Tom and Andy's Music Lists Extravaganza

[#jeah]

LANA DEL REY: A TRIBUTE

 

10. Change (from Lust For Life, 2017)

 

 

An absolutely stunning song with a really cool backstory. I definitely don't think Tom will like this one very much as on the surface it seems like a bit of a snooze but after a couple listens this one grabbed me and has grown to become my favorite from Lust For Life (by a hair, all four of the last songs on the album are 10/10s imo). This was actually a last minute addition to the album - they were doing the finishing touches on LFL which had to be handed into the label the next morning. Lana told one of the producers the night before the record was due that she had another idea for a song, and thus Change was born. This just might be her strongest song lyrically...I actually thought this was a cover of some old 1960s soul song at first because the message is that good. Change is sung over a simple piano arrangement because they literally didn't have time to add anything else, lol. Lana's vocals here are absolutely gorgeous and haunting. I love so many lines, I think some of my favorites are: "Who am I to sympathize when no one gave a damn," "Every time that we run we don't know what it's from, now we finally slow down, we feel close to it," "...capable of holding you in my arms without letting you fall when I don't feel beautiful or stable, maybe it's enough to just be where we are," and "there's a change gonna come, I don't know where or when, but whenever it does we'll be here for it." This is a simple but sweet song that really speaks to me every time I play it.

 

 

9. Born To Die (from Born To Die, 2012)

 

 

I mean, duh. This song is absolutely epic and iconic and it would feel out of place anywhere other than in my top 10. Lyrically, this is my favorite from BTD for sure. So many good lines but that chorus sticks out. "Sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough, I don't know why" is a straight up guy punch. I love the beat to this song, it definitely sounds like the beat that inspired much of what came just a short time later on Pure Heroine, for example. The strings make this song feel extra cinematic and dramatic. Lana's almost deadpan delivery here is genius. Love how deep her voice gets here. Love the transition from the second chorus to the bridge of sorts then back into one more glorious chorus at the end. This is a genius, almost apocalyptic song that was an instant favorite for me from the BTD album and has stuck with me consistently over the years.

 

 

8. West Coast (from Ultraviolence, 2014)

 

 

Man....all of these songs are 11/10s lol West Coast is just so perfect. This is the only song (besides maybe Old Money) from Ultraviolence that I remember loving from the first time I heard it. It's dark and sensual, brooding yet rhythmic. I love how this song has two completely different vibes between the laid back but groovy verses and the psychedelic, almost Latin influenced dark chorus. That chorus is soooooo good. It's so good in fact that she repeats it like 20 times at the end lol but I don't even care. I adore the shrill synth that is added to the end. Really the production here is just wild and combines like 20 different genres into one. The deep guitars in the chorus stick out to me as well. There are some fun lyrics here although that's not the standout part to the song. That would be the production plus Lana's hypnotizing voice throughout. Yeah, this is just a stunning song and my definite favorite from Ultraviolence (though Brooklyn Baby is growing on me like crazy currently).

 

 

7. California (from Norman F*cking Rockwell!, 2019)

 

 

This song.....god this song is so heart-wrenching. The arrangement is pretty simple which works perfectly. There's no frills or over the top production choices so you can just focus on the lyrics + melody + Lana's heartbreaking delivery. "I shouldn't have done it but I read it in your letter, you said to a friend that you wish you were doing better" is the standout line from the first verse which paints a picture of a friend or lover of hers who is no longer in her life but who is clearly still on her mind. This person is clearly going through it and she is offering her emotional and physical support. The chorus is devastating and beautiful...I think my favorite part of the song is actually in the second verse where she sings "You're scared to win, scared to lose, I heard the war was over if you really choose, the one in and around you."  Really beautiful line that definitely hits home for me. Love how the ending is her just singing that chorus over again one last time. You can really hear the pain and longing in her voice in this one. It was my favorite off NFR for awhile and I still love it immensely (I just think the 3 NFR songs above it are slightly more ambitious, but I love them all almost equally).

