Opinion pieces on Lana Del Rey form a sort of Borgesian labyrinth, where every conceivable opinion has been written, as well as the opinion piece about that opinion piece, etc.
I don’t think we need to discuss Lana Del Rey’s fake lips, awful stage presence, or artificial ideals of Americana. All those things have been done to death. That being said, I haven’t seen it considered anywhere that Lana Del Rey’s artificality is distinctively ”post-Lady Gaga.”
Lady Gaga dove into artificiality headfirst, playing with images of superficiality in a way that was superficial in itself. In contrast, Lana Del Rey draws on an idea of Americana that is seemingly authentic, but in doing so perverts that image into a simulacrum. Lady Gaga has, at this point, exhausted pretty much all of her creative output. Lana Del Rey’s artificiality appears fresh and new to us, even though it is decidedly “vintage” (scare quotes necessary).
“Gold and silver line my heart
But burned into to my brain are these stolen images,
Stolen images, baby, stolen images.”
However, will we ever run out of things to recycle?
If we do exist in Borges’ “Library of Babel”, then the answer is a resounding “No.”
Lana Del Rey - Born to Die [Woodkid Remix]
A nice remix of Born To Die by Woodkid (whoever that is). This one is quite a bit better than the Clams Casino remix that just came out. Disappointing, Clammy.
