(Don’t miss this review of Lana’s new track “Ride”)
So much Lana Del Rey news! As a devoted fan, I’m finding it more and more difficult to keep up with her. It seems every day new songs appear online. Fan-made mixtapes appear then disappear. We all try to make assumptions about these songs. Will this appear on the reissue of Born to Die or is this from her Lizzy Grant days? It has become increasingly challenging to construct a Lana timeline. She defies a linear path. There have been so many incarnations of Lana, you would think she has a dissociative disorder. What makes it even more infuriating is that Lana (and Interscope Records) never seems to come clean about anything. It would contradict the entire LDR narrative if they tried to expunge the lies and rumors. Both Lana and Interscope know that keeping quiet only furthers the elusive, enigmatic allure of “Lana Del Rey.”
But yesterday the heavens blessed us with actual facts! Lana finally revealed the artwork and complete tracklisting for Born to Die: The Paradise Edition. We get nine new tracks! Forget about all of those leaked songs you heard, none of them are on the reissue. Here’s the track listing:
01. Born to Die
02. Off to the Races
03. Blue Jeans
04. Video Games
05. Diet Mountain Dew
06. National Anthem
07. Dark Paradise
08. Radio
09. Carmen
10. Million Dollar Man
11. Summertime Sadness
12. This Is What Makes Us Girls
13. Without You
14. Lolita
15. Lucky Ones(NEW TRACKS)
16. Ride
17. American
18. Cola
19. Body Electric
20. Blue Velvet
21. Gods and Monsters
22. Yayo
23. Bel Air
24. Burning Desire
Some of these songs we are familiar with. She performed the Walt Whitman-inspired “Body Electric” during her residencies in Los Angeles and New York City last June. “Yayo” was leaked even before Born to Die was released. It’s a lover’s ode, something Lana does best. Sultry yet melancholic. This was actually the track that sold me on Lana as a vocalist. Her range here is something to be admired. It also showcases the trip-hop theme that subtly runs through all of Born to Die. I can’t help but hear a bit of Beth Gibbons (of Portishead) on this song. “Blue Velvet” is the only other track (besides the single “Ride” which I’ll get to next week) we have heard before. Her cover of the 50s classic appears in the new David Lynch-ian ad campaign she does for H&M.
Along with releasing artwork and a tracklisting, she also released an album sampler. In this YouTube video Lana stares into your soul, looks demure and coquettish as different colors radiate on her face. It’s a rather intense video for something so simple. But what stands out most in the sampler is the lyric, “My pussy tastes like Pepsi-Cola.” Yes, Lana went there. I had to listen to it three times to confirm she was actually (overtly) singing about her vagina. Only Lana could get away with something like that. Be sure to check out the album sampler below!