Sep 4, 2016

“That's a pretty f---ing fast year flew by” and within that “year” Jay-Z and Kanye West became fathers, Dr. Dre and D’Angelo both released albums, and J. Cole went platinum without any features. Then it happened. Four years of insurmountable hype was met with four promotional tools: A library card, woodshop 101, Nikes, and a magazine.


On Blonde, when the untouched vocals on Nikes finally come into fruition it’s as if Frank never left. Those 4 years of near silence melt away. You forget about when he said he had #two versions #july 2015 #album 3. You forget the fact that you waited all day Thursday for him to finish painting those boxes only for him to leave for week. You forget that Time magazine lied to you. You’re right back to a particular moment. Whether it is at that very moment you finished channel ORANGE, or when you heard your first Beatles song. Whatever. It’s an album h--- bent on nostalgia more than Frank’s release from 2011 that actually has it in its title.


Blonde is a combination of the old and the new. Pink + White is the Frank you’ve come to love since his emergence with Odd Future. Self Control seems vaguely familiar, but you can’t put your finger on it. It should amaze you that a song like Pretty Sweet that utilizes a children’s choir can coexist on album that has Yung Lean backing vocals.


Nights, copies the formula of Pyramids and the rhythmic change happens exactly in the middle of the runtime. Before the shift in tone within Nights, Frank uses his vocals in optimistic tone. Here’s a guy that has everything in life to look forward too and even with warnings from his beloved mother he intends to experience everything life has to offer.


“After 20 years in

I’m so naive I was under the impression that everyone wrote they own verses

It’s comin’ back different and yea that s--- hurts me

I’m hummin’ and whistlin’ to those not deserving

I’m stumbled and lift every word, was I working just way too hard?”


The second half of Blonde is a reflection on everything that shaped Frank. It’s a lot more pessimistic. White Ferrari is the perfect song that puts you on that road of reflection. If you were to ask me how long the song was, I would have answered at least 7 minutes. To my surprise Ferrari clocks in at only 4:09. At one point in his career the road was running out, now it seems the road will not stop. It’s the epitome of longing and this is what that longing sounds like.

On Seigfried, when the final falsetto hits, it hits hard. The vocals trail off and you’re left wondering about that person that he would do anything for, but then Godspeed comes in sporting the optimism found on the first side of the album. Frank sounds content about how everything turned out in the end.


Futura Free, perhaps the most revealing track blends together Frank’s ocean past memories with his little brother’s bright optimistic future that he possessed in the first half of the album.


“Tyler slept on my sofa yeah.”

As a listener, you’re happy. You remember the come up leading to the mystery that would later be Frank Ocean, but it’s over. He’s the same guy that would Freestyle with Tyler and Earl in 480p youtube videos. It’s the reason why Frank and The Weeknd’s careers went so retrograde. Frank will always be the guy that gets it. The guy that gets YOU. Blonde will be the album that you will remember during the most trying and happiest times in your life. Frank does not end the album with his voice. He ends with his brother, Ryan Breaux. The album is not for Frank. It’s his gift to us and that’s why you don’t care that it took 4 years to make because you’re too busy remembering everything that this album reminds you of.​

 

Sep 6, 2016

Pro-tip: Don't center align long form text

 

Sep 5, 2016

first thing ive really ever written. it kind of trails off in the end, but hopefully conveys what im trying to say. constructive criticism is welcomed.