DISGRACELAND – Lana Del Rey: Three Dark Stories Inspired by an American Risk Taker

Host: Jake Brennan
Date: August 27, 2024
Episode Theme:
This episode explores Lana Del Rey’s artistic vision by untangling three real-life dark stories that echo the provocative, melancholic, Americana-noir that define her music and persona. Host Jake Brennan delves into tales from the lives of Lana Turner, Catherine the Great, and Megan Stammers—three women whose complicated, scandalous histories could have been ripped straight from a Lana Del Rey lyric. Through these stories, Brennan examines themes of risk, female agency, sexuality, and the societal punishment of women who refuse to fit prescribed molds, ultimately tying them back to Del Rey's art and the backlash she’s weathered.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Lana Del Rey’s Artistic Myth-Building and Inspirations

• Mystery, Melancholia, and Agency:

  • Brennan frames Lana Del Rey (born Elizabeth Grant) as an artist shaped by "20th century Americana, classic noir melancholia, Romanticism, and the enduring legacy of the American risk-taker" (05:35).
  • He highlights her recurring literary references—especially Nabokov's Lolita—and her penchant for weaving dark, complicated women into her music and image, noting, "The mystery compels us to dream...Lana Del Rey’s music has a certain dreamlike quality to it" (07:55).

• Lolita and Female Agency in Lana’s Work:

  • Brennan dissects the frequent Lolita motif, pointing to lyrics like, “He loves my heart-shaped sunglasses. He loves the shape my heart-shaped ass is” from unreleased tracks, asserting that versus Nabokov’s victimized Lolita, Del Rey crafts “knowing, willing participants…not without agency" (09:05).
  • Lana’s own coming-of-age includes a formative friendship with an older teacher, Gene Campbell, at Kent School—a story tinged with ambiguity and literary influence: "We read Lolita and it changed my world" (11:08, quoting Del Rey).

2. Story One: Megan Stammers and the Modern-Day Lolita

• Overview of the Case:
  • Jake recounts the real-life 2012 case of 14-year-old Megan Stammers, who entered into an illicit romance with her 30-year-old math teacher—mirroring the kind of forbidden obsession and risk present in Del Rey’s lyrics and visuals (13:10).
• The Escapism and Downfall:
  • Their relationship evolves into secrecy, “car rides, kisses and out-of-town cinema trips...a romantic blur” (15:25). When discovered, the pair flee to France, sparking an international manhunt; the ordeal ends in arrest and prison for the teacher.
  • Megan’s obsession persists, writing love letters and blaming herself—illustrating, as Brennan notes, how "As young adults, we see ourselves in the songs and books that we listen to and read. It’s fantasy. It’s escapism" (16:45).

Notable Quote:

"Car rides, kisses, and cinema—sounds like images from a Lana Del Rey video." (15:30, Jake Brennan)

Key Timestamps:

• Megan’s story introduction: 10:48
• Escape with her teacher: 14:15
• Aftermath and parallels to Del Rey: 16:30

3. Story Two: Catherine the Great – Myth, Power & Sexual Liberation

• Catherine’s Real and Mythic Legacy:

  • Pivoting from a sexually charged Lana music video, Brennan launches into the legend of Russian Empress Catherine the Great—famed for her lovers, political acumen, and a salacious (and apocryphal) rumor of death by horse sex (22:00).
  • He details Catherine’s true historical achievements: overthrowing her husband, expanding and modernizing the Russian empire, championing smallpox vaccination, and influencing European intellectuals, all while maintaining a string of lovers (24:58).

• Myth vs. Reality:

  • Brennan asserts the most scandalous stories—especially the myth of Catherine’s death—are “nothing more than a historical smear campaign by jealous and petty men…aimed at discrediting one of the most accomplished women of all time” (29:20).
  • The section ends by drawing a line from Catherine’s independence and rumor-plagued legend to the public’s treatment of Lana Del Rey: "Catherine the Great wasn't deranged. Unlike the men who ruled before her, she was measured, thoughtful, and strategic." (28:56)

Notable Quote:

"Catherine the Great’s reign should not be fodder for discrediting myths. The Empress’s illustrious reign should instead inspire free-thinking women everywhere." (30:17, Jake Brennan)

Key Timestamps:

• Catherine’s myth and reputation: 22:00
• Historical accomplishments: 24:58
• Rumor debunking and legacy: 29:00

