Monicker

Sitar, don't get so serious with me. Please, i need you to love me. We still haven't touched dicks in the D-A-R-K dark 2nite. All right, this is getting old. IT'S NEVER GONNA HAPPEN.

Hai guyz, this petty but playful but petty but playful but petty but playful but petty mock-bickering about what Lana Del Rey's best song is and how your favorite song “””””slays””””” some other person’s favorite song is getting a little tiresome and fucking silly, no? Blaugoaughreowoffffttttt You know, for all the shit you give Lana for uttering SONICALLY as much as she does, you certainly do use CINEMATIC a lot to describe pop songs, eh? I can do this in about four seconds. But i will probably procrastinate until the end of time, so i'll never actually end up doing it. But bug me about it sometime and i’ll probably cave (that is, if the frankenmix hasn't materialized from thin air by that point). Pardon? Lolita? '60s psychedelic pop? Weren't you just agreeing in another thread about people mindlessly throwing around empty descriptors like these? You really think these songs sound Americana? SONICALLY, that is What, is it the strong, dancey electronic beats? The quasi-rapping? The spoken section that is recited with a totally contemporary, urban enunciation and style? The modern, edgy samples and soundscapes? The multitude of synths? The use of modern audio filters? The contemporary style of arranging and production techniques?

Well then...that is just the most awesome (1) thing i've read all week. MOSTAWESOME1? REALLY? Tubular. Wasn’t MsSaintTropez the youtube channel that had Florida Dark that Jldr linked to on .fm or am i thinking of something else? Or am i smokin' crack? How many licks does it take to get to thstdsjfdtv,ghkugggjjgjgjgjapwppowirlqp

Ha, ya but she hasn't and she ain't gonna, so........ It's a lot of work to record to 4 and 8 track? What, Elizabeth, what? You just sit there and do as you've always done in the studio while i thread up the next reel after i've demagnetized and cleaned the heads on the machine. Just sing into the fucking microphone, okay, Liz?! Ugh, i hate how a question like this is treated as silly novelty, ha ha ha r u gunna rek0rd 0n taype lyke dave grohl d00d ha ha ha, but we get a myriad of crap about handbags and hair styles. And why in the world did she say she always uses film in her videos when her pro-shot videos are not shot on film? WHAT? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Man, that whole digital vs film response made me cringe HARD. "New digital empty atmosphere"? Oy, Lizzy. I feel like she's caught up with all these "vintage" notions for such vacuous reasons. Vintage iz kewl 'n' shit, bro. Also, i luv how when people comment on her aesthetic and music and what it recalls, they just throw around ANY "old" decade. Oh, you know, '70s, '50s, '60s. Hell, '80s and '40s even.

The question is, Sitar, did you fantasize about her eating a piece of chocolate cake whilst you ate her out drank your Pepsi? Cum on, u know u did. You're into that shit, u think it's hawt, drop the pretenses.

You've been eating too many of those magic brownies, Bill. Imma go grab some veggie sushi now. I'M OUT, C-YA LOZERS L8R!

Is there a HATE button i can click on for this wretched song (which i’ve still never been able to listen to all the way through). I love it when great things inspire the most horrid mediocrity. Erm, no offense to anyone who calls themselves a fan of Barenaked Ladiezzz. But ‘twas a mere joke. They’ve got some similarities, though, let me tell you. I love Radio! The live performances from November of 2011 or thereabouts and the demo (which is what those early live performances were based on) are great. I enjoy the demo more than the album version, i love the slight little country twang in the guitar of the chorus. The end build up is so nice, happy, and uplifting. It’s just a simple little catchy song. That is such a great image. I want to film that. Where can i buy a can of generic horse shit? With kind regards, you are insane. I believe it is an unpopular opinion around here, but i, too, like it in its entirety. It took me a little time for that to happen though. And although i like the whole of BTD, i think AKA blows it away.

