Norman Fucking Rockwell - Post-Release Discussion Thread + Poll

[Ocean Boulevard 39,043]

I'm still thinking about how this could have been her best album if these songs had bridges

Facts!!  Hope they decide to do more bridges on her next album again... Lana was always able to do some amazing and brilliant bridges and I want to see them again

[Thunder Revenant 20,686]

Not this conversation again. UV could've been better of it had real choruses.

Did you just say West Coast, Shades Of Cool and Brooklyn Baby don't have real choruses? I have to laugh

[GeminiLanaFan 45,798]

The lack of bridges used to botter me, the first times I listened to NFR, because her bridges always snapped. However, she did new things on this record that snap as well: the minimalist outro of The Greatest, the musical weirdness of Venice Bitch, the way she sings to herself on the Fuck It I Love You (California dreaming got money on my mind...), etc. I don’t hear the songs lacking something even if they don’t have bridges for most of them.

As for the « weak and repetitive » choruses, don’t all of her albums alternate between songs with lush choruses and other ones repeting a single line?

[WaitForLife 5,021]

Did you just say West Coast, Shades Of Cool and Brooklyn Baby don't have real choruses? I have to laugh

They have but not UV, PWYC, SG, G&R, BB ect.

[ArtDecoDelRey 15,242]

The lack of bridges used to botter me, the first times I listened to NFR, because her bridges always snapped. However, she did new things on this record that snap as well: the minimalist outro of The Greatest, the musical weirdness of Venice Bitch, the way she sings to herself on the Fuck It I Love You (California dreaming got money on my mind...), etc. I don’t hear the songs lacking something even if they don’t have bridges for most of them.

As for the « weak and repetitive » choruses, don’t all of her albums alternate between songs with lush choruses and other ones repeting a single line?

Cinnamon Girl and California are really the only two songs that don't have bridges that I think need them because these songs sometimes fall flat for me and a bridge would just make them more interesting

[gatadelrey 4,575]

Norman is still rocking my world

[Ocean Boulevard 39,043]

They have but not UV, PWYC, SG, G&R, BB ect.

The verses in those songs are telling the story and the chorus is supposed to set more like a mood

[PARADIXO 31,607]

The "lack of bridges" (as if a song had to have certain structure...) on NFR never bothered me. The only one that is kinda eh to me is the outro of California. So uninventive. That one will always be an 8 out of 10 because of that.

[West Coast 44,804]

The "lack of bridges" (as if a song had to have certain structure...) on NFR never bothered me. The only one that is kinda eh to me is the outro of California. So uninventive. That one will always be an 8 out of 10 because of that.

 

It does kinda bothers in the sense that it felt very uninventive to just trade bridges for these unnecessary musical outros, like on 'Cinnamon Girl', 'The greatest' and the godawful 'How to disappear'. Honestly the only time where I felt it wasn't so bad was on 'Fuck it I luh yah'. I'll give credit where credit it due, I think they tried a very different formula, and bridges are definitely Rick Nowels' forte, not Jack's. Not saying every song needs a bridge, but it definitely adds an element of surprise in my opinion.

[cheaptrailertrashglm 3,197]

as a former lyricist, songs def don't need bridges to be a well written song. everyone has their tastes though.

[West Coast 44,804]

Did you just say West Coast, Shades Of Cool and Brooklyn Baby don't have real choruses? I have to laugh

 

Wrong thread, but honestly on songs like 'West Coast' and 'Shades of Cool' there was no need for bridges as their strength lies elsewhere. 'West Coast' has the tempo shifts to make the song stand out and the overall production is just mesmerizing and hypnotic. Also, 'Shades of Cool' has that epic guitar solo and the concealed lyrics within said guitar solo.

 

They have but not UV, PWYC, SG, G&R, BB ect.

 

Agree that these songs don't have the strongest choruses though I think it was smart of Lana to use anaphoras in lieu of complex choruses, really put the emphasis on the idea she was trying to convey on these songs in my opinion, especially on 'Ultraviolence', 'Sad Girl' and 'Pretty When You Cry'. Also like I said prior these songs had other strengths, in that case that would be their bridges. Quintessential Lana.

