Sometimes, you click play on something without any preconceived notions of what to expect. Moments later, you're swept up in something you weren't prepared for. The space around you fades away, and all that matter is that moment. Each passing second more important than the last. This past weekend, I came across a song simply titled "Video Games" by a singer named Lana Del Rey. After I hit play, I lost track of time.
New York-native Lana Del Rey (nee Lizzy Grant) appears like a lost or resurrected icon from the latter years of the Golden Age of Hollywood, specifically the 1960s. And while there's a certain pure beauty that accompanies such an aesthetic, Del Rey refers to herself as a "gangster Nancy Sinatra" and classifies her music as "Hollywood Pop/Sad Core." She has yet to release an album -- or officially release any music for that matter -- but there are a few songs that have made their way online. One of those tracks, "Video Games," has made quite an impression -- not just with me -- and it's hard not to hear why.
"Video Games" is heavily indebted to the cinematic sound of '60s chamber pop. Del Rey's label of "Sad Core" is most applicable here, as this chilling ambiance gives rise to a sound that's rich with a melancholic beauty. Sadness can be something that's much more alluring than happiness, and, here, that could not be more true. Throughout the song, audio from a variety of video clips fades in and out which, at first, might seem like a misstep, but it actually enriches the underlying story -- the tale of one chaotic world that lies just past the safety and love that Del Rey offers to whomever she addresses.
Lana Del Rey - "Video Games"
The video is constructed from a mix of actual video game clips as well as variety of classic film clips, grainy home recordings, and media/TV footage. It brings to life the beauty and the darkness of life, and captures the chaos that surrounds us all. Del Rey's sultry, incredibly rich voice stands like a lighthouse on the safe shores of unconditional love, lost behind the stormy seas of the outside world. In a world that's imperfect and in disarray, she appears as the one thing offering a haven from that which lies outside the saving grace of her love.
You can hide inside the fantasy, the constructed world, of a video game, but, despite all the troubles that exist in reality, there's nothing more amazing or infinitely rewarding than true love. "Heaven is a place on Earth" not inside a virtual reality. Nothing is perfect in the real world, but that's what makes it all the more beautiful.
Lana Del Rey
YouTube
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