a11111

Quitting tea again? But after threatening many times the same thing...maybe has a different meaning

Your interpretations are better than the lyrics tbh. "Dark blue" it's too abstract (as a colour it can signify depression) and "Dreaming away you life" is not bad at all and can have some powerful meaning but in this context it feels cliched. But what's the point to repeat the theme of being in love with a violent guy who is on drugs and who is not into you and with whom you want to escape in some undefined place. As a narrative in the context of the album it may work but I hoped that she parted ways with her spaghetti western themes. These "bad" guys are getting boring, you have to be more specific at this stage about their badness because taking drugs and having guns is too thin as a narrative. In my view these lyrics are indefensible before the critics, but I still have a hope that they are fake

Your interpretations are better than the lyrics tbh. "Dark blue" it's too abstract (as a colour it can signify depression) and "Dreaming away you life" is not bad at all and can have some powerful meaning but in this context it feels cliched. But what's the point to repeat the theme of being in love with a violent guy who is on drugs and who is not into you and with whom you want to escape in some undefined place. As a narrative in the context of the album it may work but I hoped that she parted ways with her spaghetti western themes. These "bad" guys are getting boring, you have to be more specific at this stage about their badness because taking drugs and having guns is too thin as a narrative. In my view these lyrics are indefensible before the critics, but I still have a hope that they are fake

The lyrics are well inside in the usual LDR (overused) themes. Bad news for the critical assessment.
 
I would like it better without those blvd name droppings. Have those blvds names any significance?
 
"But I'm not scared, there's nothing to lose now that I've found you
We could cruise to the news
Pico blvd in you used little bullet car if we choose" - Escapism from what and where?
 
 
"We both know that it's not fashionable to love me" - she's never good enough for the men she's into. Fuck me, I just watched all the hd videos from her last show mesmerized by her beautiful face.
 
"But you don't go cause truly there's nobody for you but me"
"We both know the history of violence that surrounds you"
"There are guns that blaze around you"
"It's no wonder every man in town had neither fought nor found you" - the same bad, outcast man (no current or former boyfriends fits this image so must be some hidden desire of hers)
 
"Our honeymoon
Say you want me too
Say you want me too
Dark blue" - tbh the chorus is pretty weak and with little significance in the narrative of the song
 
"There are violets in your eyes" - Pls. someone explain to me the possible significance of this
 
"There are roses in between my thighs and fire that surrounds you" - beautiful imagery that describes the love between her and the bad boy
 
I'll wait for the whole song to make a judgement on it but this is not what I expected from HM (BTD and UV has better lyrics than this, I have a slim hope that maybe is fake)  

I didn't find really good HD videos of her performance on YT.  I missed the Houston stage setup it really gave a plus to the show. 
 
This is the best video that I found:

I'm finally accepted her decision to not promote her music which is not that easy when you're a fan and you want to see her performing her material. But why is MBWTB coming out almost two days later after the premiere? I love MTWBT and I wanna buy it or listen to it on a streaming service. Why didn't she or her team released the song immediately after the world premiere? It makes no sense. This is not anymore about having or not having promotion is just stupid decisions after stupid decisions. I kind of understand that she's not interested in making money but her label should maximize her output nonetheless. If she would open with 70k or less that would make her happy? It will not happen because her fandom will save her first two weeks of sales because she brought the magic out again, but still there is so much wasted potential in her material (poor UV)

I don’t intend to write on LB for a while so I put all my thoughts about the HM era here and it came out a bit lengthy sry for that
 
I would entitled this review “LDR hits a wall with Honeymoon”, but in fact is more accurate to say that she hit several walls at once with this release. I said in my earlier posts that I don’t understand her rush to come out so soon with an album after UV. Commercially didn’t make any sense as it is confirmed by the dismal sales of HM. She wasn’t ready to promote and her shy and awkward promotion of HM is a clear indication of that. I feared that she will come out with an album that will be the bad middle point of being in the same time subpar commercially and critically. The critics didn’t panned the album but no one is enthusiastic about it as were some of them with UV. This album just doesn’t make sense from the standpoint of her career and taken together with the botched UV era is creating a lack of perspective on her career which has inevitable influences on everybody who’s following her.
 
The lyrical wall. When you put out slow music you put inevitably your lyrics to the front. She was widely criticized for her cliché-istic writing by using a lot of well-known poetic references, pop imagery and for the over use of location names and icons. When you’re aware of that you have to be extra careful to not abuse it again because otherwise you’re putting yourself in the trolling category. At this point in her career trolling is just infuriating and lame. BB, MPG, FMWTT was enough of trolling, she didn’t needed more emphasis on how misunderstood and how mistreated she is by the critics. That’s why I don’t like the cover of DLBM, as it is an unnecessary lament especially after the UV era when she was praised plenty. Another major critical point regarding the lyrical content of HM is about the narrow sided artistic vision of hers. Honeymoon opens a bit towards more nuances about relationships but not enough to create the feeling of her moving forward artistically. I felt that HM is a combination of BTD and UV lyrically but there are present the same overused tropes in her work: escapism to nowhere and from nothing specific, being desperately in love and lonely after the inevitable disappointment. In my opinion the critics gave HM a better evaluation that it deserves. This is maybe due to their ridiculous negative overreaction during the BTD era and they are compensating here. I would gave HM a 6/10 for the lyrics but in the same time I’m convinced that she cannot put out an album with the same lyrical pitfalls and be taken seriously.
 
The sonic wall. Many critics and listeners are saying that all LDR songs sound the same and they are boring. If we analyze the melodies or the genre variety on her albums we can objectively say that they are surprisingly varied. I don’t know many artists who have on the same album rock, blues, pop and jazz (UV) or jazz, pop, trap (HM) songs. I think that the problem resides rather with her delivery. Lana is capable of a wide variety of vocals ranging from operatic highs to low contra-alto warbles. The problem is her disaffected tone in her voice, like she is so bored to sing that song. You don’t know, for example, if watching the boys is boring or sexy (probably both which is awkward). There are no sustained emotional highs on HM despite some songs are clearly demanding it. It’s like she’s afraid or restrained to sing emotionally which is disappointing. This coldness in her delivery makes HM a difficult listen and is diminishing the beautiful sonic constructions she came up with. I give HM 7/10 for the sound. I think that she reached another wall here because this type of singing is not enjoyable for longer periods and she needs to change it for her next albums. I have to say that I changed my opinion on HM after several listens and I think that UV is better than HM. HM had better potential but falls flat mainly because of her cold delivery (sadness with no emotion is off-putting).
 
The video and imagery wall. We discussed here how after Tropico her videography became lackluster. Tropico was a huge mistake which highlighted both her unchecked artistic freedom and her limitations as a video artist. In my opinion, her best videos were BTD, BJ, NA and Ride, beautifully shot with cohesive stories and imagery. But Tropico was a mishmash of ideas, frankensteined together, too much even for trolling purposes. Her last good video was SOC, but the emphasis on that old dude just didn’t make any sense when you’re considering who her audience is. Her videos just don’t add lately anything to her artistic appeal, they are just dismissed as awkward or surreal by the critics (see MTWBT video) and they don’t have any significant commercial impact. She needs to let the reins of her videos in the hands of people who understand her vision but who can execute it rightly (like Woodkid did). I never really cared about or liked her album imagery tbh. BTD cover is iconic with that steely stare but UV’s sad boring look cover is forgettable and the HM cover is just bad while suggesting the disconnection between her and the listener. Moreover, her public image slowly became uncool, especially when we count her numerous subpar public appearances and photo shoots. These things are not directly related to the album but it affects the perception of it. Her image is tired and boring. She needs to brake this sad potato meets Priscilla Presley image which will be very difficult because she’s so entrenched in it and there is a chance that people will not be into the new image.
 
The likability/hype wall. “I wish I was dead”, “I fucked my way to the top”, “I’m not interested in feminism”, “I make everything for myself” these statements did an irreparable damage to her career. Her words were twisted by the journalists for sure but what counts is the end result which is tragic for Lana. I will put here the Gaga diss also which was another terrible blow for her, turning against her the majority of one of the most numerous and compact fandoms in pop. She was perceived as a threat by many fandoms whose faves have no chance when comparing them with Lana’s voice, beauty and music. Many Lana fans contributed to this with their obnoxious behavior on twitter and forums and now there are many stans rooting for her to fail. She became isolated from the GP which has no information about her and whose perception about her is rather negative and she became limited to her small fanbase who is following her activity on the internet. Let’s face it, the hype is dead and she has a very low likability factor today which explains the crumbling interest in her album. Likability is a subjective thing and is very easy to destroy it and is very hard or next to impossible to regain it. There is always other artists ready to pick up your audience (Lorde, Martinez, Halsey, Banks, Day, etc.).  If we are taking in account her lack of confidence and her inability to perform live there is practically no chance that she can turn this situation around. The next bad thing for her will be the lack of interest in her tour which is closely related to her sales (who would pay 50$ for her ticket and not buying an album for 15$?).
 
The promotion wall. Depression is a hard sell. First, you have to do it right and with high artistic credibility. Secondly, the way you’re presenting the album will have a great effect on how people are perceiving it. If you put the album out without any promotion there is a good chance that people will not take notice or that they will judge it on their own terms. I’m still not over about her assessment that UV and HM are basically words that have a cool sound to them. Really Lana, that’s all you’re saying and you’re trying to sell me your 1 hour of disaffected depression? One of the most annoying things regarding the album and the promo is the length of the songs. They are dragged indefinitely with purposely slow vocal deliveries and with endless repetition of some lyrics (GKIT). Well, I suspect that she did this on purpose so that no songs will fit the radio formats. But why would any artist in their right mind do that when hits are moving records and keep the interest alive? I would say something about BTD here. BTD sold continuously in relatively small numbers, except for the opening weeks in Europe. The momentum was kept by her high profile in the mainstream media and fashion in 2012 and by her only hits in the US, YB and SS. I hate that SS remix, but I have to admit that a large part of the sales after 2012 are due to these hit songs which were played relentlessly on the radio. She had 4 hit worthy songs on BTD: BTD, BJ, VG and SS which were enough for a buying decision. She went hitless on UV and HM and the consequences are dire: her albums are off the radar in 2-3 weeks after the release. Why wouldn’t she have a hit? My opinion is that she’s afraid to perform live in the mainstream media and hits would put a huge pressure on her to do so. I speculate that she had taken a decision to not do live TV anymore. No TV performances and no radio? Let’s be real this is an insurmountable wall regarding her promotion which will push her towards irrelevancy sooner than later. The drop in interest regarding her music from album to album is huge and I would be curious how many stans will be on this site after 3 years from now. Go to the MarinaBoards to have a taste of that.
Sometimes I bashed her management for not doing enough or doing stupid things regarding her career. Well, I don’t like that Mawson guy a bit, but I have to admit, looking back with more objectivity, that is a miracle that they made out of Lana a relatively big name in music on the strength of one good song and an awkward video. None of the songs on BTD were close to the artistry of VG, and she was terrible performing live (that’s why I will never understand how could Interscope take the decision to put her on SNL). If I had been an executive, after watching her live performances as Lizzy Grant I would never gave her a contract tbh. From her attitude while singing I would never felt that she wants it badly and she’ll do everything what it takes to shine her work.
 
She’s talented no doubt, a good songwriter and a very good studio singer and I will be ever grateful for her beautiful music (included HM) but lately, for the first time since I’m a fan of hers, I felt that there is a possibility in the future when I will not care about LDR anymore. And this is the biggest wall for any artist: when they are starting losing their hardcore fans. But she probably doesn’t care. I would have liked her more to perform confidently for her fans, on some improvised stage, new songs from HM, televised for the fans who will never have a chance to see her performing live, than kissing on lips some deranged fans who thinks that this is appropriate.

Lana is too bored to dress up properly, to brush her hair, to wash her car, or to do anything. Now I’m kind of sorry about Fran who got into this depressed woman just to fuck up his life. Barrie is fucked up nicely in Glasgow, the dumb rocker came to LA for her to light up her cigs during the concerts, now he moved back with his mom and he is starting his career from scratch. Lana’s is just too depressed for this business and she isn’t enjoying anything. At first I thought that she exaggerates but now I'm convinced that she is like that. She became unbearable to follow as an artist, her career became a travesty, she’s just throwing out albums and she doesn’t do anything with them, she hides from everything in the first month after the album's release. HM is shaping up to be an “milking” album for what is left from her fandom and she has one sensible thing to do in my opinion: call it a career. It’s time for her to announce a theater farewell tour and at the end of it she can throw out another album to milk the last standing stans and then she can go and fuck her(depressive)self. I'm so over her, some of you guys here were really nice people and I wish you all the best 

Lana is too bored to dress up properly, to brush her hair, to wash her car, or to do anything. Now I’m kind of sorry about Fran who got into this depressed woman just to fuck up his life. Barrie is fucked up nicely in Glasgow, the dumb rocker came to LA for her to light up her cigs during the concerts, now he moved back with his mom and he is starting his career from scratch. Lana’s is just too depressed for this business and she isn’t enjoying anything. At first I thought that she exaggerates but now I'm convinced that she is like that. She became unbearable to follow as an artist, her career became a travesty, she’s just throwing out albums and she doesn’t do anything with them, she hides from everything in the first month after the album's release. HM is shaping up to be an “milking” album for what is left from her fandom and she has one sensible thing to do in my opinion: call it a career. It’s time for her to announce a theater farewell tour and at the end of it she can throw out another album to milk the last standing stans and then she can go and fuck her(depressive)self. I'm so over her, some of you guys here were really nice people and I wish you all the best 

Lana is too bored to dress up properly, to brush her hair, to wash her car, or to do anything. Now I’m kind of sorry about Fran who got into this depressed woman just to fuck up his life. Barrie is fucked up nicely in Glasgow, the dumb rocker came to LA for her to light up her cigs during the concerts, now he moved back with his mom and he is starting his career from scratch. Lana’s is just too depressed for this business and she isn’t enjoying anything. At first I thought that she exaggerates but now I'm convinced that she is like that. She became unbearable to follow as an artist, her career became a travesty, she’s just throwing out albums and she doesn’t do anything with them, she hides from everything in the first month after the album's release. HM is shaping up to be an “milking” album for what is left from her fandom and she has one sensible thing to do in my opinion: call it a career. It’s time for her to announce a theater farewell tour and at the end of it she can throw out another album to milk the last standing stans and then she can go and fuck her(depressive)self. I'm so over her, some of you guys here were really nice people and I wish you all the best 

I feel the same. HM is a good album but her delivery is so cold, detached that is hard to listen to it. I don't understand Lana, she's a puzzle of contradictions. Jon Caramanica wrote about her that she "has a bad, maybe even terrible, attitude underneath the pristine exterior" after watching on of her first shows in NY and I'm starting to agree with him. My theory is that all of her problems are starting with her stage fright and her inability to sing live properly. None of the authenticity debate would ever existed if she would sing her songs live well. But without convincing performances this amount of sadness that she's putting out is just piling up and becomes less and less appealing without the emotional connection to the artist. I didn't have the opportunity to see her live but, form what I saw on Youtube, her shows are far from the level of artistry and emotional involvement that her material demands. Her shows kind of worked with the more campy BTD and Paradise but for performing UV and HM she needs to improve a lot. The problem is her attitude: she won't do it.

