Frank Ocean - Channel Orange (2012)

So yeah, let us anticipate. This guy is good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyCglfjMOa0

I have been a skeptic but that's really good.

yeah this is good... the second half of this is a better terius slow jam than terius himself has put out in a while

self-produced i assume?

john mayer plays the solo on this, btw

sure

lol xp

The horn accents on this are nice.

Am I a big fan because I am so stoked for this record or a "hater" because I fear there's no way he can top Nostalgia, Ultra?

Oh man, if he tops it...

fuck this is goooooood

this is actually okay!

i refuse to contribute to any press/discussion about this guy until and unless people listen to us about dawn richard though

not entirely sure yet whether this deserves a chuckle or nonplussed respect

the dwele / el-p meeting of minds i don't recall asking for

or dwel-p as i shall like to call it

lol

also like a tiny bit of vampire weekend/paul simon x gosling's drive along the transverse axis of poeticised mundanity sort of thing going on

haha what a funny song

¯\_(ツ)_; ¯

^ is it super annoying or cute that this is the genre tag on the mp3

it's pretty much the crucial core question with nu-r&b really

dude sang probably my single least favorite lyric of the past year so i'm sticking to my status as a non-believer who don't believe in anything

best part is the stevie impersonation at 3:35 appr

¯\_(ツ)_; ¯

^ is it super annoying or cute that this is the genre tag on the mp3

anyone who replies "cute" should just go and kill themselves tbh

relistening, the beat is great but the more i pay attention to the lyrics the more side-eye i give to it. HELLO EMPTY SIGNIFIERS OF ARTY ARTINESS. and he's still not a compelling vocal presence.

It's okay but it faffs around a bit.

which signifiers did you mean specifically lex?

I like it, don't love it. At least not yet.

i like this song

which lyric, some dude?

the one i was paraphrasing about "a non-believer who don't believe in anything"

I switched back and forth between which half I liked better. Now it's clearly the second half.

oh duh, sorry, end of a long day...

I feel about this the same way I feel about Stevie's "Superwoman." It's all about the change and the aftermath. In both cases, I tolerate the beginning to get to the switch. Plus, I guess I like self-pity.

Honestly, the thing that bugs me the most: that he says "air guitar" when there's an actual guitar playing.

I feel about this the same way I feel about Stevie's "Superwoman.

would have preferred if this sounded like Karyn White's "Superwoman."

i agree with lex that he is "still not a compelling vocal presence"

some dude made me want to start a "terrible lyrics that work within the song's context" but it would just end up being dominated by New Order and Beyonce

"still not a compelling vocal presence"

he's a gentle coaxer

Still keep hearing it as "boobies in my damn chain."

Me too! I like it like that tho.

haha yes

umm so twitter is saying he comes out as bi on this?

huge respect if so.

well damn

and Miguel hasn't :(

i'm not sure if it's just based on track he's written from a woman's perspective or something like that

either way lotta unfollowing going on right now :(

yeah: http://www.karencivil.com/2012/07/02/frank-ocean-opens-up-about-bisexuality-on-channel-orange-album/?utm_source=wordtwit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=wordtwit

He may yet reveal his orientation but this isn't enough

http://api.ning.com/files/eThHUhW7xHATXcamvm5WOklYxclgc7qQVtEXHkj-ljMurnPCYF3tipYhHmoBbxOSwULbca7pzVhQ1KhoOc1CqA__/coc.png

i'm not sure what to make of the fact that frank played the album for journalists in both NY & LA and no one caught onto any hint of bisexuality

because playbacks are awful affairs where you don't get to listen properly?

i only go to them if i don't have to write about the album immediately

i'm not sure what to make of the fact that frank played the album for journalists in both NY & LA and no one caught onto any hint of bisexuality

― J0rdan S., Tuesday, 3 July 2012 00:30 (5 minutes ago) Bookmark

yyyeah i didnt want to come out and say max from 1xtra might not be the sharpest tool in the box but...

yeah i'm not believing this until there's a better source

that said, WS frank ocean he's totally my type

just sayin

it touched me to reread the enthusiasm atop this page

this is one of my absolute favorite albums of all time. i've listened to it more this year than any new album.

this is one of my absolute favorite albums of all time. i've listened to it more this year than any new album.

― J0rdan S., Wednesday, 10 July 2013 06:41 (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yesyesyesyesyesyesyes.

"The guy can sing but he has zero stage presence."

I quite like Frank (maybe the idea of Frank more) but he seems kind of a charisma-free zone in general. I find it a challenge to get past the whole vibe of self-absorbed teenagery earnestness that I seem to get from the album (I should probably give it another chance though). He makes me think I should have been kinder about Musiq.

i honestly still prefer nostalgia ultra

same here

V. Disappointing gig...marred by really bad sound and a crowd more interested in watching it through their iPhones...couldn't make out a word of what he was saying and absolutely no thought for any dynamics...what might of worked in a more intimate venue sounded like a Sunn ö wall of sludge...well that £50 pissed up the wall...

me three (xpost)

The sound quality seemed to come and go - some tracks sounded fine but Sierra Leone sounded almost avant-garde, as if it were being played on a heat-damaged cassette. That wasn't my biggest problem. I've rarely seen someone think so little about how to sequence and present a set of very good songs. He acted like just singing them was enough.

