Lana Del Rey introduces her “controversial and angry” ninth album era with a single about her fear of being forgotten. The title-track single, “Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd” spans over four minutes. The 16-track project has features from Jon Batiste, Tommy Genesis, The Bleachers, and more. Lana’s ninth album will arrive on March 10, 2023, via Polydor Records.
Lana’s announcement comes after remotely wiping her laptop hard drive of both her Simon & Schuster manuscript and a supposed album after a car break-in in October. In the lukewarm Instagram live celebrating her record-breaking collaboration with Taylor Swift on “Snow On The Beach,” the songstress urged fans not to listen to any leaks.
In addition, her March W cover story, Lana Del Rey told Gucci’s now-former creative director Alessandro Michele, “For this new music […] It’s more just like: I’m angry. The songs are very conversational […] It’s a very wordy album. So there’s no room for color. It’s almost like I’m typing in my mind.”
“Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” By Lana Del Rey
“When’s it gonna be my turn?” Lana pleads. From over-describing the mosaic tiles, needing to be “f*cked to death,” and referencing Harry Nelson’s song, she ruminates with no answers. Although she yearns for intimacy, it sounds out of reach. Maybe it is the toll of being forgotten or the piano and jazzy background singers, but the reference to “Hotel California” (a metaphor for being unable to escape the excess of American culture) feels a little too literal.
The latest masterpiece from Lana Del Rey derives out of the realism and straightforward message: there is an actual tunnel under Ocean Boulevard, but it is simply forgotten. She references the historical Jergins Tunnel on Ocean Boulevard in Long Beach, California. It was built in 1927 to connect people to the beach, and would close to the public in 1967. The tunnel still exists as an artifact of time untouched by modernity.
However, the symbolism still holds relevancy. The thought-provoking question is the album title, title track, and the first lyric we ever hear from the album. Lana quite simply wishes for people to not forget about her like the tunnel and fears her legacy. On a deeper note, there is a question of if she sees herself as a medium between two places. Is she personifying herself as the tunnel? Perhaps she feels the current industry tension or lacks inspiration in her personal life. But her discography, her last three critically-acclaimed albums within three years paired with Variety’s Artist of the Decade award already cemented her status as a music legend.
“Harry Nilsson has a song, his voice breaks at 2:05 / Something about the way he says ‘Don’t forget me’ makes me feel like/ I just wish I had a friend like him, someone to get me by / Lennon in the back, whisperin’ in my ear / ‘Come on, baby, you can thrive’ / But I can’t.”
What do you think of Lana Del Rey’s “Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd”? Let us know in the comments!
