pwussi

I am really sick of her namedropping people in her songs, especially after today
It's okay to do in moderation but enough is enough
I get that it's hEr LiFe but Jesus, Chuck and Jen and Nikki and Charlie and Joni and Joan and whoever else do not need to be mentioned in every song ever
Less is more. She does it so much that it is not lyrically impactful at all because it's just a mish-mash of names
There's a reason the CD booklet usually has a page for acknowledgements and she should use it

for the past 2 days ive been coming up with 4638 theories with the biggest reaches imaginable to convince myself that the singles are standalone or part of some other album or its actually Behind the iron gates or some weird poetry project but no theory makes sense and now im depressed hopefully BB will have 3 skips only

That's exactly how I feel too but I'm awful at expressing myself so thanks for putting it into words in such a considering way 

i get so much delight from reading @Rorman Nockwell's posts because there's at least thoughts like fully formed thoughts in there  
 
not to return to the topic... i was asleep!!
but i agree about the namedropping... if lana is on a path to becoming an even more non-commercial artist, which she truly has never been, it just doesn't make sense for her to drop commercial names (nikki lane... in full) into her songs. or at least is just less appealing. because it makes her seem like she just wanted to name drop a few people without much meaning to it, since she's taken strides away from that kind of recognition... i dont know what i mean but maybe you besties will understand!

Honestly some of you are so damn sensitive to any Lana criticism. As far as I'm concerned, Rorman is being pretty respectful in their opinions. Not everyone has to like what Lana does. Sorry if you can't handle that but for the love of God, grow some thicker skin. Expecting everyone to love every single aspect of her songs but shunning people for going against the grain is fucking cult-like behaviour 
 

That's not the crux of the argument but okay. 

Cos nobody would know who "Nikki" was and the purpose was probably to name drop her in the truest sense of the word 
But noooo everyone thinks Lana is above cheapening her work and mentioning someone in a song for that person's benefit
I'm logging off because this post will definitely cause a fight

Nothing states she has to release any song recorded…we know that judging from the hundreds of demos. It’s fine she’s named checked them one or twice, but if it continues especially with this Nikki Lane obsession…it’s gonna get more and more cringe…we get it Lana you have friends and are not racist.  

Yes after an album cover, mv's and lyrical inclusions, I think we get it
Lana's strength has always been her escapsim and that is drowning in the swimming pool with Nikki Lane and Jen looking on

 

This would be childish
 
 
She could have chosen a hundred different ways to display the same ideas that are more aesthetically pleasing. A black cover with her name in gold and the quotation mark would be gorgeous.
 
 
Artistic vision doesn't equate a good artwork

Appreciation post for @Rorman Nockwell and playing the devil's advocate because let's be honest , this thread would be boring if every single person kissed Lana's ass like their lives depend on it
 

Gonna chime in, I feel Lana mentioning her friends all the time is a bit cringe tbh. I’m not all that interested in them but happy for her she has a great support base around. But Id rather she didn't  keep name dropping people we don’t care about.  ‘Lana writes for herself’ well why release the songs then? Lol just share them among her friends..so I don’t believe that. 

COCC, DTWD, BB + the COCC mv + COCC album cover (and probably more I've forgotten). 
You're oversimplifying methinks. 
ETA: LMLYLAW mv, too

This discussion is tired but Joni, Janis and St Vincent never put all of their friends on their album cover, in their mv's and in their lyrics. 
Again, it's not inherently wrong to do so, but I just don't think they need to permeate every aspect of her work. I don't think it adds to her work to put them in everything, and I think their inclusion would be more meaningful if they were included less frequently. 
That is all. 

We both know that the reason this is being discussed now is because including her friends in everything is a trend of hers now. Don't twist it. 
 

I mean okay but Blue Banisters seemed like a personal challenge to see how many friends she could fit in one song, and DTWD was the same except for famous friends.
I just do not want her lyrical sphere to be reduced to the size of a ball bearing. 

