Lana Del Rey

hope there are songs as catchy as "young and beautiful" on here cuz man that is an earworm for me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj_myXdOLV0&feature=kp

Oh man

Another new song from the album. Really love this.

http://youtu.be/KuX_xwghhsw

So Ultraviolence is out there now. My first reaction is that there are no hit singles on this album, probably not even one they can remix into a top five single.

Dunno, it sounded top ten to me.

Brooklyn Baby and Shades of Cool are by far my highlights on this. I just wish the second half was a good as the first but I just can't remember anything about the songs after West Coast at this point.

I wasn't expecting to like this since I find her other stuff downright sleep-inducing, but this is pretty good. Some of her same writing quirks/limitations persist, but some great production and melodies here. It could do with a bit of variety in tempo though. It's all moody ballads from start to finish.

Back half of the album has Florida Kilos, which is a highlight imo.

"because this might wrongfully be forgotten in a year or two"

haha we were so innocent back then

bonus points to anyone who predicted jackin' house remixes of miss LDR

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id79jNtE1PM

kindof love her saying "twalking" the 2nd time here in brklyn baby

I'm talking about my generation
Talking about that newer nation
And if you don't like it
You can beat it
Beat it, baby
You never liked the way I said it
If you don't get it, then forget it
So I don't have to fucking explain it

this album slays, btw

cool lyrics lol

Better than I expected but it's a whole lot of the same, so if you don't feel it, you're gonna not feel it for a long time.

some hearty lols at the rockists in this

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jun/12/brian-wilson-new-album-frank-ocean-lana-del-rey

that sounds rad

"Everything is ruined," complained another

This album is growing on me a lot. Old Money and Sad Girl are really beautiful songs.

whenever I listen to this album I keep being struck by how "the other woman" is just this cosmic leap of songwriting quality and intentionality, and then of course it's a nina simone cover. I guess that's my sticking point -- I see what she is doing, I am increasingly OK with what she's doing, but it's frequently just so lazy

It's fine as far as it goes but it's unbelievably one-paced. Almost everything sounds exactly the same. There are no clangers but few obvious highlights.

I reviewed it for The Awl. I like it a lot better than the first one.

I think the last one was riskier, and as a result, fell down at times. This definitely doesn't have the stylistic detours and explorations, which is good and bad; it's more even, it sounds of a piece, but it can get a little boring. Nothing on here is as excellent as Ride, unfortunately; but I like it.

It can get a little monotonous but I'm happy to pay that price for its complete devotion to schtick, which makes the debut look compromised and cautious. It's wonderfully aloof from the rest of pop. Of course a better lyricist would be able to wring a lot more out of that schtick but you can't have everything. Auerbach's production and arrangements are wonderful I think - shades of Mazzy Star/Wicked Game/Twin Peaks/Trinity Sessions and that whole early 90s Americana noir vibe.

my main issue is still how her voice can't seem to withstand a note

also

Of course a better lyricist would be able to wring a lot more out of that schtick but you can't have everything

i feel like you can!

shades of Mazzy Star/Wicked Game/Twin Peaks/Trinity Sessions and that whole early 90s Americana noir vibe

This probably is the root of my disinterest in the end. The idea of a washed out/Tumblrd aesthetic repurposing all that, which was repurposed to begin with, isn't a problem for me conceptually but I really have already been there several times over. (Though interestingly enough, I've been coming across most of the Cowboy Junkies catalog for a buck each during recent Amoeba runs.)

Yeah my feelings exactly - I do like all the components and the execution is pretty good but, you know, I don't really feel like I need to hear this. Also all her songs seem to discreetly recycle hooks from other people's songs.

Of course a better lyricist would be able to wring a lot more out of that schtick but you can't have everything

It's one thing to enjoy something for what it is, there really isn't much to argue against when it comes to taste. It's a wholly different thing to settle for something because you feel like you can't do any better. IMO everyone can do better than settling for Lana Del Rey.

Yeah talk about damning with faint praise

her delivery and "famoush" lisp thing just kinda drives me up the wall

also Ned otm

overall she seems to be an artist that's more fun to read about than listen to

Also all songs seem to discreetly recycle hooks from other people's songs.

based on one listen, this works much, much better as a mood piece than the first album did. obviously she's still ridiculous but the uptick in production and stronger unifying aesthetic make it possible for me to see how someone could like this.

The only thing I'm reading about her in local press is how she wishes the was dead: http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jun/12/lana-del-rey-ultraviolence-album

that's....nice

I have to admit that I am shocked and surprised that there are five songs on the album that I actually like

I'm kind of furious that one of them is titled "Fucked My Way To The Top", though

Boom! .5 Stars from DeRo!

so are you guys marks or smarks??

http://blogs.citypages.com/gimmenoise/2014/06/lana_del_rey_fandom_is_exactly_the_same_as_pro_wrestling_fandom.php

Much of the WWE roster seem like they could be cast as love interests in Del Rey music videos

uh

love seeing that luke winkie aka hottest women in tech slideshow bro is somehow allowed to write about women

man it's been a while since i hovered over the next page button of a voice media article, forgot what a dark moment it can be

Xp You've never liked an artist who was limited but enjoyable? You call it settling. I call it getting pleasure out of a record while acknowledging its flaws. I like lots of artists who could benefit from better lyrics.

Generally speaking, if I enjoy an artist, I don't think they are limited. For example, everything I've heard from John Lydon would point to him having a vocal range that spans a major fifth but the songs he is singing during the heyday of PiL would not work if sung another way. Limitations are, by definition, bad things; the trick is turning them into assets, and this is a trick that I think Lana Del Rey is particularly terrible at especially considering that there is a gigantic amount of potential in that voice.

i'm a little lukewarm on the album, but "guns and roses" is really fantastic.

she should do some shag carpet faux twin peaks soundtrack version of "careering"

"Most of the world has given up on Lana Del Rey"

except the aforementioned Top 20 hits but okay

Forgot about reading so many reviews like that on my lunch hours in the years before there were good things to read on my phone.

she should do some shag carpet faux twin peaks soundtrack version of "careering"

otm

with a video starring Laura Dern