Inspiration For Life, Souls and Songs

A new singer-songstress has been getting alot of hype recently. The music blogs are abuzzing about Lana Del Rey. I had heard her songs before, but I never took the chance to fully listen until now. Shes got this hipster chic to her, vintage style, wonderful voice and shes gorgeous.

But listening to Video Games and Born to Die, the two songs that are catapulting her to success, something seems wrong. Yes, the songs are good - they’re melancholic, nostalgic in a sense and they compliment her silky, smooth voice. But there was something missing. I felt the same thing when I first started listening to Foster The People. Catchy, hipster-chic, its really not bad music. Yet, it had no feeling.

Simply put, I think Lana Del Rey’s music is quite mainstream produced. It seems as if record producers are beginning to cleverly market their mainstream music to sound indie.

That being said, I must admit that she really is good. Her voice is great. The music is fantastic. Her production quality is something that would make Kanye jealous, and I bet he’s going to try and get her vocal talents on his next album. Her production also sounds a bit like The Weeknd’s music. Morbid and a bit depressing, but The Weeknd definitely does it better and Del Rey’s music really sounds more mainstream comparatively. 

There seems to be articles like this one from the Globe and Mail or this one from The Telegraph where they talk about some of the criticisms that many people on the blogosphere seem to have of Lana Del Rey. I agree with some of them, but many go too far. They claim that she is totally manufactured, face reconstructed, and cleverly produced by label execs. I do believe there is some truth and integrity to Del Rey as a musician however, but she seems marketed and a bit fake.

My biggest concern with Lana Del Rey (and with Foster the People) is that, yes they sound great, but they have no feeling to it. There’s no dynamic to the songs. There’s no emotion. Listen to Bon Iver, you can feel the emptiness and loneliness in his voice. Listen to Adele, despite her being mainstream, you can feel her on Someone Like You. But when I listen to Del Rey, its just bland. 

Any music can be good. But to be a great artist, you need to be able to convey that emotion and make your song connect with the listener’s heart and soul, not just the ear. Whether you’re mainstream or indie, emotion is what makes a good song great.

Also, although I’m not a big fan of Video Games or Born To Die, there are a few really good songs that Del Rey has.