Pensacola

Wtf is it with Lana fans and all your armchair psychiatry? EMBARRASSING.

The Period Blood video was an overblown bloated mess, not to mention that it was virtually idnetical to Britney Spears' Toxic video - only this time, with Basics. Gotta love Toilet Seat's inability to be compelling in any way and had to invite half of Hollywood. THIRSTY. It was hilarious watching her praying mantis body in the "fight" scenes. Girl just don't. And then the shots of fucking LENA DUNHAM trying to be all bad. DEAD! Sorry, majorly off topic. Cliffs: Lana's too good for Joseph Kahn Anyway I have good feelings about the video! Can't wait! I'm sure it's Music To Watch Boys To. Honeymoon seems to have its own (homemade?) video from those insta posts

Well what do you expect, Toilet Seat is the worst.

omg at some of you guys with your melodrama and batshit theories. You guys need to calm down and relax. Do you really think it makes sense that if Lana Del Rey was this hopelessly depressed, self conscious, self loathing woman that she'd release a piece of shit for an album so that everyone could mock her and drag her through the coals even more than they did before? Yeah that totally makes sense If Lana is whoever you want her to be (the morose awkward woman you call her...a complete stranger to all of us mind you), it would make more sense for her to create a piece of work that she knows can't be dismissed in any sense of the word, just like she did last year with Ultraviolence, which some (not all) of you with your Kidz Bop-filtered lenses dismissed as boring and hookless. That album may not have yileded a billion copies on the Bareback Cardboard 100 chart but it certainly helped her earn some respect amongst the constipated Williamsburg brigade who thought she'd shrink like a little daisy in the wake of all their lynching. Stop trying to deconstruct her brain and just wait for the music to come. We've just passed the 1 year mark since the last album. She's about to release another 1 sometime before the year ends, most ppl would KILL for that kind of frequency amongst their favorite pop stars. I'm starting to wonder if this fanbase is as wacko and embarrassing as Lady Gaga's.

I actually love pop music. I do not like Toilet.

Ugh, Toilet Shit infiltrating this thread is a true lowpoint.

The way Kim comes for Lana is a little bit personal. Sounds like the problem rests with her, taking the Ride video 100% literally, wishing Lana would kill herself, whining about the fact that Lana isn't interested in carrying the burden of always being a feminist role model. Lana built her own career, writes her own music, has a mind of her own, and never tries to pretend she is perfect. Sounds like a pretty strong woman to me. She's open about her fantasies and honest - to a fault - about the things she feels. I bet if someone were to open up Kim's brain and find all of the secrets she's harbored in there, we could make plenty of comments about Kim's relationship with feminism or her own private fantasies/thoughts. Her commenting safely from the pages of a memoir on someone else, seemingly for no reason other than to make an example of someone, well... like I said, sounds like she's got the problem, not Lana. Sorry if Lana makes you uncomfortable but hey, you slammed a very popular artist to make yourself (and your book) find some rumblings of attention, so congratulations but I see right through it.

So you're diagnosing a complete stranger based on some list you found on the internet?

.... It hasn't even been 10 months since we have heard the first single from an album that was released eight months ago. Jesus

I didn't say you brought it up drama queen. Talk about telling on yourself. Secondly, this Mariah thing must be a real sore subject for you, that must be why you overcompensate so much on this board, you know that whale is WASHED UP and that no one with taste actually thinks she makes interesting music. She's literally the New Jersey of pop music. And that's not a compliment. So you go around with attitude trynna act like you're the oracle of wisdom when it comes to music/charts when really you're just another internet stan seeking validation. WHAT A LIFE! Keep shitting on Ultraviolence and comparing Lana to cardboard cut out pop stars, hoping she'll collab with Max Martin, I'm sure you've got EVERYONE here convinced you've figured it out! Chew on that a second

Why does MARIAH CAREY invade every thread here lately? I didn't even know she still made albums or even had fans. Even her voice has been shot for years. Let the girl rest. She had a great run (well, kinda, I always thought her music was HORRIBLE, but it was successful that's for sure). It's annoying how no one can have a real convo on here anymore. We're talking about LANA DEL REY on a LANA DEL REY message board

You need to take a break from the internet for sure. Sounds like you've been sucked into the troll vortex.

Not everyone agrees with you on this. And if you're trying to make people come around to your opinion, you're doing a terrible job. Here's the reality: Adele hit a zeitgeist with her album and hasn't followed it up nearly 5 years later. The Beatles were their own monster, 40 years ago. The comparisons are nonsense. Lana Del Rey has always been on the periphery, she even says it herself. She is an IMMENSELY polarizing figure. The Beatles and Adele are not. They were safe, they were for all ages. Lana Del Rey is not prime-time, she's not Clive Davis, she's not the Grammys, she's not John Lennon, she's not 20x platinum. She is maligned just as much as she is adored. Why are you so intent on making her a Billboard creation? Let the bitch be whatever she wants.

I got called an idiot, no one rose to my defense then - not that I care, truthfully, cuz it didn't bother me. It's typical forum-back & forth. I think MIAM can withstand a swipe at who he listens to. I didn't call him any names. And if we're not allowed to go back and forth here about Lana Del Rey then really what's the purpose of this place? It's not about MIAM not liking Ultraviolence or rock music - it's about him making comments that I disagreed with, his delivery was sour, etc, and I took his argument apart. If you didn't find it pleasant to read then I'm sorry.

^ Especially when we have to look at Mariah Carey's face everytime it happens. What a lethal combination. Mariah Carey 200 million records sold and yet you're pressed to find anyone who will admit to buying any of them. Seriously, she is where good taste goes to DIE.

I think Lana will always be releasing music whether she has a record label helping her or not. She might go indie and never make another music video or go on TV ever again. And certain fans will be fine with that and some others won't. I don't put too much stock in what she says, I've learned that very quick. Sometimes I wonder if the girl is a bit depressed, but then I step back and say - "I don't even know this woman, what am I talking about?" Reading quotes from publications doesn't lend itself to really knowing the psychology of someone's brain. Lana is an enigma and I'm fine with that. Very true.

Not denying that. But honestly, the biggest reason why the album didn't do well is because nothing was selling it. Not even the singles. And the same happened in the US too. Didn't do that hot either. All this nonsense about hairdos and people buying albums when they "feel good" about an artist is bullshit, and if she "flopped" commercially (stupid word), it's not like she's a lost cause. Born To Die/Paradise did well because they had very good, unique pop songs selling them, with very well-done (VIRAL) music videos accompanying those songs. Ultraviolence had West Coast and Shades of Cool - I love those songs but Blue Jeans and Summertime Sadness they are not. And the videos were very stripped down. I won't even get into the fiasco that was the Ultraviolence video and single. Plain and simple. Music sells when all the right ingredients are in place, and there was plenty of money making sure that was going to happen when she released BTD. It capitalized on the catchy-nature of that album. Ultraviolence was not an album of singles, we all know this. All in all though, I don't really give a fuck if people in the UK don't like her anymore so oh well. I only lament the lack of good visuals in the Ultraviolence era - everything else was really satisfying for me. Me I'm Mariah seems to feel like it's about what other people are thinking, I just don't really understand or relate to that.

Wait so if Lana had a beehive hairdo and a technicolor album color scheme, the critics would have skewered her? That's your formula? That's what you really believe? And you think that the Guardian scandal was only potent enough to get her bad reviews in the UK? Child boo, that controversy was all over US pop culture too, enough so that it even got her TV coverage. You really think that in 2014, pop scandals are limited to one country at a time? lmfao. Just don't. Nevermind though, let's look at the facts: NME may have given her a tepid review, but they put her on their year-end best list at #25. Seems that was short lived. The Guardian, who Lana threw under the bus, gave her a glowing review. Spin put her at #5 for the year. Digital Spy, at 14. Mojo at #40. All UK publications. Clearly the controversy did little to truly damage her UK brand if their if their most prestigious magazines still managed to highlight her acheivments at the end of the year, even if a handful of them gave the album so-so feedback in the interim. You can't have your ridiciulous theory both ways. While it's not always about the music, especially with Lana given she's a character and an enigma, she's also not Mariah, or Gaga, or Britney, which is why we read over and over that she's the only pop artist without rival in this business. You speak of her as if she's a sports team that you wanna see win the championship so that you can brag about her to other fanbases. You're gonna be disappointed, CONSISTENTLY, doing that with Lana Del Rey. Have a seat.

Serious question (not asking this in an ironic way) - did she really make a video for PWYC? Was it ever a thing or was it just that mysterious instagram post? She had another weird instagram post of her singing something right before she released West Coast, there was no audio on it and the footage matched nothing from the WC video. Who knows what hte PWYC post really was, idk.

