smith

Okay, so How to Disappear & Cinnamon Girl are about boxer Joe Schilling.
 
So, Lana stated in her livestream she wrote both of the songs song after "getting back to New York from Boston" after being "fucked up in Boston"
Nick reminded me there was a rumour of Lana going to Boston to watch her boyfriend who was coaching, which lined up during the same time period as I noticed she was in Rhode Island on October 3rd & New York October 5th with Jack, same day she shares first snippet of HTD along with video captioned "pre-recording dance"
The rumour seemed to originate from a girl who worked at a store Lana was shopping at while in Rhode Island.
Rhode Island - Oct 3 (traveling there)
Boston - Oct 4 (meltdown happened w this guy)
New York - Oct 5 (wrote HTD)
  October 5th: "At the Red Sox vs Yankee play off game at Fenway Park tonight. We’ll be wishing a mother fcker would." (Fenway Park is in Boston, and Lana was there to watch him train the day before)     The man in question seems to be this boxer named Joe Schilling, who a bunch of fans attacked on instagram by commenting rats under his instagram posts on October 21st after he dragged her music & the unfollowed each other, and Lana had to tell her fans to back off. That makes perfect sense given the lyrics: "Joe met me down at the training yard, with cuts on his face 'cause he fought too hard" (which would make sense bc he's a boxer) & then of course the lyrics in Cinnamon Girl indicating that something went wrong with them "if you hold me without hurting me, you'll be the first who ever did" whew that man really hurt her x

Im an MMA fan and know of him, the whole part about him fits him. Even the "getting high as they fight" it's really common for MMA fighters to get high before training particularly when doing jiu-jitsu, Joe Schilling and people he trains with are big into smoking weed.
 
The parts "moves mountains and" was I think a sneaky way of Lana putting MMA into the song and the part about "pounds them to ground", Ground & Pound is a big part of MMA - something Joe is actually bad at as he was a kickboxer used to stand up fighting and was quite poor on the ground and at jiu-jitsu.
 
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ground_and_pound

maybe the reason she sings about sugar daddies is because she's tired of being a sugar mama 

interesting! i never really saw it as that but i like that. i think the romantic aspect of this song is actually what confuses me the most about it. all the stuff about drug abuse, moving away to escape ur demons, etc etc all adds up for me but the romantic elements i've really struggled to interpret. i think you're right though, and i think the idea is that the love is the simple part - all that other stuff, the struggle, the depression, the drugs... that's the hard bit. still, she makes it seem like she's struggling to both give and receive this love. thanks for sharing 

"dream a little dream of me
make me into something sweet "
 
!!!!! make the feelings of loneliness and depression into something more palatable and sweet, something that feels like a dream, and doesn't feel dark and hopeless. make than happen in the form of becoming a star, embodying the history of every single famous woman in the past, becoming adored. 
 
"and you know everyone adores you"
 
you know everyone is buying into your diet mountain dew new york city 
 
"but you can feel it and you're tired" - referencing The Greatest (maybe i'm burned out after all).
 
It gets tiring to be Carmen, and not Elizabeth Grant. 

I always took it as...she likes the finer, material things (diamonds) that can give life texture as opposed to her man who prefers a more simple (earthy?) way of living. Also, for me, the crimson and clover line ties in nicely with “you’re in the yard, I light the fire” and “now we’re back in the garden...”. They help paint that atmosphere that makes VB so *chefs kiss*

oh my god not only could Yosemite be reborn it could be literally REBIRTHED with Jack's 70s techno golden hazy 1970s FM radio production

Remember when we got UV (track) and then SoC and BB and we were all confused because they were at the time all kind of the same and “boring” but what if these are like that situation where the whole album will be fuckING KILLER AND A MASTERPIECE AND LITERALLY FUCK US ALL UP

ive waiting her lou reed-esque new york album since ultraviolet. now cmon now

Is this really your definition of what disqualifies a record from being considered to flow well? You're going to lose your mind if  you ever listen to any Pink Floyd or Beatles records

i think everyone in that room is on something its okay

I love how calm and confident she was during the speech. It's amazing how high her self-confidence is, especially after the criticism. It's very inspirational for me, because I'm very shy and nervous.

