"Uh, long hair, Lana, that’s my bitch"
We all have that artist who we unconditionally love no matter what, and mine just happens to be Lana Del Rey.
Everybody who knows me can tell you how much I love her.
I fell in love with her junior year of high school while going through the iPod of an old friend of mine. I first listened to Diet Mt. Dew and I was unsure of whether or not I liked her, I didn’t fall in love with her until the next song played, Born To Die. Her voice and the lyrics were so perfect that I just couldn’t help but fall in love with her and her voice. Back then almost nobody knew who Lana Del Rey was, I kept talking about her and nobody had any clue as to who she was.
One day a friend of mine asked if I wanted to go see Lana Del Rey with her, I was shocked that she knew who she was since she never talked to me about her music. Lana was scheduled to perform at The Amoeba in Hollywood on a Friday right after school so I started freaking out and told her “we have to ditch school that day, go and line up all day because I will not live with myself if I don’t see her”. We actually didn’t end up ditching school at all that day, we just ran to the bus stop right after school and caught a bus that took us straight to Amoeba. When we got to Amoeba there was already people waiting to get into the venue. At the moment it seemed so long and I felt like we wouldn’t be getting in, but looking back at it I realize how short that line was compared to the line for the premiere of her short film “Tropico”. We ended up seeing Lana perform that night and it was love at first sight, she wasn’t that great live but I didn’t care I still loved her songs.
Throughout the years, I have listened to every song that Lana has put out but my all time favorite songs are the “unreleased” ones. I think you cannot be considered a real Lana del Rey fan until you’ve actually listened to the unreleased songs, you are also not a real fan if your favorite songs are “Summertime Sadness” and “Young and Beautiful”. The unreleased songs happen to be my favorite because they’re relatable. For instance, when I first listened to “Never Let me Go” I was in a relationship so the lyrics have a special place in my heart. In fact till this day whenever I listen to “Never Let Me Go” I feel the exact same way I did three years ago.
The reason why the unreleased songs are relatable is simply because we have all been through heartbreak at one point of our lives, and that’s Lana’s essence. The heart and soul of her songs are about falling in love with a guy who may or may not be the best choice for you but loving them unconditionally anyway.
“Because Of You” is a song that describes how one guy completely turns her world around, before he provides structure, her life is nonetheless chaotic and wild. Being provided with stability by someone you love is a feeling that is familiar to me. See, I once had a relationship with a guy who made me feel like the impossible was possible, his love and support made me feel like their was a purpose to life. “Damn You” is another favorite, in this one Lana is angered by a guy she once dated and basically says “fuck you for being with someone else, why did you leave my side?” She sings about memories they once shared together and is saying “that’s it I’m done crying over this relationship and I hope you’re doing fine now”. I’ve also felt that way before too, I ended a relationship that was really important to me and I cried non stop, I cried for two months after it ended. One day I just told myself “stop crying and be happy for the moments you had with him, it’s time to move on and continue with your life, this isn’t the end”.
It upsets when people act like they don’t like Lana and they feel like her songs are stupid and annoying but I ask myself, have they ever really just sat down and actually listened to her songs and realize how much they can relate to them!?
I made a playlist on YouTube of a couple of my favorite unreleased songs by Lana: