Tag Archives: Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd

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Song of the Day #5,397: ‘Taco Truck x VB’ – Lana Del Rey

Continuing my track-by-track appreciation of Lana Del Rey’s newest album, Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd…

Track 16: ‘Tack Truck x VB’

On an album filled with lyrical and musical references to her past work, it’s only appropriate that Del Rey wraps things up with an extended, grunged-up sample of one of her most beloved and iconic songs, ‘Venice Bitch.’ That’s what the “VB” stands for in the title of this track, and it comes as quite a giddy surprise halfway through the album’s final song.

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Song of the Day #5,396: ‘Peppers’ – Lana Del Rey feat. Tommy Genesis

Continuing my track-by-track appreciation of Lana Del Rey’s newest album, Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd…

Track 15: ‘Peppers’

On an album obsessed with death and memory, Del Rey waited until track 15 to just kick back and have some fun. That’s the best explanation for this oddball song, which borrows its Angelina Jolie-referencing chorus from Canadian “underground rap queen” Tommy Genesis.

‘Peppers’ finds Del Rey throwing caution to the wind, dancing naked in front of an open window and kissing her COVID-infected boyfriend while listening to fellow Californians The Red Hot Chili Peppers. It’s as if the soul searching and heart baring of the previous 14 songs shed her of all that emotional baggage and led her to this surf rap oasis.

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Song of the Day #5,395: ‘Fishtail’ – Lana Del Rey

Continuing my track-by-track appreciation of Lana Del Rey’s newest album, Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd…

Track 14: ‘Fishtail’

After two rather earnest love songs, ‘Fishtail’ describes a souring relationship, one in which Del Rey’s eyes have been opened to the fact that her partner doesn’t have her best interests in mind.

This song has the trippiest production on the album, and the first digital beats since fourth track ‘A&W.’ I love the modern sound of this one in contrast to the classicism of most of the album.

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Song of the Day #5,394: ‘Margaret’ – Lana Del Rey feat. Bleachers

Continuing my track-by-track appreciation of Lana Del Rey’s newest album, Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd…

Track 13: ‘Margaret’

Yesterday’s track was the first love song on this album, and it’s quickly followed up by an even more overtly romantic one.

‘Margaret’ is about the relationship between producer Jack Antonoff and actress Margaret Qualley. Antonoff (under his Bleachers moniker) even sings one of the verses, making this the most meta song on Ocean Blvd.

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Song of the Day #5,393: ‘Let the Light In’ – Lana Del Rey feat. Father John Misty

Continuing my track-by-track appreciation of Lana Del Rey’s newest album, Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd…

Track 12: ‘Let the Light In’

Entering the final third of Del Rey’s latest epic, things take a turn both thematically and sonically.

On ‘Let the Light In,’ the piano/strings sound dominating most of the album is eclipsed by an acoustic guitar (though we still get piano and strings) and the overall tone is romantic country rock. This feels to me like a lost John Lennon tune, and indeed Del Rey drops a reference to The Beatles as she is wont to do.

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