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Album: Lana Del Rey - 'Born to Die: Paradise Edition'
Member Since: 2/6/2010
Posts: 27,892
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Originally posted by Euromillions
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I can't even begin to understand this...
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Member Since: 8/12/2012
Posts: 13,665
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Originally posted by Ice Cream Skies
Nathan Shaffer ****ing blows. He probably scoffs at "shallow pop fans" for critiquing his "artistic, thought provoking" review when it actually just really sucks. Sometimes less is more. He's doing way too much.
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Only an old frustrated musician(If he is)
Bio Nathan Shaffer
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Born into a musical family in Indiana, music has always run through Nathan Shaffer’s veins. But, after a couple of dream-come-true record deals, he tried, for a couple of decades, to silence the urge to write and perform. That was, until now.
At an early age, Nathan learned that like his parents who performed in church groups, he possessed a rich, appealing vocal range. Then, receiving a classic Gibson semi-hollow body acoustic guitar from an aunt, easily taught himself to play, starting with, much to his parents’ chagrin, the Muddy Waters’ classic, “I’m a Man”.
It was the night the Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan however, that in a frenzy of electric guitars, a 4/4 time signature, lyrical hooks, and screaming girls, the rock and roll light switched on. The music in Shaffer’s pulse began to race, The Beatles wrote sang and performed songs that resonated in every cell in his body, and once and for all, he veered from the hymns of his parents and was sold on rock and roll.
“The Beatles changed everything – it was like a way of life,” recalls Shaffer. “It was 1963, I was 13, I watched them perform and thought – ‘I could do that’. I went ‘wow’ and basically lost my mind in every sense. I taught myself to play “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”, and that song had minor chords, harmonies, key changes and a bridge. It was something completely different.”
By high school, the shy kid from Terra Haute had moved to the suburbs of Chicago and was fronting cover bands. All the while though, Shaffer really wanted to perform his own material. Soon he joined a group that afforded him the opportunity to focus on playing original songs. A year from the day that he joined the band, they secured a record deal with Capitol/EMI Records, the same label the Beatles had originally been on.
From the time he was a child, Shaffer had set his sights on California and after repeatedly touring the West Coast, in 1981 decided to leave the band and make the move. Settled in Los Angeles, Shaffer formed a harder hitting ensemble called Rock Royale and based on a $2000 live demo, inked a deal with Atlantic Records before playing a single show.
After a protracted, over budget effort at recording their album with famed producer, Roy Thomas Baker however, the label decided that they liked the demo more but dropped the band because of disputes over its formidable investment in the album. “I wanted Roy Thomas Baker because we had three good singers in the band and he had worked with Queen. I loved what he did with ‘Bohemian’ Rhapsody and also with Journey and Foreigner but Atlantic was angry at the $300.000 price tag and shelved our project.”
Although Shaffer had shown tremendous promise, the let down was too much and before the age of 30, bitter from his experience within the industry, retired from music — his birthright and passion. Instead he got a job, worked hard, did well, and as a single dad, raised his son Jeff, truly his pride and joy. “At times I would think about getting back into music and then say no I’m not going to go through this again. I wanted to make a good life for my son. I grew up poor and after working in telemarketing for 10 years, got really good at it and opened my own company and was able to take care of my son.”
Then some thing happened. Twenty-five years after the Rock Royale deal crashed and burned, Shaffer leaned back in his seat at a Paul McCartney concert and suddenly, the light switched back on. The urge to sing and write surged once again through him, melodies began to materialize and encouraged by his son, Shaffer knew it was time.
“It all came back pretty fast; I had some things in my mind – songs that were incomplete and then I wrote a batch of new ones. ‘Come Back America’ was the first – I wrote it in the beginning of 2009; I was feeling fed up with what I saw going on in our country.
Then I worked on the song ‘L.A. Chop Shop’. That turned out really well and kind of got me going I actually had one song that I had written in 1982 called ‘My Little Friend’ about my son. It was the only one that was complete when I started the project and it turned out great. We used musicians from the L.A. Philharmonic on it and recorded at Capitol Studios.”
Then tragedy struck. Shaffer’s son Jeff, who had long battled drug addiction, died of an overdose. The devastation was paralyzing but, in the months that followed, music and the vow to finish the album became Nathan’s lifeline. He would continue on in his son’s name.
