Channel Orange

I want to write about Channel Orange by Frank Ocean and would like to write about it without using the word “love” or “awesome” or “amazing”. Not because these aren’t appropriate words for this album but they feel a little immature or not appropriately cool for such an album.

I do not know Frank Ocean. I think he is cool but maybe he is not cool and instead is a music geek; someone that loves music, its heritage, its responsibility. Tarantino-like. l do appreciate geeks can be cool. Paradox. I am not cool but after listening to Channel Orange l am cooler than l was. It’s just a vibe l have, there’s no real evidence of this.

Along with my new found coolness, l think the best way to explore the album is to outline with cold, hard facts. No emotion, just like sharp edge, crisp stainless steel precision. So here we go:

_Debut studio album.

_Release date 2012

_Number of tracks: 17

_Coolest track: Crack Rock

_Smoothest track: Sweet Life

_Best Lyric track: Super Rich Kids : ”Too many joy rides in daddy’s jaguar. Too many white lies and white lines”

_Outsider Track: Lost

_Don’t Forget Track: Fertilizer

_Cover art: Orange. To the point. No fuss. Different. Confident

Maybe it’s just me but Channel Orange feels like a whole album not just a collection of tracks. It sort of feels a little old fashion in that sense. That’s not a bad thing. I associate Old Fashion with class; a classic. It will stand the test of time. Still be great no matter what the era is. But Channel Orange does have an edge, especially the lyrics. I like thinking of Channel Orange as having an agenda bigger than one track. Some things just can’t be said in one word, one sentence, one song. I think in the 70’s they used to call them Concept Albums, when an album tried to shape an agenda or reposition how an album is defined; more that just a collection of songs. This may not be a Concept Album but there is ambition. I only wish there was more albums from Frank Ocean.

S.W

Warm Bodies

SANAA