Which is why I stated "Melodramatic in a bad way" in my comment.
Anyway, onto Lana at #38.
COMPLETE - The Indie/Alt Pop/Not-quite-'Mainstream'-but-still-accessible Girls 2017 Rate!!1
- Thread starter constantino
- Start date
Which is why I stated "Melodramatic in a bad way" in my comment.
Anyway, onto Lana at #38.
Correct! But which one...
Hip-Hop in the summer (What? What? What?)
Don't be a bummer, babe (What? What? Yeah?)
Be my undercover lover, babe, hmm
(What? What? What? What? What? What? Yeah, what? What? What?)
High tops in the summer (summer, what? What? What?)
Don't be a bummer, babe (summer, what? What? What?)
Be my undercover lover, babe, hmm (What? What? What? What? What?)
38. Lana Del Rey - Summer Bummer (featuring A$AP Rocky and Playboi Carti)
Average: 7.806
High: 10 x 11 (@happiestgirl @enjoy @LE0Night @Joe. @Jwentz @sfmartin @Kuhleezi @Remorque @soratami @Euphoria @Rem)
Low: 2 x 1 (@Fantasy)
My score: 9
10 voters in: 35
20 voters in: 46
30 voters in: 30
40 voters in: 30
50 voters in: 35
60 voters in: 36
Lana sustains her first cut from the top 40, and it's time for the second (and better) hip-hop-infused track from Lust For Life to depart. Except for one blip at the 20 voter mark, this sat comfortably within the top 40 and sat on the edge of the top 30 for 20 voters in the middle of the voting period, before falling back into its rightful place in the lower section of the top 40. Honestly, I like this a lot more than I used to, but I'm okay with this being the song to go at this stage; not like this is bad or anything, but it's my least favourite Lana cut remaining.
Summer might just be my least favourite SEASON of all and so I'm always wary of these kinds of songs because it antagonises me a bit. However, this is MY kinda summer anthem - it's sticky, it's hazy, it's dense and yet sparse at the same time...it's not bright blues and yellows...but red and sepia...it's all very Lana in 2017 and I live for it. Because we're in the throws of winter (yas), I can't fully appreciate it at the moment but I can't wait to blast this when I'm in the 40C heat of Cyprus this summer (in the air conditioning ddd). I absolutely love the features, A$AP's in particular is absolutely essential and feels like a genuine collaboration, rather than just a copy and paste verse that a lot of other pop girls chuck at us, which is generally another reason to appreciate Lana.
This was one of the most-hyped tracks before the album dropped; back in June, she revealed that she and ASAP Rocky had collaborated on a track for the album by posting a snippet of the song on Instagram with the caption: "We made a lot of good ones but I think we picked the best ones for the record". After a number of snippets had began to circulate, she posted a video of herself listening to a snippet of the song and revealed that it would be released on July 12, 2017, along with Groupie Love. On July 12, 2017, Zane Lowe premiered both tracks on Beats 1 Radio, immediately after which Lust for Life put up for pre-order and the ball finally got rolling (what a wait that was).
GimmeWork (3) tries to get cute with the wordplay: This is actually one of the biggest bummers on the whole album. Sounds like Lana covering a demo that Ariana rejected for Dangerous Woman.
Trouble in Paradise (4) was left unimpressed...or should I say...bummed out? I’m so split on this song cause I like all of Lana’s parts but the features really bum me out. Overall, such a let down after “White Mustang.”
Jackarywoo (5) continues to dodge complementing Lana like the good sis dodges men less than 10 years her senior: At least A$AP Rocky made it a bit interesting.
Stradiwhovius (5.5) seems to think there is more than one featured artist on this track: The features completely outshine here. There's a good sense of atmosphere and beat going but not enough.
CorgiCorgiCorgi (7): I think I prefer the Snakehips remix to the original. Well I disagree but have attached it below so y’all can make your minds up.
Bleedingheart80 (8) appreciates the features: This gets a higher score just for the features which makes the song go off.
Michael17 (8)...doesn't: Not a fan of the raps, but it does break up the first five songs which sound a bit too similar for me. Sexy and warm vocals from Lana make this one to return to.
kalonite (9) had a similar turnaround to me, it seems: Really didn't think I'd like this in the run up to its release, but it's actually pretty fantastic. "Tie you up in my daisy chains" is a lyric. The only issue I have is the callouts in the A$AP verse that sound like tags on a leaked demo.
