Honeymooner

Is the "West Coast" Radio Mix what Lana had recorded before meeting Dan Auerbach and re-recording the track, or is it something completely different?

Everyone will have an opinion on which album is better, and we're all entitled to those opinions. Here's mine: I really can't say one is better than the other, because they're very different. There are more songs on BTD than UV that I like and that are in my playlist. To be exact, I have 9 from BTD, 4 from Paradise, 2 movie songs ("Young and Beautiful" and "Once Upon a Dream"), and 5 from UV. I agree with many who have said that Lana's voice is generally stronger on UV. Considering that BTD was released in 2012, meaning recorded mostly in 2011, and UV was recorded in 2013/2014 and released in 2014, it would make sense that her voice has improved. She toured all over the world for nearly 2 years before starting on UV, and all that experience would improve anyone's skill. I speak from experience -- I played viola for 17 years as section leader in an orchestra, then switched to violin to be the orchestra's concertmaster. In a year, I feel my violin playing has improved dramatically, especially when it comes to sight-reading high notes that I wasn't used to. I can do things now that I couldn't do a year ago. So it's the same for Lana, I'm sure. That said, though, have you heard her vocals in "Cola?" When she starts doing what I call the "showoff" part, she hits some really freaking high notes. I'd heard them in live performances, but only recently listened to the song on the album, and she does the same thing there. And that was in 2012, so even then, her voice and range was impressive.

Wow... I tried and failed, and then had to leave, but was gonna ask if anyone had any luck buying tickets. It seems the answer is No. My experience was that starting at 7:00, I would try to get to the page, kept getting "Soon." I'd refresh, and one of 3 things would happen: "Soon," "Server Too Busy," or "Page not found." Whoever's bright idea it was to host a server that is gonna get thousands of simultaneous hits on Microsoft IIS should be fired. Finally, just before 7:20, I actually got a link to come up with "Buy" next to the October 17 date. Clicked it, waited for what seemed like an eternity, then it asked for the quantity. Put in "2" and waited another eternity, only to have it come back and tell me they were "out of stock," which I took to mean they had sold out already. I'm hoping that they just had a limited number of "pre-sale" tickets available, and that there will be more available on Saturday. Otherwise, I will be more super-bummed than I am right now.

That is such a bummer!! Would they let you go if you went with us, i.e. they didn't have to drive you up there?

*Ahem* And brethren... And I'm actually in San Diego, but will be making the trip up to LA. I've heard it can be a lot of fun! I'll be happy if I can get a selfie and a hug (or a kiss, LOL). So who knows the area well and can determine a place to meet?

I never liked diet sodas; the sugar substitutes left a horrible aftertaste. I used to drink Pepsi (preferred it over Coke) until 3 years ago, when I had a kidney stone, and decided to give it up (since the oxylates in dark sodas like Coke, Pepsi, and Dr. Pepper, are big contributing factors to kidney stones). Haven't touched one since. But I suppose now I know what Lana's p---- tastes like...

First song I heard was "Once Upon a Dream" when we were watching Maleficent at the end of May. I had no idea who Lana Del Rey was at that time; I had only heard her name because I had recently (in April) become a fan of Lorde after hearing "Team" on the radio a lot, and had seen a lot of comparisons between Lorde and Lana Del Rey, Grimes, and Sky Ferreira. I didn't know who any of them were and didn't care at the time, but then after hearing "Once Upon a Dream," I realized that I really liked Lana's voice and wanted to learn more about her. (I also understood the comparisons between LDR and Lorde, since they have a similar vocal range.) I started searching Google and YouTube, and the first song I heard on YT was "Summertime Sadness." After that, I was totally in love and, like @@Anthem, listened to pretty much nothing but LDR for the next couple of months. I bought a few songs from Born To Die, and eventually just bought the entire album (I got the Paradise Edition, since it was this year). I also bought a few Ultraviolence songs, and then just bought the whole album (so I could have the insert).

