How Do You Relate To Lana ...

[Lily 120]

... or do you? Does it play a role in how you appreciate her music?

 

For me, I started out just loving her voice, but at some point I became - let's face it - obsessed. I found I could relate to her and her music on many levels, but there were SO many things I could not relate to that I found fascinating because they were so different from me.  

 

Ways I relate to her:

Her undercurrents of depression, understanding of loss, deep love, falling for dark and sad men, fascination with death, love of Whitman, similar age, love of the 1950s, need to have alone time yet doesn't like to be alone, health issues, ability to maintain love for someone who no longer loves you back.

 

Ways I don't relate:

Her past alcohol and drug use, living on the edge, her independence at a very young age, her apparent sexual history seems kind of wild, hip hop references, love of Brittany Spears. 

 

But no matter what, everything she does is interesting to me and adds to the legend that is Lana the Queen. What about you?!

[plush 656]

I relate to the love of men, the comfort in them, the freedom and independence at a young age, the daddy references, complicated relationships with guys relating to drugs or money ( or both), the vintage feels she oozes, the free mind.

  

[tropicunt 638]

Love this..

[Angel Forever 146]

need to have alone time yet doesn't like to be alone

 

I'm always seeking catharsis and I get this feeling when I watch her videos and listen to her music. Her old homemade videos aesthetic is so cathartic and depicts the old Americana (though I'm not American). I've always got this feeling like missing something I never had or an age I didn't live in, and it's kind of the way she sings about the 50s, 60s and 70s (I also like all this vintage aesthetic). I like the freedom of the open road.     I like this suburban danger, gangsta boys and dark streets. I love the sun and the summertime. It's like I found myself and got my feelings put into songs and videos.

I'm also an indoor person, when it comes to parties, I remember that text Lana gave to the people at Tropico premiere where she says [now] she lives quietly   for real tho.

[DeadAgainst 1,515]

Like this http://www.thefader.com/2014/06/17/love-death-and-jazz-seven-outtakes-from-our-lana-del-rey-intervie/

 

“I was always looking for a certain group of people who really, you know, had this looming concept of mortality that was always with them, who wanted to know where we came from and why we were here. That’s why I got into metaphysics and let that infuse my art, whether I was painting or singing or just writing for fun. I think if you’re not wondering why you’re here, then, you know, we would have nothing in common. Because I wonder. Like, we’re in Brooklyn and I love the houses, I love the people, but that’s not all there is to my daily experience. I have an inner questioning about what’s it all about. The big, big picture. I’m surprised whenever I don’t get that from people. I don’t know. Maybe because the world isn’t new anymore, you know, everything has sort of been done, and there’s not that many things to experiment with, there’s not that many outlets to try because they’ve all been tried. I think it’s just 2014, it’s a time to sit back and wonder what it’s all about. It’s not a novel question, you know, but it’s just one that I wonder about.”

[HEARTCORE 18,971]

Relationship-wise, I don't really relate to her. I like to think that I am a strong person in terms of love, whereas Lana is quite clearly very dependent on others (Without You etc). I can relate to songs like PWYC about being neglected, but not in terms of drugs.

 

I can, however, relate to songs that glamorise and celebrate America/American ideals - I think that I share the same fascination with America that LANs does in songs such as Trash Magic.

 

Basically, I don't usually relate to whole songs of hers, really - mostly just a few lines from certain songs.

[Limelight 4,708]

I think I relate more to her "sadness" and how she's empty when she doesn't have love in her life. Love is very important to me, and I do want to find comfort inica a relationship. Idk, I think it's the passion and devotion she feels towards her men. I'm not saying I'm be submissive and etc but if I truly loved a guy I'd feel like that (and if I lost him, well, I would relate even more). Another important thing is the melancholy.. Melancholy is the feeling I like the most (it's just so beautiful) and I do feel like I should be somewhere else. 

I don't relate to any of the drug references tbh, I only drink occasionally and I haven't smoked weed in ages ( starting again soon though ), but other than that I don't want to try other ones. I also don't relate to the American symbols, richness, etc.

[StealingTheMoonlight 278]

I don't remember where, but I remember Lana discussing how she's "nomadic" in a way, and I really understand and relate to that. I've never had one specific group of friends and moved around some when I was younger so I really understand that moving around/being around new people thing. Also her interest in death, not in a weird way, but in a "what happens when you're dead" way. I guess curiosity of the unknown. I also really relate to her independence and doing things on you're own. I love to do things alone like going to the movies or mall, but I also don't mind doing them with someone and I feel like Lana is the same way. Also her many references of unrequited love, unfortunately. 

[Honeymooner 336]

I honestly don't really relate to the words in her music.  I'm male and straight, so all the stuff about men and dependence is lost on me.  And, being happily married, even turning it around and having it be about women instead of men wouldn't affect me.  Not only that, but having never been into drugs or alcohol, I can't relate on that level, either.  (And I wish she didn't smoke!  LOL)  I do like the concepts in the song "American," though.

 

Where I DO relate is just in the fact that her music (both the lyrics and the instrumental) and her voice are simply beautiful.  I love listening to my group of 17 songs over and over.  The fact that I'm a classical musician has a lot to do with that, I'm sure.  Only one of the songs in my collection from Ultraviolence follows that pattern, though (Old Money).  Maybe I'm just a fan of chamber pop?   But I've never been affected so much with a desire to want to meet an artist in person and just talk with them, as I have with Lana.

