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The official Lana Del Rey thread; New album "Lust for Life"
Topic Started: Sep 27 2011, 12:15 PM (11,976 Views)
bulgar
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has this been posted?

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Lovely!

I do wish her album would hurry up and leak.
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TheBitterEnd
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I am still yet to see a live performance which is any good. Very poor vocals. It's all about the studio I guess at the moment.

Shame.
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I don't think she's ever going to be one of those great live vocalists. Her voice is soft and fragile. I don't think it's a case of her not being able to sing though, it's just that she's not a live performer. Her recorded voice is gorgeous and she writes some truly gorgeous material. That's enough for me.

I thought she sounded pretty good on Jools though:

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TheBitterEnd
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It's so wispy, with very little control. Not sure how someone can not be a good live performer, but people praise her studio. Surely, it should be similar :s
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TheBitterEnd
Jan 16 2012, 09:43 PM
It's so wispy, with very little control. Not sure how someone can not be a good live performer, but people praise her studio. Surely, it should be similar :s
My point is that ultimately I really don't think it matters. When you get right down to it, the sound that passes from the speakers into my ears is the only thing I truly care about it. Is the sound that my brain hears gorgeous? Is the melody beautiful? That's all music is...sound. It'd be nice if she sounded that good on a stage every single time, but if she doesn't, ultimately it's a case of "so what?" for me. Surely what's more important is the recorded sound, which is the sound I'll be listening to for the rest of my life. How that actual sound was achieved doesn't really affect my instinctive response to it. I love music. I *LOVE* music. I'm not concerned with how a performer sounds live onstage. I just won't ever go to see her live. Big deal.
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TheBitterEnd
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Fairy snuff

IMO it feels like a lie. But pop's basis is often beautiful lies. As long as these 'great vocalist' critiques steer off.
Edited by TheBitterEnd, Jan 16 2012, 10:01 PM.
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TheBitterEnd
Jan 16 2012, 09:54 PM
Fairy snuff

IMO it feels like a lie. But pop's basis is often beautiful lies. As long as these 'great vocalist' critiques steer off.
Nah, you're still not really getting what I mean.

There is *no lie* in what passes from the speakers into my ears and turns into goosebumps.

Not everyone has to be a technically strong singer with a big voice to interest me. There's more to music than that. There's feeling and emotion. And she write the bloody songs too.
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:lol2:

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:clap:

IN DEFENSE OF LANA DEL REY

On Saturday night, Lana Del Rey performed on Saturday Night Live.

By the next morning, the internet was abuzz: The Huffington Post proclaimed “Internet Sensation Bombs On Her U.S. TV Debut.” NBC’s Brian Williams called her a “Brooklyn hipster” and “the least-experienced musical guest in the show’s history” in a personal email. Predictably sneery cyber bully Perez Hilton tweeted “#DontBuyTheHype.” Musician Juliette Lewis tweeted that it was “like watching a 12 yearold [sic] in their bedroom when theyre [sic] pretending to sing.” And then there’s just hateful responses like this.

So, was it really that bad? Of course not.

After her homemade cut-and-paste clip for “Video Games” unexpectedly exploded all over the Internet, 25-year-old Lana Del Rey was almost immediately thrust into the hype machine by the notoriously self-sacrificial indie blogosphere (they build ‘em up, they knock ‘em down).

As quickly as she was regarded, she was almost immediately subjected to a merciless barrage of hateful criticism for everything from “exposes” about her lips (they’re fake, we get it) to her authenticity as an artist because–gasp! She was a failed singer-songwriter in a previous life. Apparently, that never happens in the industry–or does no one else remember Katy Hudson, the Christian rock singer revamped and remodeled as Katy Perry? Or Alanis Morrissette, the Angst-Rock goddess known formerly as teen dance-pop princess Alanis back in 1991?

By the time Lana Del Rey actually appeared onstage, visibly nervous, to perform her shaky renditions of “Video Games” (and later on, “Blue Jeans”), her fate was already sealed before she even opened her mouth.

Despite the fact that Lana Del Rey has become synonymous with “Internet sensation,” most people don’t actually know who she is–much less how her music sounds. If they did, they probably wouldn’t have been quite so shell-shocked by her performance. Juliette Lewis quickly changed her mind after giving Del Rey’s music a proper chance this weekend: “Such great haunting melodies! Regardless of my own taste LIVE she’s a #FreshandYummy songwriter. Period,” she tweeted Sunday morning. And it’s likely she’s not the only one to have cast judgment too soon without even knowing what Lana is about.

Watching back, there’s nothing all that bad even happening onstage: The vocals are only slightly different than what’s being offered on the studio versions (she does warble through scales somewhat uncontrollably), but the only actual issues are from a performer’s standpoint: The twirling, the awkward hand placement, a lack of confidence, the turning away from the crowd. These are rookie mistakes by a nervy performer on the rise–technical skills that can be ironed out and finessed through proper TV training, and hardly a testament to her overall talent as a songwriter.

Then again, Lana’s already made it known in interviews that she even doesn’t like to perform live to begin with: As she told GQ recently: “I love to sing and I really love to write, but in terms of being onstage, I’m not that comfortable, which I think is sort of clear [sighs].”

Being able to recreate the studio experience live isn’t the only part of being an artist, although it’s certainly the most heavily regarded–especially within the ‘authenticity’-driven voraciousness of the indie community. (Because God forbid we just enjoy a good song simply because it is good.)

Was it too soon for Lana to perform on Saturday Night Live? Absolutely. Even Lady Gaga–who skyrocketed to fame almost immediately after the release of her very first singles “Just Dance” and “Poker Face” in 2008–wouldn’t take to the stage of Saturday Night Live until nearly a year later in October of 2009.

Still, it would be considered silly for Lana’s management to pass up such high-profile exposure, and it’s not as though she’s always faltered live: Her performance of “Video Games” on The Jonathan Ross Show recorded only one week prior in the UK is absolutely gorgeous, for instance. Was she still nervous there? Of course. And do her vocals still sound sleepy? Yes. Guess what? She sounds sleepy on the actual record too. That’s the point!

All performance criticism aside, the songs–lest we forget–are still incredible: “Video Games” remains a haunting ballad of dreamy harps and Del Rey’s world-weary vocals that initially set the Internet ablaze in the summer (as evidenced by over 20 million views on YouTube since she uploaded the clip last summer.) The song’s accompanying A-side, “Blue Jeans,” is the embodiment of Del Rey’s self-described “gangsta Nancy Sinatra” persona, mixing Del Rey’s hip-hop flow with the twangy Western beat. “National Anthem” is an extraordinarily evocative and winning blend of Americana-meets-nostalgia (“Money is the anthem/God, you’re so handsome”), while “Born To Die,” currently being offered for free on iTunes, is nothing short of a sweeping orchestral masterpiece with all the drama and conviction of a James Bond theme spliced with the gutsy bravado of a spaghetti Western soundtrack.

As an artist offering something truly unique sonically, Lana’s not providing anything even remotely close to Top 40 radio: She’s bringing us back several decades, referencing everyone from Nancy Sinatra to husky-voiced disco chanteuse Amanda Lear to Warhol protégé, Nico.

She was nervous. So what? Who cares? Next time, consider pushing away the haterade and quenching your thirst with a nice, cold glass of Diet Mountain Dew instead. You’ll feel a whole lot better, I promise.

The Lana Del Rey EP was released on January 10. (iTunes)

http://www.muumuse.com/2012/01/in-defense-of-lana-del-rey.html/
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engin
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I'm so glad I didn't buy into the hype. Can't wait to download the album to hear what the fuss is about
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I have to say, if there's one thing that irritates me more than people who automatically buy into hype, it's people who think they're being really cool and clever by automatically dismissing the thing being hyped. That's every bit as dumb as believing hype.

If you don't already know you're dealing with a really, really good artist when you listen to gorgeous songs like Video Games, Born To Die and Blue Jeans, then I don't know what else you want.

So she's not a great live performer. Who fucking cares? I don't know about anyone else, but I listen to studio recordings 99.9% of the time, not live recordings. :rolleyes:
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FuckBuddy
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i really don't get what the fuss is all about regarding her live vocals. to my ears, she sounded ok, not great, but then her music's not the kind of music one needs to hear live to admire it. a huge number of successful artists do not deliver flawless vocals on stage, even some of the most experienced ones, even those whose career solely depends on the quality of their voice range rather than their actual music.
if she delivers a great album, then that's the evidence of her talent. she has years ahead of her to improve her live presence, a fact that many past examples of lame-turned-to-good live performers may also confirm. this whole drama is only rooted in some people's jealousy over her huge exposure in the last few months.

oh, and the sheer irony discussing poor live vocals on a madonna board
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FuckBuddy
Jan 17 2012, 11:51 PM
i really don't get what the fuss is all about regarding her live vocals. to my ears, she sounded ok, not great, but then her music's not the kind of music one needs to hear live to admire it. a huge number of successful artists do not deliver flawless vocals on stage, even some of the most experienced ones, even those whose career solely depends on the quality of their voice range rather than their actual music.
if she delivers a great album, then that's the evidence of her talent. she has years ahead of her to improve her live presence, a fact that many past examples of lame-turned-to-good live performers may also confirm. this whole drama is only rooted in some people's jealousy over her huge exposure in the last few months.

oh, and the sheer irony discussing poor live vocals on a madonna board
:clap:

There is SOOOOO much jealousy surrounding her. Most of it stemming from the fact that she's so beautiful. It's the usual shallow "She can't be so young, pretty AND also talented, so let's get the knives out".

It's pathetic.
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FuckBuddy
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it's the jolie complex striking all over again
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Beautiful Stranger
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People are even making fun of her lips. I think she's very pretty. She reminds me of Julia Roberts if Julia didn't look like Seabiscuit's granddaughter.
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Beautiful Stranger
Jan 18 2012, 05:03 PM
People are even making fun of her lips. I think she's very pretty. She reminds me of Julia Roberts if Julia didn't look like Seabiscuit's granddaughter.
I think she's beautiful too. So striking. Like a cross between Julia Roberts and Natalie Portman.

:lmao: at the Seabiscuit comment!
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Deelightful Bitch
Jan 18 2012, 06:45 PM
i like her. i think it's wonderful we get to see an artist develop before our eyes. id rather see her make mistakes and improve as an artist than have her come out of a factory. i think more now than ever most people forget that there is a process to everything and hard work is involved. nothing worthwhile happens overnight, and if it does, keep your eyes open.

lana's work and progress has an intimacy which --not only do I relate to that approach--is something more and more people are lacking in their lives, and I feel is important to everyone.


Very well said! :clap:
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So, I finally got around to watching the SNL performances - I had seen some of her other live performances on youtube and enjoyed them so I was expecting some kind of car-crash horror-show from the way everyone was talking... but I don't really get it. She sounds pretty much how she always sounds, and pretty much how I'd expect her to sound from the records. Yes, she could do with a little more control and little less nerves but truthfully the only thing that really bothered me in the clip was that I wanted her to just keep that damn left arm still.

In a world where people will happily defend Katy Perry screeeeching her way through Firework I'm baffled by the strength of reaction to this. Totally fine with people saying it was 'ok' or 'not great' even - but honestly, you'd think she'd gone onstage and shot a 4 year old or something. She's just not a BIG singer. She reminds me of Jane Birkin or Vanessa Paradis. I'm sure in the studio she's so close the mic she's nearly swallowing it..

As for Juliette Lewis - I've seen The Licks a couple of times and she's a fantastic live performer, but there's really no need for being such a cow. I console myself with the fact that she'll probably lose 3000 Thetan Points for it..

Also, is it just me or does Daniel Radcliffe's voice go up an octave every time I hear him speak?
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