Monicker

Y'all need to listen to Scott Walker.

I do not know how to relate to people.

Well look at that, we were just talking about this, and i'll be damned, i like this photo a whole lot.

Whatever justifications you gotta tell yourself to deal with the cognitive dissonance, PrettyBaby. :creepy:

What is it exactly that i said that made you realize this again? And when was the first time i helped you realize this? Or is that wise-ass hyperbole? Yes, the song (and entire album) could sound infinitely better from an arrangement, engineering, and production standpoint. But i don't take that to mean that it's necessarily a bad song and album though. That's just what's going on subjectively for me in this specific equation. Maybe it's because BTD is an anomaly in my record collection and i've allowed myself to embrace this and appreciate it as something out of the ordinary for me. I understand that, say, fake strings could completely ruin a song for someone. I totally get that, trust me. But, for me, as a whole, VG rises above its flaws--i see it as a great song that could've sounded even greater. And that's actually how i see the entirety of the BTD album. Its shortcomings don't ever quite pull it down all the way past the point of no return. It's this tawdry, crude yet overly polished, bloated kind of a record. I'm never quite sure just what to make of it, but i know i like it. It's real, but it's some singular, constructed hyperreality that, while being far removed from its surroundings, is still completely immersed in a larger whole. And that's in large part what Lana Del Rey is, and what i like about her. If i try to imagine the album turning out more to my tastes, it would end up sounding like a very different album. But then what fun is that? I lose what it actually is, what makes it special and unusual to me. And that spot that it would've occupied in my music collection would then seem very empty.

Evidence that music is completely subjective, that there is no good or bad, right or wrong. It's all an illusion. For me, Video Games is almost entirely atmosphere. And it's a quintessential L.A. sound. The very first time i heard it, within the first two bars, that was the first thought that came to mind. We all have different reality tunnels, yay.

SitarDrunk, i'd like to see you on Robitussin. Down a whole bottle one night and then take to LanaBoards and just post all night. Please? Come on, i'll buy you a beer afterwards. GET DRUNK, MAN.

I knew i was going to get called out on that line. I had reservations about saying that. But that’s why i worded it as “a good amount...” That’s pretty open-ended, no? What is "a good amount”? Modeling is so, so vast (and consider all the different eras). It’s kind of like asking, “Isn’t a good amount of music disposable pop?" Well, yes it is, but it obviously also isn’t at all. It depends entirely on where you’re looking. These are both subjective assessments anyway, and with the case of “stiff and rather lifeless,” it’s not necessarily inherently negative, right? It’s an approach/specific style. What i was trying to get at was that a lot of modeling is generally associated with that quality. I guess, also, our ideas of what “stiff and lifeless” entail could be different because i feel that i can find you plenty of successful supermodels who shoot stiff and lifeless. There’s no way to objectively define that quality though--it would simply be my interpretation. I don’t think you necessarily think this, but what you wrote sort of gives the impression that being a professional = being good at what you do. But, particularly in the field of entertainment, aren’t professionals not always good at what they do? I still think you’re giving Lana too much credit and overemphasizing the fact that she was a "professional" model. Are you using those old Ford shoots of hers as a measure of her professional experience? When you look at those shots, does that really seem like pro modeling to you? Also, do we know how long she did that for? Seems like it was very short-lived. And was it her career? I also think you’re not giving the photographers enough credit. It’s incredible how much the way in which a photographer shoots someone can change their appearance and deameanor. I'm not talking about modeling, but photography in general. Like with movies, no matter how good an actor is, her/his performance within the context of the film is greatly affected by the director. If Lana is doing something, say, unflattering (which is subjective--as we’ve seen even in this very thread, different things look “good” to different people) it is, after all, the photographer who is behind the lens seeing the shoot as it unfolds, thus at the best vantage point to gauge the model’s look and the results of the overall shoot. I've shot people before where despite them trying to steer the shoot in a certain direction or emphasize certain things in themselves, i may have gone completely in my own direction because i had a different idea in mind and ultimately the decision was up to me. I just generally see exceptionally bad photography with Lana and that has to color the way she comes across in photos. As you said originally, the editorial part has a lot to do with it too, i imagine. But, in the end, isn’t Elizabeth Grant an awkward person? All i was trying to point out in my first post was that i don’t think it matters that she doesn’t model well because she’s a recording artist. I think the problem lies with the photographers and the quality of work, that is why i think so many of her photos look bad. Imagine if (at least some) photographers just shot her “normally,” like portraiture or photo journalism. Obviously that’s never going to happen. I appreciate the BB/surf music analogy. Believe it or not, i apply that very analogy when approaching many things.

You know, Nabokov was really into butterflies--studied them, collected them, catalogued them, wrote about them, etc.

