Pre-Fame Projects Recording/Writing Timeline and Creative Process Discussion

[blackenedrussianpoetry 2,488]

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l6wDtgXSvCCmwuHrCxDWD5ha3DmzQDeKSSlgWyNCdlA/edit

4 hours ago, Embach said:

queen of coney island - ?

This was an alias used for a single show in 2011 (glasslands 14/9/2011)

[lanaismamom 11,549]

sou, we need to find out what is sugarbaby ep, more dates for songs and demos off aka times and the leak of star lux and beach boys
also that elusive 5 minute song with paolo de grigorio and diet mntn dew 5 minute version 

[ImenaOphelia 9,663]

On 6/25/2023 at 7:32 PM, lanaismamom said:

The next seven years of the singer's life are little known to us, except for the fact that she suffered from alcoholism during this period and was sent to school in Kent ("Kent School"), Connecticut.

i think you forgot about the foster home in Spain she mentioned in Fingertips

On 6/25/2023 at 7:32 PM, lanaismamom said:

The EPs were written and recorded entirely by Lana under her real name Elizabeth Grant (Lizzi Grant's name also appears in the registration) after her uncle taught her how to play 6 chords on the guitar and then she realized that she could "make a million songs with just those 6 chords"

also what is the source of this? I've heard it so many times it's obvious to me but never seen a proper source

[lanaismamom 11,549]

7 minutes ago, ImenaOphelia said:

i think you forgot about the foster home in Spain she mentioned in Fingertips

also what is the source of this? I've heard it so many times it's obvious to me but never seen a proper source

 

[ImenaOphelia 9,663]

2 minutes ago, lanaismamom said:

 

thank you!

[lanaismamom 11,549]

https://krakenfiles.com/view/WEgejBSq8J/file.html @Surf Noirit happened not that long ago on dbree, does it feature smth new or its a fan made random lizzy visuals to the demo we already had?

[Rust Dress 40,236]

22 minutes ago, lanaismamom said:

https://krakenfiles.com/view/WEgejBSq8J/file.html @Surf Noirit happened not that long ago on dbree, does it feature smth new or its a fan made random lizzy visuals to the demo we already had?

 

new footage so i would assume the audio is real

[Strangelove 1,845]

What was the reason for not wanting to support Lana Del Ray A.K.A Lizzy Grant? I thought because the album did poorly she shelved it. To add, which date was she entirely done with this project?

 

 If I'm not mistaken Diet Mtn Dew is the oldest song we have from its demo form post-AKA.

[The Siren 30,524]

1 hour ago, Strangelove said:

What was the reason for not wanting to support Lana Del Ray A.K.A Lizzy Grant? I thought because the album did poorly she shelved it. To add, which date was she entirely done with this project?

 

 If I'm not mistaken Diet Mtn Dew is the oldest song we have from its demo form post-AKA.

The album was done in 2008 and it took 5 points two years to release it due to low funds

 

Isnt the oldest diet mountain dew demo from 2007ish?

[111 36,846]

On 6/26/2023 at 8:42 PM, ImenaOphelia said:

i think you forgot about the foster home in Spain she mentioned in Fingertips

also what is the source of this? I've heard it so many times it's obvious to me but never seen a proper source

 

i think it was just said in some random interviews when she was first blowing up with video games/releasing btd 

5 minutes ago, The Siren said:

The album was done in 2008 and it took 5 points two years to release it due to low funds

 

Isnt the oldest diet mountain dew demo from 2007ish?

 

2008

[Strangelove 1,845]

10 minutes ago, The Siren said:

The album was done in 2008 and it took 5 points two years to release it due to low funds

 

Isnt the oldest diet mountain dew demo from 2007ish?

I knew the drama about the label, but thinking about it now it makes sense she abandoned the project due to the lateness of the release. But to what degree what it the label's fault versus the album doing poorly? If you know can you educate me if Lana ever commented on the label taking a long time to release the album. Because the timeline confuses me.

 

From 2008 the date AKA was meant for a release to the moment she pulled it from streaming, she was already making Born To Die? I don't remember her promoting the album anywhere which makes sense I guess. I guess, she just took her loses and spent her time finding the sound for Born To Die without a label or big budget. It would explain some of the comments she made about Born To Die that I have seen from the website. I'm not sure if she intended for a label-less release. Or maybe she would've had her own label. 

8 minutes ago, 111 said:

 

i think it was just said in some random interviews when she was first blowing up with video games/releasing btd 

 

2008

Impressive she put a four year old song onto the record. I know a lot of the tracks like Million Dollar Man weren't created until 2010. Thinking about this timeline, some of the comments made by Princess Superstar seem to have the most merit to them with this timeline. If she never got in contact with her managers it's likely Born To Die would've been stuck in that same cycle AKA was in. I think it is fitting she was still making those home movies from the Lizzy era into Born To Die -- she was really never ready to fully leave it behind her. 

 

Also her label was 100% in the right to refuse to Ray to Rey change. It looks way better. 

[Strangelove 1,845]

On 6/25/2023 at 1:32 PM, lanaismamom said:

Just like "«Lust for Life» Album Recording/Writing Timeline and Creative Process Discussion" thread, I decided to create this thread for a discussion of Lana's pre-fame times, since I feel this time gets much less appreciation from Lana fans, and it's also a very large and important time for a Lana career's timeline. If I missed something let me know:

 

  Hide contents

From an early age, Lana was already interested in poetry and singing. So, she wrote her first song at the age of 11 or 12 and called it "China Palace", which tells about her idea of what it was like to be a princess and she also mentions strawberry daiquiri. The next seven years of the singer's life are little known to us, except for the fact that she suffered from alcoholism during this period and was sent to school in Kent ("Kent School"), Connecticut. But upon reaching the age of eighteen (2004), Lana moved back to New York, where she enrolled at Fordham University. That's when Lana's musical career began, where she first tried her hand as a singer and later recorded her first two studio EPs titled "Young Like Me" (alternatively known as "Rock Me Stable") and "From the End" in 2005 *a small number of physical copies were made for "Young Like Me", a photo of one of them shared by a Grant family friend*.

The EPs were written and recorded entirely by Lana under her real name Elizabeth Grant (Lizzi Grant's name also appears in the registration) after her uncle taught her how to play 6 chords on the guitar and then she realized that she could "make a million songs with just those 6 chords", but they were never released and the primary sources were the EPs registrations in the "U.S. Copyright Catalog". At the same time Lana started working under the pseudonym "May Jailer" on the first studio album called "Sirens" that includes some tracks from the first EPs plus some new ones. The album was finished somewhere in early 2006 but was never released, but was sent out to some magazine publications for review. The work on the album was done in Lana's hometown, Lake Placid, New York, at Jim Cushman Studio.

 

Songs, that were presumably intended for the album, but didn't make the cut, are:

- "Blizzard";

- "You, Mister";

- "There's Nothing to Be Sorry About";

- "More Mountains";

- "In Wendy";

- "Wait";

- “For Charlie” (uploaded on Lana’s MySpace page in May 2006; speculated to be the same song as “For You”; speculated length is 2:30);

- “For K” (speculated to be an alternate title for a song "Pretty Baby"; might be a different song);

- “of a” (uploaded on Lana’s MySpace page in May 2006; most likely“Birds of a Feather”);

In January 2006 Lana meets Bob Leone – a person, who invited her to participate in a 10-week songwriting workshop sponsored by the Songwriters Hall of Fame and encouraged her to begin performing. Throughout 2006 she continues to perform in New York bars with her own songs. And so, in September 2006, Lana participated in a live songwriting contest, where she met Van Wilson, who was a judge and a talent scout who was working for the “5 Points Records” label. She caught his attention and by 2007 she had signed a $50,000 contract with this label, where she would later release her first studio album “Lana Del Ray a.k.a. Lizzy Grant”. Also, throughout 2006, Lana created the mixtape "The Phenomena of Lizzy Grant", whose songs were produced by Paolo De Gregorio and unknown producer and which was completed on January 10, 2007. Little is known about the purpose of the mixtape.

During 2007, Lana continues recording demos with Steven Mertens as one of the main producers. During that time, the album’s early recordings were already shaping into the album, whose working title by that time was “God Bless America”. Around this time, Lana creates a mixtape CD from 3 tracks - "Roller Dirby" ("Pin Up Galore" demo), "The Ocean" ("Kill Kill" original version) and "Ruby" ("Put Me in a Movie" demo), and gave it to her friend and university professor, Mark Naison. Eventually, somewhere in late 2007, a defining mixtape titled "No Kung Fu" was composed out of a few songs and sent out to a number of producers, including future producer of "Lana Del Ray a.k.a. Lizzy Grant" - David Kahne. By the time David came into Lana's life, she had a certain number of songs and demos ready. Here's a list of such songs, some of which could probably be considered as outtakes for the first studio album as well:

Songs from mid-end 2006:

- "Ben's Song" (sang in the interview; later to be reworked into "Ben," which remains unleaked);

- "You’re Gonna Love Me" (sang in the interview);

- “Run Motorcycle” (sang in the interview; unconfirmed title);

- "Munny Hunny" (published on Lana’s site in August 2006);

- “Fordham Road” (published on Lana’s site in August 2006);

- "Pawn Shop Blues" (Demo; the song was written in June 2006 and firstly performed on July 15, 2006, and published on Lana’s site in August 2006 under the title “Bread and Oranges”, and later in September 2006 retitled into “Pawn Show Blues”);

- “Your Band Is All the Rage” (unconfirmed year);

- “Joan and Bobby” (snippets of a live performance available; unleaked);

- “Vacation” (snippet sang in the interview; unleaked);

- “Diamonds & Rust” (unleaked; different form a Joan Baez song);

Songs from 2007:

- "4th of July" (laptop demo; uses parts from "Put Me in a Movie");

- "Bentley" (laptop demo; speculated to be later reworked into the song "Reflec," which remains unleaked);

- “Crooked Cop” (laptop demo);

- “Let My Hair Down” (= “Dance Man”; live take; was made in January 2007);

- "Disco" (pre-David Kahne demo from unknown producer is from August 2007);

- "Get Drunk" (pre-David Kahne demo from unknown producer is from August 2007; appeared on “No Kung Fu” EP);

- "Jimmy Gnecco" (produced by Arthur Lynn; appeared on “No Kung Fu” EP);

- “Marilyn” (live performance available);

- “Me & My Boyfriend” (live performance available);

- “Trees” (live performance available);

- “When I’m With You” feat. Steven Mertens (sang live; the song was written by Steven Mertens 10 years prior the performance; studio version potentially doesn’t exist);

- Other songs/demos, made with Steven Mertens (speculated);

- "Pin Up Galore" (the song was produced by Steven Mertens in 2007 and it’s one of a few unreleased songs performed live, that makes it a strong contender for a possible song intended for “Lana Del Ray a.k.a. Lizzy Grant”; the first performance of the song is from September 2008);

- "Trash Magic" (the song was produced by Steven Mertens in November 2007 and it’s one of a few unreleased songs performed live, that makes it a strong contender for a possible song intended for “Lana Del Ray a.k.a. Lizzy Grant”; the first performance of the song is from December 2008);

- "Wayamaya" (produced by Steven Mertens in 2007);

- Unknown 5-minute 2007 Song with Paolo De Gregorio;
Songs, that would later reworked by David Kahne and released in "Lana Del Ray a.k.a. Lizzy Grant":

- “O Say Can U See” (Live take, the earliest version is from January 2007);

- "For K, Pt. 2" (Demo; the earliest version is from January 2007; pre-David Kahne demo from unknown producer is from August 2007; the song’s origins are presumably from 2006 alongside “Pawn Shop Blues”);

- “Raise Me Up (Mississippi South)” (the earliest known version is from February 2007; pre-David Kahne demo from unknown producer is from August 2007);

- "Put Me in a Movie" (“Ruby” Demo’ the earliest known version was made in July 2007; produced by Steven Mertens; appeared on “No Kung Fu” EP);

- "Mermaid Motel" (Demo; produced by Steven Mertens in September 2007; appeared on “No Kung Fu” EP);

- "Brite Lites" (Demo 1; produced by an unknown producer; appeared on “No Kung Fu” EP);

- "Jump" (Demo; produced by wether Arthur Lynn or Steven Mertens; appeared on “No Kung Fu” EP);

- "Yayo" (Demo; producer is unknown; appeared on “No Kung Fu” EP);

- "The Ocean" (original version of the song "Kill Kill"; produced by Steven Mertens);

- "Queen of the Gas Station" (“Queen” Demo; produced by Steven Mertens in October 2007).

