Lana Del Rey(my new obsession)

[geoff85]

Every now and then a singer/songwriter comes along that you know is going to be special. This girl is haunting me. She is a troubled soul and her songs can be quite dark but the melodies are epic and the writing is captured epiphany. I hope anyone who takes the time out to listen feels treated to something good. I know she might be a stretch for the average Bacharach lover but try to have an open mind .

Born to Die( video is epic and she is so beautiful)


Shades of Cool( The Chorus at 1:24 is like heavens gates opening for me)

West Coast( Bacharach fans who love Rythm and key changes in odd places may like this(


Is she too much for the taste of this board?

[Blair N. Cummings]

I can`t imagine what she`d be "too much" OF, but I am hereby declaring myself ineligible to pass judgment on music not meant for me. In my seventh decade, I have no business making snarky remarks regarding what genuinely moves twenty-somethings. As a parting thought, `though, I must say I wonder if the tiny clutch of post-rock "singer/songwriters" who "blew our minds" over forty years ago were great enough to have encouraged and seemingly justified the genre into the present and, no doubt, far into whatever future the species has left.

[geoff85]

I can`t imagine what she`d be "too much" OF, but I am hereby declaring myself ineligible to pass judgment on music not meant for me. In my seventh decade, I have no business making snarky remarks regarding what genuinely moves twenty-somethings. As a parting thought, `though, I must say I wonder if the tiny clutch of post-rock "singer/songwriters" who "blew our minds" over forty years ago were great enough to have encouraged and seemingly justified the genre into the present and, no doubt, far into whatever future the species has left.

Blair sometimes I wish older ppl could judge music like they were young again.My dad is like that too he only pays attention to younger singers after they won a grammys and are acknowledged by everyone else. Most people my age dont have the ability to appreciate classics as well. Just like how you have racists and sexists alot of people are generationalists meaning all the best music, movies, fashion, etc came from there era and after that era is over everything good stops. When i listen to music i dont hear genres ages etc. What are the words? What is the melody? What is the rythm? That is all i am concerned with.

[Blair N. Cummings]

God, you should see my (and BtoB`s) posts on award-winners in the archives! (LOL)
All I care about are the music and lyrics, too, but as someone once noted on the subject, "It pays to get there first." The point is that it`s all been done before and better. You won`t feel that way because you want expression of the moment. My moment was decades ago. I think that the singer/songwriters of my era were doing something different than the Rodgers/Hart, Lerner/Loewe writers were doing. It was a part of a cultural (in the sociological sense) fault. In the end, I don`t think "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" holds a cigarette lighter`s flame to "When Sunny Gets Blue" or "Where Or When", so I`m not just picking on you. I have emotional attachments to songs of my time. Yet, I`m old enough now to make distinctions based on craft. Singer/songwriter material lives and dies on the particular performer`s album. Earlier songs lived because of their universality and because there were professional singers to bring those songs (in their various styles) to the public. We are not ever returning to that era but we are also not going to have songs of that quality, either. We are a dumbed-down society, intellectually and ecologically doomed.

[mark]

I'll avoid addressing the question of whether or not we're intellectually and ecologically doomed and just say I enjoy what I've heard of Lana's music but I'm not sure yet how much I like her. She's got great style, certainly one she's cultivated, and her music references a lot of things I like (Dusty Springfield, Nancy Sinatra, etc.) but I don't feel like she's proved herself to be an artist the caliber of, say, Amy Winehouse, who I think was phenomenal.

Del Rey (or Grant if you prefer) strikes me as more of a self-conscious creation--a pop music concept developed in conjunction with her managers and handlers--than a legitimate talent. That's just my initial take and certainly not set in stone. There are a lot of great artists who developed artistic personas in collaboration with others. Her new record has gotten good reviews and I like what I've heard from it, but I'm also a little turned off by some of the stuff she's said (the whole dying young bit).

Are you familiar with Hope Sandoval, Geoff? I guess as an old person, I can't get over the feeling that Lana is basically mining the same territory Hope was 12 years ago, albeit with more marketing savvy.

[geoff85]

I'll avoid addressing the question of whether or not we're intellectually and ecologically doomed and just say I enjoy what I've heard of Lana's music but I'm not sure yet how much I like her. She's got great style, certainly one she's cultivated, and her music references a lot of things I like (Dusty Springfield, Nancy Sinatra, etc.) but I don't feel like she's proved herself to be an artist the caliber of, say, Amy Winehouse, who I think was phenomenal.

Del Rey (or Grant if you prefer) strikes me as more of a self-conscious creation--a pop music concept developed in conjunction with her managers and handlers--than a legitimate talent. That's just my initial take and certainly not set in stone. There are a lot of great artists who developed artistic personas in collaboration with others. Her new record has gotten good reviews and I like what I've heard from it, but I'm also a little turned off by some of the stuff she's said (the whole dying young bit).

Are you familiar with Hope Sandoval, Geoff? I guess as an old person, I can't get over the feeling that Lana is basically mining the same territory Hope was 12 years ago, albeit with more marketing savvy.

Judging Lana strictly on her musical talent(singing and songwriting) I think she is pretty epic. To be honest I think Lana has more ability than Amy both singing wise and as a writer(and i love Amy to death and after) however Amy was authentic and lived the life of the tortured troubled soul her music portrayed. Lana on the other hand really plays the role of the tortured artist to add depth to her music(and it actually works). Her musical style is so original and her singing gives me shades of Laura Nyro delicate and slightly operatic at times. The chorus for Shades of Cool is beyond ethereal to me. I also think her look will help her break thru as well. If she was born a few generations ealier Louis B. Mayer would have def had her on the MGM roster. She is classic hollywood in appearance.


I am curious to know how you found out about Lana as an "old person"? Do you gravitate to any particular songs?


I am actually not familiar with Hope but I will check her out.

[geoff85]

I think her songs " Gods and Monsters" is one of the most powerful songs ever written when you get into the words.The song is downright blasphemous but I think this is what the narrative of unbridled and unrestrained hedonistic pleasure sounds like.

[mark]

I am curious to know how you found out about Lana as an "old person"? Do you gravitate to any particular songs?

Pitchfork? I'm being (only slightly) ironic calling myself old, but you'd have to be outside of popular culture entirely not to know anything about it, if only due to the fact she's appeared on SNL.

[Nicko]

She performed a great set at Glastonbury Festival at the weekend here in UK, shown on BBC, if you can access the BBC I player you could watch her.

[geoff85]

I am curious to know how you found out about Lana as an "old person"? Do you gravitate to any particular songs?

Pitchfork? I'm being (only slightly) ironic calling myself old, but you'd have to be outside of popular culture entirely not to know anything about it, if only due to the fact she's appeared on SNL.

What is Pitchfork or who? Well i am relatively young and i almost never watch SNL even though i heard her performance on the show was not well received as she came off a bit too shy and awkward. You still didnt let me know if you like any particular songs?

[geoff85]

I just realized what it is I like about Lana. She reminds me of Laura Nyro. Powerful unconventional writing that are slightly dark as well as having the ever changing chord structures and rythm changes. Young people singng about death is always noteworthy. Take a listen to Born To Die.