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Lana Del Rey

13

Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 14,014 ✭✭✭✭Corholio


    The album's out and it's pretty dull. A few nice moments here and there, 'Summertime Sadness' isn't bad, but mostly it dosen't come anywhere near the hype she's garnered. Seems like another pretty forgettable artist.


  • Registered Users Posts: 226 ✭✭sillo


    Sadly have to agree with you Cornholio. Oh well. Back to EMA with me...


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,425 ✭✭✭indiewindy


    the nma tv take on Lana!


  • Registered Users Posts: 324 ✭✭cranks




  • Registered Users Posts: 3,908 ✭✭✭Mr.Saturn


    The more bizarre theories out there suggest that her lackluster live performances are deliberate as so to be playing into her 'deer-in-headlights/tragic film star' branding schtick she's got going on.

    i've only dipped into the album slightly, but my other half informs me that there's a tune in which Del Rey croons some cheesy, reverbed, French lines. Is that something no halfway-credible pop starlet can avoid?


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,048 ✭✭✭Da Shins Kelly


    Recent performance on Letterman. Much better than SNL, but that wouldn't be hard. I still find her very uncomfortable to watch live. She looks like she doesn't really know how to behave onstage.

    Some people have been suggesting that she's been pushed in the too the limelight too quickly and that she just simply isn't ready for it. I'd say that isn't far wrong. She always seems terribly nervous when singing live, and people are expecting a lot from her simply because one of her songs was very popular.



  • Registered Users Posts: 1,572 ✭✭✭DominoDub


    On First play it is like one over oaked bottle of California Chardonnay. All the original goodness has been blurred away with big production killing the soul of the music. So it should do very well with the FM radio massess. back to "Portishead" then for the real stuff.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,969 ✭✭✭buck65


    I got this album from my wife for valentine's day. I like Video Games alot and am always humming the "it's you, it's you" part but never expected to own the album.
    Seems ok on first listen, nice pop record.

    EDIT One day in - the album has maybe 2/3 good tracks the rest is filler and almost unlistenable.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 11,348 ✭✭✭✭ricero


    i love her i think shes brilliant id much rather listen to her than any other female pop star out there at the moment. i cant chose between blue jeans, born to die or video games for my favorite songs she sings there all equally brilliant. amazing singer


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 29,027 CMod ✭✭✭✭johnny_ultimate




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  • Registered Users Posts: 6,030 ✭✭✭mosstin


    buck65 wrote: »
    I got this album from my wife for valentine's day. I like Video Games alot and am always humming the "it's you, it's you" part but never expected to own the album.
    Seems ok on first listen, nice pop record.

    EDIT One day in - the album has maybe 2/3 good tracks the rest is filler and almost unlistenable.

    I think you're being kind to it. Pretty abysmal stuff.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,933 ✭✭✭H8GHOTI


    That video is daycent. I used to love California Games & the car game that comes on 18s in. What was that called?

    As for the album, I like it.
    All the songs aren't of the same level as Video Games but there's about 6 or 7 that I think are good. I agree that some of it is over produced though.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,196 ✭✭✭quaalude


    H8GHOTI wrote: »
    That video is daycent. I used to love California Games & the car game that comes on 18s in. What was that called?
    Out Run!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 482 ✭✭Jim_Kiy


    Maybe she was alt/indie to start but given her mainstream success I reckon this thread should die or move itself to the 'popular hence not so great anymore' forum.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,417 ✭✭✭Miguel_Sanchez


    Jim_Kiy wrote: »
    Maybe she was alt/indie to start but given her mainstream success I reckon this thread should die or move itself to the 'popular hence not so great anymore' forum.

    I was into her before she had the indie make-over and got good and then got popular and got bad again? :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,735 ✭✭✭pinksoir


    Rant ahoy:

    Lana Del Rey isn't music, it's content. It reeks of the antiquated cogs of a dying machine straining to remain relevant. The age of huge record labels is over. Everything about LDR is cynical. From the blanket marketing, the attempt to win over the indie market, the complete inauthenticity of her as an artist, right up to her image. You can fool some of the people some of the time.

    We live in the best age for music there has ever been. Music has now reached a point where only the great survive. You can't fool us. The control the big record lables once had over what we hear has been extinguished by the internet. Acts have to do the work now. They have to build them selves up, put themselves out. It's pretty much the rule now that acts won't be discovered til way down the line. It's years of thankless gigging, building up an audience, interacting with that audience, and not hoping that you'll be 'discovered' by one of the big three. There's no money in records any more. If you can't play live you're toast. If you're building record sales into your business plan you've already failed.

