Category: Music Lists

From “Shampain” to “Blue” and The Family Jewels to Froot, here are the 13 best Marina and the Diamonds songs!

If you can’t tell, I adore Marina and the Diamonds, and I am pretty sure I could have justified every one of her songs to be on this list; but I tried to restrain myself. I mean, the list was originally supposed to be only 10 songs, but that clearly got out of hand when I kept looking at the track listing for her three albums.

All in all, the queen of indie pop has not ceased to amaze me. After seeing her in concert, I can say she is one hell of a performer, and I encourage you all to if you ever get the chance to see a true diamond shine. Covering all three “eras” of the pop princess’s breadth of work, here are the 13 best Marina and the Diamonds songs.

Honorable Mentions: Literally all of them

“Savages” — Froot

There is beauty in darkness, and that is exactly what this song is. Macabre and poignant, “Savages” ponders the truth of humanity. Are we just some beast hiding under the facade of picket fences and wedding rings, learning how to crawl? Every day we turn on the news or read a paper and are instantly inundated with the atrocities of this world. Rape, murder, lies, deceit, savage intentions; it’s inescapable. But some individuals like to pretend we are all safe behind our manicured lawns.

I’m not the only one who
Finds it hard to understand
I’m not afraid of God
I am afraid of Man

from “Savages” by Marina and the Diamonds

Besides this song being beautiful in its own melodic and lyrical way, the social message is just extremely prevalent. Every word of this song utters a philosophical reflection about our current society. School and public shootings have become far too familiar to us all. The true fear in this world is in every single one of us. Marina ponders how we have gotten to this point in our “evolution.” Has something so deep inside of us finally buckled and come apart within our psyche, or are we truly just barbarous creatures with only one prerogative? Self-preservation. In the end, no one really has the answer, but with this song, Marina has brought such a dark, serious subject to the forefront of our minds. What are our true faces behind our masks?

Is it a human trait, or is it learned behavior
Are you killing for yourself, or killing for your savior?

Lies – Electra Heart

I’m not entirely sure who broke Marina’s heart, but I am completely confident that he is crazy. But I cannot be mad that such a gorgeous, melancholy song came from it. Its alright, Marina. You know we all love you!

You’re too proud to say that you’ve made a mistake
You’re a coward ’til the end
I don’t wanna admit that we’re not gonna fit
No, I’m not the type that you like
Why don’t we just pretend?

from “Lies” by Marina and the Diamonds

“Teen Idle” — Electra Heart

Oh, our youth with ill-gotten memories, sorrowful reflections, and insurmountable desires. Being a teenager, for me, was one big desire. I want to be this, that, funny, liked, and the list goes on. As paradoxical as it was, I wanted it all. I wanted to follow every possible road life had for me. I wanted to be my idiosyncratic self, and I wanted to be nothing like who I was.

I wanna be a virgin pure
A 21st century whore
I want back my virginity
So I can feel infinity

from “Teen Idle” by Marina and the Diamonds

To me, Marina put a finger on this feeling of impermanence and confusion. She touches on the desire to live unencumbered, to internalize the eternal party, to live like those “teenagers” you see on the silver screen.

I wanna drink until I ache
I wanna make a big mistake
I want blood, guts and angel cake
I’m gonna puke it anyway

from “Teen Idle” by Marina and the Diamonds

“Hollywood” — The Family Jewels

You were right! “Hollywood” really did infect my brain, Marina! Ah, Hollywood, all its glitz, glam, and garbage. I think it is safe to say we are all completely enamored in Hollywood and its warped ideals. Just like Marina sings, we want to be kissed in the rain and have our live fit the contrived sense of a movie scene. In a world full of hollowed Instagram models and capricious socialites, be a Marina!

A fat security making place for me
Soon as I touch down in old L.A.
He said, “Oh, my God, you look just like Shakira!
No, no, you’re Catherine Zeta.”
“Actually, my name’s Marina.”

from “Hollywood” by Marina and the Diamonds

“Happy” — Froot

At one point or another, we have felt alone. Whether we were alone in isolation or a crowded room, we were alone nonetheless. To those that have not found their other half, partner, husband, wife, lover, whatever you crave, there is happiness for you yet, without finding it in another.

So now you know, you know it all
That I’ve been des-desperately alone
I haven’t found the one for me
But I believe in divinity

This song, in my opinion, would have been a perfect closer to the album because it is this slow, melodic crescendo of a song that builds you up and empowers you as her lyrics soar. I’ve found what I have been looking for in this song: satisfaction in myself.