Uh, no. BTD was not trashed becuz of the SNL performance. It was trashed for a few reasons - many of them unfair, a small amount of them warranted, but mostly having to do with Lana being the it-girl to trash. SNL was a controversy unrelated to the actual album. Lana was purported to be a fraud by the time BTD came out. The critics/ sheep reviewed the album under that assumption. Everyone did an about-face when Ultraviolence came out because the album made them eat their words about her reach as a musician. They had to backtrack - they couldn't revert back to saying she was overproduced or couldn't sing or couldn't work with live instruments. West Coast didn't cause too much of a fuss chart-wise, that could've easily turned critics off based on your dumb theory. And let me remind you - Lana had 2 of the biggest controversies of her entire career - the bad press kind - back to back right as Ultraviolence was being launched. "I wish I was dead"... and "I'm not interested in feminism" That got her a ton of criticism and once again people were deeply turned off by her. Ultraviolence was STILL given tons of respect despite all of that. And if you don't believe me, read the reviews and the 2014 year-end lists. Wow, look at that. So NEXT, your theory flopped.

(this will be a long post) Ultraviolence may not have been full of hits but it was by no means an unlistenable album. She definitely surprised (and turned) a lot of detractors who dismissed her as a record-label android. All of you guys whining about flop this, Ultraviolence shitty videos that, seem to have forgotten how rough Lana's start in this business was. She was accused of the worst things - being a fraud, being a liar, being untalented, and being a woman hater. And that's just the tip of the iceberg of what was said about her. She somehow managed to come out of that and answer those people with a brilliant album (it may not be for everyone, I understand this) that showed her versatility as a musician and her moxie, not allowing the thirsty tendencies of record labels cloud her vision. Ultraviolence did not put a dent in her career. It earned her some clout and we ALL know it. I get that Lana has younger fans - I'm the same age as Lana so who knows what you'd consider me. But you guys quickly seem to forget what Lana has stood for since the beginning. And it was never high budget, #1 singles, coture dresses, or god forbid, doing things just so people could buy it. This is the same girl who made videos on iMovie for christ sakes. She's not Gaga or Taylor Swift, she's a creator. The girl makes her money where she needs to. The rest of the time she's making art the only way she knows how to do it, and that's why I love her. When she's given a budget - she's a fucking legend. But you're gonna have to get used to her not always being that. She's more rock n roll than she is pop - regardless of what the purists say. So that's why the Mariah Carey dude's comments rub me the wrong way. it's like - why do you even like this woman? Worshipping Mariah Carey makes all the sense in the world given the things you say - but LANA?

One day you'll grow out of the chart crap. Seems like Ultraviolence only holds a sour taste in your mouth because it didn't do the gangbusters you hoped to validate your fandom. That's unfortunate.

Hey, I didn't say you didn't FULLY enjoy it. It just sounds like you probably have a bit of ego invested into Lana.

You actually care about this kind of stuff? Must suck not being able to enjoy anything becuz you're obsessing about whether it does well on an irrelevant list of "popularity" (used loosely becuz we all know that radio is rigged anyway). Lana's only radio hit was a one-off remix of a ballad. She's not likely to have another one - even a remixed one. At least not stateside. That was a major fluke. The sooner you get over this, the more you'll enjoy her music. As for the topic at hand - the album title is PERFECT, I'm a little weary of her regressing back to her 2012 vibes (don't get me wrong, I love BTD and Paradise), but we all know Lana says all sorts of stuff prior to an album being released that sounds a little inaccurate in retrospect. She probably just has a concept in her head that's likely going to evolve into something pretty different by the end.

Look on the bright side, at least she didn't spend a year talking about it as if it were the second coming of god like some other artists have done in the past. Like Lady Gaga for example, talking about Born This Way as if it was going to revolutionize music and we all saw how that went. I don't know why she skimped on promoting it or making videos, but my theory (on the videos at least) is that she probably wasn't given a huge financial push by the label. They weren't excited about her releasing it in the first place; it's a big contrast to her previous work in terms of being accessible. They clearly gave her a huge budget to work with circa Born To Die - visually stunning videos, promotion all over the world... hell, maybe they even chipped some cash in for Tropico (maybe she made that with her own money idk). But clearly there was a lack of support by the label and I've seen this many times when pop artists try to take a risk with their music. And promotional budgets include everything from music videos, to internet ads, to street promotion, to radio deals, interviews, blah blah blah. Lots of behind the scenes stuff. The label's like - "fine, we'll release it, but we're going to give you a bare-bones budget to promote it, because we feel you didn't give us a top 40 single and we're not sure you're worth a big investment at this point in time." Maybe I'm wrong, idk, but that's what I'm thinking. Add Lana's reluctance to even promote in the first place and there you go. She was probably exhausted from touring for so long and she wanted to take a break. Smart if you ask me. Good artists burn out fast when they succumb to being slaves for record labels. Again, something we see very often. I'm glad she gave us an incredible album at the end of the day - it could have gone so many places visually, but there's always album #3 (#4 if you count Paradise which I do).