“’Come Back America’ represents who I am,” says Shaffer. “I’ve got songs on there that are about me looking back on my life and, growing up. I’ve got songs about my son. I got a couple of love songs and I got some political songs on there – it’s kind of who I am, just a normal American, y’know
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Member Since: 9/16/2011
Posts: 6,130
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Oh, so Mr. Shaffer is 62.
That explains things.
Moving on...
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Member Since: 9/7/2010
Posts: 28,471
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1st listen  
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Member Since: 8/28/2011
Posts: 1,770
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Quote:
Originally posted by Ice Cream Skies
Oh, so Mr. Shaffer is 62.
That explains things.
Moving on... |
Even more revealing - he's 62 and a failed musician. Explains everything, basically. Amazingly, his reviews are metacritic-eligible 
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Member Since: 8/28/2011
Posts: 1,770
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Oohh, a BIG conversion here!
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Lana Del Rey’s ‘Paradise’: Album Review
Carl Williott November 13th, 2012 // 2 Comments
“I’ve been trying too hard with one pretty song,” Lana Del Rey laments on “Ride,” in a line that accurately sums up Born To Die‘s overwrought attempt to stretch that one pretty song — “Video Games” — into a full album. The result was a handful of beautiful moments weighed down by a whole lot of distracting missteps. But where her proper debut was labored, tacky and cutesy-sad, the nine previously unreleased tracks on the Paradise EP (out November 13 and also packaged with Born To Die: The Paradise Edition) are effortless, elegant and glamorously depressing.
Everything here sounds more convincing, primarily because Lana’s voice is suddenly richer and more acrobatic, going from smoky to silky, sad to snotty, all without resorting to the schizoid vocal gimmickry of her debut. Those who think this girl can’t sing will reconsider after hearing the swooning falsetto run that comes out of nowhere on “Cola,” or the graceful yet damaged chirp of “Yayo.”
In other welcome news, the lyrics this time (save for “American”) are not nearly as ripe for face-palming — partly because many of them are ******* insane. Lana quotes Walt Whitman on “Body Electric” minutes after uttering “My ***** tastes like Pepsi cola/ My eyes are wide like cherry pie” on “Cola,” which is definitely absurd and probably brilliant. On paper, parts of “Gods And Monsters” could be a trashy outtake from Rihanna‘s “S&M”: “I was an angel / Looking to get ****ed hard…**** yeah, give it to me / This is heaven, what I truly want.” But the lines are delivered with such sultry numbness that it could be some grand statement on sex and detachment, whether or not that was Lana’s intention.
Thankfully, the sexualization on Paradise comes without Born‘s troublesome infantilization. On “Burning Desire,” “Ride” and elsewhere, Lana is no longer willing to let you play your video games, she’s the active agent. When she does go into submissive mode, crooning “Let me put on a show for you, daddy” on “Yayo,” it’s too damn haunting to be erotic.
With Lana’s voice taking the spotlight and carrying such emotional heft, the production was dialed back. Canned strings, rising fuzz squalls and that ubiquitous “ShYAH” sample were slathered on so thick that Born To Die‘s fifteen tracks all blurred into one syrupy groan. Here, the empty spaces are as important as the cascading strings and the most restrained moments are vastly more powerful than the most blown-out moments from Born To Die. The melancholy waltz of “Bel Air,” for instance, has a forest nymph chant for a chorus, and it’s quite possible that the EP’s most fun song is the weepy “Blue Velvet,” due to its unabashed commitment to stillness. Even when Lana goes big here, like on the Rick Rubin-produced opener “Ride,” it has all the grandeur that she aimed for on “National Anthem” without the grating affectations and manufactured swagger.
The new material surely isn’t perfect — “Burning Desire” ventures dangerously close to her “drunken Real Housewife” vocal tic, and she still pummels the listener with damaged Americana reference points — but Paradise is a major step forward for Lana Del Rey. By ditching the sonic fads (you won’t be missed, sad white girl rapping), shoring up her vocals, and skipping over her more bombastic unreleased songs (“Serial Killer,” “Paradise”), Lana has made a cohesive, moving record. The irony, of course, is that now that she has delivered on the hype…people might actually stop talking about her.
The Best Song Wasn’t The Single: “Yayo,” in all its woozy burlesque glory, has been transformed into the most interesting song Lana has ever done. The lyrics are largely indecipherable, but it still drips with sadness; it sounds the way watching Anna Nicole Smith circle the drain felt.
Pops Like: Fiona Apple meets Chris Isaak crossed with Marilyn Monroe singing “Happy Birthday,” as Kanye West‘s production scraps flit around in the background.
