I was first introduced to Lana Del Rey a few years ago from a coworker. I found her music captivating. Lana Del Rey is a perfect example of “playing the part”. She has the image, the fashion, the mood to go along with her sound. She’s cinematic.
A lot of musicians don’t like to talk about image. They want everything to be about the music. And, in a perfect world, it would be. But you don’t just sell music when you are an artist, you sell your personality, your image. My day job is in marketing so this is something I don’t mind talking about. When you think about it from a business perspective, music is a product, and the branding of a product is very important in how it’s perceived in the market and how it performs in the market. That’s the cold, harsh reality.
I like that Lana Del Rey takes you on a fantasy ride. From her songs to her videos to her fashion, she’s like an escape, a vacation. In my experience, people turn to music for two main reasons: to find something they can relate to and to escape. She hits both points, for me at least, with her lyrics and her image.
My favorite Lana Del Rey album is Ultraviolence. I think it has more “bite” to it than her albums (and I mean that as a compliment).
Take a listen to a song from that album below: