Lust For Life - Post-Release Discussion Thread + Poll

[lanabanana11 3,862]

question, where would Next Best American Record and Yosemite fit in the tracklist had she not scraped them?

I want to make a playlist with as close to the original order as possible !

[less 364]

Listening to the lust for life album for the first time wish me luck 

 

 

Omgggg the beginning of 13 beaches

[Thunder Revenant 20,977]

On 9/22/2021 at 7:09 AM, lanabanana11 said:

question, where would Next Best American Record and Yosemite fit in the tracklist had she not scraped them?

I want to make a playlist with as close to the original order as possible !

I'd put Yosemite behind TNC and TNBAR after Cherry

[IanadeIrey 62,141]

I have been thinking about how the earliest concept of Lust for Life was, in Lana’s mind, potentially an exploration of fame and what being an artist means to her—
 

The Next Best American Record (Early Version) 

The demo of this song is very much the thesis statement for what this record could have been trying to say. She is speaking to herself when she says “you did it all for fame” in the choruses, and she seems to be asking herself, “tell me how life treats you now” — I think this track is very much subconsciously a reaction to the immediate criticism she received from Born to Die, and then how that criticism was exacerbated and had evolved into personal attacks regarding her values and character upon Ultraviolence’s release, and then the invasions of privacy she wrote about on Honeymoon (and then the ones after it was released). To me, “the next best American Record” in question is Born to Die, so this track is retrospective. 
 

On & On & On

This track kind of feeds off of TNBAR and sees Lana reflect on her legacy and vow to die only in California and to let her songs be the thing that lives on and on and on. She’s lamenting on fame here, now that “all [her] secrets are out” and “all the lies are out too”. It’s almost post-humous, which makes it a bit bittersweet and eerie. 
 

13 Beaches 

This song, as we know, further deals with the invasions of privacy that accompany fame. 
 

Heroin

I think this song sees Lana reconcile the weight of fame and the troubling realities of her own personal life, which she links a bit to the troubling realities of California’s history. There are too many things to say about it, but I think everyone can gather how important of a song it is and the relevance of the references to Manson, Topanga, and the titular drug. 
 

Lust for Life (Demo 1)

This song, as we know, sees Lana a bit restless, perhaps from the weight of fame and the realities of life. She describes herself as a “wild caged animal” which seems fitting for anyone who has had a life in the spotlight. But she asserts her “lust for life” and moves forward, which transitions into the themes of the next few songs nicely. 

 

Yosemite 

This song, as we know, sees Lana want to do things for the right reasons and for the sake of living authentically — which is a direct response to TNBAR, and kind of resolves the conflict she faces a bit in On & On & On. 
 

Love
This song, as we know, sees Lana centre her music and art in the young people that consume it. It’s a more universal sentiment that I think offers another perspective to Lana’s approach as an artist, that she explores in the aforementioned songs. 
 

Get Free/Malibu

I think Lana must have always known that this song would be the closer to the album, at every stage it underwent. It’s a perfect manifesto and commitment to breaking free of the dark and isolating things that accompany fame.

I love Lust for Life as it is, but I really think the earliest vision Lana had for it was a further lamentation on fame that took sonic and lyrical direction from Honeymoon.

[Veinsineon 77,852]

I’m thinking of getting this record pressed, on my own, in two parts. One folkier and more traditional to the original direction, and the other the more pop and final direction! 
 

Spoiler

LP1
Best American Record (Demo)

Serene Queen

Cherry

The Americana Interlude (White Mustang Video Outro)

Lust For Life (Demo)

God Bless America

When The World Was At War We Kept Dancing

Heroin

Tomorrow Never Came (Demo)

Wild One

 

LP2

Thirteen Beaches

Lust For Life (ft. The Weeknd)

Stargirl Interlude

Prisoner (ft. The Weeknd)

White Mustang

Groupie Love (ft. A$AP Rocky)

If I Die Young

Change

Young And In Love

Get Free

 

 

Summer Bummer - Stand-alone 7”

 

 

don’t come at me for stargirl and prisoner, they sort of fit the theme and I prefer them 100% to Coachella, in my feelings, etc!

