Trueself

Pagans, Slashers, and Wall Street Psychos: The True Story of Friday the 13th

Is it bad luck... or just the Christian church's fear of pagans?

Friday the 13th: the very phrase can send a chill (of gleeful excitement or dread, depending on who you are) down the spine. Few days of the year are so notoriously unnerving and so profoundly associated with bad luck. But where did our fear of this date come from, and why does it persist?

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MUSIC

A Brand-New Song, and All the Snippets Lana Del Rey Has Released from "Norman F**king Rockwell"

Fans are calling this the "messiest" Lana era ever. But it also could be the best, judging by the quality of the music. Here's everything we know.

Photo by M. on Unsplash

In January 2019, Lana Del Rey told the world that her sixth album, Norman F**king Rockwell, was complete.

Since then, she's teased dozens of songs and visual clips—but the album's release date remains elusive, infuriating legions of devoted fans.

It's unclear whether the album is still undergoing a prolonged period of revision, if she's decided to scrap the whole thing, or if it's all beyond her control, though it's always hard to know with Del Rey, who has never been one to follow rules. Still, she's certainly given fans a fair amount of teasers to hold them over in the interim. Here's a timeline of every quote, whispered clip, and blurry visual we have so far.

In January 2018, in an interview withPitchfork, Lana mentioned that one of her newest songs was called "Bartender," and described it as "super weird."

Then on February 25, Del Rey uploaded a video that featured her hanging out with Jack Antonoff, prompting later-confirmed suspicion that they were working together on a new project.

On February 28, Del Rey visited the Ryan Seacrest Foundation, where she began writing a song called "Starry Eyed" on ukulele, which she promised to finish and dedicate to the foundation; it's also unclear whether this song will be on the album.

Live in Seacrest Studios with Lana Del Reywww.youtube.com

On March 5, 2018, Del Rey first teased the lyrics of a song called "Happiness is a Butterfly," a lullaby-like sigh of a track that has continued to reappear throughout Norman Fucking Rockwell's forked pathway to release. On March 30, she released a snippet of the song on Instagram, which she later removed and then un-archived.

On June 12, MTV released a list of upcoming albums, which featured an obviously false March 29 release date for Norman Fucking Rockwell.

A few months later, Del Rey teased and then premiered the psychedelic, Leonard-Cohen-quoting "Mariner's Apartment Complex," which was released on September 12.


Lana Del Rey - Mariners Apartment Complexwww.youtube.com

Then on September 18, she released the equally trippy, luxurious "Venice Bitch" on an interview with Zane Lowe for Beats 1. [links] Regarding the song's length, Del Rey said, "I played it for my managers and I was like, 'Yeah, I think this is the single I want to put out.' And they were like, 'It's 10 minutes long. Are you kidding me? It's called 'Venice Bitch.' Like, Why do you do this to us? Can you make a three-minute normal pop song?' I was like, 'Well, end of summer, some people just wanna drive around for 10 minutes [and] get lost in some electric guitar.'"

Lana Del Rey - Venice Bitchwww.youtube.com

In the same Zane Lowe interview, Del Rey also said, "Working with Jack [Antonoff], I was in a little bit of a lighter mood because he was so funny. So the title track is called 'Norman Fucking Rockwell' and it's kind of about this guy who is such a genius artist but he thinks he's the shit and he knows it and he, like, won't shut up talking about it… I just like the title track so much that I was like, 'OK, I definitely want the record to also be called that."

Several music sites later reported that these singles were "fan singles" and would not be on the actual album, though Del Rey has not confirmed this speculation.

Then on October 4, Del Rey posted an extended video of "How to Disappear," which she later deleted and subsequently unarchived.

On October 12, Del Rey posted a clip of her singing a song called "Cinnamon" on Instagram, which she later deleted and then reposted as well.

In response, a fan Instagram account posted a 2017 quote from an interview withPitchforkwhere Lana stated, "I had some people in my life that made me a worse person. I was not sure if I could step out of that box of familiarity, which was having a lot of people around me who had a lot of problems and feeling like that was home base. Because it's all I know. I spent my whole life reasoning with crazy people. I felt like everyone deserved a chance, but they don't. Sometimes you just have to step away without saying anything."

Del Rey commented on the post, "the quote [from Pitchfork] is a perfect quote to go along with cinnamon [sic]. Some people don't deserve a chance."

On October 30, Del Rey performed "How to Disappear" and "Venice Bitch" at an Apple special event in Brooklyn, a show that was widely praised by fans including CEO Tim Cook.

Lana Del Rey - How to Disappear and Venice Bitch Live at Apple Event 2018www.youtube.com

She also released the full audio for "How to Disappear."

On December 5, she officially announced the album's title at Jack Antonoff's concert for the Ally Foundation and performed two country songs which she announced would not be on the new album.

Lana Del Rey - Hey Blue Baby [Live at Ally Coalition Talent Show]www.youtube.com


Lana Del Rey and Jack Antonoff - Ally Coalition Talent Show “I Must Be Stupid For Feeling So Happy"www.youtube.com

On January 1, 2019, Del Rey posted a video of her singing along to a song called "In Your Car," featuring the lyrics "In your car / I'm a star / and I'm burning through you."

The next day, she posted the audio for her song "Hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have — but I have it."

