lana del rey - ms. america (a supplement from the new inquiry)

7/24/2019 Lana Del Rey - Ms. America (a supplement from The New Inquiry)

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AYESHA A. SIDDIQI 1


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2 MS. AMERICA

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Ayesha A. Siddiqi

PUBLISHER

Rachel Rosenfelt

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Imp Kerr

EXECUTIVE EDITORRob Horning

SENIOR EDITOR

Max Fox

MANAGING EDITOR

Joseph Barkeley

SUPPLEMENT EDITORS

Sarah Nicole Prickett

Malcolm Harris

Brian Droitcour

FREE SUPPLEMENT JULY 2014

brought to you by The New Inquiry

MS. AMERICA

By Ayesha A. Siddiqi

ONCE UPON A DREAM

By Johanna Fateman

WIFEY STATUS

By Gabby Bess

FULL-TIME DAUGHTERBy Hannah Black

RUN, BOY, RU N

By Nina Power

WOUND DOWN INSIDE

By Robin James

THE FAKE AS MORE

By Sarah Nicole Pri ckett

DIE 4 U

By Stacey May Fowles


3/24

AYESHA A. SIDDIQI 3

FOR hose who came o age duing he wa on eo, o whomadolescence was announced by 9/11 and o whom ailed was, a massive

ecession, and a oal suveillance appaaus wee he paanoid gis o ou

adulhood, Lana Del Rey gives us a paioism we can ac ou. Hes isn a love

song o Ameica; is a how-o manual.

As in: how o avoid acing he counys ongoing cimes, agains is own

and is ohes, which ae only made moe sevee by is many declaaions o

goodness. How o cleave o a hisoy whose mos amous acos a bes esem-

ble bloaed pops. How o econcile he decades

spen ying o convince us a looming hea is ageing somehing moe

undamenal o us han he policies dispached om Washingonsome-

hing sho in Supe 8, no by a done. Somehing ha heaened iday nigh

ooball games and would enew he xenophobia o hose ha ponounced iMerica.Ta was he Ameica ha exised on V and in movies, one seem-

ingly only populaed by whie Chisians. Fo hose o us ha had neve been

included in such a vision he soy was a had sell.

Many aiss have spen caees ying o pove ha Ameica doesn

exis. O ha i i does, is only seam ising om a oing pie. I believe

Lynch. Bu I also believe Lana. Because all ha gloious Ameicana akes is

cues om somewhee, igh? Tee exis long seches o open oad flanked

by dese and mounain and su. Tee ex is g iddy poems abou he indi-

vidual , uniquely Ameican spii. Te syle and swagge o Mad Men has

jus as much o do wih he devoion o hisoical accuacy as i does o he

lighing depamen.

Bu o evel, even o a momen, in ha Ameica is o beay he one we

live in. Lana Del Rey offes an alenaive. She isn jus o hose who can ell

whehe is paioism o Sockholm syndome; shes o hose who don cae

abou he diffeence. Millenials and #Meicaan MV sudy eleased his

monh ound ha while young people possess a deep connecion o Ame-

ica hey ae hype-awae o is flaws. In ac, 8 in 10 young people ageed

ha some acions o he Ameican govenmen make i had o be poud. Te

wod merica, he gun o pide mos oen associaed wih ual Republicans,

is now a meme. #Meica uncions boh as a label o he jingoism many o us

now see as pevesewhile also comoably siuaing he opes and hei-

age makes we sill use. Is a delibeae exaggeaion, like Lana, capioning

boh he wos o ou seeoypes and he mos endeaing.

Ms. AmericaByAYESHA A. SIDDIQI

How Lana Del Rey aciliaes a posauhenic parioism


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4 MS. AMERICA

Lana Del Rey eacquains wih he dange and inigue ha pop cul-

ue once pomised ou bodes held. Bodes o class, ace, gende, ge-

ogaphyhei dama insead o hei unomanic acualiy. In Naion-

al Anhem she cass A$AP Rocky as Kennedyas i we don cuenly

have a black pesiden. She aces he acylic nails along he leaheyshouldes o old men as i she doesn aleady have a song called Lolia.

She aises he ams o he sky on he back o a moocycle speeding down

a souhwesen highway as i we haven aleady checked he weahe and

EA o ou desinaion. She sings in a chuch as i Foeve 21 hasn

aleady sold ank ops wih cosses on hem. And she signs he body

elecic as i Levis hasn aleady made an ad wih naaion om a Wal

Whiman po em.

Yes, is a classically whie naional ism, one as izzy and consu m-able as he Pepsi and Mounain Dew ha appea in Lanas songs (neve

he moe globalized Coca-Cola). An Ameican geneaion saved o an

unaugh image o home can be saed by a pop sa whose eeences ae

oo sale o oend sung in an aec oo la o isk moving us. We know

o ake i as a poduc, no a symbol. he cowboys o yeseyea chaged

wi h aming he onie ae now jus w hie men in has wi h guns. And

Lana will sing abou hem peending heye he mos ineesing men

in he wold.

She calls i Hollywood Sadcoe; she couldve called i anyhing a all.

Te poin is ha he ising sings and bluesy guias collec he deius o

a ailed vision o Ameica. No ailed hough ial, bu ailed as a vision. Be-

cause i won suvive inheiance.

Fo hose o us who gew up pos eveyhing she offes an easy paio-

ism ha can be won like a flag ha isn also a salue. Like an alien excavaing

all ha we once claimed made us Ameican, Lana akes he aiacs ha ae

oo whie, oo ahisoical o be aken seiously, and emoves he insisence

upon hem. Is an obuscaion ha isn aciliaed hough iony; i s acilia-

ed hough a ecen pas ha oeclosed on he pomise o Ameican symbols

and eemphasized he pimacy o images.

Lana Del Reys sho film ropicoeaues Mailyn Monoe, John Wayne,and Elvis. O moe accuaely, impesonaions o all he Mailyn, Wayne, and

Elvis impesonaos ha om succeeding geneaions memoy o he chaac-

es. Lana Del Rey hesel isn ye an icon; he magic is less saic. She cuaes

puaively mundane Ameicana as exoic. Te caeul pasiche ha eaned

he deision upon he debu is he vey eason why she esonaes oday. Te

auheniciy Lanas ealies ciics spen monhs ineogaing is a wholly

ielevan quesion o he young people who gaze appovingly a he flowe

cowns and gold chains.Lana Del Reys Ameica is cony and fla bu makes he neihe because

she isn couped by aih in he image she offes. Shes esilien in he non-

commial wiling and ohigh appopiaion o Ameicas mos oveex-

posed iconogaphy. Te pepeually mounul singe manages o sound eas-

suingly anonymous as she sings Spingseen was he king, don you hink?

Is an ac beyond iony, an aemp o einvigoae belie by celebaing cul-

ual exhausion hough affecive empiness.

