Sportscruiser

56 minutes ago, Deadly Nightshade said:

I really like your take on the subject of her lyricism !

I really think that she is indeed in a place where she seems to not know what the next step for her is ( or at least that's how i feel after COCC and now with BB ) . 

I think that her more diary-like lyrics can be a hit or miss when it comes to making music and not poetry . I find that with some of her songs you really dive in her thoughts and feelings about a situation ( like in WFWF or TB ) but the catch is that the song might lack in the parts of musicality. For example i find the opening of the song Arcadia to be really good but when we reach the part of : ''All roads that lead to you as integral to me as arteries '' and also towards the end of the song it feels like it's separated in two different parts even thought it's the same song. I don't know how to properly explain it but i feel like there is a lack of cohesion between the musical and lyrical aspect . But that's only my opinion , because even though TB is wordy as well in it's lyrical aspect , i think that it doesn't lack musically and that it flows really well. 

 

( English is not my first language as well so i hope what i've written makes sense  )

Thank you for your feedback!

And I definitely agree with your on all accounts. I’m critical of the BLM inclusion in TB and even though it’s not a song I felt on an immediate level (I had to take my time with it) it’s beautifully arranged and poignant as a piece of music. Arcadia is just probably one of her weakest tracks in recent memory (imo) mainly it just doesn’t “gel”. On one hand you have beautiful melody arrangements in the verses but the lyricism is weak and on the other hand you have passable lyrics in the chorus but a weird melody progression. The ending result is not BAD per se but it’s definitely a piece of work better suited for poetry and not music, perhaps? Plus her general lack of accountability can sometimes become a bit jarring because as so thoughtfully expressed by another user a few pages back, Lana doesn’t look at criticism with nuance and lumps everything together in a way that feels kind of irresponsible because even though she gets a lot of unwarranted shit most of the times, there are certain occasions in which the criticism is valid and pertinent.

All in all, Arcadia isn’t just for me and I’m fine with it being The Skip of the album for me (I always have one per album: Carmen, The Other Woman, 24, TNC/GBA, TNBAR, Yosemite - DONT KILL ME!). 

On 9/10/2021 at 9:08 AM, Rorman Nockwell said:

I really don't like Lana vs. Lorde comparisons because they are two completely different artists and humans, however, I feel that it illustrates my point, so: Solar Power is about Lorde's everyday life. There's a song about her dog that passed. Lyrics about imposter syndrome. Etc. But the thing is, none of the songs sound like diary entries. I really feel like Lana's songs of late sound like diary entries, and maybe that's what she's going for - and maybe that's even what most people here like - but there's more to a good song than just recounting your feelings.

I feel like, if you're going to do that, you've got to be discerning and know what to leave out. This is why you have a diary in the first place - because nobody wants to read that shit, really. She's doing the lyrical equivalent of dumping every single photo from your phone onto your IG, including the blurry selfie and the accidental picture of a tablecloth. I think she thinks it's endearing, and it was to a point, but now my interest is waning. I think people eat it up more than they should just because they are stans and she was so reticent in the past, and now she isn't.

"My body is a map of LA" - we get it. She likes living in LA. We've heard about LA in how many songs and poems? I get that she lives there. But does Lorde write about New Zealand in most songs? No. Do Florence or Marina write about the UK in most songs? No. Do other American artists write about America in most songs? No. At this point I really wish she'd come up with something else. American themes are okay when they are purposeful and tie in with the meaning of the song but when that meaning is just "I live in LA and my friends come over and swim in my pool, teehee," and variations of that over and over, it's boring.

Idk maybe I am unstanning without consciously meaning to. I am looking forward to the UV outtakes, though.

I got so interested in this thread that I went way back and really sinked my teeth in everybody’s opinions.

