Norman Fucking Rockwell - Post-Release Discussion Thread + Poll

[#glimmeringdarling 4,629]

Alright y’all here’s my take on every single song of this amazing album even though no one asked m:

 

NFR: I absolutely fell in love with the snippet Lana posted, and the beginning lyrics. Although I expected a name drop, something like ‘your head in hands as you color me blue, you think you’re Norman fucking Rockwell but you really have no clue..’ something along those lines. Luckily this is the most best PRODUCED song Imo.

MAC: honestly fell in LOVE, with this song . Kinda reminded me of Avril Lavigne’s ‘Complicated’ and overall her Let Go’ album ... which remains one of my favorites.. kinda took me back to the early 2000’s and the lyrics are remarkable .. just wish the production was louder and more grandeur for this amazing song.

Venice Bitch: never truly loved this one until it came out on the album and fit right at home. Perfect for driving but I got a DUI and no longer drive so I can’t appreciate it as much as I want to but still a gem in her discography

FIILY:

love this song due to the verses.. so honest and raw but the vocals are still sexy and cute .. wish it had a bridge though

Doin’ time :

such a fucking well done cover with an iconic video for Lana ..she honestly killed it and it deserves to be played everywhere!

Love song:

didn’t expect this, but it’s almost like video games younger more mature sister who grew tits and just turned 18.. but she was always timid and quiet .. but she always had her own life .. yeah . Cute girl

Cinnamon:

truly one of her best! And one of jacks best produced, just wish she expanded on the lyrics .. so much wasted potential but the production saves her.

HTD:

I’ve said this before but Lana is literally reflecting on her Lizzy days and that’s quite rare for her to ever address the icon that remains Lizzy grant ... so this is great story telling and fuck the instrumental because she’s reading out of a book.. and Lana being Lana everyone is obsessed with instrumentals but it’s nice to have such a meaningful song with a shit instrumental because it makes u focus on the lyrics and Lana’s past.. instrumental sounds so much like Rihanna’s love on the brain and I love that. U should too

California:

Um never expected this PHENOMENAL track.. she’s literally pouring her heart out and telling us why her and Barrie (her true love ) didn’t work out ... turns out she can’t really find someone else like him and is just as fucked up.. lyrically she’s desperate and attempting so hard to see him again.. in public . It’s so authentic and fuck .. the only song that takes me back to UV... and I’m loving it entirely . She clearly knows Barrie so much and she’s throwing it all in this one track the ‘hit me up’ part sounds cheap but her most vulnerable track ... love it so much

BAR2.0:

eh she’s kinda growing on me

The greatest: oof really recognizes the worlds current state and as whiny as Lana is .. she is RIGHT. Proves her authenticity more than anything ... an iconic song for sure

Bartender:

Didn’t love this in the beginning but it’s her most mature song IMO... and the lyrics are so good and honest. The ‘botch-tender’ sounding part makes it more authentic .. like fuck no one else can pull that off. Really sounds like a HM end track instead of the ‘DLMBU’ cover.. really holds a strong place in my heart .. so LA oriented and it takes me there certainly . LOVE how she calls out her sobriety in the cutest way

HIAB: was kinda hard to sit w me at first but overall a great song and the production and overall sont don’t come off as cheap as the lyrics made it sound

HIADTF...: FUCK I WISH SHE DIDNT RELEASE THIS SO EARLY.. like the fact she did Made me appreciate it less and made it more of a laughing stock but it’s really her most raw song... and I can’t argue with that. Thank you

 

Overall even though this album isn’t too farfetched from Lana’s previous work the lyrics and production are a major improvement and hits the heart, soul, and mind on a different level.. only the great will appreciate this joint . XO

And everyone’s ‘holy trinity’ is different so you know it’s great when everyone has their own unique opinion that separates them

from everyone else !

[pin up galore 19,059]

NFR is one if not her her best track ever

[DLT 7,592]

havent listen to it yet! so excited

 

You’re in for something very special! What you waiting on?

