How has your journey with Lana's music evolved?

[shadesofblue 15,474]

So I think this question could be perceived in different ways:

• How has growing up influenced your view?
• Are there songs/albums you enjoy less or more than before?
• How has time based on things such as world events or personal experiences changed those perceptions? 

 

 

Spoiler

 

During my younger years, particularly in high school and early college, Born To Die was very relatable for its time. It captured the flashy, campy, grandiose essence of the 2010s and remains iconic. I think that album as well as her Lizzy Grant music have a lot of themes that resonated with me as a teenager as well. Even though I don’t relate to some of those themes anymore, BTD and her earlier work will always hold a special place in my heart. 
 

Some songs I used to love but don’t feel as strongly about anymore for example are: Lucky Ones, Without You, American, Prom Song, Take me to Paris. 

(They’re still cute songs I just don’t find myself listening to them as much)

 

As I've matured, my appreciation has shifted towards Lana's more recent works. Initially, Norman Fucking Rockwell didn't resonate, but post-college, its brilliance really unfolded for me. Blue Banisters took time to connect, only truly resonating towards last year. 

 

Life experiences and world events such as the pandemic, have notably shaped perception on a personal and societal level. One of those examples is the significance Ultraviolence had during its time. Tumblr wouldn’t have been tumblr without that album imho. 

If Ocean Blvd had been released a few years ago, it wouldn't have had the same impact it did this past year, both for me personally and considering the state of the world.

 

It steered away from that BTD flashy grandiosity view toward a raw, OB down-to-earth reflection. I think people gravitate more towards expressing honesty, as well as opening up about the not so pretty things in life. I’ve definitely come to appreciate Lana’s exceptional songwriting in recent years. 

 

 

[Veinsineon 76,791]

[shadesofblue 15,474]

5 minutes ago, Veinsineon said:

So true 

[Make me your Dream Life 87,789]

I think it all started when I got real surprised that there was a singer that was actually singing what I felt, if even from a sadder pov. it was refreshing. tiwmug was the first song that I walked to under the hot sun in some sort of industrial area for a job interview etc. 

bc I live in california, uv's beach sound resonated a lot bc of it

I associate places to her albums and times, hm and lfl no different. 

NFR for the same reasons and time too. pandemic, Chemtrails was a great camp and wandering album. BB for healing a lot and reconciling 

Ocean Blvd's also been a great release bc of it's release. 

I personally think that I've grown a lot and her music's helped me understand things from a softer perspective when things got a little bit too similar, like somehow, her album's were just what was needed for what I was going thru a little after the time of their release, so at least for me, it's made the music a lot deeper for me bc I'd feel so understood. it makes it feel magical because of this, and almost kinda heaven-sent really.. so music wise, from the sound, soundscape, to the in between the lines, melodies and all that, I think I'll always remember and know that I got smarter and more wary bc of it. 

I feel like ocean blvd.'s been a great collection of thoughts, and a revisiting of self, after being painted on by external factors for so long. so, in a way, it's personally cleansing, and makes me feel understood, with this one, more existentially, ethically, philosophically. like it's been a wholesome culmination of things. that it's still very much important to always try to be more than what's imposed and projected onto you. 

Spoiler

I’ve been on the site for a while, and being able to express my thoughts, feelings on here also makes me feel great, listening to how metaphysical and especially existentially musing Ocean Blvd is. I love it so much because of that. 

I know how much I've grown from her music, and from a developmental sense, it's been a kind of guiding light, or at least a source of promoting discernment. I think Lana's grown out of stuff she might've sang from before, and at least for me, I feel like I've grown out of things too. 

what I take out of it is that, even if it's unconventional, or not really readily understood, that the softer moments, the overlooked situations are still incredibly valid and worthy of still looking into. it's ok that you might feel differently, not everything is warranted to be the same, it's ok and important to be able to convey how you feel, it's a strength. in a world that tells you how to be, cultivate and grow into yourself. even if they won't understand until later, go into it still. 

it's important to find the beauty in things, and be able to respect yourself in adversity, and situations that might not be the best. hard work pays off even if it feels like it doesn't a lot at times. it's important to know yourself and come from a place of love. you might be punished for it, but at the very least, at least you'll be at ease with yourself at the end of the day. (not a lot of people have that more and more I realize that it's very much important so cherish it). enjoy life as passionately as you can. 

I think, even if she's this superstar, what I really like about her's that she still somehow manages to keep her humanity still, and it manages to shine thru with what she puts out. a bit alienated, but still having that inner beauty and truly under appreciated wisdom she has cautiously makes her one of few role models to me in that sense. 

the more I listen, the more sense of relief and joy I get after filtering this and that personally. 

so that. at least so far if anything 
 

[Mer 61,735]

Ooooh this is a wonderful topic. 

 

I would say that the biggest change for me is how I relate to some of her earlier work. I was 13/14 when I got into BTD and when UV came out, so obviously a HUGE amount of those themes and contexts were completely lost on me. In many ways, I was both very socially mature and also a bit of a late-bloomer--so while I could completely understand what she meant in her lyrics, I wouldn't experience them for another 7 or so years. Lyrics like "if you'd call for me I'd run" were relatable in different ways when I was 13 vs. when I was 20 and I had had real heartbreak/relationships, even tho I always knew the meaning. There is an element of "lived experience" that no amount of sympathy or fantasy can really match. When I listen to songs on UV and BTD now, they cut me open differently--and I re-open scars from experiences past, rather than imagine what the knife would simply feel like. 

 

One of the reasons LFL is so highly regarded for me is likely due to the fact that that was the first album to come out after I had that sort of "coming-of-age" and I could actually really genuinely relate to her songs for the first time. At that point I was moving to the opposite coast for college, I had had my first BF and of course my first sexual experience, and given that we were not going to the same school in the fall, I was also going through my first real heartbreak (juvenile stuff, now, I know). But I think that's why, in my journey with Lana's music, that album is the one that stands out the most to me bc of where I was at the time it was released. 

[barttttender 4,951]

2 hours ago, shadesofblue said:

So I think this question could be perceived in different ways:

• How has growing up influenced your view?
• Are there songs/albums you enjoy less or more than before?
• How has time based on things such as world events or personal experiences changed those perceptions? 

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

During my younger years, particularly in high school and early college, Born To Die was very relatable for its time. It captured the flashy, campy, grandiose essence of the 2010s and remains iconic. I think that album as well as her Lizzy Grant music have a lot of themes that resonated with me as a teenager as well. Even though I don’t relate to some of those themes anymore, BTD and her earlier work will always hold a special place in my heart. 
 

Some songs I used to love but don’t feel as strongly about anymore for example are: Lucky Ones, Without You, American, Prom Song, Take me to Paris. 

(They’re still cute songs I just don’t find myself listening to them as much)

 

As I've matured, my appreciation has shifted towards Lana's more recent works. Initially, Norman Fucking Rockwell didn't resonate, but post-college, its brilliance really unfolded for me. Blue Banisters took time to connect, only truly resonating towards last year. 

 

Life experiences and world events such as the pandemic, have notably shaped perception on a personal and societal level. One of those examples is the significance Ultraviolence had during its time. Tumblr wouldn’t have been tumblr without that album imho. 

If Ocean Blvd had been released a few years ago, it wouldn't have had the same impact it did this past year, both for me personally and considering the state of the world.

 

It steered away from that BTD flashy grandiosity view toward a raw, OB down-to-earth reflection. I think people gravitate more towards expressing honesty, as well as opening up about the not so pretty things in life. I’ve definitely come to appreciate Lana’s exceptional songwriting in recent years. 

 

 

 

Graet topic.

 

For me, it's simple. Lana and I are the exact age (one month apart), so a lot of the themes she's writing and singing about are exactly what I was thinking about from 2011 onwards.

 

It's like he albums are the soundtracks to my life. Born to Die - I was still young and restless/reckless, UV I was pretty self-destructive, Honeymoon I happened to be in a relationship with an older man, etc. Norman really solidified her as a great artist and I've realized she's here to stay for a long time. Chemtrails also came at a very rough time where I was in the middle of a big transition (my parents had both passed away), and songs like Chemtrails, White Dress and Wild at Heart helped me through it. Just to get clarity of thought and focus on staying positive, and raelizing it's all part of life.

