Frank Ocean - Channel Orange

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The explanation I've heard is that he made the spelling inconsistent on purpose. In French, the spelling of "blonde" is tied to gender, so "blond" refers to a blonde male and "blonde" refers to a blonde female. The duality of the spelling is a commentary on his bisexuality.

That doesn't quite work because one is tied to biological sex and the other involves sexual preference, but it's an interesting theory.
 
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Only listened to this once and on a plane so...

It's really beautiful. Lush sounds, gorgeous production, gorgeous singing. My first impression though was that this is the album some Channel Orange detractors seem to be hearing when they call it boring. I dunno, my only disappointment right now is that it's lacking a few more groovey tracks like Pyramids, Lost or Sweet Life.
 
I'm not missing them. It's a different kind of album, a late night slow burner, and I love the atmosphere it creates. In many ways, he's progressed. The songwriting is incredibly fluid and surprising. The production is fantastic, very unique and homespun compared to his R&B contemporaries.

There are some forgettable tracks and an overabundance of interludes. I do hold that against it. I also don't overly care for the reliance on pitch-shifted vocals. James Blake has already done that to death.

But it's a great album. I'm not anywhere near as attached to it as its predecessor, but with tracks as moving as Ivy and Godspeed, it's only a matter of time.
 
LemonMelon said:
I'm not missing them. It's a different kind of album, a late night slow burner, and I love the atmosphere it creates. In many ways, he's progressed. The songwriting is incredibly fluid and surprising. The production is fantastic, very unique and homespun compared to his R&B contemporaries.

There are some forgettable tracks and an overabundance of interludes. I do hold that against it.
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Giving it more attention, I definitely agree actually.
 
It's a step forward in many ways, I totally agree - but there's a reason why Pyramids, Sweet Life, Lost, are among his most-loved tunes.

A former member among us tweeted that this may be the first 10 p4k gives out since MBDTF. I think if Kendrick can't do it, this won't, but I expect it to be mid-to-high 9s.
 
It'll get low 9s, yeah. Not a 10. I'm a big fan of the album and what it represents in Frank Ocean's career trajectory, but it does have some flaws.

I hope they review Endless. That too is a very enjoyable project and deserves attention.
 
In a music scene where you have a number of people (Kendrick and Beyonce especially) making records that are self-consciously important, Blonde stands out IMO because it feels important. The meditative quality and the generally languid pace makes me want to know more about Frank - there's something of a mysterious nature to the album that is incredibly compelling.
 
I certainly don't mind the concept of interludes whatsoever. I do have a thing against overly long albums, and they sometimes contribute to that. Give me something interesting and pleasurable to listen to on its own rights as well for a minute or so and that's great. The ones on Blond aren't giving me that right now.
 
Ivy makes me tear up every time I hear it. That's the most heartbreaking song he's ever written.

There's a lot about this album that's already tying me to it.
 
It's only getting better for me. A few late night headphones listens have opened it up and this is a remarkably layered work, structurally, vocally lyrically, certainly in its sounds. This thing is full if melodic hooks that weren't apparent at first. Nights, Self Control, Ivy, Solo/Reprise and Siegfried are some of the best songs I've heard in years.
 
Lancemc said:
Ithis is a remarkably layered work, structurally, vocally lyrically, certainly in its sounds.
Click to expand...

Agreed. The production is immaculate in that it is lush but also restrained, and thematically it feels profound, even if I'm not quite sure what the hell it is about yet. Feels like endless yearning, not too far removed from a Sufjan album IMO.
 
After spending a little time just listening to my favorites from Blonde (Ivy, Pink + White, Solo, Nights, White Ferrari), I've decided that at its very best it's amazing and nearly as good as Channel Orange. I've also really come around to the recurring keyboard/organ riff that pops up during the interludes, it's so charming and unites the album's disparate parts.

Frank is a damn genius and in many ways he's grown more subtle and rewarding. He's gotten so much better at saying what he means without indulging in unnecessary details and poetic asides that don't quite land.
 
Album of the year for me at the moment. But the reign may be short on account of Mr. Nick Cave releasing an album this week.
 
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