Is Lana Declining?

[lernerderrey 2,379]

im not gunna say shes declining but i feel like her AKA demos are waayyyyy more creative than anything off of Honeymoon. 

does anyone know if she still writes with a guitar? cuz she should.

[baddisease 15,880]

Depends on what you mean when you say "declining". It's inarguable that in terms of albums sales, budgeting, relevance, etc., she's in decline. That's partially her own fault and partially beyond her control.

 

Artistically (outside of budget limitations)? I don't know. I think that there's a sharpness between her best and worst songs on Honeymoon. On Born to Die and Ultraviolence, there may have been questionable quality songs, but they weren't bad or anything. However, the songs on Honeymoon it was obvious - to me - which songs were terrible and which were good, even from the recordings of the event she had. That's all subjective, so still. I don't know if - objectively - her art is in decline.

[slang 1,509]

Depends on what you mean when you say "declining". It's inarguable that in terms of albums sales, budgeting, relevance, etc., she's in decline. That's partially her own fault and partially beyond her control.

 

Artistically (outside of budget limitations)? I don't know. I think that there's a sharpness between her best and worst songs on Honeymoon. On Born to Die and Ultraviolence, there may have been questionable quality songs, but they weren't bad or anything. However, the songs on Honeymoon it was obvious - to me - which songs were terrible and which were good, even from the recordings of the event she had. That's all subjective, so still. I don't know if - objectively - her art is in decline.

OK, I'll bite. Unless you say what the (obvious) weak songs are, it's impossible to know the sense in which you think she is possibly declining. Not counting BN and DLMBM (which are extras), I would consider AD and GKIT as weaker than other songs on the album, but I can still listen to both with some enjoyment.

[baddisease 15,880]

OK, I'll bite. Unless you say what the (obvious) weak songs are, it's impossible to know the sense in which you think she is possibly declining. Not counting BN and DLMBM (which are extras), I would consider AD and GKIT as weaker than other songs on the album, but I can still listen to both with some enjoyment.

 

 

I think 24 and Honeymoon were the weakest original songs on HM, and DLMBM is probably a good example of why she should leave other peoples' songs alone. I think the quality of her writing is declining.

[slang 1,509]

I think 24 and Honeymoon were the weakest original songs on HM, and DLMBM is probably a good example of why she should leave other peoples' songs alone. I think the quality of her writing is declining.

Yup, you're right about subjective. HM is in my top tier and 24 is mid. DLMBM I didn't get a strong negative reaction for, but I did get more familiar with the Animals and Simone's cover. I think she's usually pretty faithful to the original(s) in her covers. I suppose the lyrics are different in HM and UV than some of her earlier song phases, but hopefully she'll get back to her roots (Dylan?, Cohen?).

[Honeymooner 336]

I haven't been on the forum in a while, but I just popped in and saw this post, so I thought I'd contribute my opinion.  Hope y'all don't mind.

 

It seems like this topic has been creeping into every discussion on here lately and I wanted to get everyone's take. Many of you seemed pretty unmoved by Lana's recent endeavors (basically the whole Honeymoon era ), but if I recall correctly, this was the original attitude towards Ultraviolence as well, and now it seems to be the fan favorite. So was Honeymoon just a single case of mediocrity in Lana's vast discography or has she reached her peak? Or...is everyone simply a pressed Born to Die Stan lol?

 

I personally like BTD/Paradise the best.  I love Chamber Pop... that's why I like those albums so much.  It's also why I like songs like Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain" and Coldplay's "Viva la Vida."  My second favorite LDR album is Honeymoon, followed by UV.  (I'm not including any pre-LDR albums.)

 

Artistically, I don't think she's declining. She's exploring different sounds with each album, so it might be hard to take if you're super attached to a sound from one specific era of hers. You have BTD stans who keep waiting for her to return to that style of music, UV stans who wanted her to continue that way, meanwhile Lana just wants to make songs with whatever sound she finds interesting at the time.

 

She is definitely exploring different things.  UV was a HUGE departure from BTD/P, and HM is, at least in my opinion, not the return to the BTD/P style that people were touting it to be.  I see it as somewhere in between BTD/P and UV stylistically.  That said... see next comment.

 

i think she's gotten better musically over time for me personally. i find her to be a far more interesting artist now then when she first came out, even though i loved her when she first came out too.

 

I think a lot of people will agree with this, especially in terms of her vocal quality.  Her voice has come a LONG way since BTD/P... she's more solid, more confident, sings more strongly, better vibrato, etc.  As far as the "quality" of her music goes, that's subject to everyone's interpretation (including mine).

 

I just hope she won't settle down within her comfort zone too much, because that's what I felt happened with Honeymoon. High quality songs, but nothing new, nothing exciting ...

 

It seems like with each new album, she's trying something a little different.  Hopefully, that will continue with the next one.  I'd love to see another BTD/P-style album myself, but I'd also be happy with whatever she puts out (as long as it's not rap, LOL).

 

Honeymoon is her second best album

 

I'm with you on that one.

 

One thing I've noticed over the years is that, other than concerts, she has pretty much stopped making public appearances (in person, or on TV).  Whether that's her own doing or that of her record label, I couldn't say... just something I've observed.

[CriesMarmalade 178]

With the exception of many Lizzy Grant era musical moods and styles which I have come to accept will never be heard again, I think Lana has been steadily improving since Born to Die. I can understand why people like that album; it's ambitious, you can see Lana trying to reflect every facet of her image/persona and show us what she's capable of, but she simply tries too hard and loses herself in the process. I hate to agree but Pitchfork's summary of it as a 'faked orgasm' is dead on. Since then Lana has been exploring more niche themes, subtler sounds, allowing songs time to build atmosphere, and most importantly, has ditched that weird vocal schizophrenia in favour of her natural range. Overall I get the impression she's not as concerned with the way she comes across to her audience, and I think that's integral to her creative evolution. I also have a feeling that may be the reason why her pre-fame albums and unreleased stuff was so much more artistically diverse. When she only had a small audience there wasn't the same pressure to remain consistent and true to her image.

 

It's true that many of her songs lack the energy that they used to have though. I think this is less of an artistic decision and more a reflection of where she is in her life at the moment.

[Divisive Princess 3,489]

I think she took a hit in the HM era just because she ditched having any sort of persona and the music was received as well on a widespread level, but I think she's about to start flourishing again. She's obviously been putting more effort into her looks lately (something we honestly haven't seen since BTD even tho I loved the simplicity of UV) and I think she's gonna make a little comeback. I don't know what lit the fire under her ass, but I'm glad she's been looking cute and going out more. I'm curious to see how this relays over to her music.

[graham4anything 2,859]

Yes Lana is declining- She is declining to pay any attention to the haters

She is declining to pay any attention to those that want her to be what she is not (she said this right in the lyric)

She is declining to pay any attention to those that want her to go backwards not forwards

She is declining to be unhappy in her personal life

She is declining to play the #1 celebrity teenage fame game

She is declining all negativity and

She is declinng to sweat the small stuff

 

She is happy. I am happy she is declining all of the above.

 

to quote the Sinatra song "She did it HER way"

 

Long live Lana. The Trailblazer. Where everyone follows her lead and if you don't like it you can beat it, beat it baby.

[WhiteHydrangea 4,200]

 I don't know what lit the fire under her ass, but I'm glad she's been looking cute and going out more. 

 

New lover

[Summersault 822]

Allthough I feel like Honeymoon could have been trimmed a little*, she's consistently been putting out quality material for years, always staying true to her own style and constantly evolving in subtle and not so subtle ways,

 

Honeymoon (the track), The Blackest Day, Freak, Terrence Loves You, Art Deco and even the Burnt Norton Interlude are all so Lana while still adding new layers. 

 

 

 

*(24, Religion and DLMBM are good songs, but they don't really add anything that's not already on the album I think .And Salvatore just doesn't work for me, just can't get into it. Someone educate me?)

[RositaMangina 49]

Yes Lana is declining- She is declining to pay any attention to the haters

She is declining to pay any attention to those that want her to be what she is not (she said this right in the lyric)

She is declining to pay any attention to those that want her to go backwards not forwards

She is declinging to be unhappy in her personal life

She is declining to play the #1 celebrity teenage fame game

She is declinging all negativity and

She is declinging to sweat the small stuff

 

She is happy. I am happy she is declining all of the above.

 

to quote the Sinatra song "She did it HER way"

 

Long live Lana. The Trailblazer. Where everyone follows her lead and if you don't like it you can beat it, beat it baby.

 

 

[delreyfreak 5,340]

Yes Lana is declining- She is declining to pay any attention to the haters

She is declining to pay any attention to those that want her to be what she is not (she said this right in the lyric)

She is declining to pay any attention to those that want her to go backwards not forwards

She is declinging to be unhappy in her personal life

She is declining to play the #1 celebrity teenage fame game

She is declinging all negativity and

She is declinging to sweat the small stuff

 

She is happy. I am happy she is declining all of the above.

 

to quote the Sinatra song "She did it HER way"

 

Long live Lana. The Trailblazer. Where everyone follows her lead and if you don't like it you can beat it, beat it baby.

I agree with your points, but your spelling of "declining" made me lol        

[labionda 52]

Declining???? She's entering more and more in the music olympus... She's becoming a legend, an icon... Believe me , in 40 years she's going to be a  beloved classic

[letsescapelizzy 672]

declining as in meant from the 2012-13 and maybe '14 to present. yes definately, and its sort of sad, but happens to everyone of us.

still a fanbase there, its not the same as a couple years ago..

[gloomyharlow 1,215]

Also HM sold 600k+

Froot... barely 150k

Wow, she sold very well with Honeymoon. I may not be too crazy about the album but I'm glad it sold so well. As for Marina she's really not as huge as Lana and her gimmicks are a little off putting. I loved her more during her Family Jewels era.

[WaitForLife 5,021]

for me the only "bad" thing about HM are the instrumentals, I need more instrumentals maybe a piano or a guitar and not her voice only. HM would've been a perfect debut album for me because after Track 8 BTD is a little bit low except SS.

 

It's hard to be interested in an artist when you don't feel connected or in the mood to hear an album from them on repeat. I have this problem with all of my faves, I don't really like PXP from Kelly but it's still a good album.

 

I would still follow her even when she would put out an album and do nothing until the next one because I realized a few weeks ago that she is important to me. I wanted to ban her of my Top 10 but at the end of the day or week I always went back to her. She has some magic in her that I can't explain or want to unfollow. She is an idol to me.

 

Sell wise she is. Her sales aren't that great here where I live and her last Physical CD was West Coast, so the GP won't know she even has a new single or album out. Radio should play her more often.

[SwayTokyo 867]

Commercially yes but musically no. She's quite respected in the music industry now because of building her own career rather than having things written for her, and I believe that she will experiment more on the next album. 

There's a likely probability in my mind that the next album will be more pop than the others.

[evilentity 13,303]

I think 24 and Honeymoon were the weakest original songs on HM

These are two of her best songs ever. 

[Limelight 4,697]

Lana release the hit Negative Slope!!!!!1!11

 

And Honeymoon is one of her best songs wtf