 

Lana recalls her time working with David with warm words: "My producer David Kahn and I got along really well because he knew I lived in my songs, and so he just tried to make them better. He asked me in an email what I wanted the record to sound like, and I said, "I want it to sound famous, like a sad party." He thought it was a great idea, and we started working the next day." With that said, Lana and David worked every day for three months, resulting in the record "Lana Del Rey a.k.a. Lizzy Grant", which was completed on February 28, 2008, the day the last song, "Raise Me Up (Mississippi South)," was mastered. Back then, tracklist looked this way:

 

1. "For K, Pt. 2";

2. "Gramma (Blue Ribbon Sparkler Trailer Heaven)" (the song doesn’t have a older version);

3. "Jump";

4. "Yayo";

5. "Put Me in a Movie";

6. "Oh Say Can You See";

7. "Pawn Shop Blues";

8. "Queen of the Gas Station";

9. "Kill Kill";

10. "Raise Me Up (Mississippi South)";

11. "Smarty" (previously didn't have a studio version);

12. "Brite Lites";

13. "Mermaid Motel".

 

The original release date for the album, that, at one point, was called “Nevada”, was February 14, 2009 and, after completing the mastering, throughout 2008, Lana continued to work with other unknown producers and David Kahn, making several more compositions that may still have been intended for the album. Some of such compositions are in the following list (note: songs that are in this list and made by David Kahne were probably made earlier):

 

Laptop demos/tracks, made with other producers:

- "Axl Rose Husband" (laptop demo; later to be reworked into the song "Axl," which remains unleaked);

- "C U L8 Alligator" (laptop demo);

- "Coca Cola" (laptop demo);

- "Dance for Money" (laptop demo; speculated to be later reworked into the song "Lemonade Motocycle Heaven," which remains unleaked, since the original file for that laptop demo is “Lemonade Motorcy”);

- "Diet Mt. Dew Baby" (laptop demo; the track was worked on throughout 2008-2011 times and eventually was released on "Born to Die"; the track has a version with the same instrumental as a demo of "Hundred Dollar Bill" titled "Gorgeous $100"/"Ruby Tuesday"; there's an unleaked studio version of the track from 2008 titled "Diet Mntn Dew", with a rumored length 5:36);

- "Elvis" (laptop demo);

- "Jesus Is My Boyfriend" (laptop demo);

- "1949";

- "Come When You Call Me A.M.E.R.I.C.A";

- "Roll with Me (On the Radio)";

- "Strangelove";

- "Beach Boys" (laptop demo; contain some lyrics from “Diet Mountain Dew; unleaked);

- "Star Lux" (laptop demo; supposedly made in 2008; unleaked);

- "W" (uploaded by Lana on her MySpace page in 2008; there are rumors that this is the same song as "Wayamaya");

Tracks, made with David Kahne:

- "Ben";

- "Axl";

- "Reflec";

- "Bounce";

- "Coconut and Key Lime Pie";

- "High";

- "Lemonade Motorcycle Heaven";

- "Jimmy Gnecco";

- "Me & My Boyfriend";

- "Roundup";

- "Slow Gin Fizz";

- "White Pontiac Heaven";

- "$100 Bill (described by David as "progressive and aggressive)";

- "C-Note" (a demo of David Kahn's variation of the song "Hundred Dollar Bill"; is the only leaked song from this producer, for the song was not obtained by hacking the producer, but by hacking Lana's laptop);

- Other reworked tracks by David Kahne (the exact list of songs reworked by David Kahn is unknown, but there are rumors that he may have also reworked "Trash Magic," "Marilyn," "Disco", "Get Drunk”, “Pin Up Galore” and other unknown songs from 2007).

 

On October 22, 2008, Lana released the "Kill Kill” EP. Although Lana had no plans to release it, with the advent of iTunes, David suggested releasing the mini-album to get more publicity for Lana (which was later deleted). There was even an interview filmed for this mini-album, which remained unreleased but was leaked on August 1, 2019. Another unknown project was presumably made around this time and it's called "Sugarbaby" EP.

It's unknown if it's just an alternate title for "Kill Kill" EP or entirely different project, containing unknown songs.

 

The year 2009 came, but Lana's album was indefinitely postponed, and all of 2009's work already belongs entirely to the sessions of the next studio album, which would later become "Born to Die". In 2009, the alias "Lana Del Rey" became increasingly entrenched with Lana, and by the end of 2009, Lana wanted to change the album title from "Lana Del Ray a.k.a. Lizzy Grant" to "Lana Del Rey a.k.a. Lizzy Grant", while adding some unknown songs (“Hundred Dollar Bill” is speculated to be one of these songs, as Lana performed it live the first time in June 2009), but the management didn't approve this move of Lana. And then, on January 4, 2010, the album was officially released, but was subsequently removed from the streaming sites and rights for this album were later bought by Lana.

