Norman Fucking Rockwell - Pre-Release Thread

[FallingCherry 7,731]

Ben's also been deleting comments about the album since the beginning of the year

[Formation 4,169]

It's just frustrating that she won't say anything about it. We bombarded Marina with annoying album questions for two years questions, but she had decency to be like "don't know when I'll release again" to "still writing" or "coming next year." We just need a freaking comment, if not from her then from the label. 

[Chiunzhan 1,475]

Uh oh, no more releases until 2020

[GeminiLanaFan 48,862]

Idk if I sound like a crackhead here with this wild ass theory but am I the only one who feels like the NFR lead up has been weirdly similar to the AKA one? Aka was recorded in 2008 and she released an ep of 3 songs from it in fall ‘08 and was supposed to release it early ‘09 but it was shelved and she was forced to put everything on hold and just live her life then it was finally released early 2010. Ok so we know nfr was recorded in 2018 and she gave us 2 songs in the fall (and another in Jan) and the album was supposed to be out at “the top of 2019” but we’ve had no news and Lana seems to just be living her life so idk I keep thinking the album will be out Jan 2020 to parallel completely whether deliberately (transitioning back to Lizzy? Leaving her label? Idk) or just a weird coincidence the universe set up or maybe I’m just connecting things that aren’t related lol. I first started thinking that when she was on her old twitter and said something about how over 10 years things have changed but haven’t changed at all. Thought I’d finally share my delusional theory with everyone. And yeah I know it’s all likely bullshit but I’m just having fun while I wait.

 

Did she ever mention why AKA took so long to be out? Was it because of different points of view with her record company? 

[Lust 4,031]

what page do y'all think we'll be at when the album leaks? 8000? 35,000?

[divebarsinger 2,715]

the caginess from her is incredibly bizarre, it's as if she doesn't even like this album herself. i realise the professional record label stuff could be getting in her way but when you're proud of something you want people to hear it surely?! 

[KingJay 3,018]

I’m scared for when you guys find out that actors are just acting

[GeminiLanaFan 48,862]

It's just frustrating that she won't say anything about it. We bombarded Marina with annoying album questions for two years questions, but she had decency to be like "don't know when I'll release again" to "still writing" or "coming next year." We just need a freaking comment, if not from her then from the label. 

 

She should just give us an approximative window. Maybe not right now, with her new single out, but like soon?!?

However, the press release for Hope, back in January, said mid-year (May to August), and we're still in that time window. I won't freak out if we don't have news by July - August. However, if summer is gone and we have no news, I'm gonna get into the catastrophe scenarios lol. 

[WilshireBoulevard 5,420]

I’m scared for when you guys find out that actors are just acting

 

Read her interviews, especially ones around the time of the SNL performance when people starting digging into her past and accused her of being inauthentic and the LDR character being a lie. She'd get really defensive, insist she changed her name and ONLY her name, that her songs were about her experiences, that she wasn't playing a character. She lied. She made money from those lies. She built a fanbase around those lies. Excuse me for not liking the fact that I was sold bare-faced lies, especially when this NFR-unreleasing hillsong-attending wannabe-baddie person is who she might really be.

[sweetie 6,627]

Did she ever mention why AKA took so long to be out? Was it because of different points of view with her record company? 

 

Well, according to her old label boss it just seems they were trying to build more buzz.

 

 

Her first release was an EP called Kill Kill under her name Lizzy Grant. It's one of her songs -- a very good song, by the way. And it had three songs on it. That EP got posted on iTunes on October 21, 2008. That was our attempt to create a little buzz and begin to work with her live act. Then we were going to take a little time to release the full album. And that got picked up, as I said, by iTunes. There was a little bit of a buzz. About a year later -- January 5, 2010 -- we released a full album, digital from iTunes and all the digital suppliers. It was called Lizzy Grant a.k.a. Lana Del Ray.

[LanaFlowers 8,751]

it doesnt sound like you understand what im saying.  for one thing, i said "in my opinion" and i stand by that.  if you are just making stuff up thats not based in your actual life experience, then youre probably presented something fake and inaccurate, which is, IMO, not good.  youre welcome to enjoy fakeness and inauthenticity, and just revel in empty aesthetic as art.  that's fine.  that's your prerogative.

 

Lana presented herself as authentic, even when BTD came out and all these music bloggers were like haha what a fake bitch, she presented her art as her lived experience.  i wish i could find the quote.  she straight up said she writes about her own life experiences, so fuck whatver people read into it.  but - fantasy/sci-fi with characters is different than music about yourself.  it's called fiction.  even so, Harry Potter did weave real life lessons in thru metaphor about like racism (purebloods vs mudbloods), class differences (malfoys vs weasleys), etc etc.

