I don't like Lana Del Rey but I don't know why

Submitted by JunFerra t3_11bof3m in Music

No hate to Lana del Rey fans, everyone has different tastes, I'm talking about Lana specifically. I don't think she's a bad artist. She plays some genres that I like, has a good voice and a great production. And yet, there's something about her that makes me not like her, something that puts me off, but I can't pinpoint what it is... It is her? It is something in the lyrics? Is it the fandom? Something about her gives me a bad vibe, even if her music is not bad at all.

Why is this happening? And does anyone have the same problem with her or another artist?

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Sherpa2730 t1_j9zinr2 wrote

Listening Lana del Rey is like coming down from a mdma high at 7am and realising that the people you're with are ugly and the situation you're in is quite sleazy, actually.

But you don't care because you're feeling a bit self-destructive.

Or something like that.

That's why I like her anyway, maybe that's exactly what's turning you off.

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bredpoot t1_j9zs2ml wrote

That’s an amazingly apt description - I’ve always seen her as making music for people stumbling back home in the early morning while still a little fucked up and realizing all of the shit that went down over the night but not really giving a fuck because you’re young, adventurous, and still have a little coke and tequila in your system

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JunFerra OP t1_j9zu4tn wrote

Yeah, I do agree that her music definitely has a bit of that energy.

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Al-Anda t1_j9zehyb wrote

Counterpoint: I like Lana Del Rey and don’t know why.

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mirrorsaw t1_j9zwz84 wrote

Me too, I generally never listen to pop artists but make an exception for her stuff

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RZAxlash t1_ja2n7mx wrote

Same here, but songs like blue jeans are on another level

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mpkrazy t1_j9zj5jf wrote

Me too I think it's cuz she is an original. No one sounds like her. She's like no one else.

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old--father--time t1_j9zoksj wrote

I think she sounds quite a bit like Hope Sanodval from Mazzy Star. Nothing wrong with that though

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needsmorequeso t1_ja1dn9b wrote

I hadn’t thought of that. They both have a vocal sound I might describe as distant. Like they are purposefully standing a little farther from the mic than average or like they are purposefully holding something back. Like their voice has a poker face.

It’s not a sound I’d seek out, but I kind of like them both.

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Al-Anda t1_ja1shb0 wrote

I think you’re on to something. I’ve always loved Mazzy Star too.

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barneyonmovies7 t1_j9yvmlk wrote

Lana generally sings about toxic dreams; driving off into the sunset with poisonous men and reaching for fame and fortune like in the movies. The sadness she delivers that with highlights the absurdity and tragedy of that American Dream, and that's what virtually all her songs are about. Certainly not for everyone I guess.

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DoctahFeelgood t1_j9z64xc wrote

Most of her stuff is very dreamlike as well which is why she's on my sleep playlist. I think you have to be in the mood and setting to truly enjoy her music

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808sandheartburn_ t1_j9ywf9q wrote

Lana’s influence is definitely there tho. Every “model” on Instagram has picked up a Ukulele and tried to sing like she does. Super cringey and 100% of the time it is horrible. Been going strong for over a decade now.

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LordPr0castinator t1_j9yvbyl wrote

Maybe she's just not your cup of tea and that's absolutely fine. No need to overthink it. Just focus on what you like. 😊

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Murakami241 t1_j9z9x6p wrote

I strongly dislike Enya and I don’t know why either. Her music makes me irrationally angry. She seems like a decent person so fuck knows why I feel so strongly about it.

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thisizusername t1_j9zwr3r wrote

Some people listen to Rage Against the Machine to power up, apparently some people listen Enya. Whatever works!

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Agent847 t1_j9zxpzc wrote

I have the same reaction to it. Best I can come up with is it’s like the uncanny valley of music; like AI created a voice and melody intended to make me feel something like melancholic inspiration. I hate it.

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JunFerra OP t1_j9zzdwn wrote

Funny, I think the thing I like about Enya the most is exactly that uncanniness. It's like a voice and a melody outside of this world.

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LowellGeorgeLynott t1_ja009kt wrote

Nah Enya is garbage and those Pure Moods commercials did some permanent damage.

