I'm starting a series of new posts! YAY! They're called "Fab Five." It's pretty much a category, whether it be music, beauty, art, movies, etc and I list my top five of that category.... does that make sense? I'm doing it anyway. Hope you like it!
Like any artist, Lana Del Rey recorded some songs that never ended up on an album. Over time, these songs have been leaked and put on to various sites like YouTube and Grooveshark. The likelihood of these songs ever appearing on a Lana album are very slim. To date, "Black Beauty" is the only leaked song I know of to see the light of day. It's sad because these songs are so amazing. I would love to legally purchase these. I know there's a way to get them, but I don't know how to do that YouTube thing or illegally download shit off the interwebs. I barely can keep up with how to work my damn iTunes.So here are my favorite unreleased Lana songs!
Queen of Disaster
This song has such an old-fashioned 60's vibe. I can totally see The Supremes of The Ronettes singing this on American Bandstand! Lana has this impeccable ability to mix retro sound with modern lyrics, and the formula of the song is absolutely her to a tee. It's a playful little diddy about falling in love with "the bad boy." This theme echos through a lot of Lana songs ("Blue Jeans," "Million Dollar Man," "Ultraviolence," etc.). This particular one is extremely upbeat and chipper compared to many of her other songs about a doomed love affair.
Prom Song (Gone Wrong)
Lana sings about rebellious youth, young love and running away from her boring life with her lover who likes to fuck her up against the wall. This song would have been perfect on Born to Die, I'll never understand why it didn't make the cut. We actually get to hear the "Gangsta Nancy Sinatra" come out of Lana as she mixes her classic vocals with rap. We also have the typical references to pop culture icons and bands. It's pretty fucking fantastic.
Hollywood
Lana talks about her longing for fame and the finer things in life.The song would have been amazing on Born to Die. It carries on her theme of material wealth and how it's an absolute necessity to her. In typical Lana style, she makes several references to great musicians of the past such as Jim Morrison when she sings "I dance like Morrison", it somewhat echos many of her other songs such as "Gods and Monsters." It's almost a love song to her dreams of fame and glamour. You can hear her longing to have that icon status, and we listeners know she'll never stop until she has it.
Serial Killer
HOLY HELL! This song is tits in the mouth! This needed to be on Ultraviolence so badly! Unfortunately it wasn't, and it's such a shame. Serial Killer is one of those songs that make you scratch your head, wondering why the hell it's never been released. In this hidden gem, Lana sings about being a slutty party girl. She compares her various lovers as victims. She seduces them, makes them fall in love with her, fucks them and then walks away like the mother fucking boss she is! Though at the beginning of the song she states her wish to find her "one true love," you can tell by the rest of her lyrics, it's an act. She wants to be young, wild and promiscuous. She don't give a shit.
JFK
This song is so beautiful. It has this dreamy sound that takes you to another time. In typical Lana fashion, she mixes famous icons in with modern lyrics. She compares the man she loves to several things, mainly former President John F. Kennedy or JFK. Despite this song swelling with love and romance, it also has a sad undertone. It's as if she's singing of a time that once was and will never be again, much like John F. Kennedy's reign as President and the youth and vitality it brought to America. Things like that can never be re-captured. In a way I feel like "JFK" is paying homage to this time where youth and young love were celebrated and not scorned.
Honorable mentions: "Riding in Cars with Boys,""Damn You" and "Hundred Dollar Bill"
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