🎵 How Good Are They Really 🎵 Frank Ocean

It’s Monday, so it’s time for another one!

Franz Ferdinand underperform

Leaderboard
Artist Rating
Aretha Franklin 4.64
Nina Simone 4.57
Neil Young 4.48
Miles Davis 4.42
Talking Heads 4.39
R.E.M. 4.38
Beastie Boys 4.36
Otis Redding 4.34
The Velvet Underground 4.33
David Bowie 4.31
The Beatles 4.31
Pixies 4.30
Leonard Cohen 4.30
The Cure 4.28
Boards Of Canada 4.28
Björk 4.27
Mogwai 4.24
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds 4.22
Marvin Gaye 4.21
Tom Waits 4.20
Aphex Twin 4.18
PJ Harvey 4.17
Stevie Wonder 4.17
Nirvana 4.15
Joy Division 4.15
Radiohead 4.13
The Supremes 4.13
Pavement 4.12
Prince 4.11
Wu-Tang Clan 4.11
Nick Drake 4.10
Elliott Smith 4.09
Pulp 4.08
Public Enemy 4.08
Sonic Youth 4.08
Sleater-Kinney 4.08
Kate Bush 4.07
OutKast 4.07
Portishead 4.03
Super Furry Animals 4.03
Black Sabbath 4.03
Simon & Garfunkel 4.02
MF DOOM 4.01
Bob Dylan 3.97
Kendrick Lamar 3.97
Low 3.96
Robyn 3.96
The Beach Boys 3.93
Jimi Hendrix 3.93
LCD Soundsystem 3.92
Joni Mitchell 3.89
Massive Attack 3.89
Bruce Springsteen 3.84
Deftones 3.84
Underworld 3.82
The Kinks 3.82
The Clash 3.77
Dolly Parton 3.77
Pet Shop Boys 3.76
Modest Mouse 3.76
Blondie 3.73
Bright Eyes 3.71
Rage Against The Machine 3.71
The National 3.68
Paul Simon 3.68
The Ramones 3.67
ABBA 3.66
Kanye West 3.65
Arcade Fire 3.64
Blur 3.61
Beck 3.59
Elvis Costello 3.59
The Smiths 3.57
Beyoncé 3.54
Yeah Yeah Yeahs 3.54
Eels 3.52
Carly Rae Jepsen 3.51
The Chemical Brothers 3.49
Bob Marley & The Wailers 3.48
Jeff Buckley 3.47
Hot Chip 3.44
Idlewild 3.42
George Michael 3.41
Madonna 3.40
Manic Street Preachers 3.39
Fleetwood Mac 3.39
The Notorious B.I.G. 3.37
Toots & The Maytals 3.35
The White Stripes 3.34
Supergrass 3.32
Hole 3.31
The Smashing Pumpkins 3.30
Suede 3.30
Steely Dan 3.29
Elton John 3.28
The Pogues 3.28
Kylie Minogue 3.27
The Specials 3.26
Sugababes 3.22
Thin Lizzy 3.22
Rihanna 3.19
The Prodigy 3.18
Led Zeppelin 3.16
Ash 3.16
Pink Floyd 3.15
Taylor Swift 3.14
Jay-Z 3.14
Arctic Monkeys 3.14
Interpol 3.12
TLC 3.12
Los Campesinos! 3.10
The Rolling Stones 3.09
Iron Maiden 3.06
Destiny’s Child 3.05
Primal Scream 3.04
Shower Cans 3.04
The Strokes 3.03
Elvis Presley 3.02
The Bee Gees 2.99
Weezer 2.97
Amy Winehouse 2.95
Girls Aloud 2.93
Frank Sinatra 2.92
2Pac 2.91
The Doors 2.89
Franz Ferdinand 2.89
Ariana Grande 2.88
Lizzo 2.86
Belle And Sebastian 2.85
Britney Spears 2.85
Metallica 2.81
Green Day 2.81
Madness 2.80
The Jam 2.75
Basement Jaxx 2.75
Oasis 2.71
Whitney Houston 2.69
The Verve 2.67
Slayer 2.65
The Sex Pistols 2.63
Lady Gaga 2.61
Queen 2.60
Billy Joel 2.57
Foo Fighters 2.57
U2 2.55
Justin Timberlake 2.52
Biffy Clyro 2.48
Dire Straits 2.43
The Beautiful South 2.43
Bloc Party 2.41
Cher 2.40
Michael Jackson 2.39
Eminem 2.38
Mariah Carey 2.32
Coldplay 2.31
Rancid 2.26
Guns N’ Roses 2.26
The Killers 2.22
The Who 2.22
Blink-182 2.21
Muse 2.20
Adele 2.05
Kings Of Leon 2.01
Red Hot Chili Peppers 1.90
The Spice Girls 1.81
Stereophonics 1.74

And today, Frank Ocean

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
0 voters
  • Channel Orange
  • Blonde

0 voters

Short list of singles

  • Novacane
  • Swim Good
  • Thinkin’ Bout You
  • Pyramids
  • Sweet Life
  • Lost
  • Super Rich Kids
  • Nikes
  • Chanel
  • Biking
  • Provider
  • Moon River
  • DHL
  • In My Room
  • Dear April
  • Cayendo

0 voters

Best album is nostalgia, ULTRA.

Was super into him in those early 2010-11 OF days. Felt like I’d discovered a super rare talent.