[ChaoticLipster 24,728]

NFR is one if not her her best track ever

TEA it’s definitely enchanting and a beautiful song

[WilshireBoulevard 5,421]

OKay so at some point last week I wrote HTD---mojo pin, I can't remember exactly what parts I meant but something about the chords remind me of the lyricless-soothing-humming parts of mojo pin at the start

 

(it also gives me big happiest girl in the whole usa vibes)

[DLT 7,592]

NFR is one if not her her best track ever

I originally didn’t like the snippet she posted but having the full track it is just amazing. Really kind of was blown away by how perfect it is and how much it really hit me. Def standout.

[UltraviolenceBaby 5,014]

You’re in for something very special! What you waiting on?

didn't get over cinnamon girl yet

[Psychedelic Pussy 30,111]

Venice Bitch will always be that song, I can’t believe we’ve had it for a year and it STILL sounds so fucking fresh

[ParadiseFreak 676]

There is so much hate for the percussion on How to Disappear.  I haven't seen anyone mention this yet - so let me share some music history perspective on the "jingle bells" that might help you all have less of a problem with them. 

 

First of all, they are called "sleigh bells" by musicians, and they were a big trademark of Brian Wilson's mid-60s Beach Boys productions.  He used them the way other producers would use tambourines, and they always added a distinctive sparkle to the Beach Boys.  You can hear them most famously on God Only Knows from Pet Sounds.  So over the last 50 years when another artist uses sleigh bells (outside of a Christmas song) it's 9 times out of 10 in an effort to reference/pay tribute to Brian Wilson/Pet Sounds.  Being that Lana is always finding new ways to reference California, Laurel Canyon, the 60s, Beach Boys this makes perfect sense. 

[ultrababy 3,445]

There is so much hate for the percussion on How to Disappear. I haven't seen anyone mention this yet - so let me share some facts about the "jingle bells" on HTD. And maybe this will help you all have less of a problem with them.

 

I personally love them.

 

First of all, they are called "sleigh bells" by musicians in the studio, and they were a big trademark of Brian Wilson's mid-60s Beach Boys productions. He used them the way other producers would use tambourines, and they always added a distinctive sparkle to the Beach Boys. You can hear them most famously on God Only Knows from Pet Sounds. So over the last 50 years when another artist uses sleigh bells it's 9 times out of 10 in an effort to reference/pay tribute to Brian Wilson/Pet Sounds. Being that Lana is always finding new ways to reference California, Laurel Canyon, the 60s, Beach Boys this makes perfect sense.

 

Thank you for your take on what we call the jingle bells! I’m going to appreciate the song a little more now

[amostori 780]

the ending of cinnamon girl is something 

[Terrence Loves Me 72,876]

I cant stop listening to California i think its one of the best songs she's ever made. The structure is very similar to the blackest day. Its amazing, but i wish it had a better ending. I never like it when songs end so suddenly with vocals and no instrumental, the same thing happened for Love Song

[SouthInGuy 1,699]

Venice Bitch will always be that song, I can’t believe we’ve had it for a year and it STILL sounds so fucking fresh

I was kind of afraid it wouldn’t work at nearly the beginning of the album. It just seems like a natural closer to me. But nope. It sets the mood beautifully for the rest of the record. It does still sound fresh! It doesn’t overstay its 10 minutes by even a second.

[Psychedelic Pussy 30,111]

I was kind of afraid it wouldn’t work at nearly the beginning of the album. It just seems like a natural closer to me. But nope. It sets the mood beautifully for the rest of the record. It does still sound fresh! It doesn’t overstay its 10 minutes by even a second.

I felt the exact same, but now I realise having VB as the third track is the biggest fucking power move. Lana is really that fucking bitch.

[ArtDecoDelRey 15,284]

guys...HTD is growing on me! can finally say i love every single song on this near-flawless record

[LanaBoi 1,810]

There is so much hate for the percussion on How to Disappear.  I haven't seen anyone mention this yet - so let me share some facts about the "jingle bells" on HTD.  And maybe this will help you all have less of a problem with them. 