 

This may sound crazy, but I think she and I are destined to be connected somehow.  Not in a relationship, just... connected as friends, or something.  There have been a lot of things that happened with her and with me at the same time, such as:

 

• January 2012 -- I started a new job AND moved into a new house; "Born To Die" was released.
• August 18 -- My birthday, and the day that Ultraviolence (the single) was released in the U.S. in 2014.
• June 21 -- The wedding anniversary of my favorite actress, Marina Sirtis (OK, that one's not directly about me); Lana's birthday.
• June 2010, my dad passed away; June 2014, Ultraviolence (the album) was released.

And I figure that since Lana lives in LA and I live in San Diego, there's at least a slight chance that I'll get the chance to meet her.  Of course, if she ever plays a concert in Southern California, I'm there!!

[FFXSoul91 1,030]

I don't relate to many of the specific themes/topics she tackles. However, I relate strongly with her emotions/personality.

[Viva 3,169]

We are both pretty, kind of alcoholic mess and rich. That's why I relate to lana

[Limelight 4,708]

We are both pretty, kind of alcoholic mess and rich. That's why I relate to lana

Slay

[insomnia 5]

The fact that, although she has a wild history of alcohol and drugs and less than ordinary love/sex life, she never seems ashamed of it. She made me realize I shouldn't be ashamed of being different.

[rubytuesday 222]

that horrible habit of glamorized teenage self-destructiveness, the love of beautiful atmospheric visuals that maybe aren't obviously beautiful. actually the general obsession with glamorizing everything and making it seem beautiful. i'm a huge believer in beauty, not particularly in an image based/shallow way, but just a way make awful things seem worth while.

 

but tbh, beyond all that, Lana was the only artist i've ever been a massive fan of who i listened purely because her music made me feel good. i got BTD the day it came out, by chance after i started a rehab programme when i was 16. to me, born to die isn't a dark album at all. it made me wanna have fun & be young. so despite the negative ways i relate to her, i use(d) her as a reassurance that you CAN have been messed up but you can go on to be free and have fun, rather than stuck at home hurting yourself going crazy. that's why i fell in love w her.

[radian 22]

First I have to say the thing that drew me to Lana in the first place was her voice. Although it's not a hard fast rule, when it comes to my taste in music if I don't dig your voice I'm not sticking around, no matter how good the production is. Lana's voice, just the depth and richness of it, is the biggest reason I love her. But as I listened to her music more and more I realized just how much I connected to the lyrics. I too am a recovering addict (my signature is facetious), and I feel her songs address this issue in a very clever, unique, but honest, way. Along with that is a weakness for dangerous men, feeling dedicated to others who aren't to me, getting myself into dangerous situations. I also have a love of vintage, antiquity, particularly the 60's and 70's. Ever since I was a child and first became aware of the past I've been obsessed with it. Angel Forever mentioned above that they feel like they missed out on something when looking at the past, and I feel that way too. Lana clearly has a true reverence for the past that she expresses beautifully in her lyrics. The last "biggie" in regards to how I relate to Lana is that I feel I've had a lot of obstacles to overcome throughout my life, a lot of hardship. And there are lots of little things. I love Brooklyn, I really love California and the ocean, I know how it is to not really have a "home" and make one for yourself as best you can through others. I like to think if I ever met her we would click but another way we're similar is moodiness so maybe not lol. Not that that would happen anyway but you get what I'm saying.

[EdgarandTheAllanPoes 42]

I don't really relate to Lana, but her music is like listening to a thrilling tale, and it's the really interesting to embark upon her thrilling stories about lolita and coney island paradises.

[Honeymooner 336]

Where I DO relate is just in the fact that her music (both the lyrics and the instrumental) and her voice are simply beautiful.  I love listening to my group of 17 songs over and over.

Make that 19 songs.

 

Quoting myself... that's bad, LOL.

 

First I have to say the thing that drew me to Lana in the first place was her voice. Although it's not a hard fast rule, when it comes to my taste in music if I don't dig your voice I'm not sticking around, no matter how good the production is. Lana's voice, just the depth and richness of it, is the biggest reason I love her.

Well put, radian! That's one of the reasons I love her so much, too. I don't identify with the lyrics, but the music and her voice are gorgeous. I also love her because she's so down-to-earth and kind to her fans.

 

I don't really relate to Lana, but her music is like listening to a thrilling tale, and it's the really interesting to embark upon her thrilling stories about lolita and coney island paradises.

I agree! Sometimes when I really listen closely to the words, I can almost feel like I'm seeing what she's seeing through her eyes.

[plush 656]

The way we smoke
 

[Anthem 1,558]

I agree that listening to her music is like hearing a story. Sometimes I like to pretend I'm the person in the story, because I had a pretty quiet life when I was in high school so its fun to imagine getting in to trouble and all that (not that I would change how my real life turned out - I like being good).

 

I don't relate to the dependent relationships she talks about or the drugs. Some certain lines of her love songs I can relate to. I adore most of the music videos from the BTD era as well and I love making my own up in my head for her songs or for other peoples' songs but with her in them. I particularly liked the UV album trailer and I'm sad the rest of the era doesn't have that same west-coasty super surf vibe to it.

 

I do relate a lot to how she presents herself as a celebrity. I'd love to be a singer, and I imagine if I became one I'd be pretty similar to her - being real reserved on stage, always meeting with fans, etc. Even down to the dresses she wears; it all seems like something I'd do if I were a celebrity. But I'm not and at the moment I don't plan on pursing it, so I'm content with dreaming.

 

Finally, I totally get the feeling of missing out on something that was never really there to begin with. I also understand her when she says feminism is boring (not that it isn't important) and she'd rather learn about space or whatever. I get how she's obsessed with death and paradise and what comes after - the undertones of religion that run throughout her songs really, really stand out to me and are my favorite parts of her music.

[Intriguing Penguin 867]

The way I relate to Lana is everything we want we have, money, notoriety, and rivieras.