Natasha Harvey

Music 1010, Section 014

Term Paper B

10/27/13

Lana Del Rey

Born

by the name of Elizabeth Wooldridge Grant, Lana Del Rey was born on June 21, 1986 in

New York City, New York. Though a native of the Big Apple, Lana was raised in Lake

Placid, New York, until she was fifteen; when she was sent

to boarding school in Connecticut to deal with her alcohol

dependence. She spent three years at the Kent School until age eighteen, and then headed

off to the Bronx to attend Fordham University. This is where she studied a branch of

philosophy called Metaphysics. She said this about Metaphysics: "it bridged the gap

between God and science. I was interested in God and how technology could bring us

closer to finding out where we came from and why." She said, "that was when my

musical experience began. I kind of found people for myself." She ended up staying in

the Bronx for four years and Brooklyn for another four years.

While residing in Brooklyn, Lana began performing at different bars and clubs

throughout the city. She had various stage names like Sparkle Jump Rope Queen and

Lizzy Grant and the Phenomena. She

began writing her own music at

eighteen, using what her uncle taught

her about playing the guitar and her

experience singing in the church

choir when she was a young girl. She

talks about how the city inspired her writing; "The way I experienced New York, for a

long time after I moved, was alone and at night, walking the streets. I mean, there are

thousands of streets in New York and I know them all. I'd go down to the tip

of Manhattan, or even down to Coney Island, then travel all the way back up. Because I

come from a place that, geographically, isn't that stimulating. But New York's

architecture alone is enough to inspire a whole album. In fact, that's what happened at

first - my early stuff was mostly just interpretations of landscapes,..”

When she was twenty, Lana signed her first record contract for $10,000 and

moved into a New Jersey trailer park called Manhattan Mobile Home Park. Unfortunately

her album was shelved which caused her to switch gears in her career. She began to work

mainly in community service and homeless outreach.

She did that for quite a few years until she was again

signed into another record label. This time, she signed

with 5 Point Records, an independent label, which she

released her first three-track EP called Kill Kill with.

Two years later, in January of 2010, she released a full-

length studio album called Lana Del Rey a.k.a. Lizzy

Grant with the help of her producer David Kahne from 5

Point Records. Her father, Robert Grant even helped

market the album, which was available on iTunes for a short time before it was

withdrawn. Lana wanted the album out of circulation because she feared that it would

“…stifle future opportunities to distribute it..” she wanted a name that she could shape

her music towards.

She said the stage name Lana Del Rey was inspired from all of her trips to Miami

and from the Spanish she would speak with her friends from Cuba. It reminds her of the

“glamour of the seaside” and “sounded gorgeous coming off the tip of the tongue.”

Stranger Records was fortunate enough to sign Del Rey after discovering her

debut single “Video Games” on YouTube. She went

on to sign a joint deal with Interscope Records and

Polydor with whom she created her second studio

album called Born to Die, which sold over 3.4 million copies in 2012. She made many

live appearances and performed promotional concerts during this time. She talked about

her success with Clash Music saying: "When you find everything you love and you lose

it, and for me that was music, your ambitions definitely start to change, they have to. My

goals have shifted from wanting to become an important artist to becoming an active

member of my community. It’s really nice my music is being played and people are

taking notice, but music isn’t my primary focus anymore. Not even close. My goal is to

be a good person who lives with dignity and grace. I will write again because I have to

now. It’s a luxury and will allow me to concentrate on other interests and pursuits. I

wrote one album and no one listened. I’m fine with that. I made an exquisite record three

years ago which was perfect for me. I’ve learned to do things just for myself, and the fact

things have kind of worked out now is just icing on the cake.”

Described as a “self-styled gangsta,” Lana has continued to win many awards; her

song “Young and Beautiful” even appeared in

the 2013 adaptation of The Great Gatsby and

was actually the kick-off single for the entire

album. Recently, Lana announced the release of

a short film called Tropico that she’s been

working on with film director Anthony Mandler.

She even called the film her “farewell project,”

which has both fans and critics left wondering

where her future lies not only in the world of music, but in the entertainment industry as a

whole.

Lana Del Rey is easily my favorite singer/songwriter and her music is equally

elevated. She has a very unique style that sounds incredibly cinematic. She doesn’t mind

the seductive, lounge singer role and her style is often compared to just that. Her genre

of music is somewhat ambiguous, and though it sounds like a combination of alternative

pop/indie rock, it’s officially deemed Hollywood Sadcore. Instruments like the harp,

violin and the timpani can often be heard accompanying Lana’s captivating voice.

Del Rey’s lyrics usually pertain to love, drugs or God and

the tone she sets for her listeners has an almost haunting

quality to it. She has embraced her style and truly grown

into her own unique genre. She has a phenomenal talent

for conveying emotion and makes her listeners feel her

music. She is known for her highly emotive voice and she

has an amazing ability to set the tone she wants throughout her songs. When I listen to

her music, I feel an immediate connection to the subject she’s singing about and I’m able

to relate to the content that much more easily. More important than fame or money, Lana

has dedicated her life to her music for the joy of creating art, and she has remained as

original as when she first picked up her uncle’s guitar.

References

http://www.aceshowbiz.com/celebrity/lana_del_rey/biography.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lana_Del_Rey

http://www.lanadelrey.com/