What am I supposed to think about Lana Del Rey? Having never listened to a single song, I’ve seen her alternately described as indie rock’s next big thing and a vapid, talentless hack. Her striking good looks are admired as icing on top of a very talented cake or dismissed as the only reason she landed a recording contract.
How can all of these things be true?
And why did her SNL performance, which was sleepy but not unwatchable, go down as the most ridiculed musical moment since Rebecca Black’s ‘Friday,’ with even Brian Williams, of all people, trashing her the next morning?
My guess is that all of those wildly differing opinions say more about the people holding them than they do about Lana Del Rey.
Listening to her most celebrated song, my guess is that Del Rey is one of those artists far more suited to the studio than the stage. She doesn’t have a strong voice, but she wraps it around this languid love song effectively on the finished track. She definitely sets a mood, even if that mood is ‘Stepford Wife.’
Pull up in your fast car
Whistling my name
Open up a beer
And you say get over here
And play a video game
I’m in his favorite sun dress
Watching me get undressed
Take that body downtown
I say you the bestest
Lean in for a big kiss
Put his favorite perfume on
Go play a video game
It’s you, it’s you, it’s all for you
Everything I do
I tell you all the time
Heaven is a place on earth with you
Tell me all the things you want to do
I heard that you like the bad girls
Honey, is that true?
It’s better than I ever even knew
They say that the world was built for two
Only worth living if somebody is loving you
Baby now you do
Singing in the old bars
Swinging with the old stars
Living for the fame
Kissing in the blue dark
Playing 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
Watching all our friends fall
In and out of Old Paul’s
This is my idea of fun
Playing video games
It’s you, it’s you, it’s all for you
Everything I do
I tell you all the time
Heaven is a place on earth with you
Tell me all the things you want to do
I heard that you like the bad girls
Honey, is that true?
It’s better than I ever even knew
They say that the world was built for two
Only worth living if somebody is loving you
Baby now you do
(Now you do)
It’s you, it’s you, it’s all for you
Everything I do
I tell you all the time
Heaven is a place on earth with you
Tell me all the things you want to do
I heard that you like the bad girls
Honey, is that true?
It’s better than I ever even knew
They say that the world was built for two
Only worth living if somebody is loving you
Baby now you do
Meet Me In Montauk 
Never heard of her or the mixed opinions of her, but she does have a nice sound.
The SNL spoof on her the week after her appearance was rather funny, and I thought it was a bit unusual to make fun of someone you had invited to be your musical guest the week before.
I certainly don’t find anything all that offensive about her, at least not with this song. This sounds like a very watered down Adele song, particularly given the weaker vocals.
The SNL skit was defending her as much as making fun of her, though. I thought that was interesting.