4. Story Three: Lana Turner, Sex Symbol & True Crime Icon

• Hollywood Starlet, Tabloid Tragedy:
  • The story of 1940s-50s movie star Lana Turner, for whom Del Rey partly named herself, intertwines beauty, risk, and real violence (36:02).
  • Turner, called "so hot that men literally walked into walls," was involved with notorious figures—including abusive gangster Johnny Stompanato, whose threats to Turner and her daughter Cheryl escalated to a fatal confrontation (38:00).
• Crime, Survival, and Scandal:
  • Turner’s daughter Cheryl, at 14, stabs and kills Stompanato while defending her mother during a violent episode—a story blending noir, glamour, and trauma.
  • Brennan positions Turner as an early template for the dangerous power of female allure, as well as its costs:

Notable Quote:

"Pick your modern day A-list sex symbol…and none of them have their grip on the collective male libido like Lana Turner did back in the ‘40s and ‘50s." (36:42, Jake Brennan)
"Cheryl gripped tighter the knife…her mother burst through the door, her psychopathic boyfriend lunged after Lana and into the outstretched, knife-wielding hand of 14-year-old Cheryl Turner." (42:38)

Key Timestamps:

• Lana Turner’s story introduction: 36:02
• Relationship with Stompanato: 38:15
• Stompanato’s death: 42:38

5. Lana Del Rey and the Cultural Judgment of Female Artists

• Critical Backlash and Media Hypocrisy:
  • Brennan addresses the strikingly vicious criticism of Lana’s music and image, especially after her Born to Die release and infamously panned SNL performance (43:30).
  • He accuses media and critics of misogyny and hypocrisy, asking why Del Rey—a “21st century female artist with such a strong point of view and such obvious mass appeal”—is so pilloried despite the industry’s apparent celebration of female power (45:22).
• The Artist as Risk-Taker:
  • “Lana Del Rey was a dream you never knew you wanted to have…a boardwalk bad girl, a Catholic school slut, a Lolita with AP English smarts…” (44:17)
  • Brennan values risk and “messiness” in art, citing icons like Bob Dylan and Prince, and asserts that Del Rey’s refusal to fit into anyone’s box is precisely what makes her—and the women whose stories he’s told—important.

Notable Quote:

"Whether these stories...were inspired by Lana Del Rey, or whether they inspired Lana Del Rey herself, the powerful female subjects at the center of them all share a common element...they broke the mold. Criticizing an artist for doing so would be a disgrace." (48:20, Jake Brennan)

Key Timestamps:

• Criticism of Lana and cultural context: 43:30
• Broader commentary on female agency: 45:22
• Closing reflections: 48:20

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• "Lana Del Rey has always had her own vision of who Lana Del Rey is. She creates from her own playbook....That type of creator has always been hard for simple-minded critics to understand." (46:10)
• "Catherine the Great may have been insatiable, but...was measured, thoughtful, and strategic—all qualities that contravene derangement." (28:56)
• On the Lana Turner case: “Cheryl gripped tighter the knife...her psychopathic boyfriend...lunged after Lana and into the outstretched, knife-wielding hand of 14-year-old Cheryl Turner. The knife pierced the gangster's stomach. Blood spilled out, drenching his silk shirt.” (42:38)

Overall Episode Flow

• [03:15] Introduction — Framing the episode, Lana’s role as risk-taker and mythmaker
• [07:55] Lana’s fascination with Lolita and depiction of young women with agency
• [10:48] Megan Stammers’ real-life Lolita narrative—obsession, escape, and consequences
• [21:53] Parallels to Catherine the Great—real power and the myth of her sexual excesses
• [36:02] Lana Turner’s blend of glamour and violence; the Hollywood starlet as cautionary and inspiring figure
• [43:30] Summing up Lana’s critical drubbing, media hypocrisy, and the cost—and necessity—of artistic risk
• [48:20] Closing message: All these women, like Lana Del Rey, “broke the mold.”

Final Thoughts & Audience Question

• Brennan closes by asking listeners to reflect on which entertainers have been unfairly treated by critics and why the media holds some—especially women—to impossible standards (48:50).
• Listeners are invited to respond via voicemail, text, or social media to join the ongoing conversation.

Takeaway

In this episode, Jake Brennan places Lana Del Rey in a lineage of history-shaping, risk-taking women—real and mythologized—whose audacity and refusal to abide by societal expectations made them iconic, but also targets. Through storytelling and sharp cultural critique, listeners get a richly layered look at the intersection of music, scandal, agency, and media double standards, seen through the lens of Del Rey’s darkly captivating artistry.