I believe in possibility
I believe someone’s watching over me
And finally I have found a way to be
Happy, happy, happy

from “Happy” by Marina and the Diamonds

“The State of Dreaming” — Electra Heart

I love a song that can be so upbeat, catchy, and infectious, with such, well, sad lyrics. For a good period of my life, I was living in a contrived state of what I thought my life should be, feigning my role in a mechanized play.

If only you knew my dear,
How I live my life in fear
If only you knew my dear,
How I know my time is near

from “The State of Dreaming” by Marina and the Diamonds

And did I mention the song is just utterly catchy? It’s hard to write a song with a purpose; it’s hard to write a song that is infectious. It’s even harder to do both, but, for me, Marina never fails.

“Blue” — Froot

I do not know how this song was not one of the first singles off the album. It is by far one of my favorites from Froot, with its effervescence and 80s-like pop sound. Each and every time that I hear this song, I cannot help but do the little shoulder dance that she does in the video when the beat drops.

No, I don’t love you
No, I don’t care
I just want to be held when I’m scared
And all I want is one night with you
Just cause I’m selfish
I know it’s true

from “Blue” by Marina and the Diamonds

“Buy The Stars” — Electra Heart

https://youtu.be/Vf8e3OozHlI

To me, this song reminds me slightly of “Teen Idle,” with its sorrowful, thoughtful tone. Marina touches on some similar topics like loneliness, while crafting such a soothing, ethereal song.

Oh we don’t own our heavens now
We only own our hell

from “Buy the Stars” by Marina and the Diamonds

“Can’t Pin Me Down” — Froot

No one likes being told who to be or what to say. And that is what Marina makes abundantly clear with this song. On top of being an incredibly fun, spunky song, “Can’t Pin Me Down” just asserts Marina as the bad ass queen we all known her to be.

Do you really want me to write a feminist anthem
I’m happy cooking dinner in the kitchen for my husband

from “Can’t Pin Me Down” by Marina and the Diamonds

“Living Dead” — Electra Heart

https://youtu.be/CCELnFwUVXE

Macabre and dark. They are beguilingly entrancing words. Humans have an obsession with the morbid and grotesque, just look at our fascination with “American Horror Story” and basically every movie with some facet of the story being a tragedy. Marina creates this sort of at-times-light and at-times-heavy song, which immediately ingrained itself in my mind after hearing it. After all, we are all living a little dead.

I haven’t lived life
I haven’t lived love
Just bird’s eye view
From the sky above

From “Living Dead” by Marina and the Diamonds

“How to be a Heartbreaker” — Electra Heart

Apparently there are only four rules to be a heart breaker, but I am pretty sure they do not work out that well unless you’re drop-dead gorgeous and Marina herself. This is one of the first songs that I heard by Marina, and it made me fall in love with the pop princess because it is such a silly, energetic, entertaining song.

Boys they like the look of danger
We’ll get him falling for a stranger, a player
Singing I lo-lo-love you
At least I think I do!

from “How to Be a Heartbreaker” by Marina and the Diamonds

“Homewrecker” — Electra Heart

Hey, at least the song is honest! Maybe her life is a mess, but she is pretty damn sure she looks good while being said mess. This song sort of addresses the anti-fairy tale, the “happy-never-after.”

Girls and their curls and their gourmet vomit
Boys and their toys and their six inch rockets
We’re all very lovely ’til we get to know each other
As we stop becoming friends and we start becoming lovers

from “Homewrecker” by Marina and the Diamonds

“I Am Not A Robot” — The Family Jewels

Spoiler alert: none of us are robots. We all have feelings, despite how jaded some are with theirs. I love this song because it sort of deconstructs the “devoid of emotion” image that some people try to don. We are all terrifyingly adept at lying to ourselves and masking our true feelings. This song just calls us all out on our bluffs.

You’ve been acting awful tough lately
Smoking a lot of cigarettes lately
But inside, you’re just a little baby, oh.
It’s okay to say you’ve got a weak spot
You don’t always have to be on top
Better to be hated than loved, loved, loved for what you’re not

From “I Am Not A Robot” by Marina and the Diamonds

Lana Del Rey has an entire library of unreleased songs. These are some of our favorites!

