Cure for Mondays

, by Frances Beldia

poetry

Insomnia--and Some Random Thoughts

6 Comments

, by Frances Beldia

awkward

Lana Del Rey

Album release on January 30

If you like music that lets you breathe easy, then I think you’ll like Lana Del Rey’s seemingly nostalgic sound.

Half of the world’s population recently decided to hate Lana Del Rey. It seems like her performance on Saturday Night Live made a lot of people unhappy; and making people unhappy in this time and age means making it to the top half list of the world’s most popular human beings. Okay, maybe it wasn’t half of the world’s population, but things get viral, and before you know it, you have become known the world over because some people began liking the idea of not liking you very much. A caviling public abhor a lot of things in this world and one of the recent objects of disgust on the internet was Lana Del Rey’s so-called contemptible live performance.

Being hated can be a good thing if you’re a thriving artist because all these people who say they don’t like you will provide the nitty-gritty details of why you’re such a bad singer or actor or dancer or director or writer or chef or laundry woman or whatever. Then, before one has made a real opinion about you, this person had already been influenced by a global opinion and that won’t change until something bigger that’s worth a bigger hate comes along. The word is “viral,” remember?

“Blue Jeans” fired up

Lana Del Rey’s performance in SNL was truthfully the farthest thing from being visually likable. She’s within the definition of awkward although it’s difficult to say why. She looked like a Barbie doll in a beautiful tight dress with her arm doing a half wave that she’d slide down to her curvy hip when she wasn’t sure anymore what to do with it. The performance made her appear like she’s doing a half-baked impersonation of Amy Winehouse, perhaps serving the crowd with a huge plate of boredom. But the gawky arm was easy to forgive because she owns an amazing voice. If ‘awkward’ is what it’s called, then I like it. Her voice is a treat if you’ve ears that have been battered by shrieking voices that wannabes have been using a lot to showcase their talent in competitions. I’ve had my fill of that.

Lana Del Ray is an American singer/songwriter whose debut album “Born To Die” will be out on January 30. If you like music that lets you breathe easy, then I think you’ll like Lana Del Rey’s seemingly nostalgic sound. She considers herself a Sinatra gangsta (but also claims Britney Spears had an influence on her as an artist) and offers an all new genre called ‘sadcore’ and ‘Hollywood pop’.

My favorite Lana Del Rey song is “Disco” from her EP released way back in 2007. But don’t be fooled by the title’s upbeat suggestion. The song is as depressing as a funeral march and will leave you feeling truly disconnected. I love it.