[Lana del Rey makes an in-store appearance at Easy Street Records in Queen Anne, tomorrow afternoon at 2pm.]
Unless you’ve been living in a cave completely isolated from popular music hub-bub for the last four months, you’re likely fully briefed on the saga that is The Rise of (and Backlash Against) Lana del Rey.
Just in case you’re not, though, here’s yer Cliff’s Notes version: Girl with wealthy investor dad decides to become a pop star, is supported early on by dad. Eventually Girl dreams up cool stage name, hooks up with respected producer, gets major label deal. Girl appears on Saturday Night Live and newscaster jabbers away on national TV about the purported lousiness of her SNL appearance. Millions go at girl, knives out. Girl’s big-scale tour is cancelled over the fall-out. Millions of others buy Girl’s songs, online and on CD.
No, it’s not the first time someone who’s well-off has become a pop star. Nor is it the first time a musician gave a performance on SNL that fell short of expectations. But the level of unmitigated hostility generated by del Rey’s rapid rise flat-out defies rational explanation. Thousands of Gomers have been sniping on YouTube and Facebook. Hell, even Rolling Stone, whose Record Review section’s been a bastion of soft-pedaling of late, broke out the hatchet (“Her song doctors need to go the fuck back to med school” Yipes!) All over this?
Is this really (as some wags would have it) the worst live performance in the history of SNL? Worse than Ashlee Simpson’s? Yeah, the childlike swaying-back-and-forth oozes nervousness, and her voice quivers in some places. But she deserves major props for not falling back on Auto-Tune as a crutch. And contrary to Rob Sheffield’s journalistic sucker punching, “Video Games” is a pretty terrific song–a Disney ballad gone all gothic and seedy around the edges.
In fact, a lot of del Rey’s new full-length Born to Die sounds pretty damned good to these ears. It marks an interesting crossroads, with a glossy pop sheen finding accord with the left-of-center sound and sensibilities of Beth Orton or Hope Sandoval. If Lana del Rey is the Monkees of femme-fronted trip-hop/cabaret music, well, music snobs sold the Monkees pretty short, too. Give the girl a break.
In addition to signing autographs at Easy Street Records tomorrow, she’ll be performing, too. It’s the kind of low-key start her publicity folks should’ve given her, and I bet she’ll do just fine. Get there early, as it’s likely to be a madhouse.
If you’re there, shout out a request for “Kill Kill.” It’s a lesser-known track from before her major-label signing, and a slim bet for live play, but it’s been haunting my dreams for weeks. I’m a sap for a cool, sensual pop song with lyrics that sound like they could be purred out by some futuristic version of a film noir dame.
I blame Paris Hilton, once one nonsinger can sell some songs all the others want to do it too. Del Ray has a low sultry voice but ever time she tries to sing higher notes her voice cracks.
I bought her album last week the majority of the albums songs.
Her melodic voice is wonderful I hope she does well in her career she certainly has the talent if one ignores the negative posts online. I think Lana should concentrate on some smaller intimate venues that are friendly warm places to get her stage presence polished. I would encourage anyone to go to you tube and check out the official songs uploaded by Lana herself from the album then go and buy that album it is wonderful.
One can tell that she is a great songwriter some of the licks within a songs lyrics are beautiful to listen to.
Some blog that this album is too polished I think the opposite. It is obviously well sung, produced, mixed and all that comes out when you read the lyrics as you listen to the album.
Regards
Terry in Victoria
The first line I meant to post—-
I bought her album last week and I like the the majority of the albums songs.
Terry in Victoria