Fo hose who spen hei een yeas yping in scae quoes, Lana

les us negoiae Ameican ideniy wih less cogniive dissonance by

seving paioic clich as kisch. When she uges, Be young be dope be

poud, like an Ameican, she may as well be an impessed ouis. Aec-

less wihou iony, ull o pop-symbolism ha euses o signiy, pehaps

an Ameican culue dained o all moal qualiies o ehical commi-

mens is woh holding ono. A inally palaable Ameicana: ull o no

moe senimen han an Insagam gid.


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JOHANNA FATEMAN 5

I know you, I walked wih you once upon a dreamI know you, ha look in your eyes is so amiliar a gleamAnd I know is rue ha visions are seldom all hey seemBu i I know you, I know wha youll doYoull love me a once, he way you did once upon a dream

MALEFICENTis o gown ups. Tas wha Ihough, waching he aile o i wih my kid las wine beoe a maine

sceening o Frozen. I was an unexpeced hill: Angelina Jolie, moe go-

geous and goh han eve, wih posheic cheek bones and leahe hons, is a

vengeul aiy who conons a coweing king in he fis en seconds. (Well,

well ...) Ten, Lana Del Reys vocal begins.

I know you, I walked wih you once upon a deam, she sings, a cappella

o a ew lines, in a slowed-way-down vesion o Pincess Auoa and Pince

Philips heme song om he 1959 animaed classic Sleeping Beauy. Del

Reys imbe insanly evokes he amosphee o he oeuve. Moe han a

hazy, Insagam-y deam wold, is a signaue dissociaive saebeing sad

bu eeling beauiul, obseving ones own desolaion hough he lens o a

ingling body high. Faiy ales ae se in a myhic ealm o eudalism and

candelabas, bu, o couse, heye wien and ewien o eflec conem-

poay anxieies and aspiaions. Who bee han Del Reywih he hing

o agic acheypes, wih he widespead casigaion as a aud and he ise

o sadom despie io bing Maleficens excavaion o emale evil, is

hemes o cuely, enchanmen and ansomaion, ino he pesen?

Duing he ailes monage o lush CGI acion, Maleficenfills a cadle

wih culs o acid-geen vapo, and a spinning wheels needle gleams om-

inously. As eeie and majesic ochesal insumenaion joins Del Reys

Once Upon a DreamByJOHANNA FAEMAN

Why Angelina Jolie apped Lana Del Rey o sing

Once Upon a Dream or Maleficen, Disneysfirs rape-revenge film


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6 ONCE UPON A DREAM

voice, g ian ee ceaues explode om he gound o a supenaual ba-

le beween he magical land o he Moos and he human wold i bodes.

Fo mos o his, my kidshe was sill ou hencluched my oeam and

saed a my ap expession insead o he sceen. So I didn bing he when

I wen, opening weekend, o seeMaleficen, Disneys fis ape-evenge film.Wien by Linda Woolveon (Beauy and he Beas, Te Lion King), i

was conceived as a pequel o, and evision o, Sleeping Beauy, in which he

glamoous villains cuse upon Pincess Auoa a he chisening would be pu

in conex. Te old Maleficens evil was capicious and congenial; he new

one would have a eal moive. Te bigges challenge was how o make a villain

ino a poagonis, Woolveon old Te Hollywood Reporer, How on eah

was I going o jusiy ha his woman would cuse a baby? Inspiaion suck

as she sudied he oiginal animaed chaace. Maleficen is supposed o be aaiy, bu whee ae he wings? Woolveon decided ha hey had been aken.

Te ac isel, he seveing o he poweul wings om he dugged

body, isn shown. Insead, we see Seana human, Maleficens childhood

love whos gown ino a weak and powe-hungy mancome up wih he

idea. He can bea o kill he, bu hes go o show poo o he deea o

become he kings successo. Cu o he waking: Maleficen sceams wih

anguish as she ises, and when she walks, she soops, wincing wih pain. We

wee vey conscious, he wie and I, ha i was a meapho o ape, Jolie

said o he scene ecenly, duing a BBC Womens Hour ineview egading

he appeaance a he Global Summi o End Sexual Violence in Conflic.

Tough he scene is coded as dae ape, wih is long walk in he woods and

us-building convesaion beoe he sleeping poion is inoduced, i also

esembles sexual violence in conflic, whee he ape, maiming, and humil-

iaion o civilians eoizes a populaion and poduces goesque ophies,

like he wings Sean keeps in a glass case when hes king.

In he wake o he assaul, he Moos daken and Maleficen mophs

om benevolen poeco o despoic misess, signaled by a change in he

cosumes colo schemesom mossy bowns o dominaix black. Speak-

ing o Vaniy Fair abou he abicaion o he chaaces hons, Jolie ex-

plained, Acually we wen online and ound hese gea leahe wokes andpeople who do hese moe, kind o, elegan eish clohes. Bu, o couse, he

kinks ge saighened ou. I don wan o give oo much away, so suffice o

say,Maleficenhoweve slyly campy, misandis, moving, and much bee

han adiional Disney ae i isconoms o a mandaoy naaive ac o

edempion hough love. And i is, ae all, a movie o kids. Te ailes

dead-inspiing vesion o Once Upon a Deam is saved o he films ced-

is, ae we know ha eveyhing uns ou okay.

Maleficen became Jolies highes gossing movie he same week haDel Reys Ulraviolenceook he No. 1 spo on he Billboard 200. Is he

sophomoe iumph o dispove he smoke-and-mios heoy ha Del

Reys Video Games buzz was pue hype and Born o Diemaked he o-

ficial exhausion o a one-ick pesona. In he new songs, he sadonic,

aggessive edge o he impessionisic lyics is shape, and hees some-

hing like ange in he elenless sexy posuing. Te pess emphasized

ha Jolie heselmegasa, businesswoman, Special Envoy o he UN

High Commissione o Reugees, mohe o six, and once-upon-a-ime

cueapped Del Rey o peom he aiy ale cove, and Id like o hink

is because she ges i, why he ci nemaic aua o loss and longing belongs

wih he oigin soy o Maleficen s evil . In he aile, Del Rey s voice

wha i sounds like, wha culual anx ieies i povokesses up he ho o

o Maleficens aumaic pas. And when he cedis oll, is a hauning

posscip o he Disney esoluion. Del Rey epesens he eal possibiliy

o an unhappy ending.


7/24

GABBY BESS 7

I don know, said Rachel. I eels oo sububan mom.Ae finding i in he boom o a dawe, aking i ou o is black box,

and caeully polishing i, Rachel slid he ogoen wedding band down is

finge. She looked down, winkling he nose. He ohe ings wee bassy,

bohemian, colleced ove he yeas om flea makes and vinage shops. A

cheap, silve cescen suggesed living caelessly om moon o moon; he

shiny pincess-cu diamond bespoke he opposie: omaliy, obligaion, and

planning. She said he ing looked acky. I laughed, said somehing abou how

sububan mom/wie should be he summe lookas i a woking-class

amily lie was somehing o play dess-up in. I hough i was glamoous.

Bu whee did he glamou lie? Was i in he ac o maiage o in he

unnameable alchemical oces ha ansom a woman ino a wie?

On a coninuum, ackiness is he embaassing cousin o glamou.

