Unreleased Lana Del Rey Songs

Hey,

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ll say it again. I love Lana del Rey. I admire her voice, her persona, her confidence, and her lyrics. She fits the femme fatale mold that society squeezes her into, but jumps out of it just as quickly as she went in. She is equal parts sweet and tough and her songs show a wide of range of emotion. In my mind, she is one of the best female acts out there, perfectly straddling the line between indie and mainstream, a difficult feat, no doubt.

Bottom line: I love her. J I enjoy her released stuff, but there are definitely some hidden gems in her unreleased material, most of which is available on YouTube. Tonight, I present to you my top 5 favorite unreleased Lana Del Rey songs.

5. "You Can Be The Boss"- This song is different from her released stuff, which is why I felt it should be included. The instrumental section is nothing compared to her vocals, which travels from high and girlish to low and smoky. The lyrics detail some girl telling some guy he can "be the boss," whatever that means. I think, at its core, it's about a good girl dating a bad boy. Overdone theme, but at least it's well-written. :)

4. "Every Man Gets His Wish"- Opening with a whistle section, giving way to her immortalized love lyrics, and sultry vocals. Lana's music truly does feel like a throwback to music from decades ago.  From some bold open references "We're gonna party like it's 1949"  to just her bouncing vocals that switch as often as she wants, it sounds like something that could have been released in the 1950's instead of the 2000's.

3. "Kinda Outta Luck" This time, we have a bad girl who turns a good boy bad, she tries to be good, but it doesn't work and she leaves him or kills him; I'm not quite sure which one. Point being, she decides to run away and relies on the "kindness of strangers," an ambiguous phrase that she deliberately tosses in there. Lana is an expert at storytelling lyrics without feeling like she's telling a story. Her lyrics are creative while spinning a tale. Excellent song.

2. "Hollywood's Dead"-  After a failed romance, Lana feels that everything she once held dear, old Hollywood icons, has died as well. She is alone and without direction. I love how the lyrics are depressing as heck but the instrumentation, though slow, is still swelling and grand, as opposed to reclusive and demure. The contrast is really powerful. As well, that sort of muffled thing she does about two minutes in proves that she could have been a famous singer back in the 1950's.

1. "Serial Killer" - I like how the song it begins with just her voice and some twinkling instrumentation but the percussion does not really begin until about 20-30 seconds in. The lyrics compare her to a serial killer of love, warning a guy not to fall for her. Love it.

I do want to make a quick note here. You may have noticed all of her songs I highlighted on here are about love and I've complained in the past about Taylor Swift writing all her songs about love. I am not a hypocrite, I swear. The reason I like Lana is because, first and foremost, she has a wide vocal range; Taylor just sounds pretty much the same unless they add dubstep in the background. Lana acknowledges that she cannot fit into one genre. She is baroque pop, soft pop, rock pop, and ballad pop. Taylor tries to be country but still be pop at the same time. Seriously, girl, adding a banjo does not make a song country. Evidence here. Anyways, Lana writes her songs with the help of one other dude; Taylor used to write her own stuff, but now has an entire team of people helping her who mostly just choose which words she should repeat.

Honestly, I don't totally care that Taylor writes all her songs about love;I mean, I get that. I'm young too, you know? I understand how exciting love is. But, Taylor's songs just show a lack of emotional maturity. When she was 16, it was kind of cute, like, "Awww, he broke her heart." Now, she's just mean about breakups. What the heck happened at the Grammy's? Seriously, T-Swift, that was a super lame British accent. Believe me, I'm not a Directioner, but I do admire Harry Styles, her ex, for not saying a single bad thing about her. She, on the other hand, is parodying him in music videos and openly mocking him. Maturity...she does not have it.
I saw this really good thing on Pinterest that showed that Taylor and Adele are the exact same age, but one still acts like she's in high school. It's really true. A high schooler could get away with what she says in her songs, but a twenty year old should not be writing musical taunts, i.e., "We are never, ever, ever, getting back together." Not very mature, especially compared to the majority of Adele's song which are lyrical masterpieces (and Lana's, as well).

So, that, readers, is why I like Lana even though some might argue she is somewhat similar to Taylor.

Thanks for reading!

Until next week,
Bella

The Good, The Amazing, and the Superamazing Playlist

Hey,

It’s been a while since I’ve done a “What is Bella Listening To,” so tonight, I present my new playlist.

Here we goooo….

Relapse (Cosmonaut Grechko Remix) by Jhameel and Blue Satellite- I’ve highlighted Jhameel before, but this track is totally different from his normal music. It’s a remix of one of his original songs “Relapse” and the remix brings something new to an already great song. It makes the list because of the strong piano lines intermixed throughout the track, the perfect distortion, and the lyrics are sheer poetry. Put all these elements together, you have an amazing song. Worth checking out, even if you’re not into electro/remixes (as well, you might have heard this song if you’ve been to Hollister recently).

Act Like You Know by That Work- I love the electro meets alternative feeling of the song. Like “Relapse,” it’s slightly different from what I highlight on my blog, but sometimes, it’s a good thing to listen to all sorts of music. Anyways, I love this song because that chorus is constantly stuck in my head, the singer’s voice is so unique, excited yet soothing, and the lyrics are just as stunning as the music, for example “Ain’t got no eyes for no other…/you make it hard to get over/this feeling’s just too much…/I’m catching a fever.” Lovesick, yet with perfect syntax. Love it.

