longtimeman

If we're talking about Lana era only, I agree with a lot of yours. Here are some that were important for me.
 
1) The iTunes festival 
 

 
I'm sure everyone here has seen this, but this was the first proper live performance of hers that I ever saw. I had not seen the Ride film clip, so I didn't understand her clothes at all - it seemed to me that she'd grabbed some clothes from two decades ago on the way out of the house and put them on just before getting on stage. I also had in mind that comment a certain person made about her SNL appearance - that she looked like a teenage singer in her bedroom. I got that feeling from this performance as well, but not in a bad way - it looked as though she was out of place and unsure of herself, but that she had these amazing songs that she was singing completely un-selfconsciously, which is such a rare thing. It genuinely got me excited about following her.
 
2) Ride on Langs de Leeuw
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLttDsZjRvg
 
Not only is this one of her best vocal performances, and a beautiful song (of course), but the look on Sharon Den Adel's face is priceless, not to mention that the crowd seems stunned into silence. If someone asked me to show them a video of LDR that proved she could sing with the best of them, this is the one I'd bring up.
 
3) Ultraviolence at Vancouver
 

 
Not only was this the first time any of us had heard the song, it felt like a special moment from afar. We got some snippets, then a bad recording, then this quite good recording. Some of the lyrics are a little different, too, and I generally prefer them here to the album.
 
4) Off To The Races first performance
 

 
A strange one. She seems very excited here ... but it's a rarely performed song, and recorded before the madness truly began. 
 
5) National Anthem LA Night 3, 2012
 

 
The strangest of them all. Instead of going into the crowd and taking selfies (which blew my mind the first time I saw her doing it on the iTunes show), she leans forward and kisses a few fans in the front rows. Both disturbing and amazing, it's a side of Lana that we see again and again in her dealings with fans, but here it's taken to the next level. It feels transgressive to be observing it, and it's very hard to figure out what she's thinking. I find this video as compelling as the film clip, and, come to think of it, it's a nice companion to the monologue at the end of the clip.

1.

The first ever live performance of West Coast. Something about this performance is so hauntingly beautiful. Her voice, the smoke streaming across the stage, the palm trees swaying in the wind. It's incredible and I hope we get an HQ clip one day.
 
2.
She steps on stage like the ghost of a beautiful screen legend long passed and gives a stunning, eerie performance. Her vocals (especially towards the end) are some of the best I've ever heard from her.
 
3.
I wish more of her fans had seen this. It's so transfixing.
 
4.
You get a sense of how much the lyrics mean to her, and I love the stripped-down version of the song. 
5.
 
Dem vocals.
 
HM: Much of Coachella and the recent Mexico performances, Goodbye Kiss cover, Video Games on Letterman, West Coast in Berlin, Ultraviolence premiere, Ride on Langs de Leeuw and in Carcassonne, first Young and Beautiful performance, Knockin' on Heaven's Door in Hamburg, Burning Desire at Jaguar Reveal, Born to Die at the 02 Arena, Yayo in 2008, Cola in Paris, Born to Die at the Chateau Marmont, Wonderwall cover, Diet Mt. Dew premiere. Old Money, Mexico performance is getting close to my top 5. There are a lot of great hidden Lana performances and it's really hard to narrow them down.

From Chuck's tumblr - http://yourgirlchuck.tumblr.com/post/100041408176/hey-topman-thank-you-owen-myers-for-considering
 
 

Absolutely beautiful. 

The addiction issue is a very tricky one, because without hard information, all we have is gossip and speculation, so you can either accept what she says, or it's probably best to sidestep going too deeply into it at all. Making guesses based on photos or hearsay is not helpful. There are a couple of interviewers who themselves are sober who I would love to hear speak with Lana about her experience (One of them, Anna David of AfterPartyPod just did a great interview with Moby about his experiences http://afterpartychat.com/afterpartypod-moby/ ) - until then, it's probably best to stick to the accepted story.
 

Lana would make so much money from us if she released this for real.
 
You should get in contact with her team.

So, I made a digipack for Lana's A.K.A. Lizzy Grant and I wanted to share it with you. ♥

From Chuck's tumblr - http://yourgirlchuck.tumblr.com/post/100041408176/hey-topman-thank-you-owen-myers-for-considering
 
 

From Chuck's tumblr - http://yourgirlchuck.tumblr.com/post/100041408176/hey-topman-thank-you-owen-myers-for-considering
 
 

From Chuck's tumblr - http://yourgirlchuck.tumblr.com/post/100041408176/hey-topman-thank-you-owen-myers-for-considering
 
 

From Chuck's tumblr - http://yourgirlchuck.tumblr.com/post/100041408176/hey-topman-thank-you-owen-myers-for-considering
 
 

From Chuck's tumblr - http://yourgirlchuck.tumblr.com/post/100041408176/hey-topman-thank-you-owen-myers-for-considering
 
 

From Chuck's tumblr - http://yourgirlchuck.tumblr.com/post/100041408176/hey-topman-thank-you-owen-myers-for-considering
 
 

From Chuck's tumblr - http://yourgirlchuck.tumblr.com/post/100041408176/hey-topman-thank-you-owen-myers-for-considering
 
 

From Chuck's tumblr - http://yourgirlchuck.tumblr.com/post/100041408176/hey-topman-thank-you-owen-myers-for-considering
 
 

From Chuck's tumblr - http://yourgirlchuck.tumblr.com/post/100041408176/hey-topman-thank-you-owen-myers-for-considering
 
 

This is very good, but I think that one important line is based on a misreading (that many others have also misread), not helped by the awkward way that Lizzy put it.
 