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uSeeSizeThatChicken t1_j9z4k36 wrote

I don't know anything about her but I really dig a few of her songs I heard.

"Doin' Time" the Sublime cover is incredible. I heard that and listened to that album and I like it well enough.

"California" off the same album is a track I really like.

"Dealer" -- I love that song.

FWIW, I could not name a single Beyonce or Taylor Swift song if my life depended on it.

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bredpoot t1_j9zsy36 wrote

Listen to the album Ultraviolence. It was mostly produced by Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys and has more of a dreamy, lofi psychedelic rock feel.

“Cruel World”, “West Coast”, “Brooklyn Baby”, and “Guns & Roses” are my favorite songs on that album.

The rest of Lana’s music is good to varying degrees, but Ultraviolence is (imho) one of my top 5 favorite albums of all time

Edit: I initially said Dan co-wrote the album but he did not, just produced

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cortezthakillah t1_j9za36k wrote

Keep going- LDR has many more songs with that level of quality. She’s brilliant.

And I agree about Beyoncé and Taylor. They aren’t for me.

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hyvyys t1_j9z7wga wrote

I have a similar thing with Rihanna.

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[deleted] t1_j9zgkk3 wrote

Maybe you don’t like the taste of Coca Cola ;)

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JunFerra OP t1_j9zgwot wrote

I actually like Coca Cola, but that line... cringy as fuck

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kclongest t1_j9z0mcb wrote

I think she’s melodramatic and cringey.

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SparkDBowles t1_j9zct7f wrote

Same. She kinda sucks. Her voice is annoying and she’s terrible live.

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Meeple_person t1_j9zelau wrote

I think she's fine enough but she definitely has a studio voice.

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crudedrawer t1_ja11kbp wrote

It's okay to not like an artist for any reason but I know that ten years ago there were a lot of online people who were oddly upset that Lana Del rey wasn't her real name (the horror) and that she came from something other than abject poverty.

I wasn't sold on her at first b/c i didn't think the "woe is me I'm so beautiful yet so unhappy boo hoo" thing had legs but I think she's proven herself to be far more than that.

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bitethe2into3 t1_j9z1ijr wrote

I totally get it. I find myself coming back to musicians who I can’t stand sometimes because of their fans or following. I want to know what their enjoying so much that can be nails on a chalkboard to me. Bruce Springsteen. Seems like an amazing performer, dedicated to his fans, they to him but I can’t do it. It’s like they are enjoying this great looking burger but when you take a bite, just dog shit to you. Courtney Love was just talking up Del Rey’s genius and I was gonna give another try but probably gonna be the same situation.

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rimshot101 t1_j9zz1sv wrote

I've always felt that there was something contrived about her.

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TIFUstorytime t1_ja0bem4 wrote

My mom has this saying I love where if she gets a bad vibe off someone she “doesn’t like the face on their face”. Maybe you just don’t like the face on her face

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stevedocherty t1_ja0o5xp wrote

She’s playing a character, doesn’t bother me so did Bowie, Dylan, Madonna and I’m sure loads of other artists. I can understand why it might annoy some people who maybe want something more authentic or sincere. If you want the real deal listen to The Fall - Mark E Smith was the least showbiz guy to ever front a band.

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TAK1WSMM t1_ja0up28 wrote

Feel the same about Florence and the Machine. Great song writer, great voice. I feel uncomfortable listening to her tho lol

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LalaPaintGirl t1_j9zb4cf wrote

Same here, never cared for her music either. It’s something about her affect that’s off for me.

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HeWhoChasesChickens t1_j9zscqr wrote

Maybe it's because her persona is essentially industrial grade distilled BPD?

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SeaSetsuna t1_j9zybox wrote

Maybe the nepo baby background?

I think everyone has artists that sour the art they’ve made for one reason or another, or no reason at all.

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JunFerra OP t1_j9zyi38 wrote

Wait, hold on, she's a nepo baby? I didn't know that. Which of her relatives is famous?

