Between the anticipated release of her album Born to Die and Born to Die Paradise Edition EP, endorsement deals with H&M and Jaguar, and release of multiple music videos, 2012 has been the year of Lana Del Rey.
In July, she released a music video for the song "Summertime Sadness", starring Jaime King in the role of Del Rey's lesbian lover, who is battling with depression. The fuzzy quality video follows snip-bits of the two's relationship, as well a features multiple solo scenes of both Del Rey and King. Although the content of the video is generally literal in its connection with the song, the dark and hazy lighting as well as the beautiful scenery featured make this video one of the best of the year. Del Rey's mesmerizing glance and mysterious personality are especially well captured in the video, showing her delicately moving though fog, as well as against various gates. The presence of many different gates and fences within the video, both natural and man-made are a clear allusion to the song's message.
The powerful yet simple lyrics of the song accompany Del Rey's soulful, deep voice against a smooth mix of orchestra and pop music. The beauty of the lyrics lies in the way that they are malleable to the audience. The abstract, generalized ideas discussed in the song allow for multiple theories and interpretations on what the words suggest.
Personally, I connect to the literal understanding of "summertime sadness", that being, sadness one has during the summer, when they have time to reflect, analyze, and understand themselves, their ideas, and things around them. This time of reflection often brings nostalgia along with melancholy, and can be termed as "summertime sadness".
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