Lana feature in Billboard Magazine - February 25th, 2023 [INTERVIEW] - Updated

[Rico25 7,160]

7 minutes ago, Fingertips said:

I don't understand what she means by world building at all because each Lana album has one, for me, except for Lust for Life because that album was all over the place sonically...and Ocean Blvd so far because of a conscious artistic decision to explore deeper into her own mind

 

Chemtrails definitely has a world to me, so do Blue Banisters and Norman, UV, HM, Born to Die..I'm not getting it lol

I think it has to do with the themes of the songs

 

Born To Die has this Lolita aesthetic/theme throughout several songs even though at the time she released the album she couldn't possibly relate to this theme

 

Chemtrails and BB do have their world but the writing is pretty much like a diary as she described it somewhere

 

I mean I don't think lines such as "Washing my hair / doing my laundry" or "Tex & Mex are in the Bay / Chuck is making birthday cake" would have ever been written for BTD, UV...

I couldn't picture Hope being in her early albums either

[American Whore 47,543]

17 minutes ago, chemtrailsovertrailerpark said:

I feel like people gave Taylor so much hate for not having Lana sing more, and now Lana is trying to set the record straight that Taylor did want her to but it was her own decision not to.

 

Honestly though, for her to keep saying she would have done it IF she knew she was the only feature on the album doesn't really make sense. Like what difference does that even make really if there are other features since this is the only one in existence with the two of them... it's almost like she's also implying that Taylor should have told her this, but it's maybe just an excuse and seems irrelevant to me. Lana has features on some of her albums and those artists have verses, and you can really hear them, it's not just occasional background vocals. Idk maybe we will get another collaboration to make up for it. 

Lana's actually talked about this before - on her albums, it's more to be inclusive of her friends or to showcase the people's voices around her, that's why she'll have a collab with one artist who has a verse or two artists who have their own parts. but when she collabs on their albums, she prefers to be in the backing vocals, even with artists like The Weeknd where she collabed on an non-featured Starboy song. it's like it's their song and she's just here to be here in the background. in a way, it's a huge complement bc it's almost as if she doesn't want to take any spotlight off of that artist at all -- it's their song and album yknow?

[brandon 12,044]

4 minutes ago, anwdelrey said:

Now why is she not on the cover? I stg Ben and Ed are useless sometimes.

because it’s the woman’s awards issue and the woman of the year is Always the cover of that. she is not woman of the year, sza is.

this has nothing to do with ben or ed 

 

why do people always want someone to blame  sometimes it just is what it is 

[rightofjupiter 15,876]

this interview really gave us nothing huh

[West Coast 44,804]

1 hour ago, lanasbottom said:

"I’m thinking a little less big and bombastic. Maybe at some point I can have fun creating a world again, but right now, I would say there’s no world building"

 

please go back to that just for one era pls i’m begging 

 

It's funny to me because some fans get up in arms when other fans are expressing the wish for Lana to '' go back to her early sound'' or do a spin on the sound of an album with a more modern approach--not for nothing, the last cycle of albums, they explored a similar sound... I don't think it's a stretch for some fans to want Lana to go back to a more bombastic sound and approach. 

 

I'll wait to see where the next album fits in all of this, but if Lana can do something similar for three albums in a row, I don't think it's far fetched for people to want her to change her tune a little. 

[lanasbottom 23,687]

37 minutes ago, Fingertips said:

Chemtrails definitely has a world to me, so do Blue Banisters and Norman, UV, HM, Born to Die..I'm not getting it lol

blue banister’s world was a retirement home

[West Coast 44,804]

39 minutes ago, Fingertips said:

I don't understand what she means by world building at all because each Lana album has one, for me, except for Lust for Life because that album was all over the place sonically...and Ocean Blvd so far because of a conscious artistic decision to explore deeper into her own mind

 

Chemtrails definitely has a world to me, so do Blue Banisters and Norman, UV, HM, Born to Die..I'm not getting it lol

 

I don't think any of her albums are a carbon copy of the other, but there are similarities in terms of sound and overall artistic approach between some records.

 

But I'm sure Lana has a very different view of her albums, as a whole, than we do. 

[111 34,827]

hmm her talking about no world building on this album tells me why there are no visuals for it (yet at least) and that's not the focus

[lanasbottom 23,687]

13 minutes ago, 111 said:

hmm her talking about no world building on this album tells me why there are no visuals for it (yet at least) and that's not the focus

well it’s certainly a better excuse than "lol i couldn’t be bothered to film something, suck it twinks" 

[love deluxe 8,494]

wasnt expecting much from this interview or photoshoot but lmao i was rly not a fan of either i fear 

 

the makeup is slaying and the hair is beautiful but these outfits just really don’t go with the looks.