Best Listened To: While wearing formal cocktail attire that has become slightly rumpled following some sort of intense argument and/or sexual dalliance.
Full Disclosure: I flat-out DID NOT ENJOY Born To Die, but after hearing Paradise, I may be the world’s newest Lanatic.
Idolator Rating: 4.5/5
— Carl Williott
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http://idolator.com/7264232/lana-del...aradise-review
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Member Since: 4/18/2012
Posts: 1,753
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What songs do u find yourself listening to more when your stoned?
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Member Since: 3/29/2012
Posts: 28,833
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A week has gone..where is my box set? 
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Banned
Member Since: 6/25/2011
Posts: 37,192
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Quote:
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“I’ve been trying too hard with one pretty song,” Lana Del Rey laments on “Ride,” in a line that accurately sums up Born To Die‘s overwrought attempt to stretch that one pretty song — “Video Games” — into a full album.
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I knew that line would do wonders for her 
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Member Since: 12/15/2009
Posts: 3,166
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Originally posted by Euromillions
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Yay awesome rating.
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Member Since: 3/24/2012
Posts: 15,013
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I give no ****s. The reviews can rate this at -2000000 and it would still be perfect and better than BTD in my opinion.
I love Lana's hip hop influences on Born To Die, but her eerie, haunting sounds on Paradise make it THAT much better.
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Member Since: 7/9/2010
Posts: 28,061
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The back of the album is beautiful, does anyone know what painting it is?
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Member Since: 2/9/2012
Posts: 10,283
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I'll get my physical copy on Friday and I will get Burning Desire from iTunes. I haven't bought the digital cuz I don't have credits on my account 
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Member Since: 8/12/2012
Posts: 13,665
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Quote:
Originally posted by JonnyϟLightning
The back of the album is beautiful, does anyone know what painting it is?
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If it is the paradise picture like in the box set than it is:
Jan Brueghel the elder one : Das irdische Paradies (Terrestrial Paradise).
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Member Since: 8/2/2010
Posts: 8,726
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Originally posted by lickmycody
What songs do u find yourself listening to more when your stoned?
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On paradise "bel-air"
On BTD "born to die"
 but tbh they're all great songs to get stoned too 
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Member Since: 8/24/2011
Posts: 9,104
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Is Cola really the next single? LordT have mercy
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Member Since: 9/7/2010
Posts: 28,471
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Okay. After few listens...
American - Springsteen and Elvis mentions are unnecessary and I hate them. Otherwise, the song is very beautiful. The tone and color of her voice on this are incredibly seductive - Totally in love.
Cola - Exceeded my expectations. The bridge is amazing. The production is also very good.
Body Electric - I like the atmosphere it creates. It's pretty great.
Gods & Monsters - Love it. No complaints about it. LOVE LOVE LOVE!
Yayo - The way she sings my favorite part (on original)...
Hello, heaven, you are tunnel-lined
With yellow lights on a dark night
Just no. I love the song, but this part was much better done on original.
Bel Air - It's heavenly. What else can I say? HEAVEN!
Rank:
1. Ride
2. Cola
3. Bel Air
4. Gods & Monsters
5. American
6. Blue Velvet
7. Yayo
8. Body Electric
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Member Since: 11/23/2010
Posts: 677
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Quote:
Originally posted by Lulu
Is Cola really the next single? LordT have mercy |
WHAAAT!!!!!!
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Member Since: 3/13/2012
Posts: 5,802
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Quote:
Originally posted by Sammi
American - Springsteen and Elvis mentions are unnecessary and I hate them. Otherwise, the song is very beautiful. The tone and color of her voice on this are incredibly seductive - Totally in love.
Yayo - The way she sings my favorite part (on original)...
Hello, heaven, you are tunnel-lined
With yellow lights on a dark night
Just no. I love the song, but this part was much better done on original.
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Sammi, I agree. 
I don't get why Yayo is so toned down like Body Electric. I mean yeah they proved us that they are no longer over producing the songs but this is just.... idk... the first part was great but the last was seriously under-produced. I can't believe they removed the epic violins that will add extra punch.
Still love it though.
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Member Since: 3/24/2012
Posts: 15,013
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I'm going to add the "DARKKKK NIGHTTTTTTTTTTTT" part into the Paradise Edition Yayo, from the Nevade Yayo. I hope I can get it to work right 
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