Do unlikely unreleased songs grow on you?

[mauve 44]

Hi,

I just wanted to post about this as it's a major phenomenon that keeps happening to me regarding Lana's unreleased stuff. When I first heard them all, I loved all the obviously catchy and/or safe ones, where she sings out clear, like Never Let Me Go, Black Beauty, Motel 6, On Our Way, Velvet Crowbar (at least, those kinda songs seemed more similar to BTD songs than others).

Some struck me as really irritating, trippy and strangely structured. Then, those songs started to grow on me, to the extent that they are solidly my favourite these days. 

For example, I used to think I hated Hundred Dollar Bill, but I adore it now, and how it manages to be opulent and also quite trashy. That's what I love about Lana.. I'm English so find the whole Chateau Marmont, Sunset Boulevard, Chevrolet etc. Hollywoodesque glamour to be extremely interesting and cool to hear about, as it's so different. I also love hearing about Coney Island's degenerate nightlife in Lana's songs, trailer parks and Motel 6 etc.

 

I also thought Big Bad Wolf was so indulgent and annoying, but I love it so much! I love Boarding School, Pin-Up Galore and Queen of the Gas Station, even though I personally think that her vocals are quite bad in these songs (please don't kill me). I think Lana's sounds quite sardonic in her more dramatic songs, especially QotGS, like she's saying, 'just kidding, do you really think I'd pick a gas station over a limousine" XD! 

 

Do any of you guys find that songs you used to dislike because of sugary, iffy vocals or unusual structures tend become your favourites? Basically, any unreleased song that strikes me as something negative at any time is likely to become a firm favourite

[Atom Heart 1,929]

I used to hate Big Spender until one day I played it and was bopping ever since.

[Mileena 2,691]

 I think Lana's sounds quite sardonic in her more dramatic songs, especially QotGS, like she's saying, 'just kidding, do you really think I'd pick a gas station over a limousine" XD! 

 

 

YES. I have always thought that a lot of the time in songs she sounds sardonic. Maybe it's my British sense of humour kicking in xD

[Sitar 22,210]

Maybe like the first truly weird song to ever leak. Delicious, maybe? No probably even earlier with Match Made in Heaven. But after that I immediately bopped to all the Noirs and the Catch and Releases and such.

[PennCentralFan 269]

Yes I love Never Let Me Go and Every Man Gets His Wish. I also find Angels Forever Forever Angeles and JFK as  haunting beautiful songs that deserve to be released.

 

Other favorite songs include Afraid, On Our Way, and Hawaiian Tropic. 

[Guest Dot]

I like to call those kind of songs rough diamonds. They're without a doubt great songs that just need a little more work to them. The first ones that come to my mind are Daddy Issues/IWIABW, Noir, Catch & Release, Golden Grill and Television Heaven. I used to hate those songs and never wanted to listen to them, but they grew on me a lot after I realized how much potential they've got in order to become great songs. They're all really catchy songs as well, but it takes a while to actually get into them.

[NamiraWilhelm 5,043]

So many of them have a horrid shallow popish sound to them that I usually wouldn't touch with a barge pole, and yet somehow because Lana sings them I listed to them

[mermaid motel 538]

I didn't like Noir in the beginning and now it's one of my favorites.

[mauve 44]

So many of them have a horrid shallow popish sound to them that I usually wouldn't touch with a barge pole, and yet somehow because Lana sings them I listed to them

YES this is exactly what I mean!