I don’t intend to write on LB for a while so I put all my thoughts about the HM era here and it came out a bit lengthy sry for that
 
I would entitled this review “LDR hits a wall with Honeymoon”, but in fact is more accurate to say that she hit several walls at once with this release. I said in my earlier posts that I don’t understand her rush to come out so soon with an album after UV. Commercially didn’t make any sense as it is confirmed by the dismal sales of HM. She wasn’t ready to promote and her shy and awkward promotion of HM is a clear indication of that. I feared that she will come out with an album that will be the bad middle point of being in the same time subpar commercially and critically. The critics didn’t panned the album but no one is enthusiastic about it as were some of them with UV. This album just doesn’t make sense from the standpoint of her career and taken together with the botched UV era is creating a lack of perspective on her career which has inevitable influences on everybody who’s following her.
 
The lyrical wall. When you put out slow music you put inevitably your lyrics to the front. She was widely criticized for her cliché-istic writing by using a lot of well-known poetic references, pop imagery and for the over use of location names and icons. When you’re aware of that you have to be extra careful to not abuse it again because otherwise you’re putting yourself in the trolling category. At this point in her career trolling is just infuriating and lame. BB, MPG, FMWTT was enough of trolling, she didn’t needed more emphasis on how misunderstood and how mistreated she is by the critics. That’s why I don’t like the cover of DLBM, as it is an unnecessary lament especially after the UV era when she was praised plenty. Another major critical point regarding the lyrical content of HM is about the narrow sided artistic vision of hers. Honeymoon opens a bit towards more nuances about relationships but not enough to create the feeling of her moving forward artistically. I felt that HM is a combination of BTD and UV lyrically but there are present the same overused tropes in her work: escapism to nowhere and from nothing specific, being desperately in love and lonely after the inevitable disappointment. In my opinion the critics gave HM a better evaluation that it deserves. This is maybe due to their ridiculous negative overreaction during the BTD era and they are compensating here. I would gave HM a 6/10 for the lyrics but in the same time I’m convinced that she cannot put out an album with the same lyrical pitfalls and be taken seriously.
 
The sonic wall. Many critics and listeners are saying that all LDR songs sound the same and they are boring. If we analyze the melodies or the genre variety on her albums we can objectively say that they are surprisingly varied. I don’t know many artists who have on the same album rock, blues, pop and jazz (UV) or jazz, pop, trap (HM) songs. I think that the problem resides rather with her delivery. Lana is capable of a wide variety of vocals ranging from operatic highs to low contra-alto warbles. The problem is her disaffected tone in her voice, like she is so bored to sing that song. You don’t know, for example, if watching the boys is boring or sexy (probably both which is awkward). There are no sustained emotional highs on HM despite some songs are clearly demanding it. It’s like she’s afraid or restrained to sing emotionally which is disappointing. This coldness in her delivery makes HM a difficult listen and is diminishing the beautiful sonic constructions she came up with. I give HM 7/10 for the sound. I think that she reached another wall here because this type of singing is not enjoyable for longer periods and she needs to change it for her next albums. I have to say that I changed my opinion on HM after several listens and I think that UV is better than HM. HM had better potential but falls flat mainly because of her cold delivery (sadness with no emotion is off-putting).
 
The video and imagery wall. We discussed here how after Tropico her videography became lackluster. Tropico was a huge mistake which highlighted both her unchecked artistic freedom and her limitations as a video artist. In my opinion, her best videos were BTD, BJ, NA and Ride, beautifully shot with cohesive stories and imagery. But Tropico was a mishmash of ideas, frankensteined together, too much even for trolling purposes. Her last good video was SOC, but the emphasis on that old dude just didn’t make any sense when you’re considering who her audience is. Her videos just don’t add lately anything to her artistic appeal, they are just dismissed as awkward or surreal by the critics (see MTWBT video) and they don’t have any significant commercial impact. She needs to let the reins of her videos in the hands of people who understand her vision but who can execute it rightly (like Woodkid did). I never really cared about or liked her album imagery tbh. BTD cover is iconic with that steely stare but UV’s sad boring look cover is forgettable and the HM cover is just bad while suggesting the disconnection between her and the listener. Moreover, her public image slowly became uncool, especially when we count her numerous subpar public appearances and photo shoots. These things are not directly related to the album but it affects the perception of it. Her image is tired and boring. She needs to brake this sad potato meets Priscilla Presley image which will be very difficult because she’s so entrenched in it and there is a chance that people will not be into the new image.
 
The likability/hype wall. “I wish I was dead”, “I fucked my way to the top”, “I’m not interested in feminism”, “I make everything for myself” these statements did an irreparable damage to her career. Her words were twisted by the journalists for sure but what counts is the end result which is tragic for Lana. I will put here the Gaga diss also which was another terrible blow for her, turning against her the majority of one of the most numerous and compact fandoms in pop. She was perceived as a threat by many fandoms whose faves have no chance when comparing them with Lana’s voice, beauty and music. Many Lana fans contributed to this with their obnoxious behavior on twitter and forums and now there are many stans rooting for her to fail. She became isolated from the GP which has no information about her and whose perception about her is rather negative and she became limited to her small fanbase who is following her activity on the internet. Let’s face it, the hype is dead and she has a very low likability factor today which explains the crumbling interest in her album. Likability is a subjective thing and is very easy to destroy it and is very hard or next to impossible to regain it. There is always other artists ready to pick up your audience (Lorde, Martinez, Halsey, Banks, Day, etc.).  If we are taking in account her lack of confidence and her inability to perform live there is practically no chance that she can turn this situation around. The next bad thing for her will be the lack of interest in her tour which is closely related to her sales (who would pay 50$ for her ticket and not buying an album for 15$?).
 
The promotion wall. Depression is a hard sell. First, you have to do it right and with high artistic credibility. Secondly, the way you’re presenting the album will have a great effect on how people are perceiving it. If you put the album out without any promotion there is a good chance that people will not take notice or that they will judge it on their own terms. I’m still not over about her assessment that UV and HM are basically words that have a cool sound to them. Really Lana, that’s all you’re saying and you’re trying to sell me your 1 hour of disaffected depression? One of the most annoying things regarding the album and the promo is the length of the songs. They are dragged indefinitely with purposely slow vocal deliveries and with endless repetition of some lyrics (GKIT). Well, I suspect that she did this on purpose so that no songs will fit the radio formats. But why would any artist in their right mind do that when hits are moving records and keep the interest alive? I would say something about BTD here. BTD sold continuously in relatively small numbers, except for the opening weeks in Europe. The momentum was kept by her high profile in the mainstream media and fashion in 2012 and by her only hits in the US, YB and SS. I hate that SS remix, but I have to admit that a large part of the sales after 2012 are due to these hit songs which were played relentlessly on the radio. She had 4 hit worthy songs on BTD: BTD, BJ, VG and SS which were enough for a buying decision. She went hitless on UV and HM and the consequences are dire: her albums are off the radar in 2-3 weeks after the release. Why wouldn’t she have a hit? My opinion is that she’s afraid to perform live in the mainstream media and hits would put a huge pressure on her to do so. I speculate that she had taken a decision to not do live TV anymore. No TV performances and no radio? Let’s be real this is an insurmountable wall regarding her promotion which will push her towards irrelevancy sooner than later. The drop in interest regarding her music from album to album is huge and I would be curious how many stans will be on this site after 3 years from now. Go to the MarinaBoards to have a taste of that.
Sometimes I bashed her management for not doing enough or doing stupid things regarding her career. Well, I don’t like that Mawson guy a bit, but I have to admit, looking back with more objectivity, that is a miracle that they made out of Lana a relatively big name in music on the strength of one good song and an awkward video. None of the songs on BTD were close to the artistry of VG, and she was terrible performing live (that’s why I will never understand how could Interscope take the decision to put her on SNL). If I had been an executive, after watching her live performances as Lizzy Grant I would never gave her a contract tbh. From her attitude while singing I would never felt that she wants it badly and she’ll do everything what it takes to shine her work.
 
She’s talented no doubt, a good songwriter and a very good studio singer and I will be ever grateful for her beautiful music (included HM) but lately, for the first time since I’m a fan of hers, I felt that there is a possibility in the future when I will not care about LDR anymore. And this is the biggest wall for any artist: when they are starting losing their hardcore fans. But she probably doesn’t care. I would have liked her more to perform confidently for her fans, on some improvised stage, new songs from HM, televised for the fans who will never have a chance to see her performing live, than kissing on lips some deranged fans who thinks that this is appropriate.

I don’t intend to write on LB for a while so I put all my thoughts about the HM era here and it came out a bit lengthy sry for that
 
I would entitled this review “LDR hits a wall with Honeymoon”, but in fact is more accurate to say that she hit several walls at once with this release. I said in my earlier posts that I don’t understand her rush to come out so soon with an album after UV. Commercially didn’t make any sense as it is confirmed by the dismal sales of HM. She wasn’t ready to promote and her shy and awkward promotion of HM is a clear indication of that. I feared that she will come out with an album that will be the bad middle point of being in the same time subpar commercially and critically. The critics didn’t panned the album but no one is enthusiastic about it as were some of them with UV. This album just doesn’t make sense from the standpoint of her career and taken together with the botched UV era is creating a lack of perspective on her career which has inevitable influences on everybody who’s following her.
 
The lyrical wall. When you put out slow music you put inevitably your lyrics to the front. She was widely criticized for her cliché-istic writing by using a lot of well-known poetic references, pop imagery and for the over use of location names and icons. When you’re aware of that you have to be extra careful to not abuse it again because otherwise you’re putting yourself in the trolling category. At this point in her career trolling is just infuriating and lame. BB, MPG, FMWTT was enough of trolling, she didn’t needed more emphasis on how misunderstood and how mistreated she is by the critics. That’s why I don’t like the cover of DLBM, as it is an unnecessary lament especially after the UV era when she was praised plenty. Another major critical point regarding the lyrical content of HM is about the narrow sided artistic vision of hers. Honeymoon opens a bit towards more nuances about relationships but not enough to create the feeling of her moving forward artistically. I felt that HM is a combination of BTD and UV lyrically but there are present the same overused tropes in her work: escapism to nowhere and from nothing specific, being desperately in love and lonely after the inevitable disappointment. In my opinion the critics gave HM a better evaluation that it deserves. This is maybe due to their ridiculous negative overreaction during the BTD era and they are compensating here. I would gave HM a 6/10 for the lyrics but in the same time I’m convinced that she cannot put out an album with the same lyrical pitfalls and be taken seriously.
 
The sonic wall. Many critics and listeners are saying that all LDR songs sound the same and they are boring. If we analyze the melodies or the genre variety on her albums we can objectively say that they are surprisingly varied. I don’t know many artists who have on the same album rock, blues, pop and jazz (UV) or jazz, pop, trap (HM) songs. I think that the problem resides rather with her delivery. Lana is capable of a wide variety of vocals ranging from operatic highs to low contra-alto warbles. The problem is her disaffected tone in her voice, like she is so bored to sing that song. You don’t know, for example, if watching the boys is boring or sexy (probably both which is awkward). There are no sustained emotional highs on HM despite some songs are clearly demanding it. It’s like she’s afraid or restrained to sing emotionally which is disappointing. This coldness in her delivery makes HM a difficult listen and is diminishing the beautiful sonic constructions she came up with. I give HM 7/10 for the sound. I think that she reached another wall here because this type of singing is not enjoyable for longer periods and she needs to change it for her next albums. I have to say that I changed my opinion on HM after several listens and I think that UV is better than HM. HM had better potential but falls flat mainly because of her cold delivery (sadness with no emotion is off-putting).
 