 

 

6. F*ck it I love you (from Norman F*cking Rockwell!, 2019)

 

 

I've been struggling to figure out what I'm gonna say about this song or how I can even describe it.  I definitely think it's the weirdest song off of NFR, it's like a weird upbeat but dark surf rock song with some pop undertones thrown in? Idk that's my best explanation for it, lol. It's really weird and wasn't an immediate favorite of mine on NFR, for sure. But man has this song grown on me and now I think it's one of her coolest and also moodiest songs. Love the slow beginning and then the drums kick in at a really good time. I just like the way this song builds up, idk. Love when she sings "I moved to California but it's just a state of mind, it turns out everywhere you go you take yourself that's not a lie" all in one breath, lol. Love the way she sings the chorus in her almost annoyingly falsetto voice, it sounds so cool in contrast to the moodier, slower verses. Love the pre-chorus line "turn the radio on, dancing to a pop song..." and then the outro just might be my favorite thing she's ever done. The entire last 1:20 or so is so good. And this song feels so short! Definitely have been guilty of playing this 5+ times in a row, several times lol oops. Issa vibe!

 

 

5. God Knows I Tried (from Honeymoon, 2015)

 

 

This is similar to Change in that it doesn't necessarily....go anywhere, thus being one of the more overlooked tracks off of her most overlooked album (Honeymoon). But man, this one grabbed a hold of me the very first time I heard it and is easily one of my personal favorite songs from Lana. I mean, her vocal performance here is, in my opinion, her best. Her vibrato in the choruses is tantalizing. To me she sounds angelic in the verses especially. Lyrically, this is another top favorite of mine. "I've got nothing much to live for ever since I found my fame" is probably the strongest line, but there are so many winners. "I feel free when I see no one and nobody knows my name" sticks out to me, as well as the entire bridge, which is definitely biblically inspired. Idk, this song just feels like Lana at her most personal and vulnerable to me. That bridge is absolutely incredible and destroys me every time I hear it. Even though this doesn't have a musical build up to it, there's still an emotional climax to this imo that makes it so satisfying to listen to. It's also incredibly sad and vulnerable, which is what Lana does best. Ugh, this song is so underrated.

 

 

4. Mariners Apartment Complex (from Norman F*cking Rockwell!, 2019)

 

 

This is an instant classic. Mariners Apartment Complex is so exquisite and elegant, from Lana's vocals to the guitar to the melody to that sweeping chorus it's all just utterly gorgeous. I love how she whisper-talk-sings the verses, like "and who I am is with you on these beaches..." her voice just sounds so otherworldly here. I actually think musically this song is pretty straightforward for the most part. Simple chord progression, standard instruments in the guitar + piano + strings, elegant 70s inspired chorus, etc. But there's just some little element of magic that's added here that makes this song stand out as one of her absolute best imo. Maybe it's the uplifting nature of the chorus that has me all inspired by the end of it. "You lose your way, just take my hand...you're lost at sea then I'll command your boat to me again" is such a sweet sentiment, and mixed with some sadder lyrics like "They mistook my kindness for weakness" and "who I am is a big time believer that people can change, and you don't have to leave her" and my personal favorite "Even in the dark I can feel your resistance, you can see my heart burning in the distance..." Also find it interesting she sings "I'm your man" throughout. I saw a theory that she's referencing Leonard Cohen there which would be cool. Finally, I love the acid-rock psychedelic ending that gives the whole thing a new dimension at the very end. This is a flawless song!

 

 

3. Off To The Races (from Born To Die, 2012)

 

 

WHY doesn't Lana do more songs like this? This is such a unique song musically in Lana's discography. It's fun, weird, almost demented and crazy. A trip from start to finish. Love the way she sings a lot of these lines, like "I'm your little scarlet starlet kiss me on my open mouth" is so much fun! "He likes to watch me in the glass room..." part is so fun. I can't tell if she's just talking or singing those parts and I don't even care. Love the hip hop beat in the pre-chorus that we all know and love so well from her BTD songs by this point. I like that it's not overutilized in this song. Of course the chorus is legendary. The climax and the bridge are really epic too. She's basically like "this man is insane and a terrible human being but I am staying with him and I don't gaf what anyone thinks!!!!!!!!!11!!1"   This song definitely tells the story of a pretty troubled relationship, lol. Lana plays many personalities in this song and does so many things with her voice. The outro is gorgeous. Honestly this should have been the closing track on Born To Die because what a way to go out that would have been! Definitely an instant favorite of mine from when I first heard this in 2012 and Off To The Races has remained one of my top favorite Lana songs for years now.

