Lana Del Rey: Kurt Cobain 'Stopped Me Dead In My Tracks'

Lana Del Rey performs songs from her upcoming album Born To Die in New York City, which will air on Wednesday (December 7) @ 9PM ET on SiriusXMU, channel 35.

The 25-year-old indie songstress, who sang “Video Games”, “Born to Die”, and “Blue Jeans”, had this to share:

On her songwriting: “My writing process…it’s been the same for a very long time. I never feel rushed. I never feel pressure. I really have a strong idea about what I like to hear and myself write and sing. A deadline never compromises things for me. If I didn’t have the right material, I would never release it.”

On her sound and visual references: “I keep it really clear. I talk a lot about Thomas Newman’s score for American Beauty. That was a soundtrack I really was inspired by. Giorgio Mirto, I talk about the orchestral work he’s done. Think Thomas Newman score for American Beauty meets early Bruce Springsteen ‘sex Americana.’ And put them together, but place it in Miami and have me singing it. That’s what I tell them.”

On early musical influences: “When I was 11, I saw Kurt Cobain singing ‘Heart Shaped Box’ on MTV and it really stopped me dead in my tracks. And I thought he was the most beautiful person I had even seen. Even at a young age, I really related to his sadness. I felt like I was really searching for answers. And I thought I could see that in him, briefly, in 3 minutes and 42 seconds, or whatever. So I saw him for the first time on TV when I was 11, and I never revisited his music again until I was about 17 or 18; and then when I did, it still meant just as much to me then and it’s continued to be my primary inspiration�”in terms of not wanting to compromise lyrically or sonically. Not making music that I..thought was really stupid. Just singing over pop tunes just to be famous.”

On other indie rock she’s discovered and likes: “Yeah, actually. In the last six months, I found Frank Ocean…Aesop Rock…Odd Future…The Weeknd.”
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Other pics include Lana promoting her album in Paris and performing on stage at the Mod Club in Toronto, Canada.

Tonight (December 5), Lana will be performing at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC.