Love-her-or-hate-her Internet sensation Lana Del Rey is courting controversy with a new video that evokes the JFK assassination.
The "National Anthem" video, which has been up for less than 24 hours, is already nearing 1 million views on YouTube, partly on the basis of Del Rey's popularity, but also doubtlessly because of its controversial subject matter. Nevertheless, fans seem to like the video, giving it about 26,000 likes vs. 900 dislikes on YouTube.
In the plot, Del Rey assumes the role of the 1963 Jacqueline Kennedy while A$AP Rocky is John F. Kennedy, replete with a reenactment of the assassination. The point? Hard to say, but here are some of the song's lyrics:
It's a love story for the new age
For the six page
Want a quick sick rampage?
Wining and dining
Drinking and driving
Excessive buying
Overdose and dyin'
On our drugs and our love
And our dreams and our rage
Blurring the lines between real and the fake
Dark and lonely
I need somebody to hold me
He will do very well
I can tell, I can tell
Keep me safe in his bell tower, hotel
Del Rey's not the first to attempt to use the assassination for entertainment purposes. Rap impresario Steinski also drew criticism in 1987 for "The Motorcade Sped On," a pastiche of reports from the incident and JFK quotes against the beat of the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women."
What do you think of the video? Are you appalled? Moved? Let us know in the comments.