 

However I would like to remove 'Brooklyn Baby' from this narrative, because I do not find a single flaw on this song. The instrumentation is amazing, the lyrics are just a big fuck you to her critics (at the time). From a lyrical standpoint it's probably my favourite Lana song. Also, I find the chorus to be strong and the bridge to be equally strong and beautiful.

[Make me your Dream Life 83,164]

I like how the songs don't have bridges, just for the simple fact that it doesn't swoop, it edges back together, which kind of ironically grounds it back to reality, whereas bridges sort of romanticize, their lack makes the songs sadder imo. California's chorus sounds like a bridge when I think about it tho. 

I know Venice is praised a lot for being off, or weird, so is it bad that I think it's the easiest to relate and be comfortable w   

Might just be me, but I LOVE lazy Lana. Maybe im romanticizing but repetition's one of the most hypnotic things out there, and her laziness oozes sensuality for me, and the constancy just pulls.

[LanaBoi 1,810]

I honestly loveeee How to Disappear's instrumental bridge, its so beautiful and emotional. 

[PARADIXO 31,607]

It does kinda bothers in the sense that it felt very uninventive to just trade bridges for these unnecessary musical outros, like on 'Cinnamon Girl', 'The greatest' and the godawful 'How to disappear'. Honestly the only time where I felt it wasn't so bad was on 'Fuck it I luh yah'. I'll give credit where credit it due, I think they tried a very different formula, and bridges are definitely Rick Nowels' forte, not Jack's. Not saying every song needs a bridge, but it definitely adds an element of surprise in my opinion.

 

i die at this everytime

[West Coast 44,804]

i die at this everytime

I can't help it

[bluefiona 8,050]

Still trying to figure out, after all these months, what was the lead single for this album hahaha

Even Interscope didn’t have a clue.

 

But on another note: I don’t get why she had to swear so much on FIILY: it could have been a perfect single for radios.

 

 

In this day and age you don't really need a single. Perfect example, Fiona Apple just released her new album a few days ago. Went straight to #1 all over the world. She did no music videos. No promotion. No singles and she doesn't have an official website nor is she on social media. 

 

The power of music. 

 

I agree, I wish Lana would stop cursing so much. 

 

If I wasn't so fucked up I think I fuck you all the time.   

[Ocean Boulevard 39,043]

I honestly loveeee How to Disappear's instrumental bridge, its so beautiful and emotional. 

Omg yes!!! The instrumental part in HTD is so good and dreamy, probably my favorite part of the song

 

 

The lack of bridges used to botter me, the first times I listened to NFR, because her bridges always snapped. However, she did new things on this record that snap as well: the minimalist outro of The Greatest, the musical weirdness of Venice Bitch, the way she sings to herself on the Fuck It I Love You (California dreaming got money on my mind...), etc. I don’t hear the songs lacking something even if they don’t have bridges for most of them.

As for the « weak and repetitive » choruses, don’t all of her albums alternate between songs with lush choruses and other ones repeting a single line?

 

 At first, I didn't even notice that this album lack bridges, maybe because of the instrumental parts and the new things she did. NFR! was something new and yeah FILLY it's such a good track, the outro of this song is a SERVE

And of course, not every song needs bridges.  There still some beautiful & amazing songs that don't have a bridge e.g West Coast or on this record, for example, Love Song or MAC.  But now I starting to miss somehow proper bridges. Okay don't know really how to explain that right but as long as she works with Jack I'm kinda worried that she will do not proper bridges again and maybe get somehow lazier but on the other hand they did a song like Venice Bitch. Thinking about NFR!, it worked. Still think that a few songs could have been even better with a bridge. But after thinking about and reading more on this thread, it fits more the stripped-down sound, the a-day-in-the-life-feeling. Maybe some bridges would have kind of "ruined" this feeling by making the song moodier or romanticizing a song. But in the end, I overall enjoy NFR!! & the way this album is.  UV-HM-NFR! is for me the holy trinity of her albums.  But everybody has a different taste and that is good!

