Strangelove

Thank you to all the members providing insightful and on topic discussion. It really put a smile on my face to read the paragraphs even if academic topics are not everyone's cup of tea. .

This thread is a proof that Lana has an amazing discography and it helps unite fans through interesting discussions! 

Yes, totally agree! I honestly notice this in myself sometimes too, especially with demos of songs on albums that we have that at first I prefer, but then I think “do I really like this more, or is it just new and I almost didn’t even hear it?”. 
 
I do agree about Blue Banisters though, I think even Lana herself realizes it’s a bit of a mess. Although I do love it a lot (more than most fans on the forum it seems ) but it really doesn’t make sense how she would put songs from Ultraviolence era that didn’t get a rework with brand new songs like WW/Text Book/etc.

I wonder if people would appreciate Living Legend, Nectar, And Cherry Blossom more if they were on some unreleased collection or if they did get a full rework like Thunder. It’s hard to know, because people loved Dealer without a rework but prefer the Thunder demo. I thought before the release of Ocean Blvd that maybe that’s why she didn’t put any unreleased songs on the record, I wonder if it’s a lot of pressure to decide whether to rework songs or not. 

Just this afternoon, after having received my unreleased vinyl, I thought how much I love "living legend". I only don't like it on the BB album because it needs it's own album or compilation. Same for cherry blossom and wild one. 
 
 
I also think many people love unreleased songs because they appreciate them more as lucky findings ("we almost never got them, if they hadn't leaked" etc). 
 
I also experienced this with a few songs myself, but especially regarding Lana's songs I'd say most of them I just love for what they are, regardless their unreleased status.
 
And depending on the compilation, Demo A might fit better than Demo B for example, or better than a released version. For this compilation for example posted I chose songs sounding a bit like something between UV - Honeymoon, for another compilation inspired by a bit more jazz style the demo for million dollar man is perfect.
 
So I guess sometimes this unreleased effect might work, sonetimes other reasons make us like a song more than a released one. 

This is essentially what I have been trying to say. It's puzzling why some fans are having a hard time resonating with this. Thanks for this post syrup armor. I am going to send you a "follow". 

Okay. I respect your opinion. .  Thank you for sharing your thoughts. .
 

Kinda have to agree with this thread. I don’t know it it’s a syndrome, if there are any psychological reasons to it (I’m calling many unreleased songs « the one that got away »). 
 
I never find a demo superior to the officially released song except for Pink Champagne (I won’t repeat myself again, I discussed it at length in its own thread).  Other demos can bring something new and unexpected but they really rarely are better, to me, than their official version (what can I say? I just love finished songs ). 
as for unreleased songs that got tossed away… 
UV era had many songs that were very good or excellent that didn’t make the Final Cut, but the album works best and tells the best story the way it was told, with the songs of the final track list. As for the many comments « She should have included that one on the album and it could have replaced X song », it might have to do with the excitement of something new from an era we loved so much. The excitement tends to fade away though. 

Haha thank you 

This is essentially what I have been trying to say. It's puzzling why some fans are having a hard time resonating with this. Thanks for this post syrup armor. I am going to send you a "follow". 

Again, this isn't a thread about how fans prefer her unreleased music or listen to it. It is about my personal theory and ideas as to how biases and impression may form this tendency. Also another user syrup armor and other users have expressed that they agree with me, and they don't dislike people who listen to unreleased music. 
 
I enjoy her unreleased music. I prefer Melancholia to Ultraviolence myself.

I feel like this may originate from the instinct that is very much human, to want what you can’t have. Or want what’s exclusive, that feeds into some form of individuality complex. However ofc, it’s not always the case. But I’ve often found myself thinking that if some of her releases more unpopular songs were released, people would like them a lot more. However, the lust for life demo will always stand superior
Yes this is definitely true. I think it’s very nuanced, not so black and white as some people make it to be

I didn't know what to name the thread but recently online on YouTube and IG I have noticed what I call 'Unreleased Syndrome'. It is similar to the placebo effect or other behaviors that examine people reacting to false information. 
 
My first example would be Architecture. When it leaked the reception from fans online was very positive and had people looking forward to the album. Now that it is released in its final format, fans say they like the unreleased version better. 
 
Another example is the Venice Bitch demo she released. I have noticed the same attitude toward the demo version being better than final. A lot of times I read on YouTube and here "this should've replaced the released version." When Black Beauty was released I remember many fans expressing their disappointment with the released version. 
 
So now at this point, I think a lot of the sentiment toward unreleased music being "better" is because of what I'm calling Unreleased Syndrome. Essentially because fans see that a song is unreleased, they become under the impression any variant of the song afterward is inferior. In reality the released version is better or would've been actually more liked among fans if she kept it unreleased in favor of the released version. 
 
A contemporary example is this prank. Basically the prank had low quality shoes masked as high end, designer shoes. Because people assigned a certain quality to the items they can be heard calling the shoes "high quality" when in reality they were from Payless. Below is the video.
 
 
The funny thing about this experiment is that the opposite placements would have had the same effect. If people walked into a designer store masked as a off-brand store, they would probably not notice the higher quality of the designer garments. Similarly fans can dismiss (mistake) the high quality released music for lower quality music as they can hear the unreleased versions. 
 
