High By The Beach just officially premiered on Beats 1 (albeit a censored version, something I will never understand). The interview between Zane Lowe and Lana is one of the best, most legitimate feeling media moments to date. Lowe understands Lana, her fan base and the creative ideals of the broader vision. It is so refreshing, thank you Zane Lowe. You can relisten here.
As for the track, I am glad that the first version of the track that I experienced was the final and uncensored version because the destruction of art that just took place on Beats 1 was quite grotesque. High By The Beach is the fucking dream. The production (thank you Rick) is beyond words – sonically the smoothest micro-beat laden hip hop. The lyrics are intensely poignant and very culturally of the moment in a number of ways – a new form of human escapism meets independence and self-empowerment throwing in a repeated lyric which of course drives fan bases wild. Where in the song Put Me In A Movie she says “Lights, camera, action. You know I can’t make it on my own”, High By The Beach replaces it with a stronger “Lights, camera, action. I’ll do it on my own.”
Here for this era. THank you for delivering a track that is essentially a dream Lana Del Rey. Photo: Chuck Grant