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SeaSetsuna t1_ja05j99 wrote

Not egregiously nepo if that makes it better? Her dad worked for a billion dollar advertising agency based out of New York. His connections helped her with her first album (the album producer worked with McCartney, Springsteen, and Cher). Dad helped to market the album of course. She also went to Fordham University ($50k-ish a year). And apparently he’s now putting out some music.

Related?

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undernew t1_ja1ukm9 wrote

> His connections helped her with her first album (the album producer worked with McCartney, Springsteen, and Cher).

That's not true, what's your source for this? Lana placed second in a songwriting competition and that's how she got signed to the indie label 5 Point Records, her first record deal. That's how she got the connection to David Kahne.

https://youtu.be/Y9pkdwB4Eb4

> I entered a songwriting competition, I didn’t win, and one of the judges on the panel was an A&R man at a record label that had no other acts and I signed to them. We sent my demo out to five people and David Kahne got back to me that day, and said I think you’re amazing I want to start with you tomorrow. He was like my Harvard reach school, I couldn’t believe it. I was really excited. It was the first time anyone of any importance said I was good and I ran with that validation for a long time.

https://www.gq.com/story/lana-del-rey-interview-video-games/

> Dad helped to market the album of course

He wrote a press release and created a website for her, the album never had any "marketing" beyond that.

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undernew t1_ja1uua8 wrote

The other reply is incorrect, no one in her family is famous or had any connections to the music or broader entertainment industry.

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TheeEssFo t1_ja02tza wrote

I tend to agree. Fell in love with "Video Games" first time I heard it, but her Golden Age Of Hollywood vibe is just icy and unwelcoming.

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klowder42 t1_j9z96vo wrote

she is pretty vapid

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SparkDBowles t1_j9zcv74 wrote

Yeah. She just sings about “LA shit”.

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top-shop-tyrant t1_j9zei10 wrote

She's playing a character heavily inspired by David Lynch and his movies like Mulholland Drive and Blue Velvet

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GiuliaPayne_ t1_j9zt68b wrote

SAME. AND YES WITH LANA DEL REY (also with Maneskin). I think because I don't like their fans. But it's my reasoning, I have the same with a LOT of things

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Draigh1981 t1_ja0ky53 wrote

I always wonder...how well do you know their fans...I mean I like both artists you mention, but am completely unaware of how their fans are.

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PinealFever t1_ja0273h wrote

I really used to dislike Gloria Estefan. Also no idea why.

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sjfraley1975 t1_ja05tlu wrote

For me it's the utter and complete Middle Class Whiteness of her lyrics and style. The kind of hopes, dreams, and worries that seem to be the content of her lyrics are the kind of things that only become important enough to sing plaintively about if you have lived the kind of life you would expect growing up in suburbia with supportive, loving parents.

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Daveywheel t1_ja0ewlt wrote

My very first time seeing/hearing her was on Saturday night Live. So all my opinions of her were born out of those two terrible performances.

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crudedrawer t1_ja1270l wrote

They're not actually that bad. I just watched them again after A&W dropped last week and while they're not good (she's stiff, there's zero staging) it's not the disaster I remembered it being at the time.

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ledge9999 t1_ja0fiy5 wrote

There is nothing wrong with not liking her. There’s plenty of artists who I know are talented but they just don’t work for me, quite often for reasons I can’t explain. It’s no big deal. And honestly, Lana is one of them.

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420_basket_0_grass t1_ja1jaqy wrote

I have this exact same problem. I know that she has a great voice and it sounds good, but it just doesn’t resonate with me🤷🏽‍♂️.

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yesimextra t1_ja1kfxv wrote

I was just thinking similar thoughts while listening to her new single last night. I love her voice, the music, the kind of dream-I’m-in-a-trance vibe that she gives off but some of the lyrics I’m just completely and utterly unable to connect to or vibe with. As much as I want to love her she makes it so difficult to do so.

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JunFerra OP t1_ja2jd4e wrote

I think you hit the nail here: a lot of people here in this thread think that I don't like the """"uncomfortable"""" song topics, the melodrama or the character, and I don't think that's the case. The problem is the connection. She's a great artist, but I can't connect to her.

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yesimextra t1_ja33gub wrote

I haven’t connected since Born to Die. I keep revisiting her music thinking things will change but they so far haven’t.

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psych_ike t1_j9z21kj wrote

A girl once told me the most satisfying “cry session” she ever had was when she covered herself in BBQ sauce in the bathtub blaring Lana Del Ray. I was in awe lol

I guess you either love her, or hate her. There can’t really be an in between.

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funkypjb t1_ja18awh wrote

I think this story might help OP know why they don’t like Lana Del Rey.

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decentlyfair t1_j9ze9os wrote

I loved her first album and still regularly play it, 2 nd I did not really like. 3 and 4 yup liked them but I think she is going off the boil now. Saw her in the Uk a couple times and enjoyed both times. Sometimes I am in the mood for dreamy and/or toxic nonsense. Right now I am having a rock days. So depends on mood.

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gordo623 t1_ja02wzt wrote

I’ve never listened to Lana Rhodes music but she seems pleasant enough.

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Slippy771 t1_ja0h2xr wrote

I like her music..

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JunFerra OP t1_ja0hc5t wrote

That's perfectly fine, music is an art and art is largely subjective, of course everyone will have different opinions on this.

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Slippy771 t1_ja0hg88 wrote

True. I find with her it’s like or dislike. No in between.

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xylia13 t1_ja19p1o wrote

Ehhh not 100% true. I absolutely love a handful of her songs, and others I just don’t like at all.

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__Seris__ t1_ja0io29 wrote

Simply put, her music is too depressing to listen to

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Draigh1981 t1_ja0l8ek wrote

I find her music more dreamy than depressing.

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Hollow_King t1_ja0kwzi wrote

What about Lana Del Rabies?

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Fit-Recognition-5969 t1_ja0t9f7 wrote

I did a YouTube query of her work. Finished the song list in about 2 hours. Not one sparked an interest to hear more. She seemed to try to hard to be singer, Too artsy for my tastes.

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vikingjayX t1_ja0xfg6 wrote

Sounds like someone had a bad case of summertime sadness.

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stenaldermand t1_ja27n4b wrote

I dont like how most of her songs are about somehow being proud of staying in relationships with abusive men. It seems like she thinks suffering for no reason makes you a better person. But thats just me.

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DogOk1536 t1_ja2sc3q wrote

I don't have a problem with her as a person and I acknowlege her talent, but her music just doesn't resonate with me. Maybe I should give her music another try, but for now I haven't found a song that really captured my attention.

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usernamen_77 t1_j9znvlc wrote

Cat power, Mitski, Bar For Lashes, all do that shtick better, without the weird tragic poet/artisté thingy that all the goth girls wanted to be in HS, I enjoy ride, & a few of her other songs, but I can't have her on all day, maybe it's better when you got someone to hold onto though

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goodnewsfromcali t1_ja03am4 wrote

Some people can tell when a so called artist isn’t genuine. There’s heaven given bookish geniuses like Tom Waits, Patti Smith or Dylan. Then there are the pretty vapid headed bohemian wanna be rich ones who have never been in the gutter of life besides being jilted by a boyfriend. She is singing to a specific crowd of mostly yt little crybaby well to do fancy pants girlies.

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Draigh1981 t1_ja0lmge wrote

Wow,did she kill your dog or something? Also when did being in the gutter start being a qualification on how to be a great artist?

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DeadMansPizzaParty t1_ja0cihq wrote

Maybe because she jumped from being Lizzie Grant to be what feels like a very manufactured artist?

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Bubbly_Goose8183 t1_ja0k8lk wrote

don't force yourself to listen to it, just listen to it when you have free time and nothing to do and maybe you'll like it

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Bubbly_Goose8183 t1_ja0kwal wrote

Note:I didn't like the beatles but i listen a album from them in my free time and now i'm a fan from them

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JunFerra OP t1_ja0ld7t wrote

I actually listened to an album of her (because it was in the list of 1001 to listen before you die) and some spare songs from other albums. Not my cup of tea.

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Gary_Vigoda t1_ja0vet6 wrote

A corporate create 'alt' character. She's fake. That's why you don't like her is because it's like being next to a West World android. It's close to real, it just feels off.

