Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd - Post-Release Discussion Thread + Poll

[Veinsineon 77,862]

3 minutes ago, jaesana said:

She never returned to the sound because it wasn't entirely 100% her choice. She approved it certainly, but I assume that production style pushed her out of her comfort zone and she never wanted to revisit that style.

[Vertimus 9,673]

16 minutes ago, jaesana said:

This. To me, this explains why BTD is such a unique part of her discography. She never returned to the sound because it wasn't entirely 100% her choice. She approved it certainly, but I assume that production style pushed her out of her comfort zone and she never wanted to revisit that style.

 

Edit: I hear a lot of AKA Lizzy Grant in Ocean Boulevard. So, I feel like she's come full circle and BTD was its own island of tracks.

We know for a fact that Lana has said, multiple times, and in multiple ways, "But some of that [BTD] production! UUgghhh." 

 

I do think she would have stayed somewhat on that course, as she did with 'Paradise' and songs like 'Cola,' but about that time she had her public feud with Lorde and said that Lorde criticized her but then stolen her 'sound,' so I think she was happy with the general 'Paradise' production and only took a sharp swerve from it with 'UV' because she felt Lorde had stolen her sound. At the time, I remember thinking this was a huge boner move on Lana's part, that she should have 100% stood her ground. She would have ended up wiping the floor with Lorde. 

[wilting daisy 3,395]

2 minutes ago, Vertimus said:

I do think she would have stayed somewhat on that course, as she did with 'Paradise' and songs like 'Cola,' but about that time she had her public feud with Lorde and said that Lorde criticized her but then stolen her 'sound,' so I think she was happy with the general 'Paradise' production and only took a sharp swerve from it with 'UV' because she felt Lorde has stolen her sound. At the time, I remember thinking this was a huge boner move on Lana's part, that she should have 100% stood her ground. She would have ended up wiping the floor with Lorde. 

i feel like on paradise she already started departing from the born to die sound, just not as drastically as with ultraviolence. but that makes sense since her label wanted to tack it onto born to die so it still had to match a little bit. but then i feel like honeymoon, norman f**king rockwell & ocean blvd all have moments that sonically echo back to paradise still. i imagine the production on paradise is closer to the sound she wanted for born to die. and as someone who finds born to die's production a little overwhelming and repetitive at times, i find paradise's production a lot more enjoyable overall. and while lorde certainly copied lana's overall vibe musically, i find her production was always a little more minimal and synthetic compared to lana's and lana was always going to experiment with different sounds since she did before she was famous too so i don't think lorde had anything to do with her abandoning that sound.

[jaesana 3,707]

14 minutes ago, Vertimus said:

We know for a fact that Lana has said, multiple times, and in multiple ways, "But some of that [BTD] production! UUgghhh." 

 

I do think she would have stayed somewhat on that course, as she did with 'Paradise' and songs like 'Cola,' but about that time she had her public feud with Lorde and said that Lorde criticized her but then stolen her 'sound,' so I think she was happy with the general 'Paradise' production and only took a sharp swerve from it with 'UV' because she felt Lorde had stolen her sound. At the time, I remember thinking this was a huge boner move on Lana's part, that she should have 100% stood her ground. She would have ended up wiping the floor with Lorde. 

Lorde is fun to listen to but looking back she looks soooo bad saying allat. Her criticisms about Lana mean nothing in the long run. I'm not talking about streams or success really; I'm talking about the long-lasting legacy Lana will leave behind... and Lorde's lack of it. Lana changed pop culture and has cemented herself as one of the best singer-songwriters in American history.

 

Ultraviolence is another sound that I wish she'd return to, I admit for nostalgic reasons, but I remember hearing it for the first time and having a moment with myself and thinking, "Music can sound like this???" I was youngggg but even ten years later I really haven't heard anything like UV. Cat Power's Moonpix maybe, but there's something about UV's psychedelic production, mixing, lyrics that really nothing can compare to. And quite frankly I don't even want to listen to an album and think "Oh wow, this sounds like Ultraviolence"–– it can stand alone and be its own thing.

 

In terms of Ocean Boulevard, I don't really know why people are convinced that her lyrics and ideas are so different from how she started. I'm gonna have a hot take here (if you disagree pls don't flame me but I've been thinking about this for a while) I think Born To Die / Paradise is a collection of songs chronicling the epitome of naiveté and youth. Her music is NO LONGER NAIVE. She's wiser. I think this is why people claim she's being pretentious in her new music... when really, I think people want her to stay young and stupid forever especially in a society that celebrates youth. She has different priorities now, and even in her more mature age, she STILL sings about those similar ideas

[CinnamonGay 10,527]

17 minutes ago, Vertimus said:

She would have ended up wiping the floor with Lorde. 

