honeymoon confuses me. all her other albums have a discernable "storyline" if you want to call it that, or they paint a picture of a specific time in her life. first disclaimer is that idk what was going on in her life at this time. i know she broke up with barrie and was dating that francesco guy, but idk really what was going on there. so admitting the fact that idk what her personal life was much like at this time, this is how i view honeymoon.
ACT I: sex, drugs, and rock n roll
-Music to Watch Boys To
-High By the Beach
-Freak
-Art Deco
-Religion
-Salvatore
This is the surface layer. She's got boys, she's got drugs, and she's got California. From the outside, that looks pretty nice tbh (at least to me).
ACT 2: everything is not what it seems
-Honeymoon
-24
This starts to pull the curtain back. Beyond the sex and the drugs, she's clearly involved in something toxic (I'm guessing her relationship with the hot italian guy?). She likens him to a spy or a killer, and a rich, globetrotting photographer to the stars could understandably give her that impression. She wants more from him (the Freak demo is her asking her lover to marry her) than he's able to give, cause he's got baggage of his own.
ACT 3: she's so fucking sad
-Terrence Loves You
-God Knows I Tried
-The Blackest Day
-Swan Song
-Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
This is the reality of her life at this time. She feels lost, lonely, and worthless. In God Knows I Tried she straight up says she has nothing to live for. She dreams of just running away and fading into anonymity. All she wants is someone to understand her.
So thats my personal reading of Honeymoon: she's distracting a profound sadness and emptiness with men, drugs, and parties. Ultraviolence is kind of her at her lowest, emotionally. And then Honeymoon is her kind of dwelling in that dark place, and showing us how she copes with it. "filling the hole" (heh) with drugs and fun and hot italian guys is what i assume she was doing at this time.
am i totally wrong?