Ultraviolence - Post-Release Discussion Thread + Poll

[saith 1,078]

Hi everyone.

 

I'm new here! I've got the acapella for Black Beauty and more. I put it on soundcloud. Am I allowed to post it ? Where can I create a topic for it ? I don't have access to the media section.

[prostitutestare 142]

, but UV is an essential artistic and musical transition for her that has revealed the artist she really wants to be. I'm invested in her as an act who can shift and grow

 

Now, you said this!  This is exactly how I feel. I like that Lana is growing up, and that she is expressing this through the music. It is one of the primary reasons I like the album so much. It is all about transition, and through that transition, a move toward liberation. I know that Lana wants to be as free as she possibly can, and I am ALL here for that.

[SarcasticBeauty 1,529]

Except that those "unneeded" fans helped her sell millions of records, making it possible for her to keep making music.

If they don't like UV it's their loss, but that hipster attitude is not helping Lana or anyone else.

I dont have a "hipster" attitude. And good for Lana for making money for her music. And it's my opinion. People are crazy these days, cant say anything without getting people who have a different opinion saying something about it. Lana sees music as beauty, not all for money. She made it when wasnt Lana Del Rey and I'm sure she'll continue to. But I'm done, cuz you cant say anything on here.

[naachoboy 7,977]

 Dafuq?   Just because someone doesn't like the new sound it does not make them a inferior fan or anything

 

I like the UV sound as well as I like the BtD and Paradise sound, but I can understand it if not everyone likes  style-changes.

Just becuase you are a fan, you don't have to like everything an artist releases.

I'm a huge Mando Diao fan, but i don't like their most recent album, 'cause I'm not into the 80s style. So what? I still like the band. And if some people prefer Trip-Hop-Monroe-Lana and don't like the "Narcotic-Swing"-style, it's  ok too.

 

 

 

 

And Guns And Roses, or has this leaked too?

he/she said the fans "that leave" the forum. 

[Arzi 1,979]

Sad Girl & Pretty When You Cry are the most forgettable tracks on the album, I barely remember their stanzas

[tiffanydale 193]

Tied for my favorite are Money Power Glory and Florida Kilos!

 

Cruel World, Ultraviolence, Shades of Cool, Brooklyn Baby, Sad Girl, Pretty When You Cry, Fucked My Way Up To The Top, Old Money, The Other Woman, Guns and Roses, Is This Happiness, and Flipside are all a close second though

[dsvelca 837]

I can't stop listening to Old Money even though I want to burst into tears every time I want to hear it. I can almost feel her longing and almost desperation everytime she says:

 

"I'll run to you, I'll run to you, I'll run, run, run.

I'll come to you, I'll come to you, I'll come, come, come."

 

Just reminds me of the people who were in my life and I feel the same about. No other artist brought out the emotions in me like Lana can.

[Profane 4]

I reckon Old Money was recorded for the Gatsby soundtrack, it has that vibe.

[Hundred Dollar Bill 21,462]

Sad Girl & Pretty When You Cry are the most forgettable tracks on the album, I barely remember their stanzas

You're deaf.

[comeintomybedroom 8,564]

Ugh, I really can't get into Old Money. :\ I always skip it after like a minute and a half. It's tied with Fucked My Way Up To The Top for lowest plays of 22.

[Rem 2,392]

I find it interesting now that Sad Gay and Pretty When You Cry are now my favs off the album.

 

It really get so much better in time.

[Hundred Dollar Bill 21,462]

Sad Gay

[prostitutestare 142]

Lol@ "Sad gay." Im a sad gay, Im a sad gay, Im a baa-aad gayyyy"

[Hundred Dollar Bill 21,462]

His grindr on the side... grindr on the side makes me a sad, sad gaayyy.

[Sakura 2]

This album is incredible *.*. At first, I don't like, I said me " what is this shit??" But after several listen I love it! Much better than BTD but don't comparate both that cause it very different sounds so... impossible to judge if this or that is better.

 

My favorite song in this album is Fucked my way up to the top and Ultraviolence(verizon live). The song Ultraviolence seems to me a little like the song Born to die. I immagine Lana is in a car driving and too I find that it sounds like born to die. In any case, that two song are something in common besides because of the fact that The both are the same title that the album corresponding. I hope the ultraviolence clip will be a bit like Born to die when Lana is in the car.

 

Otherwise? I love the electric guitar chords in Money Power and Glory. It's lovely! The very debut of Sad girl particularly but the rest is beautiful too!

 

This album has a uncommon vibe. It is very special and very handsome! Lana is an amazing singer but mainly atonishing songwriter! I'm proud of her. I remember me of Ride and I said myself: this girl is a fuck of genius! It confirm to me once more in listening this new work of hers!

 

I suppose that Lana will always surprise me and I hope that it will always be the case!

 

(Sorry for my english, I made for the better)

[longtimeman 8,136]

It's my first post, and I'm happy it's in this thread. I've listened to UV 2-3 times a day every day since my CD arrived (about 9 days ago), and think it's an amazing record. I haven't been this excited about a record that has a chance of going to #1 worldwide since Kurt Cobain was still alive, 

 

Here's my track by track rundown, with the disclaimer that I'm a crazy fan of Lana's voice, so I'm far from objective. It's long too. Hey - it's a long record.

 

 

Cruel World - Maybe my favourite Lana song ever? For such a rock anthem/epic to open a record by a huge pop artist is impressive enough, but every second of it is worth experiencing. The repetition which might put some people off just puts me in a strange state of mind, totally taken over by the clashing guitars and voice. I'm not giving scores, but if I were, this would be a 10/10. I particularly enjoy the first of many call-backs to the mid-eighties, with Bryan Adams' "young ... wild ... free" fitting in smoothly (and a nice hat tip to someone who's now a photographer who has taken some great pics of her).

 

Ultraviolence - Musically beautiful, and lyrically featuring so many things I like about Lana's writing - "Jim told me that he hit me and it felt like a kiss" is one of the more extreme reworkings of the Crystals song I've come across - much more powerful than my previous fave, Spiritualized's "She kissed me and it felt like a hit", which comes across as a cheap joke in comparison. I love the call-forwards to FMYUTTT towards the end. 

 

Shades of Cool - A very good song, which to be fair I heard something like 80 times before the record came out, so I might be slightly over it. The film clip has reinvigorated it for me, and I'm a sucker for those big guitar solos too. I like the lyrics as a whole better than individual lines.

 

Brooklyn Baby - Quite simply the best. I'm not sure if I believe Lou Reed was meant to sing on it, but it's a shame he never got the chance to annoy even more of his anal retentive fans that he didn't lose by making a (great, IMHO opinion) record with Metallica. One of so many Lana songs that seems to both ironically and non-ironically celebrate something (as per National Anthem). I couldn't stop smiling the first time I heard her sing about beat poetry and collecting Jazz records. The 'picture book' lines are a cool 'fuck you' as well, directed towards a lot of people who deserve it.

 

West Coast - Again, a pre-album single that I played way too many times (yet would never consider skipping), but I have to say, I'm loving how it leads into ...

 

Sad Girl - One of the divisive songs on the record - I fall way over on the 'love' side. The lyrics, like Cruel World, are deliberately simple and repetitive. This is one of the songs on the record that I'd play to someone who likes downer guitar rock, but doesn't know Lana's music - her vocals are amazing.

 

Pretty When You Cry - I have nothing to say about this song, except that it's perfect. Maybe only perfect for my ears and mind, but still, if Cupid was firing arrows to make you cry, instead of fall in love, this is what it would feel like.

 

Money Power Glory - A ... good song that works well within the record, but isn't one that comes to mind very often. I'm glad it exists, but Lana's done better. Great, Great vocals, though.

 

FMWUTTT - Great title, and really good song. I don't care who it's about, and I'm not much of a fan of diss songs (or whatever they're called), but there's something cool behind this. I might not let anyone other than Lana get away with this sort of song. This is a song that comes into my head all the time.

