Channel Orange

February 10, 2013: I'm sitting in the living room of our college apartment, watching the Grammys on my giant box TV. Not sure why, I guess I was bored. I saw that Mumford & Sons were nominated quite a bit for their Babel album, which had been a favorite of mine over the previous year. Near the end of the broadcast, a guy named Frank Ocean gets up to perform a song called "Forrest Gump." He's standing behind a keyboard, and there's a screen displaying his legs running, and he ends the song whistling and running down behind the keyboard, off into the distance. I was intrigued. This same guy beat Chris Brown for the suspiciously racist "best urban contemporary album" award, but he lost AOTY to Mumford & Sons. I went to sleep with "Forrest Gump" stuck in my head. Next chance I had, I downloaded the album from [REDACTED] and began listening. It was gas. Our grandmother had passed away a day before the Grammy performance, and in the late nights between then and our flight to Chicago for the funeral, I absorbed this album like a sponge. I was trying to get all of my grieving cousins to listen to Frank Ocean. I loved most of the tracks, but was obsessed with "Bad Religion." I realized very quickly that this should've beat Mumford & Sons. I bought a bootleg vinyl on eBay (pressed on orange wax of course), and Alex and I would listen to this in the dark in that apartment. I put it on a CD in my car and played it over and over until it became scratched and skippy. I learned the in's and out's of this project like a treasure map. This album didn't just put me on to Frank Ocean, it made me a fan of music in a way I'd never been before. I started looking for acclaimed albums I'd never heard, started downloading playlists of Pitchfork's top 100 songs of each year. Paired with Yeezus a few months later, these albums opened my eyes and ears to the point where they may never close again. Without this album, there's probably no obsessive record collection, no year-end albums and tracks lists, no semi-famous youtuber, and almost certainly no participation in this 1001 albums journey. This album really changed my life and it means the world to me. Favorite tracks: Every song on here to some degree. Album art: It's orange baby. That's enough. 5/5

This music is the soundtrack for the beginning of the degeneration of music and society as a whole. This goes hand in hand with instagram slut culture and signifies the move away from the rock and indie movement into the faceless, pointless RnB/hip hop and mumble rap of the current age. Paving the way for morons like Takeshi 69, Post Malone and Travis Scott, It has also spawned a social acceptance for hyper feminism such as Meghan thee Stallion and Cardi B. Nasty Ass Pussy. Music is an 808, syncopated, hi-hat/snare arrangement away from utter devastation and failure as a concept.

I haven't really delved into Frank Ocean's music before, there's only a couple of songs that I knew before listening to this album. But this album is SO good! I can't get over how good it sounds, from start to finish. Highlights were Thinkin Bout You, Sweet Life, Pilot Jones, Pyramids, Lost, Bad Religion. Definitely rate it 5/5 stars. If I could give more than 5 stars I would. This might very well be my favourite album I've been given to listen so far. I'm definitely going to be listening to more of his music after this.

Legit mad that I'd never listened to this before now. Incredible from start to finish. The run from Pyramids to Pink Matter is *chef's kiss*. As soon as it was over, I wanted to listen again - a first for me in about 120 albums. Didn't even mind the long run time. Can't believe I missed out on 9 years of listening to this.

This is the answer to the question, "What would Stevie Wonder sound like if he had no talent for singing or song writing?"

I'm sure people love this for many reasons, but I am not sure what they are. This album was just meh for me. Sounds like old school R&B at times, but with a rapper who can't sing and tries to be "creative" with voice effects and sound effects.

This is in the 1001 top albums?

Just boring. It took me about 1 minute per each track to be sick of it.

Effortlessly cool. Talking about a past lover, kids who just don’t understand living life and it’s troubles, a girl having to go work the strip club...none of it feels forced. This album rules

great album to cry to - ‘thinkin bout you’ is a masterpiece - his voice is gorgeous - arguably more honest and raw than Blonde - incredibly produced and composed.

Absolutely horrible. Words cannot express how much I hate this music. Something about the R&B wharble is like nails on a blackboard to me. I can't listen to it.

