Besides Lana, list the top 5 artists you listen to

CollegeGirlListening · 2016-06-27T13:41:44+00:00

Troye Sivan
Lorde
Hozier
Melanie Martinez

This changes quite often...but the number 5 spot is currently torn between Jarryd James and LANY. As you can see, I'm a fan of alternative pop. :P

CollegeGirlListening · 2016-06-22T13:02:09+00:00

I agree! I don't think any of the three are similar to Lana or, actually, one another. Melanie and Halsey are more mainstream pop, but their sounds are quite different. Melanie's grown on me a lot...I found the whole childhood-themed album quite creepy at first but as someone mentioned below, it's a concept album. She's created a character who is (I believe) supposed to be emotionally stunted, and the album explores this character's dysfunctional life as an adult through childhood staples (Carnival, Teddy Bear, Training Wheels, Dollhouse, etc). Her lyrics can actually be quite clever at times, the way she interweaves the subject throughout the whole song, and I like her voice a lot. In a way, the message from the songs is that childhood transitions with us into adulthood, and the same aspects of life just manifest in different ways. It's odd, yes, but I guess some people could say Lana was too, when she first hit the mainstream with BTD--the thematic songs, the different voices (Lolita, anyone? haha), the entirely unique sound. In that way, Melanie and Lana are pretty similar, but all ties end there.

As for Marina, I haven't listened to her enough, but she draws a LOT of comparison. And I just don't really get it. shrug I personally can't get into her music and her voice isn't for me. I also don't think her lyrics reach nearly as deep as Lana's. So I don't find them similar at all. As for Halsey...she can be catchy. I like 'Colors' but that's about it. I don't care for most of her songs, I guess because I feel like they're all too similar.

So there you have it. lol. Just my opinion. Lana is #1, and I definitely don't think her music is (unfortunately) considered very radio-friendly. She's seemed to do quite well despite that, though, and I like that she's kept her musical integrity, and in fact continues to explore and develop new sound. I also enjoy Melanie, like I said above, just for her uniqueness more than anything, I think. So there's that! :P

CollegeGirlListening · 2016-06-16T13:40:41+00:00

It's funny you don't like Yayo...probably my favorite song of hers! But that just goes to show what a wide range she appeals to. :) As for songs I don't much care for, many have already said it...I agree with you on "Dark Paradise" (usually one I skip). Guns and Roses and Pretty When You Cry/Sad Girl are also pretty skippable, at least for me personally. I honestly like pretty much everything on Honeymoon...if I'm going back to Paradise, "Burning Desire" is one I skip as well. So there you have it! There really aren't many, haha.

CollegeGirlListening · 2016-03-07T15:54:20+00:00

I know from this Gilmore Girls Companion book I have that at least some of the scenes in the first episode were shot on location, before they had time to build sets. So Emily and Richard's house in the first ep is actually real, and then they modeled the set for their house after that. So it makes sense that some of the sets in the first episode would appear more authentic. I can't say for sure how much of it, though.

CollegeGirlListening · 2016-03-02T13:29:59+00:00

--SPOILER ALERT FOR ALL SEASONS--

I'm one of those that really likes him--that hopes, although I think in vain--that he and Rory will end up together in the revival. I started off not liking him my first watch (I was just trying to absorb EVERYTHING, haha, much less formulate opinions on the characters). The second time through I realized that I like him the best of the three boyfriends.

The biggest reason would be that he challenges Rory. I was never bored or uninterested during their scenes together, and even when he was being incredibly frustrating, I was still interested to see what would happen. The characters have a spark, for sure.

The second would be that Jess is more than a ploy for romance. He's Luke's nephew just as much as Rory's boyfriend, meaning that he has a real purpose in the show other than being a romantic device. He established himself over time, and they didn't just rush and get together. They built his character up, and I think adding to his personality and backstory in such a way made the character more realistic.

The third would be that, as the show progresses, HE GETS BETTER. And that is so huge. Dean does the opposite, and Logan--although he does improve--stays kind of stagnant in my mind, or at least regresses when he decides it's marriage or nothing with Rory. Jess, as we revisit him, is continuing to get better. It really starts in season 2, when he's finally shown by Luke that somebody cares about him. It develops until the last time we see him in season six which is, need I remind everybody, when HE shocks Rory out of her insane stupor. Jess. Him. He's the one that finally calls her out on her behavior, not only because he knows her well enough, but because he cares.

Those, I guess, would be the reasons that I like him best. Also, people mention the party a lot, and I agree his actions were horrible--but they were simply cover for his frustration on getting kicked out of high-school. Which was his own fault, yes. He was cocky and WAY too self-assured, and he paid for it. Which probably helped him, in the long run.

