Art Deco

[ILostMyself 171]

Well I think I'm stating the obvious here, but I remember a discussion on the HM Pre-Release thread about the denotation of "Art Deco". At first, I thought calling a song Art Deco and refering to someone as it is quite tacky, but I've really come to like it and I think it's pretty clever now.

 

For me, "Art Deco" is a Carmen 2.0, so the person refered to in the song is Carmen. There was this discussion if calling someone Art Deco is negative or postive, but I definitely think it has a strong negative connotation. Art Deco was an art style in the 20s purely for decorative reasons, as the name already suggests, and it was soley used on furniture, wallpapers etc, so it's not an independet art style, like e.g. Art Nouveau, but it is dependent on its placement and the particular time period of the 20s. It was not only supposed to reflect the zeitgeist of the time, but it was the "Golden Twenties". Everyone wanted to dive into the wealth and jazz and party of the time, and Art Deco was to reflect this.

 

Soooo... in my opinion, calling her Art Deco in the song means that she is exactly this: a decorative object without its own "artistic" stand-alone value. She just exists to be beautiful, ever on the hunt for wealth and beauty (accompanying ruthlessness and decandence). As Lana says in her song, the addressee "wants in" but she "just can't win." Like Art Deco. Very clever in my eyes.

[neuf 197]

Is it about Azealia Banks?

 

"You're not mean you're just one to be seen" = her frequent beefs kept her in the news despite a lack of musical output

"Shining like gunmetal" = heavy metal & reflective relationship

"And they all say hello, You try to ignore them" = she leaves managements, labels.  She always seeks attention then bites the hands that feed

"'Cause You want more" = she's mentioned in interviews how she doesn't want to deal with labels, own her music, etc.

"Got things that've yet to be seen, Like your rapper's delight" = Broke with Expensive Taste, high anticipated by everyone to see as a make-or-break by everyone but went unheard until recently

 

Banks can perform, put on a great show, creates a lot of attention and is kind of wild and can be seen as mean.  She might party hard privately, who knows?  Her and Lana are purportedly friends.

 

 

I'm not Banks fan but it's really convincing that this is about her to me.

[GangstaBoy 3,930]

Well I think I'm stating the obvious here, but I remember a discussion on the HM Pre-Release thread about the denotation of "Art Deco". At first, I thought calling a song Art Deco and refering to someone as it is quite tacky, but I've really come to like it and I think it's pretty clever now.

 

For me, "Art Deco" is a Carmen 2.0, so the person refered to in the song is Carmen. There was this discussion if calling someone Art Deco is negative or postive, but I definitely think it has a strong negative connotation. Art Deco was an art style in the 20s purely for decorative reasons, as the name already suggests, and it was soley used on furniture, wallpapers etc, so it's not an independet art style, like e.g. Art Nouveau, but it is dependent on its placement and the particular time period of the 20s. It was not only supposed to reflect the zeitgeist of the time, but it was the "Golden Twenties". Everyone wanted to dive into the wealth and jazz and party of the time, and Art Deco was to reflect this.

 

Soooo... in my opinion, calling her Art Deco in the song means that she is exactly this: a decorative object without its own "artistic" stand-alone value. She just exists to be beautiful, ever on the hunt for wealth and beauty (accompanying ruthlessness and decandence). As Lana says in her song, the addressee "wants in" but she "just can't win." Like Art Deco. Very clever in my eyes.

 

Art Deco was more than furniture and wallpapers tho, the style had a huge impact on architecture and it became quite popular during the 20s and 30s.

According to wikipedia (mess ik)

 

 

Deco emerged from the interwar period  when rapid industrialisation was transforming culture. One of its major attributes is an embrace of technology.

 

 

During its heyday, Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, exuberance and faith in social and technological progress.

 

I wouldn't call Art Deco shallow but I really like a few of the points you made in your interpretation

[May 13,313]

Is it about Azealia Banks?