Listening to this brings me back to being 16. For some of us, this album was one of the biggest deals in all of high school. I first heard of Frank Ocean when my friends told me about this album and how it had dropped a week early. What an event this record turned out to be. We all had our favorite songs off of it. I gravitated towards the Elton John sampling "Super Rich Kids" and it's narrative of decadent ennui, the epic "Pyramids," with it's multiple phases and fried-beyond-recognition John Mayer guitar solo, and the simple bliss of "Forrest Gump." And of course, "Thinkin About You." We all loved that song. It closed out prom that year. I'll always be more of a Blonde guy if we're looking at complete albums, but Channel Orange, to this day, has some of my favorite songs ever on it. And, maybe more importantly, it's one of those albums that acts as a time machine for me, back to a time of halcyon togetherness. Can't be go lower than a 5.

It's as good as people were saying at the time isn't it? It feels like the sort of album Prince might have made had he been born 30 years later. Thinking, Pyramids and a few others are very impressive. I wish it had a little less of the "I'm up in my penthouse feeling alienated" crap in there, the curse of 2010s music - leave that to Drake and his army of simpleton fans to simp over. But other than that, a work of a very clever musician.

The dire ramblings of someone with too much time and not enough tune

Not my cup of tea. Sounds like a million and one other 'artistes' of the last 10 years. Utterly pointless songs. Says nothing to me about my life.

im a frank ocean hater

5/5. Sometimes people are right

Channel Orange is an amazing album and Frank Ocean is incredible. Flawless production, Frank Ocean's voice is so full of depth - the sound, the raw emotion, the range. Even the lyrics in this album are amazing, he really knows how to literally put you into his shoes as the listener and feel like you're experiencing the songs as you listen.

Good music but not my style. Would listen again and revise.

An incredible album made by one of the greatest R&B artists of his generation and it was very important to me in my formative years. No real misses on this album for me. My favorite song is Sweet Life but you can't really go wrong with any of them. I think the weakest track on here for me have to be White but it is still okay (like a 5-10). The rest of the songs range from a like 7-10.

An album that I would not have listened to without it being suggested, which I guess is the whole point of the platform. At first, I found it to be a little bland and uninvolving, far too preoccupied with samples, microbeats and other musical gimmicks. But then I began to "hear" the pleasing quality of Frank's voice and it became more of an enjoyable listen. By the time I reached "Lost", I realised that I would need to listen to the whole thing a couple more times before I settled on a judgement. Being tenacious in order to experience new music has been rewarded.

I was enjoying it for the first few songs but by the end, I felt like I was listening to the same song over and over again. 3.5.

I find this album overall boring? It doesn't sound bad at all! His voice is beautiful and the general sound is as well, I just don't find it exciting. I think I don't have nostalgia related to this album which makes my enjoyment less intense. Some very high highs and it was a relaxing nice listen. The Andre 3000 feature was awesome

Squeaky Usher. Like R Kelly, but without all the noncing (probably).... I mean, we don't know the real reason Ocean's 11 was called that. Still, ...better than Ocean's 8. Both in terms of the film and the connotations that I'm trying to imply, which are, that Frank Ocean nonces 8 and 11 year olds.

Seriously I was just anxious for it to be over the whole time. I did not find it interesting or enjoyable.

1. ztart - 0 2. thinking about you - 1 3. fertilizer - 0 4. zierra leone - 1 5. zuueet life - 1 6. not juzt money - 0 7. zuper rich kidz - 1 8. pilot jonez - 0 9. crack rock - 1 10. pyramidz - 1.5 11. lozt - 1 12. uuhite - 0 13. monkz - 1 14. bad religion - 1 15. pink matter - 1 16. forrezt gump - 1 17. end - 0

I fully agree with the hype! Lyrics and songwriting miles ahead of anyone in the genre and a well put together album beginning to end

I'll be honest, I had very low expectations, and half of this album met those on the nose. But once we got past the usual misogynistic dross, there were a few tunes in here that I kind of enjoyed - Super Rich Kids had me humming along, Bad Religion I liked. Enough to come back to it? I doubt it, but I don't regret listening.

this is considered the greatest? it is barely music.

