15 | My Queen, Lana Del Rey
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, more commonly known by her stage name, Lana Del Rey, is an American singer, songwriter, and model.
When she entered the music scene in 2012, almost everyone criticized her because of her appearance on Saturday Night Live. Everyone called her this "Pop star that's been engineered by the media." Little did everyone know, Lana became depressed. I first found out about her when I listened to her song Born to Die and Summertime Sadness back in 2012. I initially found her to be too boring for my taste and chose to ignore her every time she appeared on TV. And then after 2 years, the Maleficent trailer came where she was the one who sang a different, more spooky version of 'Once Upon A Dream'. I actually thought that Angelina Jolie was the one singing. After that I bumped into her again while watching The Great Gatsby because she was the one chosen to make and sing the original soundtrack, Young and Beautiful. After that, I fell in love. I searched for her old songs and I came to love those songs that I first thought were boring.
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| Young Lizzy when she wasn't famous yet and before she became Lana Del Rey |
I basically stalked her and researched more about her background information and that is when I ultimately fell in love. Lana Del Rey is a true romantic that feels as though she doesn't fit in this world and thinks she's supposed to have been born in a different time. Her idols were the same as mine. Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Kurt Cobain, James Dean, and more. As I researched more about her, the more I felt as if I really know her and the more her songs and lyrics touched me. I could feel her sadness. I could really feel her longing for freedom. I find it sad because most people misunderstand her lyrics. When people said her first hit song “Video Games” wasn’t emotionally healthy, she also brushed that off.
She explained, "I didn't understand how that arose any kind of feminist commentary, because all I was saying was, 'I'm so happy when you get home, and heaven is a place on earth with you. I've never been happier.' I didn't understand any reason why that sounded submissive, to me. In fact, I actually thought that at such a young age, I was blessed to find someone who made me so happy. And I just didn't understand why true love shouldn't be the end-all, be-all.”
I love that, since art is art and should be afforded some fluidity in analysis. I love Lana Del Rey’s lyrical candidness!
Another thing that I love about her is that She’s got some pretty deep feelings...and knows how to express them. Even though Del Rey is described as “sad” more often than not, we should remember that she’s a person with many emotions, just like anyone else!
"I'm happy when things are just kind of calm. I love going to the ocean. I love driving. I love going to shows. Just being with people I really have fun with. I love the summer. I'm happy in the summer. Love hot, hot weather. I'm happy when I'm making a record, most of the time,” she says.
There are a lot more things I want to say and talk about, but I want to reserve more of those for next time. I can just about Lana for hours. The last thing I would say to all of you is to try to listen to her music. You'll either love it or hate it. But if you come to love it, you'll be in for a roller coaster ride as that is what most of her fans feel when listening to her songs. she's great for a lazy muggy afternoon when you just want to listen to something "nice". Oh, and don't forget to buy her new album titled 'Honeymoon.'
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