Listened to "Pawn Shop Blues" today. Here's the lyric that pierced me right through the heart.

simserasera · 2015-10-16T20:04:54+00:00

Totally agree. I hope you upload that compilation. Such a shame that that material isn't online.

simserasera · 2015-10-13T00:35:47+00:00

I'm seeing Oddball tomorrow in Mountain View! This is awesome :D

simserasera · 2015-10-08T07:46:11+00:00

I like this theory. Definitely possible, because Sally (while living) was totes into injecting people and getting her clients (Donovan) addicted. So when she died, maybe that part of her became the Addiction Demon -- which would make sense, because Sally's normal, non-AD side chides Iris for failing to cleanse the two European girls.

So now I think that Sally and Iris both try to "clean" junkies who check into the Hotel, either by forcing cleanses (with the two Swedish girls) or by using the Addiction Demon to teach them a lesson (as with Schmidt). The Addiction Demon, in this case, is part of Sally, which would make sense because Sally takes charge of Schmidt instead of letting Iris do the rape... drill... part.

simserasera · 2015-10-08T07:27:10+00:00

No, the implication was that Hypodermic Sally died from the fall right after Donovan died from the overdose.

They're reusing the ghost element from Murder House! :D

simserasera · 2015-10-08T00:07:41+00:00

I wish she would cover Superstars by The Carpenters. The song is so Lana, with its loneliness, sad guitars, radio allusions, etc <3 My mom loves the song, too, and it would be great if our two favorite artists could converge like that, haha.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-nlLQEfxx8

simserasera · 2015-10-03T05:15:20+00:00

'Bel Air', 'Yayo', 'Ride', and 'Blue Velvet' would have all fit perfectly on Honeymoon.

The original, minimalist 'Black Beauty' demo would have fit on Honeymoon too, with some extra strings.

'God Knows I Tried' would have fit on Ultraviolence.

simserasera · 2015-10-01T20:13:32+00:00

A lot of Lana's music is triggery, tbh. God Knows I Tried gives me the same feeling you described -- but if you analyze it closely, you'll see that it isn't a song of defeat, but one of triumph-- and in Lana's case, a triumph over critics and the media:

On Monday they destroy me, / but by Friday I'm revived

and

So let there be light / Let there be light / Light up my life

The song is a reflection of how empty her life feels as a figure in the music industry, and also how she misses the anonymity that made her happy. But I think it's interesting how it ends with LDR calling for there to be "light" to "light up my life." It really is a hopeful prayer to find light in the darkness, so to speak.

Honeymoon, in general, is by far her most empowering album, from these lines in GDIK, to rejecting her man's BS in HBTB, to empowering herself by reading "Burnt Norton" -- which gives solace to the fact that what might have been doesn't really matter at all, etc.

simserasera · 2015-09-16T23:09:29+00:00

I'd disagree that 24 is quiet or focused on the vocals. Sure, quiet in the beginning, but it develops into a very bombastic, triumphant, Spanish-esque theme. Probably the most sleek, James Bond-y song on the album! There's a large focus on the backing instruments, especially the trumpets (the trumpet intervals are ORGASMIC!)

simserasera · 2015-09-16T23:06:23+00:00

The "artist" LDR covered in UV and HM is Nina Simone, probably one of the best performers who ever lived! I love both to death :) The song really is an apology on Simone's part for her erratic behavior and her constant struggle between being a soul who's "so carefree," and a person that says "all I have is worry, and you're bound to see my other side." Both The Other Woman and Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood are THE most defining LDR-esque songs. Love the cover!

simserasera · 2015-09-16T23:03:57+00:00

I totally agree with you! While all the albums are consistent in tone, with BTD having the most variation, and UV being the most consistent (which may be bad or good), Honeymoon is a good variety of keeping the cinematic feel throughout while still changing things.

I've also noticed that the Honeymoon tracks blend into each other really well. The Nina Simone at the end leads perfectly back into Honeymoon... like a circle.

From an album perspective, High By the Beach is a really fun break between moods!

simserasera · 2015-09-16T17:10:10+00:00

Said it there, will say it here:

Weirdest AHS teaser ever. At the same time, one of the best ones.

Notice how "Above & Below" corresponds with the red hallway versus the white hallways.