 

 also the photos in general were just not my fav. i guess i should have known that the interview was gonna be short but im disappointed by that too 

 

it’s okay though cause at least we got interview mag which is her best photoshoot since flaunt in 2017  and also tunnel coming soon which i just know will make it all worth it in the end 

[Jared 3,128]

There's no way you can male a visual for A&W or the title track without it being super corny. It's no surprise that there's no visuals.

[#FreeCandyNecklace 555]

1 hour ago, American Whore said:

Lana's actually talked about this before - on her albums, it's more to be inclusive of her friends or to showcase the people's voices around her, that's why she'll have a collab with one artist who has a verse or two artists who have their own parts. but when she collabs on their albums, she prefers to be in the backing vocals, even with artists like The Weeknd where she collabed on an non-featured Starboy song. it's like it's their song and she's just here to be here in the background. in a way, it's a huge complement bc it's almost as if she doesn't want to take any spotlight off of that artist at all -- it's their song and album yknow?

My theory is also that Lana was VERY involved in the writing process, because that song is not written like a Taylor Swift song. It's essentially a Lana song with Taylor vocals on lead. I'm not a Taylor Swift hater at all, but I struggle to get into her music, and I've listened to enough to sense that I think Lana and her wrote the song together vs. Taylor writing it and handing it off to Lana for backgrounds. It's actually the only song on the Midnights album I don't get bored of by the first minute. And lyrically, it is so much more Lana than Taylor

[Pink Flamingo 16,084]

That interview was not it lmao

[Grenadine quarantine 1,485]

28 minutes ago, 111 said:

hmm her talking about no world building on this album tells me why there are no visuals for it (yet at least) and that's not the focus

Also fits in with the album covers being done just in her bedroom 

[blackpalmtrees 2,466]

11 minutes ago, Jared said:

There's no way you can male a visual for A&W or the title track without it being super corny. It's no surprise that there's no visuals.

You are the definition of corny my dear

[GeminiLanaFan 45,774]

I Love the photoshoot but that interview feels a bit short… although I love to hear a bit more about her creative process 

[lanasbottom 23,687]

29 minutes ago, Jared said:

There's no way you can male a visual for A&W or the title track without it being super corny. It's not a surprise that there's no visuals.

not you spilling what happened who are you and what did you do to Jared ? 

 

 

when was her last non-"corny" video anyways? Love ? Cocc ?

 

i’d take a single good high budget clip or something the interview video and be satisfied, we really don’t need more homemade shit that’ll get stuck at 4 million views on youtube anyway

[Blossom 8,916]

2 hours ago, Elle said:

“At first I was so uncomfortable,” she says of the more personal material. “Then, by the grace of God, I just felt completely unburdened.”

oh Patty... better stalk up on groceries now and prepare to go into hiding for the next year 

[Morissetteus 1,542]

I definitely hoped for more and surprised; there was almost nothing about the upcoming album. Why is that? Maybe something small and cute because of the award?
 

i would expect some more stuff for later issues 

[Elle 113,895]

More from the interview with more content about the album! x

Why Lana Del Rey Is Opening Up About Her Family on ‘Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd’

There is, in fact, a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard. Though a few online spectators suspected the tunnel, which inspired the name of Lana Del Rey’s album Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, out March 24, might be located in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Del Rey recently revealed that the underground tunnel is actually in Long Beach, Calif. — not far from Los Angeles, where Del Rey has lived for the last six years.

The singer-songwriter’s use of SoCal iconography has been a cornerstone of her songwriting for over a decade, from Born To Die’s (2012) depictions to old Hollywood glamor to Norman Fucking Rockwell’s (2019) allusions to Venice Beach. While it’s present on her new project as well, Del Rey admits she is not quite as focused on “world building” as she once was, and instead is “living from the neck up,” focusing her craft on more lyrically driven and intimate songwriting.

Del Rey’s Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd discusses unrevealed details and stories about her “family of origin,” especially in songs like “Fingertips,” which she says “tells everything about everyone from day one.” Just weeks before its release, Del Rey – who is Billboard’s 2023 Women in Music Visionary honoree — talks about creating the album in her living room, and why she is ready to talk about her family.

 

How did your new album begin to take shape?