This was Sprockrooster’s (9) ‘anthem when it was released as a promo-single. But kind of lost it's shine mostly when listening to this in the context of the album. Not sure if it is because of the placement on the tracklist or simply overkill. During this rate I have warmed towards it a bit again.’ Glad I could help!
Bangers&Bops (9) gives us a trap thesis: Turning up the star power by two for A$AP’s first appearance on the album, Lana plays with the trap beats she began to favor in Honeymoon, and what better pair to traipse this world alongside her than her hip-hop JFK and Cash Carti? She trades verses about lovers not being bummers while Carti and Rocky shower her with, um, compliments: “Her sophistication makes you want to quit the bitch you’re dating.” Can’t argue with that logic (or with the delectable beat).
AshleyKerwin (9.5) throws in a reference for the film fanatic fish among us: This needs to be in a Sofia Coppola movie. Yas!
mokitsu (9.5) makes some...interesting claims: ‘This is such a polarizing track and I certainly have a love/hate relationship with it. It's very hypnotic, I love the combination of the piano and the trap instrumental. It definitely sounds like it has some production problems but it kinda makes it more charming?’ Polarizing?? I didn’t see one hater during its time of release…Groupie Love and Coachella, however...
10-giver happiestgirl’s dreams sound more like nightmares to me...'So smooth and sexy. Love playboi carti’s “feature”. That background wailing is iconic and haunts my dreams.'
Kuhleezi (10) serves some relatability: Lana's verse is so hard to sing along to, there's literally no time to breathe throughout. She's definitely not going to include it in her live setlists any time soon I'm afraid. I never even attempted A$AP's because I'm not that delusional. As I've said a million times before, the outro is to die for. A moment.
With no 11-givers, we'll close with sfmartin (10), who co-signs the song of the summer claims: I can't get enough of the beautiful morose vibes that launch the song. Some might say it's a bit gloomy but it all works for me; the intricate instrumental, all bass, piano, blips. The long and winding rap sections that twist and turn, the intoxicating chorus...and we're not even half way through! This was my song of the summer. So many interesting parts to get lost in.
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Uhhhhhh
I adore ‘Summer Bummer’. It envokes such a great late scorching summer’s eve nostalgia to me (even though it was rainy and grey in London all summer after Lust For Life was released...) and it’s a bit of a departure for Lana sonically. It starts off very textbook melancholic Del Rey but then it gets going and it bops.
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Sometimes I forget that you’re 8.
Lana is so adept at sweaty summer anthems. See also - West Coast.
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It’s not even close to true if you’ve listened to that album or Summer Bummer for that matter. For one, Dangerous Woman is built on immense choruses while Summer Bummer in particular is all about building atmosphere. Secondly, Ariana has never done something as languid and also hip hop oriented as Summer Bummer.
I’m all for difference of opinion but Summer Bummer is fundamentally different than anything on Dangerous Woman.
This one hurts...
I spent a year suspended in air
My mind on the gap
my head on the stairs
FROM HEALERS TO DEALERS
AND THEN BACK AGAIN
FROM GURU TO VOODOO
AND VOODOO TO ZEN
37. St Vincent - Pills
Average: 7.81
High: 10 x 11 (@enjoy @Sanctuary @JapaneseJesus @LE0Night @Bangers&Bops @Animalia @Michael17 @Oleander @Remyky22 @beyoncésweave)
Low: 2.5 x 1 (@mokitsu)
My score: 10
10 voters in: 33
20 voters in: 30
30 voters in: 33
40 voters in: 34
50 voters in: 34
60 voters in: 38
Y’all really have no respect, do you? This track deserved to make top thirty and but that was just TOO MUCH to ask, apparently. This started the rate with a 2.5 from our ever first voter and from then i suddenly realised that it was not gonna trouble the top 20 like I thought it would. This got more of a reaction in the St Vincent thread than both New York and Los Ageless, which led me to believe that this would do just as well as not better than the former. But hey, this song DOES mark the first elimination that remained in the top 40 throughout voting without falling out even once.
This is an absolute BOP and y’all underrated this by letting it fall so soon. This is theatrical, it’s energetic, it’s fun and it’s one of the most dynamic songs of the year. The colourful soundscapes are accompanied by the glossy and bright image in the artwork above...shame about the video being AWFUL no tea. I was a bit shook to learn that Annie’s ex Cara Delevingne sang the chorus because I honestly couldn’t tell. Another interesting thing about this song is that people tend to misinterpret it; many of you took it as a comment on society and the overuse of medication, when actually it was written introspectively regarding Annie’s own addiction. Makes you think.
