Likes: As previously stated, my girlfriend likes Del Rey and she even thought her performance on SNL was terrible.
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House Always Wins
As previously stated, my girlfriend likes Del Rey and she even thought her performance on SNL was terrible.
@_@
It was an embarrassing performance. I cringed throughout.
Stubby Member
I'll take an instrumental of Blue Jeans, but otherwise I can't be bothered to listen to her further.
Stubby Member
Well, I'm surprised about all the hate for this newcomer - but then again, maybe that's a good sign, too.
I had never heard "Video Games" when someone send me a link to "Blue Jeans", a song that blew me away in an instant. I wasn't born with the usual receptors for pop music (in fact, the only other time I can recall when a pop song struck me that much was 7 or 8 years ago... Gwen Stefanis "What you waiting for"), but this song, combined with that video and this pretty face really hit me like a brick. I went to the store to get the single, thinking that she was some kind of obscure insider, and it wasn't until then that I realized that she was already on the second position in the german charts (which I don't follow).
So fast forward a couple of weeks, I'm biting my nails to wait for this record release. "Video Games" is nice, but "Blue Jeans" clearly became my song 2011. "Off to the Races" is a close second: It has the same classy kind of lyrics, but less depression. Granted, the "Born to Die"-Video WAS over-produced, compared to the D.I.Y.-aesthetics of its two predecessors, however it encapsules the inherent storylines of those tracks in a quirky way.
My gut feeling is that the collective hate-wave against Del Rey which we now witness is the result of a simple physical truth: Each action creates an equal re-action. The "viral" buzz and the success of "Video Games" catapulted an unknown internet-artist on the front pages of the world and launched a career... and now the same internet roots for her to fail.
Anyway, I guess my point is that there is no evil conspiracy behind the scenes, no planned marketing-hype or corruption... that her success so far has felt more genuine and less plastic then some other examples I could name. I believe in swarm behavior - and per my assessment, a big percentage of the global music journalism community simply has a huge, collective crush on/boner for her.
One last thing, though: Ridiculing a singer for a bad performance in a TALK SHOW is the cheapest possible shot you could ever take. It's like making fun of a retard. It's per definition no environment for live music, hence all the tape-playback, lip-syncing and over-dubbing. Go and check out some of her live recordings on YouTube from the shows she's played thus far. Compare them with SNL & then say me that you're not impressed.
Active Member
LEAVE LANA ALONE! YOU'RE LUCKY SHE PERFORMS FOR YOU BASTARDS!
She was on Jonathan Ross and still fucking sucked. Like her all you want, there's tons that do, but she's not a live performer at all. She looks lost on stage and can't figure out the correct pitch, honestly she looks scared on there. She's manufactured pop, and she's the worst kind of it, because she's trying to make you think she's different, and she isn't, she's just as clumsy and generic as your run of the mill top 40 artists.
Stubby Member
Don't get me started! :-DOriginally Posted by Kid Charlemagne
@_@
If an artist cannot perform live, then I can't listen to their albums. Simple.
Stubby Member
the album is pretty solid!
think i'd rather listen to music that i actually like, no matter how it ended up being what it is (producers, auto-tune, stolen ideas, whatever), than having some pop personality (authentic or non-authentic is irrelevant) with perfected silly dance routine tell me that their music (usually an afterthought) is the shit. but i admit that i've often struggled to be objective and have failed to judge the music for what it is.
Last edited by konstantin; 01-25-2012 at 01:31 PM.
@_@
There is decent pop music out there that does not use backup dancers. And they use real instruments and they can perform live! Imagine that!
Throbbing Member
It's a pity this girl blew up, her songs are actually decent but the backlash has been astronomical. I'm not sure I've seen this type of reaction before to a new singer. Her career will pick up if she learns how to sing live though- for the moment I'm putting her SNL stints down to performance anxiety.
I'm not sure that I buy into the criticism that she's too manufactured, isn't using her real name and the like. What artist isn't?
tempus est umbra in mente
It goes beyond that. She was originally trying to market herself as a bouncy pop star... then she disappears, comes back with fake lips and a restrained somber image accompanied by intentionally low-fi diy videos... then suddenly Interscope pretends they're interested... when in fact, the whole "indie" presentation was manufactured by Interscope to begin with. Then, suddenly, her third song/video drops the whole "indie diy" charade and suddenly it's a big budget affair with her sitting in a throne in a church with tame lions on either side... and somehow, this person who only has 3 songs to her name is the guest on Saturday Night Live? That goes beyond "unprecedented." Nothing even remotely like that has happened before. The fact that she bombed hard only makes sense.
Throbbing Member
Well... okay. I'm willing to buy into that image though. Her songs are pretty good- even if the brand is disingenuous.
Throbbing Member
Of course she was anxious. She's talked about in interviews about being really introverted and how all this disproportionate attention is making her miserable. I would probably feel the same way if all of a sudden I was catapulted into the spotlight and had a bunch of people on the Internet who don't actually know anything about me spitting venom.
Stubby Member
so i listened to her previous album, when she was Lizzy Grant. it doesn't sound all that different from what she's doing now, except that it's more showtuney and less cinematic. i personally dig the current trip hop twist, but she may also get trapped in that and her current image.
so i'm not sure i understand all the hate. i mean she tried for years the DIY pop star with no success. she tried! then she figured out what will make her successful (new lips, better writing, different image, etc.) and the internet is outraged!!! so how was she supposed to arrive where she is now and make everyone happy? where she is now seems like a pretty good place to be in, and based on the people getting involved with remixing her (i have yet to hear a Gaga or Adele 4x4 type remix), i'd say she is in THE right place.
also i've seen some pretty embarrassing performances from supposedly experienced Madonna (at awards ceremonies usually).
Active Member
If you're going to be in the spotlight, you have to prepare for people disliking you. Is she that dense where she thinks everyone will like her because she's trying to be different? There's nothing different from her past to now, she's still getting by on production work of other people because she has the financial backing. I'd have less of a problem with her if she just marketed herself as a normal pop star, but instead we're supposed to think of her as an alternative to what's out there? There's no excuse for being dissatisfied with what others think about you, you know why? Because if you're famous, there's always going to be people who don't like you. The fact that her music is bland and uninteresting just adds to how ridiculous she's being advertised. And because of how ridiculous it is, the hate is by all means warranted. I even listened to the leak of the album and couldn't get myself to even remotely enjoy it. In fact, I became so bored that after "Diet Mountain Dew" (unfortunately, that really is the name of a song), I couldn't even finish it. Gangsta Sinatra my ass.
Last edited by Kid Charlemagne; 01-26-2012 at 10:52 AM.
Stubby Member
I really want that ass.
Throbbing Member
This is a ridiculous statement. Even if you're NOT famous, there will always be someone who doesn't like you. That doesn't mean you can't be dissatisfied with it. Probably the best course of action would just be to ignore it, but it's hard when this many people are getting so up in arms about virtually NOTHING. How does Lana inspire something as strong as hate? How can you even hate someone you don't know? Hate the image or the process, but I've seen some people post some really mean, nasty stuff targeting her personally and that's just so uncalled for.
I mean, I think Lady Gaga's derivative and boring, but I don't hang out in threads devoted to her passionately arguing that point, because I just don't care. I don't listen to the music and I see no reason to scream into the Internet about how justified I am in not listening to her music. I don't know. I know this is about music discussion but I just think it's silly, it's become so hateful, as people on the Internet so often do because they're cloaked in anonymity.
Active Member
You have to learn to accept it, and obviously she's shown she's not ready for big time if she's bitching and complaining about what some mean people on a message board are saying about her. In fact, I'm probably the least of her problems. I'm not saying I hate her and I wish her death or something horrible, but as far as her career goes, I, and many others here, feel that this is all fucking ridiculous when there's other people out there working to the bone and haven't received the exposure she has. It would be one thing if her music was good or remotely entertaining, but it's not.
I dislike everything about Lady Gaga's music and her image, but I've yet to hear her come out like Lana and talk about how she's so bummed that people don't like her. Both are polarizing, but at least Gaga has her big girl shoes on and knows what to expect. Lana isn't used to the fame yet and her comments as well as her performances greatly show that.
But fuck it, maybe I'm wasting my time right? So I'll just leave everyone with this:
http://soundcloud.com/tedleo/ghost-gamers
Last edited by Kid Charlemagne; 01-26-2012 at 10:07 PM.
