Gods & Monsters (song)

"Gods & Monsters"
Song by Lana Del Rey from the album Paradise
Released November 9, 2012
Length 3:57
Label
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Music video
"Gods & Monsters" on YouTube

"Gods & Monsters" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey from her third extended play Paradise and the reissue of her debut album Born to Die, Born to Die: The Paradise Edition. "Gods & Monsters" was released on November 9, 2012, with the rest of the Paradise EP.

Jessica Lange covered the song on the television show, American Horror Story: Freak Show. Lange's cover was released to digital outlets on October 22, 2014.[1]

Usage in media

Along with "Body Electric" and "Bel Air", "Gods & Monsters" was featured in Del Rey's short film, Tropico. Following the film's release, an EP of the same name that featured the three songs featured in the film was released onto the iTunes store on December 6, 2013.

Critical reception

"Gods & Monsters" received mixed to positive reviews from contemporary music critics. Idolator reviewer Carl Williot said that "on paper, parts of “Gods And Monsters” could be a trashy outtake from Rihanna‘s “S&M”: “I was an angel / Looking to get fucked hard…Fuck yeah, give it to me / This is heaven, what I truly want.” But the lines are delivered with such sultry numbness that it could be some grand statement on sex and detachment, whether or not that was Lana’s intention."[2] Slant Magazine said that nothing on Paradise except "Burning Desire" and "Gods & Monsters" was as good as the songs on Born to Die. The Slant reviewer went on to call the song "snappy [and] mesmerizing languorousness"[3]

Commercial performance

Due to the popularity of Paradise, "Gods & Monsters", along with several other songs, had ended up charting in multiple territories in 2012. The song became a top 40 hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at number #39 due to its usage in an advert for EastEnders''s "Who Killed Lucy?" storyline. It also peaked at number #15 on the U.S. Rock Songs Chart. "Gods & Monsters" had gained popularity again in 2014, after it had been covered by Jessica Lange on American Horror Story: Freak Show.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Paradise.[4]

Performance
Instruments
Technical

Charts

Chart (2012–14) Peak
position
France (SNEP)[5] 91
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[6] 39
US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[7] 15

Jessica Lange version

"Gods & Monsters"
Single by Jessica Lange
Released October 22, 2014
Genre Soundtrack
Length 3:55
Label 20th Century Fox
Writer(s)
Jessica Lange singles chronology
"Life on Mars?"
(2014)		 "Gods & Monsters"
(2014)		 "September Song"
(2014)

In 2014, American actress Jessica Lange covered Lana Del Rey's "Gods & Monsters" for the American Horror Story: Freak Show episode "Edward Mordrake (Part 1)". The cover was released as a single on October 22, 2014.

Critical reception

The cover has received positive reviews from music critics and fans of American Horror Story and Lana Del Rey. Spin.com praised the song but criticized the show for censoring some of the most explicit lyrics in the song.[8] The Huffington Post called Lange's cover a "spooky rendition" of the song, and the highlight of the episode.[9] BuzzFeed said that Jessica Lange had "slayed" the song.[10]

References

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