Tees an ove-he-opness o he image o Lana Del Rey in monogam

Chanel suds, a hick gold ope chain, and a hee-finge ing ha says

in gold scip ha somehow neve opples ino oo much. Tis is wha I was

ascinaed wih. Rachel, placing an ovely shined ing nex o he caeully

disheveled collecion, was he opposie o effoless. In one ac, he aesheic

was conused and ansomed. She became he wiey and all ha i signaled;

paying homage o all he possible women she could be a once. Glamou was,

pehaps, jus a meiculously paciced skill, o eeeing on he edge o poo

ase bu always gaceully landing on beauy.

Simila o a Real Housewieo a Baskeball Wie, o claim wiey saus,

you need no be a wie by ing o by ceemony. Devoion, i seems, is he key

elemen. On Novembe 26, 2013long beoe Kanye Wes hied a 90-piece

ochesa o play Lana Del Reys Young and Beauiul duing his poposal

o commissioned he o peom a he pe-wedding pay a VesaillesKim

Kadashian demued in he shadows while K anye sa down o a adio ine-

view. In he video ooage, Kim is weaing a black long-sleeve uleneck, cam-

ouflaging agains he sudio walls. Save o he newly dyed caamel-blonde

Wifey StatusByGABBY BESS

Being a bad bich on he side mighno appeal o ools like you


8/24

8 WIFEY STATUS

hai alling ove he shouldes and aming he ace, she is baely seen. Pe-

sumably beoe he camea sas olling, he adio hos asks Kim why she is

siing in on he ineview. On camea she answes, I jus came o suppo

him, as she gesues o Kanye and smiles.

Radio Hos: Oh, youe on wiey duy?Kim: Im jus wiey o he day.Kanye: Oh youe wiey o he lie now!

Cica Video Games, Lana used ems like he gangse Nancy Sinaa

and like Lolia go los in he hood o descibe hesel and he syle. She was

innocen ye hadened and, in his way, she appopiaes hip-hops ope o he

wiey. Shes he myhic ceaue who is hal good gil and hal bad bich. Unde

he umbl ag #wieysaus, unglamoous aco uesdays and pasa salads aehe images ha ae collaged nex o Lana Del Rey in a u coa. Tee is only

one image o he amongs pedesian selfies and uploads om pon blogs ha

pos women bending ove in hongs playing house. One such image beas he

ollowing ags: #cooking, #housewie, #wie, #booy. A fis glance, Lana seems

ou o place hee, and he disconnec beween he aspiaion and he ealiy o

he wiey is siking. Bu in he nea endless scolling, hey old ogehe, lend-

ing hei conex o each ohe. o quoe a quoe in he ag, he wiey ges hu

because o he hings you do bu sill ogives you misakes, can bing hesel

o hae you, even hough eveyone says she should, has only good hings o say

abou you, cied because o you counless imes bu smiles even when youve

done nohing o he. I he wiey is no Lana, she is a leas a Lana song. She is

he sum o Kanyes illogical equaion: one good gil is woh a housand biches.

Bu o aemp he illogical, as Lana does, seves o eveal ou own bodi-

ly consains, pushing up agains ideals and ex posing expecaions. Lana Del

Reylike he widely ciculaed picue o Kim Kadashian pushing baby

Nohs solle wih silve-immed eyes, a ull-volume blowou, and ull-

volume cleavageis a Yeezuslyic pesonified.

Fo Lana Del Rey, love and obsession is he ulimae expession. Since

eleasing Video Games in 2011, wholesale devoion has been he sock in

ade:Is you, is you, is all or you. Gowing up I was always pone o obses-sion, paly because o he way I am, bu paly because I el lonely o such a

long ime, she old heNaional in 2012. So when I ound someone o some-

hing ha I liked, I el hopelessly dawn o i. In he appings o anohe, she

ound he eedom. She ound a way o suvive. On he cove o Ulraviolence,

she sands in on o an old ca on a ee-lined see, he image black, whie,

and moody as i snipped om a Douglas Sik film. I eminds us o wo hings:

ha violence is insepaable om domesiciy, and ha domesiciy is glam-

oous. Te lyic ge a lile bi sububan and go cazy has a much diffeenmeaning o a wiey han o a een, and Lanas nea seely look doesn le us

oge ha, eihe.

Ten again, is only a lile bi. Fo he wild, diecionless, and adaman-

ly eeas Lana poclaimed hesel in Ridea nice maied lie can be

somehing o aspie o, an ide fixe. Jus as somehing ou o you each is all

you wan o go ae. While eminism has been fighing agains he confines

o he mohe and he wie, Lana evels in i. Tough wiedom she finds he

own esisance and mechanisms o suvival unde paiachy. She passes as

he devoed wie figue, doing anyhing o love, bu in he same beah she

les us know wha shes eally ae: money, powe, and gloy. And shell ake i

om you. Is a sleigh o hand ick, a seducion has acually a powe gab.

In Lana Del Reys hee-inged hands, eeences o symbols o sububia

and Ameicana become wisul and lus-wohy. Lana Del Reys guns, bibles,

Ameican flags, Chevy Malibus, and domesic lie ae lied om he conex

o he mos obvious couny song and given a ich exue ha dips opulence.


9/24

GABBY BESS 9

Tis is he luxuy o leaving, o only playinghouse. Lana Del Reys glamou

lies in he abiliy o look ono he sububan, become a empoay naive o i,

and hen dive away, off o he nex sunse.

Lanas mlange o banaliy, glamou, and eveence o low-class aes-

heics chaaceizes he siving gil ha, above all, pioiizes he pesen

ove he uue. Tose who suvive in his way ae muable. Peviously, Lana

Del Rey has been Elizabeh Woolidge Gan, Lizzy Gan, May Jaile

bu like he boy iends and suga daddies a long he way, shes le all hosegils behind in avo o an incanaion ha has allowed he o fill ou he

shape o sadom. In an ineview wih Vogue U.K. she explains, I waned

a name I could shape he music owad. I was going o Miami quie a lo a

he ime, speaking a lo o Spanish wih my iends om CubaLana Del

Rey eminded us o he glamou o he seaside. I sounded gogeous com-

ing off he ip o he ongue. Fom he pespecive o sel-aleaion by any

means, I can undesand why a sububan lie can be omanicized and al-

mos necessay. Any chance o leave behind a ome ideniy is a chance o

be akenw hehe i s in he om o a new sage name o a new suname.

Boh could lead o a bee lie.

Weve winessed his beoe. When Vickie Lynn Hogan maied he fis

husband Donald R. Ha, she undewen he fis ansomaion o becomeNikki Ha. By he ime she made he fisPlayboycove appeaance in 1992

she was Anna Nicole Smih. Like Vickie Lynn Hogan, and hei oemohe

Noma Jeane Bake, Lana was bon wih ansomaion in he veins. Tei

men, money, and sel-made saus ae buil on lowe-class beginnings. Lanas

sel-imposed exile o living in New Jesey aile paks, alling in wih bike

gangs and culs, puposeully add o he myhology. Tese oigin soies

Mailyns ose cae childhood and Anna Nicoles sip-club genesisold

ino he idea o wha signifies an aspiaional lie.On umbl, an image se lays ou a scene om he Anna Nicole Show:

Woman: I hink youe gea! Bu I hink youe being exploied.Anna: Oh, yeah. Well, I don mind As long as I ge paid o i.

