Thunder Revenant 20,936 Posted August 25, 2015 I mean, it's not a new thing. Lou Reed's Berlin (1973) has been one of my favorite concept albums for a while. I think he's more referincing to people forcefully referring to every damn album which has some kind of recurring theme as a concept album. 6 Just do it. Just do it - don't wait! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trash Magic 28,278 Posted August 25, 2015 I mean, it's not a new thing. Lou Reed's Berlin (1973) has been one of my favorite concept albums for a while. but thanks to the elvis presley and michael jackson of our generation (melanie martinez and Ashley, respectively) the phrase has come up so much it's become meaningless 11 "It's 2011, and we should all be aware of exactly how fast technology is developing" - Lana Del Rey Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dietmtndylan 73 Posted August 25, 2015 Cry Baby for example. Ultraviolence a bit too your icon disgusts me so much 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trash Magic 28,278 Posted August 25, 2015 your icon disgusts me so much this is so uncalled for 7 "It's 2011, and we should all be aware of exactly how fast technology is developing" - Lana Del Rey Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
triangles19 2,454 Posted August 25, 2015 It's not a new flavour at all. I will add this : It's a concept album when all tracks are linked by an idea, a story or a theme. All tracks from the record must be coherent (It can be sounding aesthetics, process or theme). So, most of the Björk's albums and Cry Baby can be good exemples. Another big concept album I know is Brian Eno's "Music For a White Cube". [french source : https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Album-concept] 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thunder Revenant 20,936 Posted August 25, 2015 but thanks to the elvis presley and michael jackson of our generation (melanie martinez and Ashley, respectively) the phrase has come up so much it's become meaningless To be fair, Cry Baby is somehow really a good concept album. And even though I'm not here for the Halsey hate, calling Badlands a concept album is stupid. I think HM might be influenced by the idea of "watching" people and invading their private space (HBTB video, the HM lyrics about escaping, Music To Watch Boys To, the promo pics where Lana always seems to either observe or even get ready to be observed herself), as well as less "autobiographical" stuff (meaning, not just love songs), like TLY which I personally think is about "losing" someone to a mental illness, with the motive being influenced by Terry Bowie. But even if that may be a strong topic, it doesn't neccecarily mean it will be a concept album. Cry Baby is a concept album. Electra Heart is a concept album. The Defamation Of Strickland Banks is a concept album. But the oeruse of the term makes ACTUAL concept albums seem less special. 2 Just do it. Just do it - don't wait! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lad 8,801 Posted August 25, 2015 For me, "Lana Del Rey - EP" is a concept album then 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
a11111 528 Posted August 25, 2015 I have two thoughts about the album at this point: 1. TLY made HM utterly redundant which will drag down the first half of the album. 2. MTWBT is suddenly the centerpiece of the album. If MTWBT it's not near iconic status HM is in trouble commercially and the first part of the album, which usually is better, will be lackluster. She needs a huge single to gain momentum because it seems that she's not willing to do any promotion at all. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thunder Revenant 20,936 Posted August 25, 2015 It's not a new flavour at all. I will add this : It's a concept album when all tracks are linked by an idea, a story or a theme. All tracks from the record must be coherent (It can be sounding aesthetics, process or theme). So, most of the Björk's albums and Cry Baby can be good exemples. Another big concept album I know is Brian Eno's "Music For a White Cube". [french source : https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Album-concept] This definition sucks. Ever yalbum which is not a collection of songs that have been mindlessly thrown together would be a concept album in this case. Having a recurring lyrical theme/coherent sound is not unusual for an album. Too many different things on one album cna easily kill it. The same with visual style. COncept Albums are albums that ACTUALLY have the aiim to tell a story (Cry Baby, Defamation Of Strickland banks, Electr Heart). By this definition The Family Jewels would be a concept album because of it's coherent "edgy" sound and lyrics about success/failure and feeling unfit. 2 Just do it. Just do it - don't wait! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
triangles19 2,454 Posted August 25, 2015 I really disagree, I don't think it's just about telling a story, it feels quite insulting for instumental musicians as Miles Davis (when we started to talk about concept album). It's too easy to cut all subtleties of sounding process that really can define an album as 'concept album'. I found this, it explains a lot : https://historyrat.wordpress.com/2012/06/28/the-concept-album-a-brief-history/ 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theeternalstars 4,576 Posted August 25, 2015 am I the only one who loves the slow jazzy feel of tly and hm but also would love Lana to do a pure pop album a la live or die version 2 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