 

personally, my art comes from my own experience because i dont know wtf i'd write about otherwise.  just make shit up completely?  that doesnt make sense to me because someone making something up will never get it as potently or clearly as someone who really lives that.  and i get Lana has always been about "blurring the lines between the real and the fake."  i thought she was realer than she now seems.  and i think class struggle has played a huge role in her music, which is how this topic started in the first place.  i just think it's an interesting topic.  i don't understand why you are triggered that some people are having a discussion you don't agree with or understand.  if you dont wanna hear about poor people, or hear discussion ab class struggle, maybe you shouldnt live in a society that's so harshly stratified based on class.  if you think Lana's new insta saddie friends are "normal" youre really just showing your own privilege and that you dont know what that means.  life is open to interpretation, and theres many perspectives to go around.  dont shut down peoples views and perspectives.  like wtf.  there's literally 1815 pages on this topic.  i think a few more pages of people rambling ab the way they feel about this album or Lana's art in general won't kill you. breathe.

This to a t.

 

There's not even anything wrong with being "fake", if you're honest about it. Write 10 albums from the perspective of a fictional character you've created. Do shows, give interviews, shoot music videos, show up at events as that fictional character. That's not a lie, that's a project. That's art. You're not trying to fool anyone, you're putting on a show as an artist. A performer. Authenticity is not required. If it was, fiction would not exist. We'd only have documentaries and (non-fake) reality shows on tv. But we don't. Because most of us enjoy fiction presented as fiction. Literally no one thought Oderus Urungus was an actual ancient Scumdogian barbarian. No one called Dave a poser for using that name and putting on a costume to perform. Art doesn't have to draw from reality at all to be interesting or entertaining. Just own it. Do your thing, put on a show, play dress up, and own it.

[FallingCherry 7,731]

Read her interviews, especially ones around the time of the SNL performance when people starting digging into her past and accused her of being inauthentic and the LDR character being a lie. She'd get really defensive, insist she changed her name and ONLY her name, that her songs were about her experiences, that she wasn't playing a character. She lied. She made money from those lies. She built a fanbase around those lies. Excuse me for not liking the fact that I was sold bare-faced lies, especially when this NFR-unreleasing hillsong-attending wannabe-baddie person is who she might really be.

People change a lot in 7 years. In 2012, she might have thought it wasn't a persona, but now, she's more mature and evolved a lot, so why is it even surprising that she thinks differently. She really was into the Lana Del Rey persona, and sometimes when you act too much, that's who you really become or think you really are. What you consider being lies right now weren't lies back then. By the time UV was released, she was a different person. Same with HM. Same with LFL. She's constantly changing. We know how hard she finds it to actually live sometimes and how depressed she is. We cannot blame her for changing all the time, it's an escape, a way to become a better person. But life is tough and even with all the changes, her demons follow her everywhere, and she feels the need to change again. Hence why she's not the same person she was a year ago, and she won't be the same in a year

[GeminiLanaFan 48,862]

Well, according to her old label boss it just seems they were trying to build more buzz.

Thanks!

Well in that case, it’s not history repeating itself is it? Everyone is hungry for damn NFR!!

[LanaFlowers 8,751]

I hope the next time she does tour with NFL it will be a lighter set with a string quartet and piano again! Her performance at Apple plus the instrumentation of MAC and Hope lends itself to being intimate and gorgeous.

God, I loved that. I know people are sick of the piano ballads but I think they're amazing. How To Disappear was so beautiful live. I'd love for her to do shows like the ones in 2012 the strings and all that.

[WilshireBoulevard 5,420]

People change a lot in 7 years. In 2012, she might have thought it wasn't a persona, but now, she's more mature and evolved a lot, so why is it even surprising that she thinks differently. She really was into the Lana Del Rey persona, and sometimes when you act too much, that's who you really become or think you really are. What you consider being lies right now weren't lies back then. By the time UV was released, she was a different person. Same with HM. Same with LFL. She's constantly changing. We know how hard she finds it to actually live sometimes and how depressed she is. We cannot blame her for changing all the time, it's an escape, a way to become a better person. But life is tough and even with all the changes, her demons follow her everywhere, and she feels the need to change again. Hence why she's not the same person she was a year ago, and she won't be the same in a year

 

The changes in who she is aren't the problem though. It's the flat-out lies. Someone she worked with aaaaaages ago made a comment on when she started chasing fame as Lizzy Grant, saying she cut her hair and started acting completely different. There's a massive, massive difference between acting out a persona, a la Electra Heart, and insisting on the authenticity of a character created by a bunch of studio execs to sell to an audience. 

[LanaFlowers 8,751]

honestly the song grows on you so much. it used to be a huge skip for me but now i can't get enough of it!

Same! I used to really hate it but it really grew on me, I love it now. It's so cute

 

(eta: Gramma)

[necessary sacrifice 8,865]

Thanks!

Well in that case, it’s not history repeating itself is it? Everyone is hungry for damn NFR!!

Now I’m even more convinced the NFR lead up is supposed to parallel AKA’s. I wonder why though. It didn’t really work with AKA did it, so it’s a strange thing to repeat unless it’s supposed to fail.

[LanaFlowers 8,751]

Oh come on I thought the hipster shit was done. This boring acoustic shit ain't it and y'all don't have to be hip and edgy trashing on BTD all of a sudden because fans want ACTUAL music production lmfao

I want both why can't we have both

[Jared 3,130]

Why do I have this feeling that people who keep talking about Lana scrapping the album, songs, re-working it and shit are just projecting their own hopes and fantasies under the guise of speculation. Lol

[Doll Harlow 12,366]

I hope I get to hear this album one day