 

More recently, Lana's preoccupation with family etc struck a cord with me, too, as I'm in a new long term relationship, with a cat and potentially a family soon, too.

 

The only album I couldn't relate to at all and on any level was Blue Banisters. I just thought it was Lana on autopilot and there was no themes I could connect to. The record is a kind of jamble of her old stuff and some new throwaway stuff. But, hey, every artist is allowed one flop. I saw today that Arcadia is like the 90th something most listened to  LDR songs on Spotfiy, whereas Say Yes to Heaven is already among top 25 tracks.That just proved to me what a flop that record was.

 

But again, 8/9 albums is a some incredible staying power. I've never listened to any band or musician for this long.

[drewby 9,246]

I listened to her constantly from 2011-2019. I'd bring her up to anyone who would listen to me.

 

I remember playing BTD all the time in my dorm room and people would stop by and ask who it was.

I remember that insane summer 2013 leakfest where every morning was just more and more leaks including my fave Hawaiian Tropic.

I remember how chaotic it was getting tix to the Paradise Tour in Atlanta (her first ever show there) and going by myself. The audience was a nightmare but she was magnificent.

I remember sitting in the press compound at Bonnaroo in 2014 when UV leaked and using the shitty ass WiFi in the press trailer to download it and I loved it to pieces.

I remember going to the Endless Summer Tour with my then-boyfriend. I met another LB user there who gave me a physical copy she made of AKA that I still have.

I remember running to the Target by my apartment to buy the Honeymoon CD on release day in my last semester of college and thinking about how dreamy it was.

I remember just being absolutely feral for LFL and it was all I played that summer when I visited the same-boyfriend at the beach where his internship was.

I remember being obsessed with the NFR cover and loving every song even though -- at the time -- people on here were annoyed as fuck with all the snippets pre-release.

 

Then I really don't know what happened, COVID maybe? A bunch of other artists competing for my attention?

 

I'm still here though it's mostly for other genre discussion because the pre-release period and shitposts are just a lot for this 29-year-old.

I still listen to her occasionally. I will always buy her new albums, buy tickets to see her, buy merch, be interested in everything about the era from covers and interviews and photoshoots. Post-COTCC it's just been harder to get into the full albums and remember all the lyrics, the music doesn't capture me as much as it used to but when I sit there and force myself to listen to it, I love it. I still keep track of every single leak.

 

I don't know. Maybe I'm waiting for a huge switch-up moment again like NFR was when it effectively distilled everything from the first few albums into one. Maybe I hated Blue Banisters so much I just started mentally checking out dd.

[SalvaWHORE 34,006]

Growing up with Lana music is honestly a bless of my life. No bullshit. I feel lucky to have her as my idol - an inspiration - a soul-mother - who nurtured me spiritually.

[filanity 110]

I feel like when you‘re exposed to her art at a very young age it‘s easy to take it all at face value and fall for the aesthetics of her lyrics and references without any critical thinking behind it. I‘m definitely guilty of the whole tumblr nymphette thing, that was my shit at 14, but now that I see all the same things happening on tik tok I‘m mature enough to distance myself from that stuff. So I think growing up with her has helped me measure my growth. I‘ve actually read Lolita now and I don‘t just take her aesthetics and her persona at pure face value. Actually having been in situations where older guys tried to get with me has defined how I see the whole Nymphette/Coquette thing now and I‘ve come to find it both sad and tasteless. I don‘t think it‘s Lanas fault though, I think it‘s just a result teens being teens. Because now I feel I understand her even more than I did when I was younger, especially BTD and Ultraviolence. However I also think I‘m too young to truly get certain works of hers. I‘m not thinking about forever-love and kids and marriage, so I‘m kind of excited to get older and „unlock“ that, I guess. It‘s a little like having a spiritual older sisters who‘s now going through all the things I‘ll probably be going through in a decade, makes me feel very supported, like she‘s something I can always fall back on.

[PARADIXO 32,940]

Wow, this is a really good thread and I loved all these responses! Sadly I can't "like" them on PC...