 

 

2. Ride (from Born To Die: The Paradise Edition, 2012)

 

 

Full music video

 

Ride is a career defining song for Lana, partially because of its epic accompanying music video but really this is just one of her best songs, period. It's her most cinematic imo and improves upon all of her best ideas in Born To Die. She came off as this detached, broken woman with daddy issues on BTD and that's exactly the Lana we got on RIde, but elevated and more self-aware. This song is epic and sweeping from start to finish. Love her deep, raw and smokey voice in the verses, a couple of times her voice almost goes too deep and you wonder if she missed the note lol. Lots of really sad and also really well-written lyrics here, from "I've got a war in my mind" to "Dying young and playing hard, that's the way my father made his life an art" to "I'm tired of driving till I see stars in my eyes" this song paints a really sad picture! It kind of feels like Summertime Sadness part 2 with that gloom and doom, let's hit the road theme it's got going on lol. There's a bit more to it than that, she sings about her father a few times here and there are some lyrics about substance abuse issues that make RIde pretty dark. Love the epic build up. and the fantastic bridge. This is just a great song from start to finish and will always be one of Lana's best.

 

 

1. Venice Bitch (from Norman F*cking Rockwell!, 2019)

 

 

Ha! Bet you were like "yay only one more song to listen to then I'm done!!!" but you didn't realize my favorite Lana song is almost TEN minutes long!! I planned this hehehe. No but really...I couldn't put any song above Venice Bitch because it is THAT song, from start to finish really. This track is so good to me not only because it's so ambitious and epic, but because it perfectly captures a very specific vibe. Basically, from beginning to end this reminds me of those last days of summer that you are desperately trying to hold on to before everything outside dies and it gets cold and the days get shorter. It's like summer slowly melting away. It's also basically just 10 minutes of Lana vibing to herself, lol, which may sound so bad to some of you but I love the sound of that haha! For the first three minutes or so, this is a normal, vibey Lana song. It has sweet lyrics "You're in the yard, I light the fire, and as the summer fades away, nothing gold can stay...you write, I tour, we make it work, you're beautiful and I'm insane, we're American made." Beautifully sung, love the melody and chord progression on that. It's a nice little ditty and then after about three minutes it expands into an acid-rock, psychedelic, folktastic track that contains so many different parts to it. Another favorite part of mine is starting at roughly 6:04 in this video where Lana croons as the music gets louder and more percussive. Love all the noise that's thrown into the mix after that and then Lana coming back in to sing again at 6:55. Then more stuff happens for a few minutes (love when she sings "crimson and clover honey" over and over), and I absolutely love the outro of the song and the line "If you weren't mine I'd be jealous of your love" sung on repeat until the song ends at last. Really, this song is almost 10 minutes but I can always listen to it completely through and it feels the same length as any of her other songs. It's remarkable to have a song so long that feels so seamless and cohesive throughout. Venice Bitch is THAT bitch. This song is everything and definitely my favorite Lana song. It's epic, ambitious, sexy, and creative, and a good summation of Lana's career up to this point.

 

 

---

 

10. Change -

9. Born To Die -

8. West Coast -

7. California -

6. F*ck it I love you -

5. God Knows I Tried -

4. Mariners Apartment Complex -

3. Off To The Races -

2. Ride -

1. Venice Bitch -

Edited November 12, 2020 by #jeah

[~Tom~]

On 11/11/2020 at 9:30 PM, #jeah said:

-"Hydroponic" is anything grown in either sand or liquid (usually water) haha!

