Closing the curtains on 2017 with memories of musical expertise of such veritable variety, here is the final part of my essay collection of songs that made the year stick to templates of change, joy and emotional investments, from artists old and new.
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HEROIN, CHANGE, BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE, BEAUTIFUL PROBLEMS, TOMORROW NEVER CAME and GET FREE by LANA DEL REY-----
Integrity in one's vision, by this time in our century, is such a lone ranger so to speak. Every time it is evoked a door opens and allows us to take pride in one artist's untainted belief in creation of art as she deems fit. It's purely a matter of pride in her craft and with nearly no gargantuan regard for supporting herself with commercial straps . I marvel and am thrilled that in 2017, Lana blossomed further with her album LUST FOR LIFE and stayed true to her origins, along the way making the seemingly niche( I don't endorse these terms personally) perfectly accessible to a troubled sentience and making every instrumental moment and vocal turn stand out. It's a whispering chime in a high pitched, over reaching gallery and is suitable for a deeper sense of self necessitated by the chaos inside and outside.
Necessitated by the hush of piano and guitars mostly, Lana rose to the occasion. On the very sublime HEROIN, she was on a journey of trepidation likened to our respective states of mind at various junctures and balanced every trilling motion with her legendary soft focus dynamic while CHANGE made things obvious about its motives with the ball in the court of ' people' as ' powerful beings'. It wasn't an exhortation, it was a solemn observation with the spirit of silence congregating for an era of actions more than words. The piano is the ultimate minimal guide here as on her collaborations with Stevie Nicks and Sean Ono Lennon respectively, BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE, BEAUTIFUL PROBLEMS and TOMORROW NEVER CAME ( reminding one of his father's iconoclastic TOMORROW NEVER KNOWS in terms of title ) . These treasured partnerships were always meant to be and the sobriety of these voices elevates the mood, aspiring for love in many different ways .
" Finally, I'm crossing the threshold / from the ordinary world, to the reveal of my heart", these are the lines that come from the divine depths of her soul, gliding like a sea gull in mid air and are so beautifully articulated on GET FREE, her ' modern manifesto' comes sealed with the idyll of transformation, away from jabbering masses of conformity. This is the same vocal fluidity that we marvel at and with her artistic lenses turned towards the whole world she wants to get in order, these songs join in our chorus of greater stability found in the voice of reason, voice of rationality and progress. They are showcases of unceasing beauty that will make you sigh, close your eyes while grasping every nuance, wonder and know that beauty is in the details and in Lana's measured touch. Unforgettably low key. Plus, there's the added oomph of her desires evaluated on WHITE MUSTANG, a moment of sensual revelation abetted by the piano and trap beats that sound better with every tryst.
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A LETTERED SOUL: REFLECTIONS ON LITERATURE, CINEMA AND CULTURE .
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