No, it's because it cheapens her work. It's repetitive and feels like the sole purpose is to be charitable and give her friends an acknowledgement. It's fine if it adds to the song, but it's usually pointless. 
 

Name another singer/songwriter who name drops friends and family as prolifically?
Like what does the name dropping add to Blue Banisters other than to make it like a personal diary entry? 
Who cares if Chunk is baking a damn cake; that line (for example) adds nothing to the song and it's not exactly a showcase of spectacular lyricism. 

DEL REY "I don’t really care if you mush an amazing life story into an alternative record. If the melodies don’t stun me, I kind of don’t care. I think it’s interesting if you’re yelling and shouting and talking about where you’re going and what it’s been like, but to me that’s not a record. That’s a therapy session. 
ANTONOFF: You could have a great idea for something, but if you can’t find a beautiful melody, then maybe it’s just a podcast. 
DEL REY: And that’s where the poetry comes in. It’s a diary you should read for Audible or something." 
feel like shit, just want HER back

Exactly I just don't think we need that many names
You could play drinking game and drink every time she mentions a friend or family member and get smashed off three songs
We get it, she's friends with Jen and her sister's name is Chunk and she knows Joan and Courtney and Jack. And it's okay to sing about them, but they don't need to be name dropped all the time.

Honestly I’m still shocked about her management. I really can’t think of a situation where an artist as big as Lana would give random dates and random titles in the same months of their last records’ release and get away with it. Interscope/Tap management should’ve deleted those posts immediately. 

You're all probably gonna eat me for it but ok.
So, I listened to the three songs again today, followed the lyrics, and as far as I felt compassion towards Lana as a person, I felt unbothered by her as an artist. I guess this is controversial but these lyrics are totally messy and yes, they do evoke emotions from her, but they're too hermetic, as if about secret, private life whose audience can see only a glimpse. The thing I find the most beautiful about artistry is to bring value of your personal life and try to make it at least a bit more universal. She doesn't do that here. Or maybe that's just the thing with me; I don't really like soft piano ballads, I dislike soft rock and folk with passion, and I still think these tracks could've easily be added to COCC and no one would notice a difference. Bonus tracks, for instance. To say they're ill-produced would be an unfair understatement, but I find myself not interested by the final product.
The new album will for sure feel like a pleasant journey to her heart, and I will consume it once, but I will not be probably listening to it over and over as I used to with her previous records. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to criticise Lana but, to me, this doesn't feel like music for the masses, just something homemade to ease your own pain that only the hardest stans or closed ones are going to be fascinated by. It's so surprising because I much preferred Violent Bent Backwards over the Grass.

I think it's because it feels overdone, inorganic and doesn't feel like a natural inclusion. It's a big shift from mentioning guys who were douchebags or who things didn't work out with in a song about heartbreak, to having QFTC where she called out the way that other females in the music industry were treated/viewed, getting backlash, then it's all "here I am with all my ladyfriends, here's some videos of me and my LA gurls playing around for NFR vids...here's a photo of us on COCC...and let me tell you a million times about how I'm really happy to have so many female friends in my life!"
 
It feels weird and "curated" rather than a natural progression. Like either who she was previously was a bad person or not real...or this new incarnation is as fake as the past one and we should just accept that all of her art is as fake as it is drawn from real life. I probably haven't explained what I mean properly, because it's early Sunday AM and my caffeine hasn't kicked in yet so I'm having to keep going back to edit typos lol, but while I understand that musicians evolve in their style as much as their personal lives and of course maturity, being a bit older and having followed many, many artists throughout their careers, I've kind of gotten used to what I see are totally curated evolutions (like Madonna) and genuine artistic progressions (Blue October, MCR, Dylan, etc). This feels maybe not necessarily fake, but definitely forced. 

Yeah but dropping 10 random names per song is just weak songwriting and loses its charm really quickly

I feel a weird disconnect from the singles this time around... theyre pretty but, they feel so alien to me.
 
 
They almost dont feel like songs, but more like confessions/revelations.