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"Venice Bitch" (stylized in sentence case) is a song written and produced by Lana Del Rey and Jack Antonoff. The song was released on September 18, 2018, and it serves as the second single from her sixth studio album, Norman Fucking Rockwell!.

Background[]

On September 12, 2018, The Fader announced Del Rey would release the song on September 18, 2018, and it would be accompanied by a music video shot by Chuck Grant:

""Venice Bitch" and "Mariners Apartment Complex" serve as singles for Del Rey's upcoming album, which will be released on August 30, 2019."[1]

The song premiered on Beats 1 Radio with Zane Lowe.[2][dead link] Before the release, Lowe announced on Twitter that the track length was 10 minutes.[3] During the interview, Del Rey explained her managers' reaction to her interest in releasing the track as a single. 

"I played it for my managers and I was like, "yeah I think this is the single I want to put out". And they were like "It's 10 minutes long, are you kidding me? It's called “Venice Bitch”. Like why do you do this to us? Can you make a three minute normal pop song?" I was like "well, end of summer, some people just wanna drive around for 10 minutes get lost in some electric guitar"."

In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Jack Antonoff revealed that a 3-minute beat-driven version of the song exists.[4] This version was included on "Taco Truck x VB" of Del Rey's ninth album, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd.[5]

Composition[]

"Venice Bitch" runs at 9 minutes and 36 seconds long, making it Del Rey's longest-running track released to date. Running at a moderate tempo of 79 beats per minute, the track consists of drums, guitar, piano, and electric guitar mainly. Towards half of the song, there is a long instrumental part, which shows an electric guitar solo. The chorus repeats itself several times throughout the song, and Del Rey's vocals during the bridge and towards the end of the song are airy and layered, similar to those of "West Coast".

Critical reception[]

Pitchfork named the song "Best New Track" upon its release. In the review, critic Sam Sodomsky compared the song to "Mariners Apartment Complex", stating that the singles were "set in the golden haze of 1970s FM radio". Sodomsky wrote that the track was unlike anything Del Rey had ever written and that while it's nearly 10 minutes long, it's also "one of her most gripping", and added "she has never allowed herself to sink so completely into an atmosphere, burrowing deep into the song's dark blue, moody grooves".[6]

Year-end lists[]

Venice Bitch ranked on many critics 2018 year end lists.

Critic outlet Position
Crack 2
Dazed 8
Hot Press 16
Idolator 1
Noisey 4
Paper 3
Pitchfork 37
Slant 21
Spin 3
Uproxx 11

Live performances[]

Lana performed the song live for the first time at an Apple Event on October 30, 2018, changing the lyrics "Bitch" to "Chick" and "Fucks" to "Cares".[7] The track was also a part of the Norman Fucking Rockwell Tour. During the performance of this song, as well as of "Blue Jeans", as part of the Norman Fucking Rockwell Tour, Del Rey would go up to the audience to take selfies, sign autographs and accept gifts, just like she did during the 2019 Festival Tour.

During the performances of the song at Latitude Festival in Southwold, UK, on July 21, 2019, and at Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento, USA, on October 8, 2019, Lana changed the lyrics in the first verse from "Live stream, I'm sweet for you" to "Live stream, send nudes to you".

Artwork[]

The single's official artwork was shot and edited by Del Rey.

Music video[]

Music video Information
Lana_Del_Rey_-_Venice_Bitch Released September 18, 2018
Length 9:41
Director Chuck Grant
Producer
Filmed
Location California
Vevo views 19+ Million views

Background and description[]

The music video was shot by Chuck Grant with Del Rey's iPhone and released simultaneously with the track. It features Del Rey's backup dancers Ashley Rodriguez and Alexandria Kaye who previously appeared in the video for "Mariners Apartment Complex".

On January 11, 2019, Del Rey posted a snippet of the music video for "Happiness Is a Butterfly" on Instagram, and it revealed that clips from that video were featured in the "Venice Bitch" and "Mariners Apartment Complex" music video.[8][dead link]

Cross-references[]

Official versions[]

  • Album version — 9:37
    • Instrumental version — 9:36
  • Single version — 9:36

Lyrics[]

Fear fun, fear love
Fresh out of fucks, forever
Tryin' to be stronger for you
Ice cream, ice queen
I dream in jeans and leather
Life's dream, I'm sweet for you

Oh, God, miss you on my lips
It's me, your little Venice bitch
On the stoop with the neighborhood kids
Calling out, "Bang bang, kiss kiss"

You're in the yard, I light the fire
And as the summer fades away
Nothing gold can stay
You write, I tour, we make it work
You're beautiful and I'm insane
We're American made

Give me Hallmark
One dream, one life, one lover
Paint me happy and blue
Norman Rockwell
No hype under our covers
It's just me and you

Oh, God, miss you on my lips
It's me, your little Venice bitch
On the stoop with the neighborhood kids
Calling out, "Bang bang, kiss kiss"

You're in the yard, I light the fire
And as the summer fades away
Nothing gold can stay
You write, I tour, we make it work
You're beautiful and I'm insane
We're American made

Oh, yeah, oh, yeah, oh, yeah
Signing off, "Bang bang, kiss kiss"
Yeah, yeah, oh, yeah, oh, yeah
Signing off, "Bang bang, kiss kiss"

Oh, God, want you on my lips (I do, I do)
It's me, your little Venice bitch
On the stoop with the neighborhood kids
Signing off, "Bang bang, kiss kiss"

Oh, yeah, oh, yeah, oh, yeah
(Signing off, "Bang bang, kiss kiss")
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
(Signing off, "Bang bang, kiss kiss")
Yeah, yeah

Young baby is back in town now
You should come on, come over
We'll be hanging around now
You should come on, come over

Oh, God, I love him on my lips
It's me, your little Venice bitch
Touch me with your fingertips
It's me, your little Venice bitch

Ba-back in the garden
We're getting high now
Because we're older
Me, myself, I like diamonds
My baby, crimson and clover

(La-la-la-la-la-la, losers)
(Beautiful losers)
(La-la-la-la-la-la, losers)
(Beautiful, losers)

Oh, oh, oh, oh, whatever
Everything, whatever
Oh, oh, oh, oh, whatever
Everything, whatever

(La-la-la-la-la-la, beautiful)
(Beautiful, beautiful)
(La-la-la-la-la-la, beautiful)
(Beautiful, beautiful)

(La-la-la-la-la-la, beautiful)
(Beautiful, beautiful)
(La-la-la-la-la-la, beautiful)
(Beautiful, beautiful)

Back in the garden
We're getting high now
Because we're older
Me and myself, I like diamonds
My baby, crimson and clover

Crimson and clover, honey
Crimson and clover, honey
Crimson and clover, honey

Crimson and clover, honey
Crimson and clover, honey
Crimson and clover, honey

Over and over, honey
Over and over, honey
Over and over, honey
Over and over, honey
Over and over

If you weren't mine, I'd be
Jealous of your love
If you weren't mine, I'd be
Jealous of your love

If you weren't mine, I'd be
Jealous of your love
If you weren't mine, I'd be
Jealous of your love

If you weren't mine, I'd be
Jealous of your love

Credits[]

Personnel
  • Lana Del Rey — songwriting, production, vocals, background vocals
  • Jack Antonoff — songwriting, production, drums, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, synthesizer, piano, programming, mixing
  • Laura Sisk — engineering, mixing
  • Jon Sher — recording
  • Derrick Stockwell — recording
  • Greg Eliason — recording
  • Chris Gehringer — mastering
  • Will Quinnell — mastering
Technical
  • Mastered at Sterling Sound
  • Recorded at Conway Recording Studios, Los Angeles, United States / Westlake Recording, Los Angeles, United States / Henson Recording Studios, Los Angeles, United States
  • Mixed at Conway Recording Studios, Los Angeles, United States

References[]

  1. Renshaw, David (September 12, 2018). "Lana Del Rey to release two new songs ahead of 2019 album". The Fader. https://www.thefader.com/2018/09/12/lana-del-rey-new-album-mariners-apartment-venice. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  2. Del Rey, Lana (September 17, 2018). "Venice Bitch Tomorrow w Zane Lowe on Beats 1". Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn1i2Bvgrk7/.
  3. Lowe, Zane (September 18, 2018). "New Lana coming to @Beats1 this morning ‘Venice Bitch’ is 10 min long. And it’s stunning.". Twitter. https://www.twitter.com/zanelowe/status/1042065899740487681. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  4. "Jack Antonoff Is Everywhere: The Rolling Stone Interview". Rolling Stone. June 16, 2021. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/jack-antonoff-bleachers-album-taylor-swift-lorde-bruce-springsteen-lana-del-rey-1183389/. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  5. "Lana Del Rey: she does it for the girls". Rolling Stone UK. March 8, 2023. https://www.rollingstone.co.uk/music/features/lana-del-rey-she-does-it-for-the-girls-album-27426/. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  6. Sodomsky, Sam (September 18, 2018). ""Venice Bitch" by Lana Del Rey Review". Pitchfork. https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/lana-del-rey-venice-bitch/. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  7. Wallis, Adam (October 30, 2018). "Lana Del Rey debuts new song ‘How to Disappear’ in surprise performance". Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/4611965/lana-del-rey-new-single/. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  8. Del Rey, Lana (January 11, 2019). "Norman Fucking Rockwell @yourgirlchuck @follow_ashley @missalexkaye". Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/BsfNuY0juH7/. Retrieved January 11, 2019.


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