 

When I started listening to Lana I was 13. I've always been a very emotional and impulsive guy, since very young age, and always liked "darker" art. Never been a fan of bubblegum/basic/for the masses type of music, not in a pretentious way, but because I was actually very interested in art and wanted to dig deeper into it. Born to Die made me discover a whole new world. Her voice in particular was something I couldn't believe... her lower register was hypnotizing and her higher notes and whispers were constant releases of serotonin. I loved the dramatic nature of her lyrics and even if I didn't relate to what she was singing about, I did relate to the passion she was singing/writing with. This album actually made me start writing my own music, which is one of the best things that's ever happened to me.

 

My teenage fan era was definitely dedicated to Lana. Ultraviolence - Honeymoon - Lust for Life were wild. Those years were very difficult for me, with school and family and self-esteem, and she helped me find joy in music. Lust for Life in particular was very impactful for me. I was 18, about to turn 19, living in a new city away from my parents, trying to find my style, always in the streets, making new friends, finding "love" and "lust" for the first time... My desire to change, physically and mentally. Also my growing concern about politics and global warming. Lust for Life captured that whole moment for me.

 

Now that I'm 25, I see her as my idol. I take her songwriting more serious than ever. That's what made her stay and earn her spot as an icon and upcoming legend; she's always been a visionary and a painter with words. Ocean Blvd will forever stay in my heart. The emotions it made me go through. The introspection. I always had a rough relationship with my parents, and now we love and care for each other, I always go to see them, and finally have a great and normal relationship. Listening to The Grants or Kintsugi is healing.

 

Thank you so much Lana.

[Dark Angel 202,191]

i started listening to her when i was thirteen, i wasn't nearly as passionate as i became over time, but i was definitely interested in her and her music, at first, i didn't immediately love every song by her, which i feel like makes sense since i was still just a kid and i mostly still listened to basic, mainstream pop music, but as time went on, i began to explore more of her music and warmed up to different songs, i used to not really care for songs like born to die, gods and monsters, and florida kilos, but at some point i revisited them and i happened to like them, it wouldn't be long until i considered her my favorite singer, and my love for her and her music continued to grow

 

i was always open-minded towards her earlier work, i remember liking songs like junky pride, oh say can you see, jump, ruby, trash magic, and a lot of her pop songs from 2010 and 2011, i had a playlist on youtube filled with all of the lana del rey songs i liked and it wasn't really organized and just simply used random uploads/lyric videos, i would add new songs to the playlist when i discovered and liked them, eventually i got spotify in my freshman year of high school and obviously i listened to lana's music a lot, i remember walking around outside listening to songs like pretty when you cry, guns and roses, and west coast, over time, i would discover more and more of her unreleased work, contrary to what you may think, i didn't immediately fall head over heels in love with the lizzy grant music, obviously, i'm now obsessed and completely in love with that period of her career, but i wasn't especially interested in that time of her career until late 2018/early 2019, i believe at the time, i started to learn more unreleased songs and gradually adding them to my music library on itunes, i didn't even have individual albums for each year, they were all just in one giant album, which ended up being pretty inconvenient! 

 

it took me quite a bit of time for me to become familiar with pretty much everything she's done, and dealing with the pandemic and also having gone through some pretty severe anxiety that basically left me housebound for nearly two years really gave me the opportunity to fall in love with her music more, and to become more obsessed with her early career, lizzy grant's music always felt so nostalgic for me, bringing me back to early, elusive memories, they made me feel happy, yet wistful and haunted, i don't think i'm going to find any other musician who has music that makes me feel that way, so i always want to hold onto the music from that period of her career and always remember what they mean to me, they're so special to me and always will be

 

right now, i do honestly feel more connected to her part work from 2005-2009 than i do her more current work, but i still love all of her music greatly, but my tastes have developed more and i don't feel the need to have every single demo or unreleased song in my collection, so i only have what i really want to listen to and what i really like, there's a few more current songs i know i just don't like and won't go out of my way to listen to... lolita and the paradise version of yayo... but for the most part, pretty much everything from her albums hold up very well, and i feel like as i go through life more, her songs will take on new forms for me and will continue to resonate with me and be special to me, there's just no other artist like her, and even at times where i feel like i may be losing interest... i always get sucked back in and love her music even more!

