Lana Del Rey "Ultraviolence" Track by Track Album Review

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a huge Lana Del Rey fangirl (and just a huge fangirl in general). She is one of my queens and I admire her as an artist; so you can only imagine how excited I was when I found out that she was releasing her new album, Ultraviolence, after two years of touring around the world for her critically acclaimed Born to Die album. My excitement for Ultraviolence was so extreme that I actually drove to Target the morning of its release and bought a physical copy of the album so I could really see and feel the glory of Queen Lana's new gift to the world. I swear from the moment the first song started I was transported to a euphoric paradise. Ultraviolence is brilliant lyrically and since it was produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, the album has a great hazy, soft rock feel that's perfect for summer.

Cruel World
An ode to an ending relationship, "Cruel World" is the perfect opening track. It introduces the rock elements of the album, but doesn't stray too far from the style of Del Rey's past songs. The lyrics also stay true to past songs, referencing the "little red party dress" that she's so fond of.
Favorite lyrics: "Because you're young, you're wild, you're free/You're dancing circles around me/You're fucking crazy"

Ultraviolence


Del Rey's versatile vocals shine with simple piano chords accompanying the verses and diminished drums and a faint, idling guitar riff for the chorus. Fun Fact: in an interview with Kulturenews, Del Rey said that the song is based on her time as a member of an underground sect in New York that was run by a charismatic guru.
Favorite lyrics: "I can hear sirens, sirens/He hit me and it felt like a kiss/I can hear violins, violins/Give me all of that ultraviolence"

Shades of Cool

If you can imagine a slower, more haunting version of the generic ballerina music box song, you have "Shades of Cool". The first time I listened to it, I started thinking of "Blue Jeans" from Born to Die, only with an epic guitar solo during the bridge that almost drowns out the poignant ending lines: "Hot neglectful lover/You're crumbling, sadly/You're sadly crumbling"

Brooklyn Baby

This is the type of song you would listen to on a long drive along the coast with the top down on your convertible. Talking about her infatuation with a rock star boyfriend (but claiming that really she's cooler than he is), and fondly referencing the past ("They think I don't understand the freedom land of the seventies"), "Brooklyn Baby" is definitely a song to listen to with your lover.
Favorite lyrics: "You never liked the way I said it/If you don't get it, then forget it/So I don't have to fucking explain it"

West Coast


Being the first single for the album, it was important that "West Coast" give fans an idea of what Ultraviolence was going to sound like and it didn't disappoint. You can hear touches of The Black Key's sound, courtesy of Dan Auerbach, mixed in with the song's surf rock sound and the way Del Rey casually throws in Spanish phrases that just roll off her tongue make me feel a little guilty about almost failing it my senior year. This track is one of my favorites on the album and I can remember singing the chorus at the top of my lungs in my friend's living room one day during the first week of its release: "I can see my baby swinging/His Parliament's on fire and his hands are up/On the balcony and I'm singing/'Ooh baby, ooh baby, I'm in love'"

Sad Girl
Giving off a very jazzy vibe, "Sad Girl" is another song where Del Rey plays off on one of her favorite subjects: seducing or being admired by a dark and mysterious suitor. One small thing that I love is how she goes from describing herself as "being a mistress on the side" to "being a bad bitch on the side"; using "bitch" as a term of endearment.

Pretty When You Cry
I dub this track Ultraviolence's "Summertime Sadness". The emotion in her voice is what truly makes the song, and then the vengeful guitar solo at the end as she's wailing out the last few lines practically forces you to play air guitar.
Favorite lyrics: "I'll wait for you, babe/That's all I do, babe/Don't come through babe/You never do/Because I'm pretty when I cry"

Money Power Glory
Trying to get a man to leave his current life (and possibly his current wife) in exchange for a more exciting, rich life with her; Del Rey plays the role of the seductress well.
Favorite lyrics: "You talk lots about God/Freedom comes from the call/But that's not what this bitch wants/Not what I want at all"

Fucked My Way Up to the Top
The title itself raises eyebrows. In an interview with Grazia magazine, Del Rey explained that the song is about another artist who originally described her as inauthentic, but ended up copying her musical style (you know, cause she's totally not bitter).
Favorite lyrics: "I'm a dragon, you're a whore/Don't even know what you're good for/Mimicking me is a fucking bore"

Old Money
The use of piano and violins makes this song on reminiscing about luxurious childhood trysts all the more emotional.
Favorite lyrics: "But if you send for me, you know I'll come/And if you call for me, you know I'll run"

The Other Woman
Del Rey closes out the album with a cover of a Nina Simone classic that fits the context of the album perfectly. Keeping true to the original bluesy-ness of the song, her voice quivers and rings out in the right places and the right tone. I'd say that she did the song justice.
Favorite lyrics: "The other woman will always cry herself to sleep/The other woman will never have his love to keep"

Good Listener

Lately I've started listening to Childish Gambino's Because the Internet album on repeat and I'm just as in love with it as I was the first time I listened to it. This time around, a favorite track of mine is "Sweatpants". I like how even with all the metaphors and quirky puns he uses throughout the song still keeps its rap edge.



I found this song through Spotify (which I seriously suggest every music lover download) and it took me completely by surprise. Pharrell is possibly the most talented and in demand music producer around, and to hear him rap and be so witty and fluid with his rhymes blew my mind. Of course rapping is already part of his extensive resume, but I just think that this song is particularly impressive.