There's no way to tell for sure what tracks are actual outtakes from the album, so I hope we will figure out more dates and more information that are important for the timeline in this thread!

Thank you to @Surf Noirfor a large details information's providing and to @sparklrtrailrheavenfor his threads and timelines during 2006-2009 times!

Not too album related but as another user pointed out she spent time in Spain in a boarding school - this could be where she learned to speak Spanish and French. 

 

Now I am curious looking at the thread post, how involved exactly Lana's dad was in making Lana Del Rey. To have had a functioning website at 20 years old in 2006 would've proven a difficult task. 

 

Also I thought Trash Magic was just called "Trash"? 

[The Siren 30,524]

19 hours ago, Strangelove said:

Not too album related but as another user pointed out she spent time in Spain in a boarding school - this could be where she learned to speak Spanish and French. 

 

Now I am curious looking at the thread post, how involved exactly Lana's dad was in making Lana Del Rey. To have had a functioning website at 20 years old in 2006 would've proven a difficult task. 

 

Also I thought Trash Magic was just called "Trash"? 

calling Trash Magic as Trash is like calling Born to Die as BTD I think

[Dark Angel 202,787]

On 7/4/2023 at 4:53 AM, Strangelove said:

Not too album related but as another user pointed out she spent time in Spain in a boarding school - this could be where she learned to speak Spanish and French. 

 

Now I am curious looking at the thread post, how involved exactly Lana's dad was in making Lana Del Rey. To have had a functioning website at 20 years old in 2006 would've proven a difficult task. 

 

Also I thought Trash Magic was just called "Trash"? 

 

10 hours ago, The Siren said:

calling Trash Magic as Trash is like calling Born to Die as BTD I think

 

i don't know if the title "trash" in particular is really official, just something fans referred to it in the early days of the fandom, you'll see a lot of people referring to it as "trash" in 2012, but nowadays, people almost exclusively call it "trash magic"  

 

sorta like how people in the early days would usually call put me in a movie "little girls" but now nobody calls it that, but it does seem like "little girls" is an official alt. title to some degree 

 

[111 36,846]

9 minutes ago, Surf Noir said:

 

 

i don't know if the title "trash" in particular is really official, just something fans referred to it in the early days of the fandom, you'll see a lot of people referring to it as "trash" in 2012, but nowadays, people almost exclusively call it "trash magic"  

 

sorta like how people in the early days would usually call put me in a movie "little girls" but now nobody calls it that, but it does seem like "little girls" is an official alt. title to some degree 

 

 

i've never seen that ss before... gagged! 

[jamesss 3,818]

sorry but trash does not mean trash magic??? i’ve also never heard anyone refer to trash magic as trash LOL.

[Dark Angel 202,787]

4 minutes ago, jamesss said:

sorry but trash does not mean trash magic??? i’ve also never heard anyone refer to trash magic as trash LOL.

 

if you browse early threads from 2012 you'll probably see somebody call it that, it's also titled "trash" on this upload from a decade ago

 

 

 

[wilting daisy 3,395]

On 7/4/2023 at 5:15 AM, The Siren said:

The album was done in 2008 and it took 5 points two years to release it due to low funds

wasnt the album finished recording late 2008 and mastered early 2009 then released at the very beginning of 2010? that means it was only "shelved" for just under a year. 

[The Siren 30,524]

23 minutes ago, Surf Noir said:

 

 

i don't know if the title "trash" in particular is really official, just something fans referred to it in the early days of the fandom, you'll see a lot of people referring to it as "trash" in 2012, but nowadays, people almost exclusively call it "trash magic"  

 

sorta like how people in the early days would usually call put me in a movie "little girls" but now nobody calls it that, but it does seem like "little girls" is an official alt. title to some degree 

 

Little girls was the name of the acoustic demo 

[Dark Angel 202,787]

1 minute ago, wilting daisy said:

wasnt the album finished recording late 2008 and mastered early 2009 then released at the very beginning of 2010? that means it was only "shelved" for just under a year. 

 

it was completely finished on february 28, 2008, it was supposed to come out on february 14, 2009, but then got held back until january 4, 2010