Pop quiz

Michelangelo Antonioni's Zabriskie Point, or grievously overworked quasi-meta record album promo art?

A.

B.

C.

Comments

[rotch]

Here too? There's no escaping her while you browse the internets...

[Glenn Kenny]

Sorry, rotch. Just struck me as funny, is all...

[MH]

Poor Lana.

[Rob]

Live performances aside, Glenn, have you heard any of her music? Some of its not half bad, even if you have to plug your ears to deafen the petulant Internet buzz....

[Russ Queen]

Video Games is a great fucking song.

[Glenn Kenny]

I was mainly amused by the ad artwork. Her whole scenario reminds me of what Robert Christgau once said about Lenny Kravitz: "That's a lot of marketing to live down" As for the music, well like my old buddy Martin Newcott said in 1974 as he returned the copy of Nico's "The End" that I'd practically forced him to check out, "Yeah, it's fine, but there's about 500 other albums I'd rather listen to first." Lately I've been listening mostly to Thelonious Monk, you know...

[Frank McDevitt]

LDR is pretty terrible. I remember showing my friend the SNL performance, and even aside from the horrible singing and awkward stage presence, she was struck by how asinine the lyrics to Video Games are. I don't know how a song that dumb managed to fool so many people into liking it.

[David Ehrenstein]

A and C are from "Zabriskie Point." Not at all familiar with B.

[Graig]

I second my man Russ Queen. Video Games is a great song. And by the time Brian Williams has joined in, you know the backlash has become tired and obvious.

[LondonLee]

I loved 'Video Games' too but, as is the speed-of-light way reputations get ruined and buzz is instantly overkilled these days, was expecting the album to be crap. But, you know what, I like it a lot - even after listening to "Monk's Music".

[rotch]

I third the thoughts on 'Video Games'.

And in all honesty, I've listened to the album a couple of times now. It's a train wreck, but a rather enjoyable one.

In a world were people like LMFAO dominate the airwaves, I really don't get what Lana Del Rey did to deserve such passionate hatred.

[Bob Solo]

I know musical tastes are among the most subjective but ... man ... that Video Games song ... I couldn't get past the 40 second mark. Reminds me of that utter shit Imogen Heap song that people couldn't get enough of. So mannered and prepackaged for a certain type of lad.

Thanks for tipping me to this, GK. Crawling back into my deprivation chamber now.

[Glenn Kenny]

@ Bob Solo: Hey, wait, come back...this Anna Calvi record is actually pretty good....!

[Claire K.]

I think lots of the LDR hatred comes from her label-created persona, which makes full use of ideas and iconography that are actually meaningful to lots of people, but which she can't seem to inhabit in any kind of legitimate or convincing way. It's as if she's too lazy to really learn the language of that world, and she and her team think that their target audience is just so dumb and credulous that they're just going to buy whatever cheap hipstamatic version of a trucker bar lounge singer they can find. It's insulting. And it's not that there's nothing at all appealing there--I first heard about her when I heard "Kinda Outta Luck" somewhere, and I thought it was super-catchy and enjoyed it until about the third listen, when I actually listened to the lyrics and realized that she kept repeating "my daddy's in the trunk of his brand new truck." Have you ever been in a fucking truck, Lana Del Rey? There's no trunk.

[Bob Solo]

I knew nothing about her persona but hated it immediately. Maybe I'm in an easily rankled mood or something. But I have trouble connecting with most au courant music. I've been listening to Hunky Dory and Houses of the Holy on repeat for weeks. I'm hardly a judge of what's hip. The last new-ish album I got all uppity about was probably Kurt Vile's Smoke Rings for My Halo.

"whatever cheap hipstamatic version of a trucker bar lounge singer they can find"

Now THAT'S poetry.

[c.t.h.]

I'll stump for Anna Calvi's future, if not every second of her present.

[Thurgood Douglass]

As not to besmirch these hollowed grounds, I won't provide a link to the half-smart/half-stupid Gawker essay posted recently refuting the notion that her reputation as a "sell out" has any bearing on her "artist" persona, or whatever the fuck you want to call it. But it did have some almost-reasonable points re: that particular label floating around the internet-sphere. That said, Glenn said it WAY better in recent tweet, and in less than 140 characters!

As far as music goes, Calvi for sure. But that new Albini-produced Cloud Nothings albums simply rocks, and deserves a listen from the kind of folks that frequent this page.

[haice]

There's a cow on the roof?
Thanks again Glenn for another educational screengrab (sorry Lana).
I watch Antonioni's gem every year (maybe I anticipate Daria and the kids too much) and never noticed the Rumpus Room was a western version of the Cocteau bar.