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Ultraviolence (song)

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"Ultraviolence"
Song

"Ultraviolence" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey for her third studio album, Ultraviolence (2014). It was co-written by Del Rey, and Daniel Heath, and produced by Dan Auerbach. The song was released on June 4, 2014, by Polydor and Interscope Records, as the third single from Ultraviolence.

Composition

According to Brenna Ehrlich of MTV News, "Ultraviolence" tells the story of a "typical Lana Del Rey romantic relationship: broken, failed and painful." The song contains a reference of The Crystals’ 1962 single "He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss)" in its chorus.[1] Kevin Rutherford of Radio.com remarked that "Ultraviolence" maintained the theme of songs previously released from the album, it "ups the lilting, low-tempo, strings-heavy form" Del Rey had established in her earlier work.[2] Sal Cinquemani of Slate described "Ultraviolence" as a "laconic, string-laden torch song".[3] In the line "I can hear sirens sirens, he hit me and it felt like a kiss," Del Rey references the 1962 The Crystals song "He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss)", and, according to Harriet Gibson of The Guardian, "appear[s] to romanticise brutality".[4] A writer for the Music Times commented that the "violins, lightly thumping drums and Del Rey's angelic singing" gave the song a "church-y" feel, pointing out that the track presented her "title sound".[5]

Critical response

Nolan Feeney of TIME criticized the song for its glorification of domestic violence, mentioning Lorde's comment on Del Rey's music, "This sort of shirt-tugging, desperate, don’t leave me stuff. That’s not a good thing for young girls, even young people, to hear." However, Feeney pointed out that Del Rey would "likely" not endorse the "screwed-up tales of vice and luxury" her character, Lana Del Rey, sings about.[6] While noting that Del Rey did not offer a positive or negative opinion on domestic violence, Harley Brown of Spin said that the lyrics to the song could generate controversy, especially since Del Rey dismissed feminism in a recent interview with The Fader, saying "For me, the issue of feminism is just not an interesting concept. I’m more interested in, you know, SpaceX and Tesla, what’s going to happen with our intergalactic possibilities. Whenever people bring up feminism, I’m like, god. I’m just not really that interested."[7][8]

Live performances

Del Rey premiered "Ultraviolence" as part of her set at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on May 25, 2014.[9]

Release history

Country Date Format Label
United States[10] June 4, 2014 Digital download Interscope

References

  1. ^ http://www.mtv.com/news/1838435/lana-del-rey-ultraviolence-single
  2. ^ Rutherford, Kevin (June 4, 2014). "Listen to Lana Del Rey's Solemn, Strings-Heavy New Song 'Ultraviolence'". Radio.com. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  3. ^ Cinquemani, Sal (June 4, 2014). "Track Review: Lana Del Rey, "Ultraviolence"". Slate. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  4. ^ Gibsone, Harriet (June 5, 2014). "Listen to Lana Del Rey's Ultraviolence". The Guardian. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  5. ^ "REVIEW: Lana Del Rey Drops 'Ultraviolence' Title Track". Music Times. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  6. ^ Feeney, Nolan (June 4, 2014). "Does Lana Del Rey's New Song Glorify Domestic Violence?". TIME. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  7. ^ Brown, Harley. "Listen to Lana Del Rey's Sweeping, Cinematic 'Ultraviolence'". Spin. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  8. ^ Cooper, Duncan (June 4, 2014). "Cover Story: Lana Del Rey Is Anyone She Wants to Be". The Fader. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  9. ^ Frydenlund, Zach (May 27, 2014). "Watch Lana Del Rey Debut "Ultraviolence" at Her Show in Vancouver". Complex. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  10. ^ http://www.amazon.com/Ultraviolence-Lana-Del-Rey/dp/B00KT3XZBY
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