[Ultra Violet 18,962]

Discovering Lana when I was just turning 16 changed a lot for me. This was at Paradises release, so i had only 2.5 albums to catch up on. It got me into indie and alt pop music for the first time, after 3 years of being strictly metalhead/emo/goth (and 3 years is a LONG time when you're a teen). Lana lead me to opening up new genres of music and in many ways a new lifestyle too. Not many people saw Lana's music as positive at the time (depressing was the word most used), but it truly made me more positive and carefree, and i think that's because I'd already been listening to sad emo music about love and death, but the addition of listening to songs about drinking, partying, being crazy and smoking weed made me actually do all of that And I thank her for it. It did nothing bad for me (except for the cigarettes), it was a positive influence as I became more social and less rigid. My whole family knew me as the antisocial one and suddenly I wanted to be out and had people to see nearly every day. And this was literally inspired by Lana's music. I shit you not.

My journey always reflected her latest album really well, right up until Chemtrails. When Ultraviolence came out, the darker and more desperate lyrics really reflected how I felt that entire year, while i totally was the hippie to all my friends on the outside. When Honeymoon came out, I was in my "escape reality" phase, still with a sadness about everything. When LFL was released I had also been learning more about global issues, was really into witchcraft and also still in my hippie phase. When NFR came out, I was reflecting on where I was in my life, and also feeling burnt out and careless.

Since Chemtrails, Lana has mostly remained in my top artists for her previous albums, and mostly her first 4 albums. Over the last 3 years I just "check in" on her new releases, binge-listen to what I really like, and leave the rest for when I feel like listening more. I loved Blue Bannisters, but Chemtrails and most of Ocean Blvd remain as the albums I never really connected to so far. But none of these last 3 albums have really shown me much on my own journey.

As for the future, I hope that I will really connect to just one more album again. It might be the covers album, but hopefully some original work too. I really do want the experience of having a new Lana album being the soundtrack of year, and one that I'll love forever more and constantly come back to. I haven't truly had that since Honeymoon.

[Poor Stacy 11,996]

It's pretty boring for me: I love her more with each new album.

 

When Born To Die came out I was absolutely obsessed. My roommate became furious with me because I played the album so much. I don't remember falling in love so hard with any other artist's debut album. She was giving old Hollywood glamour, the most beautiful orchestral strings, perfect pop choruses, and a touch of unhinged energy I couldn't really pinpoint. As I've grown older over the past 10 years, and we've gotten to know her in a wilder and deeper way, some of the magic from Born To Die has worn off a bit, but it's mostly still intact. It's just a brilliant album.

 

Ultraviolence was there for me when I needed it (breakup zzz) and a real heel turn for her. West Coast blew me away. I've always had a very soft spot for Honeymoon - I could always tell it was something she made for herself and not for anyone else. It's an album I've always been happy to sink into the depths with, and it's still near to my heart. Lust For Life, while never my favorite, was always an intriguing mix of different moods and emotions. NFR... Well, Venice Bitch is my favorite Lana song of all time and I feel has completely enhanced my life, so...

 

I feel like I'm a little older than most fans but still younger than Lana, but the last 3 albums (Chemtrails, Blue Banisters, and Ocean Blvd) have all been very special to me in their own ways. Since the pandemic I've been very reflective and existential, trying to figure out if I have as much "time" as I did when I was young to figure shit out, or if I'm disappointed with how things have turned out... Everyone I know has families of their own and big careers now. And I feel like I've always been on my own path. I guess what I'm saying is, I sort of understand where Lana's at, just sort of seemingly feeling in flux about it all... Having to make big choices.

 

Chemtrails is her most misunderstood album. I feel slightly protective of it, still. It's a quiet, pure, Laurel Canyon-inspired folk album that was genuinely delicate by definition, but the time period it was released in along with all the drama... It never had a chance to shine.

 

So my heart is definitely with the newer material, NFR and onward. But I love everything. She has double the plays of my #2 most played artist. So I'm not really sure what else to say. There's no one else like Lana. 

[LolitasCherries 141]

So, I enjoy Lana's released music but I've really been getting into her unreleased music. I've just heard the albums a lot so when I listen to unreleased music it's new to me. I mean.. she does have 200 unreleased songs. It's just been interesting and I really can never find the end. 

[cherrytropico 11,076]

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