Jeanne Dielman

This is so basic, lol.

Drew also worked with Angel Olsen and Mitski on their latest albums, which have strong country and folk elements. And, yes, his work with Father John Misty on his latest album is extremely impressive, and I'm a big fan of his arrangements and production on the Ocean Blvd tracks. Let The Light In is the type of laid-back lyrically straight-forward/simple and melodically rich track that might be an indication of Drew's work on The right person will stay, given that we aren't getting super wordy songs like Fingertips (or even Arcadia, a poem that turned into a song) this time around.

I really don't think that Lana has been working on this album for four years. She's probably been toying with the idea of making a country record for four years, yes, but hasn't necessarily been working on it all this time. "Hey baby blue" and "I must be stupid for being so happy" are prime examples of Jack and Lana playing around with country-ish elements back in 2019. As we all know, they couldn't work together in 2020 and 2021 at all due to the pandemic (hence why COCC's tracklist was put together pretty quickly, and Erickson and Simon produced the new songs on Blue Banisters). Of course Lana and Nikki Lane must have recorded some stuff during that period ("Prettiest Girl in Country Music" for example), and Lana probably started preparing the American Classics record during that period, as well (which hasn't panned out yet, lol). "Blue Skies" and "Take Me Home, Country Roads" must have been tracks that were supposed to be included on that album. But "The right person will stay" doesn't sound like the (country-ish) project that we've been expecting from her. Certainly not the "Lasso" version. Her uncertainty and reluctance to talk about it speaks volumes. What she has mentioned so far though is that she doesn't want to follow the "country" trend - which makes sense, because Lana wouldn't want to be seen as a trend follower at all -, and that the direction she was heading to made her feel creatively/artistically uncomfortable. In her most recent review in August, she said that she might go back to the original version of what she had in mind, which might mean a more "stripped-down" sound. And I think this is exactly what is going to happen. Saying that she doesn't want the album to be filled with "half-cooked" ideas and songs is important, too. "So grateful that my 13 songs came together..." is giving strictly curated tracklist, in my opinion. Yes, the result might be a mostly acoustic May Jailer-ish album, but I think that she has put a lot of thought into this and doesn't want it to feel incomplete, rushed or directionless.

Absolutely! And it's my birthday, too, lol. Lana, come on!

I'm feeling pretty confident about the new album, actually. Lana said that she felt like she kinda lost herself - and her musical identity in a way - while working on the new project. Then, in another interview, she mentioned that she doesn't want the album to be "half-cooked" and if this means that she's going to go back to the original (more stripped-down) concept, then so be it. And I think that this is exactly what happened. She probably started working on "country (pop)" songs this year and they either felt too "mainstream"/"conventional" or made her feel uncomfortable while singing them (someone who attempts to go country, but fails/gets unfairly compared to other -country- artists; Lana being criticised for following certain "trends" in contemporary music etc.). She did tell us that she has songs that she *loves* and I think that "The right person will stay" with its 13 tracks is going to be a curated selection of the best of that work. Besides, Antonoff said that the album was "fucking brilliant" in early 2024. This might also explain her reluctance/uncertainty regarding the album's progress throughout the year. She probably ditched the stuff that made her question the entire project and herself all these months. I really love the "Henry" snippet which already sounds far more melodic, lyrically playful and, well, overall better than the majority of COCC and BB (and the audio is so damn crisp!).

The Grants 3 Ocean Blvd 9 A&W 11 Candy Necklace 19 Kintsugi 4

Mariners Apartment Complex: 32 Venice Bitch: 31 Fuck It I Love You: 11 California: 25 The Greatest: 32 Hope Is A Dangerous Thing: 15

Mariners Apartment Complex - 25 Venice Bitch - 42 Cinnamon Girl - 2 How To Disappear - 10 The Greatest - 26 California - 24 Hope Is A Dangerous Thing - 10

Honeymoon - 23 Music To Watch Boys To - 5 Terrence Loves You - 27 God Knows I Tried - 14 Freak - 9 Religion - 8 Salvatore - 13 The Blackest Day - 23 Swan Song - 17

Honeymoon - 22 Music To Watch Boys To - 8 Terrence Loves You - 26 God Knows I Tried - 14 Freak - 9 Religion - 8 Salvatore - 13 The Blackest Day - 23 Swan Song - 16

Mariners Apartment Complex - 25 Venice Bitch - 42 Cinnamon Girl - 4 How To Disappear - 8 The Greatest - 26 California - 24 Hope Is A Dangerous Thing - 10

Mariners Apartment Complex - 25 Venice Bitch - 41 Cinnamon Girl - 6 How To Disappear - 7 The Greatest - 26 California - 24 Hope Is A Dangerous Thing - 10

Cruel World - 23 Shades of Cool - 91 West Coast - 92 Pretty When You Cry - 32

Honeymoon - 26 Music To Watch Boys To - 12 Terrence Loves You - 23 God Knows I Tried - 11 Freak - 11 Religion - 8 Salvatore - 12 The Blackest Day - 19 Swan Song - 17

Let The Light In - 74 A&W - 86