Confession: I like Lana Del Rey more than I like the woeful, bearded vegan playing banjo in the basement of the independent record store.
(Okay, not really a confession since the usual self-loathing is absent.)
(Okay, not really a confession since the usual self-loathing is absent.)
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News
• Lana Del Rey will make her U.S. TV debut on Saturday Night Live January 14 in advance of her new album 'Born To Die' (January 31 / Interscope). The host of SNL that evening will be Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter). • A full U.S. tour is planned for Spring 2012. |
Lana Del Rey (née Lizzy Grant) is the latest Internet It Girl, a striking songstress with model looks and hipster aspirations, whose brand of pop music falls somewhere between Cat Power and Lilly Allen, if you can stomach the size of that gully. Physically, Del Rey would fit nicely in a chorus line of Christina-Britney-Mandy-Jessica pin-ups, but she seems hell-bent on securing “indie” credibility, a feat that is not going over well with the indie masses.
Within the blogosphere, there is loud, unanimous chatter concerning Del Rey’s privileged upbringing and, yes, manufactured image, an accusation that the singer does not actually refute. During a UK interview, she admits the following: I wanted to be a band but the label I was with and the team I had around me absolutely wanted me to be a solo artist. Lana Del Rey came from a series of managers and lawyers over the last 5 years who wanted a name that they thought better fit the sound of the music. My music was always kind of cinematic so they wanted a name that reflected the glamour of the sound. (Source: Repeat Fanzine UK)
However, since most indie bloggers—yes, myself included—spend less time examining the multitude of diverse musical genres and more time complaining about formerly unknown bands that signed to major record labels and are thereby rendered unlistenable, it’s no surprise the claws have come out. What’s disconcerting is the potency and spitefulness of such complaints. One music blogger wrote about Del Rey’s lack of hipster wardrobe, going so far as to create some sort of diagram ridiculing her choice of ensemble, right down to the flower in her hair (in hipster vernacular ‘flower barrette’ = dad is an entrepreneur). Such weird, hyper-specific insults on the whole scream “I’m taking this personally!” and not exactly “I’m making a point!”
That being said, I figure a singer who dubs herself a “gangsta Nancy Sinatra” is not nearly as threatening as the peons of angry bloggers would like us to believe. The title seems apt; more so than even Del Rey herself may appreciate. After all, Ms. Sinatra was no stranger to criticism during her prolific career—as the daughter of an icon and sexy to boot (pun intended), she was a veritable wet dream, manifested. Despite backlash Sinatra’s always talked candidly about her quick rise to fame, claiming her success with “mediocre material” was attributed to a “good voice that people really liked at the time,” though she concedes her albums were “nicer to look at than to listen to.” In short, haters always be hatin’.
Music geeks know that nepotism and self-serving pedigrees are not a new trend in the industry. Lest we forget Julian Casablancas, Jakob Dylan, Norah Jones, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Rufus Wainwright, and the Secret History’s Lisa Ronson, to name a few. Del Rey’s affluence should not be at question, especially since she’s been mostly forthcoming about her rich papa; the real question we, as social consumers, should ask is: Can the girl sing?
Well, that, of course, is subjective. But on a basic level, Del Rey embodies a sound that should be quite popular on the current indie scene: sexy vocals that travel the sexy spectrum from “sad and sexy” to “whispery sexy” to “nasally sexy,” set against a lush, orchestral backdrop with sparse beats and some violins. The minimal tear-jerker “Video Games” was grudgingly included on a handful of Best of 2011 lists, but I prefer “Born to Die” for its haunting, controlled tone and also for this line: “Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain, you like your girls insane.” She’s no Dylan, but her lyrics feel authentic coming from the given source, regardless of whether or not her look is contrived. Would it be better or worse if she wrote about geeky boys in vests and made cryptic references to high-brow literature whilst strumming a Chinese erhu? What’s more, the production quality is pretty brilliant; Del Rey and co. have managed to hit a sweet spot—the axis of edginess and approachability, vintage pop and contemporary relevance, sexy bombshell and deadpan bad girl. She sounds good, the song craft is sharp, and even Pitchfork is “intrigued”.
If you still have doubts as to Del Rey’s merit as an artist, the true test is always time. Nancy Sinatra may be mislabeled a “one hit wonder”; however, her recording career spans decades and along the way she’s earned Grammy nods and industry praise from such high-profile musicians as U2, Sonic Youth and Morrissey (whom she collaborated with on a re-recording of “Let Me Kiss You”). Not bad for a gal who was once known solely for her smoldering good looks and microscopic outfits.
