In March of this year I became addicted to Lana Del Rey. I spent hours/days/weeks listening to her discography on repeat. All of my waking hours were completely consumed and there was no amount of cinematic/sweeping/yearning melodies that could satisfy. I aptly named my experience “LanaFest”.
Over the course of the five months, the chokehold I’ve been in has loosened but by no means had it been released - rather it’s put on the clamps with her latest instant classic.
I’m not sure what started it, but whatever it was set off the realization that I had only listened to Norman Fucking Rockwell! in its entirety when it came out. One thing led to another and the next thing I knew, I had played Ultraviolence at least 3 times before lunch on a Monday morning. Lana at work, Lana in the car, Lana at the gym. Lana at the gym?!? I remember how Venice Bitch sent me the first time I heard it and I felt like I was getting hit with the same rush all over again. Only now I had the luxury of 9 albums to feed on.
It’s absurd that LanaFest happened in 2024. It’s absurd that it happened at all. Have you ever seen someone experience something for the first time that you already knew was incredible? I feel like this was one of those moments when I explained to people what was currently happening to me. It was obsessive/ otherworldly/ celestial alignment.
Prior to this, I had four core memories of Lana Del Rey:
2012. Lana Del Rey performs on SNL and gets ridiculed. This was the first time I had heard of her and I remember hearing about it on the radio. “She sucks”. “She’s not a real singer”. Without having even listened to her music I had already written her off. Looking back, the reactions were completely disproportionate to the performance.
2013. Summertime Sadness is remixed by Cederic Gervais and almost passes Levels as the #1 song among college bars.
2018. Lana Del Rey and Azalea Banks have a spat on twitter. Lana Del Rey wins formidably. This tweet has lived in my head ever since. I still had not listened to a full album.
2019. Norman Fucking Rockwell is released and I love it. This was one of my favorite albums of the year so it continues to make zero sense why LanaFest hadn’t happened earlier.
To assign meaning to LanaFest is to meditate on ego and identity. In all honesty, I feel regret. Regret like I had squandered all these years without intentionally having Lana in my life. Regret like I missed out on nostalgia that was completely my own. Remembering where you were/what was happening in your life when a song/album came out. Albums have always been how I mentally catalog years. Norman Fucking Rockwell! came out in 2019. The Raptors were NBA champions. Sickomode was everywhere. Born to Die came out in 2012. I was an intern listening to Toro y Moi and the xx thinking I was some hot shit that was too cool for pop music. Ultraviolence came out in 2014. I had just started seeing my partner.
At the same time, we’re always changing. Being nicer to ourselves means letting our younger selves cook. And cookith I did. In the years that I consider my formative ones, I started liking things. I started realizing that it felt quite pleasant to like things. I started enjoying liking things even though other people liked those things too. Playing catch-up also felt like a daunting task. I felt like I had to reassure/convince myself that I was not too far gone and that I too was allowed to enjoy these albums for the first time. Does this make sense?
I’m definitely late to the party but who says I can’t have my own experience now. So, with LanaFest as the backdrop, I’d like to introduce you to the first publication of going here.
As of right now (subject to change), it is
an unserious monthly publication of my musings delivered at the end of the month
an even less serious roundup of my favorite new albums
a playlist of what I’m currently enjoying (including tracks that were not released during the month).
What to expect: nothing!
tasting notes | july
new releases that I hope you enjoy too
in between - Layzi
Sounds like how you imagine your skin would feel on a tropical dream holiday - dewy, supple, and perfect.
King Of The Mischievous South Vol. 2 - Denzel Curry
You will like if you also like:
Invigorating your soul by drinking a cold Gatorade after a 7 hour hike in the sun
Music that will make you want to flip a table or slap a ceiling
Biting your lip to Ty Dolla $ign
open this wall - berlioz
This is for you if:
this is you
this is also you
Luvr - Amindi
Play if you want to:
Feel like you’re floating on a cloud of cotton candy. With each groove you scoop a mouthful but the cloud never gets smaller.
Bando Stone and the New World - Childish Gambino
This is for those who have a taste for:
Soundtracking your escape from Jurassic Park to find sanctuary on a paradise tropical island in your Kitsuné cardigan
Shorty shorts with < 5” inseam
Winged Victory - Boo
For those who prefer dark mode on your computer to play your sexy dance music
Now I See the Light - toe
Like you’re sitting on your bedroom floor looking at old developed photos trying to remember where/how/what was going on when they were taken.
Viceroy - $NOT
If you’re still an emo kid at heart and have an unexplainable attraction to witchy-forest-core
STARFACE - Lava La Rue
This is the soundtrack to your evening dance party by yourself after you’ve emptied a bottle of wine and dropped all your clothes.
going here vol 1 | july 2024
See you next month,
Dexter
Now I get why your Spotify wrapped was so superior to mine (both in metrics and cool factor).