At the risk of hyperbole, Lana Del Rey's music video for her new single "The National Anthem" offers conclusive proof that everything is weird and nothing will be normal ever again.
The video is a loose, loose reinterpretation of the glamor and tragedy of the '60s-era Kennedys, with Del Rey playing a hybrid of Jackie Onassis and Marilyn Monroe, with none other than Harlem's own A$AP Rocky as her John F. Kennedy. The entire video is shot through what is more or less an Instagram filter.
Though it's Del Rey's song, the video is Rocky's and Rocky's alone, as he manages to transcend the otherwise pitch-perfect period accuracy of the video, sporting 100% more snap-back baseball caps than JFK ever wore, as well as a 100% more laissez-faire attitude towards the threat of an impending nuclear attack from Cuba.
The imagery employed in the video is rendered in broad strokes. It's pure beautiful, excessive nonsense, the exact type of music video that Lana Del Rey ought to be putting out at this point in her career. There's a twist ending, but if you have set foot in a high school history classroom, you will be awarded no points for being able to call it after you watch the fourth shot.
"He says, 'Be cool,' but I don't know how yet," Lana coos during the song.
We know, Lana. We know.
