The first single from Ultraviolence which dropped out of nowhere, ‘West Coast’ is a track where Dan Auerback really struts his stuff factoring a certain Black Keys feel into it in this laidback track.
Apparently the label were not happy at all with this track to be the lead single according to a controversial Guardian interview with Lana:
When I played [the label] ‘West Coast’ they were really not happy that it slipped into an even slower BPM for the chorus.
The third single from Ultraviolence, ‘Brooklyn Baby is a tribute to the city Lana grew up in before being stolen away to boarding school at a young age.
Despite not living there her whole life, Lana feels like a New Yorker through and through.
If wearing feathers in your hair, reading beat poetry and listening to all forms of jazz isn’t slightly hipster, I don’t know what is.
One half the rock duo The Black Keys – whose new album Turn Blue is also on Rock Genius – gives the album such a moody tone.
This gives this album a far more rock feel, whereby little riffs on songs like Brooklyn Baby were unheard of on previous LPs.
This furthers Lana’s love of literature, with many songs on Born To Die being thoroughly based on Vladimir Nabokov’s classic Lolita (with tracks like Lolita and Carmen).
This time around the sordid terms of a graphic novel such as A Clockwork Orange (So appalling that it was banned in Britain), are used to describe Lana’s relationships and life.
With his Ultraviolence
Ultraviolence
Ultraviolence
Ultraviolence
Extract from Rolling Stone’s 2/5 rating of Born To Die:
Given her chic image, it’s a surprise how dull, dreary and pop-starved Born to Die is. It goes for folky trip-hop ballads with a tragic vibe, kinda like Beth Orton used to do. Except she could sing.
Ouch.
Born To Die is fabulously broken down on Rock Genius, featuring in it’s LDR Cleanup Crew crew competition.
Peep it here on Rock Genius for some classic Lana!
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The Swedish-born sisters have been to New York several times, making their American primetime debut on a recent instalment of Letterman and are visiting it again on their Stay Gold tour.
At face value, New York seems like the epitome of a ‘modern city’. However, all that glisters is not gold.
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
Nico commands his listeners to believe in themselves and stay true to their own vision.
Most interviews with the duo comment on how relentlessly positive they are. Gavin Edwards wrote in Rolling Stone, “In conversation, they sound like an inspirational cat poster come to life.”
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