I completely hate this. There's no grit or emotion, every song floats from nothing into nothing. I don't know what genre this is, but I can't stand it. The singer's voice is much too high and incredibly annoying. There's no power in any of the tracks. It's thin and uninspiring. I do not understand why this album was selected, I could have happily skipped this before dying.

This wasn’t for me at all. I felt nothing while listening except boredom, and disappointment when it failed to end, until I finally felt relief when it was all over. Even a song about Forrest Gump couldn’t take this to 2 stars.

I was excited because I had heard good things about him but nope, no, not again. Raw dog, DD tities just the start of the mysigony all over this album. Rich people are bad unless it's him, drugs are bad except when he uses them, woman are beautiful when they do things for him. I was originally confused by the collaboration with John Mayer but by the end it made perfect sense.

Oh yes

masterpiece

Heavy bias here because I've spent hours and hours with this album (and Blonde) and good ol Cole Cuchna via the Dissect podcast. Everything about this album - the open letter coming out backstory, the double meanings, the skits, the instrumentation, the album cover, the song sequencing, the themes - is considered and layered with meaning. But its also not tedious or cold. Restrained, surreal storytelling. Unique production. Cleopatra in a strip club. Features are sparse but exactly where needed- numb rich guy iambic verse from Earl S, extremely tasteful John Mayer interlude, show stealing Andre 30000. If I didn't have a deep history with Frank I'd probably score this lower, but I do so A+

This album is almost ten years old which is WILD! I listened to it a ton driving around LA when I was there for work. I remember how revelatory it was at the time that Frank Ocean was bisexual—it was a first and was considered pretty dramatic. And here we are 10 years later and it doesn’t feel like a big deal at all. And this album? Such a boo from top to bottom. I hope Ocean makes more. Sometimes we have to wait for good things.

Me gusta mucho, aunque no sé bien explicarlo. E igual me asombra que haya gente que lo eleve tantísimo a Frank Ocean, pero quizá sólo sea mi ignorancia. Mientras, lo disfruto. Entre mis favs: "Sweet Life", "Pyramids", "Lost" y "Bad Religion" 9.5/10

5/5 you already know i fucking love this album right here. frank comes alive and tells us stories via song. W. No skips. Pyramids is prob my favorite but idk man its hard.

Best frank album

It’s Frank…

Common Themes: Frank Ocean brings personal and intimate vocals to this album. Shorter "intermission" songs provide a short break from longer tracks. Reminded me of Adult Swim commercials in between shows. Latter half of the album discusses themes of love and being loved, once again intimate and sensual in a way. I wonder how Blonde innovates upon this formula.

It's a great groove, I like how he creates worlds in his lyrics. I don't think it's quite a 5, but there's a lot of dumbasses in the reviews thinking that if there's no guitars is terrible so here's my little bit of help with that.

GOAT

I’ve always wanted to listen to Frank Ocean. 2. This Song is fantastic 5. I really love this 7. Love this too. It’s interesting contrasted with the previous track 14. Obsessed with this I’m not sure I really get this album but it was good.

7/10 - Upbeat, jazzy, funky, spoken word. Some Stevie Wonder influence. Large range of styles.

Real good. Great production. Could cut off the last few songs and it might be better, but the run through the middle of the album is killer. I don't know enough about the genre to speak definitively, but hard for me to imagine a much better version of what this is.

Love Lost! Overall, a delicate feeling album.

when i first listened to this i felt like i was missing too much musical context to truly "get" this album like so many people do but it's still very clear to me how "good" this is regardless of what you know about this kind of music it's clear to me when songs of a more familiar musical vocabulary to me like Lost come in

Cool vibe throughout …. Considered this new school R&B back in the day but it’s a bit more unique than that …. Vocals are definitely R&B with the music has more of a jazz/funk leaning to it. Really cool collaboration between the vocals and music throughout the album. Not a whole lot of variety in the album’s vibe tough to argue with staying in that lane.

I’ve tried a couple of times. It’s pretty, great voice. But not for me.