I’ve stated before that I personally disagree with a good chunk of your posts (respectfully so!) but I can’t deny they’re always intriguing and interesting to read. This one in particular kinda voiced what I thought about Blue Banisters (the track) when I heard it for the first time. I have no issue with the direction Lana is taking in her songwriting. It’s ultimately her decision and I support it as a fan but I feel like in between LFL and NFR she found herself in the middle of a crossroad and whatever direction she would pursue would have a price to be paid: she could either stay in the lane she carved from BTD to Honeymoon (elusive, more vague storytelling and an abundant use of metaphors and symbolic imagery) but risk not being taken seriously as en evolving musician and songwriter OR she would deepen her storytelling by bringing up more personal and intimate details into her writing and lose her mysticism and mystery during the process. I think it’s clear which path she chose and it’s even clearer the price she paid for it.

I take NFR (my favorite album of hers alongside Honeymoon) as the perfect middle point between both directions. In that album she managed to convey more intricate lyricism but used it to paint a broader, bigger picture - take songs like The Greatest or Bartender: full of concise and direct references and feelings that relate to her pessimistic views on everything that surrounds her; it felt like her persona as LDR was crumbling down as she tried to get a grasp on the surrounding reality that itself was also falling apart almost in an apocalyptical kind of way. That she managed to combine such a personal, antics-free posture with her known tendency to approach certain subjects with mystery and enough vagueness that made her songs more universal (a good example of this being How To Disappear - an excellent take on male toxicity and how bottling up one’s feelings eventually manifests in violence, emotional impotence and makes people disappear into themselves) is exactly what makes NFR such a potent album in my opinion. She preserved her persona but made it more accessible without risking the entirety of its mysticism and allure. A very very delicate line to tread on but she did it beautifully and that’s probably why NFR appealed to such a wide range of people, from her diehard stans to newfound fans and even people who use to be indifferent/critical of her.

COCC is a strange beast. It doesn’t quite expand on a lot of things she approached on NFR but instead it looks inward; I feel like it’s an album about isolation and emotional inertia. It doesn’t sound as bombastic and fiery as NFR and it’s a lot more discreet and timid. Even in that album there was still some mystery to her more diaristic songs: in WD her vocal delivery really transports the song to an aching realization she was probably happier and freer in the past and by opening up the album with such a strong lyrical and vocal contrast really makes the song sound very intriguing and alluring. I could say the same thing about COCC itself and perhaps even WAH, NAWWAL and BUS. However, tracks like DTWD, DBJAG and TJF were a lot more specific to certain events, certain people, certain occurrences. Couple that with her increasingly polarizing social media presence and her entire mystique is gone. You no longer ask who is she or what does she mean by whatever she says in her songs. At this point you know exactly what she’s referring to and can even pinpoint in a calendar the time stamps in which she met Sean and later broke up with him and the same can be said about Clay.

She has insisted regularly that the previous claims throughout her career that would suggest she feigned emotional authenticity and romanticized abuse and violence in relationships really took a toll on her. Ironically enough, the widespread acclaim of NFR must also have contributed to the opposite of vindication and led her to realize she was never going to be accepted as a fragile, submissive woman - the industry wants a hardened, more emotionally self-sufficient version of herself. You would think this could cause her to return to her old BTD/UV/HM days but that’s practically impossible at this point: with QFTC and everything that happened ever since, she completely shed her persona to pieces and her desire to further dive in to her past won’t restore any type of mysticism or unpredictability; that’s why we get such specific, almost diary-like entries in her songwriting these days: it feels like this her way to reclaim her narrative even though that will inevitably make her change a lot as an artist.

I love her songwriting in general but I can’t possibly pretend I relate to tracks like BB or TB as a whole; the power of Lana for me was the fact that even from very different life experiences she managed to draw universal feelings (many of them ugly and scary) that you could easily and deeply relate to. It’s not like she didn’t lose that ability completely (WW still wrecks me to this day and I relate to a good portion of it) and she doesn’t necessarily have to do it but she’s of course risking losing a part of her fanbase. Does she care though?

I’ll wait until BB is released. I have a feeling the album has something up its sleeve that we’re not quite ready for. It might be a determinant career step for her in a few ways though. Let’s see where she goes from here.

Btw apologies for the long ass testament and I’m sorry if my English isn’t the best. I hope y’all have a great Sunday!

