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So there’s this singer-songwriter called Lana Del Rey. If you don’t know who she is yet, you’re surely about to, as she’s slated to appear on Live With David Letterman, Ellen, and (this coming weekend) Saturday Night Live with host Daniel Radcliffe. Who is this pouty lite radio chanteuse and from whence did she spring? Here are some things you should know about her.
1.) There have been a lot of Internet fights about her.
This is no accident, as her image seems to have been constructed with “making people angry” as at least a secondary concern. This tactic has become such an easy route to fame that it’s common enough to have a name now: trollgaze. The fact that she is trying to brand (or rather, re-brand, as she used to look quite different and go by her real name, Lizzy Grant) herself as some sort of “Lolita in the hood” (her words, not mine), thereby perpetuating the idea that a book about a child rapist is sexy, the borderline offensive references to the ghetto when she’s the daughter of a wealthy Internet domain guy and went to prep school in Connecticut, the way she’s being branded as an “indie” artist when she was never a part of any D.I.Y. scene, her obvious and distracting surgical augmentation, the fact that she insists on lying about said surgical augmentation, etc.
Also, some feminists dislike the fact that she sings about waiting around for boys to notice her, turn into men, fulfill her fantasies, etc., saying she displays a stunning lack of agency. Others take her interest in fallen beauty queens as a subtle critique of our trashy, myopically nostalgic, hollow, celebrity-worshiping culture. Rocker Amy Klein wrote a pretty good analysis in her blog.
2.) Not a lot of these fights have a lot to do with her music.
The funny thing about Lana Del Rey, as with many pop stars these days, is that while her image is rich and interesting and contains a lot to analyze and argue about, the music itself is almost aggressively boring, like it was tailor made to score a particularly poignant scene in Gossip Girl (and indeed, it has). Personally, I try to judge people on the quality of the music they make, and the most I could muster when I first heard it was a “meh,” so I ignored both Lana Del Rey and her backlash. But as time wore on, I began to get annoyed by the gap between her image and her sound, and started to understand a little bit better why people hate her. I am annoyed by her for a lot of the same reasons I’m annoyed by Lady Gaga. You cannot make boring, formulaic pop music and a.) talk about yourself like you’re an innovative musical genius, and b.) save all of the interesting stuff for your image. That might be okay with people who don’t like music, but I think it sucks. At least Lady Gaga’s unearned persona is empowering.
3.) She is a currently a high priority for her label.
Music money doesn’t grow on trees these days, even for Interscope, the major label that signed her. The fact that they shelled out for a high quality video for “Born To Die” (with tigers and everything!) and have been pushing aggressively to get her on TV mean they really, really, really want to make her a star.
4.) It’s probably going to work.
Like it or not, the trollgaze approach is effective; Lana Del Rey became a viral sensation long before releasing a full-length album, and now she has a national audience. Her music is now primed to reach the millions of people who don’t read music blogs but do like boring, repetitive songs, and they are going to buy her album on iTunes because they don’t know how to use bit torrents. The fact that it was largely hatred that got her there matters little to them, or to her bank account. Even Lana herself acknowledges that while she doesn’t love being shit talked, it’s a decent trade off.
5.) She inspires people to say incredibly stupid things about her.
Lana Del Rey seems like an evil genius compared to the people who slobber all over her, and maybe she is. Here is a phrase from her press release: “armed with the mystique of Dusty Springfield, the girl-next-door charm of Duffy, and the defiant charisma of Britney Spears…” False! But I guess “armed with the voice of a poor man’s Fiona Apple, the rock aggression of Coldplay, and did we mention she’s really fucking hot?” can’t really go in a press release.
A much worse offender is this V Magazine profile, which contains such choice nuggets as “Outside of the obvious physical evidence, she’d said several things in the preceding interview that convinced me of her specialness” and “Palpably, everyone noticed her.” Are the baby talk coos she throws into her vocals a secret incantation to drain I.Q. points from those around her? People who dislike her say stupid things about her, too.
I don’t want to come off like a total hater here, because I do think she’s got more going on upstairs than a lot of people give her credit for, and I also don’t think she’s entirely uncritical of the misogynistic ideas she engages with. I still hold that you should judge a musician based on their music, so if you like what you hear on SNL, you should totally buy her album. It will probably be better than a Katy Perry album! And, as a 26-year-old woman who likes posing for pictures, I remember from my not-so-distant past what it’s like to try too hard to be sexy, so I’m not going to judge her too much for that. I guess the main thing that bothers me about Lana Del Rey is not Lana Del Rey herself, but the endless amounts of attention and money being devoted to her that could be going to more talented, but less pouty and viral, people. This is not Lana Del Rey’s fault, but I still reserve the right to be angry about it.
Can we stick to her music & voice? A musical artist sets out to create an image for themselves? Stop the presses.
I think the exact opposite than the author of this crap wrote but then again I’m not a jaded shriveled up nasty prude of a bitch either and I can almost 100% guarantee Jamie Peck is without ever having seen her. Maybe she should be more objective when analyzing new talent and give girls a chance even if they happen to have incredible beauty and creative expression.
Some of you should really do your research and dig a little “deeper” about her, before writing shit and hateful about her.
Otherwise, shut the fuck up.
Cuz if you have watched her other performances besides SNL and not judge so quickly, you’ll know she is a LOT better than that. Getting up on live TV is not her thing.
Her music is dark. It can be twisted. Problem? Because that’s exactly how the world is, which her music reflects upon…… music doesn’t have to be all happy and rainbows and stars.
