Great new in-depth interview for GQ, she addresses the "authenticity" BS, her name change, her inspirations and her new album....
Ice Breaker: Lana Del Rey
The mysterious and much-debated singer discusses the phony controversy, coping with the hype, and where exactly she came from
Lana Del Rey is tiny, and tucked into a heavy leather motorcycle jacket. She moves a tangle of dyed, amber hair from the right side of her head to the left, and back again. She looks away, then bats a weighty set of fake eyelashes. She's wearing a silver and possibly diamond-encrusted crucifix. In person, Del Rey looks exactly like the pouty, mysterious chanteuse who caused such a commotion this summer with her song, the lush "Video Games." She also looks like a wide-eyed, fidgety 24-year-old woman. Which she is. Del ReyAKA Lizzy Grant, her less exotic government nameis perceptive and confident, but she was nervous on the afternoon we spoke, in a booth at La Bottega, a restaurant in New York's Maritime Hotel. That afternoon a conveyor belt of eager journalists, of which I was queued up, greeted her. While we spoke, she answered some questions with clarity and assertiveness, and others with squirms and hems and trailing sentences. She has a cartoonish Betty Boop snicker she will tack onto the end of a particularly cute response. She's funny, but also exasperated. Occasionally, when tongue-tied, she'll flap those lips of hers while exhaling, making the sound of a snorting horse.
It's not hard to see why. Del Rey's garnered a surprisingsome have argued undeservedamount of web fame in a short space of time. The video for "Video Games" was released on July 1 and she has since been positioned as everything from "the Kreayshawn of Indie" to the "the new singer music bloggers love to hate." The stakes are probably smaller than that, though not for any objective reason. Just a few years ago, Del Rey was still going by Lizzy Grant, singing her own songs to little acclaim in Williamsburg watering holes and small Lower East Side venues. She recorded an album with the well-regarded veteran producer David Kahne (The Strokes, Sugar Ray), but it languished, as debuts by unknown NYC jazz-pop singers often do. When it was released, no one cared and it was pulled from iTunes two and a half months later. Though Del Reya name refashioned with her management, but not an alter egohas a flavor of the megabyte feel, she says she's been at it too long for that. "I think people got really bored on the Internet," she says, explaining the torrent of think pieces. Del Reywho ate strawberries, yogurt, and granolaand I spoke about the controversy surrounding her rise, her early days as a singer-songwriter in New York, and that pouty reputation.
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GQ: You've had an intense few months. How are you acclimating to all the attention?
Lana Del Rey: Some days are good, but some days are sort of tiringbut the good stuff is really good. Today is fine, everything is good. Sometimes I just feel nervous about what people are going to say, but the record's beautiful, so that much is great.
GQ: Tell me about your hometown, Lake Placid.
Lana Del Rey: I go back now to visit my grandma and grandpa, but it's not really somewhere I've spent a lot of time, not since I was 14. It's beautiful. It's a vacation destination. Olympics. It's small, 2,800 people [laughs] it's very different from here.
GQ: Why did you leave at 14?
Lana Del Rey: I went to boarding school. It was difficult.
GQ: To be away from your family?
Lana Del Rey: Just sort of to, I don't know, I was just trying to begin to imagine the future or whatever. It was difficult navigating my own way, I guess.
GQ: Did you have a sense of what you wanted to do?
Lana Del Rey: I knew I wanted to do something creative. I didn't think I'd have the luxury of doing something like that, because I didn't know anyone who had pursued anything they really adored, but I had dreams for singing or writing. I wasn't sure how to do it.
GQ: What were your parents like? What did they encourage?
Lana Del Rey: Honesty and being a good person.
GQ: Did they have a sense you were creative?
Lana Del Rey: Yes, definitely. I was a different sort of child, as half the children are. They are or they aren't. I was in that category of being free-spirited [laughs]. I was always a singer, it was nothing anyone planned on me doing for real, because it's an unusual thing. I was just sort of saying, even having modest ambitions to have a small career at singing, it's still really difficult to do that. Everyone wants to sing or act or whatever, so...
GQ: When you left boarding school, you came to New York?
Lana Del Rey: Yes, I went to college. At Fordham.
