A Description
Lana del Rey, a pop-singer, (previously known as
Elizabeth Grant; quite a different vibe that name exudes) has a retro,
vintage, sensual style, in both appearance and voice.
Tattoos along her palms read "trust no one"
and "paradise."
Her voice is double-natured. While deep, smooth, and hypnotic, it often lilts into a helium-inspired sound, which evokes a pouting girl blowing bubblegum.
When I listen to her songs, I am reminded of a Carson McCullers book. Carson McCullers, a mid-twentieth-century author, writes the South. A sweet, sad, hot, melancholy atmosphere often permeates her stories. You can see the shaded streets in dusk, and it's hot and still outside. Cicadas, crickets, fireflies. Often a girl shows up, maybe twelve years old, confused, lonely, and longing. Nostalgia is heavy. Lana del Rey's album brings to mind these kind of images and thoughts, at least in me, and perhaps this is why I have become such a fan of her, enjoying these kinds of feelings.
She's also like The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, another of my favorite authors. Glamour, white cars, white dresses. Something tragic.
The best songs off her album Born to Die
1. Blue Jeans
I had this song stuck in my head for a few months, frequently singing it at odd times.
2. Video Games
Atmospheric, classy song.
3. Off to the Races
An unusual song with gorgeous imagery, her most upbeat. Lyrics puzzling at first.
4. National Anthem
Lana "raps" in this song. Speaks like she's got candy in her mouth.