The video and imagery wall. We discussed here how after Tropico her videography became lackluster. Tropico was a huge mistake which highlighted both her unchecked artistic freedom and her limitations as a video artist. In my opinion, her best videos were BTD, BJ, NA and Ride, beautifully shot with cohesive stories and imagery. But Tropico was a mishmash of ideas, frankensteined together, too much even for trolling purposes. Her last good video was SOC, but the emphasis on that old dude just didn’t make any sense when you’re considering who her audience is. Her videos just don’t add lately anything to her artistic appeal, they are just dismissed as awkward or surreal by the critics (see MTWBT video) and they don’t have any significant commercial impact. She needs to let the reins of her videos in the hands of people who understand her vision but who can execute it rightly (like Woodkid did). I never really cared about or liked her album imagery tbh. BTD cover is iconic with that steely stare but UV’s sad boring look cover is forgettable and the HM cover is just bad while suggesting the disconnection between her and the listener. Moreover, her public image slowly became uncool, especially when we count her numerous subpar public appearances and photo shoots. These things are not directly related to the album but it affects the perception of it. Her image is tired and boring. She needs to brake this sad potato meets Priscilla Presley image which will be very difficult because she’s so entrenched in it and there is a chance that people will not be into the new image.
 
The likability/hype wall. “I wish I was dead”, “I fucked my way to the top”, “I’m not interested in feminism”, “I make everything for myself” these statements did an irreparable damage to her career. Her words were twisted by the journalists for sure but what counts is the end result which is tragic for Lana. I will put here the Gaga diss also which was another terrible blow for her, turning against her the majority of one of the most numerous and compact fandoms in pop. She was perceived as a threat by many fandoms whose faves have no chance when comparing them with Lana’s voice, beauty and music. Many Lana fans contributed to this with their obnoxious behavior on twitter and forums and now there are many stans rooting for her to fail. She became isolated from the GP which has no information about her and whose perception about her is rather negative and she became limited to her small fanbase who is following her activity on the internet. Let’s face it, the hype is dead and she has a very low likability factor today which explains the crumbling interest in her album. Likability is a subjective thing and is very easy to destroy it and is very hard or next to impossible to regain it. There is always other artists ready to pick up your audience (Lorde, Martinez, Halsey, Banks, Day, etc.).  If we are taking in account her lack of confidence and her inability to perform live there is practically no chance that she can turn this situation around. The next bad thing for her will be the lack of interest in her tour which is closely related to her sales (who would pay 50$ for her ticket and not buying an album for 15$?).
 
The promotion wall. Depression is a hard sell. First, you have to do it right and with high artistic credibility. Secondly, the way you’re presenting the album will have a great effect on how people are perceiving it. If you put the album out without any promotion there is a good chance that people will not take notice or that they will judge it on their own terms. I’m still not over about her assessment that UV and HM are basically words that have a cool sound to them. Really Lana, that’s all you’re saying and you’re trying to sell me your 1 hour of disaffected depression? One of the most annoying things regarding the album and the promo is the length of the songs. They are dragged indefinitely with purposely slow vocal deliveries and with endless repetition of some lyrics (GKIT). Well, I suspect that she did this on purpose so that no songs will fit the radio formats. But why would any artist in their right mind do that when hits are moving records and keep the interest alive? I would say something about BTD here. BTD sold continuously in relatively small numbers, except for the opening weeks in Europe. The momentum was kept by her high profile in the mainstream media and fashion in 2012 and by her only hits in the US, YB and SS. I hate that SS remix, but I have to admit that a large part of the sales after 2012 are due to these hit songs which were played relentlessly on the radio. She had 4 hit worthy songs on BTD: BTD, BJ, VG and SS which were enough for a buying decision. She went hitless on UV and HM and the consequences are dire: her albums are off the radar in 2-3 weeks after the release. Why wouldn’t she have a hit? My opinion is that she’s afraid to perform live in the mainstream media and hits would put a huge pressure on her to do so. I speculate that she had taken a decision to not do live TV anymore. No TV performances and no radio? Let’s be real this is an insurmountable wall regarding her promotion which will push her towards irrelevancy sooner than later. The drop in interest regarding her music from album to album is huge and I would be curious how many stans will be on this site after 3 years from now. Go to the MarinaBoards to have a taste of that.
Sometimes I bashed her management for not doing enough or doing stupid things regarding her career. Well, I don’t like that Mawson guy a bit, but I have to admit, looking back with more objectivity, that is a miracle that they made out of Lana a relatively big name in music on the strength of one good song and an awkward video. None of the songs on BTD were close to the artistry of VG, and she was terrible performing live (that’s why I will never understand how could Interscope take the decision to put her on SNL). If I had been an executive, after watching her live performances as Lizzy Grant I would never gave her a contract tbh. From her attitude while singing I would never felt that she wants it badly and she’ll do everything what it takes to shine her work.
 
She’s talented no doubt, a good songwriter and a very good studio singer and I will be ever grateful for her beautiful music (included HM) but lately, for the first time since I’m a fan of hers, I felt that there is a possibility in the future when I will not care about LDR anymore. And this is the biggest wall for any artist: when they are starting losing their hardcore fans. But she probably doesn’t care. I would have liked her more to perform confidently for her fans, on some improvised stage, new songs from HM, televised for the fans who will never have a chance to see her performing live, than kissing on lips some deranged fans who thinks that this is appropriate.

I don’t intend to write on LB for a while so I put all my thoughts about the HM era here and it came out a bit lengthy sry for that
 
I would entitled this review “LDR hits a wall with Honeymoon”, but in fact is more accurate to say that she hit several walls at once with this release. I said in my earlier posts that I don’t understand her rush to come out so soon with an album after UV. Commercially didn’t make any sense as it is confirmed by the dismal sales of HM. She wasn’t ready to promote and her shy and awkward promotion of HM is a clear indication of that. I feared that she will come out with an album that will be the bad middle point of being in the same time subpar commercially and critically. The critics didn’t panned the album but no one is enthusiastic about it as were some of them with UV. This album just doesn’t make sense from the standpoint of her career and taken together with the botched UV era is creating a lack of perspective on her career which has inevitable influences on everybody who’s following her.
 
The lyrical wall. When you put out slow music you put inevitably your lyrics to the front. She was widely criticized for her cliché-istic writing by using a lot of well-known poetic references, pop imagery and for the over use of location names and icons. When you’re aware of that you have to be extra careful to not abuse it again because otherwise you’re putting yourself in the trolling category. At this point in her career trolling is just infuriating and lame. BB, MPG, FMWTT was enough of trolling, she didn’t needed more emphasis on how misunderstood and how mistreated she is by the critics. That’s why I don’t like the cover of DLBM, as it is an unnecessary lament especially after the UV era when she was praised plenty. Another major critical point regarding the lyrical content of HM is about the narrow sided artistic vision of hers. Honeymoon opens a bit towards more nuances about relationships but not enough to create the feeling of her moving forward artistically. I felt that HM is a combination of BTD and UV lyrically but there are present the same overused tropes in her work: escapism to nowhere and from nothing specific, being desperately in love and lonely after the inevitable disappointment. In my opinion the critics gave HM a better evaluation that it deserves. This is maybe due to their ridiculous negative overreaction during the BTD era and they are compensating here. I would gave HM a 6/10 for the lyrics but in the same time I’m convinced that she cannot put out an album with the same lyrical pitfalls and be taken seriously.
 
The sonic wall. Many critics and listeners are saying that all LDR songs sound the same and they are boring. If we analyze the melodies or the genre variety on her albums we can objectively say that they are surprisingly varied. I don’t know many artists who have on the same album rock, blues, pop and jazz (UV) or jazz, pop, trap (HM) songs. I think that the problem resides rather with her delivery. Lana is capable of a wide variety of vocals ranging from operatic highs to low contra-alto warbles. The problem is her disaffected tone in her voice, like she is so bored to sing that song. You don’t know, for example, if watching the boys is boring or sexy (probably both which is awkward). There are no sustained emotional highs on HM despite some songs are clearly demanding it. It’s like she’s afraid or restrained to sing emotionally which is disappointing. This coldness in her delivery makes HM a difficult listen and is diminishing the beautiful sonic constructions she came up with. I give HM 7/10 for the sound. I think that she reached another wall here because this type of singing is not enjoyable for longer periods and she needs to change it for her next albums. I have to say that I changed my opinion on HM after several listens and I think that UV is better than HM. HM had better potential but falls flat mainly because of her cold delivery (sadness with no emotion is off-putting).
 
The video and imagery wall. We discussed here how after Tropico her videography became lackluster. Tropico was a huge mistake which highlighted both her unchecked artistic freedom and her limitations as a video artist. In my opinion, her best videos were BTD, BJ, NA and Ride, beautifully shot with cohesive stories and imagery. But Tropico was a mishmash of ideas, frankensteined together, too much even for trolling purposes. Her last good video was SOC, but the emphasis on that old dude just didn’t make any sense when you’re considering who her audience is. Her videos just don’t add lately anything to her artistic appeal, they are just dismissed as awkward or surreal by the critics (see MTWBT video) and they don’t have any significant commercial impact. She needs to let the reins of her videos in the hands of people who understand her vision but who can execute it rightly (like Woodkid did). I never really cared about or liked her album imagery tbh. BTD cover is iconic with that steely stare but UV’s sad boring look cover is forgettable and the HM cover is just bad while suggesting the disconnection between her and the listener. Moreover, her public image slowly became uncool, especially when we count her numerous subpar public appearances and photo shoots. These things are not directly related to the album but it affects the perception of it. Her image is tired and boring. She needs to brake this sad potato meets Priscilla Presley image which will be very difficult because she’s so entrenched in it and there is a chance that people will not be into the new image.
 
The likability/hype wall. “I wish I was dead”, “I fucked my way to the top”, “I’m not interested in feminism”, “I make everything for myself” these statements did an irreparable damage to her career. Her words were twisted by the journalists for sure but what counts is the end result which is tragic for Lana. I will put here the Gaga diss also which was another terrible blow for her, turning against her the majority of one of the most numerous and compact fandoms in pop. She was perceived as a threat by many fandoms whose faves have no chance when comparing them with Lana’s voice, beauty and music. Many Lana fans contributed to this with their obnoxious behavior on twitter and forums and now there are many stans rooting for her to fail. She became isolated from the GP which has no information about her and whose perception about her is rather negative and she became limited to her small fanbase who is following her activity on the internet. Let’s face it, the hype is dead and she has a very low likability factor today which explains the crumbling interest in her album. Likability is a subjective thing and is very easy to destroy it and is very hard or next to impossible to regain it. There is always other artists ready to pick up your audience (Lorde, Martinez, Halsey, Banks, Day, etc.).  If we are taking in account her lack of confidence and her inability to perform live there is practically no chance that she can turn this situation around. The next bad thing for her will be the lack of interest in her tour which is closely related to her sales (who would pay 50$ for her ticket and not buying an album for 15$?).
 
The promotion wall. Depression is a hard sell. First, you have to do it right and with high artistic credibility. Secondly, the way you’re presenting the album will have a great effect on how people are perceiving it. If you put the album out without any promotion there is a good chance that people will not take notice or that they will judge it on their own terms. I’m still not over about her assessment that UV and HM are basically words that have a cool sound to them. Really Lana, that’s all you’re saying and you’re trying to sell me your 1 hour of disaffected depression? One of the most annoying things regarding the album and the promo is the length of the songs. They are dragged indefinitely with purposely slow vocal deliveries and with endless repetition of some lyrics (GKIT). Well, I suspect that she did this on purpose so that no songs will fit the radio formats. But why would any artist in their right mind do that when hits are moving records and keep the interest alive? I would say something about BTD here. BTD sold continuously in relatively small numbers, except for the opening weeks in Europe. The momentum was kept by her high profile in the mainstream media and fashion in 2012 and by her only hits in the US, YB and SS. I hate that SS remix, but I have to admit that a large part of the sales after 2012 are due to these hit songs which were played relentlessly on the radio. She had 4 hit worthy songs on BTD: BTD, BJ, VG and SS which were enough for a buying decision. She went hitless on UV and HM and the consequences are dire: her albums are off the radar in 2-3 weeks after the release. Why wouldn’t she have a hit? My opinion is that she’s afraid to perform live in the mainstream media and hits would put a huge pressure on her to do so. I speculate that she had taken a decision to not do live TV anymore. No TV performances and no radio? Let’s be real this is an insurmountable wall regarding her promotion which will push her towards irrelevancy sooner than later. The drop in interest regarding her music from album to album is huge and I would be curious how many stans will be on this site after 3 years from now. Go to the MarinaBoards to have a taste of that.
Sometimes I bashed her management for not doing enough or doing stupid things regarding her career. Well, I don’t like that Mawson guy a bit, but I have to admit, looking back with more objectivity, that is a miracle that they made out of Lana a relatively big name in music on the strength of one good song and an awkward video. None of the songs on BTD were close to the artistry of VG, and she was terrible performing live (that’s why I will never understand how could Interscope take the decision to put her on SNL). If I had been an executive, after watching her live performances as Lizzy Grant I would never gave her a contract tbh. From her attitude while singing I would never felt that she wants it badly and she’ll do everything what it takes to shine her work.
 
She’s talented no doubt, a good songwriter and a very good studio singer and I will be ever grateful for her beautiful music (included HM) but lately, for the first time since I’m a fan of hers, I felt that there is a possibility in the future when I will not care about LDR anymore. And this is the biggest wall for any artist: when they are starting losing their hardcore fans. But she probably doesn’t care. I would have liked her more to perform confidently for her fans, on some improvised stage, new songs from HM, televised for the fans who will never have a chance to see her performing live, than kissing on lips some deranged fans who thinks that this is appropriate.

I don’t intend to write on LB for a while so I put all my thoughts about the HM era here and it came out a bit lengthy sry for that
 
I would entitled this review “LDR hits a wall with Honeymoon”, but in fact is more accurate to say that she hit several walls at once with this release. I said in my earlier posts that I don’t understand her rush to come out so soon with an album after UV. Commercially didn’t make any sense as it is confirmed by the dismal sales of HM. She wasn’t ready to promote and her shy and awkward promotion of HM is a clear indication of that. I feared that she will come out with an album that will be the bad middle point of being in the same time subpar commercially and critically. The critics didn’t panned the album but no one is enthusiastic about it as were some of them with UV. This album just doesn’t make sense from the standpoint of her career and taken together with the botched UV era is creating a lack of perspective on her career which has inevitable influences on everybody who’s following her.
 
The lyrical wall. When you put out slow music you put inevitably your lyrics to the front. She was widely criticized for her cliché-istic writing by using a lot of well-known poetic references, pop imagery and for the over use of location names and icons. When you’re aware of that you have to be extra careful to not abuse it again because otherwise you’re putting yourself in the trolling category. At this point in her career trolling is just infuriating and lame. BB, MPG, FMWTT was enough of trolling, she didn’t needed more emphasis on how misunderstood and how mistreated she is by the critics. That’s why I don’t like the cover of DLBM, as it is an unnecessary lament especially after the UV era when she was praised plenty. Another major critical point regarding the lyrical content of HM is about the narrow sided artistic vision of hers. Honeymoon opens a bit towards more nuances about relationships but not enough to create the feeling of her moving forward artistically. I felt that HM is a combination of BTD and UV lyrically but there are present the same overused tropes in her work: escapism to nowhere and from nothing specific, being desperately in love and lonely after the inevitable disappointment. In my opinion the critics gave HM a better evaluation that it deserves. This is maybe due to their ridiculous negative overreaction during the BTD era and they are compensating here. I would gave HM a 6/10 for the lyrics but in the same time I’m convinced that she cannot put out an album with the same lyrical pitfalls and be taken seriously.
 
The sonic wall. Many critics and listeners are saying that all LDR songs sound the same and they are boring. If we analyze the melodies or the genre variety on her albums we can objectively say that they are surprisingly varied. I don’t know many artists who have on the same album rock, blues, pop and jazz (UV) or jazz, pop, trap (HM) songs. I think that the problem resides rather with her delivery. Lana is capable of a wide variety of vocals ranging from operatic highs to low contra-alto warbles. The problem is her disaffected tone in her voice, like she is so bored to sing that song. You don’t know, for example, if watching the boys is boring or sexy (probably both which is awkward). There are no sustained emotional highs on HM despite some songs are clearly demanding it. It’s like she’s afraid or restrained to sing emotionally which is disappointing. This coldness in her delivery makes HM a difficult listen and is diminishing the beautiful sonic constructions she came up with. I give HM 7/10 for the sound. I think that she reached another wall here because this type of singing is not enjoyable for longer periods and she needs to change it for her next albums. I have to say that I changed my opinion on HM after several listens and I think that UV is better than HM. HM had better potential but falls flat mainly because of her cold delivery (sadness with no emotion is off-putting).
 
The video and imagery wall. We discussed here how after Tropico her videography became lackluster. Tropico was a huge mistake which highlighted both her unchecked artistic freedom and her limitations as a video artist. In my opinion, her best videos were BTD, BJ, NA and Ride, beautifully shot with cohesive stories and imagery. But Tropico was a mishmash of ideas, frankensteined together, too much even for trolling purposes. Her last good video was SOC, but the emphasis on that old dude just didn’t make any sense when you’re considering who her audience is. Her videos just don’t add lately anything to her artistic appeal, they are just dismissed as awkward or surreal by the critics (see MTWBT video) and they don’t have any significant commercial impact. She needs to let the reins of her videos in the hands of people who understand her vision but who can execute it rightly (like Woodkid did). I never really cared about or liked her album imagery tbh. BTD cover is iconic with that steely stare but UV’s sad boring look cover is forgettable and the HM cover is just bad while suggesting the disconnection between her and the listener. Moreover, her public image slowly became uncool, especially when we count her numerous subpar public appearances and photo shoots. These things are not directly related to the album but it affects the perception of it. Her image is tired and boring. She needs to brake this sad potato meets Priscilla Presley image which will be very difficult because she’s so entrenched in it and there is a chance that people will not be into the new image.
 
The likability/hype wall. “I wish I was dead”, “I fucked my way to the top”, “I’m not interested in feminism”, “I make everything for myself” these statements did an irreparable damage to her career. Her words were twisted by the journalists for sure but what counts is the end result which is tragic for Lana. I will put here the Gaga diss also which was another terrible blow for her, turning against her the majority of one of the most numerous and compact fandoms in pop. She was perceived as a threat by many fandoms whose faves have no chance when comparing them with Lana’s voice, beauty and music. Many Lana fans contributed to this with their obnoxious behavior on twitter and forums and now there are many stans rooting for her to fail. She became isolated from the GP which has no information about her and whose perception about her is rather negative and she became limited to her small fanbase who is following her activity on the internet. Let’s face it, the hype is dead and she has a very low likability factor today which explains the crumbling interest in her album. Likability is a subjective thing and is very easy to destroy it and is very hard or next to impossible to regain it. There is always other artists ready to pick up your audience (Lorde, Martinez, Halsey, Banks, Day, etc.).  If we are taking in account her lack of confidence and her inability to perform live there is practically no chance that she can turn this situation around. The next bad thing for her will be the lack of interest in her tour which is closely related to her sales (who would pay 50$ for her ticket and not buying an album for 15$?).
 
The promotion wall. Depression is a hard sell. First, you have to do it right and with high artistic credibility. Secondly, the way you’re presenting the album will have a great effect on how people are perceiving it. If you put the album out without any promotion there is a good chance that people will not take notice or that they will judge it on their own terms. I’m still not over about her assessment that UV and HM are basically words that have a cool sound to them. Really Lana, that’s all you’re saying and you’re trying to sell me your 1 hour of disaffected depression? One of the most annoying things regarding the album and the promo is the length of the songs. They are dragged indefinitely with purposely slow vocal deliveries and with endless repetition of some lyrics (GKIT). Well, I suspect that she did this on purpose so that no songs will fit the radio formats. But why would any artist in their right mind do that when hits are moving records and keep the interest alive? I would say something about BTD here. BTD sold continuously in relatively small numbers, except for the opening weeks in Europe. The momentum was kept by her high profile in the mainstream media and fashion in 2012 and by her only hits in the US, YB and SS. I hate that SS remix, but I have to admit that a large part of the sales after 2012 are due to these hit songs which were played relentlessly on the radio. She had 4 hit worthy songs on BTD: BTD, BJ, VG and SS which were enough for a buying decision. She went hitless on UV and HM and the consequences are dire: her albums are off the radar in 2-3 weeks after the release. Why wouldn’t she have a hit? My opinion is that she’s afraid to perform live in the mainstream media and hits would put a huge pressure on her to do so. I speculate that she had taken a decision to not do live TV anymore. No TV performances and no radio? Let’s be real this is an insurmountable wall regarding her promotion which will push her towards irrelevancy sooner than later. The drop in interest regarding her music from album to album is huge and I would be curious how many stans will be on this site after 3 years from now. Go to the MarinaBoards to have a taste of that.
Sometimes I bashed her management for not doing enough or doing stupid things regarding her career. Well, I don’t like that Mawson guy a bit, but I have to admit, looking back with more objectivity, that is a miracle that they made out of Lana a relatively big name in music on the strength of one good song and an awkward video. None of the songs on BTD were close to the artistry of VG, and she was terrible performing live (that’s why I will never understand how could Interscope take the decision to put her on SNL). If I had been an executive, after watching her live performances as Lizzy Grant I would never gave her a contract tbh. From her attitude while singing I would never felt that she wants it badly and she’ll do everything what it takes to shine her work.
 
She’s talented no doubt, a good songwriter and a very good studio singer and I will be ever grateful for her beautiful music (included HM) but lately, for the first time since I’m a fan of hers, I felt that there is a possibility in the future when I will not care about LDR anymore. And this is the biggest wall for any artist: when they are starting losing their hardcore fans. But she probably doesn’t care. I would have liked her more to perform confidently for her fans, on some improvised stage, new songs from HM, televised for the fans who will never have a chance to see her performing live, than kissing on lips some deranged fans who thinks that this is appropriate.

I don’t intend to write on LB for a while so I put all my thoughts about the HM era here and it came out a bit lengthy sry for that
 
I would entitled this review “LDR hits a wall with Honeymoon”, but in fact is more accurate to say that she hit several walls at once with this release. I said in my earlier posts that I don’t understand her rush to come out so soon with an album after UV. Commercially didn’t make any sense as it is confirmed by the dismal sales of HM. She wasn’t ready to promote and her shy and awkward promotion of HM is a clear indication of that. I feared that she will come out with an album that will be the bad middle point of being in the same time subpar commercially and critically. The critics didn’t panned the album but no one is enthusiastic about it as were some of them with UV. This album just doesn’t make sense from the standpoint of her career and taken together with the botched UV era is creating a lack of perspective on her career which has inevitable influences on everybody who’s following her.
 
The lyrical wall. When you put out slow music you put inevitably your lyrics to the front. She was widely criticized for her cliché-istic writing by using a lot of well-known poetic references, pop imagery and for the over use of location names and icons. When you’re aware of that you have to be extra careful to not abuse it again because otherwise you’re putting yourself in the trolling category. At this point in her career trolling is just infuriating and lame. BB, MPG, FMWTT was enough of trolling, she didn’t needed more emphasis on how misunderstood and how mistreated she is by the critics. That’s why I don’t like the cover of DLBM, as it is an unnecessary lament especially after the UV era when she was praised plenty. Another major critical point regarding the lyrical content of HM is about the narrow sided artistic vision of hers. Honeymoon opens a bit towards more nuances about relationships but not enough to create the feeling of her moving forward artistically. I felt that HM is a combination of BTD and UV lyrically but there are present the same overused tropes in her work: escapism to nowhere and from nothing specific, being desperately in love and lonely after the inevitable disappointment. In my opinion the critics gave HM a better evaluation that it deserves. This is maybe due to their ridiculous negative overreaction during the BTD era and they are compensating here. I would gave HM a 6/10 for the lyrics but in the same time I’m convinced that she cannot put out an album with the same lyrical pitfalls and be taken seriously.
 
The sonic wall. Many critics and listeners are saying that all LDR songs sound the same and they are boring. If we analyze the melodies or the genre variety on her albums we can objectively say that they are surprisingly varied. I don’t know many artists who have on the same album rock, blues, pop and jazz (UV) or jazz, pop, trap (HM) songs. I think that the problem resides rather with her delivery. Lana is capable of a wide variety of vocals ranging from operatic highs to low contra-alto warbles. The problem is her disaffected tone in her voice, like she is so bored to sing that song. You don’t know, for example, if watching the boys is boring or sexy (probably both which is awkward). There are no sustained emotional highs on HM despite some songs are clearly demanding it. It’s like she’s afraid or restrained to sing emotionally which is disappointing. This coldness in her delivery makes HM a difficult listen and is diminishing the beautiful sonic constructions she came up with. I give HM 7/10 for the sound. I think that she reached another wall here because this type of singing is not enjoyable for longer periods and she needs to change it for her next albums. I have to say that I changed my opinion on HM after several listens and I think that UV is better than HM. HM had better potential but falls flat mainly because of her cold delivery (sadness with no emotion is off-putting).
 
The video and imagery wall. We discussed here how after Tropico her videography became lackluster. Tropico was a huge mistake which highlighted both her unchecked artistic freedom and her limitations as a video artist. In my opinion, her best videos were BTD, BJ, NA and Ride, beautifully shot with cohesive stories and imagery. But Tropico was a mishmash of ideas, frankensteined together, too much even for trolling purposes. Her last good video was SOC, but the emphasis on that old dude just didn’t make any sense when you’re considering who her audience is. Her videos just don’t add lately anything to her artistic appeal, they are just dismissed as awkward or surreal by the critics (see MTWBT video) and they don’t have any significant commercial impact. She needs to let the reins of her videos in the hands of people who understand her vision but who can execute it rightly (like Woodkid did). I never really cared about or liked her album imagery tbh. BTD cover is iconic with that steely stare but UV’s sad boring look cover is forgettable and the HM cover is just bad while suggesting the disconnection between her and the listener. Moreover, her public image slowly became uncool, especially when we count her numerous subpar public appearances and photo shoots. These things are not directly related to the album but it affects the perception of it. Her image is tired and boring. She needs to brake this sad potato meets Priscilla Presley image which will be very difficult because she’s so entrenched in it and there is a chance that people will not be into the new image.
 
The likability/hype wall. “I wish I was dead”, “I fucked my way to the top”, “I’m not interested in feminism”, “I make everything for myself” these statements did an irreparable damage to her career. Her words were twisted by the journalists for sure but what counts is the end result which is tragic for Lana. I will put here the Gaga diss also which was another terrible blow for her, turning against her the majority of one of the most numerous and compact fandoms in pop. She was perceived as a threat by many fandoms whose faves have no chance when comparing them with Lana’s voice, beauty and music. Many Lana fans contributed to this with their obnoxious behavior on twitter and forums and now there are many stans rooting for her to fail. She became isolated from the GP which has no information about her and whose perception about her is rather negative and she became limited to her small fanbase who is following her activity on the internet. Let’s face it, the hype is dead and she has a very low likability factor today which explains the crumbling interest in her album. Likability is a subjective thing and is very easy to destroy it and is very hard or next to impossible to regain it. There is always other artists ready to pick up your audience (Lorde, Martinez, Halsey, Banks, Day, etc.).  If we are taking in account her lack of confidence and her inability to perform live there is practically no chance that she can turn this situation around. The next bad thing for her will be the lack of interest in her tour which is closely related to her sales (who would pay 50$ for her ticket and not buying an album for 15$?).
 