GQ: What'd you think of New York?
Lana Del Rey: I didn't live at school, I lived where I could and studied what I enjoyed studying. I took what I wanted from that education but was making my first record at the same time. I don't know anyone from school. I was just leading a different life. I was really interested in writing and other things.
GQ: Were you a social person as a teenager?
Lana Del Rey: I was social, just in a different way. I loved my teachers. I feel like kids can be hard to get along with sometimes and I don't know anyone from my school I've been to. I'm sure they were nice.
GQ: You were never entrenched in the college lifestyle?
Lana Del Rey: No.
GQ: Were you ostracized?
Lana Del Rey: No, I didn't feel ostracized. I just had different priorities. I was reading and writing. I was pursuing my own education [laughs] which paid off, I've learned so many different things.
GQ: What precipitated that first album?
Lana Del Rey: I was doing open mic nights in the city with my guitar at Layla Lounge, Galapagos, where those places are open. Same place every girl singer was playing. One of many tragic Lower East side songstresses, oh dear! What must they think? And I met really nice people. Everyone in Brooklyn was doing a folk thing, and I was in that camp, singing sort of jazz. I entered a songwriting competition, I didn't win, and one of the judges on the panel was an A&R man at a record label that had no other acts and I signed to them. We sent my demo out to five people and David Kahne got back to me that day, and said I think you're amazing I want to start with you tomorrow. He was like my Harvard reach school, I couldn't believe it. I was really excited. It was the first time anyone of any importance said I was good and I ran with that validation for a long time.
GQ: Were you having fun playing clubs?
Lana Del Rey: It was daunting. I love to sing and I really love to write, but in terms of being onstage, I'm not that comfortable, which I think is sort of clear [sighs]. Um, so. I don't remember what you said.
GQ: What did your parents think when this started to happen?
Lana Del Rey: My parents were lovely. They've always been supportive. When you love your child, you don't know what to do with someone who wants to do what no one else does successfully. If I had someone younger I loved, I'd be worried for them too if I didn't have guidance to give them. I was never successful in a noteworthy way, no one wrote about me, and I didn't have recognition. I've met a lot of musicians along the way who thought I was good, and they knew that was important to me. Having a simple career as a musician who liked music was good enough for me. They slowly came to understand that was going to be my future. It's changed in the last three months. I don't know what it means. It's definitely different, though.
GQ: Did it change at all when you connected with David?
Lana Del Rey: I thought it was going to be the beginning of everything, but my record was shelved for two and a half years. But because it was so dark, no one wanted to spend money on promoting it. After two and a half years, everyone came to the understanding that it wasn't the project they thought it was. I was the only person on their roster, they signed me because they liked me. It was a passion project. Working with David, we thought good things were going to come. But just because you work with someone famous doesn't mean you're gonna be famous and no one wrote about that album. It was only out for two and a half months on iTunes. You would think it gave me a nice launching pad, but things stood still for a long time, until only for the last three or four months.
GQ: All the things that didn't happen then are happening now.
Lana Del Rey: It's the weirdest thing. It's not like I'm huge or anything but it's still the strangest thing.
GQ: It's a lot of attention.
Lana Del Rey: It seems like that. It feels like that. I don't really know what to do. But um...
GQ: Did you anticipate any of this?
Lana Del Rey: No.
GQ: Obviously you made some choices that are different.
Lana Del Rey: I'd say no. It's what you do when it's time for your second record. I'd written everything I wanted to write. I'd liked what I'd done, I'd liked my first record, it was autobiographical and beautiful. "Video Games" is a five-minute ballad with no instruments, it was a downscale from what I'd been doing with a ****ing live orchestra. It was synthetic harps and no drums. It was a perfect melody for me, I thought it matched me. When people liked it, it was my least commercial song, it wasn't even a song anyone wanted on the Internet. It was a baby.
GQ: What did that tell you?
Lana Del Rey: Nothing. "Yayo" was perfect just like that. I've had a million songs like that. I had another creepy video to that song, too. It doesn't tell me anything except that God is ridiculous. That's all. It's fascinating. Could it be the tipping point, where unbeknownst to me where so many hours of thinking and working came into play? I don't know. Maybe I reached my 10,000. I don't know. It's very strange. [squeals]
GQ: You've become a lightning rod for a lot of conversations.
