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!
“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!
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