The promotion wall. Depression is a hard sell. First, you have to do it right and with high artistic credibility. Secondly, the way you’re presenting the album will have a great effect on how people are perceiving it. If you put the album out without any promotion there is a good chance that people will not take notice or that they will judge it on their own terms. I’m still not over about her assessment that UV and HM are basically words that have a cool sound to them. Really Lana, that’s all you’re saying and you’re trying to sell me your 1 hour of disaffected depression? One of the most annoying things regarding the album and the promo is the length of the songs. They are dragged indefinitely with purposely slow vocal deliveries and with endless repetition of some lyrics (GKIT). Well, I suspect that she did this on purpose so that no songs will fit the radio formats. But why would any artist in their right mind do that when hits are moving records and keep the interest alive? I would say something about BTD here. BTD sold continuously in relatively small numbers, except for the opening weeks in Europe. The momentum was kept by her high profile in the mainstream media and fashion in 2012 and by her only hits in the US, YB and SS. I hate that SS remix, but I have to admit that a large part of the sales after 2012 are due to these hit songs which were played relentlessly on the radio. She had 4 hit worthy songs on BTD: BTD, BJ, VG and SS which were enough for a buying decision. She went hitless on UV and HM and the consequences are dire: her albums are off the radar in 2-3 weeks after the release. Why wouldn’t she have a hit? My opinion is that she’s afraid to perform live in the mainstream media and hits would put a huge pressure on her to do so. I speculate that she had taken a decision to not do live TV anymore. No TV performances and no radio? Let’s be real this is an insurmountable wall regarding her promotion which will push her towards irrelevancy sooner than later. The drop in interest regarding her music from album to album is huge and I would be curious how many stans will be on this site after 3 years from now. Go to the MarinaBoards to have a taste of that.
Sometimes I bashed her management for not doing enough or doing stupid things regarding her career. Well, I don’t like that Mawson guy a bit, but I have to admit, looking back with more objectivity, that is a miracle that they made out of Lana a relatively big name in music on the strength of one good song and an awkward video. None of the songs on BTD were close to the artistry of VG, and she was terrible performing live (that’s why I will never understand how could Interscope take the decision to put her on SNL). If I had been an executive, after watching her live performances as Lizzy Grant I would never gave her a contract tbh. From her attitude while singing I would never felt that she wants it badly and she’ll do everything what it takes to shine her work.
 
She’s talented no doubt, a good songwriter and a very good studio singer and I will be ever grateful for her beautiful music (included HM) but lately, for the first time since I’m a fan of hers, I felt that there is a possibility in the future when I will not care about LDR anymore. And this is the biggest wall for any artist: when they are starting losing their hardcore fans. But she probably doesn’t care. I would have liked her more to perform confidently for her fans, on some improvised stage, new songs from HM, televised for the fans who will never have a chance to see her performing live, than kissing on lips some deranged fans who thinks that this is appropriate.

I don’t intend to write on LB for a while so I put all my thoughts about the HM era here and it came out a bit lengthy sry for that
 
I would entitled this review “LDR hits a wall with Honeymoon”, but in fact is more accurate to say that she hit several walls at once with this release. I said in my earlier posts that I don’t understand her rush to come out so soon with an album after UV. Commercially didn’t make any sense as it is confirmed by the dismal sales of HM. She wasn’t ready to promote and her shy and awkward promotion of HM is a clear indication of that. I feared that she will come out with an album that will be the bad middle point of being in the same time subpar commercially and critically. The critics didn’t panned the album but no one is enthusiastic about it as were some of them with UV. This album just doesn’t make sense from the standpoint of her career and taken together with the botched UV era is creating a lack of perspective on her career which has inevitable influences on everybody who’s following her.
 
The lyrical wall. When you put out slow music you put inevitably your lyrics to the front. She was widely criticized for her cliché-istic writing by using a lot of well-known poetic references, pop imagery and for the over use of location names and icons. When you’re aware of that you have to be extra careful to not abuse it again because otherwise you’re putting yourself in the trolling category. At this point in her career trolling is just infuriating and lame. BB, MPG, FMWTT was enough of trolling, she didn’t needed more emphasis on how misunderstood and how mistreated she is by the critics. That’s why I don’t like the cover of DLBM, as it is an unnecessary lament especially after the UV era when she was praised plenty. Another major critical point regarding the lyrical content of HM is about the narrow sided artistic vision of hers. Honeymoon opens a bit towards more nuances about relationships but not enough to create the feeling of her moving forward artistically. I felt that HM is a combination of BTD and UV lyrically but there are present the same overused tropes in her work: escapism to nowhere and from nothing specific, being desperately in love and lonely after the inevitable disappointment. In my opinion the critics gave HM a better evaluation that it deserves. This is maybe due to their ridiculous negative overreaction during the BTD era and they are compensating here. I would gave HM a 6/10 for the lyrics but in the same time I’m convinced that she cannot put out an album with the same lyrical pitfalls and be taken seriously.
 
The sonic wall. Many critics and listeners are saying that all LDR songs sound the same and they are boring. If we analyze the melodies or the genre variety on her albums we can objectively say that they are surprisingly varied. I don’t know many artists who have on the same album rock, blues, pop and jazz (UV) or jazz, pop, trap (HM) songs. I think that the problem resides rather with her delivery. Lana is capable of a wide variety of vocals ranging from operatic highs to low contra-alto warbles. The problem is her disaffected tone in her voice, like she is so bored to sing that song. You don’t know, for example, if watching the boys is boring or sexy (probably both which is awkward). There are no sustained emotional highs on HM despite some songs are clearly demanding it. It’s like she’s afraid or restrained to sing emotionally which is disappointing. This coldness in her delivery makes HM a difficult listen and is diminishing the beautiful sonic constructions she came up with. I give HM 7/10 for the sound. I think that she reached another wall here because this type of singing is not enjoyable for longer periods and she needs to change it for her next albums. I have to say that I changed my opinion on HM after several listens and I think that UV is better than HM. HM had better potential but falls flat mainly because of her cold delivery (sadness with no emotion is off-putting).
 
The video and imagery wall. We discussed here how after Tropico her videography became lackluster. Tropico was a huge mistake which highlighted both her unchecked artistic freedom and her limitations as a video artist. In my opinion, her best videos were BTD, BJ, NA and Ride, beautifully shot with cohesive stories and imagery. But Tropico was a mishmash of ideas, frankensteined together, too much even for trolling purposes. Her last good video was SOC, but the emphasis on that old dude just didn’t make any sense when you’re considering who her audience is. Her videos just don’t add lately anything to her artistic appeal, they are just dismissed as awkward or surreal by the critics (see MTWBT video) and they don’t have any significant commercial impact. She needs to let the reins of her videos in the hands of people who understand her vision but who can execute it rightly (like Woodkid did). I never really cared about or liked her album imagery tbh. BTD cover is iconic with that steely stare but UV’s sad boring look cover is forgettable and the HM cover is just bad while suggesting the disconnection between her and the listener. Moreover, her public image slowly became uncool, especially when we count her numerous subpar public appearances and photo shoots. These things are not directly related to the album but it affects the perception of it. Her image is tired and boring. She needs to brake this sad potato meets Priscilla Presley image which will be very difficult because she’s so entrenched in it and there is a chance that people will not be into the new image.
 
The likability/hype wall. “I wish I was dead”, “I fucked my way to the top”, “I’m not interested in feminism”, “I make everything for myself” these statements did an irreparable damage to her career. Her words were twisted by the journalists for sure but what counts is the end result which is tragic for Lana. I will put here the Gaga diss also which was another terrible blow for her, turning against her the majority of one of the most numerous and compact fandoms in pop. She was perceived as a threat by many fandoms whose faves have no chance when comparing them with Lana’s voice, beauty and music. Many Lana fans contributed to this with their obnoxious behavior on twitter and forums and now there are many stans rooting for her to fail. She became isolated from the GP which has no information about her and whose perception about her is rather negative and she became limited to her small fanbase who is following her activity on the internet. Let’s face it, the hype is dead and she has a very low likability factor today which explains the crumbling interest in her album. Likability is a subjective thing and is very easy to destroy it and is very hard or next to impossible to regain it. There is always other artists ready to pick up your audience (Lorde, Martinez, Halsey, Banks, Day, etc.).  If we are taking in account her lack of confidence and her inability to perform live there is practically no chance that she can turn this situation around. The next bad thing for her will be the lack of interest in her tour which is closely related to her sales (who would pay 50$ for her ticket and not buying an album for 15$?).
 
The promotion wall. Depression is a hard sell. First, you have to do it right and with high artistic credibility. Secondly, the way you’re presenting the album will have a great effect on how people are perceiving it. If you put the album out without any promotion there is a good chance that people will not take notice or that they will judge it on their own terms. I’m still not over about her assessment that UV and HM are basically words that have a cool sound to them. Really Lana, that’s all you’re saying and you’re trying to sell me your 1 hour of disaffected depression? One of the most annoying things regarding the album and the promo is the length of the songs. They are dragged indefinitely with purposely slow vocal deliveries and with endless repetition of some lyrics (GKIT). Well, I suspect that she did this on purpose so that no songs will fit the radio formats. But why would any artist in their right mind do that when hits are moving records and keep the interest alive? I would say something about BTD here. BTD sold continuously in relatively small numbers, except for the opening weeks in Europe. The momentum was kept by her high profile in the mainstream media and fashion in 2012 and by her only hits in the US, YB and SS. I hate that SS remix, but I have to admit that a large part of the sales after 2012 are due to these hit songs which were played relentlessly on the radio. She had 4 hit worthy songs on BTD: BTD, BJ, VG and SS which were enough for a buying decision. She went hitless on UV and HM and the consequences are dire: her albums are off the radar in 2-3 weeks after the release. Why wouldn’t she have a hit? My opinion is that she’s afraid to perform live in the mainstream media and hits would put a huge pressure on her to do so. I speculate that she had taken a decision to not do live TV anymore. No TV performances and no radio? Let’s be real this is an insurmountable wall regarding her promotion which will push her towards irrelevancy sooner than later. The drop in interest regarding her music from album to album is huge and I would be curious how many stans will be on this site after 3 years from now. Go to the MarinaBoards to have a taste of that.
Sometimes I bashed her management for not doing enough or doing stupid things regarding her career. Well, I don’t like that Mawson guy a bit, but I have to admit, looking back with more objectivity, that is a miracle that they made out of Lana a relatively big name in music on the strength of one good song and an awkward video. None of the songs on BTD were close to the artistry of VG, and she was terrible performing live (that’s why I will never understand how could Interscope take the decision to put her on SNL). If I had been an executive, after watching her live performances as Lizzy Grant I would never gave her a contract tbh. From her attitude while singing I would never felt that she wants it badly and she’ll do everything what it takes to shine her work.
 
She’s talented no doubt, a good songwriter and a very good studio singer and I will be ever grateful for her beautiful music (included HM) but lately, for the first time since I’m a fan of hers, I felt that there is a possibility in the future when I will not care about LDR anymore. And this is the biggest wall for any artist: when they are starting losing their hardcore fans. But she probably doesn’t care. I would have liked her more to perform confidently for her fans, on some improvised stage, new songs from HM, televised for the fans who will never have a chance to see her performing live, than kissing on lips some deranged fans who thinks that this is appropriate.

I don’t intend to write on LB for a while so I put all my thoughts about the HM era here and it came out a bit lengthy sry for that
 
I would entitled this review “LDR hits a wall with Honeymoon”, but in fact is more accurate to say that she hit several walls at once with this release. I said in my earlier posts that I don’t understand her rush to come out so soon with an album after UV. Commercially didn’t make any sense as it is confirmed by the dismal sales of HM. She wasn’t ready to promote and her shy and awkward promotion of HM is a clear indication of that. I feared that she will come out with an album that will be the bad middle point of being in the same time subpar commercially and critically. The critics didn’t panned the album but no one is enthusiastic about it as were some of them with UV. This album just doesn’t make sense from the standpoint of her career and taken together with the botched UV era is creating a lack of perspective on her career which has inevitable influences on everybody who’s following her.
 
The lyrical wall. When you put out slow music you put inevitably your lyrics to the front. She was widely criticized for her cliché-istic writing by using a lot of well-known poetic references, pop imagery and for the over use of location names and icons. When you’re aware of that you have to be extra careful to not abuse it again because otherwise you’re putting yourself in the trolling category. At this point in her career trolling is just infuriating and lame. BB, MPG, FMWTT was enough of trolling, she didn’t needed more emphasis on how misunderstood and how mistreated she is by the critics. That’s why I don’t like the cover of DLBM, as it is an unnecessary lament especially after the UV era when she was praised plenty. Another major critical point regarding the lyrical content of HM is about the narrow sided artistic vision of hers. Honeymoon opens a bit towards more nuances about relationships but not enough to create the feeling of her moving forward artistically. I felt that HM is a combination of BTD and UV lyrically but there are present the same overused tropes in her work: escapism to nowhere and from nothing specific, being desperately in love and lonely after the inevitable disappointment. In my opinion the critics gave HM a better evaluation that it deserves. This is maybe due to their ridiculous negative overreaction during the BTD era and they are compensating here. I would gave HM a 6/10 for the lyrics but in the same time I’m convinced that she cannot put out an album with the same lyrical pitfalls and be taken seriously.
 
The sonic wall. Many critics and listeners are saying that all LDR songs sound the same and they are boring. If we analyze the melodies or the genre variety on her albums we can objectively say that they are surprisingly varied. I don’t know many artists who have on the same album rock, blues, pop and jazz (UV) or jazz, pop, trap (HM) songs. I think that the problem resides rather with her delivery. Lana is capable of a wide variety of vocals ranging from operatic highs to low contra-alto warbles. The problem is her disaffected tone in her voice, like she is so bored to sing that song. You don’t know, for example, if watching the boys is boring or sexy (probably both which is awkward). There are no sustained emotional highs on HM despite some songs are clearly demanding it. It’s like she’s afraid or restrained to sing emotionally which is disappointing. This coldness in her delivery makes HM a difficult listen and is diminishing the beautiful sonic constructions she came up with. I give HM 7/10 for the sound. I think that she reached another wall here because this type of singing is not enjoyable for longer periods and she needs to change it for her next albums. I have to say that I changed my opinion on HM after several listens and I think that UV is better than HM. HM had better potential but falls flat mainly because of her cold delivery (sadness with no emotion is off-putting).
 