 

I personally love them. 

 

First of all, they are called "sleigh bells" by musicians in the studio, and they were a big trademark of Brian Wilson's mid-60s Beach Boys productions.  He used them the way other producers would use tambourines, and they always added a distinctive sparkle to the Beach Boys.  You can hear them most famously on God Only Knows from Pet Sounds.  So over the last 50 years when another artist uses sleigh bells it's 9 times out of 10 in an effort to reference/pay tribute to Brian Wilson/Pet Sounds.  Being that Lana is always finding new ways to reference California, Laurel Canyon, the 60s, Beach Boys this makes perfect sense. 

 

 

The sleigh bells really get on me. I absolutely love all of HTD its really really really beautiful. Especially the little instrumental break, makes Verse 3 and the Outro so beautifully emotional. 

[Theo 318]

Not many people talk about it, but NFR is such a uneven album in terms of lyrics quality. There are so many great lines, but unfortunately as many horrendous. I wish Lana decided to have a co-writer. Anyway, here is my subjective list of the lows and the highs. 

 

 

WORST

“You're fun and you’re wild” – Norman Fucking Rockwell (so cliché)

“My, my, my, you found this, you need this” – Mariner’s Apartment Complex (the repetition of “my” sounds so forced)

“Fear fun, fear love

Fresh out of fucks, forever” – Venice Bitch

“Ice cream, ice queen” – Venice Bitch

“Wha- wha- wha- wha- whatever

Everything, whatever” – Venice Bitch

“In the car, in the car, in the backseat, I'm your baby” – Love song (cringy!)

“Make you real proud of your baby” – Love song (also cringy!)

“Lying on your chest in my party dress

I'm a fucking mess, but I” – Love song (terrible, cliché rhymes, sudden end with “I”, very poor writing)

“Baby, it's the best, that's a test and yes” – Love song (poor rhyming)

“Touch me anywhere 'cause I'm your baby

Grab my waist, don't waste any part” – Love song (waste – waist is atrocious + cringy)

“Cinnamon in my teeth

From your kiss, you're touching me” – Cinnamon Girl (has absolutely no flow)

“Baby, you don't ever have to

Go faster than your fastest pace or faster than my fastest cars” – California

“You make me feel like

There's something that I never knew I wanted” – The Next Best American Record (does not go well with the melody, sounds forced)

“We play the Eagles down in Malibu and I want it” – The Next Best American Record (same here)

“Those nights were on fire

We couldn't get higher” – The greatest (one of the worst rhymes on the album)

“The culture is lit, and if this is it‚ I had a ball” – The greatest (the stressed rhyme lit – it is so bad)

“Hawaii just missed that fireball

L.A. is in flames‚ it's getting hot” – The greatest

“With my bartender, hold me all night

Bartender, our love's alive” – Bartender (again, horrible rhyme)

“Happiness is a butterfly

Try to catch it, like, every night

It escapes from my hands into moonlight

Every day is a lullaby

Hum it on the phone, like, every night

Sing it for my babies on the tour life, ah” – Happiness is a butterfly (no flow, repetition of “like every night”, which itself does not sounds natural, rhyme butterfly – lullaby, generally poor writing)

“I had fifteen-year dances

Church basement romances yeah I've cried” – Hope is a dangerous thing (the last part – yeah I’ve cried – does not sound good, like the phrase ended to quickly and she put anything there; there are more lines like this unfortunately in this song)

“Hello it's the most famous woman you know on the iPad

Calling from beyond the grave, I just wanna say, "Hi dad"” – Hope is a dangerous thing (the worst part of the song that kinda destroys it for me, bad rhyme and cringy)

“There's a new revolution

A loud evolution

That I saw” – Hope is a dangerous thing

 

Overall worst: 1. Love song 2. Cinnamon Girl 3. Venice Bitch

 

