Yet my journey into LanaвЂ™s world began right after IвЂ™d quit my full-time job, as my marriage imploded, when I had a bedroom in the scummy heart of Hollywood, near the famous cemetery, police helicopters circling the house, palm trees leaning against gray skies and stray cats mewling in the overgrown yard as I got paralyzingly stoned, night after dreamlike night. Her songs are clearly for, and about, women. How can it be? IвЂ™ve never been вЂњ The Other Woman,вЂќ nor have I been on the receiving end of an assault that вЂњfelt like a kiss,вЂќ as Lana sings in вЂњ Ultraviolence,вЂќ her homage to The CrystalsвЂ™ brutal 1962 domestic abuse song with Phil Spector. One bro took it even further: вЂњHer music, from what IвЂ™ve listened to, is made for the straightest of males (and whoever else, really).вЂќ A reductive, toxic view, in my opinion, and it serves as the illogical endpoint of the very assumption it means to demolish: Having discovered that IвЂ™m not the only straight man who вЂњgetsвЂќ LanaвЂЉ-вЂЉand robbed of that potential credвЂЉ-вЂЉI can only conclude that this music is designed to ensnare usВ all. вЂњYES there are many straight male fans.вЂќ CerberusArcProjector was openly anxious on the matter: вЂњ Is it OK to be a straight guy who likes Lana?вЂќ heВ asked.ДЇellow men reassured him, brushing off anyone who would dare to judge. вЂњThis question is asked like every week,вЂќ another dude complained. вЂњFeel like weвЂ™re rare af, kinda living in secrecy about it.вЂќ The top reply clarified that straight men are the subredditвЂ™s largest demographic, according to a survey.

вЂњAre there many straight male fans of Lana?вЂќ a Reddit user called Crazybonbon asked the r/lanadelrey board. A massive bloc of straight guys love Lana Del Rey, too, even if theyвЂ™re conflicted aboutВ it. But I soon discovered that I was no outlier in the fandom. Between thinkpieces and Twitter, and given LDRвЂ™s restless exploration of American femininity, you might assume that women (and gay men) form the vast majority of her audienceвЂЉ-вЂЉand youвЂ™d be right. While reviews of the record are positive, they donвЂ™t agree on its character: Lust for Life is at once a вЂњ throwbackвЂќ to LanaвЂ™s early swagger, a push forward into вЂњ more self-awareвЂќ territory, and proof of her вЂњ remarkable, singular consistency.вЂќ More enticing are essays by women about such paradoxes: LanaвЂ™s submission as a form of power, or her self-regard turning male lust inside-out. (вЂњI just want to feel like IвЂ™m drinking cough syrup on the beach,вЂќ I said, repeatedly.) Floored when I happened to hear LDRвЂ™s вЂњNational AnthemвЂќ a few months before, I had closely followed the drip of new tracks ever since. Even I was having trouble explaining this newfound obsession. Maddie nodded and walked out to our back patio, where she could read at some distance from the cinematic ooze of Lana Del ReyвЂ™s Lust for Life, an album that hadnвЂ™t disappeared from my Spotify in the week following its release.

вЂњYou listen to nothing but Lana anymore, all theВ time?вЂќ вЂњSo this is it?вЂќ my girlfriend, Madeline, asked me the other morning.

We are the new lana del rey