Norman Fucking Rockwell - Post-Release Discussion Thread + Poll

[enchaunted 106]

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

 

 

Seek help

[Flowerbomb 65,555]

The outro to Cinnamon Girl sounds like the very beginning of Art Deco, ugh her mind

[ArtDecoDelRey 15,242]

The outro to Cinnamon Girl sounds like the very beginning of Art Deco, ugh her mind

i still stand by my theory that Cinnamon and Love Song combined makes American...unafraid to reference or not reference (her past works)

[Theo 318]

Seek help

 

I just expressed my opinion. You do not agree with me, fine, but please do not offend me, that is rude.

[littleredpartydress 48,387]

https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/lana-del-rey/norman-fucking-rockwell/

 

Everyone go rate it 5 stars on this site it was at like 4.02 until TOOL fans Invaded and trashed the score

[Lanalouis1 2,510]

um what's with the Swifties vs. Little Lipsters stan wars lately? i thot Taylor was a stan?

 

 

 

 

plot twist what if "all of it" is a new track from WHF featuring taylor - baddie anthem incoming

[Cacciatore 19,346]

https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/lana-del-rey/norman-fucking-rockwell/

 

Everyone go rate it 5 stars on this site it was at like 4.02 until TOOL fans Invaded and trashed the score

 

Ok swifties creating accounts on music websites to bring NFR score down its kinda understandable because they're children, but grown ass men being so petty about a woman getting critically acclaimed while the band they stan is also doing pretty well is  embarrassing

[Cloudbusting 5,383]

https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/lana-del-rey/norman-fucking-rockwell/

 

Everyone go rate it 5 stars on this site it was at like 4.02 until TOOL fans Invaded and trashed the score

 

What? I thought Tool stans would be more mature, given that rock sometimes attracts pretentious people 

[Cacciatore 19,346]

um what's with the Swifties vs. Little Lipsters stan wars lately? i thot Taylor was a stan?

 

 

 

 

 

This whole situation is so dumb. They're feeling threatened because NFR is getting better reviews than Lover, and in their little heads Lana getting more praised than Taylor it's like a personal insult or something because Taylor needs to be the best at everything honestly I'm not even mad because most of them are kids and teens so it's whataver, and at the end of the day it won't matter if NFR has a lower user score than Lover on metacritic or sum so if that makes them feel better so just let them be

[house of balloons 12,770]

This whole situation is so dumb. They're feeling threatened because NFR is getting better reviews than Lover, and in their little heads Lana getting more praised than Taylor it's like a personal insult or something because Taylor needs to be the best at everything honestly I'm not even mad because most of them are kids and teens so it's whataver, and at the end of the day it won't matter if NFR has a lower user score than Lover on metacritic or sum so if that makes them feel better so just let them be

they're so triggered i had to laugh 

[American Whore 47,358]

So can we please talk about the auto tune from HTD? Has anyone else noticed it?

[Macintosh Manhattan 6,505]

This whole situation is so dumb. They're feeling threatened because NFR is getting better reviews than Lover, and in their little heads Lana getting more praised than Taylor it's like a personal insult or something because Taylor needs to be the best at everything honestly I'm not even mad because most of them are kids and teens so it's whataver, and at the end of the day it won't matter if NFR has a lower user score than Lover on metacritic or sum so if that makes them feel better so just let them be

Sad part is that Taylor has spoken about her fondness for Lana and her music. I just don’t understand the need for certain stan bases to turn everything into an argument/battle between each other. Can’t we just celebrate two female artists making great records...

[enchaunted 106]

guys does she say "better not to keep" or "better not to give" in cinnamon girl?

[GroupieLove 2,620]

Jack after adding those Xmas bells on How to disappear:

 

[Veinsineon 70,279]

Jack after adding those Xmas bells on How to disappear:

 

Theyre so distracting ):

[bigspender 8,343]

Theyre so distracting ):

 

the way they come in right when she says "I love that man like nobody can" is so cute

[PARADIXO 31,457]

These are my personal favorite and least favorites lyrics from the AOTY, Norman F***ing Rockwell!