Lana Del Rey: It could be about a bug. I don't even do anything in real life. I just sit in my studio and write, I call my friends, I watch television. I don't do anything. Write crazy stuff if you want to. I've been telling [my publicists], it has nothing to do with me. I mean, everything has nothing to do with me. I don't know what they're talking about. I don't know what they're talking about. Not like you care that much. You're just writing the article.
GQ: I just haven't seen something like this in a long time.
Lana Del Rey: Are you being serious?
GQ: I wouldn't be here talking to you if you hadn't sparked a conversation.
Lana Del Rey: I've been reading tabloids since I was nine. I love a good story. Some of the talking points took on a tone that really had nothing to do with me.
GQ: Obviously, the video is a talking point. And so is the name change.
Lana Del Rey: It's 2011, it's not like I planned on erasing my history. I've been a pioneer of the Internet myself since a decade ago. I was just trying to create something sonically that I could aspire to. First of all, no one was even listening to me for ages, so I did whatever I wanted. I had no fans, the same bands I've talked to for five years, and all of a sudden, everything changed, and they were like, "You used to be like..." The point is, I know what I like and what to write about thematically and I have integrity in my musical choices and I've stuck to that and I think it's a nice gift for me because I have stuck to my guns about what I want to hear sonically, so at least I've done that right. I've made the record I like. I haven't even had that many interviews, so I don't know where they get the stuff they're getting. Not that I'm important or anything, it's just that I don't know. Curiosity is good. That's what [my publicist] Marilyn says.
GQ: I'm curious about the aesthetic you've chosen. The video seems like a conscious choice to match feeling with sound.
Lana Del Rey: If I had known as many people were going to see the video as they have, I would have made different choices. Seeing myself on the screen makes me cringe. I understand that I am that way, pouty. [Lana purses her lips] I think if that many people were going to see it, I would have made different choices.
GQ: Do you regret it?
Lana Del Rey: Do I regret it? I believe nothing happens by mistake. You know, the universe has a divine plan. That sounds dramatic. So I guess I don't regret it, but I can't say I'm happy with it. I'm happy with other things in my life. The video wasn't my finest moment. That's fine. [laughs]
GQ: Is there a correction you want to make?
Lana Del Rey: Yes, I'd love not to make my own videos anymore! Correction #1. Yes I've started that, and I'm so happy about it. Johan Renck, he's perfect. He loves shooting with 35mm, he understands I love the richness and texture of film, he likes the same iconography and symbolism, he makes great choices, and thank God I don't have to be like, in charge, sort of. I was sort of doing what I could with what I had at the time.
GQ: It's amazing how impressions are born from that. It's interesting to hear you tell the story the way you tell it. The perception is you're a character, created and molded.
Lana Del Rey: That's not the case. I haven't had any help for a very long time. It's only recently. You have to understand, record labels don't invest in people who are unknown. Do you know what A&R guys say to people now? "Come back to me when you've sold 1 million units." That's the case, and I know because I know everything about it, you know. They don't sign unknown acts. First of all, it's an impossibility in the economic environment now. The funny thing is, when I signed to my new labels, I was so happy because I was going to have help. I have great ideas and everyone's so on board. They like my videos and writing my own songs, and then all of a sudden, this ****ing weird thing happens where everyone was like... I don't know. Yeah. It's interesting. I think people got really bored on the Internet.
GQ: Tell me about your relationship with movies.
Lana Del Rey: I have kind of a funny relationship with movies. I don't have to see the whole movie to get an impression of it or to let it have an influence on me.
GQ: A lot of people have been eager to draw the David Lynch connection.
Lana Del Rey: They want to make that connection or make me that person. I just don't lead a double life, so I'm not really like any of the characters. I sort of do what I say and say what I do which I'm happy with because it makes my life real easy. When I was younger, people would say that I was inspired by David Lynch, so I went and watched his stuff and I was surprised. I thought it was smart, with what I was trying to do lyrically. So I started watching some of his stuff. I've never seen his movies in [their] entirety, I'm more interested in him as a person and how he came to be successful taking an alternative route, sort of a subculture icon.
