ALBUMS 30
30. Born To Die
by Lana Del Rey
Lizzie Grant is a tricky one. I believe she's utterly basic garbage and more of a try-hard poser than K-$. What's worse, she doesn't possess a drop of the blood of a superstar or an ounce of charisma. What she does have is a nice vision of what Lana Del Rey can be to a world that's been shaken by the appearance of Lady Gaga and Adele over the span of just a few years.
Del Rey's debut studio album is a well-produced pop album, just short enough in its standard version to evade the boredom crisis. The album feels diverse, fresh, and even epic upon its first listen, with an all-star list of producers led by Jeff Bhasker (My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, 4, Some Nights) drenching the songs in enough retro goo and melodrama to separate them from all of the "generic" pop songs labels are accustomed to putting their clout behind.
Let me be straight and say that I believe the album deserves to be dragged. It's repetitive. The production is overdone on more than one occasion. The lyrics aren't as clever as Lizzie wants you to believe they are. The album tries to be an emotional colossus but comes off as vacuous and even more worthy of criticism for this emptiness than the average pop album.
But none of that really matters, because I don't really get the feeling that this album was meant to be a true artistic masterpiece. What this album is, both for record labels trying to create product consumers are willing to buy and for Lizzie Grant, who has continually re-invented herself in the interest of a successful music career, is a highly calculated and successful venture into a new type of pop star marketing. Even more, hidden beneath her shtick is a nice collection of pop songs, led by Born To Die, which features elaborate and epic production that pervades most of the album. Off to the Races is the album's greatest lyrical triumph and folly, so over-stuffed with cliche and cheap imagery, so falsely sophisticated that it's almost brilliant. Then there's Video Games, which lured just about every critic into Interscope's slaughterhouse late last year.
The whole album maintains just enough mystery and pop flair to drag any unsuspecting listener into Del Rey's world. Born To Die is the pop
package of the year. The critics can fumble over their best-of lists and everyone else can complain about her awful performance skills, but at the end of the day, it just doesn't matter, because the world already bought Lana Del Rey.
Highlights: Born To Die, Off to the Races, Video Games
6.5/10
your reactions are shocking me! 
and Born To Die one of my fave albums of 2012 
