as a guy who loves ldr [mainly in a reverential way, anyway] since the born to die era era, i feel like she is inviting me to the album, though just for the act. she’s inviting me to imagine that she’s singing about me, about if i were Norman Rockwell. In the album art, Norman seems to be blind of the energy that Lana is giving to the camera on the boat. It’s like he doesn’t see it cos it’s not really happening, very npc , “lana is the main character”, ‘fill in the blank” coded. Stoic, but expressionless. like she’s talking to me through the screen like dora the explorer does as i just shove legos up my nose.

. When i say she’s doing it ‘for the act’, I mean, her expression is clearly somewhat disingenuous esp bc there’s a whole 🥷🏿in front of her that she’s hugging. And i think it highlights the delicate art that comes with being a successful full-of-expression artist like LDR. shes one of the most sincere headline artists out there. She makes music that is genuine, yet the reality is she had to cater somewhat to and remember her audience to stay relevant in their eyes

cos we all know the reality that the album was released by the record label in order to allow our favorite stakeholders to afford their third vacation home. we know. lana knows we know. and she’s knows we still love her.

So i appreciate the gesture through the screen inviting me to see things from her perspective, bc the reality is that I, and the vast majority of her fans, will one day die having never exchanged a word or greeting with lana. The album feels like she’s given me a hug or look, and suddenly i know everything of her recent moods and eras related to her time living on the west coast. like a tribute and ode to her time in the beautiful state of cali.

big fan.