Lana Del Rey - hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have - but i have itwww.youtube.com

Producer Jack Antonoff tweeted his support, advising fans to "listen at night alone."

Then on January 11, 2019, she released an extended clip of a video for "Happiness is a Butterfly," which used the same visuals she had previously released alongside teasers for "Mariner's Apartment Complex" and "Venice Bitch." The video, relatively dreary and mellow compared to Del Rey's earlier work, featured Ashley Rodriguez and Alexandria Kaye and was directed by Lana Del Rey's sister Chuck Grant.

On March 23, 2019, Del Rey performed "Mariner's Apartment Complex" live for the first time in New Orleans, taking to an onstage swing and thanking the audience for "indulging [her] little folk sensibility" in the process.

Lana Del Rey @ Buku 2019 (Mariners Apartment Complex, Video Games, High by the Beach)www.youtube.com

Most recently, on April 3, 2019, Del Rey posted a snippet of a song that fans have named "You Don't Ever Have To." Some fans speculated that it's a part of "In Your Car," but this remains unknown.

In the midst of it all, she also released a Gucci ad with Jared Leto and has been teasing a book of her poetry, periodically releasing haikus and typewritten pages and even putting out a call for indie bookstores who might want to sell it. When asked about the price, Del Rey said that the book will cost $1, because "my words are priceless."

It's anyone's guess as to when Norman F**king Rockwell will drop, but Del Rey has always been adept at draping all of her work in auras of mystery. She's a master of contrasts, always throwing critics for a loop by combining kitsch and rawness, strength and vulnerability, apathy and passion. She's also always been great at making us wonder about the extent to which her appearance and art have been meticulously manufactured.

Maybe she's leaving a paper trail of sorts that resembles her own fractured consciousness. Maybe she's painting our schizophrenic reality, one defined by upheaval and exponential technological innovation. Or maybe she's just a free spirit whose artistic vision "gets messy" when it comes in contact with reality, as a friend once said.

Regardless, judging by the quality of the fragments that we do have, when the album finally does appear, it'll have been worth the wait.


Eden Arielle Gordon is a writer and musician from New York City. Find her on Twitter @edenarielmusic.


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FILM & TV

SATURDAY FILM SCHOOL | Aaron Katz's 'Gemini'

Yawn. You've seen this movie before, just in different lighting.

'Gemini' Distributed by Neon

Gemini is the type of film that desperately needs you to know you're in an inverted reality, a psychedelic funhouse where everything's filtered through neon pink.

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Unconventional love stories are making their way to the forefront of the movie scene this weekend.

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MUSIC

Veteran Actress Keke Palmer is about to run the music industry with her new single "Bossy"

Veteran Actress is poised to be a "boss" in the music industry.

"Right now I'm in a super empowering place musically." - Keke Palmer

Ever since her breakout role in the 2006 film "Akeelah and the Bee", Keke Palmer has been prominently featured on both movie and television screens for close to 2 decades. She had standout performances in films, a successful TV series, and a stint on Broadway in the musical for "Cinderella" under her belt. She's also one of the few that have been able to make the transition from child star to an adult actress seamlessly . Palmer has also been noted for being a phenomenal singer as well. She has recorded and released music in the past, but the bright lights of her accomplishments in Tinseltown seem to always outshine the true greatness of her voice. With her star now solidified in Hollywood, Keke wants to take her musical destiny into her own hands with her own label and her new single "Bossy".

Keke being more forthcoming with her music didn't just happen overnight. Palmer released the EP "Lauren" in 2016. The 5 song EP also featured a 17-minute short film of the same name and debuted at number 18 on the Billboard R&B Charts. At the end of 2017, Keke released a visual for "PREGAME", but "Bossy" seems to be the song to properly put everyone on notice that a body of work will be coming some time in 2018.

WATCH | "PREGAME"

The bass-heavy hard hitting track has a bounce that will definitely make people hit the dance floor and Keke's confident slick talk is well suited to have independent women both far and wide singing every single lyric. But "Bossy" isn't just another run of the mill club song, for Keke, it's a declaration of her taking control of her creativity in every single facet."After working so long with different record companies, I've decided to do things independently and create my own label.", Keke states, "Not just for myself, but hopefully for other young artists that are looking to feel (the) change of their own musical careers while having and receiving the support/nurturing environment they need to grow."

Even though she is focused on leaving the same mark in music as she has in film and television, Keke's fan should not fret. Despite her journey to conquer music, Palmer can still be seen lighting up screens as she's known to do. Keke is currently starring in the EPIX's original series "Berlin Station", and has a reoccurring role on the show "Star" starring Queen Latifah had a starring role on "Scream Queens" both on Fox. At only 24 years of age, Keke has managed to evolve and maintain her relevancy through her craft. She continues to thrive in any role she has taken, and she hopes she can finally reach that brass ring that has eluded her for song long when it comes to music. If "Bossy" is any indication of what's to come from Keke in 2018, then we all need to get on board or get left behind.

You can stream or buy "Bossy" here

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BOX OFFICE BREAKDOWN | What's coming to theaters this weekend?

JANUARY 19TH-21ST | Action-packed or light and romantic? The cinema has the answers to both

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Go on a romantic, musical journey or get your fix of action and heart-pounding thrilling adventures this weekend to gobble down all of the latest movie goodness.

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