Born to Die is scheduled for release January 30. Visit Lana Del Rey’s official website for more information and to check out the music video for “Video Games,” featuring hot mess Paz de la Huerta falling down (don’t worry she’s OK!) and Del Rey vamping for the camera like a young Brigitte Bardot.
As a treat, listen to San Francisco band Silver Swans cover “Video Games.”
Within the blogosphere, there is loud, unanimous chatter concerning Del Rey’s privileged upbringing and, yes, manufactured image, an accusation that the singer does not actually refute. During a UK interview, she admits the following: I wanted to be a band but the label I was with and the team I had around me absolutely wanted me to be a solo artist. Lana Del Rey came from a series of managers and lawyers over the last 5 years who wanted a name that they thought better fit the sound of the music. My music was always kind of cinematic so they wanted a name that reflected the glamour of the sound. (Source: Repeat Fanzine UK)
However, since most indie bloggers—yes, myself included—spend less time examining the multitude of diverse musical genres and more time complaining about formerly unknown bands that signed to major record labels and are thereby rendered unlistenable, it’s no surprise the claws have come out. What’s disconcerting is the potency and spitefulness of such complaints. One music blogger wrote about Del Rey’s lack of hipster wardrobe, going so far as to create some sort of diagram ridiculing her choice of ensemble, right down to the flower in her hair (in hipster vernacular ‘flower barrette’ = dad is an entrepreneur). Such weird, hyper-specific insults on the whole scream “I’m taking this personally!” and not exactly “I’m making a point!”
That being said, I figure a singer who dubs herself a “gangsta Nancy Sinatra” is not nearly as threatening as the peons of angry bloggers would like us to believe. The title seems apt; more so than even Del Rey herself may appreciate. After all, Ms. Sinatra was no stranger to criticism during her prolific career—as the daughter of an icon and sexy to boot (pun intended), she was a veritable wet dream, manifested. Despite backlash Sinatra’s always talked candidly about her quick rise to fame, claiming her success with “mediocre material” was attributed to a “good voice that people really liked at the time,” though she concedes her albums were “nicer to look at than to listen to.” In short, haters always be hatin’.
Music geeks know that nepotism and self-serving pedigrees are not a new trend in the industry. Lest we forget Julian Casablancas, Jakob Dylan, Norah Jones, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Rufus Wainwright, and the Secret History’s Lisa Ronson, to name a few. Del Rey’s affluence should not be at question, especially since she’s been mostly forthcoming about her rich papa; the real question we, as social consumers, should ask is: Can the girl sing?
Well, that, of course, is subjective. But on a basic level, Del Rey embodies a sound that should be quite popular on the current indie scene: sexy vocals that travel the sexy spectrum from “sad and sexy” to “whispery sexy” to “nasally sexy,” set against a lush, orchestral backdrop with sparse beats and some violins. The minimal tear-jerker “Video Games” was grudgingly included on a handful of Best of 2011 lists, but I prefer “Born to Die” for its haunting, controlled tone and also for this line: “Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain, you like your girls insane.” She’s no Dylan, but her lyrics feel authentic coming from the given source, regardless of whether or not her look is contrived. Would it be better or worse if she wrote about geeky boys in vests and made cryptic references to high-brow literature whilst strumming a Chinese erhu? What’s more, the production quality is pretty brilliant; Del Rey and co. have managed to hit a sweet spot—the axis of edginess and approachability, vintage pop and contemporary relevance, sexy bombshell and deadpan bad girl. She sounds good, the song craft is sharp, and even Pitchfork is “intrigued”.
If you still have doubts as to Del Rey’s merit as an artist, the true test is always time. Nancy Sinatra may be mislabeled a “one hit wonder”; however, her recording career spans decades and along the way she’s earned Grammy nods and industry praise from such high-profile musicians as U2, Sonic Youth and Morrissey (whom she collaborated with on a re-recording of “Let Me Kiss You”). Not bad for a gal who was once known solely for her smoldering good looks and microscopic outfits.
Born to Die is scheduled for release January 30. Visit Lana Del Rey’s official website for more information and to check out the music video for “Video Games,” featuring hot mess Paz de la Huerta falling down (don’t worry she’s OK!) and Del Rey vamping for the camera like a young Brigitte Bardot.
As a treat, listen to San Francisco band Silver Swans cover “Video Games.”
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