Lana Del Rey has called legendary folk singer Joan Baez “the toughest woman I have ever met”.
In a conversation about the latter’s autobiographical documentary, I Am A Noise, which was released on Friday (October 13), Del Rey spoke of her admiration for the American singer-songwriter.
The pair previously duetted together to sing Baez’s hit ‘Diamonds And Rust’, for which Del Rey had to audition by driving 80 miles to practice the song on Baez’s kitchen table.
“The emotion you portray when you were 18 and now throughout the film is so relatable that it’s just been massively acclaimed already,” Del Rey said to Baez, who she also called “the toughest woman I have ever met” and a “lioness”.
“Just because of how specific your emotions were and how much solace people found in the vulnerability that you had in the film, which to me was the most unexpected thing,” Del Rey continued. “And on top of that, the stunning cinematography, and the seamless editing, just to me made it a classic film, especially since my favourite documentary since I was 18 was something you drew footage from, D.A. Pennebaker’s Don’t Look Back, which is when I fell in love with you, Joan.”
“It’s an instant classic and I think when somebody famous – or well-known as we like to be called – makes the film that’s the greatest compliment you can have that it wouldn’t even have mattered if it was just someone who was working in an everyday job that it was just absolutely striking.”
Del Rey was recently accused of performing witchcraft by a Christian influencer. A video of the singer’s concert in Mexico showed a huge energy wave that knocked the crowd down. In response, she wrote: “B!tch I know the Bible verse for verse better than you do.”
This year, Del Rey released her ninth studio album ‘Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd’. In our four-star review, NME said of the album: “‘…Ocean Blvd’ might deal with some major existential questions, but there’s still plenty of fun to be had and cements Del Rey’s status as one of modern music’s most intriguing songwriters.”