Mike Hermosa, who produced the majority of the songs on this album, would come over to my house, and I would hear him in my living room playing piano. He’s not even a musician full time. He’s a DP, a cameraman. I would hear him play, and I’d be like “can I record that?” or I’d sneakily record something.

Eventually I asked if he could just keep playing, and I could sing. Then, every Sunday when he wasn’t working, he would just kind of noodle around, and I would sing. That’s how we wrote the first song: “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd.” I knew right away that I really, really liked it.

I enjoyed how casual writing with Mike was. He didn’t have a dog in the race. He wasn’t interested in anything beyond just playing. It’s fun that the entire album didn’t feel like we were making one until the end when Jack Antonoff came in and was like “I really like this. Can I put something on top of this?” When Jack comes in, you know you’re making a real record.

 

Do you feel this casual approach to songwriting was able to open you up creatively?

This process was almost like automatic singing. I just knew exactly every word to sing for everything he played because the chords were perfectly arranged. I think my overall feeling when writing this album was just, “wow, I got lucky.”

Also, I realized that, even when I’m seeking so many other things in my life, music really seeks me. It’s like a little bird following me around. Somehow when I didn’t want to make music, I was presented with the best collaborators I’ve met. I just had them in my living room. I realized music is the one thing that constantly shows up for me, even when I’m looking for something else.

 

Since you were singing so automatically, as you put it, did you go back and edit, or did you leave it as is?

There was a lot of editing, because it was mostly a stream of consciousness, but every now and then I’ll have a complete song come to me fully formed. The song “Fingertips” I created in one sitting, voice memoed it, and sent it to [the producer and composer] Drew Erickson. He came back to me the next day with a full orchestra. Again, I just felt so lucky: lucky for the songs, lucky for these producers, lucky for the project.

 

You have Jack Antonoff coming back on this record. He’s worked on so many major albums in the last five years, including two of your own (Norman Fucking Rockwell and Chemtrails Over the Country Club). As someone who has worked with him so often, what’s his secret? Why does everyone want to work with him?

He can play anything on any instrument. He can fit the right instruments and melodies to any idea you’ve had. I think he plays something like 16 instruments. For us, it’s definitely very collaborative. I think probably out of any projects he’s worked on, he would say I give him the most direction.

It’s funny because I recently heard all of his records he made from when he was in high school, and I still hear so much of what he’s done on Taylor [Swift]’s new record from that high school record. He’s just prolific. It’s absolutely wild to watch. That’s why it’s so fun because you really get to create any sound with him. He’s also a girl’s guy. He gets it!

 

He’s also a featured artist on the album too. How did that come about?

I was done with the album, and he came in for a couple days. We sat there, and I said, “let’s just play the piano.” I can make a song out of anything Jack plays. That’s actually how Norman got started too. He just plays and I just sing. He started playing something and then I was thinking about his fiancée [Margaret Qualley] who I just can’t live without! I love her. I started singing “he met Margaret on a rooftop / she was wearing white / and he was like / ‘I might be in trouble.’”

I asked him what he thought we should say in the second verse because with him and Margaret it was a “when you know you know” situation. He had the idea to sing about what you should do when you don’t know. He started singing, and I told him he should just sing it on the record. It was really fun.

 

What overall themes did you try to capture in this record?

Family of origin is the overall theme. I think with Blue Banisters I wanted to capture this idea too, but I flew it under the radar. I was trying to address some criticisms that I had heard said after Chemtrials… mostly that people don’t know much about me. I didn’t promote that theme of Blue Banisters at all intentionally.

In this album, I got to really finish my thoughts and get super specific, which I was not comfortable with completely before… I do list my grandpa, my brother, my dad, my Uncle Dave.

In the song “Fingertips,” I sing “Charlie stop smoking / Caroline will you be with me / will the baby be alright? / Will I have one of mine?” I think I was able to open up about this because Mike was so casual to work with. All in my living room. It allowed for that.

“Fingertips” tells everything about everyone from day one until now.

 

Are you nervous about being so forthcoming about your family in this record?

I was. I was so uncomfortable. Then, by the grace of God, I felt completely unburdened.

 

Your father, Rob Grant, is releasing an album on Decca Records on June 9, and you’ll be featured on two songs. Has he always been musical?

My dad has always played piano and he sang when he was younger with my uncle who’s a traveling organ player for Emmylou Harris and Buddy Guy. They wrote country records back in the day. I don’t know how and when it came to him. But I think he just decided he wanted to record it. And [my manager] played it for Decca Records, and they loved it. I’m not talkative when it comes to myself, but you will learn so much about me in hearing him. It gives so much context to the family.