A year ago, Lana Del Rey was roiling the Internet with arguments about authenticity and class politics. Today, the kerfuffle, like most bygone online brouhahas, seems silly, and her debut sounds like a flawed but enjoyably cheeky exercise in noir pop. The deluxe edition adds eight new tracks, which bring her strengths into focus – chiefly, a sense of humor for which she's not given enough credit. ("My pussy tastes like Pepsi-Cola," she deadpans in "Cola.") Del Rey is far from a great singer, and her songs tend to drag. But her shtick – 1950s torch balladry spiced with sexed-up 21st-century provocation – is at least conceptually sharp. 

Listen to 'Born to Die - Paradise Edition'

“Youth Knows No Pain”

“Like on 'Youth Knows No Pain' — we are the ones that should demonstrate, because we can take it,” Likke Li said. “We can pierce ourselves, take Ecstasy, dance all night and still go to work at our McDonald's jobs.” Despite the hedonistic sentiment in the song, the Swedish singer also admitted in hindsight her youth had repercussions. “I remember when I was 18-19 and feeling that I know it all,” Li said. “I always feel that I know it all. But that song is about realizing you don’t, and reflecting, ‘Boy, if I only knew what would follow.’”