Active Member
There are plenty of other women (and I'm sure men and whole bands) that have shape shifted. Ke$sha, Alana Morissette, Katy Perry (?). I don't know enough of Lana Del Ray's story, but if it's true that Interscope manufactured fake indie then they were learning how to continue to stay in business. A requirement of any company to evolve with the industry or go out of business. It's called jumping the second curve.
Stubby Member
just out of curiosity, and i don't mean to directly compare the music by any means, but what did you think of The xx's album from a few years ago?
my new favorite songs from the album are Radio and Summertime Sadness. i'm surprised that hardly anything on this 61 min/15 tracks album sounds like filler. and i don't care if it requires a team of Interscope writers to be stuck in a writers room for a month to come up with this.
and the whole "equal opportunity for all artists" argument makes absolutely no sense to me.
Last edited by konstantin; 01-27-2012 at 09:29 AM.
Active Member
The xx album was also suuuuper boring. Except, unlike Lana Del Rey, they know how to perform live, and somehow managed to make the songs sound really interesting in a live setting.
That's a different story though.
Stubby Member
but see, this is the difference. i like the music of LDR (The xx too) and don't care about the rest. you don't care about the music and have some sort of negative emotional investment in the rest, and that's OK.
Active Member
When The xx bursted on the scene I thought they were good but kind of boring. I saw them live that year at Lollapalooza (slotted between a Grizzly Bear and Spoon sandwich) and they were better than I expected, so much to the point that at the end of the year "VCR" and "Crystalized" were two of my most played songs of that year and even last year.
I can't get into Lana and who knows, it may change in the future, but I find her rather dull, and this is coming from someone who listens and specializes in "boring" music. There's tons of musicians out there who on a personal level, I don't agree with on lifestyle choices, but I've never let that stand in the way of my love of their music. *cough cough* Colin Meloy and Patrick Stickles.
FATUM NOS IUNGET
"You can't expect too much from my show..."
O THE LULZ.
Hairy Member
i like 3 of her songs. Don't care about the hype or any of the other tracks. Her lips could be glued on, I don't give a fuck.
whatever.
Throbbing Member
Haha, what lifestyle choices does Colin Meloy make that cause you concern? I'm genuinely interested because I love that man and other than being a bleeding-heart liberal and occasional absinthe binger, I can't find anything about him that even my mom would disapprove of. Also, boring music can be good indeed - see, for instance, the National or the Shins, music so plain that it's nearly impossible to describe in any distinctive way
Sorry to be off topic though. How's Lana's album? I'm waiting for Tuesday.
Active Member
Did you not read what I posted? I basically said I like boring music. I have little problem with band like you mentioned. Christ. As for Colin Meloy, I had a heated discussion with him on Twitter last year regarding the reaction to Osama Bin Laden's death. It's also beside the point, you can disagree with an artists view on things and still enjoy their music. Many of my parents' friends vote democrat and love Ted Nugent, I'm a fan on Tim Tebow even if I don't consider myself a Christian. Blah blah blah. Hell, look in the Tool thread and 25% of the posts are about how Maynard is an asshole, yet I'm sure those same people are still going to buy Tool records and see their shows. None of this matters though, Lana Del Rey still sucks.
On topic, I thought the link O_M posted was interesting, I would think it would be smarter to say "well I was nervous being in front of a huge audience" or "the band was out of key", but she basically stated there's nothing special live? I don't know if I respect her for admitting she sucks or if I'm disappointed that she's not trying to cover it up
Last edited by Kid Charlemagne; 01-27-2012 at 04:22 PM.
Stubby Member
my guess is the guy who booked her was fully aware of what to expect. i call it a publicity stunt for a TV show i know nobody who watches. from what i read it's not like the actual show didn't suck big time. so it was a sucky performance in a sucky show.
they should book Azealia Banks next. except her performance won't really rely on vocal gymnastics so less opportunity to fail and stir controversy.
Throbbing Member
Oh, did you read mine? Because I didn't say you don't like boring music. I was simply agreeing with you that boring music can be good even if it's not very distinctive. No need to drop the C-bomb; just read more carefully next time. :|
Active Member
Banks is just as annoying, her off the cuff remarks remind me of MIA, except, and it pains me to say this because I don't like MIA either, that Banks is less talented.
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