She referenced a 9-5 job LMAO can you imagine? “Hi this is Lana del Rey calling from the collections agency, you have a $10,000 overdue bill for ya boob job” 

Because she’s been turning into a werewolf. Did you watch Chemtrails over the country club? Iconic 

I’m so ready for the debut record — Fishing Lines over the Fog House (2022)! 

i trust mike. he will turn the next album into a dark trap summer night's dream. it's going to explode and she's going to freak out. she has already let out the mess on dealer and bbs.
 

i feel like if any other alternative female artist experimented like lana did with this album, with polarizing vocal styles, tempo-changes, "scream" vocals, & confessional, thought-provoking lyrics, etc. they would receive praise & acclaim, but when lana does anything that's not in the perfect little nfr "she's changed & she's happier now!" box she gets draggd & laughed at, people really need to forget about the lana del rey "image" which she was perceived as in 2011 and see her as the person & artist she actually is

i just feel so lucky to be in the minority of people  (basically just us) who are the closest to fully understanding what Lana is doing, it would be so sad if she was just another alt girl to me. I'll never unstan because of what she has created, which is art and just a perspective that speaks to my soul like nothing ever has. Fantano and a lot of people will never know the feeling and thats so sad for them but it makes me feel so thankful LOL 

I've said a lot of this already in the pre-release under spoilers but here are my expanded thoughts now that I've really had time to absorb the album. Sorry it's so long, just wanted to get all my thoughts down somewhere!
 
Overall I think it's really spectacular, one of her best, though I find it very difficult to rank her albums because they are all so special and serve such specific purposes in her overall discography. This album manages to be deeply personal and fascinating, sad and funny, angry yet deeply loving. It is such a beautiful portrait of the various sides of Lana, and I think she absolutely succeeded in telling us her story the way that she wanted to. 
 
Text Book is a beautiful opening. She gets right to it with a song that opens the door to a ton of issues that she'll explore on the album. Gorgeous in every way, and the outro gives me complete chills.
 
Arcadia is a magical work of genius. The way she starts things so simple and cute with this patriotic sound before slowly revealing that it's actually a take-down of America, and a sad realization that despite the deep connection she's formed to it, she has to leave for something better, is honestly just incredible songwriting.
 
Interlude - The Trio is out of place for some people, but I think it fits perfectly. After the gentleness of the first three tracks, this interlude rings the alarm bells and tells us that we better be paying attention because a lot is simmering beneath the surface of this album. It's a great moment that picks up the pace and demands focus before leading into the standout track of the album.
 
Black Bathing Suit might be the most important song of Lana's career. It's one of the most fascinating and vulnerable songs ever that invites you right into her psyche as she reflects on a very complicated existence. She manages to blend all over her previous sounds into one song, with unexpected tempo shifts that don't click on the first listen, but once they do, they could not be more perfect. The outro is stunningly chaotic and even though she's got the last laugh, you can really feel the emotional damage that the hate she receives causes by the way she chooses to let the song spiral out of control in those final moments. This song is just devastating and brilliant, like she mocks the haters while also revealing the pain that they cause. One of my favourite songs ever, and complete proof that Lana is so much more than a musician. She is truly an artist and is willing to lay it all on the table and experiment with her sounds, her words, and her performance, to create something so unique and powerful.
 
If You Lay Down With Me is such a great song to come next, giving us this absolutely beautiful and classic Lana vibe, while also feeling so fresh. The lyrics are adorable and warm and truly make me want to spin around the room like a ballerina super high. The instrumental outro is a highlight of the whole album.
 
Beautiful is so special. It didn't make as strong of an impression as some of the other tracks at first but the more you hear it the more it breaks your heart. The piano raindrops are so gorgeous, and the sentiment behind this song is extremely important. She's speaking to all of us and asking us to stop trying to change who she is as an artist. She's never going to change for us, nor should she ever need to.
 
Violets For Roses expands on the themes explored in Beautiful. It wasn't one of my immediate favourites but the more that I listen the more addictive it becomes. Simple and beautiful and very classic Lana sounding, with a melody that's to die for, especially in the chorus.
 
Dealer is an absolute knock out. Miles sounds great but Lana is obviously the real star here by a long shot. It's a complete thrill to hear her on this track. I understand people wishing that she sang the whole thing, but I think it works really well as a duet, and Miles' verses only make us long for Lana's return, which makes her moments even more rewarding.
 
