Honeymooner

I didn't see this song in the Lyrics section, so I started a new thread. In Born To Die, at the beginning, after Lana whispers "Who, me?", there's a male voice that says something... sounds like "Lana" but with a drawl, as if he's calling her name, but I can't tell. Anyone know what he's actually saying?

No, the "one exception" I was talking about was National Anthem, specifically the area that I described in my original post. I know, it's often used for effect, as Cher did. Haven't heard that song. I really don't know anything about other vocal/layering effects, though; that's why I was wondering. They did? How so?

I know Lana doesn't use auto-tune in any live performances, and I don't believe she has used it in studio recordings... with one exception, and I'm looking for feedback. So, anyone out there with really good ears and/or perfect pitch, now's your chance. At 2:52, where the "Red, white, blue is in the sky" lyrics start, and then at 2:57 when the word "eyes" is sung and she sings it across 5 different pitches (F-G-F-Eflat-C), my ear is detecting the slight electronic timbre that is consistent with auto-tune. Just wanted to see if it's my imagination, or if anyone else thinks so. Sometimes, people use auto-tune for the effect (as Cher did in "Believe," 1998), so maybe Lana was going for something there. What do you think?

I happen to like Lorde myself. We're seeing her in concert this coming October. One thing I can say about her is that she is NOT shy with her opinions. She has, reportedly, bashed a number of other artists. I'm not holding that against her music, though.

Born To Die and National Anthem. I didn't care for them at first, but then hearing them again, I realized I did like them, so I bought 'em.

OK, I have a confession to make. I'm not sure if it should be here or in its own new topic, but here goes. I watched the videos of Lana's Saturday Night Live performance from 2012. I thought she did great! She did seem a little nervous during the first part of Video Games, but that came through more in her actions and movements (or lack thereof) than in her voice. I thought her voice was still strong, and she didn't hit any out-of-tune notes (as a musician with perfect pitch, I'd know!). Then, for Blue Jeans, she seemed a little more "warmed up." The word "burn" in the first verse came out a little strong -- maybe the mic was too close -- but other than that, I thought she performed quite admirably. And the audience cheered for her. I wish I knew where all the hate for this performance is coming from.

I do, too! At least, I think I do. Let me put it this way: There are more tracks I like on BTD than on UV. I bought 7 songs from BTD. Video Games, Blue Jeans, Dark Paradise, Summertime Sadness, Born To Die, Without You, and National Anthem. And considering that I bought them off of the "Paradise Edition" of BTD, you could say I bought 9 songs, since I also bought Body Electric and Blue Velvet, which are technically part of the Paradise EP. I only bought 4 songs off of UV, by contrast: Brooklyn Baby, West Coast, Old Money, and Black Beauty (the latter of which is a bonus track, I believe).

Perhaps not over material possessions, but it seems to me like she is asking for his love, or at least for him to acknowledge it if nothing else. That's what "Tell me I'm your national anthem" says to me. But perhaps I'm just a hopeless romantic, haha (I am, actually)...

Yes, according to the video. But if you were just listening to the song and hadn't seen the video, the whole JFK theme wouldn't be apparent. Sorry, I meant to say that in my original post but forgot. My interpretation is based on the words. Plus, on the album, she doesn't sing Happy Birthday first.

Not sure if this is quite the right place for this topic, but here goes. My interpretation of the meaning behind National Anthem: The song appears to be about a woman (portrayed by Lana in the video) who is with a wealthy man (portrayed by A$AP Rocky). Or maybe she's the wealthy one. In any case, to me, the theme seems to be wanting him to tell her that she is his "National Anthem," i.e. she is his world, his everything. She talks about the things they do, the places they go, the lifestyle they live, but behind it all, she just wants to know that he loves her and that she is everything to him. This idea also goes hand-in-hand with the way that during live performances, National Anthem is almost always the last song, and that while playing it, Lana takes the opportunity to meet her fans in the front rows. I say it goes together because she is telling her fans that she loves them and that they are the world to her. (I know it sounds contrary to what she has said in some recent interviews, but that's still how I see it.) Thoughts/comments?

I was gonna reply to this thread at the end and mention "Queen of Saigon," but you beat me to it. Another reference I've heard in 2 different songs, and I'm surprised no one else mentioned it by now: "Take [your/that] body downtown" is mentioned in both Video Games and National Anthem.

Sometimes, you just have to fill in a syllable, I suppose. Also in in Video Games, she needs a 3rd syllable in the word "Only", so it comes out "On-a-ly". "On-a-ly worth living if somebody is loving you"

Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys will be, or already is, collaborating with several current artists, including Frank Ocean, Nate Ruess, Kacey Musgraves, and Lana Del Rey. Lana will be singing a song with Brian called "Last Song." There are 2 versions in the works, one with Brian singing lead vocals, and one with Lana singing lead. I'm anxious to hear the latter! More info here: http://www.mtv.com/news/1872976/brian-wilson-lana-del-rey-new-album/ and http://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/00073111.html And... just google "Brian Wilson Lana del Rey" and you'll find a ton.

I bought the magazine today ($4.99 on my iPad) and read the full article. The quote snippets we saw didn't really make a lot of sense out of context; they were much easier to interpret within the full article. I enjoyed reading it, although it's too bad the interview ended on kind of a bad note.

Best moment for me is the bridge in "Young and Beautiful." I'm a classical musician myself, and I love how the orchestra sounds behind Lana in this section.

My favorite is "Young and Beautiful." Following that is a 3-way tie for 2nd place between "Video Games," "Summertime Sadness," and "Blue Velvet." You may notice that all of my favorites are off of "Born to Die." I like several songs from "Ultraviolence" as well, but overall, contrary to a lot of other people, I like "Born to Die" better as an album (I guess because there are more songs on it that I like than on "Ultraviolence"). Well, to be specific, I have the "Paradise Edition" of "Born to Die", which has, among others, "Blue Velvet" as a bonus track. I also like Lana's version of "Once Upon a Dream" from "Malificent."

This isn't Disney, but I would love to hear her cover "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Mis. It's one of my favorite musical songs of all time, and I would love to hear her sing it. It would have to be taken down a little bit, though, since the original key is probably outside of her vocal range.