 

[The Siren 30,526]

On 8/16/2021 at 6:01 PM, The Siren said:

Here's my rank

 

Key

Top God tier trinity

Honourable Mention trinity

Center-average tier

Good songs I don't always vibe with tier

Songs that I'm ok with forgetting tier

Songs I want erased from existence tier

 

1. 13 Beaches
2. Cherry
3. Get Free
4. When the World Was at War we Kept Dancing
5. Change
6. Summer Bummer
7. Groupie Love
8. White Mustang
9. Love
10. Coachella
11. Heroin
12. In My Feelings
13. God Bless America
14. Lust for Life
15. Beautiful People Beautiful Problems
16. Tomorrow Never Came

i think this is my feelings now

 

Key

Top God tier trinity

Honourable Mention trinity

Center-average tier

Good songs I don't always vibe with tier

Songs that I'm ok with forgetting tier

Songs I want erased from existence tier

 

1. 13 Beaches
2. Cherry
3. Get Free
4. Change
5. When the World Was at War we Kept Dancing
6. Summer Bummer
7. Heroin
8. Groupie Love
9. White Mustang
10. Love
11. Coachella
12. In My Feelings
13. Lust for Life
14. Beautiful People Beautiful Problems
15. God Bless America
16. Tomorrow Never Came

[bluefiona 8,050]

Everyone keeps forgetting LFL. There were some great songs in that album too.

Anyway, back to the new album.

 

[TrashMagiq 58,955]

was bored so i made my own LFL tracklist (basically the original with songs taken out & songs put in)

 

Spoiler

1. Love
2. Lust for Life
3. 13 Beaches
4. The Next Best American Record (original version)
5. Cherry
6. Serene Queen
7. Summer Bummer (alt version)
8. Groupie Love
9. WTWWAWWKD
10. Tomorrow Never Came (alt version)
11. Yosemite
12. Lust for Life (Reprise) (used the 1st LFL demo)
13. Heroin
14. If I Die Young
15. Get Free

 

[bigspender 8,368]

24 minutes ago, TrashMagiq said:

was bored so i made my own LFL tracklist (basically the original with songs taken out & songs put in)

 

  Hide contents

1. Love
2. Lust for Life
3. 13 Beaches
4. The Next Best American Record (original version)
5. Cherry
6. Serene Queen
7. Summer Bummer (alt version)
8. Groupie Love
9. WTWWAWWKD
10. Tomorrow Never Came (alt version)
11. Yosemite
12. Lust for Life (Reprise) (used the 1st LFL demo)
13. Heroin
14. If I Die Young
15. Get Free

 

i love this! this is her one album that i can’t stand and never listen to so im gonna listen to it like this and hope it makes me care for it 

[Make me your Dream Life 88,886]

I think it's always been meant to be like an anthology of her work so far, and what her career could've gone to, but it's just the strangest most ironic thing that this album was for the fans and it kinda imploded in regards to the majority of her more serious fanbase. always loved this record because for me, it was meant to be more fun, so glad that others are kinda seeing it's value easier now. 

[Venice Jesus Whore 4,471]

God tier

none

 

Top tier

1. Change

2. Cherry

3. White Mustang (this used to be my favorite off the album for YEARS but I overplayed it to death)

4. Heroin

 

Mid tier

5. Summer Bummer

6. Beautiful People Beautiful Problems

7. Tomorrow Never Came

8. Coachella

 

Always Skip

9. Lust for Life

10. 13 Beaches

11. Love

12. Groupie Love

13. God Bless America

14. When the World Was at War

15. In My Feelings

16. Get Free (I recognize this is objectively better than a lot of the songs above it, but I’ve NEVER vibed with it and basically have always skipped from like Day 2)

 

 

———————————

 

I find it really interesting, because this album really clicked with me when it came out. Like I really enjoyed it. But now, I find a lot of it to be very cringey, inauthentic, and cheap sounding (sorry Lana, I hate to trash someone else’s work like this, especially one of my favorite artists). 