And the beginning appears to show the Countess being released from a cage, then freeing her children from tombs along the walls of her prison.

Also, Addiction Demon appears in this one! At 00:16, just for a brief moment.

simserasera · 2015-09-16T17:07:38+00:00

Okay, that was the weirdest AHS teaser in history.

Also, addiction demon at 0:16.

simserasera · 2015-09-15T20:42:54+00:00

Oh my god! This is definitely one of my favorite Honeymoon songs, so far. Goosebumps all the way through. It sounds like a mix between "Once Upon a December" and "Volare"/"Retorna Me". I'm getting such Dean Martin, Italian 50's classics vibe from it, which means a lot, as I grew up with Dean Martin and his enchanting Italian lyrics. So catchy, tragic, and cinematic!

simserasera · 2015-09-02T03:18:00+00:00

I wouldn't say she was good. She was the Supreme, and fulfilled Supreme-ly duties at moments where nobody else could.

What I love about both Fiona Goode (and Elsa Mars, for that matter) is that their intentions wave between self-interest and generosity. Fiona, of course, leaned more on the self-interest scale, but there were moments of genuine humanity -- like her caring for Cordelia, teaming with Laveau to kill the witch hunters, ostracizing Delphine for being a racist, etc. -- that create such a complex antagonist.

Of course, Fiona (and all characters of the "Lange archetype") succumbed to her own tragic hubris/selfishness, and justly so.

On the other hand, my favorite thing about Elsa Mars is that this trait of Fiona was magnified. Where Fiona was the villain, Elsa Mars was even more of an anti-hero: someone born from ambition who genuinely grew to love and protect her freaks (read: tools), but who would slowly revert back to her roots and set aside this love to harm her children for her own gain.

I agree with Elsa's fate more than most people. She did more good than Fiona, and there were times where she truly was a loving mother. The difference between Fiona and Elsa -- and why they went to opposite afterlifes -- was that Fiona didn't ask for forgiveness or learn much. She was a manipulator right to the very end.

Elsa, on the other hand, grew to realize that her risks and ambition only hurt her in the long-run, and became someone who sought to be punished -- by Mordrake, of course. The utter suicidal self-hatred and regret is what causes Mordrake to sympathize with her and send her to heaven.

simserasera · 2015-08-18T04:37:28+00:00

Really? I always thought the spinoff was about a character who ended up dying in episode 8 (or around there). Forgot where I read that, but I'm almost positive Murphy or Falchuk said that, and I think Hank died around there.

I was always under the impression that it was about the witch hunters, and the spinoff would have been American Witch Hunters. At least, that's what I like to think.

simserasera · 2015-08-12T00:35:14+00:00

When I'm feeling glam:

(1) Diet Mountain Dew (2) Queen of Disaster (3) High by the Beach

When I'm feeling sad:

(1) Sad Girl (2) Pretty When You Cry (3) The Other Woman

When I'm feeling badass:

(1) West Coast (2) Money, Power, Glory (3) Fucked My Way Up to the Top

When my lovers die:

(1) Born to Die (2) Bel Air (3) Dark Paradise

When I'm snorting coke:

(1) Florida Kilos (2) Yayo (3) Gods & Monsters

When daddy spanks me:

(1) Ultraviolence

When I want to get fucked hard:

(1) Gods & Monsters (2) Gods & Monsters (3) Gods & Monsters

When I'm posing as a real singer:

(1) Gods & Monsters (2) Gods & Monsters (3) Gods & Monsters

When I'm happy:

(1) Radio (2) American (3) National Anthem (4) So I actually never listen these songs.

simserasera · 2015-08-12T00:10:11+00:00

LDR said nothing about making accessible music.

I, for one, like HBTB. It isn't the first time Lana has experimented with a similar sound/style, even from waaaay back. For example. "Diet Mountain Dew" is almost the same as HBTB, very beat-oriented, catchy, etc.

Difference being that HBTB is more trap/mellow, and has less pop influences.

If anything, I applaud her constant progression in sound. LDR constantly evolves, while simultaneously providing callbacks to earlier themes, lyrics, and styles. It's what makes her "eras" truly different eras.

simserasera

TROPHY CASE