Here’s the data on how much I know about Lana Del Rey: she had a bad performance on Saturday Night Live (or so I’ve read) and the critics seem to hate her. Sure … critics, they hate everything don’t they? It’s not just critics though, because I read a few articles on her night at SNL and the reader commentary was absolutely vicious. But hey, this is the Internet age, when the virtual pile-on is just so easy.
But then I read this Salon.com post about how she’s more famous for her failed performance attempt than her music. This is undoubtedly true, as Born To Die was only released last week. What really bugs me about the coverage — and this is especially true of this Salon piece — is that it’s lacking in details about the music itself.
As I’ve pointed out before, often disappointed at the state of music writing. Beyond whatever agenda an author may have (such as hating a particular genre/artist while continuing to churn out “reviews”), the texts can be chock full of all manner of linguistic gymnastics — and yet somehow managing to never actually get at what the music sounds like.
This is certainly the case with Stephen Deusner’s article. Eleven paragraphs and not a single word about the music. Instead, we get musings on lyrics, image, and celebrity. And then there’s this little gem, in response to a “National Anthem” fragment:
Is this a Swiftian satire of pop culture in the “Real Housewives” era, or is Del Rey actually embracing a Randian view of existential capitalism?
… You have got to be kidding me! The article expends an awful lot of words in the process of shedding almost no light on “Born To Die.” It is yet another example of the current sorry state of pop-culture journalism.
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I watched that SNL performance when I saw everyone talking about it and I don’t get it – it looks like a put-on to me. She sang just fine, so “nerves” wasn’t it. What I saw there looks like the blank stare of her album cover come to life on stage. Her awkward demeanor on stage is just a persona she takes on, like most of the new big acts have done today. It’s the only way to really make yourself stand out, sadly. She had a “disaster” on SNL, and then when she goes on tour, it’ll turn out she’s exactly like that at every show, and everyone will be talking about her bizarre, weirdly disaffected stage act, and it might turn more people on to checking her out. I can’t say much about her, musically, yet, just grabbed it off mog the other day and haven’t had a chance to really get into it. But every time something like this pops up, it amuses me how easy it is to scare mainstream music listeners. People get so freaked out by the most minimal of things.
I though the Salon article was spot on. It’s about far more than just the music.
Listeners want to know that they’re supporting a true artist, not a pretty white girl who has been molded into the next indie sensation – which is what LDR seems to be.
Additionally, I have listened to the album, and it’s nothing special. Her voice is okay, but when you consider the fact that she didn’t write any of the music on her own she should at least delivery something more interesting in her performance.
Just mediocre.