BEST

“Goddamn, man-child

You act like a kid even though you stand six foot two

Self-loathing poet, resident Laurel Canyon, know-it-all

You talk to the walls when the party gets bored of you” – Norman Fucking Rockwell

“You took my sadness out of context” – Mariner’s Apartment Complex (great line, a bit spoiled by a horrible rhyme context-complex)

“And if I wasn't so fucked up, I think I'd fuck you all the time” – Fuck it I love you

“All of the guys tell me lies, but you don't

You just crack another beer

And pretend that you're still here

This is how to disappear” – How to disappear

“He moves mountains and pounds them to ground again” – How to disappear

“My baby used to dance underneath my architecture

He was '70s in spirit‚ '90s in his frame of mind” – The Next Best American Record (amazing first line)

“The culture is lit and I had a ball

I guess I'm signing off after all” – The greatest (If the first line is ironic)

“"Life on Mars" ain't just a song” – The greatest

“Wine is flowing with Bacardi” – Bartender

“Playing games of levitation

Meditating in the garden” – Bartender

“If he's a serial killer, then what's the worst

That can happen to a girl who's already hurt?

I'm already hurt

If he's as bad as they say, then I guess I'm cursed

Looking into his eyes, I think he's already hurt

He's already hurt” – Happiness is a butterfly

“Maybe I'd get less stressed

If I was tested less like all of these debutantes

Smiling for miles in pink dresses

And high heels on white yachts” – Hope is a dangerous thing

“I've been tearing around in my fucking nightgown

24/7, Sylvia Plath

Writing in blood on the walls

'Cause the ink in my pen don't work in my notepad

Don't ask if I'm happy, you know that I'm not

But at best I can say I'm not sad

'Cause hope is a dangerous thing

For a woman like me to have” – Hope is a dangerous thing

“Spilling my guts with the Bowery Bums

Is the only love I've ever known” – Hope is a dangerous thing

 

Overall best: 1. How to disappear (the only song with no weak moments in lyrics, overall solid) 2. Norman Fucking Rockwell 3. Bartender

[ArtDecoDelRey 15,284]

yeterday i bought my first car (truck) in the middle of the day (night) and i listened to the album on the way back and it actually made me cry so much. Also, my mom loved it too! we had a conversation about Lana's impact and how she remembered video games being on the radio stations back in 2011. The fucking bass in cinnamon girl made the seats literally vibrate and it was beyond stunning. Also, the glass shattering in TNBAR scalped me HARD with the sound system. As mentioned earlier, HTD is growing on me and i genuinely like it now!

 

side note: this was my 100th post <3

[lazybooklet 575]

Not many people talk about it, but NFR is such a uneven album in terms of lyrics quality. There are so many great lines, but unfortunately as many horrendous. I wish Lana decided to have a co-writer. Anyway, here is my subjective list of the lows and the highs. 

 

 

WORST

“You're fun and you’re wild” – Norman Fucking Rockwell (so cliché)

“My, my, my, you found this, you need this” – Mariner’s Apartment Complex (the repetition of “my” sounds so forced)

“Fear fun, fear love

Fresh out of fucks, forever” – Venice Bitch

“Ice cream, ice queen” – Venice Bitch

“Wha- wha- wha- wha- whatever

Everything, whatever” – Venice Bitch

“In the car, in the car, in the backseat, I'm your baby” – Love song (cringy!)

“Make you real proud of your baby” – Love song (also cringy!)

“Lying on your chest in my party dress

I'm a fucking mess, but I” – Love song (terrible, cliché rhymes, sudden end with “I”, very poor writing)

“Baby, it's the best, that's a test and yes” – Love song (poor rhyming)

“Touch me anywhere 'cause I'm your baby

Grab my waist, don't waste any part” – Love song (waste – waist is atrocious + cringy)

“Cinnamon in my teeth

From your kiss, you're touching me” – Cinnamon Girl (has absolutely no flow)

“Baby, you don't ever have to

Go faster than your fastest pace or faster than my fastest cars” – California

“You make me feel like

There's something that I never knew I wanted” – The Next Best American Record (does not go well with the melody, sounds forced)