She did that with UV and everything that came after it. 

[Delete NOW 2,326]

The fan fiction. Pretty sure Black Beauty (demo), Starry Eyed, Angels Forever were the sound of her sophomore album before that leaked. It’s still very much BTD-Paradise esque cinematic sound with the same producers (Emile Haynie). Then she changed the course of the entire album because of the leaks and did UV in like a week with Dan Auerbach in Nashville. Thankful that leaked because we got a better sound direction because of it, but it did tank her career commercially at the time because it was too different from the hip hop sound she did with BTD. However, UV is being appreciated years later so that worked out flawlessly in the end. I do think had she sticked with her original vision of UV, she would have continued her mainstream success after BTD, but that would have stunted her artistically and cut her career short overall. Her discography would’ve been like a basic pop girl, ala Katy or Ariana, where every album sounds the same. The rock pivot was mega risky. It didn’t pay off in 2014, but it’s paying off now.

 

Lana did return to the BTD sound with Honeymoon and Lust For Life. Both albums are hip hop adjacent. Saying she’s not going back to BTD sound is a flat lie. Her sound simply evolved from the BTD sound. UV and NFR were both sharp turns tho aside from a few tracks (MPG, FMWUTTT, Old Money, BAR, Cinnamon).

Only two albums with almost zero urban influences: COCC and BB. BB still have the trio interlude. But that’s like one song. Both are her biggest flops oop that should tell you what the audience really wants from her .

 

Ocean Blvd is a perfect blend of gospel, choir, soundtrack songs, singer-songwriter, folk, indie, trap, poetry, piano, pop rock, folk rock, pop, hip hop, urban, rap, surf rock, reggaeton, and acid .

 

[Pink Champagne 9,591]

I don’t have a problem with the lyrics or how the subjects of her songs have changed over the years. I do wish the production didn’t sound muffled and her voice didn’t sound so quiet. I noticed it happening around Lust for Life where she started to sing in a more monotone way. It’s not on every single song but compare vocals on Old Money to Kintsugi. I guess the best way to describe it is her vocals used to sound very warm and full to me. Now they sound more cool and quiet. 

[Vertimus 9,673]

13 minutes ago, jaesana said:

Lorde is fun to listen to but looking back she looks soooo bad saying allat. Her criticisms about Lana mean nothing in the long run. I'm not talking about streams or success really; I'm talking about the long-lasting legacy Lana will leave behind... and Lorde's lack of it. Lana changed pop culture and has cemented herself as one of the best singer-songwriters in American history.

 

Ultraviolence is another sound that I wish she'd return to, I admit for nostalgic reasons, but I remember hearing it for the first time and having a moment with myself and thinking, "Music can sound like this???" I was youngggg but even ten years later I really haven't heard anything like UV. Cat Power's Moonpix maybe, but there's something about UV's psychedelic production, mixing, lyrics that really nothing can compare to. And quite frankly I don't even want to listen to an album and think "Oh wow, this sounds like Ultraviolence"–– it can stand alone and be its own thing.

 

In terms of Ocean Boulevard, I don't really know why people are convinced that her lyrics and ideas are so different from how she started. I'm gonna have a hot take here (if you disagree pls don't flame me but I've been thinking about this for a while) I think Born To Die / Paradise is a collection of songs chronicling the epitome of naiveté and youth. Her music is NO LONGER NAIVE. She's wiser. I think this is why people claim she's being pretentious in her new music... when really, I think people want her to stay young and stupid forever especially in a society that celebrates youth. She has different priorities now, and even in her more mature age, she STILL sings about those similar ideas

Yes, that's true, and we've discussed it here many times. Like so many musical artists that began their careers and found their success while young or youngish, she's matured. She hasn't remained static by choice and or circumstance. She's in early middle age, let's face it. Priorities change, and if she marries and has a child soon--one or more--we're very likely going to hear a lot more songs like 'Sweet Carolina' and 'Grandfather' and a lot less like 'Ultraviolence,' 'Honeymoon,' and '13 Beaches.'  

 

Lana said long ago that she "sort of grew up in a Carly Simon household,' and I said here a few years ago that that Carly Simon influence is coming through, whether she realizes or intends it or not. Songs like 'Arcadia,' 'COCC,' and 'VFR' are very Carly Simon-like, as are even 'Hope' and the 'NFR!' title track, and Simon made an entire career of singing about her famous husband (James Taylor) and lovers (too numerous to list here), her privileged upbringing, her paralyzing shyness, her siblings, and her children Ben and Sally. Lana and Carly are both Cancers, by the way--family talk and obsession comes naturally to them. 

 

Being older than some here, I wasn't nearly as thrilled by the 'UV' production or sound, especially on 'Cruel World,' as I'd heard many songs like that before. But I realized then that, for many, 'Cruel World' was something like their introduction to that sort of a sound.  

[Crimson and Clover 22,550]

26 minutes ago, Vertimus said:

Spoiler

 

Yes, that's true, and we've discussed it here many times. Like so many musical artists that began their careers and found their success while young or youngish, she's matured. She hasn't remained static by choice and or circumstance. She's in early middle age, let's face it. Priorities change, and if she marries and has a child soon--one or more--we're very likely going to hear a lot more songs like 'Sweet Carolina' and 'Grandfather' and a lot less like 'Ultraviolence,' 'Honeymoon,' and '13 Beaches.'  

 

Lana said long ago that she "sort of grew up in a Carly Simon household,' and I said here a few years ago that that Carly Simon influence is coming through, whether she realizes or intends it or not. Songs like 'Arcadia,' 'COCC,' and 'VFR' are very Carly Simon-like, as are even 'Hope' and the 'NFR!' title track, and Simon made an entire career of singing about her famous husband (James Taylor) and lovers (too numerous to list here), her privileged upbringing, her paralyzing shyness, her siblings, and her children Ben and Sally. Lana and Carly are both Cancers, by the way--family talk and obsession comes naturally to them. 

 

Being older than some here, I wasn't nearly as thrilled by the 'UV' production or sound, especially on 'Cruel World,' as I'd heard many songs like that before. But I realized then that, for many, 'Cruel World' was something like their introduction to that sort of a sound.

 

 

I heavily agree with your last paragraph since I experienced it myself. I love all her music, especially Ultraviolence and NFR since they really got me into discovering new music. Ultraviolence got me really into music as a teenager and NFR a young adult, and they both taught me about music genres I would’ve otherwise not bothered with (e.g. dream pop, trip hop, etc). At the time they were new sounds and textures to me, while for example my older sister or parents would say stuff like “this sounds like the Beatles/Dido/Goldfrapp etc”. Looking back, most of her music isn’t groundbreaking - you can find similar alt rock/downtempo/pop/whatever genre songs that were bigger in the 90s that sound a lot like UV/NFR and her other works. But Lana’s works bring something really nice to the current pop landscape that young people who haven’t experimented much with their music taste can enjoy. It’s like how a lot of people heavily praise Ptolemea by Ethel Cain (a song I enjoy, don’t get me wrong) as something revolutionary but it’s essentially a post-metal ethereal wave song, which is nothing new. 

[nosorangegrape 335]

It's giving medieval

https://youtu.be/HRuK69HurYc

[Vertimus 9,673]

23 minutes ago, Crimson and Clover said:

I heavily agree with your last paragraph since I experienced it myself. I love all her music, especially Ultraviolence and NFR since they really got me into discovering new music. Ultraviolence got me really into music as a teenager and NFR a young adult, and they both taught me about music genres I would’ve otherwise not bothered with (e.g. dream pop, trip hop, etc). At the time they were new sounds and textures to me, while for example my older sister or parents would say stuff like “this sounds like the Beatles/Dido/Goldfrapp etc”. Looking back, most of her music isn’t groundbreaking - you can find similar alt rock/downtempo/pop/whatever genre songs that were bigger in the 90s that sound a lot like UV/NFR and her other works. But Lana’s works bring something really nice to the current pop landscape that young people who haven’t experimented much with their music taste can enjoy. It’s like how a lot of people heavily praise Ptolemea by Ethel Cain (a song I enjoy, don’t get me wrong) as something revolutionary but it’s essentially a post-metal ethereal wave song, which is nothing new. 

Right. Well said. There was nothing on UV that I hadn't heard before, though it was startling to hear Lana performing it, as it so up-ended her BTD/P sound.

Also, as I've said before, I still find 'Gods & Monsters' a lot more convincing--and heretical--than the 'bad girl' pose she adopted on so much of UV, which I do find convincing on the title track, but do not on 'MPG' and 'FMYUTTT.' I like 'Sad Girl,' but I found 'I'm a sad girl, I'm a bad girl, I'm a mad girl' a little underwhelming. I still find the guitar solo on 'Shades of Cool' a little silly. And 'PWYC' is just not my cup of tea in a million ways, and, to me, also not convincing. Those are my subjective responses to UV, and haven't changed much since its release. 

