“Hands to the sky”
August 19, 2016 5:11 PM Subscribe
Frank Ocean Releases Visual Album Endless: Frank Ocean has released a 45-minute long video titled “Endless.” A representative from Apple Music calls it his new “visual album.” The rep also told Pitchfork to “keep an eye out this weekend for more from Frank.” It features new Frank songs and takes place in the same warehouse where Ocean has been hosting a web stream. The new songs feature contributions from Jonny Greenwood, James Blake, and more; two songs were recorded at Abbey Road. The status of Ocean’s Boys Don’t Cry and its long-reported accompanying print publication are currently unclear. Find the tracklist below, and watch “Endless” here (iTunes). [via: Pitchfork Media]
Track List:
Track List:
Endless:
01 Device Control
02 At Your Best (You Are Love) (Isley Brothers cover)
03 Alabama
04 Mine
05 U-N-I-T-Y
06 Ambience 001: “In a Certain Way”
07 Commes Des Garcons
08 Ambience 002: “Honeybaby”
09 Wither
10 Hublots
11 In Here Somewhere
12 Slide on Me
13 Sideways
14 Florida
15 Deathwish (ASR)
16 Rushes
17 Rushes To
18 Higgs
Watched the whole thing. I can't believe it turned out to be Frog Fractions 2!
posted by selfnoise at 5:25 PM on August 19, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by selfnoise at 5:25 PM on August 19, 2016 [6 favorites]
Can't wait until Google Play Music gets this sometime next month
posted by thecjm at 6:35 PM on August 19, 2016
posted by thecjm at 6:35 PM on August 19, 2016
I.
CAN'T.
STOP.
LISTENING.
It's almost like it's, you know, endless.
posted by randomination at 6:42 PM on August 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
CAN'T.
STOP.
LISTENING.
It's almost like it's, you know, endless.
posted by randomination at 6:42 PM on August 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
This is what I do for a living now, listening to this. Memail your resume if you'd also just like to do this for a living, I'm hiring. The salary and benefits are just listening to this.
posted by padraigin at 8:32 PM on August 19, 2016 [10 favorites]
posted by padraigin at 8:32 PM on August 19, 2016 [10 favorites]
omg yes!! I have been waiting for another Frank Ocean album to come out! I know what I'm doing all weekend now!
posted by aka burlap at 9:02 PM on August 19, 2016
posted by aka burlap at 9:02 PM on August 19, 2016
It's being reported that: Frank Ocean Unveils Contemplative 'Endless' Visual Album Stream
Singer scraps 'Boys Don't Cry' title, will release new album separate from 'Endless' this weekend. [Rolling Stone]
posted by Fizz at 4:54 AM on August 20, 2016
Singer scraps 'Boys Don't Cry' title, will release new album separate from 'Endless' this weekend. [Rolling Stone]
Rolling Stone has confirmed that Endless is a different project from his proper new album. That album, set for release by Apple this weekend, was previously called Boys Don't Cry, but Rolling Stone has learned that the singer has scrapped that title in favor of an alternate title.So not only do we have this amazing 40 minute video/music/set but we also have a separate album to look forward to at some point this weekend.
posted by Fizz at 4:54 AM on August 20, 2016
This is now the second day in a row I've woken up to new Frank Ocean. Today it's Nikes (NSFW, some nudity and references to suicide and violence).
posted by ernielundquist at 8:56 AM on August 20, 2016
posted by ernielundquist at 8:56 AM on August 20, 2016
And that video's been taken down by Apple Music.
Pace Goodle Play some time in the future, is there any way I can hear this stuff? Asking for a Linuxian.
posted by Devonian at 11:21 AM on August 20, 2016
Pace Goodle Play some time in the future, is there any way I can hear this stuff? Asking for a Linuxian.
posted by Devonian at 11:21 AM on August 20, 2016
Greg Nog: "Apple iTunes is telling me it is not available in the US store?"
Yep. It is not available in the iTunes Store. It is only available as an exclusive with a paid subscription to Apple Music.
Tedious, yes.
posted by koeselitz at 1:06 PM on August 20, 2016
Yep. It is not available in the iTunes Store. It is only available as an exclusive with a paid subscription to Apple Music.
Tedious, yes.
posted by koeselitz at 1:06 PM on August 20, 2016
Fizz: "So not only do we have this amazing 40 minute video/music/set but we also have a separate album to look forward to at some point this weekend."
"At some point this weekend." Witness the naïve hopefulness of youth, unblemished by the cynicism and bitterness engendered by any experience with the way Frank Ocean actually seems to release albums!
posted by koeselitz at 1:11 PM on August 20, 2016 [3 favorites]
"At some point this weekend." Witness the naïve hopefulness of youth, unblemished by the cynicism and bitterness engendered by any experience with the way Frank Ocean actually seems to release albums!
posted by koeselitz at 1:11 PM on August 20, 2016 [3 favorites]
So... this kind of feels to me like Frank took the stuff that didn't make it onto the new album and massaged it into one challenging, dreamlike piece of music, like a high-art B-side set. The only songs that feel complete to me are the Isley Brothers/Aaliyah cover (so gorgeous) and, weirdly enough, the techno smartphone song that isn't even by Frank. And I'm not totally sure what to make of the visual component, with all the woodworking and staircase-making... could be a bit of a troll and play on Lemonade and how loooong he's taken to release all this, could just be a neat metaphor for the craft involved in music and the risks and faith involved in the artistic process. I'm waiting for the album (I know, I know) to figure all this out.
posted by thetortoise at 1:29 PM on August 20, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by thetortoise at 1:29 PM on August 20, 2016 [4 favorites]
Frank Ocean's album "Blonde" is now out [iTunes].
posted by Fizz at 4:25 PM on August 20, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by Fizz at 4:25 PM on August 20, 2016 [8 favorites]
Oh man, it' soooooooooooooooooo good.
posted by Fizz at 4:44 PM on August 20, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Fizz at 4:44 PM on August 20, 2016 [2 favorites]
I'm so here for this. All of it.
posted by naju at 4:58 PM on August 20, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by naju at 4:58 PM on August 20, 2016 [2 favorites]
I just listened to the entire album. What a ride. I'm going back for some more. There's so much to unpack here. This album, you guys?!!
:D
posted by Fizz at 5:20 PM on August 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
:D
posted by Fizz at 5:20 PM on August 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
Call me a heretic, but this album is more complex, and just plain better than Channel Orange. Or maybe he's just more mature, this is a more confident Frank Ocean. Thank you Frank Ocean.
posted by Fizz at 5:34 PM on August 20, 2016
posted by Fizz at 5:34 PM on August 20, 2016
Ahhhhhhhhh Blond is so fantastic. Enjoyed Endless for what it is, but Blond will be on repeat for a long ass time.
posted by SarahElizaP at 10:52 PM on August 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by SarahElizaP at 10:52 PM on August 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
Frank Ocean shared a post on Tumblr explaining the inspiration behind the record.
Two years ago I found an image of a kid with her hands covering her face. A seatbelt reached across her torso, riding up her neck and a mop of blonde hair stayed swept, for the moment, behind her ears. Her eyes seemed clear and calm but not blank, the road behind her seemed the same. I put myself in her seat then I played it all out in my head. The claustrophobia hits as the seatbelt tightens, preventing me from even leaning forward in my seat. the pressing on internal organs. I lean back and forward to release it. Then backwards and forward again. There it is—I got free. How much of my life has happened inside of a car...posted by Fizz at 5:25 AM on August 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
I don't know if this from his website is alternate album art or what, but it's clever.
posted by postcommunism at 9:08 AM on August 21, 2016
posted by postcommunism at 9:08 AM on August 21, 2016
I don't know if this from his website is alternate album art or what, but it's clever.
That was the image he posted on July 1 teasing that the album would come out soon.
posted by naju at 1:22 PM on August 21, 2016
That was the image he posted on July 1 teasing that the album would come out soon.
posted by naju at 1:22 PM on August 21, 2016
The video for Nike's is embedded in this Pitchfork story. Gotta be honest, I'm somewhat baffled that this is the single off the album, but then again I really don't know anything about Frank Ocean.
posted by msalt at 7:49 PM on August 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by msalt at 7:49 PM on August 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
Thanks for the link to the video. I love that song, especially the version in the video.
Does anyone know if there's going to be a non-iTunes release at any point? A CD or a more platform neutral digital release?
I really want to buy this above board and all, but there is no reasonable way for me to do that right now.
I am trying to pay you, Frank, but you're not making it easy.
posted by ernielundquist at 9:57 AM on August 22, 2016
Does anyone know if there's going to be a non-iTunes release at any point? A CD or a more platform neutral digital release?
