[5] Del Rey makes numerous pop culture references including to the David Bowie song "Life on Mars", Instagram livestreams, The Beach Boys,[6] the destructive effects of the 2018 California wildfires, and her infamous feud with rapper Kanye West due to his support of President Donald Trump.
[7] Placed in the second half of her "double feature" music video, the song plays after tumbling waves and a drone shot of Long Beach serve as prelude.
[8][9] Featuring the same bar sequence from the "Fuck It, I Love You" portion of the video, Del Rey continues to sing in front of a neon-gradient backdrop while new clips of her wandering the Long Beach harbor in a Venice "Locals Only" jacket.
Shots of a jukebox show a series of songs Del Rey has covered including "Doin' Time" by Sublime and "Chelsea Hotel #2" by Leonard Cohen, as well as "Life on Mars" by David Bowie, "Pacific Ocean Blue" by Dennis Wilson, "Kozmic Blues" by Janis Joplin and "Grace" by Jeff Buckley and "Bluebirds over the Mountain" by Ritchie Valens among others.
"[15] Designating the song 'Best New Track', Pitchfork's Sam Sodomsky wrote: "The Greatest" is a kaleidoscope of classic-rock radio transmitted through Lana's hushed, psychedelic lens.
Instead of luxuriating in vintage textures, Lana is restless, eulogizing her listless youth while repeatedly incorporating the words "the culture is lit," as if attempting to dance through the tears.