I Will Love You Till The End of Time...

I first heard about Lana Del Rey in 2011. I had just moved to LA and her song “Video Games” was just starting to find a foothold on the Internet. Being a video game player myself, the name intrigued me and I felt compelled to give it a listen after seeing it posted somewhere.

The music video, for those who haven’t seen it, is essentially home video of Lana performing, intercut with found footage. I remember thinking she reminded me of a coked out supermodel or the girlfriend of some famous actor, but in the best way possible. She was vulnerable and beautiful - she seemed damaged. Though the lyrics were uplifting (“Heaven is a place on Earth with you”), her delivery was heartbreaking. There was a story to her. 

Shortly thereafter, “Video Games” came on the radio one day when I was driving (quite appropriately) through Hollywood. It reminded me how much I liked the song and compelled me to go look her up again. At the time, she only had a few songs on YouTube, but I fell in love with her music. Despite her rocky performance on SNL soon after, I remained a loyal fan, and when her album officially released, I was hooked. Lana has since become one of my favorite artists of the last 5 years, if not all time. She has inspired me musically and lyrically, and I find her subtle influence apparent in lots of other artists that you might not expect (Taylor Swift and Adam Lambert come to mind).

“Blue Jeans” is a standout track on her first album. It’s truly Lana at her best – longing lyrics that invoke the Golden Age of Hollywood, a hip-hop influenced arrangement, and of course, Lana’s signature jazz-infused vocals. Doing my own version of the song was not as easy as I anticipated. I realized very quickly that trying to imitate Lana’s unique style was just not going to work. I had to make it my own, and part of that realization was coming to terms with giving up some of what I love about the song – the relaxed, melancholy crooning on the verses and breathy, ethereal vocals on the chorus. It just didn't suit my voice. I tried to strip away Lana's interpretation of the song and reimagine it as if I had written it. What came out was a more biting approach to the lyrics. I fused the arrangement with as much energy as I could, while keeping the sweeping feel of the strings. I created the entire track in GarageBand, recorded the vocals in my closet, and then had some help from Jeff Schoeny with mixing. All in all, I'm really proud of how it came out!

So without further ado, here is my version of the song. I really hope you guys like it! Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below!

Who Am I?

Well, that's a loaded question. People usually define themselves by their job - "I'm a doctor," "I'm a teacher," "I'm a social worker." I guess this makes sense, since most people go to school or train for years to work in the field that they are passionate about (or at least the one they think will make them the most money). Though in my experience, people in Hollywood will tell you both their job AND their passion, which are inevitably two separate things and neither of which tend to involve much money - "Well, I work as a waitress right now but I'm also a singer-songwriter."

Well, OK in that case my name is Justin Messina - I work in entertainment marketing but I'm also a screenwriter, singer-songwriter, and filmmaker. There. Now you know me.

So why the blog? Mostly it's a collection of my random thoughts and musings as I navigate the entertainment industry and my own creative process. But it's also an invitation to join me on this journey into the "wondrous land of imagination," to quote the Twilight Zone.

As a huge fantasy and sci-fi buff, I spend much of my time living in other worlds - some very much like our own, some that could not be more different. I moved to LA from the east coast right out of college and it was very much like entering another dimension. Perpetual sunshine, plastic smiles, and an entire city founded on the things I grew up loving but was always told weren't "real" careers - film, TV, music.

At its best, Hollywood is a community of creative minds - competing, collaborating, struggling to have their own voices heard, all wanting to build something meaningful. At its worst, it's an industry fueled by greedy execs who dilute creativity and destroy artistry for the sake of being "commercial." Yes, Hollywood is its own strange dystopian society - shiny and perfect on the outside but with a dark and flawed underbelly.

And so this blog is just one man's attempt to navigate this strange land - hoping to learn and grow from the adventure while still holding onto the pillars that define him. Join me, share your stories, and perhaps together we can make it out alive.

You are about to enter another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop, Hollywood!