8 hours ago, Crimson and Clover said:

I like Arcadia but yeah. I keep saying it here, it reminds me of Josh Groban-esque syrupy adult contemporary music from the early 2000s. I love the verses but the chorus loses me 

Absolutely. It’s definitely the weakest song out of the released singles.

Angels Forever, Forever Angels vs. Is This Happiness

Just now, shadesofdealer said:

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It's a bit on the slower/midtempo side. Pretty mellow and sparse instrumental- from what I can hear mainly drums and bass. Lyrically it sounds (to me) like a back and forth between someone either trying to disappear or who is so wrapped up in their addiction that they already have- and they know it, and a frustrated loved one (that's the picture it paints in my head anyway). Pretty sad/kinda depressing. She wasn't exaggerating when she said she screams-- her vocals on the chorus tbh are kinda reminiscent of UV (think Cruel World but amp up the cathartic wailing), especially with all the reverb. As far as being a career highlight, some love it, some hate it. Idk if it's a career highlight for me, but I do love it and it's definitely among my favorites from the BB songs we've heard. Hope this helps 

 

Just now, baddisease said:

does anyone else wish I Talk to Jesus was on the album?

No 

6 minutes ago, rock candy sweet said:

someone who has already heard dealer, can u describe it to me? i dont wanna listen to the leak cause we kinda already heard half the album, but im just so excited aaaagh- anyways, what's the instrumental like? is it a bop, is it slow? the lyrical content? does it have the potential to be the a career highlight? 

I hope I got this description right omg, English is not my first language. I don’t make the news, I just report them! 

50 minutes ago, ChaoticLipster said:

Why doesn’t it make sense?…I just don’t think she cares about commercial success or charts or when it comes out. No artist who gives a shit would deactivate before an album dropped.  So why should she care about a leak at this point?

Why is it you who determines that for her? I must have missed the obvious personal connection you have with her that fuels how well you know and understand her actions.

Frank Ocean never promoted his work and always released it without any social media fanfare. He used to post music on his tumblr account for heaven’s sake. Does that necessarily mean he doesn’t care about it enough to put on the work and promote it like someone like Selena Gomez or Bad Bunny? 

She announced the date. Her deactivating her socials probably mean a lot of things: mental health issues, exhaustion from all the attention (negative and otherwise), a request from her team to let some steam off of her, etc. Why are we still insisting on the “this showed lack of interest/professionalism” just because most artists use social media to promote their work? Given how much she looks up to an era in which it was all about the music and not much about this type of industry machinations, it makes perfect sense that she would eventually want to take a break.

There are so many layers to this situation and yet some of you always seem to choose the oversimplifying interpretations and not only insist on sticking with it but also even go as far as wishing for a leak because YOU determined she doesn’t care for whatever reasons and therefore all of a sudden we’re allowed to minimize the release date she and her label decided. Make this make any sense…

1 minute ago, ByDayAnother said:

I dunno, I assumed the “them” she screams for are “all the things [plural ]I couldn’t want for him”, as “I screamed for them” comes right after. The things she couldn’t want for him are the things she screams for.

Eh… I don’t buy that, with all due respect. She screamed for the things she couldn’t want for him at a Black Lives Matter protest?

2 minutes ago, ChaoticLipster said:

Has it leaked yet ? I don’t want to wait 4 weeks. I’m sure Lana doesn’t care since she is doing nothing to promote this album 

This makes virtually no sense at all.

I forgot to add:

WW (Top 15 Lana best songs ever!) > BB = TB > Arcadia. 

Just now, be sweet said:

y'all do know she's not referring to the BLM protests when she sings "i screamed for them" right?

Could you elaborate, please?

Text Book is a slow burner and it creeps up on you with further listens. At times I thought it was kind of terrifying even. There’s this menacing mystery to it that I can’t quite grasp yet.

The BLM line kind of prevents it from being a 5/5 song. There’s no excuse for the inclusion of that lyric and it’s also lyrically pointless? Sure it situates us in the place and event they met but did she really need to say “I screamed for them”? LOL. It’s too jarring of a line and it takes me out of the song for a few seconds… but then she pulls us back in just as easily. Still, it’s just kind of stupid to write something like that imo.