Thunder is amazing. I loved the original, I love this version too, and think it overall suits the album better. As many of you have said, the progression is excellent and the result is less repetitive than the song once was. She could have maybe kept a couple of the previous details to allow the song to build to something even rockier, but it's still wonderful as is.
 
Wildflower Wildfire is another standout and almost like an initial climax of the album for me. The lyrics are some of her best and I absolutely love the way the song builds with her powerful declaration to be a wildflower, not a wildfire, even if it's a promise that can't last.
 
Nectar of the Gods has always been one of my favourite unreleased. The stark guitar and vulnerable lyrics are out of this world gorgeous, and the final line is one of the most devastating moments on the album. It's like she needs the fire that she's abandoned in the last song after all, and by trying to tame herself, the flame that keeps her alive has gone out.
 
Living Legend has also always been a favourite, and with its placement on this album, it's what brings her back to life. She struggles with her guilt and complex feelings, while admiring someone of inspiration to her, and comes to the realization that she's always been stuck between heaven and hell and she's tired of it. I think realizing these things about yourself helps lead to acceptance, which leads to healing. The electric guitar vocals are another highlight of the album and let her bring that burning passion back to the forefront.
 
Cherry Blossom is so delicate and beautiful. After she goes through this journey of ups and downs through her life, to end on a touching lullaby to her future child, or to anyone who needs her, is really moving. The sentiment in this song is so important and it feels like a lesson that she's really learned through all her hardships, which leads us beautifully to the end of the album.
 
Sweet Carolina is surely Lana's warmest and most adorable song ever. I love everything about it and it closes the album so well. The title track so early in the album shows her sister coming to save her, and here Lana returns to the favour with this beautiful love letter, assuring her (and us) that she'll always be there, and when sadness comes we can always dance away the blues.
 
10/10
 

 

Bear with me, but I had a neat observation: after listening to BB, I think it’s interesting how frequently Lana ends a record by explicitly emphasizing femininity (often directly with the titles) and her interpretation of it. 
 
This Is What Makes Us Girls closes her debut record with supercut-like imagery of the friendship dynamics with women in her early years. The standard version of Ultraviolence does something similar in closing with a cover of The Other Woman, offering a less unified approach to TIWMUG’s love-centric expression.  

Lust For Life ends with Get Free, a track that defies the very love reliance she punctuated BTD and UV with, thereby adhering to this commitment for the women she felt were impacted by it: Amy Winehouse and Whitney Houston. In its entirety, it’s almost an ode to women and their liberation from toxicity. 

In NFR, hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have…BIHI—both in the title and its content—directly confronts her position as a woman that has been submerged in a world that often felt hopeless. 
 
COCC (an album designed to clarify and embrace her femininity) completes her narrative with a cover alongside two women she reveres in their artistry, even allowing one of them to have the last note on the record. 
 
Her recent release seems to continue this pattern with the heartwarming, irreverent ballad Sweet Carolina. The track is a reassurance to her sister, a promise of constancy as she emerges into the commitment of motherhood. 
 
Whether intentional or not, I really found this trend interesting. You could make similar arguments for Paradise and Honeymoon touching on this as well, but I felt the other records encompassed femininity a bit more directly. Let me know what you think!

Forced my mom into listening to BB and...
 
 

There's a lot of connections lyrically within songs on the album that I've noticed. Here's a little "masterlist" I've complied of some of the ones I picked up on. I feel like these really point to the themes of the album.
 

Once I found my way, but now I am lostttt 
 
This lyric is so powerful and relatable. A lot of people feel so sure of the path that they're on when they're younger but then you get a little bit older and you realize that things aren't as clear as you thought they were at one point. 
 
This album is really coming for us 

Born to Die and Paradise were Lana taking her experiences and spinning them into these evocative and enhanced visions of the reality she once knew.
 
Lust for Life was Lana subverting that reality and challenging the moral foundations upon which she operates, marking a transition. 
 
Norman Fucking Rockwell! and Chemtrails Over the Country Club were sabbaticals that showed a day-in-the-life of Lana and consolidated her creative vision.
 
Ultraviolence, Honeymoon, and Blue Banisters are the complex and intricate autobiographical recounts that are the fruit of Lana's labour. These three records are where the heavy lifting of turning all the way inward happens – and yields the most rewards.

(8 days, 9 hours, and 23 minutes!)