Norman Fucking Rockwell - Pre-Release Thread

[Chicken Parmesan 316]

does anyone else remember the first ever ig snippet from this album? like a year and a half ago, its of happiness. saw that on ig again and almost got teary eyed. im so happy for lona

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bg7LKp2Bgtb/?igshid=g304e02eput2

[Araby 676]

 

 

Luv hearing Lana drag her IG baddie friends to filth in Bartender. I know she enjoys her time w them (and says so in the song), but I feel like she talks of their "little games" and "tea parties" from such elevation

 

Srry ladies of hillsong

 

 

[LennyDelRye 130]

Yup. Still only heard MAC, VB and Doin Time. Ah, the satisfaction of knowing there's almost a whole album of new material to listen to.

[t-raider26 912]

I actually wouldnt mind the stripped back version of FIILY

Have to respectfully disagree. I like how lowkey kooky HtD is. Sorta makes the lyrics sound sadder without being too seeped in. The guitars sort of remind you of some kind of melancholy which I love

Perhaps. I don’t even think I’d even mind it that much if it wasn’t for that drum machine beat. It’s very grating.

[LanaBoi 1,810]

‪I cannot wrap my head around how upset some fans are about this album leak. Lana—a millionaire—is sitting in a mansion in the Hollywood Hills rn, completely unbothered by the ppl listening to leaks. ‬Meanwhile some people online are acting like fans stole an armful of cd’s from a table at a DIY show.‬ ‪The NFR leak will have virtually no impact on Lana’s quality of life/career, so why are people so pressed?

 

I love Lana with my entire heart, but it seems so silly to guilt fans as though she’s not perfectly comfortable in a system where the rich guiltlessly hoard the vast majority of this country’s wealth, and we all need to eat said system’s ass + beg for forgiveness any time we step out of line.‬ ‪Not to mention, most of the ppl listening to leaks are fans who’ve already pre-ordered tour tickets, merch, AND the record, so it’s not as if the album went viral to rampant freeloaders.

 

I know it’s going to get brought up again if and when the record doesn’t measure up as projected in sales or rating—even though we all know it’s a timing/promotion issue more than anything else. Granted, it can be considered “disrespectful” to the artist to have their art shared before launch, and I’ve been seeing that side of the argument all over Twitter as well. But albums get leaked all the time, and some people are acting like Lana is holed up in an attic crying into her starbucks cup over NFR getting leaked 3 days early. PLS make it make sense.

 

 

The problem is that it has impacts on people who aren't rich. Lana isn' the only one to profit of her music, there are plenty of LOWER paid people below her and pretty much every other artist who suffer when music is stolen or leaked. There will be plenty of people who will listen to leaks/illegally download NFR who won't have purchased the album, regardless of how many fans there are who have. 

 

I am in no way a 'defender of the rich', I am a massive leftie who believes in democratic socialism, but I will never think it is ok to steal music. 

 

Music is just to personal to artists, and I just think that it would be better that people heard it when Lana was ready for people to hear it. 

[Nick Del Rey 5,279]

the meaning of happiness is a butterfly confused me at first, i was like is she talking about being happy and her state of mind? Or is she talking about a man/ breakup? Then I thought maybe it was kind of like a west coast situation where she’s going back and forth being in two conflicting states of mind between the verses to choruses...did anyone else get that vibe?

[Ultra Violet 18,929]

I am pretty happy that the flow of this album actually works, besides Doin Time. But Lana always puts that one pop single on her albums (except for UV) to excite the larger crowds or something. 

But if I can express one dissappointment it would be that the focus on piano is a little excessive. I don't want to think of this album as "the slow piano album" but we'll see.

[poetic jess 2,340]

okay so quick q: if you had to pick one movie that feels similar to the way the album feels, what would it be?

Oddly enough, NFR reminded me of Big Little Lies, but that’s a show not a movie... difficult to decide rn.

[Araby 676]

the meaning of happiness is a butterfly confused me at first, i was like is she talking about being happy and her state of mind? Or is she talking about a man/ breakup? Then I thought maybe it was kind of like a west coast situation where she’s going back and forth being in two conflicting states of mind between the verses to choruses...did anyone else get that vibe?

IDK if this makes sense but

 

 

Happiness is a butterfly— meaning happiness= fleeting. She can never capture it. She's talking about a man ("Do you want me or do you not / I heard one thing, now I'm hearing another") sometimes; probably someone who lives far away (as the song spans NY and LA in its references).

 

My take on the chorus is that it's a summary of how the relationship ended; he sent her away in a Taxi cab; she didn't really want to leave. Maybe she wasn't done fighting/didn't want to give up on him. Regardless, the song to me is basically her apology/resignation to continue loving him. (She just wants to dance with him, whether that be in CA at Hollywood + Vine, or in NYC at Black Rabbit).

 

She also talks about trying to live a simple life with her friends, but it doesn't actually help her "catch" happiness ("Left the canyon, drove to the club / I was one thing, now I'm being another"). It's just a distraction, essentially. A relationship with this man is what she wants; she thinks it'll make the both of them happy ("Happiness is a butterfly, we should catch it while dancing")...but lbr it probably wouldn't, given some of the sentiments she shares on other tracks.