Looks like a number of people from here will be going. The wife and I are planning to go, too! As long as I can get tickets, that is... we're in San Diego, so we'll be driving up. We're going to the Friday (Oct. 17) show. I would like to get there early, too, but they may be enforcing the "no lining up before 5 PM" thing, since it's a cemetery and all... I'm a 42-year-old dude... does being twice your age count? I know, I'm excited too!! I hope I'm able to get tickets! Once we're all confirmed, we'll have to exchange names and whatnot so we can meet up before the show. We should try to get front row!!

There's lots of suspicion, but let's not jump to conclusions...

Well, to be specific, it's the Past Perfect form of the participle. And with that in mind, yes, "had sung" is correct where "had sang" is not. (I looked it up.) "Sung" is the same verb tense as the word "driven." Using that example, you would say "I have not driven down that road before" (or "I had not driven..."), as opposed to "I had not drove...".

True, though in that case, I would've interpreted it as in "red, white, and blue," meaning the Flag, is in the sky. I'm sure these "mistakes" are intentional. Some are probably meant for rhyming purposes. For example, in "Lucky Ones," the lyric "Could it be, you and me are the lucky ones" rhymes better than "Could it be, you and I..." She also sometimes changes syllables... for example, in "Video Games," she turns "only" into a 3-syllable word: "On-a-ly worth living if somebody..." I'm not faulting her for this; I just find it somewhat amusing. The first time she was asked to sing "Young and Beautiful" live in Luxembourg, she said "We haven't sang that one live yet." Should've been "We haven't SUNG..."

Here are mine: From Born To Die: Tie between "Radio" and "Lucky Ones" From Paradise: "American" From Ultraviolence: Tie between "Old Money" and "Is This Happiness," although since ITH is a bonus track, if we're not including bonus tracks, then it'd have to be "Old Money."

Wow, thanks for the great responses, everyone! I had never heard the West Coast radio mix, but I just played it last night after seeing your reply. It's quite different than the album, especially in the way that the tempo does not slow down at the chorus like it does on the album. Auerbach didn't produce any of those? It's interesting, "Is This Happiness" has sounds reminiscent of the Auerbach-produced tracks. Although his tracks didn't have any strings, so I can see where there'd be a difference. That song does have some interesting distortion effects, though, on the strings and otherwise. Why do you say "thank god she enlisted him?" Do you feel that those tracks aren't as good as the Auerbach-produced tracks? (Not looking for a debate here, just wanted to know.) It'd be cool if we could hear the pre-Auerbach versions, but that probably won't ever happen. Demos are one thing, but the fully-produced pre-Auerbach album would be something completely different (and exciting!). It's true, they probably would. But maybe sometime down the road, she'll release an Ultraviolence "box set" that has both her original version and the reworked Auerbach version. We can dream... Speaking of which, I kept reading that she was supposed to be re-releasing her "Lizzie Grant aka Lana Del Ray" album sometime in 2012 or 2013; at least, she kept saying that back then. But it never happened... maybe Paradise took over and she never went back to the other? I thought some Ultraviolence tracks had leaked as well. I remember reading that "Black Beauty" had leaked, and she had commented that she was discouraged, but was still going to release the album. Even before Auerbach came along, Lana had said in discussing the album that the tracks were still "dark and cinematic" like Born To Die, but more "stripped back." Perhaps that means not as lush-sounding, but still with more of the string/orchestral effects that she had on Born To Die and Paradise. "Old Money" was produced by Dan Heath, and it maintains more of the Born To Die sound (although it's not as lush-sounding as other Born To Die and Paradise tracks). Radio.com quoted Lana as saying "I do feel discouraged, yeah. I don’t really know what to put on the record. But I guess I could just put them on and see what happens. Each time I write… I’ll never write a song if I don’t think it’s going to be perfect for the record." This was from 2013, and in the interview, she said that it happened about 3 years ago, which would've been around 2010-2011. Those albums weren't out yet, but she may have already been working on songs. They were probably very early versions. Do you mean Ultraviolence the album, or "Ultraviolence" the song? I remember reading about an early version of the song that she was calling "Melancholia." Yeah, she has expressed on numerous occasions that she was very happy with the results, and was glad that she had worked with Dan. I would just love to hear the pre-Auerbach version for comparison's sake.

