CriesMarmalade

Live Forever/Golden Grill epitomizes the ultimate Lana to me, although I don't think it represents most of her work thematically or musically (not anymore, at least). This combination of a classic, jazz-infused pop sound with the gangster-themed imagery is just something Lana does so well, and the song really showcases her vocal range too. I feel the same way about The Man I Love. If I had to pick one that really represents her discography it would probably be Body Electric, or Shades of Cool.

I think even contemplative introverts generally feel happier in the summer (maybe with the exception of depressives who dislike being reminded of the fun others are having). It's just that people usually focus on their ability to romanticize the darkness and desolation of winter, because it is comparatively rare in non-introverts. But I also tend to think that Lana's melancholy and introversion is exaggerated for the most part. To me it's pretty clear that she's fun-loving (references cheap thrills and sensual pleasures often) and a natural born people-person who really gets off on outwardly projecting her best 'self', partly for the enjoyment of others. I get the feeling her love of interpersonal contact isn't just limited to the meaningful/intimate stuff and that she feels most in her element when she's being wild, carefree, and expressive. It seems that if anything, Lana's melancholy arises from the high expectations of lasting happiness she has, and that she uses this melancholy as artistic fuel for the dramatic musical/visual aesthetic that she loves so much.

This was so exciting to watch, thank you for taking the time to make it! Though I think you overinterpreted at times (I think Lana is a much more intuitive songwriter, in this regard I think she sometimes gets too much credit) and though I disagree with your use of the term 'objectification', you brought up a very interesting point by saying that Lana's financially well off beginnings were what gave her insight into the emptiness of the American dream (especially since people often use her background to discredit her legitimacy). I think this is also where her fearlessness in creating her own reality/image arose. We live in an age where there is such a high emphasis placed on being 'real/raw' (even in the entertainment industry) and the irony is that this often just ends up producing a bad imitation of reality. In Lana's case it is more like an imitation of artificiality, because like you said, she deliberately references things that are famous for being illusory, and yet she does this so obviously that it ends up feeling genuine.

With the exception of many Lizzy Grant era musical moods and styles which I have come to accept will never be heard again, I think Lana has been steadily improving since Born to Die. I can understand why people like that album; it's ambitious, you can see Lana trying to reflect every facet of her image/persona and show us what she's capable of, but she simply tries too hard and loses herself in the process. I hate to agree but Pitchfork's summary of it as a 'faked orgasm' is dead on. Since then Lana has been exploring more niche themes, subtler sounds, allowing songs time to build atmosphere, and most importantly, has ditched that weird vocal schizophrenia in favour of her natural range. Overall I get the impression she's not as concerned with the way she comes across to her audience, and I think that's integral to her creative evolution. I also have a feeling that may be the reason why her pre-fame albums and unreleased stuff was so much more artistically diverse. When she only had a small audience there wasn't the same pressure to remain consistent and true to her image. It's true that many of her songs lack the energy that they used to have though. I think this is less of an artistic decision and more a reflection of where she is in her life at the moment.

Complaints and opinions are two completely different things? Lol what. An opinion is a sentiment that is subjective in nature, period. Please open up a dictionary or at least google before ranting. Of course it's my own personal complaint, why does there have to be a response? I can't constructively respond to 'Born to Die is her best album' either, because I completely disagree with it and the most impressively worded acclamations of that album will not change what my ears hear when I listen to it. This thread was never titled 'Unpopular Constructive Lana Opinions Which Don't Criticize Her Entire Discography' and why should it be? Needing everyone else to agree with your own opinion is not only egotistical, it reflects a great deal of insecurity. Ah, thanks for making it clear that you only skim posts for something which potentially pisses you off because you're looking for an argument. If you had actually bothered to READ, you would know that I was referring to a popular misconception about Lana's fanbase and not you. That's right, not everything I write directly references you. Amazing, huh? Thanks for the laugh though. Saying 'I don't care to respond anything as much as you just did on a forum about a forum member on the internet' after starting this with a melodramatic response to my opinion is gold. Thanks to cacciatore for having more patience than me in trying to get across to this person.

It seems that you take what I see as Lana's chronic songwriting flaws way more seriously than I do. To me the mark of respecting an artist as a human being and not some divine God or Goddess is the ability to criticize them freely and without restraint, kinda like how the mark of a true friend is someone who you can tell to fuck off when you don't like their behavior. Many of Lana's detractors often accuse her fan base of having an apologist fangirl mentality and I like that this forum proves the very opposite of that claim. I mean, what is admiration even worth when there's no chance that it may be challenged by the same degree of criticism? Btw, I don't think I have ever listened to an artist who didn't have at least one weakness present throughout their whole discography, and I'm cool with that. I wasn't aware that the point of being on a fan forum is to collectively bask in an artist's consummate perfection.

Lana needs to stop attempting to giving her songs any kind of meaning that extends beyond descriptive imagery or expressing her immediate feelings over her romantic/personal experiences until she is prepared to give any other subject matter the attention it apparently deserves. She has explored coming to terms with her own mortality, her post-fame 'fall' into darkness, having a borderline abusive (or BDSM) relationship, and following a cult leader all in such a half-assed way that these themes just seem to be backdrops for the same boring narrative about being obsessively in love with someone (which doesn't necessarily have to be boring, btw). 'Carmen' is the only song since Born to Die I can think of in which she doesn't revert to this.

I think the overall aesthetic/setting of the video fit the song perfectly, but the execution is way too posed and self-conscious. Not to mention the pacing/rhythm didn't match up that well. And the attempt to fuse a cult subplot to a song that is obviously just about living in California and having a good time? Really? The video for Ride was way cornier than this but at least it actually mirrors the song's lyrics instead of throwing in a few references to cult suicide in a weak attempt to give the song a new layer of meaning. That being said, I still liked the visuals and this is the most gorgeous Lana has ever looked in a video. It seems that finding a middle ground between low quality home-style videos and over the top production has been a source struggle for Lana, so she's at least making some progress in that regard. The outro really surprised me though, it's serenely beautiful and totally changed the associations I have with Clair De Lune.

I think Lana's jazzy tangents are beautiful, the only problem is that they're too short and often just tacked onto slow or boring pop songs in an attempt to liven them up. If Lana would really follow through with an attempt at jazz I think it would sound amazing. Her free-form vocals are by far her most emotionally genuine and rarely fall into this monotonous 'I'm too cool to give a fuck' tone that she often does.

I'd like to hear something with more ambient, minimalistic instrumentalisation and more ambigious lyricism. I feel like with her last two albums Lana is finally slowly that not every song has to have an epic narrative or sound larger than life to be good, and that they actually often convey more meaning and emotion this way. I'm thinking of songs like Bentley or Pin Up Galore that have an eerie undertone which is only hinted at. Or the mood created by Burnt Norton.

In Wayamaya I hear her whisper 'careful' instead of 'beautiful' after 'your eyes look grey' as in, keep your eye on the road while driving. In Art Deco I hear 'A little boy never hurt no one, that's why it's alright'. Is it me or do the misheard lyrics always sound better than the real ones?

I don't completely buy that Lana doesn't glam up as much anymore because she stopped caring, since she can still bother with fake lashes and those long nails 24/7 (the latter making everyday tasks extremely frustrating). I think Lana just really likes to create the illusion of not giving a fuck.

I think it's just shallowness. I could see the same responses coming from fans of a male celebrity who let himself go after becoming known for his fit body. And I agree with those saying that Lana is now sexier than ever. I would say that she was physically the most beautiful in the BTD era, but the whole package came across as so much more forced that it was hard to find her truly sexy.

I've always thought Lana would be very suited to porn (minus her shyness) and it's really weird to me that some people see her as being sexually 'untouchable'. Like, she's talked openly about having casual sex and sleeping with a lot of guys from the industry, has portrayed a stripper and prostitute and identifies with being 'the other woman', has expressed her kinky sexual desires multiple times, and we've seen enough of her body to know what she looks like naked. Why do people think of porn as somehow crossing the line? Because so much of it lacks any artistry?

I like the overall vibe of the music and video but I can't get over the fact that this is one of Lana's worst choruses yet. I also never had a problem with some of her videos being amateurish when they were clearly intended to be (and even had a sense of tongue in cheek humour about it) but this one tries too hard to be something its not. I'm seriously suspecting that Lana is doing drugs again, and not because of the song's title.

Lol it sounds like Lana is playing at a venue that's getting heavily bombed and her ghost stays behind to finish the set. It would be really cool if someone could do an acapella version of this.

I'm not into them either, but they're a great example of how you can deduce just about anything you want depending on what it is you're looking for, which I think is very much applicable here (as is the disproportionate focus on 'arbitrary fragments' of artists' work).

