A new Lana Del Rey course has started at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute.
The course, titled Topics in Recorded Music: Lana Del Rey, will run from October 20 to December 8 and will be taught by journalist and author Kathy Iandoli.
The course description (via diversity) states: “Over the course of eight critically acclaimed albums, the six-time Grammy-nominated artist has introduced a sad, melancholic and baroque version of dream pop, which in turn has helped push the sound (and vibe) of the mainstream change and reinvent music beyond the 2010s.
“Through her compelling imagery and her thematic attention to mental health and stories of toxic, damaged love, Del Rey provided a new platform for artists of all genders to create substantive ‘anti-pop’ work that could live in a mainstream once categorized as chewing gum .”
Speak with diversityIandoli said that in many ways Lana Del Rey is “both a blueprint and a cautionary tale,” adding that she’s a “complicated pop star who resonates so much with her fans, not because of the feelings she makes them, but how it gives them a sense of themselves”.
Iandoli continued, “She has changed the parameters of baroque pop, and now ‘sad girl pop’ in particular, through her music by expanding the subject matter, which is sometimes controversial and challenging. There are so many pieces in this mosaic that we have now come to know as Lana Del Rey, and this course explores every dimension of it.”
In February of this year, NYU’s Clive Davis Institute launched a course on Taylor Swift, taught by Rolling Stone’s Brittany Spanos, which ran from January 26 to March 9.
Course objectives included understanding and appreciating Swift as a “creative music entrepreneur,” learning about the legacy of pop and country, and examining “how discourses about youth and girls are often exploited in the media and music industries.”
Spanos, who attended NYU, narrated diversity that she’d covered Swift throughout her decades-long writing career, adding that she’d been a “super fan” even longer.
“It’s a great honor to be able to share my Swiftie know-how with a perceptive group of students,” she added. “I hope to help them rethink how to engage with one of the biggest and sometimes divisive stars on the planet, just as Clive professors like Jason King, Vivien Goldman and Joe Levy did for me when I was at attended their courses.”