 

Old Money - A song too good to contain on a record - it should be made into a film, a touring musical, a nation. Lana's singing just makes this song what it is. She often uses emphasis and phrasing that is closer to an actor than a singer, and she does that wonderfully here. And I like the references back to Y&B, another of my top Lana songs.

 

The Other Woman - The perfect way to end the 'Ultraviolence' part of the record. I never get tired of how she turns the moral context of the song around. Where in normal society, the first half would be wistful and ironic, while the second half would be triumphant, Lana sings it as the Other Woman, boasting in the first half, and crying (almost litererally) in the second half. I know that she was calling back to this song when she used the titular phrase in the 'Ride' monologue, but she's now referring back to 'Ride' here, bringing it full circle  (to use a horrible cliche). I'm a fan of the over the top production and vocal work which give it a specific soap opera/melodrama feel, and as a picture of despair, it's right up there with Lou Reed's infamous 'The Kids' from the Berlin album (known as the most miserable album ever by a commercially successful artist, perhaps until UV itself).

 

Bonus tracks

 

Black Beauty - What a pity this song leaked. It would have been one of the highlights of the record. As it is, it's great to have a complete version. I prefer this one to the demo, but understand if you disagree. The words seem to resonate more every time.

 

Guns and Roses - I also loved Guns and Roses when they came out (somewhere I have a cassette of me requesting 'Sweet Child of Mine' on the radio). This is one of those songs that is more fun to listen to than to think about. I always hum it to myself and think 'that's just OK - not a great song', but every time it comes on, by the end, I'm completely drawn in to the story. Again, it's all about the vocals, but I do like the bare instrumentation.

 

Florida Kilos - A strange, strange song that I like, but think might have been better on a different record, even as a bonus track. Is it common knowledge that Key is a drug term for 'kilo', which is a couple of pounds (Florida Keys ----> Florida Kilos)? I like hearing Lana sing in this style, but the music's a bit too slight.

 

Is This Happiness - A song I really like, but, similar to MPG, it doesn't stand out very much for me, and feels like what would have been a b-side or extra song on a CD-single in the old days. It makes sense as a bonus song, but I'm not a fan of iTunes exclusives if they mean that there are no circulating lossless versions of a song.

 

Flipside - Holy shit! One of the standouts on the disc, and although I think I can understand why it didn't make the cut, it's a monster of a song. I saw Cat Power play a live solo show when she was recording the 'Moon Pix' album, and this song is the closest Lana's sounded to my memories of that show. I know Lana's a Cat Power fan, and 'Get Drunk' also has a bit of that early Chan Marshall vibe, but this song should be heard by everyone. One of the coolest lyrics of the whole UV era as well.

 

My only real complaint - As great a writer and singer as Lana is, and as much as I love her musicians and producers, she has to do something about finding a person to master her discs properly. BTD/Paradise had a few songs ruined by clipping (Radio, Lucky Ones, Burning Desire), and Ultraviolence suffers from this as well. I'm not an audio engineer, but I've heard enough records to know it's not that hard to avoid the awful crackling sound that seems to accompany Lana everywhere she goes. I simply don't get it - if I wanted the experience of worn vinyl, I'd buy her record and drop it in the street a couple of times. No need to simulate that for the CD/iTunes age.

 

 

 

tl;dr - it's a great record, I'd give it 9/10 overall on the usual scale of rating records, but 10/10 as value for my money, because I've already spent more time enjoying it than other great records I've had for years.

[Hundred Dollar Bill 21,462]

It's my first post, and I'm happy it's in this thread. I've listened to UV 2-3 times a day every day since my CD arrived (about 9 days ago), and think it's an amazing record. I haven't been this excited about a record that has a chance of going to #1 worldwide since Kurt Cobain was still alive,

 

Here's my track by track rundown, with the disclaimer that I'm a crazy fan of Lana's voice, so I'm far from objective. It's long too. Hey - it's a long record.