Channel Orange was cool but overrated and I really didn’t connect with blonde or the other stuff… but I go back to the early mixtapes fairly regularly.

3/5

2 Likes

Not for me Clive - 1

Never heard a song of his, where would I start?

Only 2 studio albums proper so I’d start with Channel Orange and see if it’s your thing then the nostalgia ULTRA mixtape then Blonde.

4 Likes

In my first tentative steps in spotify land, one of my first ports was to give channel orange a bash as it was so lauded. Every time I listened, a new song stood out. It’s a fucking brilliant album. Great voice, some Prince level arrangements and interesting lyrics.

Big ol 5.

3 Likes
6 Likes

Couldn’t smash that 5 button hard enough

11 Likes

never got fully on board with his r&b golden boy status among the p4k demographic, he is very good though
4 I think

4 Likes

By miles my favourite contemporary artist. Think it’s a really overused word, but Blonde is genius. Probably won’t have much to say in this thread as he’s one of those artists that I just cannot comprehend people not liking

10 Likes

I usually hesitate over giving 5s to people with really small discographys but everything he’s released is so fantastic I couldn’t really justify giving anything less. I think arguably he’s been the most influential artist of the last ten years. There are huge swathes of modern music that it is hard to imagine without Nostalgia, Ultra and Blond.

What is so amazing about him is how he marries simple, emotional directness with considerable formal experimentation. The greatest artists have always been able to do both of those things at the same time, but it’s rare. I particularly admire him for deciding to swerve away from the more conventional sound of Channel Orange and make a second ‘proper’ album as elusive, fragmentary and fascinating as Blond.

I just wish he would release another album.

10 Likes

5/5 Endless is the best album, Rushes is his best song. Have all the vinyl and that fucking massive magazine.

Still waiting for In My Room and Little Devil to arrive on vinyl over 12 months after ordering them.

The Dear April Justice Remix is really good heavy nostalgia for 2007.

1 Like

5 - the only downside being the two times I’ve seen him live he hasn’t hit the heights of the records but frankly the records are near perfection.

Clear 5, more coming soon.

Never heard anything by him before but had a quick listen to some of the singles.

Swim Good was pretty good, would listen again. The others weren’t my kind of thing really.

2/5

I’ve never listened to Endless or Nostalgia Ultra, Channel Orange is clearly good with some standout tracks but it still never fully clicked with me or I didnt get the hype

Getting a huge fucking 5 for Blonde though, easily one of the best pieces of art in any genre of the last 20 years. Find new things about it every time i listen, new favourite tracks or moments (though the beat change in Nights is always the answer), still get shocked by some things that I’ve heard 20 or 30 times by now

An actually peerless album

3 Likes

Oh wow. I’ve been waiting for this.

Was a fantastic artist before Blonde, Nostalgia Ultra is a brilliant modern take on the mixtape, superbly inventive, the ‘covers’ are cool (I can’t hear Strawberry Swing now without thinking of Frank) but the originals marked his card as a superb songwriter - Novocane, Songs for Women, Love Crimes, Swim Good (man, Swim Good) are some of my favourite songs of this century and really marked his card.

‘Channel Orange’ was a huge leap forward though. One of the 10 best records this century, easy. Some era-defining tunes, but the deep cuts are the ones that stuck with me. Love Super Rich Kids & Swim Good, but the run at the end - Bad Religion to Forest Gump elevates the whole thing. And I haven’t mentioned Pyramids yet at all.

Probably worth talking about the note here which was a ‘Huge Deal’ at the time. Despite being a very personal thing to him, it seemed to catch a mood at the time that was replicated in his music. Everything he does is fluid, free & hard to define, everything is blurred. And that’s what’s makes him great for me in that his music has really become of its time, not by copying what others have done but by defining it.

Without ‘Endless’, considered a huge throwaway at the time, there’s no ‘When I Get Home’. That’s been such a quietly influential record and that’s been his way throughout, without any big bangs, he’s left a really long trail. And that’s true of ‘Blonde’. Praised on release, but no-one went overboard, then last year up the top of all the album of the decade polls. I was totally underwhelmed by it at first, but now I can’t imagine being without it. It’s such a clever, unique, melodic record that’s become so emblematic of the last five years for me. I’ve copied the following from the elimination thread at the end of last year…

In a world when we can have anything, ever, whenever we want it, his refusal to play by those rules, his commitment to release both music & information when he’s ready, to escape a label deal by building a staircase (I loved that extended metaphor) have made him a true counter-cultural icon.

I could write about Blonde in huge detail (it’s probably my favourite record ever) - and the live show that went with it, which was so understated at the time, but now I still think about often. All I’ll say here is that, for me I’ve yet to stop being amazed about how it says everything - it’s brash & vulgar, thoughtful & plaintive, heavy & throwaway, hopeful & depressing. Sometimes it drifts in the background, sometimes it’s immersive. It’s R’n’B, it’s Rap, it’s Ambient, it’s Indie. It’s got Beyoncé on backing vocals, Jonny Greenwood on guitar & a McCartney chorus. It’ll go 10 minutes without drums and then pummel you with noise. Like the last decade, it’s everything all at the same time, and I can’t imagine a time I’ll stop listening to it.

The easiest five ever for me. Have no idea what he’ll do next, and that’s so thrilling.

24 Likes

More later. Wrote that at work.