Lana Del Rey covers Rolling Stone August 2014

[COLACNT 5,171]

I'll say this, as an extreme introvert, a sensitive person, and a creative type, and frankly kind of a selfish asshole: All that tortured artist shit goes out the window in the real world. Save it for the studio, save it for your journal, save it for your canvas, because nobody gives a fuck about your emotional needs outside of those places. It hurts, and it's hard, and you won't make friends with everybody, but you won't win. Lana should know this by now, and honestly, if she doesn't, she needs better handlers who do. It's nice to say "she's not cut out for this" but she wanted this kind of fame, did she not?

 

this is all so painfully true but somehow i don't think she gives a shit? or its like, she alternates between giving too much and too little of a fuck 

 

like she's so selfish and so self-contained that the outside world rarely 'break(s) through [her own inner] world" but occasionally when it does, she flips the fuck out and suddenly cares until she reverts back into her natural state a minute or so later? i legitimately think that's why she seems so fucking crazy. like, where is she today? in lana world or the real world? they're both equally visceral. and she's obviously capable of (and forthcoming about) inhabiting both spaces; its just that you (the interviewer or the fan) are unable to know which one she's in. maybe she wanted the fame but just isn't cut out for the press (on a consistent scale, at least) 

 

doesn't matter, really -- she'll always be polarizing and there will always be people that love her for it (and i think she knows this, too) 

[Thunder Revenant 20,695]

And I still haven't heard a good answer why she can't just politely demur when something makes her uncomfortable.

 

She's constantly treated unpolitely by interviewers/reviewers without obvious reasons. I think @@bloodredjam already explained it very good.

'm not talking about lyrics from songs like Cola, Ultraviolence or FMWUTTT, of course she should be prepared to be asked about them, since she published the songs. I don't like her attitude towards questions like this, things like "I don't want them to hear that at all" or blurry statements in order to say nothing at all are annoying.

It may not be professional to leash out at a jounralist, but it is definitly understandable. Of course it's her "fault" on some parts - cause sometimes she doesn't really talks about things like what's behind her lyrics or how she came up with a song, at least not sufficiently and then the journalists have to ask different things - but in the end, I don't see the journalistic performance in asking her about her daddy or with whom she had sex when she was a teenager. At least as long as she isn't singing about things like this on her official records. And questions like the one with the scale from 1 to 10 are just super-unprofessional. Maybe it would be more professional if she just plainly ignored them, however, she is a human being and I can understand her reaction.

 

[Summersault 822]

 

She's constantly treated unpolitely by interviewers/reviewers without obvious reasons. I think @@bloodredjam already explained it very good.

'm not talking about lyrics from songs like Cola, Ultraviolence or FMWUTTT, of course she should be prepared to be asked about them, since she published the songs. I don't like her attitude towards questions like this, things like "I don't want them to hear that at all" or blurry statements in order to say nothing at all are annoying.

It may not be professional to leash out at a jounralist, but it is definitly understandable. Of course it's her "fault" on some parts - cause sometimes she doesn't really talks about things like what's behind her lyrics or how she came up with a song, at least not sufficiently and then the journalists have to ask different things - but in the end, I don't see the journalistic performance in asking her about her daddy or with whom she had sex when she was a teenager. At least as long as she isn't singing about things like this on her official records. And questions like the one with the scale from 1 to 10 are just super-unprofessional. Maybe it would be more professional if she just plainly ignored them, however, she is a human being and I can understand her reaction.

 

 

 

But she didn't react negatively to those questions though. In fact she told more openly about her past than in any previous interview and actually laughed off the whole "1-10 scale" question. To me the interview actually reads like Lana had a decent chemistry with the interviewer.

 

It seemed to be the questions about SNL and FMWUTTT that suddenly triggered her shut down, where she didn't mind the other risque questions.

 

I don't expect any logic from Lana (she has her own universe) and I don't think most fans do, but from the perspective of the interviewer it must be a little confusing.

