Isn't this just a pure mini-masterpiece of musical cinematography? So enthralling and powerful. Impossible not to feel something. An era is ending and another will begin soon. This is such a beautiful gift to offer to her loyal, devoted and faithful fans before she disappears for a short moment and returns with her upcoming new album, the very intriguin "Ultraviolence".
Yes, yes, and YES! I've watched it three times now. I love how she equates Biblical characters with iconic pop cultural figures -- so Lana. And no, the fact that God is represented by a character named John has obviously not been lost on me. Lol! The song selection was perfect as it fit perfectly into the story arch. And the visuals, so lush, and surreal. The musical score between songs was sublime -- gonna be looking for a compilation of it asap. I'm truly blown away by it in every way.
I feel like this is more a bridge between the BTD/P era and Ultraviolence. I know she said Tropico is the capper of the era, but I feel it will end up being a more natural progression into the next era. After all, Tropico is pretty damn violent in places. As for Ultraviolence, I LOVE the title. And knowing how referential she is to pop culture, I PRAY the title is a reference to Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. I would love to see her take on Kubrick's work, how she would splinter and decipher it into her own unique message. This is such a great time to be a Lana fan!
I absolutely agree with everything you said, God. Uh... I mean John ;-) Should I get down on my knees and worship you now? Oh wait... I think we both might like that.... Lol!
This film is seriously addictive and so very rich in references. The metaphores are nothing short of genius and simply brilliant. Lana might not be as mainstream and as popular as Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga ( aka Madonna wannabe) but unlike these 2 and their peers, she knows how to create a truly deep, rich and complexed universe while staying completely true to herself. I wish "Tropico" could be played in movie theaters before some big films.
The pole dancing scene with the money falling all over her body as she tumbles to the floor... *shivers* And when all the violence begins... she's like feigning innocence, almost like an angel who stopped caring for the sins of humans. So intense!
You don't have to worship me. Down on your knees is good, though. ;)
Seriously though, it really is a complex narrative she's telling, in a metaphorical sense, at least. The literal plot is fairly simple -- the complexity is in the details. (God really is in the details. Lol.)
Gaga should be forced to sit and watch Tropico on repeat for about two weeks. Maybe she'd finally realize what *artpop* truly is. As for Miley -- dude, I can't even. Just... *sigh*. Bleh.
While I agree a wrecking ball would end it all nicely for all involved, including us poor folks in the audience, I'd prefer someone show them the way. But painfully, very painfully. lol
Beautiful piece of art. The songs are so beautifully selected for this film, and the themes complement eachother so well. The songs were out for quite a while but it looks as if Lana already had this film in mind when writing those songs. And Lana is such a stunning woman! I didn't know this was out already, so I'm very happy you posted it in your blog!
It's impressive how they all fit together thematically, and the order they're in tells a seamless story. Glad you like it too, though I'm not surprised -- the Lana fandom in general is going apeshit over it! lol
Lol! I'm gonna recommend it to my sister, I recently found out that she is also a big Lana fan ( I always thought it wouldn't be her taste in music, and she was thinking the same about me, haha) and a cousin of my husband will go crazy over it aswell, since he also loves Lana! And here I was thinking from the people around me only me and my husband were fans XD
That's so cool! I wish I had a similar story :( At my birthday party last month I asked several of the guests what they thought of Lana. Most of them didn't know about her, which really surprised me. And two of my friends, when I asked what they thought of her, brought up her SNL performance and basically said after seeing that they lost interest in her. It was really aggravating. So of course I told them to look into more of her work, and watch some live performances on YouTube because she's gotten so much better since SNL. In general I recommend Paradise over Born To Die to newbies because it seems to be a little more popular in general. (It was actually nominated for a Pop Album Grammy here in the US last week -- congrats, Lana! :D )
Lana is largely underrated and underestimated by way too many people and that seriously pisses me off. People need to admit and recognize that she's a force to be reckoned with. She brought something totally new and very enthralling to the music industry.
Absolutely. From what I hear she's generally more popular and successful on the charts in Europe compared to the US, but her three Grammy nominations and the fact that Summertime Sadness went top 10 (although it was remix -- yuck), seem to say she's becoming more and more popular here. Young and Beautiful is also pegged as a strong contender for the Academy Award for song of the year. Fingers crossed! Imo she's exactly what pop needs right now. Smart, referential, thoughtful and poetic lyrics. And she has a natural eye for strong, even iconic, imagery.
I didn't know she got nominated, that's great. I've looked up some live performances and I'm really impressed with her talent. She's been on a Dutch tv show aswell performing 'Ride' live, and she was amazing. The song was completely different in how she was singing it, and I can always appreciate that. I have to ask, what is her SNL performance?
She's immensely talented. And I love that during her concerts she actually goes down into the audience and touches people's hands and stuff. She's a cool chick. SNL is short for Saturday Night Live, a weekly sketch comedy show that also features a musical guest each week. She was to go on shortly before the release of BTD. Her performance was meant to be her "coming out", her big introduction to the world. She was a tad stiff (probably understandably nervous), and it got blown way out of proportion. In any case she's only gotten better. She actually got three Grammy nominations, so proud of her!
She received a lot of bashing because of her SNL performance but she was extremely nervous that night. Daniel Radcliffe himself (aka Harry Potter), who the host of honer that evening, said that people needed to back off and give her a break because she did as best as she could under the circumstances.
Listen to this beautiful acoustic version of "Born To Die": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGDfp-1alKA
What made it even worse was that it was to be her "introduction" to the mainstream, her coming out, so to speak. Basically she got off on the wrong foot, and it was blown out of proportion. She's really had to work hard to overcome the stigma she got from it in the US. But it's working. More and more people are "discovering" her here. And Lord knows I'm doing my fair share to spread the Gospel of Queen Lana! ;)
Love that performance of BTD, thanks for sharing, T! :D God she's amazing. That voice. *swoon*
Thanks for explaining what it is, I'll look it up. Though I can't imagine it being that bad. Too bad alot of people always have such a strong negative reaction, when someone famous or talented (or both) have a performance that's lacking a bit. As if those people think 'See, she can fail too, no we can hate on her with a reason'. For some it's easy to forget artists are also just people. @ Tristan: That is indeed a beautiful version!
Yep! People are so quick to judge. This was a big event for her, it's understandable she would be nervous. But nobody stopped to think about that. But she's making up for lost ground lately.
Isn't this just a pure mini-masterpiece of musical cinematography?
ReplyDeleteSo enthralling and powerful. Impossible not to feel something. An era is ending and another will begin soon. This is such a beautiful gift to offer to her loyal, devoted and faithful fans before she disappears for a short moment and returns with her upcoming new album, the very intriguin "Ultraviolence".
Yes, yes, and YES! I've watched it three times now. I love how she equates Biblical characters with iconic pop cultural figures -- so Lana. And no, the fact that God is represented by a character named John has obviously not been lost on me. Lol! The song selection was perfect as it fit perfectly into the story arch. And the visuals, so lush, and surreal. The musical score between songs was sublime -- gonna be looking for a compilation of it asap. I'm truly blown away by it in every way.
DeleteI feel like this is more a bridge between the BTD/P era and Ultraviolence. I know she said Tropico is the capper of the era, but I feel it will end up being a more natural progression into the next era. After all, Tropico is pretty damn violent in places. As for Ultraviolence, I LOVE the title. And knowing how referential she is to pop culture, I PRAY the title is a reference to Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. I would love to see her take on Kubrick's work, how she would splinter and decipher it into her own unique message. This is such a great time to be a Lana fan!
I absolutely agree with everything you said, God. Uh... I mean John ;-)
ReplyDeleteShould I get down on my knees and worship you now? Oh wait... I think we both might like that.... Lol!
This film is seriously addictive and so very rich in references. The metaphores are nothing short of genius and simply brilliant. Lana might not be as mainstream and as popular as Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga ( aka Madonna wannabe) but unlike these 2 and their peers, she knows how to create a truly deep, rich and complexed universe while staying completely true to herself. I wish "Tropico" could be played in movie theaters before some big films.
The pole dancing scene with the money falling all over her body as she tumbles to the floor... *shivers*
And when all the violence begins... she's like feigning innocence, almost like an angel who stopped caring for the sins of humans. So intense!
You don't have to worship me. Down on your knees is good, though. ;)
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, it really is a complex narrative she's telling, in a metaphorical sense, at least. The literal plot is fairly simple -- the complexity is in the details. (God really is in the details. Lol.)
Gaga should be forced to sit and watch Tropico on repeat for about two weeks. Maybe she'd finally realize what *artpop* truly is. As for Miley -- dude, I can't even. Just... *sigh*. Bleh.
You'd love it if as I was down on my knees in front of you, eh? Dear God!
ReplyDelete(There's so many ways I could go with this...)