The video and imagery wall. We discussed here how after Tropico her videography became lackluster. Tropico was a huge mistake which highlighted both her unchecked artistic freedom and her limitations as a video artist. In my opinion, her best videos were BTD, BJ, NA and Ride, beautifully shot with cohesive stories and imagery. But Tropico was a mishmash of ideas, frankensteined together, too much even for trolling purposes. Her last good video was SOC, but the emphasis on that old dude just didn’t make any sense when you’re considering who her audience is. Her videos just don’t add lately anything to her artistic appeal, they are just dismissed as awkward or surreal by the critics (see MTWBT video) and they don’t have any significant commercial impact. She needs to let the reins of her videos in the hands of people who understand her vision but who can execute it rightly (like Woodkid did). I never really cared about or liked her album imagery tbh. BTD cover is iconic with that steely stare but UV’s sad boring look cover is forgettable and the HM cover is just bad while suggesting the disconnection between her and the listener. Moreover, her public image slowly became uncool, especially when we count her numerous subpar public appearances and photo shoots. These things are not directly related to the album but it affects the perception of it. Her image is tired and boring. She needs to brake this sad potato meets Priscilla Presley image which will be very difficult because she’s so entrenched in it and there is a chance that people will not be into the new image.
 
The likability/hype wall. “I wish I was dead”, “I fucked my way to the top”, “I’m not interested in feminism”, “I make everything for myself” these statements did an irreparable damage to her career. Her words were twisted by the journalists for sure but what counts is the end result which is tragic for Lana. I will put here the Gaga diss also which was another terrible blow for her, turning against her the majority of one of the most numerous and compact fandoms in pop. She was perceived as a threat by many fandoms whose faves have no chance when comparing them with Lana’s voice, beauty and music. Many Lana fans contributed to this with their obnoxious behavior on twitter and forums and now there are many stans rooting for her to fail. She became isolated from the GP which has no information about her and whose perception about her is rather negative and she became limited to her small fanbase who is following her activity on the internet. Let’s face it, the hype is dead and she has a very low likability factor today which explains the crumbling interest in her album. Likability is a subjective thing and is very easy to destroy it and is very hard or next to impossible to regain it. There is always other artists ready to pick up your audience (Lorde, Martinez, Halsey, Banks, Day, etc.).  If we are taking in account her lack of confidence and her inability to perform live there is practically no chance that she can turn this situation around. The next bad thing for her will be the lack of interest in her tour which is closely related to her sales (who would pay 50$ for her ticket and not buying an album for 15$?).
 
The promotion wall. Depression is a hard sell. First, you have to do it right and with high artistic credibility. Secondly, the way you’re presenting the album will have a great effect on how people are perceiving it. If you put the album out without any promotion there is a good chance that people will not take notice or that they will judge it on their own terms. I’m still not over about her assessment that UV and HM are basically words that have a cool sound to them. Really Lana, that’s all you’re saying and you’re trying to sell me your 1 hour of disaffected depression? One of the most annoying things regarding the album and the promo is the length of the songs. They are dragged indefinitely with purposely slow vocal deliveries and with endless repetition of some lyrics (GKIT). Well, I suspect that she did this on purpose so that no songs will fit the radio formats. But why would any artist in their right mind do that when hits are moving records and keep the interest alive? I would say something about BTD here. BTD sold continuously in relatively small numbers, except for the opening weeks in Europe. The momentum was kept by her high profile in the mainstream media and fashion in 2012 and by her only hits in the US, YB and SS. I hate that SS remix, but I have to admit that a large part of the sales after 2012 are due to these hit songs which were played relentlessly on the radio. She had 4 hit worthy songs on BTD: BTD, BJ, VG and SS which were enough for a buying decision. She went hitless on UV and HM and the consequences are dire: her albums are off the radar in 2-3 weeks after the release. Why wouldn’t she have a hit? My opinion is that she’s afraid to perform live in the mainstream media and hits would put a huge pressure on her to do so. I speculate that she had taken a decision to not do live TV anymore. No TV performances and no radio? Let’s be real this is an insurmountable wall regarding her promotion which will push her towards irrelevancy sooner than later. The drop in interest regarding her music from album to album is huge and I would be curious how many stans will be on this site after 3 years from now. Go to the MarinaBoards to have a taste of that.
Sometimes I bashed her management for not doing enough or doing stupid things regarding her career. Well, I don’t like that Mawson guy a bit, but I have to admit, looking back with more objectivity, that is a miracle that they made out of Lana a relatively big name in music on the strength of one good song and an awkward video. None of the songs on BTD were close to the artistry of VG, and she was terrible performing live (that’s why I will never understand how could Interscope take the decision to put her on SNL). If I had been an executive, after watching her live performances as Lizzy Grant I would never gave her a contract tbh. From her attitude while singing I would never felt that she wants it badly and she’ll do everything what it takes to shine her work.
 
She’s talented no doubt, a good songwriter and a very good studio singer and I will be ever grateful for her beautiful music (included HM) but lately, for the first time since I’m a fan of hers, I felt that there is a possibility in the future when I will not care about LDR anymore. And this is the biggest wall for any artist: when they are starting losing their hardcore fans. But she probably doesn’t care. I would have liked her more to perform confidently for her fans, on some improvised stage, new songs from HM, televised for the fans who will never have a chance to see her performing live, than kissing on lips some deranged fans who thinks that this is appropriate.

I don’t intend to write on LB for a while so I put all my thoughts about the HM era here and it came out a bit lengthy sry for that
 
I would entitled this review “LDR hits a wall with Honeymoon”, but in fact is more accurate to say that she hit several walls at once with this release. I said in my earlier posts that I don’t understand her rush to come out so soon with an album after UV. Commercially didn’t make any sense as it is confirmed by the dismal sales of HM. She wasn’t ready to promote and her shy and awkward promotion of HM is a clear indication of that. I feared that she will come out with an album that will be the bad middle point of being in the same time subpar commercially and critically. The critics didn’t panned the album but no one is enthusiastic about it as were some of them with UV. This album just doesn’t make sense from the standpoint of her career and taken together with the botched UV era is creating a lack of perspective on her career which has inevitable influences on everybody who’s following her.
 
The lyrical wall. When you put out slow music you put inevitably your lyrics to the front. She was widely criticized for her cliché-istic writing by using a lot of well-known poetic references, pop imagery and for the over use of location names and icons. When you’re aware of that you have to be extra careful to not abuse it again because otherwise you’re putting yourself in the trolling category. At this point in her career trolling is just infuriating and lame. BB, MPG, FMWTT was enough of trolling, she didn’t needed more emphasis on how misunderstood and how mistreated she is by the critics. That’s why I don’t like the cover of DLBM, as it is an unnecessary lament especially after the UV era when she was praised plenty. Another major critical point regarding the lyrical content of HM is about the narrow sided artistic vision of hers. Honeymoon opens a bit towards more nuances about relationships but not enough to create the feeling of her moving forward artistically. I felt that HM is a combination of BTD and UV lyrically but there are present the same overused tropes in her work: escapism to nowhere and from nothing specific, being desperately in love and lonely after the inevitable disappointment. In my opinion the critics gave HM a better evaluation that it deserves. This is maybe due to their ridiculous negative overreaction during the BTD era and they are compensating here. I would gave HM a 6/10 for the lyrics but in the same time I’m convinced that she cannot put out an album with the same lyrical pitfalls and be taken seriously.
 
The sonic wall. Many critics and listeners are saying that all LDR songs sound the same and they are boring. If we analyze the melodies or the genre variety on her albums we can objectively say that they are surprisingly varied. I don’t know many artists who have on the same album rock, blues, pop and jazz (UV) or jazz, pop, trap (HM) songs. I think that the problem resides rather with her delivery. Lana is capable of a wide variety of vocals ranging from operatic highs to low contra-alto warbles. The problem is her disaffected tone in her voice, like she is so bored to sing that song. You don’t know, for example, if watching the boys is boring or sexy (probably both which is awkward). There are no sustained emotional highs on HM despite some songs are clearly demanding it. It’s like she’s afraid or restrained to sing emotionally which is disappointing. This coldness in her delivery makes HM a difficult listen and is diminishing the beautiful sonic constructions she came up with. I give HM 7/10 for the sound. I think that she reached another wall here because this type of singing is not enjoyable for longer periods and she needs to change it for her next albums. I have to say that I changed my opinion on HM after several listens and I think that UV is better than HM. HM had better potential but falls flat mainly because of her cold delivery (sadness with no emotion is off-putting).
 
The video and imagery wall. We discussed here how after Tropico her videography became lackluster. Tropico was a huge mistake which highlighted both her unchecked artistic freedom and her limitations as a video artist. In my opinion, her best videos were BTD, BJ, NA and Ride, beautifully shot with cohesive stories and imagery. But Tropico was a mishmash of ideas, frankensteined together, too much even for trolling purposes. Her last good video was SOC, but the emphasis on that old dude just didn’t make any sense when you’re considering who her audience is. Her videos just don’t add lately anything to her artistic appeal, they are just dismissed as awkward or surreal by the critics (see MTWBT video) and they don’t have any significant commercial impact. She needs to let the reins of her videos in the hands of people who understand her vision but who can execute it rightly (like Woodkid did). I never really cared about or liked her album imagery tbh. BTD cover is iconic with that steely stare but UV’s sad boring look cover is forgettable and the HM cover is just bad while suggesting the disconnection between her and the listener. Moreover, her public image slowly became uncool, especially when we count her numerous subpar public appearances and photo shoots. These things are not directly related to the album but it affects the perception of it. Her image is tired and boring. She needs to brake this sad potato meets Priscilla Presley image which will be very difficult because she’s so entrenched in it and there is a chance that people will not be into the new image.
 
The likability/hype wall. “I wish I was dead”, “I fucked my way to the top”, “I’m not interested in feminism”, “I make everything for myself” these statements did an irreparable damage to her career. Her words were twisted by the journalists for sure but what counts is the end result which is tragic for Lana. I will put here the Gaga diss also which was another terrible blow for her, turning against her the majority of one of the most numerous and compact fandoms in pop. She was perceived as a threat by many fandoms whose faves have no chance when comparing them with Lana’s voice, beauty and music. Many Lana fans contributed to this with their obnoxious behavior on twitter and forums and now there are many stans rooting for her to fail. She became isolated from the GP which has no information about her and whose perception about her is rather negative and she became limited to her small fanbase who is following her activity on the internet. Let’s face it, the hype is dead and she has a very low likability factor today which explains the crumbling interest in her album. Likability is a subjective thing and is very easy to destroy it and is very hard or next to impossible to regain it. There is always other artists ready to pick up your audience (Lorde, Martinez, Halsey, Banks, Day, etc.).  If we are taking in account her lack of confidence and her inability to perform live there is practically no chance that she can turn this situation around. The next bad thing for her will be the lack of interest in her tour which is closely related to her sales (who would pay 50$ for her ticket and not buying an album for 15$?).
 
The promotion wall. Depression is a hard sell. First, you have to do it right and with high artistic credibility. Secondly, the way you’re presenting the album will have a great effect on how people are perceiving it. If you put the album out without any promotion there is a good chance that people will not take notice or that they will judge it on their own terms. I’m still not over about her assessment that UV and HM are basically words that have a cool sound to them. Really Lana, that’s all you’re saying and you’re trying to sell me your 1 hour of disaffected depression? One of the most annoying things regarding the album and the promo is the length of the songs. They are dragged indefinitely with purposely slow vocal deliveries and with endless repetition of some lyrics (GKIT). Well, I suspect that she did this on purpose so that no songs will fit the radio formats. But why would any artist in their right mind do that when hits are moving records and keep the interest alive? I would say something about BTD here. BTD sold continuously in relatively small numbers, except for the opening weeks in Europe. The momentum was kept by her high profile in the mainstream media and fashion in 2012 and by her only hits in the US, YB and SS. I hate that SS remix, but I have to admit that a large part of the sales after 2012 are due to these hit songs which were played relentlessly on the radio. She had 4 hit worthy songs on BTD: BTD, BJ, VG and SS which were enough for a buying decision. She went hitless on UV and HM and the consequences are dire: her albums are off the radar in 2-3 weeks after the release. Why wouldn’t she have a hit? My opinion is that she’s afraid to perform live in the mainstream media and hits would put a huge pressure on her to do so. I speculate that she had taken a decision to not do live TV anymore. No TV performances and no radio? Let’s be real this is an insurmountable wall regarding her promotion which will push her towards irrelevancy sooner than later. The drop in interest regarding her music from album to album is huge and I would be curious how many stans will be on this site after 3 years from now. Go to the MarinaBoards to have a taste of that.
Sometimes I bashed her management for not doing enough or doing stupid things regarding her career. Well, I don’t like that Mawson guy a bit, but I have to admit, looking back with more objectivity, that is a miracle that they made out of Lana a relatively big name in music on the strength of one good song and an awkward video. None of the songs on BTD were close to the artistry of VG, and she was terrible performing live (that’s why I will never understand how could Interscope take the decision to put her on SNL). If I had been an executive, after watching her live performances as Lizzy Grant I would never gave her a contract tbh. From her attitude while singing I would never felt that she wants it badly and she’ll do everything what it takes to shine her work.
 
