But srsly, idk what to expect from this album
I feel like it's either going to be Honeymoon 2.0 with a slightly more interesting production or something unexpected but not completely different.
Anyways,
do you guys have any predictions for the release date?
Lanas next album will be called Carnage and will be produced solely by John Cale. The albums will include 9 tracks, all recorded at the La Noria Cemetery in Chile. The title track is 11 minutes long and features Lana begging her lover to first torture her and then kill her. Lana sings on top of heavily distorted guitar sounds with no rythm, melody or fixed tempo. Another track on the album is called 'Arthur Loves You' and is written about the tragic death of Nick Cave's son Arthur Cave. The last track on the album is a cover of the Nico Song 'It Was A Pleasure Then'. There will be no drums on the album at all and the only instruments included on the album will be electric guitar, viola, harmonium, and glockenspiel.
Yeah people have been saying this ever since the Ultraviolence era with every single video and getting their hopes up and every time someone explains why it has that one private video. so yeah no new video
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 liked your post, because I think it's posts like these that are what message boards are for, and agree with some of what you've said, especially on the lyrical side.
But I think if you reframe your conception of LDR from commercial pop singer to the most successful indie artist in America, a lot of what you've written in the last 3 paragraphs become irrelevant.
Sonically, if she ever stopped singing in the disaffected style, I would stop listening. For every fan that likes her for what she's not, there will be 10 fans who like her for what she already is.
A lot of artists do the whole only-questions-through-email thing. The latest cover story about Rihanna on Fader Magazine starts with the journalist saying how Rihanna only agreed to be part of the issue if the questions would be through email. I'm kind of surprised about her insisting they give her the cover, but at the same time not really. IMO Lana both loves and hates fame, and while she hates the paparazzi and being criticized, I think she loves doing glamorous photo shoots and loves having people talk about how mysterious she is.
tbh my thirst for those justin parker tracks is greater than my thirst for hq honeymoon. i could wait for lana's next album if i had those tracks
also, can anyone clarify for me how the tracks from the sessions with chris braide were exactly leaked? were they a part of the songs that were stolen from her hard drive bc if they were i am so surprised as to how roses managed to stay unleaked all this time. wouldn't the hackers have stolen that track too considering that they managed to get all the other tracks from that session (damn you, hollywood's dead, etc.)
thanks sisters. you are second family to me.
tbh i wasn't hyped for MTWBT at all, mostly cos i'm a lesbian & i don't relate to listening to music while i watch the boys... but this absolutely superseded my expectations. i love its atmosphere & the flute & just...yes. i'm officially excited for this album.
The more I think about the "I live to love you, I love to love you" part of MTWBT and the way it sounds like a repetitive chant the more I think it may tie in with this cult theme that's been discussed previously on lana boards? You know, like a chant cult members repeat to the leader or something similar?
I'm not saying that's what the songs about, just that particular part makes me think back to the cult imagery of the album sampler
Sorry for the super late reply, internet was down. But, Ultraviolence is actually my favorite album. I discovered Lana through Shades of Cool and the sound of Ultraviolence definitely leaves an impression that Born To Die doesn't. Maybe its because I discovered Ultraviolence before Born To Die, but hearing Lana sing uptempo songs like Queen of Disaster was so refreshing. It blended with her style so well. These days, we've never gotten a track that had vocals as strong and commanding as the ones in Born To Die (National Anthem, Off to the Races, etc.). I was expecting something like the Braide outtakes when I heard Ronson was working on the album. Wait For Life was pretty good but the draggy vocals get a bit tiring after a while.
I'm not sure if it's because I'm secretly upset that Honeymoon wasn't the Born to Die 2.0 I expected with Queen of Disaster bops but I'm not feeling MTWBT?
cherryblossoms liked a post in a topic by ilovetati in LDR5 Ideas!
delreyfreak liked a post in a topic by cherryblossoms in LDR5 Ideas!
MahaMaha liked a post in a topic by cherryblossoms in Honeymoon - Pre-Release and Discussion Thread
GLITTERGIRL liked a post in a topic by cherryblossoms in Honeymoon - Pre-Release and Discussion Thread
morrison liked a post in a topic by cherryblossoms in Honeymoon - Pre-Release and Discussion Thread