[mlittle11 12,234]

i wish lana’s growth took the path of NFR rather than what we have now (many of you would argue that it has but there is a STARK difference between the style of NFR and the style of OB). 

 

after sitting with the album and the newness wearing off, i like a few songs but dont often feel compelled to come back to the album. i dont relate to most of the lyrical material, i dont find a lot of the melodies to be that compelling, i completely understood what the album was about on first listen, and it doesnt cultivate any sort of atmosphere for me. some songs are career highlights but for the most part, i could take or leave this album. 

 

maybe lana’s new direction isnt really for me anymore  i can appreciated her growth and the music shes putting out n i love her to death as a person but idk… nothing will compare to her earlier music for me. i just cant make myself enjoy it as much. 

[blackpalmtrees 2,458]

4 minutes ago, mlittle11 said:

i wish lana’s growth took the path of NFR rather than what we have now (many of you would argue that it has but there is a STARK difference between the style of NFR and the style of OB). 

 

after sitting with the album and the newness wearing off, i like a few songs but dont often feel compelled to come back to the album. i dont relate to most of the lyrical material, i dont find a lot of the melodies to be that compelling, i completely understood what the album was about on first listen, and it doesnt cultivate any sort of atmosphere for me. some songs are career highlights but for the most part, i could take or leave this album. 

 

maybe lana’s new direction isnt really for me anymore  i can appreciated her growth and the music shes putting out n i love her to death as a person but idk… nothing will compare to her earlier music for me. i just cant make myself enjoy it as much. 

Every person who denies is this just truly trying to convince themselves it’s not true.

 

Lana needs to do something new, and no OB didn’t include anything new. 

[lilacheaven 211]

2 minutes ago, blackpalmtrees said:

Every person who denies is this just truly trying to convince themselves it’s not true.

 

Lana needs to do something new, and no OB didn’t include anything new. 

Honestly I can get some look at OB this way but saying it didn't include anything new is wrong on so many levels for me. There are songs including a whole new and different kind of sound -far distant from the piano ballad-y style of BB and COCC- let's just take A&W, Taco Truck x VB, Peppers, but also Candy Necklace. Maybe it's not a whole revolution of the style she has perfected during the previous three or two albums, nor a clear detachment from it, but for sure there are some new aspects to her music that she had not fully developed yet before OB

[Venice Jesus Whore 4,471]

6 minutes ago, blackpalmtrees said:

Every person who denies is this just truly trying to convince themselves it’s not true.

 

Lana needs to do something new, and no OB didn’t include anything new. 

Or maybe people just have different opinions? Why does everything have to be “you’re right and I’m wrong” on internet discussions these days? I’ve been a Lana fan since 2012 and Born to Die is probably literally one of my most played albums of all time. Yet, right now, Ocean Blvd is my favorite album of all time and I haven’t changed that #1 album for me since 2016. Just because Ocean Blvd doesn’t fit your tastes but it fits mine doesn’t mean you’re right and I’m wrong or vice versa. We have different opinions.

[the greatest bitch 735]

12 minutes ago, blackpalmtrees said:

Lana needs to do something new, and no OB didn’t include anything new. 

I don’t think she’s done something like a&w before. Since NFR, I don’t remember instantly loving a single as much as a&w.

[LifeOnMars 7,933]

I thought this album was a little underwhelming on first listen, but I love it now. I mainly appreciate that Lana tired new things on this album. From the folk-trap A&W, gospel elements in The Grants, the jazzy elements on Candy Necklace, the uplifting nature of Margaret and Let the Light In, and the great use of sampling in Peppers. I think the interludes add a lot to the album as well even though they do go on for a bit too long. The only songs that come of as filler to me are Sweet and Fishtail. I just don’t think they add anything to the album, but they are still good songs. 

[Veinsineon 77,862]

30 minutes ago, nosorangegrape said:

It's giving medieval

https://youtu.be/HRuK69HurYc

Need this in HQ 

[past the bushes 30,940]

2 hours ago, ShadesOfFool said:

i love how the chorus of Grandfather has literally nothing to do with the verses, she's talking about the media and her reputation then randomly starts belting out about her dad going fishing, then goes back to the media and her reputation.

 

it's catchy but how did we get there baby? gotta love her! 

She's so crazzzzzzzy! Love her!!! 

[venicebitch 14,553]

32 minutes ago, nosorangegrape said:

It's giving medieval

https://youtu.be/HRuK69HurYc

omg imagine her doing this live on tour...