On the art of Reinvention

In the film and novella Breakfast at Tiffany's, OJ Berman utters the following about Holly Golightly

"She may be a phoney... But she's a real phoney. She's a real phoney because she honestly believes the phoney junk she believes in"

Ladies and Gentlemen ... Lana Del Rey..

Lana del Rey Shooting by Sean & Seng from Interview.de on Vimeo.

Reinvention can be a powerful and beautiful force. It comes with a freedom not just to be seen differently, but to perceive yourself the way you would like to be seen. You can become your own artwork. In freeing yourself of the limitations you have carried previously, you can become more yourself than you were before. Sometimes the new self is somehow more honest. Much in the same way that often you can be more candid with a stranger, than you can with your closest friends.

Pop music is full of this and has always been. It is the same with Hollywood. It's part of the game . So what I'm wondering is, when did we get so obsessed with authenticity ? What does is it mean to be *authentic* anyway?

I think part of the thing with the backlash of Del Rey (and I do feel it's all been much nastier, her being a woman) is her *character* was meant to be indie. Sure there was a sense that the legend was too quirky to possibly be true, the trailer park, the love of hip hop and rockabilly, the homemade films cut with super 8 footage, but even that in the beginning was endearing to the indie press. They wanted to believe it. They wanted someone with a back story like that, who looked like that, who dressed like that, to be *real* And then of course, was her sad sultry voice, and the lush cinematic music production that backed it. She even had blogger ready jargon for her look (gangster nancy sinatra) and her sound (hollywood sadcore)

Those who love to spot the latest greatest underground thing bought into it fast, and promoted it even faster. The trouble was that those very people who bought into it, felt tricked when the mythology began to fall away. None of it had been lies exactly, but there were details that hadn't come up before. Yes she had lived in a trailer, but not because she was poor. Her style may not have been entirely her own, had been reworked, maybe with the help of others, to match her sound (which to her credit, I must admit still sounds very much the same).

And then that greatest of offenses,

LANA DEL REY... was NOT HER REAL NAME!!!

Blogging culture and social media attract strongly expressed opinions. These are often delivered in rapid debate: fervently for or passionately against. Then there is the inevitable follow up: a discussion about the discussion, questioning why there is any hype at all. Now those who had previously promoted Del Rey, felt embarrassed for having bought into her in the first place.

By promoting an artist that wasn't *authentic*, their own taste and sense for authenticity was called into question. Hipsters don't mind embracing pop music, as long as they are clear that the music is pop, so they can then choose to be ironic or gleefully indulgent about it. What they don't want is to be tricked into liking pop, thinking its Indie. They needed to backtrack, and quickly.

It wasn't just about her background, or her look. Now people were listening to the lyrics and questioning what she was saying. What was the tone of the character she had created? She longs only for her man, will do anything for her man. She lives for him, even when she is ignored.This makes some men and women annoyed with her, genuinely horrified by the stepford wive-ness of it all.

Then there were a series of underwhelming televised performances. More than anything, on stage she looked scared. This provoked some people to question not only her image, but her talent. This is a little unfair. Here is someone who had all this hype built up around her, without the experience to confidently rise to it. And as for sounding different recorded, this is hardly a matter of auto-tuning.

Some artists are better live, some are better in the studio, Just as some actors are better in film, than on stage. These are different disciplines and can be complimentary skills, but not always. Regardless, these appearances were damaging, giving her critics something else to feel vindicated for. It was still weeks and weeks before the album was due out...The backlash machine fired into fifth gear. One blog in particular, took it to ridiculous levels.

Perhaps she may have been forgiven for remaking herself, if it didn't appear that there was a team behind her reinvention. Perhaps for many the real sticking point, was that her team included a rich father, quite likely a stylist, and A&R men. But do we have any idea how much the musicians and actors we love have been advised on their reinvention? Sometimes these decisions are pragmatic, a way of distinguishing one self, in an industry where standing out means everything . Pop culture is about the dream. The dream is by and large manufactured, and why not ?

I caught onto Lana Del Rey early, and was immediately drawn in by Video games. I still think its a stand out track from last year. The album is released tomorrow. I'm very excited about hearing it. Despite all of this negativity towards her, presales have been high and reviews have been very good. Perhaps the backlash tide is turning. As for what goes on behind producing the persona and sound of the album, as long as I'm feeling the music, frankly, I really don't care.