“We play the Eagles down in Malibu and I want it” – The Next Best American Record (same here)

“Those nights were on fire

We couldn't get higher” – The greatest (one of the worst rhymes on the album)

“The culture is lit, and if this is it‚ I had a ball” – The greatest (the stressed rhyme lit – it is so bad)

“Hawaii just missed that fireball

L.A. is in flames‚ it's getting hot” – The greatest

“With my bartender, hold me all night

Bartender, our love's alive” – Bartender (again, horrible rhyme)

“Happiness is a butterfly

Try to catch it, like, every night

It escapes from my hands into moonlight

Every day is a lullaby

Hum it on the phone, like, every night

Sing it for my babies on the tour life, ah” – Happiness is a butterfly (no flow, repetition of “like every night”, which itself does not sounds natural, rhyme butterfly – lullaby, generally poor writing)

“I had fifteen-year dances

Church basement romances yeah I've cried” – Hope is a dangerous thing (the last part – yeah I’ve cried – does not sound good, like the phrase ended to quickly and she put anything there; there are more lines like this unfortunately in this song)

“Hello it's the most famous woman you know on the iPad

Calling from beyond the grave, I just wanna say, "Hi dad"” – Hope is a dangerous thing (the worst part of the song that kinda destroys it for me, bad rhyme and cringy)

“There's a new revolution

A loud evolution

That I saw” – Hope is a dangerous thing

 

Overall worst: 1. Love song 2. Cinnamon Girl 3. Venice Bitch

 

BEST

“Goddamn, man-child

You act like a kid even though you stand six foot two

Self-loathing poet, resident Laurel Canyon, know-it-all

You talk to the walls when the party gets bored of you” – Norman Fucking Rockwell

“You took my sadness out of context” – Mariner’s Apartment Complex (great line, a bit spoiled by a horrible rhyme context-complex)

“And if I wasn't so fucked up, I think I'd fuck you all the time” – Fuck it I love you

“All of the guys tell me lies, but you don't

You just crack another beer

And pretend that you're still here

This is how to disappear” – How to disappear

“He moves mountains and pounds them to ground again” – How to disappear

“My baby used to dance underneath my architecture

He was '70s in spirit‚ '90s in his frame of mind” – The Next Best American Record (amazing first line)

“The culture is lit and I had a ball

I guess I'm signing off after all” – The greatest (If the first line is ironic)

“"Life on Mars" ain't just a song” – The greatest

“Wine is flowing with Bacardi” – Bartender

“Playing games of levitation

Meditating in the garden” – Bartender

“If he's a serial killer, then what's the worst

That can happen to a girl who's already hurt?

I'm already hurt

If he's as bad as they say, then I guess I'm cursed

Looking into his eyes, I think he's already hurt

He's already hurt” – Happiness is a butterfly

“Maybe I'd get less stressed

If I was tested less like all of these debutantes

Smiling for miles in pink dresses

And high heels on white yachts” – Hope is a dangerous thing

“I've been tearing around in my fucking nightgown

24/7, Sylvia Plath

Writing in blood on the walls

'Cause the ink in my pen don't work in my notepad

Don't ask if I'm happy, you know that I'm not

But at best I can say I'm not sad

'Cause hope is a dangerous thing

For a woman like me to have” – Hope is a dangerous thing

“Spilling my guts with the Bowery Bums

Is the only love I've ever known” – Hope is a dangerous thing

 

Overall best: 1. How to disappear (the only song with no weak moments in lyrics, overall solid) 2. Norman Fucking Rockwell 3. Bartender

 

If you have to break the lyric down like that you're not really enjoying the music. Just please stop judging things by face value 

[Theo 318]

If you have to break the lyric down like that you're not really enjoying the music. Just please stop judging things by face value 

I disagree. A song is not only the music, but also the words. The lyrics can affect the impression of a song, good writing can really elevate it, even if the topic is not very interesting/original.

 

Also, in what way am I "judging things by face value"?