In the September issue of Rolling Stone, Olivia Rodrigo graces the cover for the first time. A self-declared Lana Del Rey protégée (this after an ostensible “cooling” on Taylor Swift), Rodrigo has more recently fashioned herself as a similar singer-songwriter, prone to singing with the same candor and poetical musings (the most “Del Reyian” lyrics on Guts are likely from “all-american bitch,” during which Rodrigo name-checks both Coca-Cola and the Kennedys by saying, “Coca-Cola bottles that I only use to curl my hair/I got class and integrity/Just like a goddamn Kennedy, I swear”). But whereas Rodrigo is taking a much more Britney Spears circa 1998-2003 approach to how the public sees her (which is to say, she’s fine with being a cipher that people, especially girls, can project emotions and interpretations onto), Del Rey has often been dogmatic about how she wants to be perceived (see: lambasting music critic Ann Powers in 2019 for mentioning that Del Rey has a persona).
Over the years, there has been no shortage of “Del Rey clapbacks” at critics and fans alike (though “fan” will have to get put in quotation marks if anyone dares question their “Lord and Savior”). Surprising “trolls” by responding directly in such a way as to draw them into the spotlight as much as her, Del Rey was especially responsive toward any negative comments after her infamous “question for the culture” in May of 2020. Accused, rightly so, of being racist in her non sequitur open letter about how other women (all women of color except for Ariana Grande, who still tries to “pass” as one) are praised for doing the same things she gets condemned for, Del Rey was quick to lash out at the “tainting” of her words by saying, “Bro. This is sad to make it about a WOC issue when I’m talking about my favorite singers… I don’t care anymore but don’t ever ever ever ever bro—call me racist because that is bullshit… And my last and final note on everything—when I said people who look like me—I meant the people who don’t look strong or necessarily smart or like they’re in control. It’s about advocating for a more delicate personality, not for white women—thanks for the Karen comments tho. V helpful.” Naturally, what’s not “V helpful” is Del Rey refusing to look at any other interpretations of what she says and sings, and why people might be interpreting them a certain way. Instead, she’s convinced that her “good intentions” are all that matters in everything. In fact, she also stated during this time that she believes she’s absolutely good-intentioned in everything she does. But, as it is said, that’s what the road to hell is paved with.
Of late, Del Rey has been more consistently on a path to (#sayyesto) heaven, as most of her controversies from 2020 and 2021 (during the latter year, she seemed to want a medal for her “inclusivity cover” for Chemtrails Over the Country Club) have blown over as she’s gone on to become worshiped as “Mother” by Gen Z. Particularly on TikTok, despite Del Rey being “too old” now to be deemed as relevant as the women who claim her as a key influence—Olivia Rodrigo included. Indeed, after introducing her at the Billboard Women in Music Awards earlier this year, Rodrigo has been having an open love affair with Del Rey, declaring things like, “Lana’s work taught me how effective sentimentality can be in songwriting. She defies any stereotypes of what a woman writing pop songs should or shouldn’t be. She’s constantly pushing boundaries and making work that is fresh, adventurous and unabashedly feminine.”
This is an interesting take considering much of what Del Rey puts out is actually heavily borrowed, particularly from 60s-era singers (at least Amy Winehouse freely admitted that’s what she was doing). The same goes for Rodrigo herself, whose entire oeuvre thus far (music videos included) has been one giant pastiche orgy (though one largely has the principles of capitalism to thank for this lack of originality). Del Rey has exhibited the same sense of pastiche over the years (albeit with slightly more subtlety than Rodrigo), carving a name for herself as a “singular mind” in the industry. As such, she’s readily played into the hand of this newly-embraced “mentor role,” labeling herself as a big sister type (“I always felt like the older sister to pretty much everyone I ever met”) in an interview for The Hollywood Reporter smugly titled, “Lana Del Rey Forgives You.” Even if what’s actually happened is “the culture” has mostly chosen to forget and/or move on from her past indiscretions. Just as people have already moved on from Olivia Rodrigo’s “blaccent” and Billie Eilish’s use of the word “chink.” That’s the thing about “the culture” sometimes: it has the memory of an ostrich. Or simply can’t be bothered to hold a grudge for very long (even Ye could eventually rise from the ashes).
After Rodrigo gushed about Del Rey’s “boundary pushing” and divine sense of femininity, Del Rey, in turn, pronounced her own affections for the next generation of singer-songwriters she “raised.” This by telling The Hollywood Reporter, “Billie and Olivia are such good people, it’s fucking awesome. I love them and their music. It’s not like you have to be nice to be good [in music]. But, if you happen to be nice and a great singer, it makes me happy for the culture.”
This is a far cry from her assertion three years ago that, “The culture is super sick right now.” And not “sick” in a good way. No one is arguing that there’s an inherent state of rot in our society (especially in American society), but for Del Rey to brand something as sick simply to make it about being a reflection of how she felt misinterpreted is part of what she calls the “world’s greatest problem”: narcissism.
After her words being “skewed” in that “question for the culture,” Del Rey was also eager to announce, “This is the problem with society today, not everything is about whatever you want it to be.” Firstly, that’s hardly the problem with society today, and secondly, this merely proves that Del Rey has no awareness beyond her own myopic view of herself. Naively (or perhaps braggadociously) assuming that her subjective view of things, including her music, is “one size fits all.” It’s a view that seems to be further insulated by the cabal she surrounds herself with (mostly, her father, sister, brother and Jack Antonoff). That she can’t even stop for a second to think how something like her “question for the culture” could be so “misconstrued” is more telling of her tone deafness than a cultural sickness.
As for Rodrigo, who’s been the subject of her own endless public dissection lately (whether of her personal life and the lyrics that refer to it), she chose to take an entirely different tack by telling Rolling Stone, “People are going to say what they want to say. I feel like the more you try to control it, the more miserable you are [ergo, Del Rey being a resident “sad girl”], and the bigger it gets. I just write songs; it’s not my job to interpret them for other people.” Del Rey hasn’t quite let go of that “job,” whether it’s safeguarding the meaning of her lyrics or defending her foot-in-mouth open letters to the public. Perhaps it’s the symptom of a generational divide between the two.
