that you definitely wouldn’t expect in mainstream modern songs, these ideas of beauty in misery or tragedy."
 
"It’s remarkable how uncompromising the whole project is. And considering it’s selling these kinds of numbers, I think she’ll have quite a long successful career."
 
And I love Cut Hands!

"I started exploring some of the early work, in particular the unreleased set of songs from 2005 recorded as May Jailer, and then she used her own name, Lizzie Grant. It’s interesting because I think people might say, “Oh, she would never have become famous if she’d been ordinary Lizzie Grant,” but I disagree with that. It would have just projected a completely different persona." - William Bennett

The most intelligent, well-written thing I've read about her (very smart) name change. Finally someone who gets it!

He gets it.
 
"A lot has been said in reviews about all these dodgy men referred to in the songs and, barring the bonus tracks, I don’t feel the main tracks on Ultraviolence are really about these men. They’re much more a vehicle for her own responses or narcissism, which clearly is what interests her audience, and me."
 
"This song “Pretty When You Cry” from Ultraviolence, portraying a woman checking out the wreckage of a horrible face after or during crying is a powerful notion, and it’s something that you definitely wouldn’t expect in mainstream modern songs, these ideas of beauty in misery or tragedy."
 
"It’s remarkable how uncompromising the whole project is. And considering it’s selling these kinds of numbers, I think she’ll have quite a long successful career."
 
And I love Cut Hands!

It's the Herald-Sun (Murdoch press). I'm thankful they spelled 'Lana' correctly.
 
Also, this isn't really a review, more a discussion about the record, but William Bennett is one of my favourite artists/musicians who has been around in experimental/wild music since the late 1970's (http://www.allmusic.com/artist/whitehouse-mn0000820195) - the two are not 100% positive about UV and LDR, and they seem to get things about her that a lot of journalists just don't understand at all.
 
http://www.electronicbeats.net/en/features/conversations/william-bennett-and-lisa-blanning-on-lana-del-reys-ultraviolence/

When you're building an enigma, I suppose mixing your messages and giving conflicting viewpoints within the space of a week is fine. But, humorously, I was just in a brand identity meeting for work and I ended up thinking about how disastrous Lana would be at managing any brand other than her own. When businesses contradict themselves in a message or presentation, people jump ship. Only an artist can get away with it, and as we know, even most pop singers nowadays are afraid to go "off-brand." Everything is curated and planned to a painful extent; this is why media training is now standard for stars-to-be. For Lana, everything in her world is art directed, but in interview form, when she's not in full control, it all goes scattershot. Her mind really is made of mercury, and it's both fascinating and frustrating.

I wonder how Mr. Campbell is doing these days. 

I wonder how Mr. Campbell is doing these days. 

When you're building an enigma, I suppose mixing your messages and giving conflicting viewpoints within the space of a week is fine. But, humorously, I was just in a brand identity meeting for work and I ended up thinking about how disastrous Lana would be at managing any brand other than her own. When businesses contradict themselves in a message or presentation, people jump ship. Only an artist can get away with it, and as we know, even most pop singers nowadays are afraid to go "off-brand." Everything is curated and planned to a painful extent; this is why media training is now standard for stars-to-be. For Lana, everything in her world is art directed, but in interview form, when she's not in full control, it all goes scattershot. Her mind really is made of mercury, and it's both fascinating and frustrating.

When you're building an enigma, I suppose mixing your messages and giving conflicting viewpoints within the space of a week is fine. But, humorously, I was just in a brand identity meeting for work and I ended up thinking about how disastrous Lana would be at managing any brand other than her own. When businesses contradict themselves in a message or presentation, people jump ship. Only an artist can get away with it, and as we know, even most pop singers nowadays are afraid to go "off-brand." Everything is curated and planned to a painful extent; this is why media training is now standard for stars-to-be. For Lana, everything in her world is art directed, but in interview form, when she's not in full control, it all goes scattershot. Her mind really is made of mercury, and it's both fascinating and frustrating.

She's also made a point to stand up for Lana in the press since Day One.
 
From 2012, Vanity Fair:
 
SM: I’m looking at what’s happened with Lana Del Rey, and I feel sympathy for her. That kind of venom is what I attracted when we first came out. Everyone called me a fake even though I’d been in bands for a decade—everybody was really on our back. We weren’t “real,” whatever that fucking meant.
What’s the driving force behind the Lana backlash? Is it just because she’s good looking?
SM: She’s beautiful. She’s really talented. She’s the real deal, and I think that’s threatening to people. She clearly has an aesthetic and clearly has worked hard before she got to this point in her career. She has a past? God forbid, they lambasted her for having a musical past. It’s good she’s failed and she had the wherewithal to try again. Shouldn’t we be applauding her for that?

Yes and with her philosophical curiosity and studies her view of God is probably more complex and open than an average Joe's. In this particular interview she leans toward an impersonal concept of God, the Greatness that stands behind everything. But she also mentioned in the past that she values tradition and considers herself Catholic. She is trying to reconcile a lot of things, which may sound contradictory.

i'm telling you this bitch feels nothing but undercurrents of abstract emotion every now and then, and everything else is ruled by her head 
 
i think there has to be some kind of inverse relationship with emotionality and incisive eloquence in communication. she's so good at articulating herself, but most of that is an intellectual process. i think she's confusing because there's such a vast disconnect between what she feels and what she thinks, whereas with most people, the two processes are more intertwined (rather than paradoxical) 
 
a lot of elements probably factor into the outcome of the interview too. how her day is going, the vibe of the interviewer, whether she feels more emotional or more numb, etc on that particular day. maybe her connection with god is more spiritual (abstract) but detached (mentally); and on this particular day she decided to share her more rational perspective on the matter? who knows with her bipolar ass 

"Well for me personally God isn’t important"
 
"I feel a strong relationship with God and I feel my ties are with him"
 

Billboard speculates how UV's unusual aesthetic & its success will influence pop music.
 
"With a No. 1 debut coming, expect more brooding, rock experimentation and mystique from mainstream music's biggest stars:"
http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/6128764/lana-del-rey-ultraviolence-pop-influence?utm_source=twitter
 

I wonder how Mr. Campbell is doing these days.