I was as much as Vickie Lynn could ask o. She used evey ounce

o eminine cham o ake wha she could om men, becoming he seduc-

ess, he wiey, and hen he widow. Now shes an icon o be veneaed and

eblogged by een gils o whom he deails o Anna Nicoles lie ae hazy.

In picues, Anna Nicole Smih lives ozen in he black-and-whie imageso he Guess-campaign youh. Even he momens ae he sa aded and

she hesel became unhinged ae sill celebaed wih housands o noes on

umbl, capioned wih She is my heo. Tough he imspa ads, weigh

gain, and subsequen nevous beakdown, she hung on o an undeniable

allue. ime and disance wash ou and ove all hings, unil hey ae pale

enough o eblog. As Lana Del Rey sings in Old Money, My mohers

glamour lives on and on.


10/24

ONCE UPON A DREAM

LANADel Rey uses he imagey o Ameican naionalism oconsuc he kind o iconic gilhood ha whie Ameica goes cazy o. Bu

he elaion o his hisoy eels complicaed. She aims o be classic, an aes-

heic howback o a bygone ime when music was music and men wee men

and so on. Bu somehing is wong wih he picue. Osensibly, she gives

whie Ameica wha i wansan image o isel as lehal bu beauiul, guily

bu ogiven, an image o violence as indisinguishable om omance. I asaigh whie man hisyou, i means he wans o kiss youge i? Te al-

bums sell, bu is no enough; ciics beae he o no being convincing. Bu

maybe is no Del Reys aul ha his gloomwashing o whieness (Okay,

we suck, bu look how much we hae ouselves!) doesn wok. Maybe he

maeial can no longe be made convincing.

Del Reys whieness is unsable because i seems somehow ainly dis-

ubed by he knowledge o is omaion. Why else he deah wish? Why

Full-ime DaughterByHANNAH BLACK

Lana Del Reys Americana shows is demand or a

eminine desire ha knows how o long or deah


11/24

HANNAH BLACK 11

else do he lips ciculae independenly o he ace? He lips ae so plump

and pleasingly symmeical ha when she fis became amous a lo o people

hough hey wee ake. Te mouh became a phenomenon in is own igh,

signiying some kind o excess ha couldn be assimilaed. Tee was an ex-

pos o he alleged lip-enhancemen sugey and a umbl whee someone

Phooshopped he mouh ono images o celebiies. Wih a couple o excep-

ions, mos o he amous aces enhanced wih Lana lips on his blog belong

o whie people. Evidenly he joke doesn wok so well when he lips ae

ansposed ono black peoples aces. When hick lips belong o black people,

hey ae pa o he appaaus o acial and acis idenificaion. Bu on a whie

gil, big lips ae sexy and suspicious. Tey mus be akemeaning hey look ake

migh be inechangeable wih hey beter be ake. In he conex o Ameicanwhienesss paanoid elaion o wha i peceives as he blood ain o black-

ness (which is also he ain o whie guil), alse ull lips migh be deeply

peeable o a eal ull mouh, even i hey ae supeficially deided.

Del Rey has said she waned he new album Ulraviolenceo have beau-

iul jazz undeones. Te smokiness o he voice is vaguely jazzy in a whie

way, a neueed and bleached jazzhe voice o a whie gil daping hesel

in an accepable, decoaive blackness. Is no he inense, yeaning asp o

Holliday o Fizgeald o Simone. Whee blackness is deployed as an un-deone, an undeneah, he suace is wipe-clean and whie. Tis sucue

deflecs he unbeaable hisoy o Ameican capialism, uning i ino mee

exue. In Dak Paadise (2012), Del Rey lives on he dak side o he

Ameican deam, bu is okay because she can be you china doll. Fom

he ouside, whie womanhood looks like a place scubbed clean o hisoy

whee he violence o whie men can be mainained, a leas symbolically, as

enjoymen. Tis is absoluely no mean o ciicize o commen on acually

exising whie women, o even he acually exising Lana Del Rey, bu onlyo egise wha is negaed o held a bay in he image o whie womanhood,

om he pespecive o blackness.

In he video o Ride (2012), she is on he oad wih some bikes,

all big whie guys. She wils on he back o a bike, deached and dead-eyed,

in a novely -shi. In he opening monologue, she ell us, I believe in he

couny Ameica used o be. (o quoe Hennessy Youngman: W hich good

old days do you mean? Te good old days when people owned slaves? O


12/24

12 FULL-TIME DAUGHTER

maybe i was he good old days whee ns wee ee, bu hey couldn voe?)

He embling ininess is a complimen o he mens bigness. You can be my

ull-ime daddy, she coons. W hie heeosexualiy is like a phoogaphic pe-

specive ick in which he man sands vey close o he camea and he wom-

an sands a enough away ha a adically diminished vesion o he seems osand on his palm.

As eve, she is awkwad and weidly unconvincing on camea. He awk-

wadness is so inense ha i ovewhelms he beauy, even hough beauy

usually eads as compeence. In a sex scene, she leans on a pinball machine,

doll-like and deached, as a guy ucks he om behind. Is had o ell i is

mean o be consensual o no. She eminds me o he gawky eenages in

pon, he ones adveised as amaeus, whose eoic chage is exacly in hei

incompeence. Tey oo ae ovewhelmingly whie, whehe pey o ugly, ao hin. Daddies can be dangeously aoused by signs o sexualiy, signs ha

ae almos inechangeable wih hose consideed maks o blacknessa ull

mouh, emphaic hips, a sexual appeiebu hey ae basically sae i you ae

able o eassue hem ha you ae a china doll, a whie ull-ime daughe.

Ulraviolence, building on he spii o Ride, exends ou om his am-

aeu affec, a whole albums woh o he anasy o he violence o desie: I

can hea siens, siens / He hi me and i el like a kiss / I can hea violins,

violins / Give me all o ha ulaviolence. Tis deeply ambivalen image omasculine desiean eenal had-on o he spoless mindequies a emi-

nine desie ha knows how o long o deah, and heeoe how o eally love

whie masculiniy. Tee may well be suicidal emmes in non-whie culue,

bu he pop-culue Beauiul Gil W ho Longs Fo Deah is paadigmaically

whie. She could ake he pick o he spoils o whie paiachy, bu insead

she wans o lie down and die. In his alone, pehaps, she is vey sympaheic.

She wans o die, bu unil hen, she guads he man jealously. Who

om? In he song Black Beauy, he poagonis o he song is angy wih

he blue-eyed boyiend o ucking aound wih Spanish women who will

lead him o uin, insead o him leading he o uin, which is also wha she

is offeing him: uin. Bu he uin is whie. Deploying he aesheic o whie

Ameica ends, necessaily, a bes, owad suicidal sel-loahing. o achieveanyhing o noe wih his epulsive maeial, you have o ake he only ea-

sonable couse and wish yousel dead.

Unlike Ciaa, whose own song Ride is an open celebaion o he own

sexual skill, when Lana jus ides she coyly flips he inepeaive wok ono

us. O couse he Ride woks only because he ouble shes elling us shes

ying no o ge ino sounds like sex. Bu as a dedicaed whie gil, Lana can

only aive a his hough a oued and euphemisic ale o diving hough

he nigh o how hesel a Daddy, who migh send he home. She is ozenin he long whie nigh o sex as ambivalence. A momens he gil in he song

uns I jus ide ino he bieswee simulaneous spell o sex and escape

ha pop excels in. She is ying o cleanse hesel in sex om he spell o sex.

Bu Ride is ull o ahes, and she can dive anywhee ha isn daddy.

Wheeve i goes, whieness abolishes ancesos. Is easy o undesand

his eusal o be hauned by he dead shipped as commodiies, saved, in-

eced, woked o deah, and so on. In he absence o is dead, whie paia-

chy has o do exa wokhe phallic ahe becomes an eoic miage, andLana Del Rey ies o love i. In Old Money on Ulraviolence, she celebaes

he paenal line whee he money came om: My ahes love was always

song, she sings. Bu she can help adding, Ye sill inside I el alone, o

easons unknown o me. Maybe she doesn know he eason, bu he wok

seems oubled by an inkling o i. How convenien ha he whie ahes,

unable o bea he agic sucue o desie ha Del Rey consucs in hei

image, accuse he o aking i.


13/24

NINA POWER 13

WE WAN I IN CAS H, REROACIVE AND IMMEDIA-ELY, AND WE WAN ALL OF I. his demand, made in a lye by

he New Yok Wages o Housewok Campaign, inds a cuious echo in

Lana Del Reys ecen Money, Powe, Gloy, despie he poesaionha she inds eminism boing. Hee she oo demands money, powe,

gloy, sweaing ha shell alenaely ake you and hem o all ha

hey go. You moheuckes have eveyhing, and you did nohing o

ge i bu seal om he people who did all he wok bu go nohing in

eun. his ack, osensibly abou a hypociical eligious igue, could

jus as easily be ead as a eminis o epaa ions evenge an hem.

ypically, evenge anhemslike love songsae oo limied. Why

Run, Boy, RunByNINA POWER

Money, Power, Glory says I can uck (wih)you, bu I will also desroy he whole worldha makes you possible


14/24

14 TITLE

punish one cheaing basad when you can evisceae he whole lo a once?

Why demand one peson love you when you could desoy he couple om

as such and neve have o woy abou i again? Having aleady wokedhe way hough he ecogniion and ciique o emoional labo in Video

Games, whee Del Rey poesses he ceepies possible vesion o devoion

in ode o pass hough i o somehing much weide: Is you, is you, is

all o you / Evey hing I do / I ell you all he ime. I ell you all he ime be-

cause emoional labo is is epeiion. Whee Bineys I was bon o make

you happy capues an olde exisenial image o love as desiny (albei no

less ceepily han Del Rey), Video Games makes i clea ha love is a e-

peaed peomance, one ha is oen miseable.When emoional labo eaches is beaking poin , no in iony o ove-

peomance bu in a ealizaion o is evoluionay poenial, eveyhing

love epesens hypoheically becomes a eal demand. I is he ansiion

om playing video games o demanding ha he enie sucue ha sep-

aaes viualiy om ealiy be dismanled. Money, Powe, Gloy is he

ecogniion ha he maeial inequaliies o he wold play ou in such a way

ha hei dismanling mus in he fis place be hei ecapueand ha

will include dope and diamonds, inebiaion, and exploiaion. Cona

Aude Lodes agumen ha Te mases ools will neve dismanle he

mases houseo, indeed, he singe Lodes claim ha ha kind o luxeisn o usDel Rey undesands ha he mases house and he mases

ools ae all hee is, and i hey enjoy i so ucking much, despie doing noh-

ing o ge i, hen a ansiional demand o as much excessive pleasue as

possible is only ai in is unainess.

Alenaing beween demanding eveyhing om you and eveyhing

om hem, Del Rey goes o boh agens and sucues, and he anasy o

expopiaing he expopiaos becomes less o a deam han a eal, living

hea: Alleluia, I wanna ake you o all ha you go / Alleluia, Im gonnaake hem o all ha hey go. Te slide beween you and hey sees he

as boh pesonal and sysemic: I can uck (wih) you, bu I will also desoy

he whole wold ha makes you possible.

Heaven is no longe a place on eah wih you, as i becomes clea ha

he maeial wold is all hee is. Eveyhing ha you have ill-goen is going

o be aken om youa gunpoin i necessayas he ull woking ou o

Del Reys Ameican anasy pojec suely implies.


15/24

ROBIN JAMES 15

ULTRAVIOLENCE alks abou someugly eelings, bu is music is eally peyone o he acks is iled Pe-

y When You Cy, ae all. Alexis Peidis, wiing in he Guardian, de-

scibes he album as a beauiul, gauzy shimme o emolo guias and

eveb-denched dums, wih a lo o aenion clealy paid o suble deails.

Is music is so calm and peaceul ha many eviewes find i boring: Peidis

Wound Down InsideByROBIN JAMES

Ulaviolences suffocaed soars fusrae criicsatemps o eel good abou Lana eeling bad


16/24

16 WOUND DOWN INSIDE

calls i elenless and monoonous, and Laua Snapes uses moe euphemis-

ic emssaely and languido descibe he albums lack o musical

ension, inensificaion, o vaiaion. Nealy evey eview I ead emaked

on he albums unwaveing (Snapes) pace: 11 songs, all a abou he same

said empo, wih lile in he way o peak, beak, o dop. Del Rey may alk

abou ucking he way o he op (on Fucked My Way Up o he op), bu

he music sue doesn seem o climax o climb.

Te albums climaxes aen absen, jus muedina-ed ahe han

ula-ed. Fo example, Cuel Wold conains wo exemely dilued soas.

Populaized by EDM-influenced pop, he soa is a composiional echnique

o geneaing sonic ension and enegy. Mos EDM soas build hyhmic

inensiy up o he limis o human heaing by epeaing a pecussion sound

a inceasingly as inevals ha evenually pass he poin a which we can

disinguish individual beas. Te buildup is usually ollowed by a measue o

eihe silence o some so o sceam o sien, which culminaes in a flouish

o hi on he downbea o he nex measue. Maxing i ou beyond he

poin o diminishing euns (ino he ula- sonic, you migh say), soas

cash a song so ha is phoenix-like ise sounds all he moe specacula.

Cuel Wold suffocaes is soas. Te fis pa o he soa begins a

he pe-chous when a dum comes in on he ofeas (Go you Bible).

Adding hyhmic onamens in he dum pa ill hees a clealy audible

dum hi on each bea, he inensiy o hyhmic evens builds ove he

pe-chous, peaking a he end and spilling ove ino he chous pope wih

an eve-so-genle and eseved pai o sixeenh noes on he pickup and

downbea o each o he las wo beas in he phase (and an exa eighh noe

on he and o ou). Te chous coninues o build, peaking on he lineyoue ucking cazy. Pulsaing guia eveb emphasizes his cazy, mak-

ing i he mos musically unsable pa o he song. Tis eveb echoes EDM

pops use o eble synhs o build hyhmic and imbal inensiy. Usually

hese synh lines build up ove a measue o wo o give added oompho a

downbea. Tis guia eveb, howeve, comes in on a downbea and unolds

ove he es o he measue, spinning ou ahe han building up.

Undecuing he sonic impac o a downbea is no a new hing. In 19h

cenuy Euopean classical music, composes soened a songs hamonicesoluion by placing he cadence on an off-bea ahe han a downbea. Tis

echnique was called, inamously, a eminine endingeminine because

is a weake cadence han a convenional, on-he-downbea one. Migh Del

Rey be eminizing he soa by deceleaing i, pulling i back ahe han

pushing i hade?

Maybe. Tough Ulaviolence sounds like jus anohe eny in he

ecen-ish spae o fla, aniclimacic pop songs, i doesn shae hei sonic


17/24

ROBIN JAMES 17

pos-maximalism. Tis pos-maximalism pushes bosep- and EDM-syle

sonic maximalism even hade, so ha maximalism isel shis egises, sub-

limaing ino somehing else. Alex Niven agues ha his sublimaion isn

limied o he sonic:

I hink ha wha we ae seeing now is somehing like he sublimaion o heSoa. Piling layes o aificial sonic squall on op o a ack began as a way oachieving commecial hypebole, a classic case o seoid-injecion o allow achous-hook o soa above is aiwave ivals. O couse, indusy pop is sillmoivaed by his insinc, bu now Te Soa also seems o be giving expessiono more genuinely populis senimens. [emphasis mine]

Te soa, a sonic meapho o an individual ising above compeios,

is sublimaed ino populism. O, he soas impliciIis ansomed ino we.

In his sho passage, Niven implies ha his shi in pespecive omIo weis he effec o pushing aleady maxed-ou soas even uhe ino he ed.

Tashe sublimaion: sound becomes pespecive.

Miley Cyuss We Can Sop is a gea illusaion o his sublima-

ion. Is main soa begins when he pecussion dops ou and Miley noodles

aound on some yea-eh-ay-aehs. Insead o damaically soaing up o o

pausing in anicipaion o he downbea o he chous, Mileys vocals de-

creasein hyhmic inensiy as he song genly swells ino he aaaaaand o

he chouss fis line. Tis soa is moe molehill han mounain. Even houghevey individual in he song is paying ou o bounds, om he maco-scale

pespecive o he we,no individual case seems o be paiculaly ansges-

sive. Tas why he fis lineIs ou pay we can do wha we wanna (no

dama) isn conadicoy, and a song abou wild gaga paying is eally

low-key (like Ke$ha on Benadyl). Te mued soa is he effec o he shi

in naaive pespecive omIo we.

Tough Ulraviolence shaes We Can Sops elaxed, aniclimacic

music and is dedicaion o individual excess, Del Rey sill speaks as an I,no

a we.Eveyhing is decidedly close up and singula: wha I wan, wha you

did (o me). He songs don ea he excesses as somehing ohe people

can o wan o ideniy wihheye no he had-paying un o Miley

o Ke$ha, o Gagas supposedly aisic and acivis bounday-pushing, o

evidence o ou maued pespecive, as in Lode. Rahe, Del Reys songs

depic he excesses as singula and individuaing. As Mak Richadson says

in Pichok, shes an uely disincive figue in popula musicno pa

o a scene, wih no seious imiaosand befiing someone compleely off

on he own, shes lonely. Rahe han sublimaing he soa (o is coelae,

gaga eminism), Del Rey inenalizes i, using is enegy o subjec hesel

o he sices o scuiny. Fom his pespecive, o example, Booklyn

Baby is a meciless sel-paody. Te musics flaness expesses Del Reys si-phoning o pops enegy o he own sel-vivisecion. Ulraviolenceundecus

isel boh musically and naaively.

Pehaps we eel like Del Rey is a bad gil because she pervershe soa

insead o sublimaing i. Peidiss eview suggess as much:

Bu shes definiely o blame o is big ailing, which isn so much ha is viewo he wold is weid and unpleasanpleny o ock and pop music can claimha disincionbu ha is elenless and monoonous, oo: you don have

o be a adical eminis o eel weaied ae a ull hou in he company o Ulra-violencescollecion o alenaely eeble and aw ul women. Te ... poblem wihUlraviolenceemains he same: Lana Del Rey keeps epeaing hesel.

Fo Peidis, whas objecionable abou he album isn, say, is gloifica-

ion o domesic violence, bu is ailue o make somehing new and exciing

ou o all ha pain and damage. Del Rey make ciics uncomoable because

he musicdoesn sublimae hei chaaces pesonal damage ino somehing

hese ciics can eel good abou, eihe aesheically o poliically.


18/24

ULTRAVIOLENCES INFRAMUSICALITY

IN2011, Lana Del Rey showed up o he chillwave pay wih flowesin he hai and a video shed made hesel. She was awkwad, a piy guesugging a he hem o he hand-me-down dess. She didn know how o

do eyeline. Te videoo Video Gameslooked somehing like a cam-

code monage played a an ealy uneal, and somehing like a collecion o

messages le on Skype o a long-disan love, and hen like somehing less

alogehe, a naive and hal-soned disacion om ull-ime basemen lie.

Singe and video boh wee accused o he ulimae high school dons: be-

ing ake and ying (he new selling ou). In esponse, Lana shugged

and said ha eally, she shouldve ied hade. Had I known so many peo-

ple wee going o wach [i], she old Te Daily Sarin 2012, Id have pusome moe effo ino i. I would have go my hai and makeup done and

ied no o be so pouy, seeing as eveyone alks abou my ace all he ime.

Ta yea in ashion, he yen o pasels eached a zenih, and ew sas

wen pale han Lana. I emembe ying he end, so oId bleached

my hai o deah in 2010, hen inused i wih lavende, osebu when i

came o clohes ha mached, I el idiculous. I balked a wha I hen called

he bad gil goneLula look, which a hazily pasiched Del Rey embodied

Te Fake as MoreBySArH NICOLE PRICKEt

Lanas look is no omake i look easy


19/24

SARAH NICOLE PRICKETT 19

in and aound he Video Games ame. I didn cae i he lips wee ake; I

caed ha he cigaee beween hem wen unsmoked. (As a ailed evangel-

ical Chisian, I have neve undesood why anyone would preendo have

sin.) He songs I liked, bu he oufis boed me: siff, pim, and so oen

pasel, a hue synonymous wih sweeness and aificialiy. Pasels, and he

Pleasanville syles hey come in, also connoe (o me) an anodyne, ladylike

eminism ha pizes smaness and sel-igheousness a he expense o no

only sex appeal bu hose who use i o win, as i bains ae any less a hing

o luck and culivaion han bodies, o as i he aveage inellec is any less

aificial han (allegedly) Lanas lips o Lanas nose.

I find i unny-sad-ue ha in ying o look sma, she basically jus

dessed non-sluy: Google-image Lana Del Rey 2011 and Lana Del

Rey 2012, and youll ge gowns o he floo, shis buoned all he wayup, uzzy sweaes, and cinch-waised ocks. She dyed he Lizzy Ganea,

Biney-blonde hai a especable, honeyed shade o bown. She loweed he

voice, because people didn ake [he] seiously wih a high one, bu hen

hey didn us he emininiy wih a low one. So she sang Blue Velve

bu woe sawbey pink and min geen, peach and lemon and viole. And

whieneve whie l ike a bide, bu whie like he gil who weas whie o

someone elses wedding.

Why was Lana neve bel ievable as a Kennedy, whe he she was pl ay-ing Jackie o dessing like Caolyn Bessee? Because she was in on he

joke. A 14, she was sen o Ken Sc hool, he 19h mos ex pensive p ivae

high school in Ameica; amous gaduaes include composes, acos,

opea singes, Meyl Seeps daughe, and a yaching cinemaogaphe

and lecue. When she le o go sing abou i (see: he painully pe-

ame Boading School, 2009) she knew exacly wha she was unning

away om; when she sang abou doing cack and dinking Pepsi, she

was announci ng hesel as he aniDie Cokehead. he kind o gil she

gew up agains is classy, symmeical, well o (no ich), and hin;

he beauy labo is 90 pecen hidden, an alembic o genes and expense.

She ges $900 blonde highlighs, $140 blowous, and $18 juices, goes in

o daily pesonalized wokous and wice-weekly acials, and spends an

hou a day aking viamins, only o smile apologeically and say, I swea,

is jus lip gloss and ouche cla. Meanwhile, Lana came ou looking

like she spen moe ime on he ace han in bed.

Accodingly, Born o Die(2012) ook a Blue Velve-ie diecion. Bu

o he albums Pepsi-coloed cove shoo, and o mos o ha yeas con-

ces, accepances, and appeaances, Lana pu on a Sunday look she couldn

alogehe pull off. Pale pep evivalism made aylo Swi look like a debu-

ane, and Lana Del Rey like a unaway in shoplied ends. Boh aylo andLana ae ome omboys wih loaded dads and blue-colla oigin soies.

Bu Lana, dessed like a sweehea, was nobodys.

No unil he video o Ride, wih is naive Ame-acana and man-

ic declaaion o independence, did my impession make sense o he

es. Lanas whieness had neve been innocen, o wasn now; he look

was suddenly so conscious , so caicauing o is in luences ha I could

have swon she was appopiaing whieness. he desses had neve been

daddys gil, bu daddys lile gil. I was wong abou he cigaees,oo. Faders cove soy has he chain-smoking Paliamens, a band no-

body buys o look cool, and he speaking voice is is-hand poo . Sob e

o a decade, she sill sings abou whiskey and whie lines. She has neve

been spoed nea a gym. No has she eve open ed up ab ou h e weigh,

in egad o which shes one o he less boheed pop sas alive. As seen

in ropico, Lanas bo dy is ip e, embling , and dei anly unmai nained, a

body as a ou o ime as he voice.


20/24

20 THE FAKE AS MORE

Because she seems no o ake cae o hesel (ha unaies o mod-

en mandaes), Lanas beauy is boh laboious and ad hoc. Is ake nails,

alse eyelashes, and lashings o powde and kohl. He hai, which has al-

ways looked dyed om a box, is now he nighshade hue o Secre nylons.

Jus as he eply o y ing oo had on Video Games was o y a lo

hadehe colos moe and moe sauaed ove he couse o Born o

Dieso oo, now ha shes amous enough o ge he makeup done o

a bodega ip, does she euse he kind o Beyonc-level mask ha looks

(bu isn) effoless, o even good, up close (see: he Fadercove shoo, in

which he cameas ge hi-de and he makeup says lo-de ). Te message is

clea: Say you disance. O maybe: I can bea my skin, bu also: Who he

uck ae you o hink youe eniled o he eal me? She looks supaeal.

She looksexhausing.I wish I was dead aleady, she says, bu I wish I was dead was aleady

sung on Dak Paadise, and we (he media) didn eak ou wo yeas ago.

We eihe did no hea o did no ake seiously he lyic. Failed o believe

she had wien i, assumed she hesel did no believe i, we ae ained o

hink o he pop sas pesona as saely emoved om he peson, he same

way we ecas as anasy wha wee aaid o say we eal ly, eally wan. I

oo hink his o mos pesonas, bu no o Lanas. I hink, Wha i Lana did

uck he way o he op? Wha i she was hi? Wha i she liked i? Wha ihe pussy ases exacly like cola? And i all she wans is dope and diamonds,

so wha? Wha i he mos adicaluck i, eminishing you can do is

believe eveyhing a gil says abou he lie, whehe o no you like i?

wo yeas ago, he pevailing (male) esablishmen didn like i one

bi. Reviews had Lana looking no all ha dak, only noi: a vamp, a amp,

he new Blue Angel, accused o luing lonesome cowds o indie boys om

hei shiy lo-fi pinciples. Te New York imess Jon Caamanica called

he a pose, a meme, and a has-been, suggesing she could only y again by

wash[ing] off ha ace pain and muss[ing] up ha hai. In ohe wods,

Lana Del Rey should do a bee job o passingo being a naual woman.

Insead, Lana has eplaced Anna Nicole Smih as he eigning aux

queen, a ome blue-jean baby whose ejecion o upwadly mobile

eminism and/o high-class emininiy in avo o aalisic glamou and

emale-o-emale dag makes he a gende desee o some, bu a godsend

o mos, because a leas she neve makes i look easy. And wha a elie.

When saigh gils and women ae mean o choose beween chic, sudied

effolessness (ceaive uppe class/Manhaan) and weely aesheicized

ailue (ceaive undeclass/Booklyn), Lanas uh is way, way in beween:

Being a man-loving woman is no an ideniy; is a job. Is a glamoous job,

bu he hous ae long and hees oen no uue and i sucks, i scas, and ihadens, and is had. (Hee I admi ha is emping o ead man unlie-

ally, as somehing big and impossible o ge ou omdugs, ame, money,

a whole damn couny. In melodamaic pop songs, almos any elaion is

easie ead as a elaionship.)

Agains he glisening unlisenable void o Ulraviolence, is clam-

o and gliz and classless, naked aspiaion (shaed also by he bes songs

on Born o Die), Lanas old pasels seem cold in a newish ligh. Eveyhing

Ambien blue, Paxil pink, Oxycodone min . Celexa peach, Klonopin yel low,Wellbuin v iolehe v iole pil ls she sings o in a bonus ack, maybe

bu shes off i all now. Gone ae he pescipive his. Gone he flowes. Ev-

eyhing ades o buise, unil: he cove o Ulraviolenceis he in black and

whie wih a whie ca and a whie simple V-neck ove a whie, v isible ba,

as i o say, Is his eal enough o you? Is sange. No one has eve looked

less comoable in a -shi. Fo a week I couldn figue i ou, and hen I

hough: She looks like a paien escaping.


21/24

ROBIN JAMES 21

Daling, you can le eveyhing seem so dak blue.Oh, wha can I do?

Black Beauy, Lana Del Rey

THEsumme I was 16 and cipplingly awkwad, my ahes job

moved ou amily om oono o he Souhen U.S. Ae spending my

whole young l ie in Canada, I sa ed my fis day o 10h gade a Geoge

Walon High School in Eas Cobb Couny, G eogia, and he ensuing cul-

ue shock was abou as haowing as you can imagine o an aleady un-

easy eenage gil.

Te high school o nealy 2,700 sudens was pimaily whie and Bap-

is, complee wih daily paye aound he flagpole, pancake beakass o

Jesus, and a Friday Nigh Lighssyle ooball obsession. On game days, ullysuied ooball playes bough oses o hei assigned cheeleades, while

he gils, clad in hei eshly pessed ed-whie-and-blue unioms, povid-

ed playes wih baked goods and beakas sandwiches om Chik-fil-A. Te

own was amed o a 56-oo-all seel-sided chicken saue, and o being an

ealy adope o sickes o is science ex-

books. In one memoable ound o bullying , a ew ohe sudens decided I

was a weido and a eak and hew ood a me in he caeeia while gleeully

chaning insuls.

Te only way o suffe hough 18 monhs in he slo-mo spo-mov-

ie monage o Souhen een culue was o eishize Ameicanapoess

in Maiea Squae and peach pies cooling on windowsills, buey Waffle

House gis and chain-smoked Malboo Reds wih boomless dine co-

ee, and he appealing aade o Souhen hospialiy. I was a bigh-side

appoach o dakness, a juvenile ascinaion wih he gea Ameican oad

ip, wih dug-ueled binges o he sake o poey and a, wih Hollywood

Die 4 UBySACEY MAY FOWLES

Lana Del Reys sound is nosalgia or an old lie


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22 DIE 4 U

glamou and evoluion and he blinking lighs o Vegasa alse onie

menaliy ha made Ameica seem majesic ahe han menacing. Delud-

ing mysel ino suvival, I ound somehing o love whee hee was nohing.

And decades lae, Ive ound ha Lana Del Rey ha sounds exacly like ha

gloious peense. He songs, ae in essence, nosalgia o an old lie.

Te culue makes a dicum o auheniciy and a nea yanny o he

genuine, so ha anyone who capializes on unuhs is sinning agains he

viue o anspaency. We so oen desoy people who ae uly hemselves

in all hei bokenness, ye loahe hose, like Lana, who can ell a whole lie

(o a leas make many music ciics hink shes ake). Bu aifice is no

only amo, and peomance is no he same as aking i. Is a salve agains

day-o-day cuely o ewie ealiy, o build pey, ficional wolds o live


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STACY MAE FOWLES 23

inside o a ime, because he alenaive is o wihe in agony wihou hem.

Lana Del Reys music is a iny habo o saey, no unlike he Amei-

cana o my een imaginaion. She is haed no because shes aking i, bu be-

cause shes aking i in an unsancioned way, and even wose, is unepenan

abou i. My pussy ase like Pepsi-Cola, my eyes ae wide like chey pies.

I gos a ase o men whoe olde, she coons in semi-idiculousness. Ive

go eahes in my hai. I ge down o bea poey, and my jazz collecions

ae, she bags wihou he necessay iony. Shes playully wesling wih

bikes in he dese, saely submiing o he old man, gloi ying hings ha

neve wee and will neve be. In essence, shes a gown woman living inside

ha imeless eenage daydeam o wha i means o be an adulyeaning

o agency bu sill waning o be someones baby, oo eified o gow up

bu haing he powelessness o youh.While he media haps abou he lies his sel-syled daddys gil is spin-

ning, hose who enjoy he find he all ales a balm. Some say shes boed

o boing (wih Lana Del Nyquil being my avoie nickname hus a,)

bu hes is a comoing anasy in is epeiive omanic edium, an all-

consuming, unsusainable love on an endless loop. Del Reys Ulraviolence

is bual, sexy, and submissive., bu shes managed o make hesel he sub-

jec o he naaive no he objec, even i he subjec is a passive one. Tis

is no he (male) anasy o Aguileas Diy-gil chaps, o Speas being aSlave 4 U wih a pyhon hanging om he all-Ameican neck. Is also no

he hype-caicaue o ove syled pop-culue pleahe BDSM, hough is

jus as peomaive.

Tis is no o say ha Lana Del Rey doesn suffe, bu ha when she

does is quick. Ten she culs he hai, smokes a Paliamen, and ges a lile

bi o boubon in he. (I ge a lile boubon in me, and I eihe need o have a

cy o go o bed. Lisening o Lana Del Rey is like doing boh.) When, in an

Ulraviolencelyic, she ells us ha his Bonnie on he side makes he a sad,

sad gil, we don eally believe i. He hea seems unbeakable, and hee is

no bee ake daydeam han he invincible hea.

In anohe lyic, Del Rey eally misses you bu is ulimaely glad youe

gonehe sadness nohing moe han a pey song ha can be skipped on

he album. She is like a chameleon ha go suck on one comoable col-

o and decided o say hee while she made hesel a maini. Someimes

she ges so lazy, lounging he linens, ha she does nohing moe han make

Didion-syle liss o comba lies ugliness: blue hydangea, cold cash divine,

cashmee, cologne and whie sunshine, ed acing cas, Sunse and Vine

As I gow oldeage being he hing ha he Del Rey pesona eas he

moshe uue has become inceasingly dicaed by diminishing choices,

and has inceased he value o my (and Lanas) long-ading anasies o hewide-open oad. Al l he hype-omanic die o you senimens o Ulra-

violenceae as impossible o susain as hey ae beauiul, li ke love noes, old-

ed and soed in shoeboxes in an adul bedoom close. He ealm is he u-

hes hing om aking he kids o socce pacice, mogage paymens, and

desk jobs, jus like i was he uhes hing om he hoos o high school.

We know is impossible o love someone il he end o ime, o o

jus ide, bu Del Reys gleeully aificial landscape soens he edges o

hose bual uhs, and belies he agumen ha she should sop all his ak-ing. Tee is a ogoen pa o me ha would like o believe halike in

Ulraviolences Old Moneyi you send o me, you know Ill come, and i

you call o me, you know I ll un. Bu I know I can un. Tee ae espon-

sibiliies and bills o pay and eands o coss off a edious lis, and o hose

apped in whaeve cage heyve ound hemselves in, anasy is necessiy.

Song by song, Lanas elling us he pey lies in he lile ed pay dess, and

we can enjoy he longing o believe hem, even i we can.


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lana del rey - ms. america (a supplement from the new inquiry)

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