 

It's really sad within the context of the album as a whole, because obviously the relationship is unrealistic  And she feels like she's not SAD anymore, but she's not content either— she's stuck in the PURSUIT of happiness

 

[poetic jess 2,340]

maybe i’m reaching but i really felt like california was about Francesco..............

Mmm, he’s married and I don’t think Lana has written much referencing him. Their relationship seemed to have a lot of conflict even though they tried their best to hide it. I feel like she didn’t have that same deep connection she had with Barrie. I think California is more likely about Barrie.

[domandapiano 12,094]

So I listened once and won’t again till the official thing, but the official top 3 are as follows:

 

Love Song

Happiness is a Butterfly

Norman Fucking Rockwell

 

All of those songs met my expectations, particularly HiaB. I loved the whole thing, though. I didn’t even hate Doin Time in the context of the record like I thought I would (it’ll probably be the first skip, though). The new (old?) version of FiILY is good. I don’t think one is any better than the other.

[LanasLeftCheekFiller 3,382]

Have y'all tried the block button? I think the block button is delicious 

 

(n e way I skipped 50 pages of pointless fighting good morning)

[sansafuckingstark 1,118]

Haven't listened to the album yet and you all seem so divided on which version of FIILY is better.

 

Which one fits better with the rest of the album? I don't know what to do, I want my first listen to be magical. 

[Lucas B. 1,459]

Just finished hearing the full thing and I must say: it's one of her most beautiful works, for now I can't rank the full discography cause I simply don't know where to put it

[bambithebandit 26]

The problem is that it has impacts on people who aren't rich. Lana isn' the only one to profit of her music, there are plenty of LOWER paid people below her and pretty much every other artist who suffer when music is stolen or leaked. There will be plenty of people who will listen to leaks/illegally download NFR who won't have purchased the album, regardless of how many fans there are who have.

 

I am in no way a 'defender of the rich', I am a massive leftie who believes in democratic socialism, but I will never think it is ok to steal music.

 

Music is just to personal to artists, and I just think that it would be better that people heard it when Lana was ready for people to hear it.

Alternatively, a lot of people who weren’t huge fans of Lust for Life were pretty outspoken about how they considered this album to be a massive improvement from her last. Hell, I’ll admit—even as a huge fan of Lana—I was only gonna buy the standard vinyl from the merch shop and ended up buying like three different vinyls, the cassette, AND a croptop because I was hype about the shitty iPhone leaks I heard.

 

There’s been so little promotion for NFR that leaks are the only way a lot of people—especially people who aren’t in the stan community—have even heard about at all up until like, last week when they dropped FIILY/Greatest. There are always going to be people who don’t contribute and illegally pirate everything they listen to, yes, but just as many if not more WILL contribute, for that very reason; because they have something to look forward to.

 

I’m aware there are people who get paid less than Lana or Jack or anyone involved on the front scene, but Lana’s management and her team’s overall lack of promotional push is far more to blame for any loss those individuals may face from the album losing sales. Again, this seems to be pushing a lot of blame onto the smallest fish in the sea—the consumers promoting and/or participating in piracy—rather than the rich and unfazed individuals at the top who should be ensuring no one who works for them is suffering the blows of their agency’s lax security/lazy promotion.

 

In terms of the artistic perspective, I CAN see where you’re coming from—and why certain fans consider it disrespectful or hurtful to the creator to listen or spread their work before they intended for it to be heard. It just seems like a lot of people are directing their anger towards other fans rather than the actual cause or source of the leaks.

[theviolence 5,837]

Just here to say how SPLENDID Bartender is... Stellar... Sumptuous... Sacred even...

 

Such a highlight. Wow. So beautiful words can hardly explain the moments I'm wandering in right now

 

Nfr as a whole is such such such a wonderful album. I listened to it in my garden and wrote this beautiful poem after this really frustrating period of writers/thinkers block. It works so well, I don't even think of it in terms of good song / bad song because I feel like they all carry each other and belong together. Even tnbar, it's not butchered at all. The htd intro caught me off guard but it really is a mood album and every song lends itself to this massive but subtle sentiment

 

I even liked hiab... It just works.

 

I wish the strings on nfr the song were more prominent but its very very nice anyhow

 

Love song is so sweet

 

The new fiily is a choice, the drums on the single version are far far better

 

California is great but honestly my favourites right now are NFR, MAC, VB, FIILY, DT, BART T T TENDER, HIAB (omg)

 

My rambling review

[Araby 676]

Haven't listened to the album yet and you all seem so divided on which version of FIILY is better.

 

Which one fits better with the rest of the album? I don't know what to do, I want my first listen to be magical. 

The single slaps harder  

I personally prefer the surf drums; I think it flows into Doin' Time better. The album version is good too ofc but it feels a little bare

[Chicken Parmesan 316]

so is the stripped version of fiily going to be on every album instead of the single w the greatest, or just on versions in certain countries ?

[domandapiano 12,094]

And regarding her “recycling” of certain Lana-isms (party dress, referencing the color blue, etc) I feel like part of her charm is seeing how these staples in the existence of Lana Del Rey change context as she grows as a person. The party dress of Cruel World’s drug addled, depression ridden heroine is definitely not the same party dress that’s worn by the mature, sober, contemplative woman in Love Song and I think that means something.

[Lust 4,031]

in your car in your car im baby

the drums in fuck it i luh you stopped eating their protein and spinach and had iron defficeincy by the time they showed up on the album