~ Lana Del Rey • Lust For Life ~

[Glove Slap]

Jul 19, 2017 3:20:39 GMT -5 @phillippe said:

I'm just quoting this so people who might be blocking you can see it. I don't have anything to add atm.

[Sambalada]

Iconic block list!

[mc54]

The whole album leaked.

[Juan Carlos]

Friendly reminder. :)

2. No obscene/illegal content. -- The ProBoards Community Guidelines define the kind of content considered inappropriate for this and all ProBoards websites. This includes but is not limited to

• posting MP3s, links to MP3s or discussion on ways to attain illegal MP3s.
  
• requesting MP3s from other members, requesting links to MP3s or requesting ways to illegally attain MP3s.

[Ivy Leegue™]

Jul 19, 2017 3:54:25 GMT -5 Sambalada said:

Iconic block list!

I know, right?! I am in company with people I have admired and interacted with for years. #theprivilege.

Her Pitchfork interview was...well...interesting but I did love reading about how much in control she is over her music. I always figured that based on how well she sticks to her aesthetic and manages to perfect it. I am salivating over the thought of having a new Lana album Friday!

[Linnethia Monique]

Jul 19, 2017 3:20:39 GMT -5 @phillippe said:

[wavey.]

Block list lit af👐🏼👐🏼👐🏼.

[Deleted]

Bravo bravo. I support a self confident bitch who stands up for herself! The fact you thought they were the ones who needed blocking is self confident teas 101. Yass girl you're the perfect Coco recruitment prospect in ages!!

[koolthing]

Jul 14, 2017 4:17:46 GMT -5 @nostalgic said:

I love the snippets now. I wonder if it's better than BTD or not.

I would hope it's better than her worst album

[Ivy Leegue™]

BTD is her worst album?? Ch...that album is still iconic and the only one I can listen to from start to finish without skipping, even if I think the other albums have stronger highlights.

[SHOOTER]

BTD is the only album of hers I like as a whole (while Brooklyn Baby will forever be my favorite song).

[dbhmr]

I don't know how to rank her albums, honestly. Born To Die is the most arresting and diverse (by Lana standards), and was an exciting way to discover her. But I feel like it's the most uneven, and she's achieved a much stronger mastery of her voice since. Ultraviolence works really well for me--very consistent, a pleasing sonic progression, a number of standout tracks ("Brooklyn Baby," "Terrence Loves You," "Black Beauty," "West Coast"); in a lot of ways, I think there's a strong argument to this being her best album, but I also see how it's really polarizing, and perhaps less gripping. Honeymoon has always felt like a balance between the two--lush as ever, career highs with "The Blackest Day" and "High by the Beach," and while it's sonically cohesive, it's a bit more accessible than Ultraviolence.

The easy answer is Paradise is her weakest, I suppose, but I'm not sure that counts--and even that has "Gods and Monsters" and "Ride," which are phenom.

She has a really stunning discography, and my expectations for Lust for Life are very, very high. It could very well be a really good album and her worst yet.

[moore746]

Jul 20, 2017 11:47:00 GMT -5 dbhmr said:

I don't know how to rank her albums, honestly. Born To Die is the most arresting and diverse (by Lana standards), and was an exciting way to discover her. But I feel like it's the most uneven, and she's achieved a much stronger mastery of her voice since. Ultraviolence works really well for me--very consistent, a pleasing sonic progression, a number of standout tracks ("Brooklyn Baby," "Terrence Loves You," "Black Beauty," "West Coast"); in a lot of ways, I think there's a strong argument to this being her best album, but I also see how it's really polarizing, and perhaps less gripping. Honeymoon has always felt like a balance between the two--lush as ever, career highs with "The Blackest Day" and "High by the Beach," and while it's sonically cohesive, it's a bit more accessible than Ultraviolence.

The easy answer is Paradise is her weakest, I suppose, but I'm not sure that counts--and even that has "Gods and Monsters" and "Ride," which are phenom.

She has a really stunning discography, and my expectations for Lust for Life are very, very high. It could very well be a really good album and her worst yet.

Great analysis. I am in the camp that Ultraviolence is her best. But FYI, Terrence Loves You is from Honeymoon. ;)

[dbhmr]

Jul 20, 2017 11:53:51 GMT -5 moore746 said:

Jul 20, 2017 11:47:00 GMT -5 dbhmr said:

I don't know how to rank her albums, honestly. Born To Die is the most arresting and diverse (by Lana standards), and was an exciting way to discover her. But I feel like it's the most uneven, and she's achieved a much stronger mastery of her voice since. Ultraviolence works really well for me--very consistent, a pleasing sonic progression, a number of standout tracks ("Brooklyn Baby," "Terrence Loves You," "Black Beauty," "West Coast"); in a lot of ways, I think there's a strong argument to this being her best album, but I also see how it's really polarizing, and perhaps less gripping. Honeymoon has always felt like a balance between the two--lush as ever, career highs with "The Blackest Day" and "High by the Beach," and while it's sonically cohesive, it's a bit more accessible than Ultraviolence.