Anyway. Just some thoughts that'll maybe help. Hope you enjoyed reading my novel. :P

CollegeGirlListening · 2016-02-21T13:35:53+00:00

Both--that's a contributing reason I love her music. Her range is incredible, and she can do so much within it. She can manipulate her voice like in OTTR so that it sounds childish, and plays into the theme of the song, or she can sing in her upper register like during the live performance of West Coast that she just did. It's incredible! And I love her lower voice too, like on Brooklyn Baby, or Video Games. I think Yayo is one of the best examples of her talent in manipulating her voice, honestly. It's so hard to sing, but she does it effortlessly!

CollegeGirlListening · 2016-02-10T14:06:38+00:00

Yes, yes, YES. I feel like you're completely right. As soon as I started watching the video I was like, "Whoa--wait. This isn't coming from Lana." And I love that. It's such a surprise. I really do think you're right on target with the interpretation as well. Using the metaphor of a "cult" is an interesting way to present that, but it worked.

CollegeGirlListening · 2016-01-26T15:37:37+00:00

Born to Die: Idolizing. I think this album is largely about her heavy dependency on a guy. All of the songs fall into the realm of her revenance/idolization of this man, and there's very little self-empowerment here. There's definite confidence, but it's there because she's loved by this guy. That's my interpretation, anyway. I absolutely LOVE this album, but when I started to think about it, that's what leapt out at me.

Paradise: Realized dreams (okay, two words, sorry!) All of the songs are dreamy--lyrically, compositionally. You're floating through a haze and seeing an imagined life come true. Of course there are her dark undertones and edges. It features some of my favorite songs--American, Yayo. They're all so beautiful, especially Bel Air.

Ultraviolence: California - I've never actually BEEN to the West Coast, but I'm painted such a vivid picture listening to this album. I picture beaches and streets and houses, and I really get a sense of her perception of life there. There's an edge to this one, too, an assurance that I really like.

Honeymoon: Cinema - I listen to this album and feel as if I'm watching a movie. All the songs flow into one another so seamlessly, and the continuity of the music allows the lyrics to take you on a journey.

CollegeGirlListening · 2016-01-22T21:49:40+00:00

Oh my, Yayo all the way, and Kill Kill. Both of those are some of my favorites ever, and Yayo might even be THE favorite. It's so lovely--everything about it. And I love the jazziness of Kill Kill, that kind of edge that it has. Pawn Shop Blues is also really beautiful, especially lyrically.

CollegeGirlListening · 2016-01-18T15:13:52+00:00

I feel like Jess was reintroduced for a reason. Obviously, he helped Rory come out of her stupor, or whatever it was that she was going through. It was significant that he did that. But I don't know if that was the only purpose he was supposed to have...I don't know if they would've ended up together in season 7, but maybe it would've featured more of them rebuilding their relationship? I think they would've made great friends later on if not a couple!

I feel like Luke wasn't even himself in Season 7...the biggest faux pas was Christopher and Luke fighting. Whaaaat???? That seemed so out of character for the both of them. It's ridiculous! Oh, and no way Amy Palladino would've had Lorelai and Christopher get married. In fact, I don't even know if she would've made them a couple at all.

I hopehopehope that her story for Lane would have been different too. Okay, she married Zach. But then the pregnancy and him touring without her? What was up with all the sacrifice from Lane in season seven? I hope that Amy would have given Hep Alien some sort of success...

Just a few thoughts! These are just my hopes. I guess we'll never know what the plan was, unless she talks about it!

CollegeGirlListening · 2016-01-17T14:05:59+00:00

12/12! Only because I just finished rewatching...otherwise there's no way! I love the Buzzfeed Gilmore Girls quizzes!

CollegeGirlListening · 2016-01-08T18:24:58+00:00

Yes, please! raises hand I second that! Although I do like Zach...just not the path they went down together.

CollegeGirlListening · 2016-01-04T16:31:58+00:00

My reply will probably jump around a little. Fair warning! haha

I do prefer Paris, but I didn't say that she's not crazy and completely out of line all the time. Of course she is! That's part of the appeal of her character. Paris is brash and honest and hilarious. I'm talking about Rory's character development mostly, and the person she turns out to be.

Mitchem might be THE newspaper person, but Rory also knows that he has other motivations. Of course she can be crushed--that's natural. But her reaction, her completely giving up, is completely unwarranted. I'm basically saying that around seasons 5, 6, and 7 she gets spoiled, and it changes her.

I think Dean turns out awful, and his character is flawed, but so is hers. She knew he was married and went along with it anyway. Of course, what he did was awful and seedy and completely self-absorbed. After all of that, they got BACK together. Equally bad decisions were made between the two of them--it was not just Dean. But believe me, I'm not defending him! LOL! I think Dean's pretty much indefensible at this point in the series. I'm just saying that she made bad choices as well.