As for Gaga and Cyrus... you cracked me up. I'd really love to show them both what a wrecking ball can do... ;-)
Like a prayer is such a good song... ahem ;)
DeleteWhile I agree a wrecking ball would end it all nicely for all involved, including us poor folks in the audience, I'd prefer someone show them the way. But painfully, very painfully. lol
Beautiful piece of art. The songs are so beautifully selected for this film, and the themes complement eachother so well. The songs were out for quite a while but it looks as if Lana already had this film in mind when writing those songs. And Lana is such a stunning woman! I didn't know this was out already, so I'm very happy you posted it in your blog!
ReplyDeleteIt's impressive how they all fit together thematically, and the order they're in tells a seamless story. Glad you like it too, though I'm not surprised -- the Lana fandom in general is going apeshit over it! lol
DeleteLol! I'm gonna recommend it to my sister, I recently found out that she is also a big Lana fan ( I always thought it wouldn't be her taste in music, and she was thinking the same about me, haha) and a cousin of my husband will go crazy over it aswell, since he also loves Lana! And here I was thinking from the people around me only me and my husband were fans XD
DeleteThat's so cool! I wish I had a similar story :( At my birthday party last month I asked several of the guests what they thought of Lana. Most of them didn't know about her, which really surprised me. And two of my friends, when I asked what they thought of her, brought up her SNL performance and basically said after seeing that they lost interest in her. It was really aggravating. So of course I told them to look into more of her work, and watch some live performances on YouTube because she's gotten so much better since SNL. In general I recommend Paradise over Born To Die to newbies because it seems to be a little more popular in general. (It was actually nominated for a Pop Album Grammy here in the US last week -- congrats, Lana! :D )
DeleteLana is largely underrated and underestimated by way too many people and that seriously pisses me off. People need to admit and recognize that she's a force to be reckoned with. She brought something totally new and very enthralling to the music industry.
DeleteAbsolutely. From what I hear she's generally more popular and successful on the charts in Europe compared to the US, but her three Grammy nominations and the fact that Summertime Sadness went top 10 (although it was remix -- yuck), seem to say she's becoming more and more popular here. Young and Beautiful is also pegged as a strong contender for the Academy Award for song of the year. Fingers crossed! Imo she's exactly what pop needs right now. Smart, referential, thoughtful and poetic lyrics. And she has a natural eye for strong, even iconic, imagery.
DeleteI didn't know she got nominated, that's great. I've looked up some live performances and I'm really impressed with her talent. She's been on a Dutch tv show aswell performing 'Ride' live, and she was amazing. The song was completely different in how she was singing it, and I can always appreciate that.
ReplyDeleteI have to ask, what is her SNL performance?
She's immensely talented. And I love that during her concerts she actually goes down into the audience and touches people's hands and stuff. She's a cool chick. SNL is short for Saturday Night Live, a weekly sketch comedy show that also features a musical guest each week. She was to go on shortly before the release of BTD. Her performance was meant to be her "coming out", her big introduction to the world. She was a tad stiff (probably understandably nervous), and it got blown way out of proportion. In any case she's only gotten better. She actually got three Grammy nominations, so proud of her!
DeleteShe received a lot of bashing because of her SNL performance but she was extremely nervous that night. Daniel Radcliffe himself (aka Harry Potter), who the host of honer that evening, said that people needed to back off and give her a break because she did as best as she could under the circumstances.
DeleteListen to this beautiful acoustic version of "Born To Die":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGDfp-1alKA
What made it even worse was that it was to be her "introduction" to the mainstream, her coming out, so to speak. Basically she got off on the wrong foot, and it was blown out of proportion. She's really had to work hard to overcome the stigma she got from it in the US. But it's working. More and more people are "discovering" her here. And Lord knows I'm doing my fair share to spread the Gospel of Queen Lana! ;)
DeleteLove that performance of BTD, thanks for sharing, T! :D God she's amazing. That voice. *swoon*
Thanks for explaining what it is, I'll look it up. Though I can't imagine it being that bad. Too bad alot of people always have such a strong negative reaction, when someone famous or talented (or both) have a performance that's lacking a bit. As if those people think 'See, she can fail too, no we can hate on her with a reason'. For some it's easy to forget artists are also just people.
Delete@ Tristan: That is indeed a beautiful version!
Yep! People are so quick to judge. This was a big event for her, it's understandable she would be nervous. But nobody stopped to think about that. But she's making up for lost ground lately.
Delete