The easy answer is Paradise is her weakest, I suppose, but I'm not sure that counts--and even that has "Gods and Monsters" and "Ride," which are phenom.

She has a really stunning discography, and my expectations for Lust for Life are very, very high. It could very well be a really good album and her worst yet.

Great analysis. I am in the camp that Ultraviolence is her best. But FYI, Terrence Loves You is from Honeymoon. ;)

Awk. No wonder I was blocked.

[Ling-Ling]

Born To Die definitely has a few stinkers on it and it is a little dated. But those highlights are some of her best and it was an incredible introduction to her sound, I think she's honed it more gracefully as her career has gone on. I actually think Paradise is fairly solid from beginning to end, outside of that unnecessary "Blue Velvet" cover (but all of her covers are unnecessary). Honeymoon is her most consistent album IMO and "The Blackest Day" remains her finest moment on record, it's almost like her entire career was leading up to that song. I've made my opinions of Ultraviolence clear on this thread, musically, very arresting. But it drags, the melodies don't stick and neither do the hooks. If I try to pay attention, it's a tortuous listen, otherwise it's a background vibe album.

Honeymoon
Born To Die
Paradise
Ultraviolence

I'm so skeptical about this album. I'm always perched for her, but we're, what, five songs in? And I haven't loved a single one.

[moore746]

Jul 20, 2017 12:16:22 GMT -5 Ling-Ling said:

Born To Die definitely has a few stinkers on it and it is a little dated. But those highlights are some of her best and it was an incredible introduction to her sound, I think she's honed it more gracefully as her career has gone on. I actually think Paradise is fairly solid from beginning to end, outside of that unnecessary "Blue Velvet" cover (but all of her covers are unnecessary). Honeymoon is her most consistent album IMO and "The Blackest Day" remains her finest moment on record, it's almost like her entire career was leading up to that song. I've made my opinions of Ultraviolence clear on this thread, musically, very arresting. But it drags, the melodies don't stick and neither do the hooks. If I try to pay attention, it's a tortuous listen, otherwise it's a background vibe album.

Honeymoon
Born To Die
Paradise
Ultraviolence

I'm so skeptical about this album. I'm always perched for her, but we're, what, five songs in? And I haven't loved a single one.

The five singles/promo singles are about the worst representation of the second half of the album that you could imagine.

[moore746]

Also, the best thing her team can do is give Radiohead credit on "Get Free"--a blatant rip off of Creep (albeit a well done rip off)--ASAP. Or would the press be good for sales?

[Ivy Leegue™]

Yessssss...more Lana lovers come into this thread!! I pretty much agree with all of y'all's assessments, even if I disagree slightly. At the end of the day, I think BTD was the perfect entree to Lana because it established a sound but yes, she became more and more polished as the albums went on - she is now a complete Artist. This new album is probably my most anticipated of the year, tbh.

[mc54]

I've only liked a handful of her songs, but this album is gorgeous. "Get Free" is stellar.

[moore746]

Jul 20, 2017 13:06:12 GMT -5 mc54 said:

I've only liked a handful of her songs, but this album is gorgeous. "Get Free" is stellar.

OUT. OF. THE. BLACK!

IN. TO. THE. BLUE!

[koolthing]

Jul 20, 2017 7:43:46 GMT -5 Ivy Leegue™ said:

BTD is her worst album?? Ch...that album is still iconic and the only one I can listen to from start to finish without skipping, even if I think the other albums have stronger highlights.

I fell in love with Lana hard before/with BTD and listened to it like crazy back in the day, so I totally remember how exciting it was at the time... It's definitely her most accessible and immediate album and, as others mentioned, a great Lana 101. But she got so much more refined both as a singer and songwriter since then that it feels super dated and caricatural by now (to me anyway – evidently not to many others).

On the flip side it means I've never been disappointed by a new release, which is chill 

[koolthing]

Jul 20, 2017 12:57:47 GMT -5 Ivy Leegue™ said:

Yessssss...more Lana lovers come into this thread!! I pretty much agree with all of y'all's assessments, even if I disagree slightly. At the end of the day, I think BTD was the perfect entree to Lana because it established a sound but yes, she became more and more polished as the albums went on - she is now a complete Artist. This new album is probably my most anticipated of the year, tbh.

Just saw this which kind of renders my response null – we kinda agree ;)

[Glove Slap]

Jul 20, 2017 11:47:00 GMT -5 dbhmr said:

I don't know how to rank her albums, honestly. Born To Die is the most arresting and diverse (by Lana standards), and was an exciting way to discover her. But I feel like it's the most uneven, and she's achieved a much stronger mastery of her voice since. Ultraviolence works really well for me--very consistent, a pleasing sonic progression, a number of standout tracks ("Brooklyn Baby," "Terrence Loves You," "Black Beauty," "West Coast"); in a lot of ways, I think there's a strong argument to this being her best album, but I also see how it's really polarizing, and perhaps less gripping. Honeymoon has always felt like a balance between the two--lush as ever, career highs with "The Blackest Day" and "High by the Beach," and while it's sonically cohesive, it's a bit more accessible than Ultraviolence.

The easy answer is Paradise is her weakest, I suppose, but I'm not sure that counts--and even that has "Gods and Monsters" and "Ride," which are phenom.

She has a really stunning discography, and my expectations for Lust for Life are very, very high. It could very well be a really good album and her worst yet.

My opinions are sorta among similar lines, especially that all of her releases are extremely strong. Her only real equal in terms of quality consistency for her generation is probably Florence + The Machine.

BTD is certainly the one I revisit the most, even though I played it into the ground over and over for nearly two years from its release. That Pitchfork interview reminded me of just how influential it's been as well. I think it's sorta (key word being sorta) this decade's equivalent of something like Exile in Guyville, Little Earthquakes, or Surfer Rosa. It didn't sell by the truckload (which technically isn't correct because it was a huge global hit and made its way to very strong sales in the US too, and it's still charting), or spawn a mega string of hits, but it made a huge impact, including on big mainstream acts who would get hits using its influence soon after (Taylor Swift comes to mind immediately, as does Selena Gomez). I think a part of its appeal was that it didn't really sound like anything else that was out at the time of its release, and a lot of the current sounds in popular music can be traced back to Lana, certainly more than that Gotye hit some celebrated getting huge over her. You have to remember just what was big when it came out. WFL, Moves Like Jagger, LMFAO. Hell, I even remember people trying to sell RITD as downtempo. It wasn't mainstream, but the mainstream shifted to it. The production of BTD might sound overly familiar now, but it really helped it stand out.

To illustrate the difference between that and it's successor, the first time I heard BTD, I walked away with some kind of starting opinion on pretty much every song. I still think this is a strength of that album, something pops out to stick from the get go and lure you back. When I first listened to Ultraviolence, the only thing I can remember is really loving Old Money. The rest all remained locked significantly (West Coast aside obviously). It grew on me immensely on repeated listens, and I do agree that there is an argument for it still being her best, but it takes a while to really sink in, a decent while. It was a big left field move for her, even though you can immediately tell it's her work; I'm still interested in hearing what the original version sounded like too before she took it to Dan Auerbach. But one thing he deserves credit for is showing her how to "open" her sound, I think that's something she kept into the next album and what we've heard from this one. Love was more in the vein of her earlier material, but I think the Ultraviolence influence is still there to this day positively.

I remember being extremely surprised by just how good Honeymoon was when I finally heard it, and there's definitely an argument that it's her most sophisticated accomplishment. The back half in particular is just one high after another that doesn't stop building until Swan Song ends. But then I remember that I never used the title track at all, and while I can appreciate TLY, it was also one I rarely revisit.

I definitely agree on Paradise being the most uneven, but the highs are up there with the best she has done. Namely Ride, Cola, and Gods & Monsters in particular still stand up today as well as they ever did.

[Honeymoon]

I think all of the albums stand out for their individual reasons. Born to Die, as been said already, was the seminal album that the early 2010s needed after the stale EDM domination. It DOES sound overly polished to these ears after the weightless Honeymoon and rough around the edges Ultraviolence but I think that just goes to show her growth as an artist and reduced reliance on studio bells and whistles. What she says in the Pitchfork interview about the musical progression being a conscious move to take away the distractions of a Born to Die makes total sense.

I think Ultraviolence will always be her best album to me. It took forever to reveal its charms but once it did it was so so worth it. Everything about it is so raw (you can't really turn back after an opener like "Cruel World") and I love the psychedelic sound she dipped into with "Shades of Cool", "Brooklyn Baby". And the DRAMA of the title track, "Sad Girl" etc, the gorgeous melodies throughout ("Old Money" comes to mind), and it clearly has her best bonus tracks ("Black Beauty", "Florida Kilos", "Is This Happiness", "Flipside" all among her best). I can totally see why it alienated a lot of people who liked BTD but everything on the album has such purpose, each flourish kind of unravels itself with every listen.

