Norman Fucking Rockwell - Post-Release Discussion Thread + Poll

[West Coast 45,849]

The whole album weak and half-baked send post

 

I co-signed this.

[American Whore 51,440]

The title track is weak and half-baked send post

 

What title track are you listening to? 

 

the title track to NORMAN FUCKING ROCKWELL is a masterpiece tbh  

[West Coast 45,849]

What title track are you listening to? 

 

the title track to NORMAN FUCKING ROCKWELL is a masterpiece tbh  

 

With its half-baked production, tinny piano, white noises and Lana sounding hella off key when she goes for that high note in the second pre-chorus. Sure. 

[American Whore 51,440]

With its half-baked production, tinny piano, white noises and Lana sounding hella off key when she goes for that high note in the second pre-chorus. Sure. 

 

it's 10x better than the production for Honeymoon's title track. i don't hear her being off key??? I've listened to it multiple times now, it's not off key...? what am I missing? 

[West Coast 45,849]

it's 10x better than the production for Honeymoon's title track. i don't hear her being off key??? I've listened to it multiple times now, it's not off key...? what am I missing? 

 

If you don't hear Lana being obviously off key, no wonder you think that NFR is better than Honeymoon. I'm sorry, but Honeymoon sounds absolutely perfect, NFR sounds choppy at best. 

[Barttender 1,118]

it's 10x better than the production for Honeymoon's title track. i don't hear her being off key??? I've listened to it multiple times now, it's not off key...? what am I missing? 

Nah... There's no way to compare the NFR! with Honeymoon (Much superior, in my opinion).

[13bitches 6,176]

Production aside, even the lyrics sound half-finished and/or awkward to me (though this is a trend on NFR, not the title track alone)

Goddamn, manchild
You fucked me so good that I almost said I love you
You're fun and you're wild
But you don't know the half of the shit that you put me through
Your poetry's bad and you blame the news
But I can't change that, and I can't change your mood

I've hated these lyrics since the moment I heard them in that snippet she teased with the ugly filter. This isn't funny, this isn't cute, this isn't "organic," this isn't good – much less so being the first lyric on the entire album. She follows Get Free (IMO one of the best songs in her entire catalogue) with this? If you're going to write lyrics this lazy at least put in some vocal effort; she sounds bored as hell; there's hardly any melody.

'Cause you're just a man; it's just what you do
Your head in your hands as you color me blue
Yeah, you're just a man, all through and through
Your head in your hands as you color me blue
Blue, blue, blue

 

At least she sounds interested in her own song, I suppose. Not really sure what she's supposed to mean by "you're just a man; it's just what you do." As an aside, I don't really get the whole full-of-himself douchebag character from this song; it's there in parts but to me it feels like she just touches on that aspect – it feels more about her relationship with the man in question. This chorus to me could be from a completely different song. The repetition of the second line in the chorus feels clunky and, again, lazy, as does the repetition of the word "blue."

Goddamn, manchild
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
But I don't get bored – I just see you through
Why wait for the best when I could have you?

 

And again with "goddamn, manchild" . The song picks up somewhat with the second verse, which feels more on-par with how Lana described the song. The resigned "why wait for the best when I could have you?" line does sound very Lana, but after showing signs of moving forward mentally on Lust for Life, this feels like a regression, a step backward.

'Cause you're just a man; it's just what you do
Your head in your hands as you color me blue
Yeah, you're just a man, all through and through
Your head in your hands as you color me blue
Blue, blue
You make me blue

 

Her vocals sound pleasant enough on the outro, but again, the repetition starts to get a little stale.

 

 

And that's just the lyrics; the strings at the beginning of the song are too quiet, the piano sounds cheap and demo-ish, and she sounds bored for half the song. The strings, while a nice touch, are too quiet and cheap-sounding; the horns at the end of the song are pleasant. While the song isn't horrible, it does feel like an early take, an incomplete version of a song to be finished at a later time. For the title track of an album that'd been teased for about a month shy of a year before its released, I kind of expected better.

[PARADIXO 32,943]

it's just SO crazy that the exact things other people hate, i find absolutely brilliant

[Make me your Dream Life 88,044]

what's really wrong bb @13bitches

[sweetie 6,628]

With its half-baked production, tinny piano, white noises and Lana sounding hella off key when she goes for that high note in the second pre-chorus. Sure. 

 

Meh, this is nothing new, people were saying the same thing about Ultraviolence. Not just the demo-like production and the "tinny vocals", people were also ranting about her singing off-key, especially in Shades of Cool. Now UV is widely seen as her magnum opus. It's just part of her craft, I guess. Maybe it will take a few years to grow on you.

[Ryusei 5,071]

Why is this thread so silent... Wasn't it supposed to be the best album ever released? Even with her lost Grammys and that NME awards, where you at hardcore NFR stans? 

they dont wanna see only complaining which is basically what this thread has become.

[TrashMagiq 58,657]

How to disappear's production's so excellent. The way the beat kicks in so abruptly, it gives me that buzz. It has the most character out of any of the NFR songs imo. It's messy in the best way. It's so ahead of its time, it amazes me how people would rather just have a simple piano over her soft vocals, that would make Too much sense, that would be too safe. They were more experimental w it and it paid off, some people just aren't able to recognize it cause they lack Taste, they do, they lack it. It's such a controversial track, but it's a discography highlight, it truly is. The transition from Cinnamon Girl's outro to Htd's intro, like, the excellence...

[expandableclitoris 9,093]

Not everyone will agree with but the fact we got such an iconic cover..... that photo is top tier

 

 

Also I would DIE die die die if she did a mashup of HTD with Bjork's Possibly Maybe, similar to Cherry/SF on tour.... i find both songs somewhat similar tee hee

[Thunder Revenant 20,961]

NFR haters are boring af

[Creyk 11,699]

Can we make it a thing where people on tik tok do the cinnamon challenge to Cinnamon Girl playing in the background and she gets loads of streams as a result?

[theweightofthehours 1,836]

Lol are we still with the NFR is lackluster, beige, flat, etc bullshit? Just accept the fact that you guys are just mad cause your personal favorites Lana records didn't get the praise and recognition that NFR got. Period. Bye. Don't @ me.

[Vertimus 9,563]

I’m glad a lot of people here are finding NFR the album to be the bland, half-baked, soggy pancake that it is. It’s third-rate.

 

It’s amazing to me how much style, content, ease and control she had with unreleased tracks like ‘Angels Forever,’ ‘Hollywood,’ ‘JFK,’ ‘Last Girl on Earth’ and ‘Live or Die,’ and yet half or more of NFR is pure crap, just badly written and/or badly produced, and THIS is what she chooses to release.

 

As I told one friend here, with NFR, I am sure my major LDR period is over—it’s become a never-ending process of diminishing returns.

 

I have been listening to tracks by Lord Huron from Vide Noir, like ‘When the Night is Over’ and ‘Emerald Star,’ and they’re vastly more engaging, moving and beautifully produced than the almost-completely flaccid NFR.

[xxmissdaytonaxx 30,078]

y’all nfr haters really coming back from under your rocks again. i could never.

[Terrence Loves Me 72,761]

Ya'll are so dramatic, its not that bad. Its still a solid record for me, and much better than lust for life was. It has a lot of emotion and also holds her saddest song ever. Its in my holy trinity anyway, alongside Ultraviolence and Honeymoon. It would've been BTD, but i realise BTD as classic and iconic as it is, there's too much filler for me personally whereas on NFR, i seem to look forward to hearing more tracks when i listen to it. I still stand with my opinion that NFR is her worst produced album though, so there's that

[PARADIXO 32,943]

Meh, this is nothing new, people were saying the same thing about Ultraviolence. Not just the demo-like production and the "tinny vocals", people were also ranting about her singing off-key, especially in Shades of Cool. Now UV is widely seen as her magnum opus. It's just part of her craft, I guess. Maybe it will take a few years to grow on you.

 

Thank you omg

I’m glad a lot of people here are finding NFR the album to be the bland, half-baked, soggy pancake that it is. It’s third-rate.

 

It’s amazing to me how much style, content, ease and control she had with unreleased tracks like ‘Angels Forever,’ ‘Hollywood,’ ‘JFK,’ ‘Last Girl on Earth’ and ‘Live or Die,’ and yet half or more of NFR is pure crap, just badly written and/or badly produced, and THIS is what she chooses to release.

 

As I told one friend here, with NFR, I am sure my major LDR period is over—it’s become a never-ending process of diminishing returns.

 

I have been listening to tracks by Lord Huron from Vide Noir, like ‘When the Night is Over’ and ‘Emerald Star,’ and they’re vastly more engaging, moving and beautifully produced than the almost-completely flaccid NFR.

 

LMAO I knew you were going to mention unreleased tracks the moment I saw your profile pic