WW and BB are flawless. Arcadia is also amazing and so so so subversive but since one of my friends told me that the “roads that lead to you as integral to me as arteries (…)” part sounds like a Celine Dion song, I cant un-listen. That part of the melody is a bit strange as well and not my favorite arrangement of hers BUT everything else in the song is stellar, particularly the verses and the pre-choruses.

I honestly can’t wait for the entire shift in the female alternative music landscape to alt-indie-rock instrumentals under aching, confessional writing about how the past intertwines with the present and the future 

Taylor’s Green Curtains incoming!

Lorde’s Drunk At The Front Porch impending!

Halsey’s If I Can’t Have a Grammy, I Want The Countryside in the works!

14 minutes ago, Alison by Slowdive said:

i knooooowwww, theorising abt the connections between disco and white dress was so fun  

Absolutely!

And it would make so much sense if it was placed in the middle of the album, right after the whole Text Book - Arcadia sequence because thematically it encapsulates the desire to just let go of all the things she’s supposed to say, do or feel as determined by others and just surrender to what she truly wants for her life, hence becoming her only god - which would have been a pretty powerful statement from her if you take in consideration the amount of times she idolized men, american icons/symbols, relationships, her past, etc (to the point of equaling them to god all mighty figures/religion) most times in detriment of her own sense of self.

Not saying BBS - Beautiful - IYLDWM - VFR won’t get the job done as they’re probably going to expand that notion further and further but given the overarching themes of the album we already have a grasp on, it’s easy to imagine that Disco could perfect fall into place in Blue Banisters. 

I’m kinda sad Disco isn’t in this album. Can you imagine a rework of that song with richer production and deeper/post-LFL Lana lyricism? The end of the alt pop girlies as we know them 

Waking up and it’s not October 22nd yet again 

I have a great feeling about Beautiful. If you think about it, every song of hers with a generic title that could be fabricated by some random Lana title generator bot (California, Cherry, Freak, etc) was a highlight. There’s no way this song isn’t anything but a total slay.

Violets For Roses gives me heartwrenching breakup song energy. I can sense sacrifice, resignation, melancholia. I can feel it being a song that only grows and grows with further listens.

Black Bathing Suit sounds sultry in and of itself. Going by what lustforlife said about the song being a Lust For Life Stan Pleaser, I think it’s going to be a very intriguing addition to her catalogue and perhaps even what Cherry was to LFL in a way: the fan favorite that everyone adores and wants a MV and tour setlist placement for.

If Sweet Carolina is anything near the aching nakedness of Hope/Is This Happiness (her two best closers imo!) we’re in for a treat. Having a song co-written with her father and sister (two of her greatest pillars) at the tail of an album that sheds a light on her troubled past and present really will set it apart from her previous album closers. I have a feeling it will be hopeful, joyous and sweet. Can’t wait.

And none for If You Lie Down With Me because I have no idea what to expect or manifest for that one. 

Not this tired ass argument again.

10 minutes ago, Whore of Tropico said:

Guys, not related to the thread but does any of you guys know how to do "Neil Krug effects" for our own photos? I adore his color-tone so much through LDR photoshoots.

 

This is the closest i can get  (btw, do we have a separate thread dedicated to daddy Neil only?)

 

Is the second pic yours? The collapse!!!

Photography/editing experts unite! I’m interested in learning more about The Daddy Krug Technique as well 

1 minute ago, lustforlife said:

Its a powerful lullaby 

What you don’t tell no one, you can tell me 

5 minutes ago, lustforlife said:

Ben and Ed just moved to LA. Hope they are supporting  lana 

Support us by saying what kind of song Sweet Carolina is. Are we looking at a piano ballad, an acoustic ballad…? Is it country, is it rock, is it similar to Hope? 

1 minute ago, issgouding said:

i'm so sad that most of the album is unreleased songs 

That’s not true at all…

Manifesting electric guitar and drums 

Whatever.

I took a quick look at ldrarchived’s insta and it was really cute seeing her Lust For Life - NFR period. She looked so happy even if a bit contemplative. It transported me back to the days I used to see those posts in real time while I was myself transitioning to a life in the big city. Super nostalgic.