Born to Die vs Ultraviolence

[Creyk 11,699]

Well yeah thanks to those 211 leaked songs

After thinking about it even more, I do have to say that Paradise is her best BEST album to me.

The obscure lyrics. The Yayo shade. Gods & Monsters. Like an American

P > BTD >UV

100 98      97 tbh

[wraith 7,277]

Well yeah thanks to those 211 leaked songs

After thinking about it even more, I do have to say that Paradise is her best BEST album to me.

The obscure lyrics. The Yayo shade. Gods & Monsters. Like an American

P > BTD >UV

100 98      97 tbh

completely agree

[Constantine 4,074]

Paradise is terrible lyrically and American, Gods &Monsters and BE are dreadful

[Thunder Revenant 20,945]

I agree with the Paradise > all thing

[Guest Dot]

Voted for BTD, because that's the album that made me fall in love with her. 'Nough said. UV is good, but it gets really boring after a while. I feel that BTD has more replay value than UV does.

[ConTroll 3]

Gods and monsters is still by far and away her best song

[HEARTCORE 18,971]

UV > Paradise > BTD

 

If we're including unreleased albums, then:

UV & AKA > Sirens & FTE & QN > Paradise > BtD

[GodBlessMe 2,141]

UV > Sirens > Aka > Paradise > BTD

[viagra 1,642]

Ultraviolence is the better album overall. But Born to Die has ultimate standouts (like Video Games, Born to Die, Blue Jeans, Summertime Sadness) that are timeless songs. UV miss this kind of classics. I also feel that UV will have lesser replay value. 

[greymillenium 541]

BTD is glossy where in UV is gritty. I think Lana did a better job with occupying the narrative of the Other Woman in UV (mistress, rock star girlfriend, gold-digger, jilted lover). The songs stand out more to me in BTD but the album of UV is a unified story. The lyrics on UV are more up-front and visceral, BTD's lyricism require a bit more imagination to enjoy.

 

BTD is genre-bending Trip-hop beats & samples, orchestral strings, vintage vocals, an intentional contralto. And in a lot of ways, UV is not new, The instrumentation is a throwback to classic rock n roll. Even has a cover. So the album feels familar even though it's a newer album.

 

I'm really suprised Lana went [back] to this sound in UV. Like the Get Drunk sessions but with a bigger budget. BTD was a ambitious debut, and Ultraviolence seems like it should be the debut LP of a singer with BTD as the follow-up. Like the way releases progress as indie-engenue's become more popular points to Marina & Ellie.

 

The visuals in BTD are stronger so far. Shades of Cool is an amazing video, but it doesn't stand a candle to BTD(song) or BJ (either versions). West Coast is cute, I love the shots of Lana falling asleep as Karl Lagerfeld drives the car.

[leaked_version 10,499]

Ok, Idk how to decide after listening to UV for a while now.

 

BTD had great, outstanding moments. Tracks 1-4 and SS are songs possibly most artists in pop music would kill for. These 5 tracks alone catapult the album into a pop classic. I have also loved Radio and DMD cause they took out the seriousness and they were nice and slightly upbeat (DMD def more than Radio) and they were really needed on that album. Hell, I have even learned to live with DP which was quite terrible for the longest time I have lived with the album. I really, really loathe Carmen and MDM will all my heart, cliché and terrible, the faux emotion songs. These two songs have totally killed the flow of the album for me. I can tolerate TIWMUG which is just a silly girlish pseudo anthem, but it closes the album suprisingly nice. Never cared for the bonus tracks on BTD and never will.

 

Ultraviolence is musically more up to my alley than BTD. It is way easier for me to listen to the album from start to finish. However just like with BTD, the weaker tracks are all packed in the middle. SG, PWYC and MPG. Especially the latter would have benefited from a better edit / mix. It just doesn't go anywhere for me. UV does not have the strengths of BTD in terms of superior songs. Brooklyn Baby, SOC and WC are for sure the standouts, Brooklyn Baby remains the best song on the album. I will be pretty pissed if they don't edit the song to 4 or 4 and a half minutes and make it a single. It is probably the best song she has put on a record so far. 

 

Lyrically there are a few missteps here and there, but not as much as on BTD.

 

While her voice is stronger on UV, she dabbles too often into jazz attemps with DADABIDABADADADOOOOOO JADALALALA,, which I am not too keen on.