-Yes I do remember you loving YAB. though I am not here for the Great Gatsby shade (you do realize it is my favorite book).

-  Just looked up Blu's info and her name was NOT inspired by the Lana song. *sigh*

A useful bit of info for Jeopardy haha.

Your taste in favorite books is just as questionable as your taste in songs.  Jk but out of all the books I was made to read, I liked Great Gatsby the least.  
Shame.  
 

Commenting on the last set later, but I see Born to Die is too low!

Edited November 13, 2020 by ~Tom~

[#jeah]

13 minutes ago, ~Tom~ said:

Your taste in favorite books is just as questionable is just as questionable as your taste in songs.

Keep this up and I might not comment on your next list.  

Edited November 13, 2020 by #jeah

[~Tom~]

5 minutes ago, #jeah said:

Keep this up and I might not comment on your next list.  

 

(I forgot to put the jk after that line.  )

Edited November 13, 2020 by ~Tom~

[~Tom~]

10. Change - I think I like this more than you expected me to. I certainly enjoyed it lyrically and it has that haunting feel I like, especially in the beginning. However, I think it could've benefitted from a more intense arrangement in the second half. 

9. Born To Die - This was robbed of the top 2! Jk, kinda.   It brings back memories of Mer, other!Tom, Kevin and I's chat thread since I first posted it in there. I would've thought the "Keep making me laugh, let's go get high" part would've been your favorite part, hehe. I love the "Lost but now I am found, I can see but once I was blind, I was so confused as a little child, Tried to take what I could get" verse the most, but I agree that yours is a gut punch (I think that's what you meant to say?)

8. West Coast - This song, on the other hand, I've never been a big fan of.   It's definitely sensual but also repetitve an gets a bit dull, and I've never loved the higher parts of the arrangement at the end, despite liking psychedelic music normally. 

7. California - I remember you saying that this was your favorite song on NFR when it first came out, which made me think it was your #1. I like the buildup, but the delivery and lyrics leave me a bit cold for some reason. Maybe I would have to listen to it more for it to grow on me.

6. F*ck it I love you - Another song about California! but I knew that was a theme on this album, ha. I liked this better than the aforementioned song and appreciated the weird vibe and her falsetto notes. Just wouldn't revisit it too often. And I play my favorite songs way more than 5 times in a row, if I'm obsessed. Sometimes for hours, oops. 

 

I will have to comment on the other 5 tomorrow, it's already getting kind of late here. 

[~Tom~]

5. God Knows I Tried - I liked the dark feel of this from the get-go. Wow I loved the second half! The arrangement might not build up, but her vocals do. The "God knows I tried" chorus is dramatic, and in that bridge she almost sounds operatic. And then that second chorus of God knows I tried is even better! Might add this one to my Spotify. 

4. Mariners Apartment Complex - If Calfornia wasn't your #1, I thought this was going to be, lol. I like this one somewhat. NFR isn't my favorite album of hers, but this is sweet and sensual, especially "You lose your way, just take my hand you're lost at sea then I'll command your boat to me again" part that you also mentioned.  

3. Off To The Races - Well I do like this story-wise, but I've never been crazy about the trippy vibe here. I agree that the outro is beautiful though.  

2. Ride - This should be #1! But I understand you not wanting a predictable #1 like me with S&G.  This is definitely her most epic song and I love that bridge so much: "I'm tired of feeling like I'm freaking crazy
I'm tired of driving 'till I see stars in my eyes
I look up to hear myself saying, baby
Too much I strive, I just ride". Ugh, so good. 

1. Venice Bitch - I do like this one well enough, but I haven't listened to it very much because of the length. Let's do it again! Love those brooding first three minutes, don't love the trippy psychedeic instrumental for the two minutes after that as much, but like the orchestration afterward. That "over and over honey" chorus is hypnotic too. I definitely like it overall, great choice for #1 as it kind of sums up all her styles in one song. 

[~Tom~]

Also, thinking of doing Carissa's Wierd next because they'd be a great follow-up to Lana of all artists and I'm curious what you'll think of them. But there's also Emmylou...

[~Tom~]

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