GQ: What can you tell me about the album? Does it have a title?
Lana Del Rey: I think I'm going to call it the title of the next single, Born to Die.
GQ: That's dramatic.
Lana Del Rey: I know.
GQ: Where are you in the process now?
Lana Del Rey: I think they're all done, seven of the singles will be on the record. I have to think about the remaining tracks. It's quite a big batch. The third single is my favorite, I ****ing love it. I think it's out late December or early January. That's the one Johan's going to work on the video with me.
GQ: I'm curious: Are you making a lot of money now?
Lana Del Rey: I think I'm going to, but not yet.
GQ: I see "Video Games" showed up on The CW's Ringer.
Lana Del Rey: I only got $500 for each week, when "Kinda Outta Luck" was the promo for the Gossip Girl thing. $500 per week for four and a half weeks leading up to the series. It's not about the money, it's about the exposure. If they don't have to show you, they won't. If my team wants it to be on television, it will be on television. I have a limited control over where things are placed, because my team does that. Creatively I'm in charge, if I wasn't, I would stop. If things continue to go the way they're going, I'll have money.
GQ: That's good. That's part of the goal.
Lana Del Rey: Yeah. It's nice not to live in fear. That's part of the goal. Not being afraid of what's happening to you.
GQ: Do you have any misgivings about songs being placed commercially?
Lana Del Rey: I feel nervous about a lot of things, and that's one of them. But you have to let go because it's just...in the end, you focus on keeping the songs, the words, the production as good as you want it to be. The rest is all okay. [laughs]
GQ: What else makes you nervous, besides having these conversations?
Lana Del Rey: That's it. Everything else is really easy.
GQ: I assume other artists are calling you to collaborate.
Lana Del Rey: That's funny. I'm not collaborating with anyone. I have interest in it, just maybe not yet. The third single is the last part of my trilogy. This last song is sort of... I care about this one. That's sort of it. [laughs] Oh, dear.
GQ: Who do you want to work with?
Lana Del Rey: I don't know. I really don't.
GQ: Who do you look up to?
Lana Del Rey: No one.
GQ: Do you feel like you're making music to fill a void?
Lana Del Rey: No. And don't write that you think I am.
GQ: I won't. What music do you listen to?
Lana Del Rey: The same thing I've been listening to for a while. Nirvana, I'm always listening to them. I like Frank Sinatra, Elvis, I really like some of the film scores to my favorite movies.
GQ: You're into icons.
Lana Del Rey: Yes, I guess so. Like most people. It's not like I think my art is inspirations from icons strung together. They're just sort of people who others talk about. I am definitely interested in the masters of different genres, they're talented and popular for a reason.
GQ: If you could have done anything differently, aside from the video, in the last three months, would you?
Lana Del Rey: You always want people to be nice to you. So of course, the reception to be warm and nice, just like anyone else, you'd hope people would be loving towards you like you plan on being towards everyone else. I think I might have done something differently, but I'm not sure what it would have been. I don't know how to do that.
GQ: Do you feel the weight of expectation?
Lana Del Rey: Not really. I just don't want everything to go terribly. I know the songs are good. I'm just not really sure what's going to happen.
GQ: What would be success?
Lana Del Rey: I already have it. I had it a long time ago. It's nothing to do with my music. Music is secondary, at this point. The good stuff is really good, but I have success because I'm at peace and I'm a good person in my everyday life and that's important.
GQ: Was it a struggle to get to that place?
Lana Del Rey: A little bit. But that was a long time ago.
GQ: Does it make being creative easier?
Lana Del Rey: Yes, because you're not in trouble!
GQ: What was your version of trouble?
Lana Del Rey: I don't know.
GQ: You don't know or you won't say?
Lana Del Rey: No, I don't know. We were doing so well. [sighs]
GQ: I'm not trying to intrude. I'm just curious.
Lana Del Rey: Yeah.
GQ: Is there a timetable for the album?
Lana Del Rey: Yeah, we're going to release it in March, but I think now it's more like late January, so sooner than I thought but the songs are there.
GQ: Is that to capitalize on the moment?
Lana Del Rey: From what I understand.