Critics absolutely adored this track and the #discourse around the inspiration behind the song has made it one of the more popular tracks from the album to discuss in interviews, as shown by the amount of writers who have focused on this track in particular:
From Rolling Stone:
In 2014, Annie Clark's career could not have been going better. After years of carving out her place as a cult hero, the singer-guitarist – who records as St. Vincent – found a surprising level of success with her fourth LP, St. Vincent, which reached Number 12 on the album charts. Clark toured the world, fronted Nirvana at their live reunion at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony and turned in one of the more memorable Saturday Night Live performances in recent years, playing inside a giant box and doing strange choreography between fuzz-guitar outbursts.
But if you ask Clark, that period wasn't a lot of fun. "I was going out of my mind," she says. "I was on the road constantly and just trying to keep up with the pace. It was go-go-go, and I didn't have incredibly well-developed coping mechanisms. I was just trying to keep my sanity." Clark started taking medication for anxiety and depression. Today, she credits pharmaceuticals with helping her move on to the next phase of her career. In fact, they even influenced her excellent new album, Masseduction (out October 13th); one of the first songs she wrote for the LP was "Pills," a jittery guitar-scraper with a childlike melody.
And an...interesting excerpt from her track-by-track interview with Pitchfork, where the interviewer sounds pretentious and 'high brow' as fuck...and the good sis Annie just shuts him down:
Interviewer: After the desperation of “Hang on Me,” this song about pills acts as its own pick-me-up within the album. Sonically, it actually reminds me of “The Real Slim Shady” by Eminem. (C: wtf, dude)
Annie: Oh, cool. I love that song. I was definitely listening to Eminem, because that stuff still bangs so hard. This song is intended to be kind of a banger.
Interview “Pills” has some fun with the idea of pill-popping but it also includes an extended outro that serves as its own comedown. What’s your take on the proliferation of pills as a cure-all for so many modern maladies?
Annie: The song wasn’t intended as this moral indictment of the state of the pharmaceutical industry in the U.S. I don’t think it works to write finger-wagging songs, because it’s condescending to the audience and just a bummer to listen to. This song is super personal for me, a little snapshot of a small period of my life. I was having trouble sleeping and I had taken a sleeping pill. As I was popping it into my mouth, I was like, [sings] “Do-do-do, do-do-do, pills, pills, pills, every day of the week—oh, maybe that’s so jingle-y that it’s good.” Just using that language of advertising.
Interviewer: The producer Sounwave, best known for his work with Kendrick Lamar, did some drum programming for this song. How did that come about?
Annie: I’d worked with Sounwave on a cover of the Stones’ “Emotional Rescue” for a film called A Bigger Splash. We hit it off and worked on a couple of other tracks together. When Kendrick was making DAMN., Sounwave came to my studio, and I just freestyled on guitar for a long time on different ideas that Kendrick was working on. None of that stuff ended up getting used on the record, but Sounwave is always looking for the next, the most innovative thing.
Now onto some less important insights:
Low scorer Mokitsu (2.5) doesn’t get it, and it’s his loss quite frankly: ‘This is all over the place, annoying and I really dislike the lyrics. It's social commentary gone wrong.’ Well it isn't even social commentary but go off, I guess.
Stradiwhovius (6) is also confused and doesn't even know it, poor thing: I… Expect better of Annie than what sounds like a half-assed "this isn't an antidepressant, THIS is an antidepressant" message. Which is a shame because the last two minutes are sublime.
It may not be pills, but soratami (7) is definitely on something…’The chorus here is the low point of an otherwise flawless album’.
sfmartin (8) at least appreciates the flawless production: It’s good but a bit repetitive. The production is top notch of course. It sure is!
ufint (8) calls it ‘so avant-garde. It’s a bit presumptuous, but Annie is spilling the tea here, so it’s all good.’
kalonite (9) is 'in love with the massive outro.'
Cassava (9) uses his commentary to pay tribute 'to those chasing SSRIs with vodka, cheers!'. Okay...work.
You can count on happiestgirl (9) to misbehave: 'What an amazing little song. Destroy society a bit hun.' Trust a Lana stan to love the song about drug addiction…
Even Bleedingheart80 (9) is getting her life! 'Listen to her shred those guitars. YES! This is quite a fun song to bop along to.'
Trouble in Paradise (9.5) has an...anecdote to share with the group: 'The first time I heard this song, I was really disappointed, but given time I’ve come to love it. My best friend originally misheard “pills” for “girls” which I find to be a great misheard lyric. The sax in the second verse really makes the song for me.' Your friend needs a hearing aid.
