Honeymooner

Hey everyone,
 
I'm curious to see what some of my fellow musicians (instrumental or vocal, doesn't matter) have to say on this topic.
 
I've heard it said that Lana's voice has gotten stronger since Born To Die came out.  I think Ultraviolence is certainly proof of that.  But one thing I've also noticed is that her vibrato has improved dramatically.
 
In the beginning, it seemed like it was sometimes shaky and unsteady, and was always kind of fast and fluttery.  The songs on Born To Die had that quality.  Paradise was a small improvement.  You can really only tell when she holds sustained notes.  "American" is a good example.  Take the chorus: "You make me crazy / You make me wiiiii-iiiild..."  On that last held note, you can hear her vibrato, and while it's better than it had been in the past, it's still a bit fast for my taste.  Fast forward to "Young and Beautiful" -- again, a marginal improvement, but still fluttery.  Fast forward again to "Once Upon a Dream," and there's still more improvement.
 
But, where I noticed the most dramatic change was in the bonus track "Is This Happiness" on Ultraviolence.  When she holds "Is this happineeessssssss". you can really hear a change.  Her vibrato is slower and wider than even on other UV songs.  To me, this is the most beautiful her voice has ever sounded.  I wonder if she had any sort of vocal coaching, or if she just changed on her own, or...?  "Is This Happiness" is definitely my favorite UV track.
 
Look forward to discussion

You're all gonna think I'm crazy, but I really hate it when, during live performances of "Born To Die," she changes "Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain" to "Let me f*** you hard in the pouring rain."  To me, that's her worst lyric.

You're all gonna think I'm crazy, but I really hate it when, during live performances of "Born To Die," she changes "Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain" to "Let me f*** you hard in the pouring rain."  To me, that's her worst lyric.

You're all gonna think I'm crazy, but I really hate it when, during live performances of "Born To Die," she changes "Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain" to "Let me f*** you hard in the pouring rain."  To me, that's her worst lyric.

I have my Lana playlist that I have on repeat in the car. As the list plays, though, I find myself repeating these songs 2 or 3 times before letting it go on to the next:
 
Dark Paradise
Born To Die
Lucky Ones (yes, I really do like that song)
Ride
Blue Velvet
Old Money
Flipside
Big Eyes
 
I know that's a lot, but there really isn't one single song that I'm obsessed with.

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?

You're all gonna think I'm crazy, but I really hate it when, during live performances of "Born To Die," she changes "Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain" to "Let me f*** you hard in the pouring rain."  To me, that's her worst lyric.

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"

Greetings!  I haven't posted here in ages.  I have listened to "Lust for Life" and I like most of the songs.
 
I wondered if anyone else caught some of the references to other songs in hers.  For example:
 
"Love" -- she says "Don't Worry Baby" several times, perhaps a reference to the Beach Boys song of that name?
"Cherry" -- several occurrences of "Rosemary and Thyme," possibly a nod to Simon and Garfunkel "Scarborough Fair" (the words "Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme")
"Coachella" -- the words "Stairway to Heaven" come up during the chorus; possibly an homage to Led Zeppelin?
"Tomorrow Never Comes" -- this one has a couple.  I heard "Tiny Dancer" a few times (Elton John song), as well as what sounded like "Lay Lady Lay" (Bob Dylan)
 
Any others?

Greetings!  I haven't posted here in ages.  I have listened to "Lust for Life" and I like most of the songs.
 
I wondered if anyone else caught some of the references to other songs in hers.  For example:
 
"Love" -- she says "Don't Worry Baby" several times, perhaps a reference to the Beach Boys song of that name?
"Cherry" -- several occurrences of "Rosemary and Thyme," possibly a nod to Simon and Garfunkel "Scarborough Fair" (the words "Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme")
"Coachella" -- the words "Stairway to Heaven" come up during the chorus; possibly an homage to Led Zeppelin?
"Tomorrow Never Comes" -- this one has a couple.  I heard "Tiny Dancer" a few times (Elton John song), as well as what sounded like "Lay Lady Lay" (Bob Dylan)
 
Any others?

Greetings!  I haven't posted here in ages.  I have listened to "Lust for Life" and I like most of the songs.
 
I wondered if anyone else caught some of the references to other songs in hers.  For example:
 
"Love" -- she says "Don't Worry Baby" several times, perhaps a reference to the Beach Boys song of that name?
"Cherry" -- several occurrences of "Rosemary and Thyme," possibly a nod to Simon and Garfunkel "Scarborough Fair" (the words "Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme")
"Coachella" -- the words "Stairway to Heaven" come up during the chorus; possibly an homage to Led Zeppelin?
"Tomorrow Never Comes" -- this one has a couple.  I heard "Tiny Dancer" a few times (Elton John song), as well as what sounded like "Lay Lady Lay" (Bob Dylan)
 
Any others?

