Lana Del Rey, the bewitchingly pouty indie-ballad goddess whose debut single “Video Games” garnered her a crazy amount of internet ink this year, has just released a video for her second single, “Born To Die,” and true to polarizing form, it’s already got people worked up.
The video for the beautifully dour tune features an array of striking images: A shirtless Del Rey standing in front of an American flag with a tattooed man; a pale-skinned, red-lipped Del Rey, wearing a flower crown and sitting on a throne in a French cathedral between two tigers, and finally, harrowing image of Del Rey’s bloodied corpse in the arms of her man in front of a fire.
It’s all very shadowy and very moody. Check it out below:
Personally, I think it’s refreshing to see a video from a female musician who is not Lady Gaga that is boldly weird, high-concept, and artistic. It all looked gorgeous to me. But it’s no secret that Del Rey has her detractors. She draws a particularly vocal brand of haters, many of whom claim that Del Rey only gets attention because of her looks and (to some people) annoyingly off-kilter vibe. To quote a YouTube commenter:
“What the hell? How did they go from making out in a car to her dying and a huge fire burning behind him? Why does she put that crap in her lips? She looks like she has an allergy to something or is a real life Simpson character that doesn’t have yellow skin.”
Even still, the commenter adds: “True though, her voice is lovely.” So yes, the jury is still out on Lana Del Rey, who may be the most-buzzed artist this year without an actual album (her debut is due in early 2012).
But I want to hear from you. How do you feel about her? Is the imagery in “Born To Die” just a crass attempt at high art, or is it legitimately lovely? And are you buying her as recording star, or do you think the size of her talent is trumped by the surgical plump in those lips?
So I just watched the BTD video and I loved it her close ups were amazing she looked like such a bitch lol and just everything about it is amazing I hope she gets the success she deserves!
Watched it again for the 20th time. I believe Lana is like, a rich child who is drawn to this mysterious guy and although she is not meant to be with him, still sneaks out to see him anyway. This leads to her unfortunate death
Watched it again for the 20th time. I believe Lana is like, a rich child who is drawn to this mysterious guy and although she is not meant to be with him, still sneaks out to see him anyway. This leads to her unfortunate death
Very different from the usual and it was beautifully shot!