The Lana Del Rey song co-written by Harmony Korine
In the mid-2000s, Elizabeth Grant began making music, crafting a unique style which would prepare her for a massive breakthrough in 2011 under the pseudonym Lana Del Rey. The song ‘Video Games’ cemented Del Rey as a new, alternative pop star inspired by vintage icons and the darker side of the American dream.
The musician found immense success with her 2012 album Born to Die, a viral hit encapsulating an online era, with Del Rey becoming a Tumblr sensation. Del Rey’s status as one of alternative pop music’s leading figures hasn’t wavered as the years have passed. She has maintained a cult fanbase, allowing her to secure significant opportunities, such as providing music for several hit movies.
Notably, Del Rey contributed the song ‘Young and Beautiful’ to Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby in 2013, with the singer’s emphasis on tragic glamour making her the perfect addition to the soundtrack. The song received multiple nominations, including nods from the Grammy Awards and Critics’ Choice Awards. She recorded songs for movies like Maleficent and Tim Burton’s Big Eyes the following year, demonstrating her natural ability to make cinematic pieces of music.
In 2014, Del Rey released her rock-influenced album Ultraviolence, produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach. The record was widely acclaimed and remains one of her greatest works due to its gorgeous psychedelic-infused instrumentals and evocative lyrical content. Shortly after its release, a deluxe version was also shared, which included three additional tracks, ‘Black Beauty’, ‘Guns and Roses’ and ‘Florida Kilos’.
The latter contains starkly different instrumentation to the rest of the album, hence its inclusion as a bonus track. Yet, it is effortlessly catchy, with a surf pop feel perfect for summer. The song details a relationship with a man who loves cocaine, with Del Rey singing lines like, “White palms, baking powder on the stove/ Cooking up a dream, turning diamonds into snow”.
It turns out Harmony Korine, the controversial writer-director behind independent 1990s classics such as Kids and Gummo, co-wrote the song alongside Del Rey. This isn’t the first time he’s bagged a writing credit on an acclaimed album; he was named a co-writer on Björk’s ‘Harm of Will’ from her 2001 album Vespertine.
It is rumoured that ‘Florida Kilos’ was written for Korine’s 2013 movie Spring Breakers (or a potential sequel), which is set in Florida and follows a group of young women as they involve themselves with a drug dealer. For some reason, ‘Florida Kilos’ isn’t featured in Korine’s film, although it would have worked exceptionally well.
Discussing the song, Del Rey explained in an interview: “I was inspired by a documentary called Cocaine Cowboys speaking of traffickers in Miami in the ’70s. I attract those who use illegal methods to get what they want. When I was a kid I thought I had the right to have whatever I wanted at any cost. I like the idea of getting to the top with your method, [whether] it is legal or illegal.”
Listen to the song below.
