Del Rey’s ‘Born to Die’ oozes melancholic love ballads

By Dana Venerable, The Dartmouth Staff

Published on Friday, February 10, 2012

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Singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey, also known by her real name Lizzy Grant, has become one of this year’s breakout artists after her Jan. 31 release of “Born to Die.” Del Rey’s debut skyrocketed to the top of many international charts within days, debuting at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart, and yet many music critics are still wondering what all of the Del Rey hype is about.

After reading over some of her album’s reviews, one could label the 25-year-old New York native as a modern day pin-up girl, a gimmick, a fake, a bore, an amateur or an over-glamorized, mediocre nightclub singer. Others might simply say that she is too feminine or trying too hard to appeal to the masses with sex appeal. It seems Del Rey’s hometown has given her the largest dose of tough love, and yet we cannot stop talking about her. I would like people to give Del Rey the benefit of the doubt — unlike Saturday Night Live’s recent sketch — and a chance to prove to this generation of music junkies that she is the real deal.

A match for the archetypal machismo, or the “manly man” image of many modern artists, Del Rey perfectly fits the stereotype of the girly girl — or at least she wants us to think that she fits that stereotype. However, she still has the confidence to boldly illustrate to the public that she indeed does have a mind of her own and the talent to compete with the likes of today’s contemporary female pop and soul artists. It is evident that Del Rey just wants to make the music that she wants to make and attempt to look the way that her music sounds. I bet she also wants respect.

Her creative and accidentally deliberate-seeming actions — including music videos that she creates and edits herself using archival footage — alternate between relating to and not relating to the themes of her music. They are as spontaneous as the drastic vocal shifts in her tracks. Her glamorous retro attire contrasts with the simultaneously simple yet complex lyrics featured in her songs. Del Rey’s appearance and lyrics are as intriguing as they are sometimes questionable and contradicting, but in a good way. It is too soon to know if Del Rey’s whole image is a fabrication of her true artistic self, Spanish-inspired stage name aside.

An album that Del Rey herself classified as “Hollywood sadcore,” “Born to Die” displays bits and pieces of American glam-culture mixed with natural human rebellion and a sense of her own melancholy, displayed through her lingering voice and its fleeting decrescendos with every track’s ending. Her voice, filled with lust, love and dramatic dependence, however, is reflective of the tastes of female youth, and it will undoubtedly leave you wanting more. Her beats are innovative — combining beautiful and delicate strings with hard drum beats, sound effects and recorded speaking bits — complements a mosaic of sound.

Her title track and second single, “Born to Die,” is powerful in its own right, bringing to mind a glam Stevie Nicks as she drags out each word with a low and full voice, later becoming coy and girlish at random moments throughout the song. This style can be classified as signature Del Rey. She sings about having fun and living in the moment with a “life is short” mentality, yet her voice trails on and is extremely reminiscent of singers before her time ­— recalling sounds of the past, but with present-day pop infusions.

Her first single, “Video Games,” and the folksy hip-hop track “Blue Jeans” are the two tracks that grabbed everyone’s attention — and rightfully so. “Video Games” is charming and depressing at the same time, oozing with self-sacrifice to be with the one she loves as she sings: “Heaven is a place on earth with you/Tell me all the things you want to do,” and, “Only worth living if somebody is loving you/Baby, now you do.” Although the boy in the song finally comes to love her, the reference to playing video games reveals her secret boredom of the routine that took over the relationship and foreshadows relationships doomed to failure.

“National Anthem” and “This Is What Makes Us Girls” display her young, rebellious and sexy attitude, with controversial and sassy lyrics detailing the partying lifestyle. Some listeners may think these songs, along with “Diet Mountain Dew” and “Summertime Sadness,” lack depth lyrically, but I think Del Rey may have purposely planned to convey a lighthearted message in order to illuminate the hidden complexities that already exist in the simplicity of life and human nature itself. Or maybe not, and I’m just adding debth to something shallow — Del Rey is a mystery.

Only time will tell if Del Rey is another gimmicky package deal created by her label — taking advantage of the current resurgence of old-school retro soul of the 1950s and 1960s brought back by artists such as Duffy and Amy Winehouse­­ — or one of the over-the-top, boundary-pushing artists of today ­such as Lady Gaga and Rihanna. Until then, we should embrace Del Rey’s artistic efforts, give into her catchy lyrics and wait to see what she delivers next.