 

The biggest suprise this era are the amateurish visuals. The artwork, the videos, like WTF Lana? It does not have to be expensive, but put some effort into it.

 

All together, while BTD will always have a special place in my heart, the memories I have with this album and the fact that it was such an event, which you can hardly find in popmusic anymore, UV as a whole is the stronger album.

 

I am excited to see where she is heading next. Hopefully, she won't repeat herself musically. I have given up hope that she will change the lyrical content though 

[Guest Dot]

BTD is glossy where in UV is gritty. I think Lana did a better job with occupying the narrative of the Other Woman in UV (mistress, rock star girlfriend, gold-digger, jilted lover). The songs stand out more to me in BTD but the album of UV is a unified story. The lyrics on UV are more up-front and visceral, BTD's lyricism require a bit more imagination to enjoy.

 

BTD is genre-bending Trip-hop beats & samples, orchestral strings, vintage vocals, an intentional contralto. And in a lot of ways, UV is not new, The instrumentation is a throwback to classic rock n roll. Even has a cover. So the album feels familar even though it's a newer album.

 

I'm really suprised Lana went [back] to this sound in UV. Like the Get Drunk sessions but with a bigger budget. BTD was a ambitious debut, and Ultraviolence seems like it should be the debut LP of a singer with BTD as the follow-up. Like the way releases progress as indie-engenue's become more popular points to Marina & Ellie.

 

The visuals in BTD are stronger so far. Shades of Cool is an amazing video, but it doesn't stand a candle to BTD(song) or BJ (either versions). West Coast is cute, I love the shots of Lana falling asleep as Karl Lagerfeld drives the car.

I'm screaming!!!!

[Guest Dot]

Never cared for the bonus tracks on BTD and never will.

After this statement I can probably not take you serious anymore.

 

How can you not care for the best song on the album?

[leaked_version 10,499]

After this statement I can probably not take you serious anymore.

 

How can you not care for the best song on the album?

Not sure what you are talking about since OTTR is the second song on the album and the 2nd best is VG.

 

[Guest Dot]

Not sure what you are talking about since OTTR is the second song on the album and the 2nd best is VG.

 

 

Never got the hype for these two, but oh well. I'm weird, I guess.

 

[leaked_version 10,499]

Never got the hype for these two, but oh well. I'm weird, I guess.

 

Nah, not weird. You just have poor taste, Cola and all, ya know? 

[Guest Dot]

Nah, not weird. You just have poor taste, Cola and all, ya know? 

One of her most iconic songs. #fact

 

I prefer her summerish songs rather than her weird whale-like sounding or extremely depressing songs.

[prostitutestare 142]

I just cannot deal with UV. It is sure to become my favorite album of all time, for I can listen to the entire album without skipping a single track, which is something I have rarely been able to say about other albums. It is directed and produced very wrll, and mature Lana is supreme in my book. Well, I do skip Guns and Roses often. It isn't a cute song to me.

[richandlux 0]

I like this song 

[Anthem 1,558]

I voted that I liked them equally.

 

There is nothing I can say about UV that hasn't been said already. I can listen to it all the way through, in fact it took many, many listens before I was comfortable listening to the non-single songs without hearing the whole thing. There isn't a song on there that I just can't to listen to, unlike BTD (and Paradise because I think it is significant enough to be in this discussion as well). 

 

But with that said, some of the songs on BTD are just magical. Born to Die (song), Video Games, Blue Jeans, National Anthem, Summertime Sadness.. those songs are just legendary on their own and all have beautiful videos (I more prefer Lana's original BJ video though). I just don't feel like there are any songs on UV that stand out so much (maybe Brooklyn Baby/West Coast/Old Money). I'm a fan of the string instruments in BTD too, but the guitars in UV were nice because I like those as well.

 

But since this question is about which album is better, I'd say UV. But the strength of the songs on BTD keep my answer to liking them both the same. 

 

One thing I seem to disagree with the masses on is that I don't feel like UV is closer to her Lizzy Grant work, minus Florida Kilos maybe. UV sounds like she is growing more into the character (or whatever) of Lana Del Rey. She is slowing down and maturing up and neither of those words come to mind when I think of Lizzy Grant. Another thing that I don't agree with most people on is that UV is darker than BTD. I don't know why, but I feel like Born to Die is darker, I always imagine her voice floating coming to me from the dark. I could be just weird though.