It's astonishing people are still discussing Lady Gaga when Lana Del Rey exists; the controversial chanteuse today debuted a ten-minute video for her new song, "Ride," wherein she joins a biker gang, holds a gun to her head, and narrates a lengthy tale of a small-town singer finding newfound freedom: "It pushed me to a nomadic point of madness that both dazzled and dizzied me." By the end of the video she's rolling around in a cave in a fringed bikini top, declaring, "I believe in the country America used to be. I believe in the person I want to become." As a statement of purpose, it's absolutely, refreshingly meaningless, not purporting to make any statement beyond provocation; as a creation myth for whoever Lana Del Rey is, it's tremendously watchable. She strives for little more than that.