Hey everyone, For anyone who may not have already known, Lana had Ultraviolence ready to go around the end of 2013/beginning of 2014. She spent 5 weeks at Electric Lady Studios in New York City putting the finishing touches on it. Then, she met Dan Auerbach and they ended up re-recording most of the album in Dan's studio in Nashville. That's what we know as Ultraviolence today. So who else, besides me, is curious as to what Ultraviolence would've sounded like if Dan Auerbach had never entered the picture? Anyone know if there are pre-Dan versions of the songs out there anywhere?

OMG that's funny! It's actually "I grew up on..." rather than "I was into..." But it's kind of interesting how Lana pronounces certain words when she sings. In that line you just quoted, she loses the "h" in "hop hop," so it comes out "You were kinda punk rock, I grew up on ip hop..." She also tends to say "Wit" instead of "With." Video Games: "Heaven is a place on earth wit you." Ride: "I've been trying to hard / wit one pretty song."

Dude... Shit happens. People do get sick and have to cancel things sometimes. Lorde had to postpone her entire Australian tour earlier this year due to illness, too. Most performers will try to make their commitments even if they're a little under the weather, so if Lana had to cancel all of her European engagements, she must have been pretty bad off. Also, many times, a performer's management will step in and decide to cancel on the performer's behalf. (In Lorde's case, it was her parents who stepped in, with her being 17 and all... LOL...)

So, this isn't a question, but I just discovered a common thread between Lana and one of my other favorite "L" singers, Laura Branigan. That common thread is, actually, another L: Leonard Cohen. Lana cites him as one of her influences, and covered his song "Chelsea Hotel #2." Laura Branigan was one of Cohen's backup singers during his European tour! (This would've been late 70s or early 80s, before Laura launched her solo career.) Small musical world, isn't it?

Hahaha... despite being well-spoken in interviews and whatnot, I've found a handful of incorrect English in her songs. Not that that's uncommon, but since you guys brought it up, I thought I'd contribute. One example: "Lucky Ones" The chorus ends with "...could it be, you and me are the lucky ones." To be grammatically correct, it would have to be "you and I," not "you and me." Another: "National Anthem" In the main chorus, you have "Red, white, blue is in the sky..." Should be "are in the sky." And then, there's her famous tweet about Ultraviolence: "Me and Dan Auerbach are excited to present you Ultraviolence"... should be "Dan Auerbach and I," not "Me and Dan Auerbach." Ahh, Lana, what shall we do with you... LOL...

Keepin' my fingers crossed for you, my friend.

Wow, I just listened to Lana's cover of "The Other Woman" for the first time. She did a beautiful job with it! Love how she holds those long notes... and when she climbs up those 3rds... wow.

Radio: In the chorus, it sounds like she's saying "Now my life is sweet like cinnamon / like a fucking dream on Ritalin..."

I love "American." "Ride" is one that I suddenly found myself listening to on repeat... kinda like I did with "American" at first, too.

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.

Wow, I like that demo!! Aside from the "Joplin, Jimmy Page" lyric change, the vocals sound EXACTLY like what's on the final version of the "studio" recording (this version: ). The demo is a half step higher, but otherwise, sounds exactly alike. My ear tell ms (and it's a good ear) so -- the breaths are the same, the inflections are the same, and the pitches are the same (relative to the half-step difference, of course). I wonder if they used the demo's vocals for the final version as opposed to re-recording...

Is there a thread anywhere for covers of Lana's songs? This one is a darn good cover of West Coast. http://youtu.be/W1nBK4T5Y-c