The whole craze about her “scandalous” lips… is that supposed to change the way she sings or her lyrics before and now? No. She’s the same person as before. Its exactly people like you that are uptight about appearances… people like you that make up the dark and twisted world.
You’re an incredible girl !
Thank you for an interesting and informative article. Lana – boring. And this is coming from one who does enjoy pop when needing to lighten up at times. Let’s be honest, the waves are cluttered with no-talent, over-sexed (image only?) young females; Britney comes to mind… I will pass on the album, thank you.
Well she’s a helluva lot better than the Kardashians.
113 days ago
[...] verdict is in, and it’s unanimous: during her performance on SNL this past weekend, Internet hatred magnet Lana Del Rey went down in flames like the Hindenburg. Whoops! As this was most Americans’ [...]
114 days ago
[...] verdict is in, and it’s unanimous: during her performance on SNL this past weekend, Internet hatred magnet Lana Del Rey went down in flames like the Hindenburg. Whoops! As this was most Americans’ [...]
115 days ago
[...] Some Things You Should Know About Lana Del Rey Before She Plays SNL [...]
Well, here we are a day after the poseurs nightmare performance on SNL, and now everyone knows what a horrible fake “Lana” is. Her singing is a nutshell: Absolute disaster. Uninspiring flop. Pretentious. Soulless. All in all it was a total embarrassment that left millions cringing and some even swearing off ever watching the show again. Think I exaggerate? Read the Twitter posts… honest reactions from real people, not bored trolling bashers.
Life lesson #1: Daddy’s money can buy exposure, but not natural talent, grace, and gravitas that comes from inner beauty/authenticity.
For those who like her one good song, who seem to rave about her because they’re young and just don’t know any better… as a musician with a fine ear that can instantly suss out a fake versus authentic, I knew right away this chick was a poor pastiche character aping old music trying to gain fame on others coat tails. Sad,and frustrating. Why don’t people put effort into being real, being themselves? Not cheap copycats? Probably because they don’t know who they are yet and keep changing identities, presumably. How many name changes has this girl gone through? 3 already? That’s a tell.
One good song does not a great talent make. As a musician who’s worked in studios for years, let me say it takes a an hour or two with single computer program effect and a few retakes to smooth over any mediocre wobbly voice and half arsed tune. Tricks mask the fact she just isn’t that good… like trying to pass off a Hyundai for a Maserati.
If “Lana” (fake name) has any real talent, she’s going to have to work her ass off to flush it out. Daddy’s gonna go broke paying for all the vocal coaches, performance coaches, life coaches she needs.
Annoying that SNL wasted a show giving her airtime when there are SO many amazingly talented unknown/lesser known singers and bands out there… makes you wonder if payola/pay-to-play is back.
I watched SNL tonight. I think that Video Games song was the worst song I’ve heard in years. I feel like English was this girls second language, she had such a clumsy hold on it and her rhyme scheme and her patter. I could have sworn I was hearing a Florence and the Machine song as written by Beach House and performed by a drunk and insecure Shakira at karaoka night. Minus all of the talent and originality. Plus I think she was born a man. Giant hands, fake nose, lips, hair and tits and the kind of sexualy only a man would think looks good on a woman. Persona be damned, the music is garbage and her performance ability is worse.
I love “Video Games.” It gave me goosebumps the first time I heard it, so..that counts for something, right? I love her voice too–she reminds me a little of Fiona Apple. Not a poor man’s Fiona Apple (whatever that means).
i think she’s great and rather refreshing. and pretty to boot.
to be honest, i know little about her personally, but i love her music.
116 days ago
[...] Cover StoryBillboardLana Del Rey Has Got 'Billboard' CoveredIdolator: All About The MusicCrushable -NME.com -Just Jaredall 50 news [...]
116 days ago
[...] up for yourself in 2012 •The Situation can’t seem to stay out of trouble •Get to know Lana Del Rey •Teen heartthrobs of 1999 •Are you ready for new Madonna? •What do guys think of [...]
you should read this might make you a bit more angry with lana not just her management, don’t forget she has a lot of cash thanks to daddy!
http://www.billboard.com/features/lana-del-rey-the-billboard-cover-story-1005869152.story#/features/lana-del-rey-the-billboard-cover-story-1005869152.story
why would anyone be angry with Lana for this article? I dont like that the knives come out for someone who has not used a fast TV “idol/xfactor/voice” route, but has been driven enough to release a full album of very decent material and then moved on when it hasnt worked out as she wanted it to. She is making the music she wants to , and people love it and love her. Yes she worked with a very hight profile producer on her first record who is now a little pissed, but everyone moves on. she has also to date worked with Emile Haynie ( Kanye West) Eg White (Adele) Chris Braide (Sia) Liam Howe (Marina & The Diamonds) Guy Chambers (Robbie Williams) to name a few. Pop stars work with different producers and writers all the time finding a sound that works and albums cant be eighty songs long.
116 days ago
[...] Get to know Lana Del Rey [...]
116 days ago
[...] Some Things You Should Know About Lana Del Rey Before She Plays SNL I am annoyed by her for a lot of the same reasons I'm annoyed by Lady Gaga. You cannot make boring, formulaic pop music and a.) talk about yourself like you're an innovative musical genius, and b.) save all of the interesting stuff for your image. … Read more on Crushable [...]
116 days ago
[...] Cover StoryBillboardLana Del Rey Has Got 'Billboard' CoveredIdolator: All About The MusicCrushable -NME.com -Just Jaredall 50 news [...]