Greetings!  I haven't posted here in ages.  I have listened to "Lust for Life" and I like most of the songs.
 
I wondered if anyone else caught some of the references to other songs in hers.  For example:
 
"Love" -- she says "Don't Worry Baby" several times, perhaps a reference to the Beach Boys song of that name?
"Cherry" -- several occurrences of "Rosemary and Thyme," possibly a nod to Simon and Garfunkel "Scarborough Fair" (the words "Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme")
"Coachella" -- the words "Stairway to Heaven" come up during the chorus; possibly an homage to Led Zeppelin?
"Tomorrow Never Comes" -- this one has a couple.  I heard "Tiny Dancer" a few times (Elton John song), as well as what sounded like "Lay Lady Lay" (Bob Dylan)
 
Any others?

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 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.

Don't forget, most people, celebrities included, don't usually just plunk down the entire cash value for a house.  They generally do what the rest of us do: Go to a bank, get a loan, and finance the house.  Banks will happily loan money to people with lots of money, because they know they'll get it back.  And she'll probably get a ridiculously low interest rate.  And since mortgage interest is tax-deductible, that's another reason not to pay cash for a house.  So, if she's worth $15M before buying those houses, she's still worth $15M after, plus more, because now she has the value of those houses in her portfolio.
 
The reason I even know this is that many years ago, I worked for an IT consulting firm, and one of our clients was a mortgage broker.  One of the broker's clients was former San Diego Padres baseball hall-of-famer Tony Gwynn.  He bought a nice house in Poway (suburb of San Diego), and he could have easily paid cash for it, but he financed it to get the tax break.

Don't forget, most people, celebrities included, don't usually just plunk down the entire cash value for a house.  They generally do what the rest of us do: Go to a bank, get a loan, and finance the house.  Banks will happily loan money to people with lots of money, because they know they'll get it back.  And she'll probably get a ridiculously low interest rate.  And since mortgage interest is tax-deductible, that's another reason not to pay cash for a house.  So, if she's worth $15M before buying those houses, she's still worth $15M after, plus more, because now she has the value of those houses in her portfolio.
 
The reason I even know this is that many years ago, I worked for an IT consulting firm, and one of our clients was a mortgage broker.  One of the broker's clients was former San Diego Padres baseball hall-of-famer Tony Gwynn.  He bought a nice house in Poway (suburb of San Diego), and he could have easily paid cash for it, but he financed it to get the tax break.

Don't forget, most people, celebrities included, don't usually just plunk down the entire cash value for a house.  They generally do what the rest of us do: Go to a bank, get a loan, and finance the house.  Banks will happily loan money to people with lots of money, because they know they'll get it back.  And she'll probably get a ridiculously low interest rate.  And since mortgage interest is tax-deductible, that's another reason not to pay cash for a house.  So, if she's worth $15M before buying those houses, she's still worth $15M after, plus more, because now she has the value of those houses in her portfolio.
 
The reason I even know this is that many years ago, I worked for an IT consulting firm, and one of our clients was a mortgage broker.  One of the broker's clients was former San Diego Padres baseball hall-of-famer Tony Gwynn.  He bought a nice house in Poway (suburb of San Diego), and he could have easily paid cash for it, but he financed it to get the tax break.

Don't forget, most people, celebrities included, don't usually just plunk down the entire cash value for a house.  They generally do what the rest of us do: Go to a bank, get a loan, and finance the house.  Banks will happily loan money to people with lots of money, because they know they'll get it back.  And she'll probably get a ridiculously low interest rate.  And since mortgage interest is tax-deductible, that's another reason not to pay cash for a house.  So, if she's worth $15M before buying those houses, she's still worth $15M after, plus more, because now she has the value of those houses in her portfolio.
 
The reason I even know this is that many years ago, I worked for an IT consulting firm, and one of our clients was a mortgage broker.  One of the broker's clients was former San Diego Padres baseball hall-of-famer Tony Gwynn.  He bought a nice house in Poway (suburb of San Diego), and he could have easily paid cash for it, but he financed it to get the tax break.

Good question! I once read in an interview that her friends and family use both. I took that to mean her family and friends who knew her before she became Lana. With new friends since being Lana, my guess is they call her Lana. Probably depends on how she introduces herself, though, too. I don't think she legally changed her name, so on her driver's license and passport, it probably still says Elizabeth Grant.

Wow, you mean I'm not the only one here who likes "Lucky Ones"?  I would love to hear that live.  And "Flipside," although it would just be her and Blake; the other guys would just be sitting around watching, LOL.

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"

I haven't been on the forum in a while, but I just popped in and saw this post, so I thought I'd contribute my opinion.  Hope y'all don't mind.
 
 
I personally like BTD/Paradise the best.  I love Chamber Pop... that's why I like those albums so much.  It's also why I like songs like Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain" and Coldplay's "Viva la Vida."  My second favorite LDR album is Honeymoon, followed by UV.  (I'm not including any pre-LDR albums.)
 
 
She is definitely exploring different things.  UV was a HUGE departure from BTD/P, and HM is, at least in my opinion, not the return to the BTD/P style that people were touting it to be.  I see it as somewhere in between BTD/P and UV stylistically.  That said... see next comment.
 
 
I think a lot of people will agree with this, especially in terms of her vocal quality.  Her voice has come a LONG way since BTD/P... she's more solid, more confident, sings more strongly, better vibrato, etc.  As far as the "quality" of her music goes, that's subject to everyone's interpretation (including mine).
 
 
It seems like with each new album, she's trying something a little different.  Hopefully, that will continue with the next one.  I'd love to see another BTD/P-style album myself, but I'd also be happy with whatever she puts out (as long as it's not rap, LOL).
 
 
I'm with you on that one.
 
One thing I've noticed over the years is that, other than concerts, she has pretty much stopped making public appearances (in person, or on TV).  Whether that's her own doing or that of her record label, I couldn't say... just something I've observed.

I haven't been on the forum in a while, but I just popped in and saw this post, so I thought I'd contribute my opinion.  Hope y'all don't mind.
 
 
I personally like BTD/Paradise the best.  I love Chamber Pop... that's why I like those albums so much.  It's also why I like songs like Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain" and Coldplay's "Viva la Vida."  My second favorite LDR album is Honeymoon, followed by UV.  (I'm not including any pre-LDR albums.)
 
 
She is definitely exploring different things.  UV was a HUGE departure from BTD/P, and HM is, at least in my opinion, not the return to the BTD/P style that people were touting it to be.  I see it as somewhere in between BTD/P and UV stylistically.  That said... see next comment.
 
 
I think a lot of people will agree with this, especially in terms of her vocal quality.  Her voice has come a LONG way since BTD/P... she's more solid, more confident, sings more strongly, better vibrato, etc.  As far as the "quality" of her music goes, that's subject to everyone's interpretation (including mine).
 
 
It seems like with each new album, she's trying something a little different.  Hopefully, that will continue with the next one.  I'd love to see another BTD/P-style album myself, but I'd also be happy with whatever she puts out (as long as it's not rap, LOL).
 
 
I'm with you on that one.
 
One thing I've noticed over the years is that, other than concerts, she has pretty much stopped making public appearances (in person, or on TV).  Whether that's her own doing or that of her record label, I couldn't say... just something I've observed.

I haven't been on the forum in a while, but I just popped in and saw this post, so I thought I'd contribute my opinion.  Hope y'all don't mind.
 
 
I personally like BTD/Paradise the best.  I love Chamber Pop... that's why I like those albums so much.  It's also why I like songs like Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain" and Coldplay's "Viva la Vida."  My second favorite LDR album is Honeymoon, followed by UV.  (I'm not including any pre-LDR albums.)
 
 
She is definitely exploring different things.  UV was a HUGE departure from BTD/P, and HM is, at least in my opinion, not the return to the BTD/P style that people were touting it to be.  I see it as somewhere in between BTD/P and UV stylistically.  That said... see next comment.
 
 
I think a lot of people will agree with this, especially in terms of her vocal quality.  Her voice has come a LONG way since BTD/P... she's more solid, more confident, sings more strongly, better vibrato, etc.  As far as the "quality" of her music goes, that's subject to everyone's interpretation (including mine).
 
 
It seems like with each new album, she's trying something a little different.  Hopefully, that will continue with the next one.  I'd love to see another BTD/P-style album myself, but I'd also be happy with whatever she puts out (as long as it's not rap, LOL).
 
 
I'm with you on that one.
 
One thing I've noticed over the years is that, other than concerts, she has pretty much stopped making public appearances (in person, or on TV).  Whether that's her own doing or that of her record label, I couldn't say... just something I've observed.