Artist Feature: Lana Del Rey
Photo Credit: The Beachcomber
Lana Del Rey
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January 13, 2012 • Eric Browne, Staff Reporter
Filed under A&E, Top Stories
One of the most talked about artists to hit the scene in late 2011 was Lana Del Rey. With a style that pays homage to sex symbols of the ‘50s and ‘60s, she is not someone who fades into the background. She can simply stand on stage and immediately put everyone in a trance, singing songs that are so sonically different that a music genre was created just for her: “Hollywood Sadcore” – and that means a lot for an artist who hasn’t even come out with her first record. After receiving backlash from the “hipster” community for being a no-talent hack that is only famous because of producers that created her image, Del Rey became more well known and liked among the masses.
Del Rey’s latest hit, “Born To Die”, starts out with instrumentals that bring you back to prolific teen movies of the 50’s and 60’s and then sings a tantalizing alternative, sad-rock tune that will leave you breathless. She sings about a love that will never be enough and is destined for disaster, but somehow she has to stay, she can’t get out of the relationship because she loves him too much, detailing it with lyrics like, “Sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough / I don’t know why.” The song that propelled her onto the scene, “Video Games”, is another slower song about love and all that she does for her lover, but don’t think Del Rey is just the newest Adele singing only slow songs about love lost. Her song, “Off To The Races”, is a spunky, feel-good anthem that will make you feel like you rule the world.
Del Rey is no stranger to the music scene. Although she went by her real name Lizzy Grant, she released an EP titled Lana Del Rey. It never reached a mainstream audience and was taken off the market for unknown reasons after just a few months. After a year of reworking her image and getting signed by Interscope Records, she released the music video for “Video Games”, which instantly became a viral hit. The haunting video uses a minimalist theme to further Del Rey’s vintage image. She uses clips from different eras, and splices in clips of her singing. In a recent interview, Del Rey explained that for the music video it didn’t necessarily have a plot line or anything like that, she just chose clips that were appealing to her and fit the song’s mood.
After she seemingly magically appeared on the mainstream scene as an indie princess, the hipster community immediately began hating on her for being a poser and having her image artificially created by her managers and the studio. To back this they said her image and sound in her 2009 album were completely different and because of this her image must have been fostered by the people trying to make her famous. Also, she has claimed she lived in a trailer park while recording her first record, but her father is a millionaire, so they couldn’t understand why she would do that unless it was to make her image seem real.
No matter what you think about Lana Del Rey, you can’t deny the fact that her voice is something that hasn’t been heard before. Onstage her shy demeanor tantalizes the crowd with a mystical aura that is almost tangible. Her songs have a power that the music industry desperately needs, and during a time where dubstep and electronic tracks are all we hear, Del Rey is a cool, refreshing drink on a hot, sunny day. And with her album, “Born To Die”, coming out on January 31st, it’ll just be a matter of time before Lana Del Rey is a household name.
Video Games – Lana Del Rey:
Video Games – Lana Del Rey from Maksi Einhorn on Vimeo.
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