Defending Lana Del Rey

Somewhere in the summer of 2011, I was introduced to a song called "Video Games" by one Lana Del Rey.  I had heard the song mentioned once or twice, but besides that, I had absolutely no context as to who she was and what this song was about.  At that moment, the hype was still small enough that I could download the song and listen to it without having the opinion of another music fan forced into my face first.  Perhaps this was the best possible way to be introduced to LDR.


I listened to "Video Games" for the first time and I remember thinking, "was that good?"  It seemed good.  It also seemed so blatant and obvious that I swore it had to have been made before.  But in trying to pinpoint when and where that had happened, I realized I couldn't.  Perhaps "Video Games" really was a genuinely good retro-tinged ballad with a 21st century slant.

I listened to the song more.  And more.  By the end of 2011, I had decided:  This was one of my favorite songs of the year.  I didn't just like "Video Games," I loved it.  I was filled with hope for Lana Del Rey.

Now, by this time, the internet indie-music community had gone ballistic on the topic of LDR.  Her lips were fake.  Her name was fake.  Her entire persona was fake.  She was overhyped, overrated, over-everything.  Some of the biggest music websites on the web couldn't go longer than 10 minutes without posting something LDR related. "Lana is playing her first performance tonight!" "Lana just ate a ham sandwich!" "Lana looks at a camera over there!"

The real question is:  Who is more guilty of over-hyping Lana Del Rey?  Herself, her major label handlers or everyone else?  Really, I think the blame lies more in the latter two than it does with Lana herself.  The perpetual motion of the internet community and the record industry tends to devour new artists just as quickly as it can create them. 

Does her face look a bit synthetic?  Sure.  But if we disqualified music based on the critique of appearances, we'd be down to three recording artists in the entire world.  Is her persona and name molded and shaped by a major label marketing board?  Probably.  Again, it's not like there isn't a precedent for this.  They can shape Lana Del Rey into being a Russian Cosmonaut who crash landed from the future (that also sings well) and it wouldn't change the fact that I still find her songs to be impressive.

And, really, that's what it comes down to.  LDR's songs, thus far, have been impressive.  "Video Games" is a great song.  "Off to the Races," "Blue Jeans," "Diet Mtn. Dew" and my current favorite song of her's, "Born to Die" are all great songs.  In my opinion, as far as her recorded output goes, she has yet to have a misstep.

So, then, let's briefly touch upon her Saturday Night Live performance.  The oh-so-ridiculed SNL performance in which she seemed completely out of tune and out of her league.  Well, yeah, she was.  SNL has a long history of making performing bands sound like shit, so she had that going against her in the first place.  Second, and most talked about, was the fact that she was booked to perform on this show as her first televised performance...before her actual album even came out.

We internet indie folks take for granted that we've been living in a world where Lana Del Rey has been at the top of every blog for the past half year.  Compare that to the "real" world where most of the public had no idea who the hell Arcade Fire was when they won a Grammy, despite the fact that the internet had been going nuts for them for years previous to that.

So, you've got this performer who the public not only doesn't know, but they can't even get to know because she doesn't have an album out yet.  She's got all kinds of nervousness, I'm sure, and her first televised gig is on a show where even seasoned veterans complain about the sound issues.  How could this not have ended well?

Honestly, I want Lana Del Rey to succeed.  I'm anticipating her debut at the end of the month and I'm truly hoping that its as good as the songs I've heard so far.  Because of this SNL debacle, and because of the critical eye of the world, she really is going to have a tough time ahead of her. Wouldn't it be so nice if she actually transcended all of this?  It'd be a fairy tale ending to have her come back on SNL 5 years down the road and perform again, this time after selling millions of albums and claiming a place amongst the ranks of the pop elite.

A pipedream?  Perhaps.  But if you asked me last summer if the world would care this much about an artist who only has a few songs to their name, I wouldn't have believed that either.