 

I’ve had a really hard time clicking with COTCC and BB since their release, yet I find them to be easier to listen to, more mature, more likable, and just better crafted. But every time I go to rank the albums, I tend to rate LFL higher the other two albums. I guess that won’t be happening from now on.

[Super Movie 51,867]

Here's my LFL ranking, as someone who has been a proclaimed LFL stan since it was released

 

1. Heroin

2. Heroin

3. did I mention Heroin?

 

In all seriousness, though, here's my actual ranking:

 

1. Heroin 

2. Get Free

3. 13 Beaches

4. Change

5. Cherry

6. Groupie Love

7. In My Feelings

8. God Bless America

9. Tomorrow Never Came

10. Summer Bummer

11. When The World Was At War

12. Love

13. Lust for Life

14. White Mustang

15. Coachella

16. Beautiful People, Beautiful Problems

[Gravitate 3,921]

The Beautiful People demo never fails to make me cry. I understand she didn’t want this album to be super depressing, but God this version is absolutely amazing and heartbreaking. Really convinced it might be one of her saddest songs ever. 

 

I adore this album so much. From the unreleased songs, to the demos, to the released songs, to the photo shoots, to the whole vibe and aesthetic. The only thing that could make it better is adding If I Die Young and Best American Record. Listening to the title track just fills me with bliss. It’s like that short rush you get whenever you make the decision to make a positive change in your life and being prepared for a happier beginning. It’s been almost 5 years but it still feels like I was replaying those White Mustang snippets just  yesterday 

 

Yes, it’s midnight and I’m sitting awake on my phone typing a book about how much I love an album. So what? 

[lanaismamom 11,553]

still the best

[DCooper 37,181]

This album is comically underrated and misunderstood. A chaotic goodbye to the world of pop music and an entrance to a folkier sound, this album is an exploration of all her sounds as she settles into what's clearly true to her heart.

 

Spoiler

Heroin is one of the greatest songs of all time from any artist btw 

 

[Future Jazz 9,245]

why is heroin one billion times better than any other song on this record

[Dark Angel 203,562]

4 hours ago, Future Jazz said:

why is heroin one billion times better than any other song on this record

 

it’s from the original lfl, first recorded in 2015

[IanadeIrey 62,141]

Thinking about the themes of LFL — I really love the way she contrasts the sentiments of Yosemite to the original version of The Next Best American Record. 
 

We did it for fun, we did it for free

When I was young till eternity 

 

versus

 

You did it all for fame

Tell me how life treats you now that it’s over 

 

That direct parallel between doing things for the joy of them vs. doing things for the commercialization of it all, and then going on to characterize the former as timeless and withstanding time, but the latter as eventually having an expiration date (being “over”), is genius. I am fully convinced that—as much as I love the final album—whatever vision she had for LFL when the title track was that first version of TNBAR would have been her most lyrically and existentially poignant following the themes of Honeymoon. This record probably would have directly confronted her stance as an artist, and as a famous person.  

[SalvaWHORE 34,171]

My own "Lust for Life" album arrangement in iTunes Library

 

*Included "Serene Queen" & "Lust for Life Reprise" as bonus tracks. With L4L album trailer monologue being "album intro" & White Mustang MV outro being an intermission/interlude track

 

20 tracks for a "celebration of life" album - why not?

[LifeOnMars 7,933]

4 hours ago, IanadeIrey said:

Thinking about the themes of LFL — I really love the way she contrasts the sentiments of Yosemite to the original version of The Next Best American Record. 
 

We did it for fun, we did it for free

When I was young till eternity 

 

versus

 

You did it all for fame

Tell me how life treats you now that it’s over 

 

That direct parallel between doing things for the joy of them vs. doing things for the commercialization of it all, and then going on to characterize the former as timeless and withstanding time, but the latter as eventually having an expiration date (being “over”), is genius. I am fully convinced that—as much as I love the final album—whatever vision she had for LFL when the title track was that first version of TNBAR would have been her most lyrically and existentially poignant following the themes of Honeymoon. This record probably would have directly confronted her stance as an artist, and as a famous person.  

Did we ever find out why she left TNBAR off of LFL? I know she filmed a music video for it and everything.