The statement in the interview is:
 
It's usually read as the lawyers and managers putting their heads together and coming up with the name 'Lana Del Rey', as though they were coming up with the name 'Coca Cola'. What she clearly meant (in my opinion) was that everybody she was dealing with thought her real name was not 'showbiz' enough (or 'Hollywood Sadcore' enough, or whatever), and she moved through all the names we know about - May Jailer, ...  - until she came up with 'Lana Del Rey'. It doesn't make sense that a bunch of people were needed to come up with the name, as such, and it's a major point, because for some reason, Americans seem to have a talismanic belief in the power of names - that the person who named a product deserves most of the credit for its success. 
 
This is one of the two most damaging myths about Lana's origins - the other is that Rob 'bought her career', as though the worldwide music industry is a high school beauty pageant, that can be bought off by one rich father, instead of an international, multi billion dollar collection of corporations, where Rob's wealth would be laughed at.

Don't know how unpopular this is, but I wish she did more monologues for her videos. They're so interesting to listen to and I especially love it when she recites poetry in then (eg I Sing The Body Electric in Tropico). Her voice is really suited to it and I just enjoy the way she speaks in the Tropico & National Anthem monologues SO much.
 
I'd also love another film for Ultraviolence a la Tropico, but that's another matter.

The addiction issue is a very tricky one, because without hard information, all we have is gossip and speculation, so you can either accept what she says, or it's probably best to sidestep going too deeply into it at all. Making guesses based on photos or hearsay is not helpful. There are a couple of interviewers who themselves are sober who I would love to hear speak with Lana about her experience (One of them, Anna David of AfterPartyPod just did a great interview with Moby about his experiences http://afterpartychat.com/afterpartypod-moby/ ) - until then, it's probably best to stick to the accepted story.
 

This is very good, but I think that one important line is based on a misreading (that many others have also misread), not helped by the awkward way that Lizzy put it.
 
The statement in the interview is:
 
It's usually read as the lawyers and managers putting their heads together and coming up with the name 'Lana Del Rey', as though they were coming up with the name 'Coca Cola'. What she clearly meant (in my opinion) was that everybody she was dealing with thought her real name was not 'showbiz' enough (or 'Hollywood Sadcore' enough, or whatever), and she moved through all the names we know about - May Jailer, ...  - until she came up with 'Lana Del Rey'. It doesn't make sense that a bunch of people were needed to come up with the name, as such, and it's a major point, because for some reason, Americans seem to have a talismanic belief in the power of names - that the person who named a product deserves most of the credit for its success. 
 
This is one of the two most damaging myths about Lana's origins - the other is that Rob 'bought her career', as though the worldwide music industry is a high school beauty pageant, that can be bought off by one rich father, instead of an international, multi billion dollar collection of corporations, where Rob's wealth would be laughed at.

Right, @@ilovetati - I know we're on the same page. The name is important not only because of the idea of who came up with it, but there is also a perception (not wrong, of course) that there are times when the music industry has created a 'character' (or 'group') and then auditioned people to fill that role. The idea that a 'team of managers and lawyers' came up with the name LDR puts the idea in a lot of people's minds that there was this 'character' of Lana Del Rey created, and Lizzy just happened to be the prettiest girl who turned up to try out for it. There is definitely a sexist idea behind this as well - you would be amazed (or maybe not) at how many people just don't believe a woman who sings can possibly be writing her own songs - that there must be a man standing behind her in the shadows, pulling the strings and writing the words. 
 
Whatever confusion has deliberately or accidentally been created by Lana's own 'mystery building' over the years, one thing that anybody can prove by going back through all of her recordings (back to 'Sirens') is that she's the one behind her lyrics and vocal lines, and her voice is what it is. The problem of artistic 'persona' is a much bigger one, and I wish there wasn't so much confusion around it. Sure, Robert Zimmerman was taking on a persona by calling himself 'Bob Dylan', and Declan McManus was taking one on by changing his name to 'Elvis Costello', but 'Tori Amos' and 'John Lennon' are/were also artistic personas, as well as real people. That's what Lana means when she says there's no difference between 'Lana' and 'Lizzy'.

This is very good, but I think that one important line is based on a misreading (that many others have also misread), not helped by the awkward way that Lizzy put it.
 
The statement in the interview is:
 
It's usually read as the lawyers and managers putting their heads together and coming up with the name 'Lana Del Rey', as though they were coming up with the name 'Coca Cola'. What she clearly meant (in my opinion) was that everybody she was dealing with thought her real name was not 'showbiz' enough (or 'Hollywood Sadcore' enough, or whatever), and she moved through all the names we know about - May Jailer, ...  - until she came up with 'Lana Del Rey'. It doesn't make sense that a bunch of people were needed to come up with the name, as such, and it's a major point, because for some reason, Americans seem to have a talismanic belief in the power of names - that the person who named a product deserves most of the credit for its success. 
 
This is one of the two most damaging myths about Lana's origins - the other is that Rob 'bought her career', as though the worldwide music industry is a high school beauty pageant, that can be bought off by one rich father, instead of an international, multi billion dollar collection of corporations, where Rob's wealth would be laughed at.

This is a work in progress, but I wanted to start a topic that encompassed the much discussed debate over Lana's authenticity by weaving in a timeline of her life and career as well as old interviews of Lizzy Grant and David Kahne, her first producer, pictures, and performance videos. I plan on adding much more to this, but wrote a brief timeline to start from.
 
---
 
     Elizabeth "Lizzy" Woolridge Grant was born on June 21, 1985 in New York City. Her father, Rob, was a copywriter at the very successful Grey Group, while her mother was an executive accountant at the same company. Her parents relocated to Lake Placid while she and her two siblings were quite young, and her father slowly transitioned into entrepreneurship via domain investment and independent marketing.  Lizzy began singing as a child as the cantor of her church choir while attending Catholic elementary school.
 
     At the age of 14-15, Lizzy was sent to Kent Boarding School in Connecticut to deal with her alcohol dependence and remained there until age 18, when she took a gap year off and stayed with her aunt and uncle in Long Island, NY and worked as waitress. During this period, her uncle taught her the basics of playing guitar. The following year, she enrolled in Fordham University, located in the Bronx, to study metaphysics and volunteered rebuilding homes outside of school. She began playing open mics at various nightclubs in Brooklyn, performing acoustic versions of songs she had written and recorded independently, some of which would reappear on future releases. In 2006, at her performance at the Williamsburg Live Songwriting Competition (video of the performance and interview here: 
), Lizzy was noticed by Van Wilson, a rep for 5 Points Records. In 2007, at the age of 22, Lizzy signed with 5 Points and began recording with producer David Kahne. (See interview with David about signing Lizzy here: http://www.mtvhive.com/2012/01/30/lana-del-rey-first-album-5-points-records-interview/). After receiving $10,000 from the contract, Lizzy moved into Manhattan Mobile Home Park in New Jersey, while retaining a residence with her sister in NY. Video from her interview with Index Magazine at the trailer park: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZI5iaCyL6ELizzy and David released the Kill Kill EP in 2008, but her first studio album was shelved, resulting in a shift of interest to charity work. "Homeless outreach, drug, and alcohol rehabilitation—that's been my life for the past five years," she told Vogue UK in 2012. She chooses the stage name "Lana Del Rey" for herself after a "series of managers and lawyers" suggest that she pick a new name to better represent the dark, cinematic music that she was making. (http://www.repeatfanzine.co.uk/interviews/LanaDelRey.htm)
 
     Two years later, her debut studio album, Lana Del Ray, produced by Kahne, was digitally released. Her father assisted with the album's marketing. The album was withdrawn shortly thereafter and, three months after the album's release, Lana met her current managers, Ben Mawson and Ed Millet, who encouraged her to distance herself from 5 Points because her progress had stagnated. Shortly afterwards, Lana relocated to London to be closer to her management and lives with Mawson for a couple of years. During this time period, she appears on MTV singing "Chet Baker" with Mando Diao (
). Lana begins directing homemade music videos for demos of new songs and uploads them to the Internet. After her video for "Video Games" goes viral and attracts attention, she is signed to Polydor/Interscope/Stranger Records in 2011. Prior to her debut album's release, Lana secures spot on SNL but struggles due to stage fright, a recurring theme in performances and early interviews. Born to Die is released in January of 2012 to polarizing reviews, but becomes a commercial success and catapults Lana to the popular music stratosphere. 

Well said. To add to this, every producer she has worked with has commented on her independence in the pre-production writing process. It's also made quite apparent by the perpetually-present lyrical motifs and themes in her work. The misconception that her LDR persona was her first experimentation with "dark" and "cinematic" themes has been particularly stigmatizing in this regard.

This is very good, but I think that one important line is based on a misreading (that many others have also misread), not helped by the awkward way that Lizzy put it.
 
The statement in the interview is:
 
It's usually read as the lawyers and managers putting their heads together and coming up with the name 'Lana Del Rey', as though they were coming up with the name 'Coca Cola'. What she clearly meant (in my opinion) was that everybody she was dealing with thought her real name was not 'showbiz' enough (or 'Hollywood Sadcore' enough, or whatever), and she moved through all the names we know about - May Jailer, ...  - until she came up with 'Lana Del Rey'. It doesn't make sense that a bunch of people were needed to come up with the name, as such, and it's a major point, because for some reason, Americans seem to have a talismanic belief in the power of names - that the person who named a product deserves most of the credit for its success. 
 
This is one of the two most damaging myths about Lana's origins - the other is that Rob 'bought her career', as though the worldwide music industry is a high school beauty pageant, that can be bought off by one rich father, instead of an international, multi billion dollar collection of corporations, where Rob's wealth would be laughed at.