[Dima 2,536]

wow, she is so beautiful!

[evilentity 13,303]

Yes, when you accused people of giving LDR a pass because they like her music, the conversation on this and other threads devolved to this level. I should not have responded in kind. I'm sorry for offending you.

 

Rather than bore everyone with our little drama, I'll continue this conversation via PM if you don't mind. When I have time, and access to a mouse :/

It's hardly psychoanalyzing to observe that in general fans' love of their favorite artist can get in the way of their objectitivity. (Would you disagree with that?) Aside from saying the pot was calling the kettle black when @@SitarHero first lobbed an accusation of bias against me, I took pains not to accuse anyone specifically of this bias or ascribe this motivation to any specific person. In fact, I specifically exempted you from this particular criticism. There's a big difference between that and saying, well, you specifically must think this or must not think that because you're X personality type. That said, it's not necessary to PM me about it. I'm not really that offended. It should be obvious I have pretty thick skin. As an INTJ/INTP, I'm not threated by conflict or criticism.

 

I do want to go on record as agreeing with EE's primary concern that journalists should be treated with respect -and basic human decency.

This is really the crux of it for me. I don't think she's doing this. And I don't think the journalists are doing anything bad enough to warrant the way she's treating them. Not that they can't handle it, they're professionals. But that in itself isn't an excuse for the way she's behaving towards them. Naturally, those of you who think the journalists are doing something wrong may judge her behavior differently, but I don't think they are, and I still don't think it would excuse it if they were.

 

So, the actions that you think she's accountable for it's her behavior in her recent interviews?

Yes and no. A couple of the recent ones have been some of her worst, but there's been a number of interviews over the years that she cut short or shut down in because she got pissy.

 

She got upset with [the Guardian interviewer], so what? This is a despicable behavior? I don't think so.

 

Read from the bottom up

 

 

The "boring" comment was just an extremely petty cheap shot and reflects really poorly on her. And the comments about "masked as a fan", "hiding sinister ambitions and angles", and "calculated" make her sound completely paranoid. Yes, I think she acted really shitty.

 

This is also a good opportunity to point out something else I've noticed for a long time that I don't think I've mentioned before. Notice she said "masked as a fan". In several of those interviews she got pissy in she interrupted the interviewer to ask them if they liked her music, as if liking her music or being a fan of hers should be a prerequisite for interviewing her or a litmus test for fair coverage. It suggests she has unrealistic expectations of what an interview should be, a misunderstanding of the role of journalists, a belief that if the media isn't covering her positively and in just the manner she'd like it isn't covering her fairly. Sorry, Lana, that's what PR people are for, not journalists.

[intensely 48]

Funny. The Fiona lyric, "You fondle my trigger, then you blame my gun," feels relevant here. But it's a two-way street, for sure: Lana provokes the media by saying strange/unsettling things in interviews and in music then refuses to account for them; the media provokes Lana by asking her difficult and triggering questions, and then sensationalizes her dramatic and/or uncooperative response. Neither side is innocent at all.

 

I've said before that Lana's willful solipsism is what really rubs people (in the media and in general) wrong. In an age of interconnectivity and transparency, with an emphasis on social cooperation, Lana basically says 'fuck that.' In this interview she admits she's very selfish, says no therapist could possibly know her better than herself, says she doesn't need money, is glib about smoking, etc. Basically, she comes off like an obstinate 17-year-old. Some part of her refuses to grow up. I love this about her in many ways, but it will continue to work against her as she ages and people expect more candor and less defensive posturing from her. I hate to say it, but her extreme 'selfishness as a virtue' stance reminds me a bit of Ayn Rand at times (who is adored by angsty teenagers who cannot see a world beyond their own.) There's an interesting thing here about Mammalian vs Reptilian thinkers/creators. It's about the workplace, but it's applicable to anything. I think Lana, right now, is Reptilian.

 

'While mammals need others from the day they’re born, reptiles are adapted to living on their own. So, as they grow--whether we’re talking about the culture of crocodiles or a corporation--they have lives that are "individually oriented and socially isolated," they live in a world, Porges says, "defined by risk and not sharing or benevolence or creativity," and so the defining features of a reptilian workplace are embedded in defense and fear.'

 

just had to quote all of this. I read this comic on Ayn Rand today and your comment is extremely apt.

 

on the other hand I think it's great she knows how to end things and set strong boundaries. it's not a big deal. Julia Roberts used to walk out of interviews around 20 years ago when questions get invasive and now she is a pro with press and knows how to enforce privacy.

 

i've read many a celebrity interview where usually a male journalist will whine about a woman celeb doesn't take his shit and the male journo takes it really personally and runs the woman down. I don't really see this here - instead he comments on her fluctuating moods, and his opinion of her is supposed to be paramount, but she tells him, I am confident...yes! 

[COLACNT 5,171]

"i ask, perversely, about fucked my way up to the top" 

 

"now you're annoying me" 

__________________________________________

 

so he admits to being "perverse" (whatever that means); we still don't know how he posed the question or what the question actually was... but upon a second skin, i'm thinking he definitely wanted a reaction out of her

[GangstaBoy 3,930]

"i ask, perversely, about fucked my way up to the top" 

 

"now you're annoying me" 

__________________________________________

 

so he admits to being "perverse" (whatever that means); we still don't know how he posed the question or what the question actually was... but upon a second skin, i'm thinking he definitely wanted a reaction out of her

 

Bitch makes a diss song about fucking her way up but gets annoyed when asked a question about it 

I think she tries too hard to be controversial but it just doesn't suit her...

She should've thought about releasing the song if she's so uncomfortable with it cause she's obviously gonna get asked about it a lot

[whitman 1,286]

Honestly I can't recall an artist who was so brutally attacked by media and humiliated as her in recent years. It's definitely enough to make anyone crazy - especially a sensitive person as her. So yes she sounds extremely paranoid sometimes but yes it's understandable 

 

But I agree with @evilentity: the nature of the questions she is often questioned in interviews are definetely provoked by her ( and her work). If you analyze UV you can totally see she got every little bad thing written about  her and turned into songs: she was called anti-feminist then she wrote a song about getting hit and loving it, she was accused of being a label puppet then we got  FMWUTT and MPG as a response, It's like she really transformed herself into this character that people initially thought she was just to piss and confuse them. A normal artist would probably write about other things after experience such a negative response of their work, but Lana decided to go even further in the dark themes and approach them again and explicitly and now she won't take responsibility of her own decision.

 

It's pretty disrespectful to say things like "I don't want to people to hear it, it's none of their business" to people who actually enjoy her music after writing a song with a line like "he hit and it felt like a kiss". It's easier to say stuff like this than admitting your real motivation.

[COLACNT 5,171]

Bitch makes a diss song about fucking her way up but gets annoyed when asked a question about it  

I think she tries too hard to be controversial but it just doesn't suit her...

She should've thought about releasing the song if she's so uncomfortable with it cause she's obviously gonna get asked about it a lot

 

its not that he asked about the song; i'm just curious about his presentation of the question (and his demeanor in doing so) 

 

we'll never know unfortunately; the entire interview has been filtered through his lens (and only his) 

[neon palms sway 1,301]

Poor Lana I appreciate her uninterrupted fearlessness to answer questions asked in interviews but I think she may need to be more careful... Her true comfort may be found once she realizes that she can't control the media and she can't control the journalists she speaks with- but she can deny them the oppurtunity to control HER. She didn't have to answer any of those questions, but she did anyway- and the more she does that, the deeper she'll fall into the trap. I hope she'll try to find her comfort, by avoiding interviews and magazines and other aspects of media she has a hatred for, rather than walking into uncomfortable territory. I don't want her to become even sadder than she already is by doing this.

[neon palms sway 1,301]

I wonder if it is this kind of thing that has begun to affect her attitude while performing (Glastonbury...) and her communication with fans. The Glastonbury performance was very unhappy and bored, with no communication with the crowd. She stared dead-eyed into one of the largest crowds she's ever had. It was as if she couldn't see them. It felt like she could see nothing but her own tired unhappiness. And it makes me sad. I'm so worried for her and I don't want her to keep allowing others the chance to worsen her negative emotions by doing interviews she didn't want to do! Lana just stop and make yourself happy please

[COLACNT 5,171]

The Glastonbury performance was very unhappy and bored, with no communication with the crowd. She stared dead-eyed into one of the largest crowds she's ever had.

 

i don't think it was because she was unhappy or bored. i think she was overwhelmed due to the fact that the crowd was so staggeringly large?

 

and dead-eyed, because she retreated into her safe place for the time being

[neon palms sway 1,301]

i don't think it was because she was unhappy or bored. i think she was overwhelmed due to the fact that the crowd was so staggeringly large?

 

and dead-eyed, because she retreated into her safe place for the time being

Maybe so!!! She just didn't smile much, she didn't seem focused on the real world, and she seemed tired of it all- touring, performing- so that's why I saw it as unhappy and bored. That crowd was definitely overwhelming, even for me, and I was just watching the video! It was an incredible amount of people! I felt so proud of her, I hope she was proud of herself too xx

[kik 1,563]

On how she wants people to hear lyrics like "he hurt me and it felt like true love": "I just don't want them to hear it at all," she says. "I'm very selfish. I make everything for me, kind of. I mean, every little thing, down to the guitar and the drums. It's just for me… I don't want them to hear it and think about it. It's none of their business!"

The more I read that part, the more I agree, even though it hurt my feelings for a fraction of second at first.

 

I agree that people should make art for themselves and themselves only. I don't find it selfish, it's just common sense. Then if they want to share it with people and the publics is responsive, it's great and they can live from their art like so many artist wish they could. When it's made to please the crowd, to become rich and famous, it's not art anymore to me, it's entertainment. Well, I think for most cases.

 

She's sharing something precious and personnal with us through her music. By opening her diary, she makes herself vulnerable. Talking about her death thoughts, mental issues etc in a casual discussion/interview is completely different, not subtle and not pretty at all. Art is another world where you can be whoever you want, do whatever you want. Talking about the same topics IRL and you open the door for awkward situations.

 

People don't need to know the story and the meaning behind lyrics. I think she'd prefer her fans to appropriate her songs for themselves and interpret it their own way according to their own experiences and dreams. It's part of the fun. I personally rely to many of her songs. I had some crazy episodes and experiences in my life and I'm nostalgic of the past and those great, powerful moments. When she says "he hit me and it felt like a kiss", I cannot rely because if a man lay a finger on me, he got two seconds to get the fuck out of my life. I don't tolerate physical violence, but I'll tolerate despite me a guy who almost never return calls, who disappear for weeks without notice, who's ignoring me. It hurts, but it feels like a kiss. It's stimulating when things are not that easy. Kind of. And if other people interpret it differently, good for them. I won't feel the need to change my perception of the song. Because things don't always have to make sense.

 

/slice of life

[Wilde_child 490]

She is into Gainsbourg and Baez. I knew it!

 

Lana is just being Lana. Cut her some slack.

[DeadAgainst 1,514]

 

The exact point where the Introvert switch flips on

 

 

She even says that "it's not you, it's me" -- at this point you just feel completely suffocated by people

 

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2003/03/caring-for-your-introvert/302696/#.TxmUFzOjobA.facebook

 

Extroverts are energized by people, and wilt or fade when alone. They often seem bored by themselves, in both senses of the expression. Leave an extrovert alone for two minutes and he will reach for his cell phone. In contrast, after an hour or two of being socially "on," we introverts need to turn off and recharge. My own formula is roughly two hours alone for every hour of socializing. This isn't antisocial. It isn't a sign of depression. It does not call for medication. For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating. Our motto: "I'm okay, you're okay—in small doses."