 

"You're not mean you're just one to be seen" = her frequent beefs kept her in the news despite a lack of musical output

"Shining like gunmetal" = heavy metal & reflective relationship

"And they all say hello, You try to ignore them" = she leaves managements, labels.  She always seeks attention then bites the hands that feed

"'Cause You want more" = she's mentioned in interviews how she doesn't want to deal with labels, own her music, etc.

"Got things that've yet to be seen, Like your rapper's delight" = Broke with Expensive Taste, high anticipated by everyone to see as a make-or-break by everyone but went unheard until recently

 

Banks can perform, put on a great show, creates a lot of attention and is kind of wild and can be seen as mean.  She might party hard privately, who knows?  Her and Lana are purportedly friends.

 

 

I'm not Banks fan but it's really convincing that this is about her to me.

 

at first when i read ppl thought it was about azealia i rolled my eyes but now i'm like 80% sure of it

Lana and Azealia are definitely good friends, they've tweeted each other a few times, Azealia defended Lana when Eminem made a rap about Lana, she also attended the Tropico premiere, and Lana has shared Azealia's music on social media.

Lana also said this abt Azealia in an interview: "I fuck with Azealia Banks because I have the same artistic inclinations as her and the same taste in men."

 

'You want in, but you just can't win' would go with Azealia's complaints about how the general public don't like her because she's an upfront black woman too

[Creyk 11,726]

 

"Got things that've yet to be seen, Like your rapper's delight" = Broke with Expensive Taste, high anticipated by everyone to see as a make-or-break by everyone but went unheard until recently

 

I like your points but let's not get ahead of ourselves, outside of pop forums I never heard anyone mention her, ever. I'm not sure that album was anticipated by "everyone"

[neuf 197]

I just meant critics, a large portion of pop and hip hop heads, and fans and enemies of her.

[dollface 14]

I get a lot of BtD vibes from this song. I think that's why I love it so much.

[Thunder Revenant 20,976]

Still can't figure out if Art Deco is supposed to be something positive.

 

The Art Deco style ontains very stylized motives and most things are without debth" or shadow. Apart from this, the overall emphasis on "decorative" stuff ... I don't know, if you project these traits on a person, it sounds like it would be someone very shallow, someone who looks great but lacks character behind his beauty.

This would kind of fit the unsure downtown party queen person Lana seems to watch/talk to.

but knowing Lana, she could have just searched for an artsy, retro word and it#s meaning this person has a somehow classy aura, evoking Great Gatsby vibes.

[ILostMyself 171]

Art Deco was more than furniture and wallpapers tho, the style had a huge impact on architecture and it became quite popular during the 20s and 30s.

 

I wouldn't call Art Deco shallow but I really like a few of the points you made in your interpretation

Yeah sure! It did have a huuuge impact as it just reflected that zeitgeist of material wealth and party life and all that, architecure and fashion, too. However, I would still consider it to be rather "shallow" as it is not an Art style per se. And the ornamental structure of Art Deco is usually really "flat" and straight lines in metallic colors, I feel like Lana quotes this in her song as well ("gunmetal"). But that's of course my opinion.

 

 

Still can't figure out if Art Deco is supposed to be something positive.

 

The Art Deco style ontains very stylized motives and most things are without debth" or shadow. Apart from this, the overall emphasis on "decorative" stuff ... I don't know, if you project these traits on a person, it sounds like it would be someone very shallow, someone who looks great but lacks character behind his beauty.

This would kind of fit the unsure downtown party queen person Lana seems to watch/talk to.

but knowing Lana, she could have just searched for an artsy, retro word and it#s meaning this person has a somehow classy aura, evoking Great Gatsby vibes.

That's exactly what I was saying, I think Lana just wanted to use the term "Art Deco" as it's nnot been done / used like this in any song that I know of at least.

 

And also, I don't think this song is about Azelia Banks or anyone else in particular. I think that would be too far of a stretch. If it is about anyone, it's about "Carmen" imo.

