Lana Del Rey: Born to Die
Paul Smyth returns with another guest review. Do you agree?
Lana Del Rey comes from money. Her dad is a millionaire. Now, to review her album……without prejudice.
When I first saw Lana Del Rey on Jools Holland’s Later… I could not believe my eyes and didn’t fully trust my ears. I didn’t really hear Jools’ introduction (I try to avoid listening to his blush inducing words at all time), so as she sang I wondered: Who is she? How old is she? Where does she come? Is she made of ice? Fire? Is David Lynch her father? I sent texts to friends (male and female) telling them to turn their TVs on or over NOW and the next day she was the talk of the office – the last time that happened was after Conor O’Brien appeared on the show singing Becoming a Jackal.
I am not sure if Conor comes from money, I am guessing not, as he has not been vilified by huge chunks of the press, but far from poor Lana has been hammered. If she had been a working class girl who had crawled out of the gutter, her talent would surely be better received. Yes, I understand she has said some silly things (the “gangsta Frank Sinatra” line comes to mind), but what she says and how she sings should not be confused.
Strike a pose: Calculated and flirtatious or innocently seductive?
Lana’s singing voice is at times a mix of innocence and luxury, with the occasional whip (or leather feather duster) of wickedness. The music is film-pop, tinged with occasional R&B . Madonna is definitely an influence (‘Dark Paradise’ and ‘Summertime Sadness’) and on the hook in your “Radio” the line “I finally found you” could have been written and sung by the old lady of pop, though these days she doesn’t seem capable of dreaming up a lyric like “lick me up and take me like a vitamin”. On ‘Blue Jeans’ there is a Cyndi Lauper like childish lilt to her voice, the whiff of which disappears in an instant on hearing the opening lines of ‘Video Games’ – it’s as if her mother has walked into the room and taken over the microphone.
‘Video Games’ is a gem, if it were a video game it would be Space Invaders. Moreover, I can imagine ‘National Anthem’ being covered on X-Factor, it has a chorus that the spring birds in the trees would envy. Yes, there are some cheesy lyrics here, but if your lover said ‘Tell me I’m your national anthem’ to you, it would bring a smile to your face, wouldn’t it? Be honest. ‘Carmen’ is a cliché, ‘Million Dollar Man’ a little irritating, but ‘Summertime Sadness’ will stick in your head for weeks on end, well at least until the summer. Again, the song has a flavor of Madonna, but when Lana sings “I got that summertime sadness” I believe her.
Lana has a voice that lends itself to discipline, at times I feel as if I am being gently instructed as I listen to Born to Die. The colour red comes to mind, constantly. Yes, there is a now-I’m-going-to-shock-you feel to the album, but, it is like “a kiss on an open mouth” and the listener has to decide whether they wish to kiss back. I love the fact I am never sure where I am when listening to this album, LA, the Hamptons, NY, picket fence America, Alaska, the 1950’s, 1980’s, 2012? I don’t trust her, but that is part of the appeal. The fakery is essential. Finding the truth within this album might be part of Lana’s game? Her video game? Is she a bad girl? Is she pretending to be a bad girl?
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On the last track of the album Lana sings “get us while we’re hot” and I wonder if this album is it for her, if this is Lana at her hottest? She surprised us all with Born to Die and so will never be able to do that again. However, I for one hope she doesn’t give up because although I was left wondering “Who’s that Girl?” after repeated plays of this difficult to define album, it was a rewarding state of confusion.
All of the songs on this album were co-written, so perhaps some of the critics that have given Lana a hard time for coming from money, should maybe investigate the upbringing of Justin Parker and the other co-writers that have contributed to this album before her next album is released? If Justin comes from Harlem or Rusholme maybe they will review her next album a little more kindly? I am pretty sure Joe Strummer came from money and that didn’t seem to matter, so let’s give loaded Lana a chance eh?
Rating: 9 out of 10
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Lana Del Rey continues to smolder. The “Born To Die” chanteuse just released a new music video in pre-release of a much anticipated double album, this one called “Bel Air” which has fans guessing at her latest inspirations. Alt-pop singer Sky Ferreira re-emerged at the end of 2012 with the Ghost EP to signal a new direction in her career. She teamed up with indie producers Dev Hynes and Ariel Rechtshaid on ‘Everything is Embarrassing,’ a gloomy dance ballad about love gone awry. ‘Maybe your current products let me be your lover / Maybe if you tried then I would not bother,’ she solemnly sings. Ferreira’s echoed vocals soar over the song’s celestial production, backed with hard-hitting drum machine and light piano. Embarrassment had never sounded so beautiful.`…..
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