She’s talented no doubt, a good songwriter and a very good studio singer and I will be ever grateful for her beautiful music (included HM) but lately, for the first time since I’m a fan of hers, I felt that there is a possibility in the future when I will not care about LDR anymore. And this is the biggest wall for any artist: when they are starting losing their hardcore fans. But she probably doesn’t care. I would have liked her more to perform confidently for her fans, on some improvised stage, new songs from HM, televised for the fans who will never have a chance to see her performing live, than kissing on lips some deranged fans who thinks that this is appropriate.

I don’t intend to write on LB for a while so I put all my thoughts about the HM era here and it came out a bit lengthy sry for that
 
I would entitled this review “LDR hits a wall with Honeymoon”, but in fact is more accurate to say that she hit several walls at once with this release. I said in my earlier posts that I don’t understand her rush to come out so soon with an album after UV. Commercially didn’t make any sense as it is confirmed by the dismal sales of HM. She wasn’t ready to promote and her shy and awkward promotion of HM is a clear indication of that. I feared that she will come out with an album that will be the bad middle point of being in the same time subpar commercially and critically. The critics didn’t panned the album but no one is enthusiastic about it as were some of them with UV. This album just doesn’t make sense from the standpoint of her career and taken together with the botched UV era is creating a lack of perspective on her career which has inevitable influences on everybody who’s following her.
 
The lyrical wall. When you put out slow music you put inevitably your lyrics to the front. She was widely criticized for her cliché-istic writing by using a lot of well-known poetic references, pop imagery and for the over use of location names and icons. When you’re aware of that you have to be extra careful to not abuse it again because otherwise you’re putting yourself in the trolling category. At this point in her career trolling is just infuriating and lame. BB, MPG, FMWTT was enough of trolling, she didn’t needed more emphasis on how misunderstood and how mistreated she is by the critics. That’s why I don’t like the cover of DLBM, as it is an unnecessary lament especially after the UV era when she was praised plenty. Another major critical point regarding the lyrical content of HM is about the narrow sided artistic vision of hers. Honeymoon opens a bit towards more nuances about relationships but not enough to create the feeling of her moving forward artistically. I felt that HM is a combination of BTD and UV lyrically but there are present the same overused tropes in her work: escapism to nowhere and from nothing specific, being desperately in love and lonely after the inevitable disappointment. In my opinion the critics gave HM a better evaluation that it deserves. This is maybe due to their ridiculous negative overreaction during the BTD era and they are compensating here. I would gave HM a 6/10 for the lyrics but in the same time I’m convinced that she cannot put out an album with the same lyrical pitfalls and be taken seriously.
 
The sonic wall. Many critics and listeners are saying that all LDR songs sound the same and they are boring. If we analyze the melodies or the genre variety on her albums we can objectively say that they are surprisingly varied. I don’t know many artists who have on the same album rock, blues, pop and jazz (UV) or jazz, pop, trap (HM) songs. I think that the problem resides rather with her delivery. Lana is capable of a wide variety of vocals ranging from operatic highs to low contra-alto warbles. The problem is her disaffected tone in her voice, like she is so bored to sing that song. You don’t know, for example, if watching the boys is boring or sexy (probably both which is awkward). There are no sustained emotional highs on HM despite some songs are clearly demanding it. It’s like she’s afraid or restrained to sing emotionally which is disappointing. This coldness in her delivery makes HM a difficult listen and is diminishing the beautiful sonic constructions she came up with. I give HM 7/10 for the sound. I think that she reached another wall here because this type of singing is not enjoyable for longer periods and she needs to change it for her next albums. I have to say that I changed my opinion on HM after several listens and I think that UV is better than HM. HM had better potential but falls flat mainly because of her cold delivery (sadness with no emotion is off-putting).
 
The video and imagery wall. We discussed here how after Tropico her videography became lackluster. Tropico was a huge mistake which highlighted both her unchecked artistic freedom and her limitations as a video artist. In my opinion, her best videos were BTD, BJ, NA and Ride, beautifully shot with cohesive stories and imagery. But Tropico was a mishmash of ideas, frankensteined together, too much even for trolling purposes. Her last good video was SOC, but the emphasis on that old dude just didn’t make any sense when you’re considering who her audience is. Her videos just don’t add lately anything to her artistic appeal, they are just dismissed as awkward or surreal by the critics (see MTWBT video) and they don’t have any significant commercial impact. She needs to let the reins of her videos in the hands of people who understand her vision but who can execute it rightly (like Woodkid did). I never really cared about or liked her album imagery tbh. BTD cover is iconic with that steely stare but UV’s sad boring look cover is forgettable and the HM cover is just bad while suggesting the disconnection between her and the listener. Moreover, her public image slowly became uncool, especially when we count her numerous subpar public appearances and photo shoots. These things are not directly related to the album but it affects the perception of it. Her image is tired and boring. She needs to brake this sad potato meets Priscilla Presley image which will be very difficult because she’s so entrenched in it and there is a chance that people will not be into the new image.
 
The likability/hype wall. “I wish I was dead”, “I fucked my way to the top”, “I’m not interested in feminism”, “I make everything for myself” these statements did an irreparable damage to her career. Her words were twisted by the journalists for sure but what counts is the end result which is tragic for Lana. I will put here the Gaga diss also which was another terrible blow for her, turning against her the majority of one of the most numerous and compact fandoms in pop. She was perceived as a threat by many fandoms whose faves have no chance when comparing them with Lana’s voice, beauty and music. Many Lana fans contributed to this with their obnoxious behavior on twitter and forums and now there are many stans rooting for her to fail. She became isolated from the GP which has no information about her and whose perception about her is rather negative and she became limited to her small fanbase who is following her activity on the internet. Let’s face it, the hype is dead and she has a very low likability factor today which explains the crumbling interest in her album. Likability is a subjective thing and is very easy to destroy it and is very hard or next to impossible to regain it. There is always other artists ready to pick up your audience (Lorde, Martinez, Halsey, Banks, Day, etc.).  If we are taking in account her lack of confidence and her inability to perform live there is practically no chance that she can turn this situation around. The next bad thing for her will be the lack of interest in her tour which is closely related to her sales (who would pay 50$ for her ticket and not buying an album for 15$?).
 
The promotion wall. Depression is a hard sell. First, you have to do it right and with high artistic credibility. Secondly, the way you’re presenting the album will have a great effect on how people are perceiving it. If you put the album out without any promotion there is a good chance that people will not take notice or that they will judge it on their own terms. I’m still not over about her assessment that UV and HM are basically words that have a cool sound to them. Really Lana, that’s all you’re saying and you’re trying to sell me your 1 hour of disaffected depression? One of the most annoying things regarding the album and the promo is the length of the songs. They are dragged indefinitely with purposely slow vocal deliveries and with endless repetition of some lyrics (GKIT). Well, I suspect that she did this on purpose so that no songs will fit the radio formats. But why would any artist in their right mind do that when hits are moving records and keep the interest alive? I would say something about BTD here. BTD sold continuously in relatively small numbers, except for the opening weeks in Europe. The momentum was kept by her high profile in the mainstream media and fashion in 2012 and by her only hits in the US, YB and SS. I hate that SS remix, but I have to admit that a large part of the sales after 2012 are due to these hit songs which were played relentlessly on the radio. She had 4 hit worthy songs on BTD: BTD, BJ, VG and SS which were enough for a buying decision. She went hitless on UV and HM and the consequences are dire: her albums are off the radar in 2-3 weeks after the release. Why wouldn’t she have a hit? My opinion is that she’s afraid to perform live in the mainstream media and hits would put a huge pressure on her to do so. I speculate that she had taken a decision to not do live TV anymore. No TV performances and no radio? Let’s be real this is an insurmountable wall regarding her promotion which will push her towards irrelevancy sooner than later. The drop in interest regarding her music from album to album is huge and I would be curious how many stans will be on this site after 3 years from now. Go to the MarinaBoards to have a taste of that.
Sometimes I bashed her management for not doing enough or doing stupid things regarding her career. Well, I don’t like that Mawson guy a bit, but I have to admit, looking back with more objectivity, that is a miracle that they made out of Lana a relatively big name in music on the strength of one good song and an awkward video. None of the songs on BTD were close to the artistry of VG, and she was terrible performing live (that’s why I will never understand how could Interscope take the decision to put her on SNL). If I had been an executive, after watching her live performances as Lizzy Grant I would never gave her a contract tbh. From her attitude while singing I would never felt that she wants it badly and she’ll do everything what it takes to shine her work.
 
She’s talented no doubt, a good songwriter and a very good studio singer and I will be ever grateful for her beautiful music (included HM) but lately, for the first time since I’m a fan of hers, I felt that there is a possibility in the future when I will not care about LDR anymore. And this is the biggest wall for any artist: when they are starting losing their hardcore fans. But she probably doesn’t care. I would have liked her more to perform confidently for her fans, on some improvised stage, new songs from HM, televised for the fans who will never have a chance to see her performing live, than kissing on lips some deranged fans who thinks that this is appropriate.

I don’t intend to write on LB for a while so I put all my thoughts about the HM era here and it came out a bit lengthy sry for that
 
I would entitled this review “LDR hits a wall with Honeymoon”, but in fact is more accurate to say that she hit several walls at once with this release. I said in my earlier posts that I don’t understand her rush to come out so soon with an album after UV. Commercially didn’t make any sense as it is confirmed by the dismal sales of HM. She wasn’t ready to promote and her shy and awkward promotion of HM is a clear indication of that. I feared that she will come out with an album that will be the bad middle point of being in the same time subpar commercially and critically. The critics didn’t panned the album but no one is enthusiastic about it as were some of them with UV. This album just doesn’t make sense from the standpoint of her career and taken together with the botched UV era is creating a lack of perspective on her career which has inevitable influences on everybody who’s following her.
 
The lyrical wall. When you put out slow music you put inevitably your lyrics to the front. She was widely criticized for her cliché-istic writing by using a lot of well-known poetic references, pop imagery and for the over use of location names and icons. When you’re aware of that you have to be extra careful to not abuse it again because otherwise you’re putting yourself in the trolling category. At this point in her career trolling is just infuriating and lame. BB, MPG, FMWTT was enough of trolling, she didn’t needed more emphasis on how misunderstood and how mistreated she is by the critics. That’s why I don’t like the cover of DLBM, as it is an unnecessary lament especially after the UV era when she was praised plenty. Another major critical point regarding the lyrical content of HM is about the narrow sided artistic vision of hers. Honeymoon opens a bit towards more nuances about relationships but not enough to create the feeling of her moving forward artistically. I felt that HM is a combination of BTD and UV lyrically but there are present the same overused tropes in her work: escapism to nowhere and from nothing specific, being desperately in love and lonely after the inevitable disappointment. In my opinion the critics gave HM a better evaluation that it deserves. This is maybe due to their ridiculous negative overreaction during the BTD era and they are compensating here. I would gave HM a 6/10 for the lyrics but in the same time I’m convinced that she cannot put out an album with the same lyrical pitfalls and be taken seriously.
 
The sonic wall. Many critics and listeners are saying that all LDR songs sound the same and they are boring. If we analyze the melodies or the genre variety on her albums we can objectively say that they are surprisingly varied. I don’t know many artists who have on the same album rock, blues, pop and jazz (UV) or jazz, pop, trap (HM) songs. I think that the problem resides rather with her delivery. Lana is capable of a wide variety of vocals ranging from operatic highs to low contra-alto warbles. The problem is her disaffected tone in her voice, like she is so bored to sing that song. You don’t know, for example, if watching the boys is boring or sexy (probably both which is awkward). There are no sustained emotional highs on HM despite some songs are clearly demanding it. It’s like she’s afraid or restrained to sing emotionally which is disappointing. This coldness in her delivery makes HM a difficult listen and is diminishing the beautiful sonic constructions she came up with. I give HM 7/10 for the sound. I think that she reached another wall here because this type of singing is not enjoyable for longer periods and she needs to change it for her next albums. I have to say that I changed my opinion on HM after several listens and I think that UV is better than HM. HM had better potential but falls flat mainly because of her cold delivery (sadness with no emotion is off-putting).
 
The video and imagery wall. We discussed here how after Tropico her videography became lackluster. Tropico was a huge mistake which highlighted both her unchecked artistic freedom and her limitations as a video artist. In my opinion, her best videos were BTD, BJ, NA and Ride, beautifully shot with cohesive stories and imagery. But Tropico was a mishmash of ideas, frankensteined together, too much even for trolling purposes. Her last good video was SOC, but the emphasis on that old dude just didn’t make any sense when you’re considering who her audience is. Her videos just don’t add lately anything to her artistic appeal, they are just dismissed as awkward or surreal by the critics (see MTWBT video) and they don’t have any significant commercial impact. She needs to let the reins of her videos in the hands of people who understand her vision but who can execute it rightly (like Woodkid did). I never really cared about or liked her album imagery tbh. BTD cover is iconic with that steely stare but UV’s sad boring look cover is forgettable and the HM cover is just bad while suggesting the disconnection between her and the listener. Moreover, her public image slowly became uncool, especially when we count her numerous subpar public appearances and photo shoots. These things are not directly related to the album but it affects the perception of it. Her image is tired and boring. She needs to brake this sad potato meets Priscilla Presley image which will be very difficult because she’s so entrenched in it and there is a chance that people will not be into the new image.
 
The likability/hype wall. “I wish I was dead”, “I fucked my way to the top”, “I’m not interested in feminism”, “I make everything for myself” these statements did an irreparable damage to her career. Her words were twisted by the journalists for sure but what counts is the end result which is tragic for Lana. I will put here the Gaga diss also which was another terrible blow for her, turning against her the majority of one of the most numerous and compact fandoms in pop. She was perceived as a threat by many fandoms whose faves have no chance when comparing them with Lana’s voice, beauty and music. Many Lana fans contributed to this with their obnoxious behavior on twitter and forums and now there are many stans rooting for her to fail. She became isolated from the GP which has no information about her and whose perception about her is rather negative and she became limited to her small fanbase who is following her activity on the internet. Let’s face it, the hype is dead and she has a very low likability factor today which explains the crumbling interest in her album. Likability is a subjective thing and is very easy to destroy it and is very hard or next to impossible to regain it. There is always other artists ready to pick up your audience (Lorde, Martinez, Halsey, Banks, Day, etc.).  If we are taking in account her lack of confidence and her inability to perform live there is practically no chance that she can turn this situation around. The next bad thing for her will be the lack of interest in her tour which is closely related to her sales (who would pay 50$ for her ticket and not buying an album for 15$?).
 
The promotion wall. Depression is a hard sell. First, you have to do it right and with high artistic credibility. Secondly, the way you’re presenting the album will have a great effect on how people are perceiving it. If you put the album out without any promotion there is a good chance that people will not take notice or that they will judge it on their own terms. I’m still not over about her assessment that UV and HM are basically words that have a cool sound to them. Really Lana, that’s all you’re saying and you’re trying to sell me your 1 hour of disaffected depression? One of the most annoying things regarding the album and the promo is the length of the songs. They are dragged indefinitely with purposely slow vocal deliveries and with endless repetition of some lyrics (GKIT). Well, I suspect that she did this on purpose so that no songs will fit the radio formats. But why would any artist in their right mind do that when hits are moving records and keep the interest alive? I would say something about BTD here. BTD sold continuously in relatively small numbers, except for the opening weeks in Europe. The momentum was kept by her high profile in the mainstream media and fashion in 2012 and by her only hits in the US, YB and SS. I hate that SS remix, but I have to admit that a large part of the sales after 2012 are due to these hit songs which were played relentlessly on the radio. She had 4 hit worthy songs on BTD: BTD, BJ, VG and SS which were enough for a buying decision. She went hitless on UV and HM and the consequences are dire: her albums are off the radar in 2-3 weeks after the release. Why wouldn’t she have a hit? My opinion is that she’s afraid to perform live in the mainstream media and hits would put a huge pressure on her to do so. I speculate that she had taken a decision to not do live TV anymore. No TV performances and no radio? Let’s be real this is an insurmountable wall regarding her promotion which will push her towards irrelevancy sooner than later. The drop in interest regarding her music from album to album is huge and I would be curious how many stans will be on this site after 3 years from now. Go to the MarinaBoards to have a taste of that.
Sometimes I bashed her management for not doing enough or doing stupid things regarding her career. Well, I don’t like that Mawson guy a bit, but I have to admit, looking back with more objectivity, that is a miracle that they made out of Lana a relatively big name in music on the strength of one good song and an awkward video. None of the songs on BTD were close to the artistry of VG, and she was terrible performing live (that’s why I will never understand how could Interscope take the decision to put her on SNL). If I had been an executive, after watching her live performances as Lizzy Grant I would never gave her a contract tbh. From her attitude while singing I would never felt that she wants it badly and she’ll do everything what it takes to shine her work.
 
She’s talented no doubt, a good songwriter and a very good studio singer and I will be ever grateful for her beautiful music (included HM) but lately, for the first time since I’m a fan of hers, I felt that there is a possibility in the future when I will not care about LDR anymore. And this is the biggest wall for any artist: when they are starting losing their hardcore fans. But she probably doesn’t care. I would have liked her more to perform confidently for her fans, on some improvised stage, new songs from HM, televised for the fans who will never have a chance to see her performing live, than kissing on lips some deranged fans who thinks that this is appropriate.

I don’t intend to write on LB for a while so I put all my thoughts about the HM era here and it came out a bit lengthy sry for that
 
I would entitled this review “LDR hits a wall with Honeymoon”, but in fact is more accurate to say that she hit several walls at once with this release. I said in my earlier posts that I don’t understand her rush to come out so soon with an album after UV. Commercially didn’t make any sense as it is confirmed by the dismal sales of HM. She wasn’t ready to promote and her shy and awkward promotion of HM is a clear indication of that. I feared that she will come out with an album that will be the bad middle point of being in the same time subpar commercially and critically. The critics didn’t panned the album but no one is enthusiastic about it as were some of them with UV. This album just doesn’t make sense from the standpoint of her career and taken together with the botched UV era is creating a lack of perspective on her career which has inevitable influences on everybody who’s following her.
 
The lyrical wall. When you put out slow music you put inevitably your lyrics to the front. She was widely criticized for her cliché-istic writing by using a lot of well-known poetic references, pop imagery and for the over use of location names and icons. When you’re aware of that you have to be extra careful to not abuse it again because otherwise you’re putting yourself in the trolling category. At this point in her career trolling is just infuriating and lame. BB, MPG, FMWTT was enough of trolling, she didn’t needed more emphasis on how misunderstood and how mistreated she is by the critics. That’s why I don’t like the cover of DLBM, as it is an unnecessary lament especially after the UV era when she was praised plenty. Another major critical point regarding the lyrical content of HM is about the narrow sided artistic vision of hers. Honeymoon opens a bit towards more nuances about relationships but not enough to create the feeling of her moving forward artistically. I felt that HM is a combination of BTD and UV lyrically but there are present the same overused tropes in her work: escapism to nowhere and from nothing specific, being desperately in love and lonely after the inevitable disappointment. In my opinion the critics gave HM a better evaluation that it deserves. This is maybe due to their ridiculous negative overreaction during the BTD era and they are compensating here. I would gave HM a 6/10 for the lyrics but in the same time I’m convinced that she cannot put out an album with the same lyrical pitfalls and be taken seriously.
 
The sonic wall. Many critics and listeners are saying that all LDR songs sound the same and they are boring. If we analyze the melodies or the genre variety on her albums we can objectively say that they are surprisingly varied. I don’t know many artists who have on the same album rock, blues, pop and jazz (UV) or jazz, pop, trap (HM) songs. I think that the problem resides rather with her delivery. Lana is capable of a wide variety of vocals ranging from operatic highs to low contra-alto warbles. The problem is her disaffected tone in her voice, like she is so bored to sing that song. You don’t know, for example, if watching the boys is boring or sexy (probably both which is awkward). There are no sustained emotional highs on HM despite some songs are clearly demanding it. It’s like she’s afraid or restrained to sing emotionally which is disappointing. This coldness in her delivery makes HM a difficult listen and is diminishing the beautiful sonic constructions she came up with. I give HM 7/10 for the sound. I think that she reached another wall here because this type of singing is not enjoyable for longer periods and she needs to change it for her next albums. I have to say that I changed my opinion on HM after several listens and I think that UV is better than HM. HM had better potential but falls flat mainly because of her cold delivery (sadness with no emotion is off-putting).
 
The video and imagery wall. We discussed here how after Tropico her videography became lackluster. Tropico was a huge mistake which highlighted both her unchecked artistic freedom and her limitations as a video artist. In my opinion, her best videos were BTD, BJ, NA and Ride, beautifully shot with cohesive stories and imagery. But Tropico was a mishmash of ideas, frankensteined together, too much even for trolling purposes. Her last good video was SOC, but the emphasis on that old dude just didn’t make any sense when you’re considering who her audience is. Her videos just don’t add lately anything to her artistic appeal, they are just dismissed as awkward or surreal by the critics (see MTWBT video) and they don’t have any significant commercial impact. She needs to let the reins of her videos in the hands of people who understand her vision but who can execute it rightly (like Woodkid did). I never really cared about or liked her album imagery tbh. BTD cover is iconic with that steely stare but UV’s sad boring look cover is forgettable and the HM cover is just bad while suggesting the disconnection between her and the listener. Moreover, her public image slowly became uncool, especially when we count her numerous subpar public appearances and photo shoots. These things are not directly related to the album but it affects the perception of it. Her image is tired and boring. She needs to brake this sad potato meets Priscilla Presley image which will be very difficult because she’s so entrenched in it and there is a chance that people will not be into the new image.
 
The likability/hype wall. “I wish I was dead”, “I fucked my way to the top”, “I’m not interested in feminism”, “I make everything for myself” these statements did an irreparable damage to her career. Her words were twisted by the journalists for sure but what counts is the end result which is tragic for Lana. I will put here the Gaga diss also which was another terrible blow for her, turning against her the majority of one of the most numerous and compact fandoms in pop. She was perceived as a threat by many fandoms whose faves have no chance when comparing them with Lana’s voice, beauty and music. Many Lana fans contributed to this with their obnoxious behavior on twitter and forums and now there are many stans rooting for her to fail. She became isolated from the GP which has no information about her and whose perception about her is rather negative and she became limited to her small fanbase who is following her activity on the internet. Let’s face it, the hype is dead and she has a very low likability factor today which explains the crumbling interest in her album. Likability is a subjective thing and is very easy to destroy it and is very hard or next to impossible to regain it. There is always other artists ready to pick up your audience (Lorde, Martinez, Halsey, Banks, Day, etc.).  If we are taking in account her lack of confidence and her inability to perform live there is practically no chance that she can turn this situation around. The next bad thing for her will be the lack of interest in her tour which is closely related to her sales (who would pay 50$ for her ticket and not buying an album for 15$?).
 
The promotion wall. Depression is a hard sell. First, you have to do it right and with high artistic credibility. Secondly, the way you’re presenting the album will have a great effect on how people are perceiving it. If you put the album out without any promotion there is a good chance that people will not take notice or that they will judge it on their own terms. I’m still not over about her assessment that UV and HM are basically words that have a cool sound to them. Really Lana, that’s all you’re saying and you’re trying to sell me your 1 hour of disaffected depression? One of the most annoying things regarding the album and the promo is the length of the songs. They are dragged indefinitely with purposely slow vocal deliveries and with endless repetition of some lyrics (GKIT). Well, I suspect that she did this on purpose so that no songs will fit the radio formats. But why would any artist in their right mind do that when hits are moving records and keep the interest alive? I would say something about BTD here. BTD sold continuously in relatively small numbers, except for the opening weeks in Europe. The momentum was kept by her high profile in the mainstream media and fashion in 2012 and by her only hits in the US, YB and SS. I hate that SS remix, but I have to admit that a large part of the sales after 2012 are due to these hit songs which were played relentlessly on the radio. She had 4 hit worthy songs on BTD: BTD, BJ, VG and SS which were enough for a buying decision. She went hitless on UV and HM and the consequences are dire: her albums are off the radar in 2-3 weeks after the release. Why wouldn’t she have a hit? My opinion is that she’s afraid to perform live in the mainstream media and hits would put a huge pressure on her to do so. I speculate that she had taken a decision to not do live TV anymore. No TV performances and no radio? Let’s be real this is an insurmountable wall regarding her promotion which will push her towards irrelevancy sooner than later. The drop in interest regarding her music from album to album is huge and I would be curious how many stans will be on this site after 3 years from now. Go to the MarinaBoards to have a taste of that.
Sometimes I bashed her management for not doing enough or doing stupid things regarding her career. Well, I don’t like that Mawson guy a bit, but I have to admit, looking back with more objectivity, that is a miracle that they made out of Lana a relatively big name in music on the strength of one good song and an awkward video. None of the songs on BTD were close to the artistry of VG, and she was terrible performing live (that’s why I will never understand how could Interscope take the decision to put her on SNL). If I had been an executive, after watching her live performances as Lizzy Grant I would never gave her a contract tbh. From her attitude while singing I would never felt that she wants it badly and she’ll do everything what it takes to shine her work.
 
She’s talented no doubt, a good songwriter and a very good studio singer and I will be ever grateful for her beautiful music (included HM) but lately, for the first time since I’m a fan of hers, I felt that there is a possibility in the future when I will not care about LDR anymore. And this is the biggest wall for any artist: when they are starting losing their hardcore fans. But she probably doesn’t care. I would have liked her more to perform confidently for her fans, on some improvised stage, new songs from HM, televised for the fans who will never have a chance to see her performing live, than kissing on lips some deranged fans who thinks that this is appropriate.

The video is forgettable. No story, is basically a collages o images and ideas without anything cohesive. I don't get what the girls are doing in the video but she needed to put her mildly talented sister in it somehow. Why didn't she let the BW parts in color? She would expressed magnificently her inner campy, white trash trailer park persona that she so carefully curated so far. I miss her boldness from the National Anthem and Ride videos. The siting with closed eyes in a coma, staring languidly to nowhere and singing like a heavily stoned person ala 60-70's shtick is getting so boring Lana. But she's working so hard guys...to fuck up her career

The video is forgettable. No story, is basically a collages o images and ideas without anything cohesive. I don't get what the girls are doing in the video but she needed to put her mildly talented sister in it somehow. Why didn't she let the BW parts in color? She would expressed magnificently her inner campy, white trash trailer park persona that she so carefully curated so far. I miss her boldness from the National Anthem and Ride videos. The siting with closed eyes in a coma, staring languidly to nowhere and singing like a heavily stoned person ala 60-70's shtick is getting so boring Lana. But she's working so hard guys...to fuck up her career

The video is forgettable. No story, is basically a collages o images and ideas without anything cohesive. I don't get what the girls are doing in the video but she needed to put her mildly talented sister in it somehow. Why didn't she let the BW parts in color? She would expressed magnificently her inner campy, white trash trailer park persona that she so carefully curated so far. I miss her boldness from the National Anthem and Ride videos. The siting with closed eyes in a coma, staring languidly to nowhere and singing like a heavily stoned person ala 60-70's shtick is getting so boring Lana. But she's working so hard guys...to fuck up her career