Lana Del Rey // Born To Die

It is time to get this out there.

I was introduced to Lana Del Rey through Twitter. The name anyway, the songs and the visuals would have to wait until her appearance on Saturday Night Live. I was tempted to give it a listen, I keep up with music, see a lot of names thrown around various music magazines I lay my eyes upon now and then, so when I saw that name appear following Daniel Radcliffe in the week ahead, my first though was "YES! Finally. I get to hear this! And I want to hear it live." I had asked a friend/fellow employee if she had heard anything by her and she had responded with "Yes, I've heard 'Video Games' and I wasn't that impressed." ::world crashes:: I was b u m m e d. I had heard so much about this girl on twitter touting her amazing-ness and here was someone with a similar taste in music saying it fell flat. So I was even more anxious to see where I would fall in this line of mixed opinion.

So then it happened. She appeared on stage. My first reaction was "HOLY JESUS! She is beautiful." Then the beat happened and then her mouth opened and I was unsure of how to feel. I didn't love it. I didn't hate it. But I loved what was happening, just watching her, but then my thoughts of her needing to sit down or have a mic stand got in the way of me adoring that fantastic face and that glorious dress. Her vocal style seems hard to do live, let alone the lack of her In Ear Monitor. Um, that makes that performance that much more difficult. But seriously, should she have been sitting? Needless to say, I kept thinking about her long after her presence had faded from my television. The reactions were bad, but what the hell people, does anyone remember, um, oh, I don't know, ASHLEE SIMPSON?...or any of the other whack ass artists that took the music stage on Saturday Night Live? When I go back and watch the performance now, it's something I can't say I love. It's said best in this music show breakdown of it;

But the emerging pop star, whose debut album for Interscope,

Born To Die, hit stores Tuesday (January 31),

thinks she did a perfectly fine job on the legendary sketch show,

telling Rolling Stone, "I actually felt good about it.

I thought I looked beautiful and sang fine

...I know some people didn't like it, but that's just the way I perform,

and my fans know that."

Unfortunately this is from an MTV article, but it's a decent sum up of her reaction to it.

Then I watched this performance with about four other people who all gave me different opinions. However, I wanted to delve deeper into Del Rey and hear this album and see some videos. So I watched 'Born To Die' and thought "My God, someone has FINALLY done a video that I would have done." It may be even more fabulous due to the fact she conjured up the main idea of it. I love it. Tigers? Churches? Flower Crowns? Ugh. We WERE Born to die.

This is where I blatantly became hooked. I found going through her album that I liked it all initially but would find myself gravitating to different songs during different weeks. 'Off To The Races' is the perfect example of that because I never really dug it. It took awhile, and now it might be one of my favourite songs of hers. I'm funny like that. I just completely phase with certain songs and I feel it coincides with what's going on in life. I can deal with that.

I feel the reason there is such a huge outpouring of adoration over Lana (and defense), besides her flooring looks, is because her music takes you somewhere, it has a level of escapism to it. It literally transports your mind to this image of tattooed lovers, fast living, red dresses, glamour, and taking your body downtown all with the faint smell of weed in the background. I feel there is a similar vibe with Gossip Girl. People like something that makes them feel like they are part of a different world, something yours will never be. Born To Die is chocked full of that kind of imagery. I love sharing this album with people who then seem to become instant Lana fans. This makes me ever so happy.

I have never been so intrigued by a musical artist, besides that of Florence Welch, WHO IS ALWAYS MY NUMBER ONE, YOU HEAR ME? (I think you probably know this by now?) But there is something different about Lana, as we all know that mysterious element is written all over her, but it's her whole vibe that almost makes you feel sexier just by watching her or listening to her music. You can tell she is so comfortable within her sexuality/femininity and that's something you can take to the bank. Maybe this is just what I needed. Something confident. Something that took me through something familiar. Something that seemed sure. I drown in these lyrics and I'm sure try to emulate them at least 35% of the time. Sometimes certain songs hit me ('Video Games' & 'Dark Paradise') me and I feel this overwhelming personal understanding to them. A lot of good elements within this album. It's the same kind of sound throughout, but I feel each possesses a different vibe. I think this is the perfect album to bump while you're getting ready or driving for a night out, although I will admit, her album makes me feel like I'm not living enough...

This gem came out the other week and it is exquisite. I am so glad that her videos are so close to what you'd imagine the video being like. I almost get annoyed if it is something not relevant in any way to the song. How gloriously entrancing.

Please, indulge me with your Lana thoughts. Seriously.

Trick or Tweet; Chanel 2011 + the envy of actors.

"You know what keeps me from acting?...fuckin' auditions" -Mitch Hedburg

This line from one of his sketches popped into my head today while I was sauntering along on my walk. Even though I was listening to music and not comedy. I love Mitch Hedburg; that perfect stoner mentality and his unique delivery method. It got me thinking about acting and creating and building a character that fits the part like a god damn puzzle piece. Then it made me, once again, realise that actors have the best job in the world. I feel like actors are empty vessels waiting for the next role to fill, the next person to create, the next figure to portray. I think about this often (particularly at a certain part in my drive to work). However, it takes a certain something in someone to be a very good creator of character. I think it would be so fun to step into another life and be someone else for a short period of time. To wear clothes you wouldn't normally wear or be made up in a face you would normally never have. It seems like it would be quite the day to day agenda, but I guess it looks perfect from far away.

This thinking about acting sparked the idea of costume and character, and with the frigid air grazing my showing skin, it all made me think of Halloween. My thought flow will always take me to interesting waters... So really, I was wondering why I don't get more into the whole dressing up thing. It's rather peculiar since I'm such an avid fan of the idea of stepping into another person for awhile and carrying different mannerisms. I would really like the idea of being Margot Tennenbaum this year. Since, after all, I am sporting the hair and could smoke a few cigarettes throughout the evening and blow smoke past my thick black eyeliner. The unfortunate downfall occurs when I became aware that I do not have a perfect mink coat like the one she sports throughout the movie as one of her trademark essentials (what a perfect essential). I also have so many coats hanging all over this house and don't want to necessarily have another, but if I see something before Halloween, it might just be way too hard to resist. And yes, I hope something comes up.

I have been in love with this weather lately. When the high for the day is 57, it is a good one. A day that calls for shorts, but only if paired with a pair of outlandish tights!- my favourite spring/summer/fall addition to outfits. Ah fall, I love you.

All the tweets poured in this morning of people gushing over how fabulous the Chanel show in Paris was. That would be one show I would have loved to attend. The gift bags looked pretty rad, too. All in all, I was way to early to judge the little blue bird that is the logo of the twitter world. I love getting hot of the press information, especially when it regards Fashion Week. Sadly, all this "awesome, hip, totally cool" technology makes me long for the times of handwritten notes to friends folded strategically and passed along in the halls and phone calls to friends houses where you had to ask their parents if your friends were able to speak. Those times are gone, unfortunately, unless you're in fifth grade, but even then so, you probably still have a cell phone. But, I shall bow down to my Evo 4G that fetches information at the drop of a hat and keeps me informed on all that is going on around the world, whether that refers to Karl Lagerfeld's latest creation or Time's informative article, I just have to be lucky that I get good news quick.

Speaking of Karl Lagerfeld...

I checked out this 2011 Chanel spring collection and it looks like there are so many inspirational pulls, but they are all so different, but work together really well to create a really bold look. Most things were able to strike a certain character to me, in a way that's like "Oh, so and so would wear that dress". I love that there was a 90 piece band present at this show. I can just imagine how wonderful it was--how powerful. Hans Zimmer style, although I doubt it was as dramatic. I had a lot of fun looking at it. However, I wasn't a huge fan of the models or the make-up. I just thought that some outfits were so light and pretty and then the model was so dark and made for a juxtaposition that I did not like. I know that models are more so hangers than anything else, but sometimes they can really make or break the look. Enough babble, I will slap a few pictures up;

this looks like something Dorothy would wear if Oz produced couture

M.I.A meets J. Lo.

this would be Wednesday Addams wedding dress

makes me think of what would happen if Gwyneth Paltrow's 1999 Oscar Dress fought with her 2002 Alexander Mcqueen pick and then threw in some western flare.

I think Florence Welch would wear this to an award show.

High end version of Pocahontas meets up with Proenza Shouler

Jaqueline Kennedy-esque.

On one last note...

I think Starbucks is so extremely overrated and if their coffee doesn't make you feel extremely janky after you consume it, then you have a stomach sewn together by the gods. That is all. Have a lovely day! Go Caribou!