[YoungCarter 24]

Intersting theory about Azealia. Might be true, who knows? :khaled:

I like your points but let's not get ahead of ourselves, outside of pop forums I never heard anyone mention her, ever. I'm not sure that album was anticipated by "everyone"

Many music critics (like NME, Pitchfork etc) praised her album.

[May 13,313]

i think someone else already said this in here but when she says 'you're so Art Deco' i think she's continuing the theme of Carmen and describing a girl who only exists to look good and go out at night
 
'Put your red dress on, put your lipstick on

Sing your song, song, now the camera's on
And you're alive again'

 

what i mean is that there's this girl who goes out and stays out all night but she never lets people in emotionally - 'they all say hello, you try to ignore them because you want more' so she's nothing more than a decorative item. to other people, she only exists to look good, they don't know anything about what's going on in her mind because she ignores everyone who tries to be her friend.

 

this is a messy unorganised post bc i was pretty much just writing down my thought process lel

[Just Cherry 3,799]

I think the first verse is:

Queen of the downtown scene

Prowling around at night

You're not mean

You're just born to be seen

Born to be wild

[LanaFan1086 5]

Love this song! One of my favorite tracks on the album!

[ILostMyself 171]

I think the first verse is:

Queen of the downtown scene

Prowling around at night

You're not mean

You're just born to be seen

Born to be wild

Sry, but I definitely hear a w-sound. :/ So for me it's still "want"

[May 13,313]

https://twitter.com/AZEALIABANKS/status/645322749083258881

 

it's weird that azealia hasn't talked with lana about it and just asked her 'is art deco about me?' considering how close they seemed to be a few months ago...

[InTheSummer 777]

I literally JUST said it can't be about Azealia but looking at the lyrics.... fuck I think it is..

[PrettyBaby 2,220]

All right guys, bear with me, but I'm hearing something different in the chorus. I see "Art Deco" not as contrasting with something like "Art Nouveau," but rather with something like "Neon Gold" ...something like "yellow." (Thus, "art deco" would be positive.) I'm seeing the theme all over the chorus.
 
This is what I hear:
 
Club queen on the downtown scene
Prowling around at night
You're not mean you're just born to be seen
Born to be wild
 
A little party never hurt no one
That's why it's alright
You want in but you just can't win
So you hang in the lights
 
You're so Art Deco
Out on the floor
Shining like gunmetal
Gold and unsure

Baby you're so ghetto
You're looking to score
When they all say yellow
You try to ignore them
 
Cause you want more (why?)
You want more (why?)
You want more (why?)
Cause you want more
 
Young thing on the downtown scene
Rolling around at night
You've got things that've yet to be seen
Like your rapper's delight
 
A little party never hurt no one
That's why it's alright
You want in but you just can't win
So you stay in the lights
 
You're so Art Deco
Out on the floor
Shining like gunmetal 
Cold and unsure
Baby you're so ghetto
You're looking to score
And they all say hello
You try to ignore them
 
Cause you want more (why?)
You want more (why?)
You want more (why?)
Cause you want more
 
A little party never hurt no one
So you stay out late
A little party never hurt no one
That's what your friends say
 
You put your life out on the line
You're crazy all the time
Put your life out on the line
You're crazy all the time
 
You're so Art Deco
Out on the floor
Shining like gunmetal 
Gold and unsure
Baby you're so ghetto
You're looking to score
When they all say yellow
You try to ignore them
 
Cause you want more (why?)
You want more (why?)
You want more (why?)
Cause you want more
 
A little party never hurt no one
Not you and me
A little party never hurt no one
We were born to be free
 
 
I mean, it's in a nightclub (Neon Gold club nights) ...? Yes? No? Maybe?

[InTheSummer 777]

idk if the theory about gold/yellow is correct but... it's genius tbqfh

[evilentity 13,351]

When they all say yellow

Sorry, but I distinctly hear the 'h' in "hello" every time.

[PrettyBaby 2,220]

Sorry, but I distinctly hear the 'h' in "hello" every time.

 

Okay. What about gold vs. cold?