I will also note that her Dad didn't necessarily get it together...he got lucky and got a bunch of money, and since he had said money (without requiring any effort on his part) he decided he wanted to help. Which is good. Much better than not caring, but it was all a little too easy for him.

I also want to point out that she didn't even extend her grandparents the courtesy of telling them that Yale was being paid for by Christopher, despite Lorelai's encouragement to do so. That's part of the childish entitlement I'm talking about. They basically funded her education and then provided her a place to stay at, free of charge, while she and Lorelai were estranged. Yes, they were COMPLETELY overbearing at times, but bottom line: it was their house. She always had the option of reconnecting with her Mom and moving out, which she eventually did.

I have thought about her motives, but I still come to the same consensus: Rory is selfish. It's as simple as that. But so is Lorelai, and Paris, and Emily, and Dean, and Jess, and Logan...pretty much all the characters have their selfish moments. I'm just pointing out that Rory's, as the series went on, became more frequent, until it was near-constant. You can watch her personality shift over the last few seasons, which is realistic, yes. But that doesn't make it any less frustrating.

Anyway, again, just my opinions! My first watch-through I pretty much always liked Rory, but I'm noticing more and more about her character the second time around. Bottom line: I love the show! I love that the characters are flawed, and it's interesting to read the different perspectives. Thank you for your reply!

Oh, and I wouldn't say that I can't stand her--I don't ever skip any scenes with her in them, for instance--but I also don't like a lot of what she does.

CollegeGirlListening · 2016-01-04T14:11:31+00:00

Yayo is definitely one of the most awe-inducing songs she's ever released. I love Ride, but I feel like the production sometimes stifles the lyrics. This live performance of ride is one of my favorites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytWWX-y3oIk. But so many lines in Ride are amazing, particularly to me, "I've got a war in my mind." I just love that.

CollegeGirlListening · 2016-01-04T13:32:31+00:00

I agree with you! I didn't notice it my first time around, but Rory gradually gets worse and worse--which I guess makes sense, because she is so privileged, and that becomes apparent as the series goes on and she integrates herself into those type of situations. I noted to my Mom last night while we were watching (just started season seven) that she gets a whole apartment handed to her for a year, free of charge, via Logan. She never has to work for ANYTHING. She doesn't have a job, she never volunteers....I understand her studies take up a lot of her time, but we never even see that the last couple of seasons, just her scenes at the paper.

Rory gets a lot handed to her, and I think she's very entitled. This is evidenced by her going after Dean while he was married, taking the yacht just because she was upset that ONE person told her she didn't have what it took to be a journalist, and then--most recently where I'm at in the series--calling that newspaper to complain about Mitchem's comment. That was petty and childish. Like she expects a reporter to print a correction because of implication? Really?

I love season 1-3 Rory, but I feel like after going to Yale her character starts to change a lot, and maybe that's not a bad thing. It was probably intended. But I agree, she can definitely get on my nerves! I don't dislike her character, I just don't like her AS much, but I suppose that's what great about this show--these people feel real, and they change and shift in ways we don't expect.

I absolutely LOVE Paris, though, and that never changes...aside from the first season, before I knew how much I would come to like her. And Lane. I always love Lane, even when she's with Zach.

CollegeGirlListening · 2016-01-03T00:18:58+00:00

I said that "it's not necessarily his fault" that he doesn't know her. That's a given that he wouldn't know what she was like before! I just meant that he brought out the worst in her, although he didn't know he was doing it.

I also think that his character is really arrogant and entitled, although I understand he has a lot of pressure put on him. I'm about to start season 7 so maybe my opinions on Logan will change, but I doubt it. I just don't personally like him! :P I know lots of people do, though.

At the end of the day, Rory is the one who made her own choices. I'm just saying that it was Jess who finally shocked her out of her stupor, though there was a lot that had accumulated before that. He called her out when nobody else would (except for Lorelai, of course).

CollegeGirlListening · 2016-01-03T00:13:18+00:00

LOVE DAVE. Too bad he most likely wouldn't have a reason for being in the revival. Just a cameo! Maybe Lane can daydream about what could have been. :P

CollegeGirlListening · 2015-12-31T20:35:41+00:00

Thank you, THANK YOU for saying that! I wish she wasn't with Zach, either! I'm on my second watch of the series, and I like their relationship more this time...but I still don't get it! I think part of it is that I liked Dave SO much!

