It’s been a long time since I’ve had a musical crush, Kele Okereke of Bloc Party being the last, someone who can do no wrong in your eyes by creating music that evokes a visceral, emotional reaction. The first time I heard Lana Del Rey’s “Video Games” I was intrigued and by the time I finished listening to “Blue Jeans” I was sold.
Thank you Hawley. I liked her enough that I resisted caring about the hype that quickly spun around her because, hey, I live on the Internet, so my filter is good.
When I saw her perform live in Toronto on November 30th I was fully smitten. Backed by a very very good band, playing tunes that steam from deep roots in hip hop with a classical upbringing, her on stage performance was playful, honest, bashful, and real. Singing about sex, smoking weed, and chasing paper, all the while sounding as angelic as Nancy Sinatra.
To fully understand what I’m talking about, we here at Sidewalk Hustle captured a couple of live tracks. Watch her perform “Million Dollar Man” and her live debut of “Diet Mtn Dew”.