I really want to buy this above board and all, but there is no reasonable way for me to do that right now.
I am trying to pay you, Frank, but you're not making it easy.
posted by ernielundquist at 9:57 AM on August 22, 2016
Damn, ernielundquist, don't you know how to do anything?
Did you forget that you can sometimes type whole questions into Google and find the answer? And the answer is "Yes, this is a 'windowed' release, and will only be Apple exclusive for two weeks."
posted by ernielundquist at 10:11 AM on August 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
Did you forget that you can sometimes type whole questions into Google and find the answer? And the answer is "Yes, this is a 'windowed' release, and will only be Apple exclusive for two weeks."
posted by ernielundquist at 10:11 AM on August 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
Gotta be honest, I'm somewhat baffled that this is the single off the album, but then again I really don't know anything about Frank Ocean.
It's not a choice I would have made. Ivy and/or Solo are both tracks that I would have gone with, but Mr. Ocean has his own way of doing things, so I'll respect it, even though Nikes is not one of my favourite songs off of that album.
posted by Fizz at 12:59 PM on August 22, 2016
It's not a choice I would have made. Ivy and/or Solo are both tracks that I would have gone with, but Mr. Ocean has his own way of doing things, so I'll respect it, even though Nikes is not one of my favourite songs off of that album.
posted by Fizz at 12:59 PM on August 22, 2016
I'm not sure what an obvious single would be. There's... not much to hold on to, on first listen. It's certainly not as immediate as Channel Orange. I admit to being a little disappointed by that, but at the same time I'm confident that this is an album that will take some time to grow.
posted by naju at 1:07 PM on August 22, 2016
posted by naju at 1:07 PM on August 22, 2016
MTV News roundtable with some interesting thoughts. Everyone there got so much more out of the album than I did. I need to listen more carefully I guess.
posted by naju at 2:26 PM on August 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by naju at 2:26 PM on August 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
naju,
It's funny you say that, because I personally find myself enjoying this album far more than Channel Orange. I listened to Blond 5 times over this weekend in complete uninterrupted sessions. And with each listen, I found myself loving Frank Ocean that much more.
I do need to go back and give the visual album some attention too. I think there's a lot to unpack in those 40 minutes.
posted by Fizz at 3:18 PM on August 22, 2016 [2 favorites]
It's funny you say that, because I personally find myself enjoying this album far more than Channel Orange. I listened to Blond 5 times over this weekend in complete uninterrupted sessions. And with each listen, I found myself loving Frank Ocean that much more.
I do need to go back and give the visual album some attention too. I think there's a lot to unpack in those 40 minutes.
posted by Fizz at 3:18 PM on August 22, 2016 [2 favorites]
Nikes got me pretty good. I don't think it's so much a single in the traditional sense of a catchy standalone hit, but more like a summary or an exposition or something like that. It is complex, and it seems to tie together some themes and moods from Endless and Blond. It's kind of all over the place, but in a really compelling way. It's epic or something. The Heaven's Gate Nikes, the two versions/virgins stuff, that robotic dancing that's not the robot in that glittery suit, the dancing devil and the immolation. There is a lot of stuff in there, and I don't know what it all is yet, but it gives me goosebumps every time.
I just started reading that interview, and I had no idea that he'd been listening to the Beach Boys, but Blond was already making me want to make the Brian Wilson comparison. In the musical sense, and also in the sense that he's the genius here, and he needs control of his work. (I had a "spirited discussion" with a guy the other day who was mad about all the postponements, but my argument is that he is the artist, and he needs to make his art the way he needs to make it. I haven't talked to him since it actually came out, so I'm waiting to ask if he's still mad. I'll bet he isn't.)
posted by ernielundquist at 5:10 PM on August 22, 2016 [3 favorites]
I just started reading that interview, and I had no idea that he'd been listening to the Beach Boys, but Blond was already making me want to make the Brian Wilson comparison. In the musical sense, and also in the sense that he's the genius here, and he needs control of his work. (I had a "spirited discussion" with a guy the other day who was mad about all the postponements, but my argument is that he is the artist, and he needs to make his art the way he needs to make it. I haven't talked to him since it actually came out, so I'm waiting to ask if he's still mad. I'll bet he isn't.)
posted by ernielundquist at 5:10 PM on August 22, 2016 [3 favorites]
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posted by Fizz at 5:17 PM on August 19, 2016