Unpopular Lana Opinions, Pt. 2: The New Thread

Oh my god, Hellion, i just now noticed the tag on this thread. I luv U.

Sounds like it to me. Definitely one of the least offensive uses of it, if so. Gosh, i was just listening to the song, and i have to say again--the transition into the ending (as well as the whole ending itself) really knocks me out. SO good.

I don’t think she needs to be more like a real model (isn’t a good amount of modeling stiff and rather lifeless anyway?) She’s a singer-songwriter. I think she just needs better photographers to shoot her. I think the problem is that she is often shot by REALLY generic, uninspired fashion photographers who really bring nothing to the photos except this sort of plastic commercialism and a heavy hand of the worst kind of photo editing--something that is actually symptomatic of a wide media/cultural problem that is only getting worse. That sort of shit is poison.

I definitely see Hellion as the Blanche of the forum, that makes total sense. & ya, dem modz, da powa iz g01n 2 der hedz lyke alwayz

IT IS HERE Oh my god, i had totally forgotten about EMPTY NEST, ha! Man, that main character sucked, what an asshole. Wasn't he the spokesperson for some car in a bunch of commercials? Like, Isuzu or something? I will, however, never forget The Golden Palace because of its surreal mindfuckery. I really like the new sig, Hellion, i lawled 4 a good while. Check out all those sweaters! Sophia always had the best cardigans. Man, this show really makes me miss my ex-girlfriend. We would lie in bed together late at night watching it and sometimes she'd rest her head on my chest and when i laughed hard her head would just involuntarily bounce up and down like a bobble head. It was great Also, i guess i can now add Mon Mon to the list of my nicknames, along with Mo and Moni.

Ha, no sarcasm at all there. I meant every word. Also, there is a night and day difference between touring now as the celebrity Lana Del Rey and what it might have been like for her back then, roaming around the country anonymously and freely (did she really do that, or has this been heavily exaggerated by her and romanticized by us?) So that might explain the point you brought up.

Wait, i gotta get ~meta~ over here...

I'm just gonna come out and say it. I think it's neat that she plays the US so little. How f'n cool is that? She's awesome like that. Why should she have to or be expected to tour her home country? Tours are boring. Her shows are uncommon, notable, momentous. I also like that she's just generally not into playing live and how little she does it, even outside of the US. And i absolututely love that she doesn't do encores. Oh, and that she hasn't really had drums in the lineup. FUCK YAH, LIZZI.

Hellion mocks Monicker or luvs Monicker? We may never truly know. I miss gorgeous Vanity staring at me seductively after every one of your posts. Though i could probably be happy with a Monica gif too. Just sayin', dawg. Also, where the hell is the Golden Girls thread? Cum on already, bois.

You know, albums were once, on average, 25 minutes in length.

Perfect.

What's going on in this thread? What are these other demos? Where did they come from? How did they get lost? Are we being tricked? Does anything make sense anymore? Did anything ever make sense? How can we know for sure that this forum really exists? Does anyone have a good butternut squash recipe?

What is going on?

I don’t hate Brite Lites, but i don’t particularly like it. I appreciate that it’s going for another sound/style and adding more variety to the overall sound of the record, and i do like some of the sounds it uses and the musical turns that it takes. But overall i don't think it amounts to that interesting of a song. I think the beat sounds cheap (in a bad way), i wish it was dirtier. I wish that the sample of the sliding on guitar strings wasn't a(n) (obvious) sample and that instead someone had actually done that live and done variations of it. I don't like some of the more "dance music" timbres. Melodically it leaves a lot to be desired. Give me the brite lites? Eh, i don't know, Lizzy. I also don’t hate, or even dislike, the album version of Jump, i simply prefer the demo. Why? Because of the lazy, plodding, slightly drugged-out energy it has. Its somewhat haunting quality affects me more for whatever reason. I appreciate the recording quality of the vocal, how it sounds like she’s singing into an empty freezer (which i’ve done before!) The ending “just do what you love...” sounds more urgent and earnest on the demo and i like that. The demo also just generally reminds me a little of Ween, a music group who i have been a fan of forever, so that makes me feel happy. The album version is a little too sprightly and clean. Which is not to say that i don’t like it because i really do. That also doesn’t mean that i don’t love bubbly, energetic pop songs, because i really do. So, in short, i don’t know, IT JUST APPEALS MORE TO ME FOR NO REAL GOOD REASON. Y’all need to stop expecting such insight from me. Maybe HDB can weigh in here with something more substantial? Oh, also, i don’t really like how Kahne generally handles the drums on the record--too much separation, the cymbals are too bright, and the overall drum sound generally sits too loud in the mix for my tastes.

Guys, come on, the photo is very obviously edited. You all don’t see that? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?