Kissing In The Blue Dark

Part One of the Lana Del Rey Series.

“I was just in a time in my life when I had let go of my own personal career ambitions and just enjoyed being with him at home when he’d come home from work and play video games and I would write while I watched him. So I think when I wrote [Video Games] I was just reflecting on, like, the sweetness of it, but also the fact that there was something else I was longing for at the same time.” 

When I introduced this series I said I’d go album by album.

I’ve had to revise that plan, because I think we need to talk more in depth about the song “Video Games” first.

That was my introduction to Lana Del Rey—specifically, the music video. And it was the world’s introduction to her, as the lead single off her debut album Born To Die.

I still remember how it felt the first time I found it and watched it, in the fall of 2011. I was spellbound. It made me long for…something. Something I didn’t have and couldn’t name, and yet felt familiar. Like I was supposed to have it.

And in Lana, I saw someone who I wanted to be.

All of this, as some of you may know, is the energetic signature I associate with glamour.

The music “Video Games” went viral on YouTube well before the album’s release.

Many critics responded to Video Games with acclaim, praising its cinematic production. A few critics even put it on year-end best lists.

In the video, Lana cuts together clips of herself singing the song into a Macbook camera along with old cartoons, footage of Paz de la Heurta falling out of the Chateau Marmont, kids skateboarding. If you have to start somewhere with Lana, this is the place. Because the song and the music video together functions as her statement of intent as an artist. I insist you watch and listen to the whole thing before reading this post.

The Principle Qualities of Lana Del Rey’s Work

According to me! Lana may disagree!

Think of these like through-lines or unifying features. I don’t know what makes a Ford Mustang a Mustang, but I do know what makes a Lana Del Rey song sound like nothing else.

1: Evocative

For our purposes, when I say evocative, I’m referring to Lana’s talent for bringing strong images, memories, or feelings to mind. She creates many sense impressions of all kinds, though I’d say sorrow and nostalgia feature most prominently. Initially, including with “Video Games”, Lana does this through cliches. I promise that’s not meant as an insult—some of the best art we have is stuffed with cliches (such as Casablanca). “Heaven is a place on earth with you”? A cliche—a cliche borrowed from another pop song! But it’s shorthand for the kind of pie-eyed bliss that’s at odds with the melody’s sadness. This is how she describes being young and in love:

Singin' in the old bars
Swingin' with the old stars
Livin' for the fame

Kissin' in the blue dark
Playin' pool and wild darts
Video games

He holds me in his big arms
Drunk and I am seeing stars
This is all I think of

Watchin' all our friends fall
In and out of Old Paul's
This is my idea of fun
Playin' video games

There are also repeating motifs, including references to the color blue, summer, drugs, Los Angeles, and 1950s and 60s Americana.

2: Cinematic

The sweeping strings found throughout Lana’s debut give her songs a cinematic quality. Lana’s songs often feel like they come from movies. She was reportedly inspired by the soundtrack of American Beauty on Born To Die. So wrote BBC reporter Mark Savage in 2012, “it could be the lost soundtrack to a film noir.” The kind of arrangements she chooses sound like Hollywood scores from the 1940s. And those string arrangements have become a hallmark of her work, even up to her most recent release. The cinematic strings bolster the captivating imagery of her lyrics. When people describe Lana’s work as “glamorous,” it’s these stylistic choices they’re usually talking about.

3: Non-Dual

This is going to take some explanation.

We live in a world of opposites and duality. We sort things into opposite categories. Right or wrong, beautiful or ugly, strong or weak, dead or alive, success or failure.

And duality has its uses. It’s how we create the personas that we wear in front of other people all day, otherwise known as ego formation.

When I was younger, I learned that it was shameful and potentially dangerous for a girl to be demanding. I had to be the opposite of demanding. And the opposite of demanding is unassuming. I became unassuming. I learned to play very small and not ask for anything. Needless to say, this has come back to bite me in adulthood.

We learn what the acceptable pole is on the pair of opposites. And we create identities based on those acceptable poles. Our families make us do this, and so does the culture. We do this with many traits. Much of the time, it’s benign and functional. Other times, as in my case, it ends up being damaging over the long run.

Because the problem with duality is, it doesn’t leave room for the whole of who we actually are. And those disowned parts of us tend to show up sideways.

Lana’s work is non-dual. She lives in a realm of contradictions and subversion. You might call it dream logic. And if you don’t trust me yet, I’ll get to showing you what I mean. But first, we have to look at this quality in the cultural context of her debut.