Flexxin’ By Dutch Uncles- String sections can truly enhance a song, as demonstrated in this track. This one really grew on me. Additionally, I like the layered vocals, catchy chorus, and the lead singer’s croon—so sick. J

Empty Party Rooms by Minus The Bear- One of my favorite bands! They are coming to my town in March and I really hope to go see them. The tickets are super affordable and I’ve listened to them for several years now. They are known for their flawless harmonies, steady beats, and ridiculously memorable lyrics. This song is no exception. It builds, crescendos, decrescendos, and repeats with perfect accuracy. Jake’s vocals blow me away each time, too. J

Pawn Shop Blues by Lana Del Rey- Oh, Lana. I realize I’ve reviewed like a million of her songs, but she has a ton of unreleased material on Youtube, a freaking goldmine for music lovers like me and considering the song has two million views, I suppose I’m not the only one who loves her unreleased material. The main difference between her unreleased music and her released music is her unreleased is relatively undoctored. “Pawn Shop Blues” is just plain and simple elegance flowing from her lips with a barebones arrangement of strings and guitars. The lyrics carry the song and you can feel her emotion, sympathize with her plight: selling things that an ex gave her in order to bury the memories. We’ve all had those low points—metaphorical or not—and Lana—or Lizzie, if you want to be specific—has a certain knack for connecting on several levels with her listeners, not just spewing hatred or sadness.

 I like to contrast her with Taylor Swift. Both women write music (though Lana usually only requires one other person to help fine tune her lyrics, not write them for her, whereas Taylor usually uses two or more people) about their lives—autobiographical songs hold a special place in our hearts, don’t they?—but Lana varies her subjects, discussing love, but heartache, depression, memories, and even fantasies. Taylor, on the other hand, writes about love, breakups, and love, usually repeating and recycling old subjects and material, pawning it off as a new single. (Not to mention, she’s dated like half of Hollywood now, right? I love that Lana is so secretive about her private life; it makes me respect her even more). Point being, just because someone wants to write about their lives in their music doesn’t mean it has to be fluffy with repetitive lines and identical songs. That is why I love Lana and why “Pawn Shop Blues” beats “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” two break-up/never reconciling songs but one clearly outshines the other. Just my musings for the night. Overall, “Pawn Shop Blues” is one of my favorite songs of Lana’s and I wish she would release it so I can get it on my iPod. Such beauty. J

Well, that’s it for this week. Next week, I’ll get to part Three of the Twilight soundtrack reviews; I’m trying to mix it up here and there.

Until then,

Bella

5 Covers That Put the Original Artists To Shame

Hey,

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm all for honesty. So, I have to be blunt here. It maybe a new year, but the music industry is still the big, broken machine it was 5 days ago. Sorry, but it's the truth.
Still, I consider myself an optimist, so even though the mainstream stuff is complete garbage and indie acts are still looked down upon and labeled, I believe there is a plethora of beautiful, amazing music waiting to be discovered and appreciated. The stuff on the radio is terrible, but with a little effort, it could be turned into something stunning. Therefore, tonight, I present 5 covers of terrible mainstream music made incredible.

5. "Off to The Races" (Originally by Lana Del Rey) by Drew Tabor- I discovered Drew a little over a year ago and she is one of my favorite female YouTube singers. Her vocals perfectly suit Lana's style, which I love anyways, with her deep, slightly gravely, yet powerful voice. Every cover Drew does makes me appreciate her talent even more. This cover, in particular, is so barebones, allowing her talent to really shine through, that it gives me goosebumps. Check out all her videos here

4. "Cola" (Originally by Lana Del Rey) by Ally Rhodes- I realize that this is the second Lana Del Rey song and the title of the post is "5 Covers That Put The Original Artists To Shame" and I love Lana, but both Ally and Drew bring something to Lana's songs. Where Drew's version is raw and chilling, Ally's stab at Lana is more polished but still absolutely beautiful! Both covers are incredible and it's impossible to choose a better singer of the two, so I pick both. :)

3. "I Knew You Were Trouble" (Originally by Taylor Swift) by Walk Off the Earth ft. KRNFX- Where Taylor's original version reeks of too many writers, a terrible stab at Dubstep (Only Skrillex can really get away with all the wub-wubbing) and comes across as another sloppy pop composition, WOTF's rendition is unique, darker, and the a capella gives the depth that the song was missing. I love Sarah's vocals, which blend nicely with the four other guys'. Crazy good.

2. "99 Problems" (Originally by Jay-Z) by Tonic Sol-Fa- I discovered these super talented guys after my mom saw an ad for their concert and we decided, on a whim, to go. Best. Decision. Ever. Seriously. They made a huge fan out of me. :) TSF is an acapella group-- and I've only mentioned a million times how much I love a capella in general--so it's really no surprise why this song makes the list. Jay-Z's versions oozes with his ridiculous bravado and features the most annoying background music I've heard, but TSF challenges that, giving the song a perfect beat, layered vocals, and making it completely loveable and listenable, unlike the original. You have to check these guys out. Really.

1. "One More Night" (Originally by Maroon 5) by Chester See ft. Alex G- Chester has one the most incredible voices and coupled with Alex's gentle vocals, Chester really shines here. Maroon 5's song has really great lyrics, but buried underneath too much synth, repetitious background noise, and Adam's obviously edited vocals, it's hard to tell. But, with Chester and Alex's expressive voices, and gentle guitar and piano, the true passion of the lyrics really comes out. Once again, Chester has won me over and Alex has made me fall in love with her vocals. Love!

Until next week,
Bella