 

http://www.janafadness.com/blog/introverts-and-extroverts/

 

My boyfriend’s ... constant barrage of questions about things I didn’t care about was just too much for me.... so my brain did the only thing it could– it shut itself down. It was screaming “No more input, please! I can’t take it anymore.”

My boyfriend was constantly demanding immediate responses from me, but my brain needed more time to process all the data he kept throwing at me. If I had a little time to think it over, I might have been able to say something intelligent. But his constant barrage of questions and requests for validation paralyzed me. Unlike him, I couldn’t think and talk at the same time. Since introverts use a longer brain pathway than extroverts do, we need more time to think and sort out all the information in our heads, without pressure. And since we use our long-term rather than short-term memories, we need a little more time to reach back and retrieve the information stored in there. If you demand a response from us right away, we may very well go blank. It’s not that we’re holding something back, that we don’t want to talk to you, or that we’re too shy to speak up. We just need a little breathing room!

None of this whole fiasco was my boyfriend’s fault, and it wasn’t my fault either. The way I see it, it was the fault of an extrovert-biased society that seriously misunderstands and belittles introversion. Contrary to what society would have you believe, introversion has absolutely NOTHING to do with any of the following things:

• Shyness
• Lack of self-confidence
• Dislike of people
• Self-centeredness

 

Which is exactly what she says at the end. . .

[kik 1,563]

She is into Gainsbourg and Baez. I knew it!

 

Lana is just being Lana. Cut her some slack.

 

Replace Whitney with Lana in this interview and imagine the results

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwB0zcx96-A

[COLACNT 5,171]

i think this quote sums up her paradoxical qualities and her reaction to this interviewer quite well:

 

"a certain immaturity, both mental and emotional, can go hand in hand with deepest insights.” - howard gardner

 

he proposed the theory of multiple intelligences, including musical (rhythmic and harmonic), visual–spatial, verbal–linguistic, logical–mathematical, bodily–kinesthetic, interpersonal, interpersonal, naturalistic, and existential intelligences. lana might be low on emotional and even social intelligence -- both of which are most commonly known next to 'rational' intelligence; but i bet she'd score high in her musical (rhythmic-harmonic), intrapersonal, verbal-linguistic, and existential capacities

[DeadAgainst 1,514]

She is into Gainsbourg and Baez. I knew it!

 

Lana is just being Lana. Cut her some slack.

 

Forget Marilyn Monroe with the soul of Leonard Cohen; she is France Gall with the soul of Serge Gainsbourg

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poup%C3%A9e_de_cire,_poup%C3%A9e_de_son

 

The title can be translated as "wax doll, rag doll" (a floppy doll stuffed with bran or chaff) or as "wax doll, sound doll" (with implications that Gall is a "singing doll" controlled by Gainsbourg).... The central image of the song is that singer identifies herself as a wax doll (poupée de cire), a rag doll (poupée de son), and a fashion doll (poupée de salon). Her heart is engraved in her songs; she sees life through the bright, rose-tinted glasses of her songs. Is she better or worse than a fashion doll?

 

 

This song definitely sounds--conceptually, at least--like the inspiration for "Without You" (and a bit of "Lolita") doesn't it? Next thing you know, we'll learn the whole "china doll" accusations were part of her plan to be the prophet and final seal of the Ye-Ye girls (PBUH).

 

As for the "masked as a fan" thing, reading it as "masked as a friend" should make the perspective of the Introvert who only opens up for those few people she feels she can trust more understandable, even if this isn't the proper way to deal with fickle interviewers looking for a story (TRUSTNO1). The feeling of being seduced and discarded is probably akin to a regrettable one-night stand.