Aw, i’ve returned to this thread only to see that the feminism discussion has ended . Anyway, as always, i am so glad to see this being discussed, and i loved reading everyone’s thoughts. It’s these sort of turns in the conversation that make me really like coming here. Time to add my rambling to the now past discussion and i warn you: i feel very scatterbrained right now and unable to organize my thoughts well. Anyway... The thing about feminism and feminist discourse--something that i think too often gets overlooked or forgotten--is that, more than just looking at women--what they do and say, what they stand for, whether or not they’re "feminist" or "anti-feminist"--we need to hold the magnifying glass up to men, the male perspective, and even attitudes toward men and male roles, as they’ve existed socially and historically. The coin cannot exist without both sides. The battle against feminism is not only represented by those ideas, thoughts, practices, customs, etc. that are in opposition to the movement's tenets, but also the negative attitudes toward the existence of the movement itself--the threat to change things. There are so many powerful, insidious things that work toward reinforcing patriarchy--it’s a weird self-preserving system--and the bad rap that feminism gets on a broad scale is a perfect example (feminism is “annoying” or “extreme” or “crazy” etc.) The status quo always has many things that are fighting for and helping it to be preserved. I think sexism is the first column that needs to be smashed in order for the whole multi-faceted, complex power structure that globally governs and oppresses to come crumbling down. Anyway, that's all just a preface to what i really wanted to say... Regardless of one’s views on Lana’s lyrics from a feminist perspective, i think it would be hard to deny how unsafe her lyrics and ethos are, and that, in a sense, is very subversive when you consider the sort of things that women (and men!) are “supposed to” sing about/represent, and how a female artist is expected to carry herself. Lana Del Rey’s lyrics give a voice to a complex perspective that is often belittled, shunned, and shamed. Here we have the seizing of a platform for a marginalized view (people tend to hate when things don’t fall neatly into binaries), and, sadly, as is to be expected, there are attempts to silence it. Patriarchy and sexism rear its ugly head again. I love the “looking to get fucked hard” line in G&M. That’s anti-feminist? Why? How? What strikes me as anti-feminist is thinking that that line is anti-feminist. This line of thinking is doing nothing but defining sexual views for women and how they should express thoughts on sex. Mother/Whore oppressive dichotomy 2 the max. It’s bullshit. And by the way, "Femme Fatale" is just a problematic trope that does no favors to feminism. More binaries. The prevailing cultural perspective on sex is SO weird--how sex is ubiquitous, oversaturating almost every aspect of society, yet it’s often met with such resistance if it doesn’t neatly fit into our accepted, monogamous, normative framework. I don’t get all the knee-jerk reactions to the cursing/sexuality on Paradise, and the suspicion that it is intended to shock. What is shocking about cursing or talking about sex in pop music in the year 2012? We’re talking about someone who already has a substantial back catalogue of songs that touch upon plenty of “controversial” topics, from drugs to pedophilia. Homegurl could’ve busted out plenty of more “shocking” stuff than what we’ve heard so far of this new release. My pussy tastes like Pepsi Cola is so playful. Cum on guis, didn't u all want playful Lizzy back in the fold? Yes, obnoxiously and predictably, that line is the one thing that outsiders have really latched on to more than anything else about this release (who didn’t see that coming?) but that doesn’t qualify it as shock value in its intent. ANYWAY, regarding the snippets...i heard them only once, so i can't really give much of an opinion. I’m not going to get hung up on 1:30 low quality samples. I will say this though: i hear many production decisions that blow BTD’s production away. Maybe the songwriting is a notch or two below what she produced for BTD, but a lot of the arranging and production, i feel, really "corrected" a lot of BTD's flaws. This is just a preliminary assessment though, so i need to sit with the EP for some time before really deciding anything. Burning Desire, though...oy, that is one bad song. I have to say, i am surprised that the consensus is unfavorable so far, i really didn’t see that coming. I don't see how this is that much of a departure. I’m also surprised by the reaction to the new Yayo vocals. So many times in the past people have lamented about the restrained vocals on BTD while praising her live vocals, yet when we get pretty much what so many of you have wanted out of a studio vocal from Lana, there is all this talk about how shitty the vocals are! I also don’t understand this one-definitive-version-of-a-song mentality. I suspect that anything that could have been done to Yayo, no mater what, would be viewed as an abomination simply because it’s not the AKA version. Why do we have to look at it as a better/worse situation though? It’s a different tone and mood that is captured in the new recording. Do you find it worse because of reasons having to do with the arrangement, production, and performance, or is worse simply because it’s not the version you have always loved? I don’t know, i guess this is an uncommon view, but there is little more that i love in music than having variations of a piece. That's something i adore about Lana's catalogue. So wait, have we determined what this emoticon is expressing? ----->

Well, on the flip side, we don't necessarily know if this true. Label influence and downright interference is always a possibility. There is a long history of recording artists releasing material that they weren't happy with. None of us (unless someone here isn't talking) know what's going on behind the scenes.

I could have been more accurate with my initial statement. What i said is true, but i should have been more thorough and specified that she has given mixed/conflicting opinions on the AKA album. Sure, there are youtube comments and some interviews where she has mentioned that she is proud of the record, but there are also a handful of other interviews (we need that interviews section--evilentity could probably step up here and fill in the blanks because i don't keep track of this sort of information) where she has suggested that it wasn't entirely what she wanted and that she and Kahne butted heads some. It's a rather unfortunate thing to learn and accept because that album is so great and, in the opinion of many people including mine, easily her best work. And you know, she could have also been in the middle of a big artistic growth spurt at that point and still trying to figure out what exactly she wanted. But as mentioned above, she has all the resources now that she most likely wanted all along. That is a big factor to take into consideration.

I just want to remind folks that Lana Del Rey has given many subtle and not-so-subtle indications that she is not entirely happy with the way the AKA album turned out as a whole.

It’s called histrionics, Bill. EDIT: What you're responding to, that is, not what you're saying.

Well then, here we have yet another thread that would make Elizabeth recoil in horror should she ever make it to these here parts.