But if WHF/LDR 7 has a similar sound to Norman there could be a risk that WHF sounds quite boring or not that fresh. If she wants to stay in a similar realm I hope that she does more proper bridges  (don't need to be on every song) so that it has more variety. But I trust Lana, she always knows how to surprise and deliver. Don't want to judge her next album before it's even out, it was just a thought.

Never had a problem with her "lazy" and "repetitive" choruses. Speaking of choruses, the chorus of California is definitely the highlight of the song. The verses and pre-chorus are beautiful but the chorus soaks you in. 

 

[PARADIXO 31,607]

I did a livestream (I'm sweet for you) last night discussing every LDR album and it was so entertaining. We talked about each track and gave it a score, and this is how it looked like:

 

Born to Die - 69
Paradise - 71

Ultraviolence - 85

Honeymoon - 90

Lust for Life - 72

Norman Fucking Rockwell! - 90

 

It was so interesting to come up with scores for each track and to actually analyze why I like the songs. BTD and P being so close in score (both count as a 7) demonstrates the consistency of that era; I actually like Born to Die more, but Paradise has less tracks so its score ended up being slightly higher.

Omg yes!!! The instrumental part in HTD is so good and dreamy, probably my favorite part of the song

 

 

 

 At first, I didn't even notice that this album lack bridges, maybe because of the instrumental parts and the new things she did. NFR! was something new and yeah FILLY it's such a good track, the outro of this song is a SERVE

And of course, not every song needs bridges.  There still some beautiful & amazing songs that don't have a bridge e.g West Coast or on this record, for example, Love Song or MAC.  But now I starting to miss somehow proper bridges. Okay don't know really how to explain that right but as long as she works with Jack I'm kinda worried that she will do not proper bridges again and maybe get somehow lazier but on the other hand they did a song like Venice Bitch. Thinking about NFR!, it worked. Still think that a few songs could have been even better with a bridge. But after thinking about and reading more on this thread, it fits more the stripped-down sound, the a-day-in-the-life-feeling. Maybe some bridges would have kind of "ruined" this feeling by making the song moodier or romanticizing a song. But in the end, I overall enjoy NFR!! & the way this album is.  UV-HM-NFR! is for me the holy trinity of her albums.  But everybody has a different taste and that is good!

But if WHF/LDR 7 has a similar sound to Norman there could be a risk that WHF sounds quite boring or not that fresh. If she wants to stay in a similar realm I hope that she does more proper bridges  (don't need to be on every song) so that it has more variety. But I trust Lana, she always knows how to surprise and deliver. Don't want to judge her next album before it's even out, it was just a thought.

Never had a problem with her "lazy" and "repetitive" choruses. Speaking of choruses, the chorus of California is definitely the highlight of the song. The verses and pre-chorus are beautiful but the chorus soaks you in. 
 

 

I don't think Jack is the one to blame about the new structures. It's obvious Lana wanted to try new things and wanted to keep this record as low-key as possible; perhaps her bridges are always the most dramatic part of her songs and she wanted the songs blend with each other with these beautiful outros and intros, to keep the record more mellow. I mean, didn't she write Hope, Happiness and California before meeting Jack? Those songs don't have a bridge.

 

So interesting that you mention California's chorus being what soaks you in; to me it's the total opposite, the verses are mind-blowing for me... the chorus is beautiful yes, but to me the verses are the highlight. I don't like how she kept the long chorus for both choruses; maybe the first one should've been shorter for the second chorus to shine and kick even more.

[bluefiona 8,050]

This adorable 80 year old man reviews NFR. He has it under "Bedtime Music". 

 

Starts in 3:13 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEULlDhKxCM

 

He continues the review after the "Love Song" clip is done. 

[cherryblossoms 10,274]

This adorable 80 year old man reviews NFR. He has it under "Bedtime Music".

 

Starts in 3:13

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEULlDhKxCM

 

He continues the review after the "Love Song" clip is done.

LMAO the St. Vincent and Billie Eilish records in the background. A king.