The themes in Tropico aren't exactly 'esoteric' though, seeing as anyone with a basic education knows the story of the fall of man from the book of Genesis. I doubt even Lana herself remembers the last time she sat down with her Bible, she simply referenced the most iconic and prominent figures/themes in Christianity just as she referenced the most iconic Hollwood figures of the 20th century. Lana did say the chorus of Video Games was about another relationship, but not with someone else, rather the ideal relationship she fantasized about having with that boyfriend. I realize Lana isn't an airhead who can't see beyond red party dresses and pretty flags waving in the wind, it's just obvious to me that her interests in philosophy and metaphysics aren't strongly reflected in her music, seeing as a good majority of her work focuses on romantic relationships, and the lyrics she chooses are almost always intuitive, i.e. she states her thoughts/feelings, as opposed to creating symbols or metaphors to describe them. This is why I wouldn't call Lana a 'poet' even though I consider her to be a superb lyricist at times. Seeing as Lana knows the power of dramatic value in art on a level that most of her pop contemporaries don't, I can see why it would be more interesting to do an analytical breakdown of her work than someone else's, but it can really be done with just about anyone. If you don't believe me, you have only to look up the esoteric interpretations of popular videos created by Illuminati conspiracy theorists.

I think someone who cares about Lana needs to do an intervention on the lip liner abuse.

I know it's fun to analyze Lana's music like this, but c'mon, even Lana has referred to herself as 'simple' in the way that she just likes the look of certain things like the American flag. I'm sure many of the symbols she uses do mean a lot to her in a personal way (e.g. religious symbols due to her Catholic upbringing) but I don't believe for a second that she's consulting esoteric literature and carefully placing symbols of archetypcally psycho-spiritual significance in her own work. And why would she take something as banal as video games to be a metaphoric reference to the soul's relation to the ego, only to repeatedly state that it's about a boyfriend she had who played a lot of video games? Some of the interpretations, like Carmen representing the charm of the material/sensory world and the loss/enslavement of the ego are valid from an unconscious perspective, but the same applies for any song or artistic work relating to substance addiction and dependency on fame. Unless I totally misunderstood this thread and you're not trying to claim that Lana is consciously making any of these references?

These accusations that (mostly female) entertainers are part of a Satanic cult out to corrupt our impressionable youth is nothing more than a modern variation of the witch hunts, just like the Satanic Panic of the 80's and 90's. A great example for anyone who thinks that humanity has become far too rational and enlightened to fall into the traps of superstitious thinking like our ancestors did. Of course the government and new world order proponents aren't beyond using whatever means they can to control and influence the public, but this whole illuminati symbolism hunt/listening to songs backwards/overanalysing trite lyrics nonsense is laughable. It's obvious these musicians are deliberately playing on this shit--it's a great publicity gimmick for 'artists' who only rely on gimmicks in the first place, and don't forget how dark and edgy it makes the Disney kids who desperately want us to view them as grown up. There is nothing remotely new about this either; there was a fascination with esotericism/mysticism in Hollywood as far back as the silent era and dabbling in occultism became really trendy in the 60's (Anton LaVey even became something of a celebrity because of it). It makes me glad Lana isn't more famous because there are plenty of potential 'Illuminati clues' people would love to read into if they knew more about her. Like the Daily Mail interview where she said she wished she was dead and that she doesn't want to keep performing but she has to.

Lana helped me realize: -It's possible to be strongly influenced by past generations/their respective cultures and infuse them into the modern day rather than just appreciate them in a stale, nostalgic way as an outside observer -Your contradictions, motives, and the assumptions people make about you don't always have to be explained or clarified. People may attribute them to your intelligence and depth of character, or just accuse you of being completely fake, but ultimately it's their issue and has nothing to do with you -Reinventing yourself in the eyes of others is always possible, as people forget easily and their judgements are usually pretty fickle -The classic adage that you should be careful what you wish for (I don't know if Lana 'regrets' becoming famous but it's obvious that much of it has been a huge disappointment and source of struggle for her) -And that getting really obvious plastic surgery doesn't always make you turn out ugly.

Yeah, this kind of surprised me about Lana, because she strikes me as someone who would have a bit too much pride to do that. But I'm guessing the guy was someone pretty famous, and maybe someone Lana had admired for a while. I'm listening to the 2012 iTunes one now and you're right, it's really beautiful.

There is an interview from the BTD era (which I can't for the life of me find right now) where Lana is asked what Radio is about and she says it's about a guy who rejected her until she became famous, and she didn't mind taking him in after that because it's not so important to her why people like her, as long as they like her. I think the most straightforward interpretation is usually the most accurate with Lana. Plus she's said herself that this whole Lizzy/Lana distinction is purely aesthetic and that she considers herself always having been one and the same person.

From what I've read, nymphomania is estimated to affect only around 3% of the total female population, and is more commonly linked to ilnesses like schizophrenia and manic-depressive psychosis, or hormonal and neurological abnormalities. Given that Lana has had long-term relationships and doesn't display any traits of hyperactivity or risk-taking behaviors I highly doubt she is one.