It seems like just yesterday the queen of floral crowns bestowed upon us her first masterpiece of an album Paradise. While beautifully written songs with thought-provoking lyrics like “Born To Die” and “Off To The Races” are readily available, Lana Del Rey (Elizabeth Grant) has an immense body of work that has gone unreleased. You may have noticed her sexy, sultry track “Black Beauty” on her album Ultraviolence, which was a track that was long unreleased until her decision to incorporate it into her latest album. This post is to celebrate the beauty and talent of a singer-songwriter who is simply outstanding at crafting vulnerable lyrics and songs of self-loathing that still make you feel like a 1960s beauty queen.

1. “Angels Forever”

With her enigmatic voice, Lana has created yet another mystifying track that, in my opinion, would have fit quite well in one of her albums. A melody of Rock and Roll guardians fused with gorgeously entrancing vocals from the stunning Lana has resulted in the masterpiece that is “Angels Forever.” This has to be one of my favorite Lana Del rey songs released or unreleased. It is simply strikingly poignant.

2. “Serial Killer”

The lyrical murderess takes to “Serial Killer” with a more up-beat melody with lyrics professing a love that is just a little too strong to be healthy. Beguiling lyrics layered over a beautiful melody solidify this song as one of her best unreleased tracks. Lana even performs this unreleased song as a part of her set when touring, and fans wait with eager anticipation for the latter portion of the song when Lana emits a tantalizing, lustful moan that her audience adores.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlf9e9PnJZM

3. “Backfire”

With an infectious initial beat, Lana takes to this track with a love that was created to be destroyed. A love that would simply and inevitably backfire. I would have enjoyed to have had this track on her album Born To Die, but I am happy to have it any sense. With ravishing vocals, Lana conjures a story of lovers lost and those who could not change.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZOmN4pNu4A

4. “Queen Of Disaster”

With her most up-beat and lively melody, Lana asserts herself, rightfully so, as the Queen of Disaster. This song, in its simplest definition, is just so pleasantly fun, bubbly, and effervescent that I cannot help but be drawn to it. With a 60s stylish flair, this track beguiles her fans with the sounds of a lost era and a glamorous age which we can only dream of with nostalgia.

5. “Trash”

“Trash” is on the far end of the spectrum in comparison to “Queen of Disaster.” With mysteriously esoteric lyrics paired with an elegantly simple yet gorgeous melody, Lana makes “Trash” simply beautiful with its glamorous and captivating charm. I adore Lana Del Rey for creating a soothing, relaxing melody that is just as infectious as her other elegant and alluring tracks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrbwrbHCl8o

6. “Jump”

A magnificent song with a radiant beat and vocals layered with stoic lyrics of drug abuse, death, and the love of an older and dangerous man. This song is what I would define as Lana Del Rey. A beautiful voice of a wayward soul careening dangerously down the highway of life with the aim of dying young and leaving a beautiful corpse behind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZwhexF7puU

7. “Driving In Cars With Boys”

Another quintessential track of Lana Del Rey serves to reinforce the lyrics of red lipstick, dangerous living, rock and roll, and mysterious boys that surround her sexy, delinquent life. With an ability to make the grunge and danger of her unruly life sound like a beautiful lullaby, Lana has created yet another gorgeous track layered with danger, beauty, death, and a pretty corpse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAqK7xiaJmQ

8. “JFK”

What can transport you back to the era of sex, love, glamour, and rock and roll more than a song about such an iconic president and time in history? “JFK” is another striking track that evokes within the listener a sense of rock and roll and a lost time. An intrepid love song that is simply one of the most stunning songs of her unreleased body of work.

9. “You, Mister”

A soft melody with even softer lyrics create a warm and soothing song. Lana’s voice is that of an exquisite angel in this track, and I immediately find catharsis when I listen to this mystifyingly delicate song. “You, Mister” encapsulates the warm and tender beauty of Lana Del Rey’s voice with vulnerable lyrics that speak from her heart directly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BbmfIuYYO8

10. “Prom Song (Gone Wrong)”

Finally, Lana creates a magnificent song that will make you remember your first, true love, and she does so by crafting a beautiful melody with soothingly sweet vocals. A track of young love that would last a life time, “Prom Song” earns its rightful place among these other 9 masterpiece songs. This beautiful song evokes within the listener a tale of young love that would never die and eternal, blissful youth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PABXOO8XbLY