I just wanted to say one last quick thing (i promise!) It's not directly about the turn that this conversation took, but it spawned from it. I only frequent one other music forum, or any forum of any kind now that i think of it. It’s populated by highly esteemed, big name people in its field, and content-wise it’s one the most amazing, valuable resources of information--a lot of stuff that you can’t even find in books on the subject. The place is a treasure trove, really. However, a lot of the people there are either really unpleasant or just rub me the wrong way, so as a result, it ruins the experience a lot for me and i find myself not going there that often. My point is that it’s so different here, everybody here is so civil and friendly, which really makes it a great place to be. I find it really unfortunate when there are feuds between people, so i just want to apologize if i came across poorly or too strong in my initial response. I had a knee-jerk reaction to what cherrycola said (uh, that sounds bizarre)--which i still completely disagree with--but i don’t like getting off on the wrong foot with anyone. Sorry to all for any part i had in this.

Very sexy hands. Hands and fingers are so erotic to me. As are feet, eyebrows, hair, forearms, knees, ankles, and noses. Anyway.........

I think bridges are one of the things that really set Lana apart musically. Her bridges are very strong, and usually more memorable than the chorus in other people's songs. ASSHOLE. Thanks for that interview, i hadn't seen it before. I wonder if that's the same John Calvert i knew in high school. As sad as it may be to consider this, i really do think that Lizzy wasn't too happy with the results of the AKA record. Ha, i was actually thinking that as i was initially writing that. Yeah, i'm full of shit, what can i say. So, let me revise: One of the best moments in pop music, in my limited exposure But i mean, also, come on, i'm not totally clueless, and i've yet to hear anything that comes even close to that section in MM. What's a contender? Fill me in. FILL ME UP.

Farting synth bass! I bet Kahne has an amazing collection of vintage analog synths. LET’S GET THAT PETITION GOING, GUYS. ...vocal track sloppily coming in? Best thing anyone's said on this forum ever. Seriously. The sounds of gambling? Sounds to me like a free reed instrument, something like an accordion, bandoneon, or harmonium. Lolita is G_d. And don't worry, BIll, i'm with you on Lucky Ones. People are just, i don't know, smoking crack or something?

^ Yeah, then it would probably be more like the music of Brian Wilson, arguably the foremost composer of popular music in the 20th century.

Fair enough. I still vehemently disagree with some of your points, but there seems to be a lot of language inflation in this whole discussion, and i like your sass. Ha, i obviously meant elude, not allude. :embarrassed:

K-hole

^ Someone hacked litewave's account! Actually, i was going to ask you earlier if you have any thoughts on the biker group being all in black and that lone, older man wearing white. I was thinking about how differently society would view the bikers and that man, just on surface appearances alone, and yet they both seem to play the same role for Lana's character, providing her with the same sense of support and comfort.

I was commenting on you telling people what they should think and feel, not that you should think like me or others. There is a distinct difference there. I can’t speak for everyone, but from what i recall reading throughout all these threads, people in opposition to your view have been attempting to explain why and how it might be seen as offensive and inappropriate, not arguing that people should just blindly agree that it is offensive and inappropriate. Again, a distinct difference. You say you haven’t been insistent with your opinion? What is “get the fuck over it” then? Just stating what you think, huh? The only person who really sounds spiteful here is you, and you’ve quite come across as an aggressive dick. Because you’re sick and tired of some of Lana Del Rey’s actions being called into question (not "everything she does" you exaggerator), you’re going to slam your fist down and tell people to cease any discussion? Who do you think you are? You also have eleven fucking posts here, yet you're audacious enough to command the entirety of the forum to stop talking about something? It seems futile to address the rest of your response because you’ve proven again that the point of this whole issue continues to elude you. Sure, there is no controversy because you see none. The great arbiter of cultural appropriation has spoken, folks. EDIT: You also showed up with your vitriol after a string of joke posts.

I think there was some definite magic going on in those 6 consecutive shows at El Rey in LA and Irving Plaza in NYC over the summer. Something was in the air it seems, and i say this as someone who didn't even attend. But it was palpable even on a tiny box on a computer screen. The limited, kind of exclusive nature of the shows, the anticipation, the energy from the crowd, the sort of camaraderie between artist and audience, the annoying yet exhilarating crowd sing-alongs, the premiere of Body Electric and the fact that people were already singing along to a brand new song the next night, the live debut of Lolita (and i think National Anthem?), the plants, the lighting, the dresses and headwear (no headdresses on those nights!)

Hey, i don't mean to do _____ but i'm going to go right ahead and do it! How about you stop arrogantly insisting on what people should feel and think, eh? Your dismissive attitude is exactly the problem surrounding these sort of issues. Of course it's the prevalent stance taken by the dominant, oppressive group. "Regardless of the origin"--again you're only helping to pinpoint the problematic mentality here. Also, what the hell does it matter that it's a music video? You think that exempts anything?