At this point, you're probably wondering 'Where the fuck are those Batman analysis posts we were promised?' or alternatively, 'Since when does the rroawm blog have such a high post rate?'. I'm not going to mention that I'll get to the Batman analysis in due time because you're probably already thinking 'this guy is one of those assholes who never makes good on his promises' (if that's actually the case, take a look at my previous post). What I will mention is that this particular post was brought upon by a skimming-through session of one of my previous posts, namely the one where I use a lot of swear words to talk about the modern pop industry. More precisely, it was that short part about Lana Del Rey towards the end of that post. Here it is for those of you who have no fucking clue what I'm talking about: '[...]there's also positive signs such as Lana Del Rey, who while being crap live, seems to understand the importance of not going monotonous. [...] and she's done something no other mainstream artist has done in a while, namely keep the melodrama in check for an entire song'.
Having expanded my horisons vastly when it comes to Lana's music since then (and what I mean by that is that I've listened to her 'Born To Die' album a fuckload of times), I just can't help but find those particular phrases I wrote about her just plain laughable. The reality is that Lana's music is basically the opposite of what I said there: the melodrama is almost omni-present in her songs and that's exactly the reason that they get a bit monotonous after a while. This complete confusion on my behalf is rather explainable by the fact that my knowledge of Lana back then was limited to just 'Video Games'...but even then, that particular song contains lyrics so melodramatic ('They say that the world was built for two/ Only worth living if somebody is loving you') that they would make even the Queen of Melodrama herself, Adele, envious. I'll get back to this comparison further down the line. 'Video Games' is obviously about some sort of failed relationship that's left some pretty nasty and long-lasting emotional, perhaps even psychological scars. Some pretty standard Adele like material (alright, screw the 'further down the line thing', I'll be bringing up that comparison on a consistent basis). Then we have songs such as 'Born To Die', 'Blue Jeans' and 'Lucky Ones' which basically sound the same way (no shit, Sherlock, they're sung by the same fucking emotionally-scarred chick).
By now you're probably thinking that I've truly lost all hope in the mainstream industry and that I'm letting out my frustration by bitching about Lana Del Rey. The truth is that both of those statements are false. I've stopped caring about the mainstream industry for some time now and I usually mention it in comparisons that are meant to show it as a bad example (read, an exaggeratingly bad one). As for Lana, maybe you got a hint when I said I listened to the Born To Die album a fuckload of times by now. The truth is, I like her music and I do indeed believe she brings something fresh to the mainstream table (I still think she's crap live though). And here's why: while the melodrama in her songs does indeed get repetitive and rather tiring after a while, I get the distinct feeling that it's presented in a different way in comparison to you-know-who's style (and yes, I'm talking about Adele). 'Video Games' is a prime example, not only because of the chilling piano and harp instrumentals (practically the only two aspects I got right in my original analysis), but because of the way the melodrama comes across as well. It's not your run-of-the-mill 'hey, look at me despairing irrationally about how I'll never find someone like you ever again' (that's the last one, I promise). It's much more subtle in a way, and at the same time it's not subtle; just take a look at the lyrics I mentioned earlier. It's this conundrummy aspect of her music that's intriguing. The melodrama is obviously there, but it comes across in a rather underlying way, which owes a lot to how Lana's voice (which critics have accurately compared to lounge music vocals) intertwines with the haunting instrumentals. The way the song builds up towards its chorus, you wouldn't be surprised and you'd maybe even expect some sort of explosion of all the remorse building up in the lyrics. But 'Video Games' never gives us that - this is basically what I was referring to in that original post when I was talking about 'keeping the melodrama in check' (so not that laughable at the end of the day...hindsight's a bitch). It's almost like the melodrama is numbed, despite the fact that it's pretty clear she's singing about a traumatising experience. It's a rather fresh take on melodrama in a pop song, at least to me. The nature of the song makes you think of how getting intoxicated (something which Lana has confirmed to doing in interviews...not like it's obvious from her songs) numbs your perceptions when you're going through these sort of experiences. It's rather fascinating, in spite of not being some sort of musical ingenuity. 'Born To Die' and 'Blue Jeans' are similar in this regard, although 'Lucky Ones' is more basic and melodic.
Another thing that comes off as fresh to me is her willingness to admit that she is not the most healthy of people, mentally speaking (I'd be willing to admit that after Born To Die too). I can't honestly remember a particular lyric that suggests this self-awareness on the aforementioned album, but I can certainely refer to a more recent song of hers, namely 'Serial Killer' (which I think is from one of the extended editions of the BTD album). Some of the lyrics here are telling, 'Baby, I'm a sociopath, sweet serial killer'. Now some of you may be thinking 'well geez, I could've told her that after listening to a bunch of her songs' and that's obviously true, but I don't think I've ever heard a melodramatic pop singer willingly admit her obsessive tendencies before (I think she makes such references in 'Ride' as well, I'm not really familiar with that song's lyrics). And that sincere self-awareness (which I'll admit, may be circumstantial) is interesting to me. It makes her music fresh, especially when considering peers such as, you guessed it, Adele. I don't think you'll ever hear the latter so non-chalantly admit to her obsessive tendencies within a song. 'Serial Killer' is also interesting because it lacks any clear signs of the unique melodrama I've been talking about so far. It's a rather playful and quite addictive song (it's also sexy and fun in a disturbing way). 'Ride' also seems to point towards a more optimistic direction for Lana's songs, although her issues (namely her daddy issues) come across as well. It remains to be seen if she'll actually do a complete 180 with her music, that is to release exclusively optimistic songs, but I really doubt that. Somehow, I think that underlying, conundrummy, subtle/not subtle melodrama of hers will almost always be present in her songs in one form or another.
While you're probably tired of my continuous Adele comparisons, I think it's interesting to consider whether or not Lana would've enjoyed the success she has if it weren't for Adele's subtle as a bolder type of melodrama. My analysis at least, was based on a consistent comparison between the two, but maybe that's a mistake on my part. Maybe these continual comparisons do not allow me to appreciate Lana's music to its fullest. But I'll be damned if making fun of Adele isn't entertaining (short disclaimer: I think Adele has a great voice and like I've said before, I think it's admirable she's managed to turn emotional traumas into mainstream success - she's just not my cup of tea, like at all; also, this is my blog, so fuck you). Then again, I think it's rather likely that if it weren't for Adele's success, another similar singer would've taken her place. Why? Common sense (human nature as well). Anyway, food for thought.
I'll end this surprisingly long post with my latest musical obsession: Jack White plays an absolutely killer bass on this one; also, does anyone think the singer from Mellowdrone sounds suspiciously like Beck?
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