“When is Channel Orange coming out on vinyl?” “ASAP.”
June 30, 2019 10:01 AM Subscribe
Interview: The World According to Frank Ocean [Dazed Digital] John Waters, Janet Mock, Billy Porter and many more pose questions to the most enigmatic pop star of our generation.
• Interview: A conversation with our latest cover star on the queer influences that shaped him, the joy of rock climbing, and what he wished he'd done when he met the president (not this one, the last one). [Gayletter]
PALOMA ELSESSER: Frank, what does heaven look like? What’s the scene, what’s the scent, what’s the feeling? FRANK OCEAN: OK, so the scene is a city half overgrown by jungle and it feels like you and your lover laid out like two letter Xs in the shade on a beach, and the faint scent of tigerlilies, BBQ and sweat.
• Interview: A conversation with our latest cover star on the queer influences that shaped him, the joy of rock climbing, and what he wished he'd done when he met the president (not this one, the last one). [Gayletter]
If you could go back in time and tell yourself something before the release of Channel Orange, what would you say?“I would never time-travel back and tell myself anything at all, because I would be scared to death of the ripple effect. Especially in those moments, it’s such a delicate time. But if there was a version of that super probable scenario you just laid out, I think I would definitely tell myself to get a camera and shoot a lot more. Maybe you are that friend, or you have that friend, who is always shooting photos. They have, like, all the photos of your childhood and any point in your life. I am super jealous of those people, because I am not that way. I’m, like, running around, and hanging out with the president — the old president, not the new president — and I am in this super cool, once-in-a-lifetime moment, and it would be good to have some photos.”• Interview: Frank Ocean Is Peerless [GQ]
VEGYN: Do you have any vices? “I used to love mezcal. That's like the adult/underground version of tequila. I was in Art Basel in Florida—not Switzerland, unfortunately—I was out having a few cocktails with friends, dancing, et cetera. I went to the fair the next day, and everything was okay. And all of a sudden I felt I was going down [laughter], I was about to pass out in the hallway of the convention center, so I took a knee and I had to sit against the wall.… Rocky passed out at a fashion show, and said they had him held up like a ventriloquist [laughter], and that's kinda how I felt as they put me outside. I sat outside in the fresh air for a couple of hours before I felt comfortable going back in. I haven't had a drink since, so it's not an answer to your question, but yeah. Maybe my vice is that I watch way too much TV news. I know that I'm not getting real information, but I still watch it. I wish my vice was VH1 reality-TV shows, but it's not—it's MSNBC. MSNBC is Love & Hip Hop with better vocabulary and more range, but it's the same thing. Very much entertainment.”
I came to his music through —of all places— the Blonded radio station in GTA V, and then I downloaded channel ORANGE and was completely blown away. Never read any interviews with him till now.
He was always just this compelling and sort of enigmatic musician that I admired the hell out of from a purely artistic/aesthetic point of view. This interview adds to the intrigue while also explaining a little of what informs his art. Thank you for sharing!
posted by Doleful Creature at 11:12 AM on June 30, 2019
He was always just this compelling and sort of enigmatic musician that I admired the hell out of from a purely artistic/aesthetic point of view. This interview adds to the intrigue while also explaining a little of what informs his art. Thank you for sharing!
posted by Doleful Creature at 11:12 AM on June 30, 2019
This is minor in the grand scheme of Frank Ocean, but not a lot people seem to know that his releases on vinyl have all been bootlegs or limited release. When I still had my life at the record store, people would always come in looking for Frank Ocean LPs; we’d have to point to the rare ones on the wall. I sold a bootleg copy of Blonde for $350, and the guy was glad to get it.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 11:48 AM on June 30, 2019
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 11:48 AM on June 30, 2019
Well, thanks to Frank, I can now happily believe in Heaven.
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 12:00 PM on June 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 12:00 PM on June 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
“When is Channel Orange coming out on vinyl?” “ASAP.”
Why bother? Was it not recorded digitally?
posted by dobbs at 1:21 PM on June 30, 2019
Why bother? Was it not recorded digitally?
posted by dobbs at 1:21 PM on June 30, 2019
Why bother? Was it not recorded digitally?
Yeah, but it’s not just about fidelity. Some people believe that vinyl sounds better (I don’t think it does with new stuff like this), but there are other reasons to want an LP. Someone might, for example, like being able to interact with it physically instead of just listening to it the same damn phone they use for everything else. Or they like the artwork. Or they want to support the artist directly, knowing that streaming services pay tiny fractions of pennies. Or they see it as a collectible: if you’re a really big fan, something like a $350 bootleg of Blonde is worth it (because of its history, or exclusivity, or whatever). Bottom line is, people like vinyl releases because they find them satisfying on some level — not everyone will feel that way, but if it clicks, it’s worth it.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 1:42 PM on June 30, 2019 [4 favorites]
Yeah, but it’s not just about fidelity. Some people believe that vinyl sounds better (I don’t think it does with new stuff like this), but there are other reasons to want an LP. Someone might, for example, like being able to interact with it physically instead of just listening to it the same damn phone they use for everything else. Or they like the artwork. Or they want to support the artist directly, knowing that streaming services pay tiny fractions of pennies. Or they see it as a collectible: if you’re a really big fan, something like a $350 bootleg of Blonde is worth it (because of its history, or exclusivity, or whatever). Bottom line is, people like vinyl releases because they find them satisfying on some level — not everyone will feel that way, but if it clicks, it’s worth it.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 1:42 PM on June 30, 2019 [4 favorites]
Blonde is how I fell in love with Frank Ocean and I've never really looked back. These interviews and his delightful answers only further make me appreciate who he is and all of the beautiful music he's gifted to us.
posted by Fizz at 2:09 PM on June 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Fizz at 2:09 PM on June 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
I sold a bootleg copy of Blonde for $350, and the guy was glad to get it.
My Christmas gift to Fizz last year was a limited edition of Blonde on yellow vinyl, and I had to stalk Ebay sellers for a couple of months to get it at a halfway reasonable price. It was worth it. I am a collector who personally tends to focus on original pressings of older music that was analog recorded, but I still find pleasure in and appreciate listening to newer recordings on vinyl.
posted by nightrecordings at 3:08 PM on June 30, 2019 [5 favorites]
My Christmas gift to Fizz last year was a limited edition of Blonde on yellow vinyl, and I had to stalk Ebay sellers for a couple of months to get it at a halfway reasonable price. It was worth it. I am a collector who personally tends to focus on original pressings of older music that was analog recorded, but I still find pleasure in and appreciate listening to newer recordings on vinyl.
posted by nightrecordings at 3:08 PM on June 30, 2019 [5 favorites]
Even if the source is digitally recorded, the vinyl mastering process is different from that of mastering for streaming or CD, and that plus the inevitable noise from playback gives it a distinct (but not de facto "better") sonic signature, and like shapes that haunt the dusk said, that's not even to mention the intangibles of listening to an LP. I'd love to have Blonde on LP, although not so much that I'd pay the going rate for it.
Anyway, the first time I listened to "Seigfried", I built a home in it, and I don't think I've ever left.
posted by invitapriore at 6:07 PM on July 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
Anyway, the first time I listened to "Seigfried", I built a home in it, and I don't think I've ever left.
posted by invitapriore at 6:07 PM on July 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
Super late but thanks for interviews! I saw him in concert in 2014 and he was transcendent.
posted by ellieBOA at 6:16 AM on July 22, 2019
posted by ellieBOA at 6:16 AM on July 22, 2019
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