[mauve 44]

YES. I have always thought that a lot of the time in songs she sounds sardonic. Maybe it's my British sense of humour kicking in xD

So glad you agree! I think Lana's 100% sardonic - mostly innocent but sometimes going towards the cynical side. That's how she can get away with singing such about ridiculously tabooed stuff, like how she objectifies herself the whole time. Also, anyone else would seem so stupidly pious and pretentious singing about 50s glamour, pin-up girl stuff and trailer park hardship, but Lana gets away with it because she's so tongue in cheek . We know she's sort of having a laugh at the same time. Think Behind Closed Doors . I'm also British and have to restrain myself from saying sarcastic,dead-pan things the whole time xD

[NamiraWilhelm 5,043]

So glad you agree! I think Lana's 100% sardonic - mostly innocent but sometimes going towards the cynical side. That's how she can get away with singing such about ridiculously tabooed stuff, like how she objectifies herself the whole time. Also, anyone else would seem so stupidly pious and pretentious singing about 50s glamour, pin-up girl stuff and trailer park hardship, but Lana gets away with it because she's so tongue in cheek . We know she's sort of having a laugh at the same time. Think Behind Closed Doors . I'm also British and have to restrain myself from saying sarcastic,dead-pan things the whole time xD

 

See, I really would love to believe she's being tongue in cheek but... I don't know if that's giving her too much credit...

 

Loving all the British love in this thread.

[mermadness 32]

yes! this was me and 'my best days.' i'd never really paid any attention to it and even though it sounds auto-tuned and unfinished i am kinda addicted.

[mauve 44]

yes! this was me and 'my best days.' i'd never really paid any attention to it and even though it sounds auto-tuned and unfinished i am kinda addicted.

Yeah, a lot of her songs sound ridiculously autotuned and unfinished! There's a certain charm to them though.. but if some pop person like Selena Gomez came up with a song like Noir, I would absolutely preach hate against it xD No just kidding, but I really wouldn't like it.

[mauve 44]

See, I really would love to believe she's being tongue in cheek but... I don't know if that's giving her too much credit...

 

Loving all the British love in this thread.

Hmm, you're probably right.. I think she's so infatuated with her whole imaginary scene that she isn't quite capable of being tongue in cheek. By the way, I love your name/username

[silver starlet 1,376]

yeah i used to hate noir now i want to scream it at everyone 24/7

[slang 1,532]

@@mauve says

"Basically, any unreleased song that strikes me as something negative at any time is likely to become a firm favourite"

 

What I think you are saying is that LDR is stretching your appreciation of what pop music can be. That is, you don't (too much) cite the fact that you think that the odd songs are cliche (as in a bunch of pop stars do stuff like that). 

 

In my case, I remember first hearing "Stoplite Delite" and thinking "oh man, the youtube blocker got to it first", and then she started singing to the bizarre instruments, and I thought "oh no, what the heck is this". But when I experienced the song and finally understood the quality of its parts (over multiple listens),  I think it's one of her great songs (i.e., should be on a "leaked sessions" vol. x cd). I guess I had a similar experience with "Delicious",  "Je Moi joue (?)" "Axl Rose Husband", which are completely different songs.

 

Sirens (album -1, where ... AKA Lizzy Grant is album 0) is another interesting case. A lot of LDR fans might not like it (still, but I wonder if they listen to it multiple times), but a lot of others (like myself) have grown to love it.

 

here's another quote:

@@mauve "if some pop person like Selena Gomez came up with a song like Noir, I would absolutely preach hate against it xD No just kidding, but I really wouldn't like it."

 

I don't know S.G.'s work, but assuming you don't like that, I think what you would actually say is "I don't like S.G., except for this one song...". Or if S.G. could have created Noir, maybe you would like S.G. (i.e., the rest of her songs would have been different too). BTW PJ Harvey, Chelsea Wolfe, or Fiona Apple might have written a song like Noir, but they wouldn't have written a song like Big Bad Wolf, or Without You. So maybe it's the range of LDR's personality you like (the range of her musical style) and not her exposed personality while singing (which I think is fine). I can't speak for you, but that's the case for me.

[Chocolate Eyes 548]

I didn't immediately fully enjoy "Spender" and "Ridin". Because they have rap and I'm just "meh" when it comes to rap. I don't go out looking for it frequently, but since I don't dislike it either the songs did grow on me.

 

I didn't care much for the "Match Made In Heaven" demo either. After a few listens I appreciated it a bit more.