Enjoy (10) questions her choice of streaming service...with good reason: ANNIE SIS, TIDAL RELEASE, REALLY ? Aside from that mess, i really love this. That change of gears after the three minutes in is what makes this so gold. Other girls could never.
Michael17 (10) is on the defensive...for the right team for a change: I, for one, love the chorus. The most immediate song of the record, and perhaps the best of all. The background chatter in the chorus is great, too. The finale is very beautiful and impressive. Has a lot of star-power. My only 10 on the entire rate. Not quite an 11, though.
We'll close with Bangers&Bops (10), who serves us conciseness and insight as always: If Masseduction deals in extremities, “Pills” is a prime example. Over its near-five minutes, the track hurtles forward at a frantic, machine-like pace, before finally whirring down to a sleepy outro for the comedown. Meanwhile, an eerie chant that reads like some kind of dystopian pharmaceutical ad runs on loop.
I'm only posting the audio with the gorgeous single cover because the video can choke
WHEW that was a tough one, I need a fucking Xanax...
I spent a year suspended in air
My mind on the gap
my head on the stairs
FROM HEALERS TO DEALERS
AND THEN BACK AGAIN
FROM GURU TO VOODOO
AND VOODOO TO ZEN
37. St Vincent - Pills
Average: 7.81
High: 10 x 11 (@enjoy @Sanctuary @JapaneseJesus @LE0Night @Bangers&Bops @Animalia @Michael17 @Oleander @Remyky22 @beyoncésweave)
Low: 2.5 x 1 (@mokitsu)
My score: 10
10 voters in: 33
20 voters in: 30
30 voters in: 33
40 voters in: 34
50 voters in: 34
60 voters in: 38
Y’all really have no respect, do you? This track deserved to make top thirty and but that was just TOO MUCH to ask, apparently. This started the rate with a 2.5 from our ever first voter and from then i suddenly realised that it was not gonna trouble the top 20 like I thought it would. This got more of a reaction in the St Vincent thread than both New York and Los Ageless, which led me to believe that this would do just as well as not better than the former. But hey, this song DOES mark the first elimination that remained in the top 40 throughout voting without falling out even once.
This is an absolute BOP and y’all underrated this by letting it fall so soon. This is theatrical, it’s energetic, it’s fun and it’s one of the most dynamic songs of the year. The colourful soundscapes are accompanied by the glossy and bright image in the artwork above...shame about the video being AWFUL no tea. I was a bit shook to learn that Annie’s ex Cara Delevingne sang the chorus because I honestly couldn’t tell. Another interesting thing about this song is that people tend to misinterpret it; many of you took it as a comment on society and the overuse of medication, when actually it was written introspectively regarding Annie’s own addiction. Makes you think.
Critics absolutely adored this track and the #discourse around the inspiration behind the song has made it one of the more popular tracks from the album to discuss in interviews, as shown by the amount of writers who have focused on this track in particular:
From Rolling Stone:
In 2014, Annie Clark's career could not have been going better. After years of carving out her place as a cult hero, the singer-guitarist – who records as St. Vincent – found a surprising level of success with her fourth LP, St. Vincent, which reached Number 12 on the album charts. Clark toured the world, fronted Nirvana at their live reunion at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony and turned in one of the more memorable Saturday Night Live performances in recent years, playing inside a giant box and doing strange choreography between fuzz-guitar outbursts.
But if you ask Clark, that period wasn't a lot of fun. "I was going out of my mind," she says. "I was on the road constantly and just trying to keep up with the pace. It was go-go-go, and I didn't have incredibly well-developed coping mechanisms. I was just trying to keep my sanity." Clark started taking medication for anxiety and depression. Today, she credits pharmaceuticals with helping her move on to the next phase of her career. In fact, they even influenced her excellent new album, Masseduction (out October 13th); one of the first songs she wrote for the LP was "Pills," a jittery guitar-scraper with a childlike melody.
And an...interesting excerpt from her track-by-track interview with Pitchfork, where the interviewer sounds pretentious and 'high brow' as fuck...and the good sis Annie just shuts him down:
Interviewer: After the desperation of “Hang on Me,” this song about pills acts as its own pick-me-up within the album. Sonically, it actually reminds me of “The Real Slim Shady” by Eminem. (C: wtf, dude)
Annie: Oh, cool. I love that song. I was definitely listening to Eminem, because that stuff still bangs so hard. This song is intended to be kind of a banger.