osnapitzjer 22 Posted August 25, 2015 your icon disgusts me so much Someone finally said it. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thunder Revenant 20,936 Posted August 25, 2015 I really disagree, I don't think it's just about telling a story, it feels quite insulting for instumental musicians as Miles Davis (when we started to talk about concept album). It's too easy to cut all subtleties of sounding process that really can define an album as 'concept album'. I found this, it explains a lot : https://historyrat.wordpress.com/2012/06/28/the-concept-album-a-brief-history/ And still, not everything with recurring themes and a recurring, coherent sound is a concept album. It's usual for artists to have matching and coherent visuals for their albums. And MOSt albums have some kind of ongoing theme which is more or less present. Putting the stamp "concept album" on everything is much more insulting to all the artists who did concept albums so far. 3 Just do it. Just do it - don't wait! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kristinaj 1,168 Posted August 25, 2015 To be fair, Cry Baby is somehow really a good concept album. And even though I'm not here for the Halsey hate, calling Badlands a concept album is stupid. I think HM might be influenced by the idea of "watching" people and invading their private space (HBTB video, the HM lyrics about escaping, Music To Watch Boys To, the promo pics where Lana always seems to either observe or even get ready to be observed herself), as well as less "autobiographical" stuff (meaning, not just love songs), like TLY which I personally think is about "losing" someone to a mental illness, with the motive being influenced by Terry Bowie. But even if that may be a strong topic, it doesn't neccecarily mean it will be a concept album. Cry Baby is a concept album. Electra Heart is a concept album. The Defamation Of Strickland Banks is a concept album. But the oeruse of the term makes ACTUAL concept albums seem less special. This is the second time I'm seeing you refer to Terry as Terry Bowie His name was Terry Burns and besides his name could not possibly even be Bowie because Bowie's actual name is Jones and Bowie is just his stage name 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thunder Revenant 20,936 Posted August 25, 2015 This is the second time I'm seeing you refer to Terry as Terry Bowie His name was Terry Burns and besides his name could not possibly even be Bowie because Bowie's actual name is Jones and Bowie is just his stage name I know he's called Burns. But I've made the experience that people don't get who you are referring to if you don't mention Bowie, so I just restrained to calling him like that. And besides, for having 43 posts you're atcing "shady" and "bitter" quite often. 3 Just do it. Just do it - don't wait! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Honeybear 2,047 Posted August 25, 2015 Mess @ no one mentioning 'The Dark Side of the Moon' while bringing up concept albums. But seriously, though, I don't see any of her works as conceptual, but more like, exploring the same/similar theme over and over. They don't have a plot or a story, so I wouldn't call them concept albums (Helsinki should take notes). 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Goddess 224 Posted August 25, 2015 It's okay if no one agrees, but I've seen a lot of the songs of this album (released so far) to be Lana coming to terms with reality. Like she has finally realized her daydreams about her bad boys are not true. 'Dreaming away your life' at the end of Honeymoon the first track. 'I can't survive if this is all that's real' in HBTB. 'I lost myself when I lost you' although I do believe this is about grief it could also be a loss of the image of someone, the loss of who you thought they were, who you made them up to be in your head. Also when you read Burnt Norton it's very metaphysical and dreamy. Talking about the concept of time.... I need to hear the rest of the album but I've noticed an undercurrent of dreams and maybe that's what Lana meant by surrealism. 6 He loves me with every beat of his cocaine heart. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kristinaj 1,168 Posted August 25, 2015 I know he's called Burns. But I've made the experience that people don't get who you are referring to if you don't mention Bowie, so I just restrained to calling him like that. And besides, for having 43 posts you're atcing "shady" and "bitter" quite often. I suppose I may come off as shady because I cannot really 100% relate to this fandom, but I do love Lana so I like to come to this forum 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
triangles19 2,454 Posted August 25, 2015 And still, not everything with recurring themes and a recurring, coherent sound is a concept album. It's usual for artists to have matching and coherent visuals for their albums. And MOSt albums have some kind of ongoing theme which is more or less present. Putting the stamp "concept album" on everything is much more insulting to all the artists who did concept albums so far. I never said that. I don't put a stamp Concept Album on everything. And I don't talk about visuals, but sound. I think it's hard to define, and needs to act with precaution, with a good knowledge of the musician's process and intentions. The article I shared looks pretty clear for me, and it's really reliable. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lad 8,801 Posted August 25, 2015 Why do you want her albums to be concept albums so hard it's not like concept albums are better if any of them were concept she would say it. I mean I don't think any artist would do a concept album and don't talk about their effort or anything... 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites