On Lana Del Rey's birthday, a mixed playlist of her most popular and underrated songs

Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, popularly known as Lana Del Rey turns 33 years old on 21 June. The songstress shot to fame in 2011, when her song ‘Video Games’ went viral on the internet, followed by ‘Blue Jeans’. She’s popular for her decadent gothic look, her songs about heartbreak, drugs and vintage pop culture references with downbeat melodies reminiscent to the works of Cat Powers and Mazzy Star. Del Rey often tends to play around with elements from other genres, especially hip hop and trap music. [caption id=“attachment_4336673” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] File image of Lana Del Rey. AP[/caption] On her birthday we have compiled a list of some of her songs that should definitely be on your playlist. 1.‘Video Games’ This baroque pop ballad catapulted her into the mainstream music scene. So far, the song has 193 million views on YouTube. ‘Video Games’ is probably the song everybody will remember her by, a timeless classic. The song opens with the sounds of church bells, harps strings and piano riffs and then Del Rey’s voice singing about unrequited love. The music video screams nostalgia as there are few grainy shots of Del Rey singing interspersed with vintage footage. Listen to the ‘Video Games’ here. 2. ‘West Coast’ from Ultraviolence A dedication to the West coast of the United States, in her signature style Del Rey sings about choosing between love and ambition. The music video, shot in black and white shows Del Rey on the beach where she is pictured with two different lovers. The video switches to colour in the end, with the singer superimposed against flames and singing ‘I’m in love’ continously. The song has even been covered by James Vincent McMorrow. Listen to ‘West Coast’ here. 3. ‘Gods and Monsters’ from Born to Die: Paradise Edition She sings about her rise to the top in LA, but it ultimately does more bad than good, leading to her loss of innocence. This song was also covered by Jessica Lange in American Horror Story: Freak Show. Listen to Del Rey’s ‘Gods and Monsters’ here and Lange’s rendition here. 4. ‘This Is What Makes Us Girls’ from Born To Die Here Lana sings about being a rebellious teenager, about getting your heart trampled by the boy you have been yearning for and then turning to your best friend for solace. It is a reference to her troubled teenaged years when she meddled with underage drinking and drug use, owing to which she was sent off to a boarding school by her parents. Listen to the song here. 5. ‘National Anthem’ from Born To Die The music video features rapper A$ap Rocky as John F Kennedy and Del Rey as both Marilyn Monroe and Jacqueline Kennedy. Sticking true to the nostalgic theme, the song opens with Del Rey re-enacting Monroe’s performance of ‘Happy Birthday, Mr President’. Del Rey switches between rapping and singing in the chorus. Listen to ‘National Anthem’ here. 6. ‘Freak’ from Honeymoon The eerie music video features musician Father John Misty as he and Del Rey together are on a psychedelic trip and traverse around the sunny Californian valley. The video ends with him and a group of women all dressed in white swimming underwater in slow-motion to Debussy’s ‘Claire De Lune’. The song features heavy bass sounds, a clear hip hop influence. Listen to the ‘Freak’ here. 7. ‘Yayo’ from Paradise Originally a part of her debut album titled Lana Del Ray, the song was released in her third EP Paradise. ‘Yayo’ is lullaby, where a girl sings to a biker boy she loves. She is trying to coax him into marrying her, seducing him (Let me put on a show for you, daddy). She sees him as an escape from her current life as she sings, “Take me right now, from this dark trailer park life now”. Listen to ‘Yayo’ here. 8. ‘Shades of Cool’ from Ultraviolence Lana sings a gloomy ballad about a man she is so enamoured with. She wants to fix his flaws, but he can’t be changed. She sings, “I can’t fix it, can’t make him better/And I can’t do nothing about his strange weather.” The song is a slow-tempo rock song, a shift from her usual sound. Listen to ‘Shades of Cool’ here.