Interview “Pills” has some fun with the idea of pill-popping but it also includes an extended outro that serves as its own comedown. What’s your take on the proliferation of pills as a cure-all for so many modern maladies?
Annie: The song wasn’t intended as this moral indictment of the state of the pharmaceutical industry in the U.S. I don’t think it works to write finger-wagging songs, because it’s condescending to the audience and just a bummer to listen to. This song is super personal for me, a little snapshot of a small period of my life. I was having trouble sleeping and I had taken a sleeping pill. As I was popping it into my mouth, I was like, [sings] “Do-do-do, do-do-do, pills, pills, pills, every day of the week—oh, maybe that’s so jingle-y that it’s good.” Just using that language of advertising.
Interviewer: The producer Sounwave, best known for his work with Kendrick Lamar, did some drum programming for this song. How did that come about?
Annie: I’d worked with Sounwave on a cover of the Stones’ “Emotional Rescue” for a film called A Bigger Splash. We hit it off and worked on a couple of other tracks together. When Kendrick was making DAMN., Sounwave came to my studio, and I just freestyled on guitar for a long time on different ideas that Kendrick was working on. None of that stuff ended up getting used on the record, but Sounwave is always looking for the next, the most innovative thing.
Now onto some less important insights:
Low scorer Mokitsu (2.5) doesn’t get it, and it’s his loss quite frankly: ‘This is all over the place, annoying and I really dislike the lyrics. It's social commentary gone wrong.’ Well it isn't even social commentary but go off, I guess.
Stradiwhovius (6) is also confused and doesn't even know it, poor thing: I… Expect better of Annie than what sounds like a half-assed "this isn't an antidepressant, THIS is an antidepressant" message. Which is a shame because the last two minutes are sublime.
It may not be pills, but soratami (7) is definitely on something…’The chorus here is the low point of an otherwise flawless album’.
sfmartin (8) at least appreciates the flawless production: It’s good but a bit repetitive. The production is top notch of course. It sure is!
ufint (8) calls it ‘so avant-garde. It’s a bit presumptuous, but Annie is spilling the tea here, so it’s all good.’
kalonite (9) is 'in love with the massive outro.'
Cassava (9) uses his commentary to pay tribute 'to those chasing SSRIs with vodka, cheers!'. Okay...work.
You can count on happiestgirl (9) to misbehave: 'What an amazing little song. Destroy society a bit hun.' Trust a Lana stan to love the song about drug addiction…
Even Bleedingheart80 (9) is getting her life! 'Listen to her shred those guitars. YES! This is quite a fun song to bop along to.'
Trouble in Paradise (9.5) has an...anecdote to share with the group: 'The first time I heard this song, I was really disappointed, but given time I’ve come to love it. My best friend originally misheard “pills” for “girls” which I find to be a great misheard lyric. The sax in the second verse really makes the song for me.' Your friend needs a hearing aid.
Enjoy (10) questions her choice of streaming service...with good reason: ANNIE SIS, TIDAL RELEASE, REALLY ? Aside from that mess, i really love this. That change of gears after the three minutes in is what makes this so gold. Other girls could never.
Michael17 (10) is on the defensive...for the right team for a change: I, for one, love the chorus. The most immediate song of the record, and perhaps the best of all. The background chatter in the chorus is great, too. The finale is very beautiful and impressive. Has a lot of star-power. My only 10 on the entire rate. Not quite an 11, though.
We'll close with Bangers&Bops (10), who serves us conciseness and insight as always: If Masseduction deals in extremities, “Pills” is a prime example. Over its near-five minutes, the track hurtles forward at a frantic, machine-like pace, before finally whirring down to a sleepy outro for the comedown. Meanwhile, an eerie chant that reads like some kind of dystopian pharmaceutical ad runs on loop.
I'm only posting the audio with the gorgeous single cover because the video can choke
WHEW that was a tough one, I need a fucking Xanax...
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Great...
He/Him
I should have just given Masseduction all 10s like I originally planned...
I too am all for differences of opinion. I have listened to both otherwise I wouldn't have made the comparison. I find I Don't Care, Knew Better/Forever Boy, Let Me Love You and Everyday to have plenty of atmosphere actually and I think Summer Bummer sounds like a slightly slowed down but still similar mid-tempo type of song as those mentioned above, just sang with Lana's signature understated poet style voice. If you think Ariana hasn't done "hip hop" oriented slower mid-tempos then obviously you're the one that hasn't listened to Dangerous Woman.