San Cisco is another Spotify gem that I've discovered. Their upbeat doo-wopish sound makes for songs that have you dancing and humming in your seat. The dance competition themed music video for their song "Fred Astaire" is a perfect example of this.

June Favorites

June was a particularly music influenced month. Nylon is my favorite magazine and every year I look forward to their music issue. They always do a good job about finding new artists not just in America, but all over the world. I especially loved that Haim was on the cover because they're a favorite of mine at the moment. Speaking of favorites, Lana Del Rey, my absolute favorite singer, released her third studio album Ultraviolence. I was so excited for it that I actually went to Target the day it was released and bought the physical deluxe copy of the CD. It's the first time I've bought an actual CD in six years and it's exceeded all my expectations.

I picked up a copy Lavinia Greenlaw's The Importance of Music to Girls on a whim and it was a very good read. It was interesting to see how music from coming from America influenced the author's life in her small rural England town and actually made me feel a bit more grateful to live in a country that so many other countries are attracted to.

I've wanted a pair of high waisted shorts for long time and I seriously lucked out when I found the perfect pair on Forever 21's website. Black and incredibly comfortable, I could probably live in these shorts for the rest of my life. Another great Forever 21 find was this plaid dress. I immediately fell in love with it because it was in my three staple colors: black, white, and red. It is a bit on the short side with the front hem falling a few inches above the knee; but the back hem comes down to the top of the back of the knee so you don't have to wear shorts under it if you don't want to.

Good Listener: Songs of the Week

I've found my breakup song for whenever that dreaded first heartbreak comes. In an ode to failed love, Haim's funky alterna-rock track "If I Could Change Your Mind" will have you dancing through your tears.



Never have I seen a music video compliment a song so well and Sia's unique, raspy voice shines in "Chandelier". You can feel the emotion in every word sung, and the dancer in the video (Maddie Ziegler from Dance Moms) interprets the song with her body, demonstrating technique and discipline way beyond her years.



One of the things that I love about Bastille is the way that their lyrics are written like stories so you can picture everything in your head. "Poet" is my favorite song from Bad Blood, and it tells the story of being so consumed by love for someone that you create your own love story in your head. As a writer, I can definitely relate to this.



Surf punk, to me, sounds best in the summer. Best Coast is my go-to band because because of their smooth melodies and lyrics so catchy that you really can't help but to sing along. If you close your eyes while listening to "Our Deal" you might just transport yourself to a beach hidden deep in your subconscious (but if you want to watch the "West Side Story" themed video, that's cool too).

The Importance of Music to Girls by Lavinia Greenlaw: Review

From dancing in long floral skirts in a folk dancing class as a young girl, to wallowing in the complete and teenage angst of her punk years (accompanied by the occasional run in with the police), Lavinia Greenlaw's  memoir The Importance of Music to Girls illustrates her life from childhood to late adolescence.

Just from the title, I assumed that the book would be about how girls in general find identity through different music genres; which it did, just not in the way I thought. (So why doesn't she just call it The Importance of Music to Lavinia Greenlaw?) Well that's just it: Greenlaw is retelling events from her younger years in a universal way that makes them relatable.

For example, during her love affair with disco music, she describes all too well the lengths that most, if not all girls go through to fit in with a specific group of friends: dressing alike, acting alike, synchronized laughter. In this section of the book, she talks about the group's leader, Tina:

"I was becoming a girl as instructed by girls but I knew I wasn't a real girl, at least not of this kind. I wanted to be a disco girl like Tina, whose every aspect conformed to some golden section of girldom: her height relative to her shape, her prettiness relative to her smartness, her niceness relative to her toughness...To me she was wise and ruthless, a goddess of war."

Reading between the lines of her memories, we're able to see that even though she seemingly had it all together with her newfound group of friends, she still felt alone and disconnected from them. The only real thing they all had in common was their love for the music that they would spend numerous Saturday nights dancing to.

As the book and different music phases go on, Greenlaw develops as sense of self through her relationship with music rather than through her friends and what they think is cool. The first example of her independence was when she bought a pair of straight legged jeans and wore them to her local youth club one Saturday night where she was then laughed at. Even though the people laughing were the same people that she had wanted so badly to fit in with, she didn't care. In her words, "After three years of trying to fit in, I liked the idea of being different."

The Importance of Music to Girls is available at all major booksellers for $15.

Starting Over

I have a valid reason for deleting all of my past posts from this blog. When I originally started blogging, I was doing it to voice my opinion and thoughts on fashion and I had also begun to notice that there was a steadily growing community of girls my age that were also wanting or already had fashion blogs. 

I still love and am very much interested in fashion, but as time went on, I found myself trying to be just like the other bloggers and it took the fun out of blogging for me. Instead of simply reviewing a collection or talking about a designer I liked, I felt like I had to go out, buy the entire line, and take pictures of myself wearing the clothes to get readers, but that just isn't for me. I also found that I was restricting myself from being able to write about other topics that I love just as much as fashion like music, pop culture, and books because I wasn't sure how they would fit in.Well, now I'm sure. No more restrictions, no more trying to blog like someone I'm not. Whether it be fashion, music, pop culture or a random thought that pops into my head, I'll write about it. This is my idlessence.