 

 

Cruel World - Maybe my favourite Lana song ever? For such a rock anthem/epic to open a record by a huge pop artist is impressive enough, but every second of it is worth experiencing. The repetition which might put some people off just puts me in a strange state of mind, totally taken over by the clashing guitars and voice. I'm not giving scores, but if I were, this would be a 10/10. I particularly enjoy the first of many call-backs to the mid-eighties, with Bryan Adams' "young ... wild ... free" fitting in smoothly (and a nice hat tip to someone who's now a photographer who has taken some great pics of her).

 

Ultraviolence - Musically beautiful, and lyrically featuring so many things I like about Lana's writing - "Jim told me that he hit me and it felt like a kiss" is one of the more extreme reworkings of the Crystals song I've come across - much more powerful than my previous fave, Spiritualized's "She kissed me and it felt like a hit", which comes across as a cheap joke in comparison. I love the call-forwards to FMYUTTT towards the end.

 

Shades of Cool - A very good song, which to be fair I heard something like 80 times before the record came out, so I might be slightly over it. The film clip has reinvigorated it for me, and I'm a sucker for those big guitar solos too. I like the lyrics as a whole better than individual lines.

 

Brooklyn Baby - Quite simply the best. I'm not sure if I believe Lou Reed was meant to sing on it, but it's a shame he never got the chance to annoy even more of his anal retentive fans that he didn't lose by making a (great, IMHO opinion) record with Metallica. One of so many Lana songs that seems to both ironically and non-ironically celebrate something (as per National Anthem). I couldn't stop smiling the first time I heard her sing about beat poetry and collecting Jazz records. The 'picture book' lines are a cool 'fuck you' as well, directed towards a lot of people who deserve it.

 

West Coast - Again, a pre-album single that I played way too many times (yet would never consider skipping), but I have to say, I'm loving how it leads into ...

 

Sad Girl - One of the divisive songs on the record - I fall way over on the 'love' side. The lyrics, like Cruel World, are deliberately simple and repetitive. This is one of the songs on the record that I'd play to someone who likes downer guitar rock, but doesn't know Lana's music - her vocals are amazing.

 

Pretty When You Cry - I have nothing to say about this song, except that it's perfect. Maybe only perfect for my ears and mind, but still, if Cupid was firing arrows to make you cry, instead of fall in love, this is what it would feel like.

 

Money Power Glory - A ... good song that works well within the record, but isn't one that comes to mind very often. I'm glad it exists, but Lana's done better. Great, Great vocals, though.

 

FMWUTTT - Great title, and really good song. I don't care who it's about, and I'm not much of a fan of diss songs (or whatever they're called), but there's something cool behind this. I might not let anyone other than Lana get away with this sort of song. This is a song that comes into my head all the time.

 

Old Money - A song too good to contain on a record - it should be made into a film, a touring musical, a nation. Lana's singing just makes this song what it is. She often uses emphasis and phrasing that is closer to an actor than a singer, and she does that wonderfully here. And I like the references back to Y&B, another of my top Lana songs.

 

The Other Woman - The perfect way to end the 'Ultraviolence' part of the record. I never get tired of how she turns the moral context of the song around. Where in normal society, the first half would be wistful and ironic, while the second half would be triumphant, Lana sings it as the Other Woman, boasting in the first half, and crying (almost litererally) in the second half. I know that she was calling back to this song when she used the titular phrase in the 'Ride' monologue, but she's now referring back to 'Ride' here, bringing it full circle (to use a horrible cliche). I'm a fan of the over the top production and vocal work which give it a specific soap opera/melodrama feel, and as a picture of despair, it's right up there with Lou Reed's infamous 'The Kids' from the Berlin album (known as the most miserable album ever by a commercially successful artist, perhaps until UV itself).

 

Bonus tracks

 

Black Beauty - What a pity this song leaked. It would have been one of the highlights of the record. As it is, it's great to have a complete version. I prefer this one to the demo, but understand if you disagree. The words seem to resonate more every time.

 

Guns and Roses - I also loved Guns and Roses when they came out (somewhere I have a cassette of me requesting 'Sweet Child of Mine' on the radio). This is one of those songs that is more fun to listen to than to think about. I always hum it to myself and think 'that's just OK - not a great song', but every time it comes on, by the end, I'm completely drawn in to the story. Again, it's all about the vocals, but I do like the bare instrumentation.

 

Florida Kilos - A strange, strange song that I like, but think might have been better on a different record, even as a bonus track. Is it common knowledge that Key is a drug term for 'kilo', which is a couple of pounds (Florida Keys ----> Florida Kilos)? I like hearing Lana sing in this style, but the music's a bit too slight.

 

Is This Happiness - A song I really like, but, similar to MPG, it doesn't stand out very much for me, and feels like what would have been a b-side or extra song on a CD-single in the old days. It makes sense as a bonus song, but I'm not a fan of iTunes exclusives if they mean that there are no circulating lossless versions of a song.

 

Flipside - Holy shit! One of the standouts on the disc, and although I think I can understand why it didn't make the cut, it's a monster of a song. I saw Cat Power play a live solo show when she was recording the 'Moon Pix' album, and this song is the closest Lana's sounded to my memories of that show. I know Lana's a Cat Power fan, and 'Get Drunk' also has a bit of that early Chan Marshall vibe, but this song should be heard by everyone. One of the coolest lyrics of the whole UV era as well.

 

My only real complaint - As great a writer and singer as Lana is, and as much as I love her musicians and producers, she has to do something about finding a person to master her discs properly. BTD/Paradise had a few songs ruined by clipping (Radio, Lucky Ones, Burning Desire), and Ultraviolence suffers from this as well. I'm not an audio engineer, but I've heard enough records to know it's not that hard to avoid the awful crackling sound that seems to accompany Lana everywhere she goes. I simply don't get it - if I wanted the experience of worn vinyl, I'd buy her record and drop it in the street a couple of times. No need to simulate that for the CD/iTunes age.

 

 

 

tl;dr - it's a great record, I'd give it 9/10 overall on the usual scale of rating records, but 10/10 as value for my money, because I've already spent more time enjoying it than other great records I've had for years.

 

I loved reading this review! It's got to be one of the best & well thought-out ones I've seen. I pretty much agree with you on just about everything (though how can you not love the Black Beauty demo more?? & Is This Happiness is my favorite song /sob) and you said all of it way better than I could've.

 

So nice to finally see praise for PWYC and apathy for MPG. Like you said, I'm glad she made MPG, but it really is just 'meh' for me. I don't get why it's a fan favorite.

 

& as for the crackling/clipping "vinyl" sound... I like it. T^T I think it's cool that they include it in the actual song for people that don't have access to a record player or those that just haven't experienced that little quirk in music. It kind of fits in with her image, I think.

 

Anyway! Again - awesome review. I wish people would make posts like this more often.

[longtimeman 8,136]

Anyway! Again - awesome review. I wish people would make posts like this more often.

 

Thank you very much for that 

I will never argue with someone who prefers the demo of Black Beauty - that song obsessed me when I first came across it. I just totally fell for the big drums and guitar of the album version, and it's nicer to have two cool versions than only one. As for 'Is This Happiness' - I do really like it. I think I was getting a bit tired of writing, so rushed the ending, but 

 

You're a hard man to love,

And I'm a hard woman to keep track of

 

is classic Lana.

[GodBlessMe 2,141]

I loved reading this review! It's got to be one of the best & well thought-out ones I've seen. I pretty much agree with you on just about everything (though how can you not love the Black Beauty demo more?? & Is This Happiness is my favorite song /sob) and you said all of it way better than I could've.

So nice to finally see praise for PWYC and apathy for MPG. Like you said, I'm glad she made MPG, but it really is just 'meh' for me. I don't get why it's a fan favorite.

& as for the crackling/clipping "vinyl" sound... I like it. T^T I think it's cool that they include it in the actual song for people that don't have access to a record player or those that just haven't experienced that little quirk in music. It kind of fits in with her image, I think.

Anyway! Again - awesome review. I wish people would make posts like this more often.

I feel like I'm stalking you! Every time I see that you posted something I'm reading the thread...

[dsvelca 837]

Is she still on track for a #1 BB debut?