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maxmouze t1_ja15uuk wrote

This is the answer, I think. Lana Del Rey's music doesn't sound like she's writing songs based on her life experiences. It sounds like she's writing songs as part of her gimmick of being an edgy cinematic character. Therefore it feels contrived and not an inner look at the singer/songwriter's inner psyche. It's why you can enjoy pop music but if it's just purchased songs from other songwriters (like a Britney Spears album), it feels hollow to listen to it too much.

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tenfootspy t1_ja1r19b wrote

I used to think, and say, that her music and voice was like if a bottle of Zoloft recorded an album. I've since come around on her stuff and feel a bit differently.

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5kyl3r t1_ja26hxl wrote

>it's not even summer, why does the DJ keep playing summertime sadness?

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scrmingmn69 t1_ja35qwp wrote

I like her music but think she's a bad person.

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catladyforever22 t1_ja37ilh wrote

I love Lana and her music but alot of the Lana stans are very toxic, they ruin it all for me. Especially the ones who compare her to her older pics and appearance. Like ofc she's not gonna look the same at 37 as when she was 25.

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JDUB775 t1_ja3alka wrote

I didn't realize I felt the same way until reading this.

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anthony_is_ t1_ja073o6 wrote

The word you’re looking for is: Vapidity.

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scottwmitchell t1_ja091jp wrote

I’ll tell you why! Because she blatantly ripped off Radiohead and then went to the press and cried they were going to sue her when Radiohead actually didn’t say anything at all. She created a big media thing just for attention and it worked.

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something_insane t1_ja0o9du wrote

Being a partial Lana Del Ray fan (some of her work I’m obsessed with and some I’m more hesitant to return to) I think I can say that it’s probably the fact that many of her songs cover complex topics that take while to sink in, even from the beginning of the song. You play it and you’re waiting a while for that part you love. And if you wait long enough, it comes.

Also sometimes she’s very personal to the point of it being uncomfortable, especially in songs when she’s detailing her sex life.

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JunFerra OP t1_ja0oj1o wrote

It's not exactly the song topics, I listen to songs andg genres that deal with way worse topics. It's something about the general vibe of her...

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something_insane t1_ja0rtj1 wrote

Ok. Could I ask what albums/songs have you listened to? Maybe there’s better ones that you haven’t discovered yet

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GlueForSniffing t1_ja23mcw wrote

Maybe it's her cold shoulder nature of her PUBLIC IMAGE?

( She is a person and only human though. She is known to have a very sweet side to her. But I think she plays the resting bitch face diva that people want and expect from her image from time to time.

People want that materialistic, gold digging, grab the bag starlet she portrayed early on. )

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Numerous-Explorer-18 t1_ja2c6tx wrote

So you expect other people to tell you why you don't like Lana?

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TalboGold t1_ja09xhd wrote

Because she’s gross ?

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KingBasten t1_j9zsg1z wrote

It's because she's a female? How many female artists do you like, honest question.

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JunFerra OP t1_j9ztlqi wrote

A lot lol. Björk, Rosalía, Tina Turner, Suzie Quatro, Siouxsie Sioux, Queen Latifah, Ariana Grande, Lingua Ignota, Janis Joplin, Whitney Houston, Julieta Venegas, Natalia Lafourcade, Mon Laferte, Mercedes Sosa, Taylor Swift, Debbie Harry, Cindy Lauper, Hope Sanodval (Mazzy Star), SOPHIE, Charlie XCX, Ann and Nancy Wilson (Heart), Aretha Franklin, a lot of symphonic metal vocalists...

The fact that you want to accuse me, a woman who suffered from sexism, of being sexist is mind boggling.

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[deleted] t1_j9z0n4d wrote

[deleted]

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JunFerra OP t1_j9z0vqa wrote

I wouldn't insult her fans like that, everyone has different tastes. One of my friends is a big fan of Lana and she's super nice, she even acknowledges that some of her lyrics are a bit cringe.

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SparkDBowles t1_j9zczsq wrote

Idk if I’d go that far, bus it’s def vapid scene girl music.

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