 

Favorites:

 

"You fucked me so good that I almost said I love you / You talk to the walls when the party gets bored of you" -- This man-child must've been a Leo!

"And who I am is a big-time believer that people can change" -- MAC has her best lyrics ever, but if I have to choose one line it is this one

"Fear fun, fear love / Fresh out of fucks forever / Trying to be stronger for you / Ice cream, ice queen / I dream in jeans and leather / Livestream, I'm sweet for you" -- Very honest and strong lyrics coming from a really heartbroken soul who has no other choice to become an "ice queen" aka surly/cold, in fear of being left or hurt again

"So I moved to California but it's just a state of mind / It turns out everywhere you go you take yourself, it's not a lie" -- Brilliant and brutally true

"Grab my waist, don't waste any part" -- I can't believe the hate this line is getting... it's so sexy and romantic

"Is it safe to just be who we are?" -- Obviously Lana says this because it might be dangerous for her as a celebrity to have sex in a car with some dude; but I connect it (as most people here do) with my sexual orientation... My ex was cold af and especially when we were in some public place... he didn't even want me to touch him or hug him because he was scared people would say or do something...

"Cinnamon in my teeth from your kiss" -- As I said some posts ago, this man is leaving her a bitter taste in her mouth and she's doubting whether or not tell him her past experiences with love; she really doesn't want to get hurt again... if she tells her, this dude might think she's crazy but if she doesn't she ends up vulnerable, and then this line...

"There's things I want to say to you but I'll just let you live / Like if you hold me without hurting me you'll be the first who ever did" -- Amazing

"I whisper in your ear: I'm always going to be right here / No one's going anywhere"

"You don't ever have to be stronger than you really are" -- Perhaps the most depressing yet comforting line she's ever written

"He was 70s in spirit / 90s in his frame of mind"

"The culture is lit and I had a ball / I guess that I'm burned out after all / If this is it, I'm signing off / Miss doing nothing the most of all / Hawaii just missed the fireball / LA is in flames, it's getting hot / Kanye West is blonde and gone / Life on Mars ain't just a song / Oh, the livestream's almost on" -- Spectacular... truly the confirmation of her legend status...

"Photo-free exits from baby's beside / 'Cause they don't yet know what car I drive / I'm trying to keep my love alive" -- Very visual

"If he's a serial killer then what's the worst that could happen to a girl that's already hurt? I'm already hurt" -- Powerful

All of Hope.

 

Could've been better:

 

"You're fun and you're wild" -- I'm a big supporter of the Lana Del Rey universe and the repetition of her Lana-isms (party dresses, summer references, etc.) but this line is tired.

"We were so obsessed with writing the next best American record / That we gave all we had 'til the time we got to bed / 'Cause we knew we could" -- Extreme downgrade from the excellent lyric and meaning of the original track

"We play the Eagles down in Malibu and I want it" -- goddamn

"The poetry inside of me is warm like a gun"

[Fingertips 72,092]

Ok, so I did the NFR song sorter and I really think this is pretty accurate now that I've had the album for a few days:

 

1. Happiness is a Butterfly (shocker, I know)

2. Bartender

3. Venice Bitch

4. Cinnamon Girl

5. The Greatest

6. How to Disappear

7. Love Song

8. Mariners Apartment Complex

9. California

10. Norman Fucking Rockwell

11. Doin' Time

12. Fuck it I Love You

13. Hope is a Dangerous Thing

13. The Next Best American Record

 

The only two i'm just indifferent about are Hope and TNBAR. Phenomenal album.

[hippo 564]

cinnamon girl really is THAT bitch.

[MJA 738]

ADVICE NEEDED:

I want to buy the vinyl but am unsure which to get:

 

The NFR cover as it is, but I think the records are just black OR the one on her website where the cover is patterned, but the vinyl's are neon green?

 

Has anyone purchased the regular cover (non-patterned) and the records themselves are green?