No I agree...you would of thought somebody with a little bit of nous would of had a bit of input...maybe suggested a few peaks and troughs...I think the crowd were really up for it and wanted to go crazy but never had the chance to let loose...

Not convinced it was a good idea to screen footage of a car moving through a desert at a steady pace for an hour. Bit of an open goal that.

50 quid though... London gigs (or gigs in general these days) are so, so pricey.

Well what do you do if you can't make money on record sales...rinse em through ticket prices...

i prefer nostalgia ultra to channel orange but like them both. still, i hope he didn't peak w the mixtape debut. tough act to follow.

gave this a listen last night, still so good

i prefer nostalgia ultra to channel orange but like them both. still, i hope he didn't peak w the mixtape debut. tough act to follow.

nah this guy's around to stay, thankfully.

I really slept on NU at the time. Didn't take him completely seriously until Channel Orange but there are so many good songs on that tape. Just had "Songs For Women" stuck in my head the other day.

this album's incredibly revisitable

liking nostalgia ultra over channel orange is one of those "my beautiful dark twisted fantasy is the best kanye albun/black album is the best jay-z album" that i literally can't even begin to comprehend. it's like running into a brick wall for me.

Preferring those J and Kanye over a deep catalogue in which the artists have more than demonstrated their mastery several times isn't the same as liking a debut mixtape for its modest ambitions.

Absolutely. And you can't discount the power of hearing an artist for the first time.

liking nostalgia ultra over channel orange is one of those "my beautiful dark twisted fantasy is the best kanye albun/black album is the best jay-z album" that i literally can't even begin to comprehend. it's like running into a brick wall for me.

― J0rdan S., Wednesday, July 10, 2013 10:01 PM (Yesterday)

CO is deeper, richer, "incredibly revisitable" as slocki says, but it's also more withdrawn than NU. you've got to pry the shell open before really getting in there. NU just bangs out of the gate and throws its arms around the world. it's POP in a way CO isn't, colorful & accessible above all else. i'm a sucker for that.

it's a mildly less perturbed record. certainly nothing to mash caps lock down over

I'd like to feel as strongly about Frank Ocean as people ITT do.

same

My feelings towards Channel Orange were like-not-love, so I've never bothered to go back and listen to the debut, but I guess probably should.

Kinda wish we had an album this exciting released this year.

Probably NOT the best of signs.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/reggieugwu/frank-ocean-management-shake-up

Could just mean that he's severing ties with Odd Future, considering they shared management and PR. He never really fit in with those guys anyway.

i wouldn't be surprised if he's still cool with OF artists but just has different career goals. it doesn't really seem like the size or ambitions of his career fit in the little niche streetwear-merch-and-Adult-Swim-show cottage industry they've developed but don't seem to have any intention of growing into anything bigger.

Yeah, that could easily be what's up. Guess we'll see...

http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-06/25/12/enhanced/webdr02/enhanced-buzz-17470-1403714497-20.jpg
first thing new publicist should do is axe this photo in advance

yeah i wouldn't read anything into that at all

he prob doesn't even need a PR person

I think that outfit is on point fwiw

his posture is really weird in it tho

http://www.factmag.com/2014/11/28/frank-ocean-memrise/

New track

I am absolutely obsessed w him.

one thing that has happened as a result of this coachella brouhaha is that it reminded me that "crack rock" is a pretty great song

It also reminded me that, exceptions noted, he sucks.

I'm not invested but he's obviously not into being a live performer, just let him play his one show every five years and get his money. If only all musicians were so lucky.

just let him play his one show every five years

he's struggling to even do that.

I'm not invested but he's obviously not into being a live performer, just let him play his one show every five years and get his money. If only all musicians were so lucky.

Yeah, I mean it was kinda shitty to work through what was obviously massive trauma and emotion in front of tens of thousands who’d spent thousands to see him, but it’s clear he was sincere (and sincerely fucked up). The spin about the ankle shit just cheapens and undermines it. And when he busted out “Godspeed” mid-set it just wiped everything and reminded me what an incredible singer he is when he turns it on. I will still be excited for the next record.

he sounded great when he did sing.

i mean

for an artist of his stature

i'm curious how long can he keep this level of stature without releasing a new album. the singles he dribbles out have seemed p slight to me (and it's been a few years since the last one...)

Depends on how the jewelry line does…

He was great at Panorama - wish they could release an official video of that.

One view, and a closer view with some audio issues.

He also didn’t show up to like 5 festivals on 2017 including primaverasound so spinning it as an emotional thing due to his brother’s passing is a bit flakey.

i just get the impression that he doesn't really like performing live, and his grief about his brother's death and his big vision for the coachella performance having to be abandoned last minute due to the ankle injury or whatever it was no doubt made that worse

Just revisited that SNL performance of 'Thinking 'bout You'...it's really is astonishing and when John Mayer kicks in at the end it goes absolutely celestial...he is good