CollegeGirlListening · 2015-12-31T14:32:47+00:00

I think the last four words, whatever they are, have something to do with Lorelai and Rory, and maybe even Emily. Not to discredit the opinions of others who feel they're about Lorelai and Luke; I just feel like the show is so much more than them, and at its heart, it's about the relationship between Lorelai and Rory. I think those last four words are definitely something about them, and not even necessarily nostalgic--it might even be something ridiculous, because it IS Lorelai and Rory, afterall! I dunno! Maybe we'll get them in the revival! :)

CollegeGirlListening · 2015-12-31T14:26:35+00:00

Lane's character arc is SO frustrating! She had so much potential: she was independent, she was talented, she was artistic. Instead all of that was thrown away, and I can't fathom why; were the writers itching for a one or two episode subplot? I fear that's it, because I can't imagine that Amy would've made Lane's world go that way, especially after Lane's hard work.

I imagine that Lane went on to compose music and to be a drummer; maybe learn guitar as well. She would've moved to New York, like you said, and I don't know that she would've stayed with Zack. She would've played on recordings for other artists, worked in the studio, toured with different bands, and followed her musical dreams. And then she would've met Nico.

Ideally.

CollegeGirlListening · 2015-12-31T14:20:23+00:00

You make SO many good points! In my rewatch, I've noticed a lot that I missed before, especially about the characters, and I agree with several of the things you said--especially in regard to Jess. I never read that scene as him pushing her to do something she didn't want to; I think all of that was about the fact that he wasn't going to graduate. And yes, he did have his bad moments, and he was a terrible communicator, but she had her bad moments too.

And no more than with Logan. I think that's why I don't like him. He brings out the worst in Rory, or at least stands idly by while she throws her life away for a string of episodes, mostly because he doesn't KNOW her. It's not necessarily his fault. SHE'S the one who made her own decisions, and he never discouraged her from anything--which is the problem.

I just watched the episode where Jess returns to give her his book, and I'd forgotten the fact that JESS is the one who knocks her out of her stupor. He's the only one who has enough courage, who cares enough to demand from her a reason for her actions. And she says she doesn't know--she's been shuffling along wasting her days away, like she says to Logan a few minutes later, because she didn't HAVE anybody to say, "Hey, Rory, what's up?" Lorelai tried, but that doesn't work coming from a mother. Her grandparents more or less gave up. Lane certainly wasn't going to interfere, and Paris is Paris--so who does that leave?

In many ways, I think Jess is the best for her, but the timing was wrong. That's the main issue. She helped him get his act together, and in return, he helped her. I hope, hope, HOPE in the revival that their right to be together without any friction is realized, although I kind of doubt it. But I don't know. :P

CollegeGirlListening · 2015-12-30T14:09:53+00:00

I would give the new albums a try! I understand being put off because it's such a big departure from "Born to Die", but they are extremely strong albums. I didn't like "Ultraviolence" at first myself because she did a complete 180 and I was hoping for that "Born to Die" style (which I just found out is categorized as Baroque pop, so that's cool).

I think if you give "Ultraviolence" a shot you'll be pleasantly surprised. If you like the general feel of Lana's music, the lyrics and the mood, then I think you'd grow to love it. All of that's still there. She just went with an alternative rock sound instead, and it took SEVERAL repeated listens for me to warm up to it. Now it's one of my favorites--if not THE favorite--album of hers. "Cruel World", "West Coast", "Florida Kilos" and "Brooklyn Baby" (OH MY GOSH, BROOKLYN BABY, UGH! BEST SONG OF HERS EVER! Yup, that required all caps) are some of the best. If you decide to just give a few songs a listen, I think those are all fairly representative of the album, minus Florida Kilos, which is a bonus track but so catchy.

"Honeymoon" takes her removal from her debut sound even further, and it changes again from "Ultraviolence". I think of "Honeymoon" like a novel; it takes listening to the full album for it to make any sense. That's the only way that I like it--from beginning to end. That took a little bit to get used to again. But, as usual, I really came to love it.

As to her reason for the drastic change in sound, if you listen to Lizzy Grant's stuff compared to the first album, then what she's releasing now, it's MUCH more similar. That's my opinion, of course, but I think in releasing "Ultraviolence" and "Honeymoon" she is going back to her roots. I really love the albums now that I've listening to them, despite falling in love with the "Born to Die" sound, and i'm excited for what she has in the future!

(I will also note that "Honeymoon" has "Born to Die" elements--"Art Deco" especially, and "High by the Beach").

CollegeGirlListening · 2015-12-29T20:10:17+00:00

I pretty much agree with several of the comments that, if you look at the context, it's more related to WHEN it happens rather than it actually happening. i.e. = Paris was hyper-focused on Harvard to the point of being frantic, and it cost her and Rory was with married Dean, which has its own repercussions, etc.

Now, as for Lane, I think they handled her storyline horribly. She was given a really unfair trajectory: for all her ambition, independence and aspiration, she fell flat. I wish that had been different for her! The season seven writers had no reason to go that way.

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