I would be interested for there to be some kind of study where 100 Lana fans listened to two versions of a song (unreleased then released) and picked which one they liked better versus 100 Lana non-fans. I honestly believe the non-fan group would choose the released versions each time, or it would be 50/50, because they are unbiased.
 
I think there are so many factors as to why this happens. I think the driving factor is the human instinct to go "What if...?" in many situations when it is unreasonable. I think there is something else called Impression Bias where people are less likely to identify a positive choice when surrounded by other negative choices. But maybe some users here can better explain some of the elements at play. This is not exclusive to Lana fans... I think it very common in a lot of media whether it be film, video games or other musicians. 
 
Have you ever suffered from Unreleased Syndrome? What do you think on this phenomenon? 
 
Wikipedia article detailing Soviet nostalgia linked below. I was reminded of Surf Noir's comment about recency bias. It's worth a read in the context of this conversation. 
 
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nostalgia_for_the_Soviet_Union

I didn't know what to name the thread but recently online on YouTube and IG I have noticed what I call 'Unreleased Syndrome'. It is similar to the placebo effect or other behaviors that examine people reacting to false information. 
 
My first example would be Architecture. When it leaked the reception from fans online was very positive and had people looking forward to the album. Now that it is released in its final format, fans say they like the unreleased version better. 
 
Another example is the Venice Bitch demo she released. I have noticed the same attitude toward the demo version being better than final. A lot of times I read on YouTube and here "this should've replaced the released version." When Black Beauty was released I remember many fans expressing their disappointment with the released version. 
 
So now at this point, I think a lot of the sentiment toward unreleased music being "better" is because of what I'm calling Unreleased Syndrome. Essentially because fans see that a song is unreleased, they become under the impression any variant of the song afterward is inferior. In reality the released version is better or would've been actually more liked among fans if she kept it unreleased in favor of the released version. 
 
A contemporary example is this prank. Basically the prank had low quality shoes masked as high end, designer shoes. Because people assigned a certain quality to the items they can be heard calling the shoes "high quality" when in reality they were from Payless. Below is the video.
 
 
The funny thing about this experiment is that the opposite placements would have had the same effect. If people walked into a designer store masked as a off-brand store, they would probably not notice the higher quality of the designer garments. Similarly fans can dismiss (mistake) the high quality released music for lower quality music as they can hear the unreleased versions. 
 
I would be interested for there to be some kind of study where 100 Lana fans listened to two versions of a song (unreleased then released) and picked which one they liked better versus 100 Lana non-fans. I honestly believe the non-fan group would choose the released versions each time, or it would be 50/50, because they are unbiased.
 
I think there are so many factors as to why this happens. I think the driving factor is the human instinct to go "What if...?" in many situations when it is unreasonable. I think there is something else called Impression Bias where people are less likely to identify a positive choice when surrounded by other negative choices. But maybe some users here can better explain some of the elements at play. This is not exclusive to Lana fans... I think it very common in a lot of media whether it be film, video games or other musicians. 
 
Have you ever suffered from Unreleased Syndrome? What do you think on this phenomenon? 
 
Wikipedia article detailing Soviet nostalgia linked below. I was reminded of Surf Noir's comment about recency bias. It's worth a read in the context of this conversation. 
 
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nostalgia_for_the_Soviet_Union

It would be so sick if she only did a European tour... not in a good way. Hopefully more information surfaces tomorrow. 

Behind the scenes

This sounds very kind. . 

I honestly agree with this, everyone seemed to be obsessed with Cherry Blossom and Living Legend before they were released. But now it seems everyone has turned against them, since they’re two of the least streamed songs on the album (along with Nectar Of The Gods but it wasn’t as well-liked as the other two even before its release). Some have argued that it’s because they didn’t get a proper rework like Thunder, but it looks like the popular opinion is that the demo for Thunder is better. Honestly Blue Banisters made me think about this unreleased syndrome thing for awhile, because it looks like a lot of the fandom just prefers what she didn’t release.

The performance was honestly giving Sky Ferreira at that one show.

To be honest while a funny clip it is sad. Thankfully she is doing better and hopefully she can deliver a good performance this year. Thanks.

Maybe she will do it on oceanblvd IG account. 

This sounds very kind. . 

This sounds very kind. . 

It would be so sick if she only did a European tour... not in a good way. Hopefully more information surfaces tomorrow. 

This sounds very kind. . 

Hi. It is exploring the "why" of this phenomenon which I believe is due to numerous psychological biases. Of course people prefer music based on their perceived quality. But there's a deeper conversation regarding perception and reality (sugar pills, Soviet nostalgia, designer shoes prank etc.) Why do we have preference? To what degree is it influenced by nature? How aware are we of our biases? Etc. Even some members here have expressed experiencing or resonating Unreleased Syndrome. 
 
I haven't found anything in Lana's unreleased music even by the most objective measures fans would find themselves preferring it. Of course I am open to the idea fans just think the unreleased music is better. I understand some are feeling that way. But I really don't think the explanation is accurate or with context. Lana has had a very long history with leaks and I think this has impacted how fans percieve her music as well. I also think I am lacking the right verbage for this topic. Other users have touched up upon my point a bit swiftly. But... without a proper study it's just an idea and discussion though.