Oh, Indie World - The Lana Del Rey Controversy
A lot of people have been talking about Lana del Ray and whether or not she is an authentic musician or a product designed to enthrall and a fake that has crossed indie fans. Normally I don’t pursue these kinds of things. You can enjoy music regardless of the people behind it. One of my favorite bands, Tool, once said in an interview that you don’t need to know where the artist sleeps, who he sleeps with, what he eats to enjoy his music. That’s something I heartily agree with.
Yet there’s a lot of buzz around about this Lana Del Rey. Who is she? Lana Del Rey made her debut under her real name of Lizzie Grant: a bleached blonde, post-americana Nancy Sinatra-esque indie singer with a raspy voice.
Yet things didn’t kick off for her until she used her made-up name that she’s much more famous for. Lizzie has admitted that “Lana del Rey” is the creation of the team behind her music identity, and is a combination of the movie star Lana Turner and the Ford Del Rey. When these marketing powers got a hold of her they morphed Lizzie into Lana, a sexy fusion of a bombshell Jessica Rabbit and singer.
Lana has a seductive voice, raspy, naughty, husky - the kind of voice you’d expect her to have after smoking grade-b cigarettes and marijuana for years and years, while hanging out with her tattooed, pierced boyfriend (at least that’s what her type seems to be judging from her videos). There’s no doubt she’s beautiful, the kind of girl men lust for. She’s a mistress, a movie-star trophy – she looks the part of the bad girl. Her sad, romantic lyrics match her look and feel perfectly. Del Rey's hit "Video Games" is a cute sadcore indie-pop song with a moody vibe, and her voice is smooth and has a pleasant, sultry quality. She was something that was very easy to like. And why not?
Yet there was something fishy about it all.
The shocker is that many believed her to be a fake. Many have suggested that her career is the result of a clever marketing ploy by her businessman father, who planted the persona and image of a Lana Del Ray in the indie music scene (that prides itself on authenticity and lack of corporate control) with enrapturing videos and a seemingly seductive, authentic talent. But there was something suspicious with the distinct high quality of the recordings, the elaborate videos and the overall feeling. It felt too indie, “too authentic”. Too perfect.
These criticisms were anchored in reality. It’s hard to believe Lizzie – excuse me, Lana – is the kind of girl the lyrics and songs portrayed. She shrouds her life in this aroma of stale alcohol and cigarette smoke typical to has-been movie stars and trailer park teenagers (see the linked video at the bottom of this blog to hear her talk about her alcohol problem). Yet given that her father is a multimillionaire businessman (and likely the driving force behind “Lana Del Rey” the franchise) it seems very unlikely she ever lived in a trailer park.
Is the controversy overshadowing her talent? The world can be a harsh judge, and many indie websites, blogs and communities were quick to burn Lana Del Rey at a stake for being a phony. They felt cheated by something that had been constructed to feel indie, to feel retro and romantic. In short, the indie community was revolted to have been fooled so easily. Some, on the other hand, have defended her claiming she has genuine talent and that people should see beyond the controversy and enjoy her music for her talent alone.
I’d be inclined to agree with that last part. She does have pleasant, moody music, but it’s easy to tell the extent of her talent by watching live performances of her. She has a good voice – not great, not bad – and her stage presence is, once again, good. Not extraordinary, and not mediocre. She’s a bit awkward in events, with odd gestures and hip rubs she could easily avoid by employing a mic stand to give her hands something to do.
Is the music industry manipulating what the public should consider talent? In the end, it’s up to every listener to judge her worthy or not. To those defending her talent, I’d say her talent is not extraordinary. Maybe some people advocate her music simply because they like it and defending her makes them feel like they’re defending their own tastes. Or maybe instead of admitting to feeling cheated they’d rather defend their naïve indulgence. To those criticizing Lana, let me remind you that many artists, including those of golden days, used hype and fabrication to sell their image. Elvis and Bob Dylan were such "fabricated" artists, and even Dean Martin drank apple juice during concerts while leading his audiences to believe it was alcohol. The big question is: do you keep listening to music you like even if you find out it was designed to be liked? Do you give corporations and pretenders the finger for trying to shape our ideas of talent, or do you continue to listen to her because it's entertaining, or because you like it? What's more shallow: listening to fabricated music that lacks substance, or hating an artist and refusing to listen to their music simply because their fame was the result of corporate machinations?
And a little bit about my stance on Lana Del Rey : I knew her picture-perfect looks and retro videos were suspicious. I wasn't surprised to hear about her fooling the indie scene. I'm ashamed to admit one thing, though: I like the way her music sounds.
Is the music industry manipulating what the public should consider talent? In the end, it’s up to every listener to judge her worthy or not. To those defending her talent, I’d say her talent is not extraordinary. Maybe some people advocate her music simply because they like it and defending her makes them feel like they’re defending their own tastes. Or maybe instead of admitting to feeling cheated they’d rather defend their naïve indulgence. To those criticizing Lana, let me remind you that many artists, including those of golden days, used hype and fabrication to sell their image. Elvis and Bob Dylan were such "fabricated" artists, and even Dean Martin drank apple juice during concerts while leading his audiences to believe it was alcohol. The big question is: do you keep listening to music you like even if you find out it was designed to be liked? Do you give corporations and pretenders the finger for trying to shape our ideas of talent, or do you continue to listen to her because it's entertaining, or because you like it? What's more shallow: listening to fabricated music that lacks substance, or hating an artist and refusing to listen to their music simply because their fame was the result of corporate machinations?
And a little bit about my stance on Lana Del Rey : I knew her picture-perfect looks and retro videos were suspicious. I wasn't surprised to hear about her fooling the indie scene. I'm ashamed to admit one thing, though: I like the way her music sounds.
Read more
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/17/singer-lana-del-rey-worst_n_1211208.html
http://www.urban.ro/muzica/cum-a-pacalit-lana-del-rey-industria-muzicala/
http://www.urban.ro/muzica/cum-a-pacalit-lana-del-rey-industria-muzicala/
You can say these things about any other female performer these days. They all use sexuality in their videos to promote music they don't write themselves. How many singers are real artists? Most of them simply sing the music other people compose for them and many can't play one single instrument.
ReplyDeleteTake Rihanna, for instance. When she first made her appearance, she was a sweet 17 year old, singing music suitable for parties. As she grew older, her videos have become more and more explicit, with a high dose of sexual content. The singles from her last two albums, Rated R and Loud are mostly about sex, as if when a girl grows up, this is the only thing on her mind. I've seen her with her legs spread in videos so many times and in You Da One I've seen her butt. It makes me wonder: what's next, a Playboy appearance? Same for Beyonce, Shakira and many others- a lot of sexuality, in the lyrics or in the videos.
Anyway, my main point was: how many artists these days truly are real ones and how many are products of marketing, mere performers? I think people shouldn't care so much about Lana being fake or not, just because her music is supposed to be indie.
Also, as soon as Lizzie became Lana, there was something sexual about her. The difference is that it's far more subtle than in Rihanna's case. It's luring and yet romantic. It's nothing in the style of a maneater, it's seductive and sensual. And subtle ( I felt like emphasizing that).
If they like her music, they should do what they to with Rihanna's: listen to it and stop thinking of such convoluted theories. It's just music after all, no one's forcing them to listen to it.