DAILY FIX: Lana Del Rey, "Born To Die"

Indie torchsinger and rookie sensation Lana Del Rey caught our attention a few months ago with the powerful, disquieting clip for her debut single, "Video Games." The low-budget video, assembled by the singer from found Youtube footage and shots of herself standing in a hallway singing along with the song, drew a lot of attention online, and four months after its release, it's racked up nearly 12 million views. It also got Lana Del Rey a deal with Interscope, who will be releasing her debut album, Born To Die, in January. The title track from that album has now become her second single, and its video was released to the internet this week, initially by a Russian video site who'd presumably obtained it by less-than-completely-legal means. Del Rey's management quickly posted a legitimate version of the clip on Youtube, which has racked up a quarter of a million views in its 24 hours online thus far. So what's all the shouting about? Well, the (easily mockable but relatively accurate) "gangster Nancy Sinatra" tag tells some of the story--Del Rey mixes lush, string-backed pre-rock n' roll style ballads with a clear hip-hop influence. That influence remained in the background, for the most part, on "Video Games," but is much more obvious on "Born To Die," with its pounding drum machine beat and the same Mountain sample embedded in its chorus that Public Enemy used for "Louder Than A Bomb." The dark hints of a sinister undercurrent to her every-man's-fantasy presentation, supplied on "Video Games" by the juxtaposition of ornate, flowery musical arrangements with subtly ironic lyrics and disturbing video clips, are also pushed to the forefront on "Born To Die." Its expensively produced, high-definition video couldn't be more different in style and execution from that of "Video Games," but the vibe is much the same, as Del Rey and her tattooed punk-rock beau do illegal drugs and drive dangerously as if none of it matters, mirroring the fatalism of the song's lyrics. As a followup to "Video Games," the song and video are by no means a letdown, and if anything this will only further ratchet up the anticipation from all corners of the music world for Del Rey's upcoming full-length. Be on the lookout for it--we sure will be.