Exotic and glamorous, Lana Del Rey is an old soul. She is from another time, and I for one, am glad the time is now. A good friend described her music as “exotic”. That’s more accurate that any other description I could come up with.
Brave melodic motifs, unusual leaps, daring scale choices, and surprising twists of phrases, this young lady has unapologetically taken pop music to a higher level well beyond the trite and true banality that calls itself popular music.
She does it so naturally that it’s as though she was born to be the change agent in popular vocal music. But there’s more. Lana isn’t a one trick pony. She is more. Sure, her music is avant guade meets 1940’s style standards, but add to her lyrical strength where she holds back nothing in her black or white description of life and you have a complete artist in every sense of the word.
Take her new single, High By The Beach, from her forthcoming new album, Paradise. Lana does not sugar coat subjects, nor does she doesn’t edit her thoughts for radio. She’s not outrageous flashing about like a firefly trying to wow us. No not this girl. “You take the wheel, I don’t wanna do this anymore. It’s so surreal, I can’t survive if this is all that’s real”. Or take her mission statement for moving on after a relationship, “Everyone can start again, not through love but through revenge. Through the fire, we’re born again. Peace by vengeance brings the end”.
This is not a contrived and processed pop star. Lana Del Rey is an intelligent musician who delivers an orchestrated musical palate that has not been heard for decades, if ever. What’s even better is the way in which she continues to experiment, not seeming to care what the expectations are. Using old-school string sounds with lush orchestration, mixing in beats that are not only current but incredibly appropriate, and adding blazing guitar when needed, we finally have a model of what creative and expressive music can be in world of the chronically vapid.
As for her lyrics, they are deep, harsh, sweet, sarcastic, and full of life’s best and worst moments. At times, I swear she is writing about my experiences. That’s how a real artist connects with an artist in any area of expression. Her prose can only come from one who has lived with extremes in ups and downs. The girl has been there and back and knows exactly how to express it. My God, if I could write one phrase half as good as she can…
Lana Del Rey has hit on something. A music that is both from another time and at the same time, timeless. A woman, strong, beautiful, daring, vulnerable, and smart, I for one am taken in by someone who understands life as I see it.
Guitar tutorial for “High By The Beach” by Lana Del Rey
Link to Tutorial Guitar Tutorial “High By The Beach” Lana Dey Rey
PERFORMANCE NOTES:
Key: B Minor Capo Key: A Minor
Scales used in melody: B Natural Minor/B Harmonic Minor
*Capo Guitar at fret 2.
The chords should not give you much trouble technically. The challenge wiil be what you do with them.
How will you interpret this music?
How will you turn a synthesizer-based composition into one that works on an acoustic guitar that has no sustain? Where the notes die quickly where you are the one who must create a sustained effect?
Chord progression for the verse/chorus is:
Am F Dm E
This stays unaltered until the bridge.
Once the bridge does occur, the new progression breathes new life into the structure.
Chord Progression for Bridge:
Dm C G Dm / Dm C G Dm/E7
This new section provides the perfect escape from the previous (and only other) chord progression in Lana’s composition.
The rest, as they say, is up to you.
Lana Del Rey ““High By The Beach” lyrics:
[Lana del Rey]
Boy, look at you, looking at me
I know you know how I feel
Loving you is hard, being here is harder
You take the wheel
I don’t wanna do this anymore
It’s so surreal, I can’t survive
If this is all that’s real
All I wanna do is get high by the beach
Get high by the beach, get high
All I wanna do is get by by the beach
Get by baby, baby, bye, bye
The truth is I never
Bought into your bullshit
When you would pay tribute to me
Cause I know that
All I wanted to do is get high by the beach
Get high baby, baby, bye, bye
Boy look at you, looking at me
I know you don’t understand
You could be a bad motherfucker
But that don’t make you a man
Now you’re just another one of my problems
Because you got out of hand
We won’t survive
We’re sinking into the sand
All I wanna do is get high by the beach
Get high by the beach, get high
All I wanna do is get by by the beach
Get by baby, baby, bye, bye
The truth is I never
Bought into your bullshit
When you would pay tribute to me
Cause I know that
All I wanted to do is get high by the beach
Get high baby, baby, bye, bye
Lights, camera, acción
I’ll do it on my own
Don’t need your money, money
To get me what I want
Lights camera action
I’ll do it on my own
Don’t need your money, money
To get me what I want
All I wanna do is get high by the beach
Get high by the beach, get high
All I wanna do is get by by the beach
Get by baby, baby, bye, bye
The truth is I never
Bought into your bullshit
When you would pay tribute to me
Cause I know that
All I wanted to do is get high by the beach
Get high baby, baby, bye, bye
High-igh-igh-igh
High-igh-igh-igh
High-igh-igh-igh
High-igh-igh-igh
Everyone can start again
Not through love but through revenge
Through the fire, we’re born again
Peace by vengeance
Brings the end
lyrics by Lana Del Rey
http://lanadelrey.com/
Lana’s Twitter
Lana’s Bio
“High By The Beach” Video Link from Billboard
YouTube Video Link:
@MarkGTR 
This is a great review. You should hear some of her unreleased tracks. She’s been making music for 10 years now, and the further back you go the better it gets.
I am so grateful that you wrote to me. I just started to do some back-checking on her music and you are correct!
She is so unique and immediately I fell in love! Not sure if you noticed but the copycats have been putting out music now.
How incredible right?
Thank you again!
Where can I find her tracks?