    This is how it is. And this is how it should be.

    No matter how much money you throw behind something you can't buy credibility, you can't buy the 10,000 hours you have to put in to be great.

    LDR is the epitome of mediocrity. Video Games is a great pop song. Lovely melody. Good production. But it's vapid. There's nothing there. There's nothing authentic about it. There's nothing authentic about her. Record labels want to create another Adele, whose success is a total anomaly in the current state of things. LDR just stinks of groupthink and consensus by committee. There's no integrity, no vision. I want integrity in my artists.

    LDR is the last gasp of a dying behemoth. If you buy into it you're a sucker. It's your prerogative, but you're still a sucker.

    IMO IMO IMO IMO IMO

    EDIT: Bob Lefsetz can say it better than I ever could:

    http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/2012/01/15/lana-del-rey-on-snl/


  • Registered Users Posts: 699 ✭✭✭Table Top Joe


    Its a great pop song,thats good enough for me,i love it.....authentic? who's authentic? Bob Dylans arguably the greatest songwriter ever(i think so anyway)and hes full of ****,fake name,made up a whole fake life for himself when he was starting out(he was from a nice middle class family and had not in fact run away to join the circus as he claimed along with many other hilariously made up stories)to call her out on not being authentic is just ridiculous

    David Bowie was(and still is in some quarters)accused of being fake too,the guys a genius so who ****ing cares?(his real name is David Jones!:eek:)


    I only got half way through LDRs album before turning it off,didnt do any thing for me but if it works for some then so what? theres always been rubbish in the charts,theres far more negativity about her in the media and especially on the internet than positive stuff,not like people think shes the new Beatles or anything


    I do agree that the modern way of "making it" just doesnt work though,people like Bruce Springsteen didnt get get their reputation over night,he worked his ass off for years playing to pubs with 10 people in them and learned his craft,its the only way to last in the music business


  • Registered Users Posts: 101 ✭✭Velvety


    pinksoir wrote: »
    Rant ahoy:

    No matter how much money you throw behind something you can't buy credibility, you can't buy the 10,000 hours you have to put in to be great.

    LDR is the epitome of mediocrity. Video Games is a great pop song. Lovely melody. Good production. But it's vapid. There's nothing there. There's nothing authentic about it. There's nothing authentic about her. Record labels want to create another Adele, whose success is a total anomaly in the current state of things. LDR just stinks of groupthink and consensus by committee. There's no integrity, no vision. I want integrity in my artists.

    LDR is the last gasp of a dying behemoth. If you buy into it you're a sucker. It's your prerogative, but you're still a sucker.
    rey-on-snl/[/url]


    I like music because of how it sounds. It don't understand why you'd deny yourself enjoying music because of how it was born or how it is marketed.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 29,027 CMod ✭✭✭✭johnny_ultimate


    pinksoir wrote: »
    Rant ahoy:

    Let me stress first that while I think Video Games is a great song, I have not been anywhere near as fond of anything else I've heard of hers. I have no interest in hearing the album anymore given the feedback from all quarters. I may listen to it at some point out of curiosity, but that's it. Mediocre? Perhaps.

    I do however, think that post is absurd for a plethora of reasons, but one really stands out: The Beatles :) Greatness has in the past been known to spring out of inauthenticity (however futile trying to define such an abstract notion is).


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,735 ✭✭✭pinksoir


    Its a great pop song,thats good enough for me,i love it.....authentic? who's authentic? Bob Dylans arguably the greatest songwriter ever(i think so anyway)and hes full of ****,fake name,made up a whole fake life for himself when he was starting out(he was from a nice middle class family and had not in fact run away to join the circus as he claimed along with many other hilariously made up stories)to call her out on not being authentic is just ridiculous

    David Bowie was(and still is in some quarters)accused of being fake too,the guys a genius so who ****ing cares?(his real name is David Jones!:eek:)


    I only got half way through LDRs album before turning it off,didnt do any thing for me but if it works for some then so what? theres always been rubbish in the charts,theres far more negativity about her in the media and especially on the internet than positive stuff,not like people think shes the new Beatles or anything


    I do agree that the modern way of "making it" just doesnt work though,people like Bruce Springsteen didnt get get their reputation over night,he worked his ass off for years playing to pubs with 10 people in them and learned his craft,its the only way to last in the music business

    I agree, but you're mistaking authenticity in the sense of being a representation of who you are with artistic authenticity in the sense of being 'the real deal'. Bob Dylan, Bowie et al are artistically authentic in that they didn't compromise, they followed through on a vision and they did it the hard way. You could just as easily cite someone contemporary like Bjork, Panda Bear, Grizzly Bear, Deerhunter, Sigur Ros or whoever. Authentic artists. You don't have to like them but they're artistically authentic.

    All the negative criticism is entirely justified and a testament to how much the industry has been superceded by the democracy of the internet. There was a time when all you could ever hear was what major labels deemed worthy to put out. They'd buy up radio play, blanket advertise etc etc. that model doesn't work any more. People got wise over the last ten years. What's more, great music can come from anywhere now. A kid in his bedroom or whatever. If it's truly great it will get heard. People will rave about it and word of it will trickle down.

    People are more discerning now than ever. They have to be. There's so much out there. That's precisely why stuff like LDR will never last.

    Of course there's still a market for that type of stuff, but it's dwindling and made up of people who have nothing invested in music. Like Charlie Brooker said, people who listen to music because it seems to be the 'done thing'. They're not the type of people who can prop up an industry. The people who love music go to gigs, get obsessed with bands, rave about them to their friends. They're the people who sustain music. Not a la carte listeners.
    Velvety wrote: »
    I like music because of how it sounds. I don't understand why you'd deny yourself enjoying music because of how it was born or how it is marketed.

    I enjoy plenty of music. I don't deny myself much. The music I love and enjoy most deeply, the music that connects most with me is music made without compromise and without the input of focus groups. There is far much more to music than a melody. It speaks to the soul on many different levels. Like John Maus says, it's the communication of ideas through an intensive use of a major language. You can't escape the context of music.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,735 ✭✭✭pinksoir


    Let me stress first that while I think Video Games is a great song, I have not been anywhere near as fond of anything else I've heard of hers. I have no interest in hearing the album anymore given the feedback from all quarters. I may listen to it at some point out of curiosity, but that's it. Mediocre? Perhaps.

    I do however, think that post is absurd for a plethora of reasons, but one really stands out: The Beatles :) Greatness has in the past been known to spring out of inauthenticity (however futile trying to define such an abstract notion is).
    Please, tell me why it's absurd :).

    WRT authenticity, I think you've made the same mistake as Table Top Joe in misinterpreting what I meant by authenticity, ie literal authenticity vs artistic authenticity. I probably should have been clearer, I guess.

    EDIT: Besides, while it's true that in a closed system the best predictor of future happenings is past happenings, we don't live in a closed system any more with music. It's wide open.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 29,027 CMod ✭✭✭✭johnny_ultimate


    pinksoir wrote: »
    Please, tell me why it's absurd :).

    WRT authenticity, I think you've made the same mistake as Table Top Joe in misinterpreting what I meant by authenticity, ie literal authenticity vs artistic authenticity. I probably should have been clearer, I guess.

    EDIT: Besides, while it's true that in a closed system the best predictor of future happenings is past happenings, we don't live in a closed system any more with music. It's wide open.

    I don't agree with your analysis that there's 'nothing' there. It's a haunting, atmospheric song that's a cut above a lot of tracks these days - that's far more than nothing to me. As I've said elsewhere in this thread I don't really care about Lana Del Ray. But the exaggerated hostility and cynicism that has erupted is IMO every bit as 'inauthentic' as the music. It's actually kind of depressing seeing so many people wishing someone to fail. If she's a one hit wonder, that's fair enough. But throughout this thread and elsewhere the situation has been blown out of any sort of proportion.

    Anyone who knows me here or in RL would probably know I have an extremely low tolerance for crap and mediocrity - in music, film and elsewhere in life. I hate media that is designed minus merit to numb the masses - Twilight and The X Factor spring to mind. But on the rare occasions when mainstream media produces something refreshing and interesting, I won't begrudge it. I can still enjoy it while being fully aware of the commercial origins. And, fair enough, Born to Die may be largely worthless. Again, I am apathetic enough about her music that I couldn't care one way or the other what the album is like. But I think Video Games was a song of some power, and actually was an increasingly rare example of a piece of pop music deserving acceptance from many quarters. So what if it's, as you keep repeating, inauthentic. It's a good song, as you yourself admit. Sometimes that's more than enough, and I'd rather the masses be listening to something that is objectively 'good' than objectively 'bad'. And there's sure as hell far, far more hollow, cynical and obnoxious 'music' out there than Video Games.


  • Registered Users Posts: 20,905 ✭✭✭✭Ash.J.Williams


    i've no idea who she is, I thought she was in the vain of stevie nicks or her ilk until I heard she was new. Great voice who ever the f** she is....

    As for the manufactured argument, I think to have commercial pop success nowadays you probably need a little branding...It's not like she's trying to be napalm death or anything


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,735 ✭✭✭pinksoir


    johnny_ultimate, I take your point and agree. I have no feelings towards LDR one way or the other. I like Video Games. It's in my head. But listening to the lyrics, there's nothing but cliche. Nothing new or interesting. Nothing of worth. That's why I think it's vapid. There doesn't seem, at least to me, to be any real emotion there. Sure, the production is fantastic and the melody is quite haunting, but you could have those lyrics on any pop song ever. There's no glimpse of a personality. Like they came from a focus group. But whatever.

    If there is any hostility in what I wrote, it's not towards LDR, but rather towards the industry that is dying from a situation it created itself. They don't think about artistic development, they don't think about longevity. Do you reckon they'll stand behind LDR if her next record flops?

    I have no idea what she's like as a songwriter or artist. Could be she is a real talent. I don't wish her to fail, but I think the sooner the big labels crumble the better. Real talent has to work hard to gain attention. Do their 10,000 hours like the Beatles, play gigs in front of no one and suck. Then get better, gradually. The era of an an act breaking through from being an unknown with no experience and fooling the public into believing they're the real deal is over. It was a short lived time. We're back to the 50's.

    I just think LDR is a prime example of the cynical attempts of labels (in the last throes of their reign) blowing up in their face. I rejoice in that. Rightly or wrongly.


  • Registered Users Posts: 101 ✭✭Velvety


    Real talent has to work hard to gain attention. Do their 10,000 hours like the Beatles, play gigs in front of no one and suck. Then get better, gradually. The era of an an act breaking through from being an unknown with no experience and fooling the public into believing they're the real deal is over. It was a short lived time. We're back to the 50's.

    Why? Would you disregard every band or artist that doesn't play live? Like Portishead or Kate Bush?
    I just think LDR is a prime example of the cynical attempts of labels in the last throes of their reign blowing up in their face. I rejoice in that. Rightly or wrongly.

    I think the album is currently number one in ten countries and seems to be fairly well received critically.

    What I think you're saying is that artists should slowly learn their craft and develop and get better as they gig and learn. I don't think I agree. I'd hate to be in a band described as "hardworking". Burn out your best work in a blaze of talent and inspiration.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,735 ✭✭✭pinksoir


    Velvety wrote: »
    Why? Would you disregard every band or artist that doesn't play live? Like Portishead or Kate Bush?

    Both of those acts worked incredibly hard to get where they are now. Kate Bush is an anomaly in that she never plays live, but she has that privilege by being a seminal artist of her or any generation.

    I think the album is currently number one in ten countries and seems to be fairly well received critically.

    Album sales mean nothing. Albums themselves are promotion for live gigs, by and large.

    What I think you're saying is that artists should slowly learn their craft and develop and get better as they gig and learn. I don't think I agree. I'd hate to be in a band described as "hardworking". Burn out your best work in a blaze of talent and inspiration.

    Good luck with that. But seriously, you'd hate to work hard in order to be successful in the thing you love more than anything?

    No act has ever burned out their best work in a blaze of talent and inspiration. You might think they have because they led you to believe they have.

    If you're part of a band and you think you can have it any other way you're setting yourself up to fail. Reality will kick you in the balls pretty hard.


  • Registered Users Posts: 118 ✭✭Joe95


    Alright, I'm a little late giving my opinion on her but that won't stop me! I love her and her album, so what if she has had plastic surgery? What celebrity nowadays hasn't had it done to them? Her album is relaxing and enjoyable.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,272 ✭✭✭Captain Graphite


    I don't think the album was ever gonna live up to expectations, what with all the hype around her. I gave it a listen and, while it's inconsistent and does have a few filler tracks, there are a few gems on it. Didn't think much of "Video Games" when I first heard it but it has grown on me since. I think the title track "Born to Die" is her best song though.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 482 ✭✭Jim_Kiy


    I was into her before she had the indie make-over and got good and then got popular and got bad again? :)

    Is she indie or alternative? wasnt saying she was good or bad but more my own view that if it mainstream popular its generally not for me..I know thats an asinine(word of the week) way of looking at things but what can you do?


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  • Registered Users Posts: 4,314 ✭✭✭sink


    Listened to the album for the first time today and first impressions are positive, couldn't give a monkeys about anything else beyond the music.


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