Her mind's like a diamond.
I have a confession to make: I am in love with Lana Del Rey's Born to Die. I first heard of her not on the Internet, but on MTV. (Shocking, I know.) Though I was a bit doubtful at first, I found myself liking "Video Games" more and more every time it played on MTV. Her … notorious SNL performances didn't do much to deter me from following her music. (I did find them mediocre, but I could empathise with her because of the awkwardness she'd exuded. I sway when I'm nervous, too!)
Anyway, Born to Die. I love the tune of most songs, and the arrangements are so beautiful and dark; whoever said on ohnotheydidnt that it sounds like a film score hit the nail on the head so hard, it drove the nail right through. The lyrics can be questionable at times ("I say you the bestest" [from "Video Games"] never fails to make me laugh, and a personal favourite is "Money is the reason we exist/ Everybody knows it/ It's a fact/ Kiss, kiss"), but honestly, I've heard worse. Likewise, a common complaint about Born to Die is that its lyrics are repetitive: certain phrases are echoed in a couple of songs. Doesn't bother me that much -- I see them more as motifs that resonate with the theme of passion ("red dress", "take my body downtown") present in the album. And really, it's a lot better -- and excusable -- than having the same lines being repeated in the same song, and not as a kind of refrain. I love her vocals, too, how they alternate between delicate and smoky.
However, it's not all smooth sailing. Admittedly, the songs that "Dark Paradise" and "Summertime Sadness" sandwich sound a lot like those that precede it, not offering much in the way of variety. The aforementioned "Summertime Sadness" is a break from that dreariness, but it picks up again in "This Is What Makes Us Girls", ending the album on a lacklustre note. (It's the least played song [from her album] in my library, LOL.) I would recommend the deluxe version -- "Without You" and "Lucky Ones" are lovely additions, and the latter does a better job at closing the album, as it rounds up the album's thematics in the form of a tinkly, wispy ballad, a slight departure from the heavier, melancholy sound that's dominated previously.
I'm not sure if I'd recommend the album, to be honest. She's more of an acquired taste; "Video Games" will be what most people hear from her first, and it's a pretty divisive song. Additionally, I confess that the backlash that's aimed at her as of late, be it for her performances on SNL or her "inauthenticity", as well as the amount of coverage she's getting, can turn someone off -- it would for me, at least, to some extent, if I hadn't heard her on MTV first. Instead, I would recommend sampling a few of her songs before deciding on whether to get her album. See below as to what I'd suggest.
Favourite tracks: "Born to Die", "Video Games", "Dark Paradise", "Summertime Sadness", and -- wild card! -- "Off to the Races"/"National Anthem". (I'm leaning more toward the former.)
Rating: 4/5
P.S. "Carmen", the current song, reminds me a lot of the Hey Arnold! episode that's about the play of the same name. That's all I can see every time I hear this song!
Anyway, Born to Die. I love the tune of most songs, and the arrangements are so beautiful and dark; whoever said on ohnotheydidnt that it sounds like a film score hit the nail on the head so hard, it drove the nail right through. The lyrics can be questionable at times ("I say you the bestest" [from "Video Games"] never fails to make me laugh, and a personal favourite is "Money is the reason we exist/ Everybody knows it/ It's a fact/ Kiss, kiss"), but honestly, I've heard worse. Likewise, a common complaint about Born to Die is that its lyrics are repetitive: certain phrases are echoed in a couple of songs. Doesn't bother me that much -- I see them more as motifs that resonate with the theme of passion ("red dress", "take my body downtown") present in the album. And really, it's a lot better -- and excusable -- than having the same lines being repeated in the same song, and not as a kind of refrain. I love her vocals, too, how they alternate between delicate and smoky.
However, it's not all smooth sailing. Admittedly, the songs that "Dark Paradise" and "Summertime Sadness" sandwich sound a lot like those that precede it, not offering much in the way of variety. The aforementioned "Summertime Sadness" is a break from that dreariness, but it picks up again in "This Is What Makes Us Girls", ending the album on a lacklustre note. (It's the least played song [from her album] in my library, LOL.) I would recommend the deluxe version -- "Without You" and "Lucky Ones" are lovely additions, and the latter does a better job at closing the album, as it rounds up the album's thematics in the form of a tinkly, wispy ballad, a slight departure from the heavier, melancholy sound that's dominated previously.
I'm not sure if I'd recommend the album, to be honest. She's more of an acquired taste; "Video Games" will be what most people hear from her first, and it's a pretty divisive song. Additionally, I confess that the backlash that's aimed at her as of late, be it for her performances on SNL or her "inauthenticity", as well as the amount of coverage she's getting, can turn someone off -- it would for me, at least, to some extent, if I hadn't heard her on MTV first. Instead, I would recommend sampling a few of her songs before deciding on whether to get her album. See below as to what I'd suggest.
Favourite tracks: "Born to Die", "Video Games", "Dark Paradise", "Summertime Sadness", and -- wild card! -- "Off to the Races"/"National Anthem". (I'm leaning more toward the former.)
Rating: 4/5
P.S. "Carmen", the current song, reminds me a lot of the Hey Arnold! episode that's about the play of the same name. That's all I can see every time I hear this song!