https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myxAHpO2RCE
That ode to getting hot and heavy over BlackBerry Messenger that you wanted for a playlist in 2011 is finally here.
A “leaked” number from the lovely Lana Del Rey, High Snobiety reports “BBM Baby” was cut before the release of Del Rey’s 2012 debut, the album Born to Die. It’s a retro number on several levels, recalling the bygone days of phones with physical keyboards and trackballs as well as evoking a pretty 1980s synth-driven feel at the beginning.
Del Rey seems to maybe feel a little embarrassed about the song, as she “has never openly acknowledged” it. However it’s been a known quantity for years after producer Penguin Prison admitted its existence in a 2011 interview with Filter magazine.
Is it any good? It really does kind of pull you back with a sense of pleasant nostalgia to a time you didn’t realize was already gone, though the chorus alone—full lyrics are here—might give you some indication as to why Del Rey may not have thought it was the height of songwriting sophistication:
Be my BBM baby,
Middle of the night,
Waking up to write.
Be my BBM baby,
I don’t want to fight,
You’re the one I like.
Look, BlackBerry Messenger is still around, even though the QWERTY keyed phone is on its way to being an electronic relic. Download it on your Android or iPhone, put on Lana’s number and get as freaky as you like. No judgments here.