Honeymoon also took awhile to grow, and I think it is a worthy followup of UV but it drags near the end. "The Blackest Day" should have been the closer. "Terrence Loves You" seems like one of her most underrated moments too, those opening strings get me each time.

I'm loving L4L, it does seem a little less cohesive than what came before it but I don't really care about that when her voice is the best its ever sounded. "13 Beaches" is also her Ray of Light moment, what a triumph. "When the World Was at War...", "Cherry", "In My Feelings", "Groupie Love" are the other standouts so far.

[Deleted]

I missed her on the first album, I really got into her on the second album and then fell in love with both albums. However I find my ability to be captive to her mood or vibe it had to be on a rainy day, the right clouds, right gloom and wayward feeling. Outside of that I can't bear to sit through unless I'm in the mood. Exaggerating a bit, alot but really she has a season and time but she isn't an all year never get bored of her type of artist for me. I have completely forgotten about her. Just my meaningless two cents.

[Glove Slap]

On first listen, 13 Beaches, In My Feelings, God Bless America..., When The World Was At War..., and Get Free are the standouts for me aside from the tracks we'd heard (all of which are still ace), but no duds once again and plenty to go back and investigate.

[YourFaveIsAFlop]

I love this album so much. Honeymoon did nothing for me so I was worried about this one but Lana hath delivered. I think the 4 collaborations are the weakest tracks but there's nothing bad here. It's so raw and amazing and subversive. The gun shots in God Bless America are life and love that's in it

[koolthing]

This is an interesting album. It's as unedited as the singles made it sound, but that makes it totally alive and spontaneous. I'm gonna let it sink in but it's definitely strong.

[Ling-Ling]

Okay, my fears have been rested. It's a solid album, the only complete dud for me is "Coachella." If I didn't know better, I'd think Brandon Flowers wrote that god-awful mess. Delete it fat.

"13 Beaches" is probably my favorite right now. Just gorgeous. I really like "Cherry" despite those clunky ass lyrics. I wish "White Mustang" rode out for way longer, love that instrumental. "In My Feelings" is solid. "Summer Bummer" and "Love" have finally grown on me within context of the album. "When The World Was At War..." is almost perfection, that instrumental, verses, pre-chorus are so amazing. The chorus is kind of lacking though and I wanted that bridge to launch but it never did. Still love it though. "BPBP" gets so good when the instrumental (and Stevie) fully kick in. That chorus and bridge on "Tomorrow Never Came," so dreamy. "Heroin," YES! It's that low-key Lana track that you start to overlook, but subversively grabs ahold. I love how that bridge just kind of explodes out of nowhere and things start getting intense. "Change" is so beautiful, PERIOD. Love the verses/pre-chorus especially. And "Get Free" is a good album closer, so glad she skipped that unnecessary cover trend she started two albums ago.

There are several songs that are perfectly pleasant/pretty, but non-essential to me ("Groupie Love," "Lust For Life," "God Bless America"). The features don't work most of the time for me, did we need A$AP Rocky twice? He fits on "Summer Bummer" way more than on "Groupie Love." Stevie Nicks is so amazing on "Beautiful People" though. Unfortunately, she kinda mops the floor with Lana, I almost wish it was a Stevie solo track. Sean Ono Lennon is a mixed bag for me. That harmonizing on the chorus and bridge is so f**king good, but his verse could have just been Lana IMO (he just plows through it and lacks her conviction and subtlety). And I HATE that lyrical shout-out directly to him in the bridge, completely pulls me out of the song. And The Weeknd is okay I guess, I think if you buy into that whole kindred spirits hype they've tried to create, it's more epic. But I never did.

It's not quite on Honeymoon's level for me, but we'll see how it stacks up once I spin the hell out of it.

[God]

Phew, so my first impression is that it's not the disaster I was expecting. The first and final quarters are stellar but the second is the mixed bag I was afraid of, while the third kind of blends together for me. My opinion of the latter is more likely to change after some more spins than the former is, I think.

"White Mustang" feels unnecessary to me, like a bonus track that was added into the album's sequence at the last minute. And I feel like I should love "In My Feelings" but it just isn't connecting with me either.

But anyway "Get Free" is easily my favorite of the songs I hadn't already heard, and "Change" and "Heroin" aren't far behind. I don't like Lust for Life as much as Honeymoon but at least it was worth the wait.