Sexy and swanky. I already knew/liked "Thinkin Bout You" and other favorite track was "Sweet Life." A lot of sexy talk which isn't typically my vibe, but it was fun to listen to at a low volume.

So R&B – and whatever derivatives of it that I’ve been exposed to over the years, are most definitely NOT my wheelhouse… That said – if this is some sort of “Alt-R&B” that he has created, then I can say that it is better than any other R&B out there… The sound it very unique and original, and I like the diversity throughout the album – as clearly Frank is quite talented… No songs really jumped out though as being exceptional, but there weren’t any throwaway’s here either… Solid 2 for me, and I’d listen to another of his albums if it comes down to it…

Millennial music. The guy has a good voice but there is a lack of cohesion and energy on this album for me. So far I am having trouble understanding the structure of the melodies and I can't get past the sound of what seems to be some type of auto tune or pitch correction on his voice in some songs. There seems to be a lot of abstract feel throughout the album that is making it hard for me to get into. It's a little rambling for me. Very cool that Andre 3000 makes an appearance but I found his verse kind of unexciting. Seems like there are a lot of r and b albums like this that come from younger generations. Toro y Moi is an example of a younger guy that keeps r and b interesting when he does it. Alabama Shakes is another. Maybe I am showing my age in associating r and b with the solid musicianship of people like Earth, Wind and Fire, Anita Baker, Prince, Luther Vandross, Michael Jackson, Hi 5, Sade, Al B Sure and so many other heavy hitting r and b artists. I feel like I see what he's going for. Some of the songs echo Prince's 'Insatiable', EWAFs 'Reasons' and Elton John's 'Benny and Jets' but the creativity and innovation just isn't there for me. Frank raps in some parts, but I'm coming from the school of Busta Rhymes, Tribe Called Quest, Method Man, KRS 1, Immortal Technique, Biggie, and Mos Def so its hard for me get into a more Xanax type rap delivery. I hear Jimi Hendrix 's 'Little Miss Lover' drum intro in 'Crack Rock'. Best song for me on this album is 'Lost'.

p923. 2012. 2 stars. Formulaic, bland, uninspired plastic high pitched vocal "R&B". Background music when shopping at Monsoon. Big Joe Turner must be turning in his grave.

Hugely not my thing but it was nice enough while it was on in the background while playing Quadratanks with my daughter. Probably won't listen again but I didn't dislike it to the extent I expected when the first tracks started and I recognised the genre. Enjoyed the start with the opening Playstation 1 sounds.

It's good in the background and pretty boring if you actively listen to it.

El disco no solo es una mierda si no que además es terriblemente aburrido.

Oh dear Frank. Not sure what all the hype was for. An album bereft of any musical originality, a dirge of insipid tracks, conspiring to build an album of the mundane and banal. Amongst the dirge, Bad Religion is just about listenable. If he made money out if this dross fair play to him. There's millions of infinitely better musicians and artists out there struggling to make a pay check. The unfairness of it all stinks.

Classic - Thinkin About You, Sweet Life, Pyramids and Bad Religion are my favorites, but every non-interlude track is great.

Good!

Great

Gold.

A classic

Smooth af. Actually put me in a better mood.

This will always be a great album. Would be a nice one to have on vinyl.

Obviously great

This is such an amazing album. I'm glad this gave me the reminder to listen through again.

One of the top albums of the 2010's and up there in my top 20 of all time.

BOMB ASF ALWAYS

Great album

5000000/5 love u frank

Already love... RnB GOAT, unequivocally

Great album. 0 bad songs and really high highs. Favorite song: Pyramids

Not a bad track. Feels like an unfolding story. Stripped back. Almost perfect.

This album is brilliant

played this once way back but as background noise BUT NOWWWW DAMNNNN BOYYYYYYYYY THIS IS GOOD ASS SHIT MMMMMMMMM

Life-changing. 10

9/10. This was pretty good. He has a nice voice. Beginning of Super Rich Kids had me worried because it sounded like Benny and the Jets for a moment.

Really good, would relisten. Couldn't always make out the lyrics but sounded nice anyway. 9

Huge album, I love basically everything about it but for some reason I just can’t bring myself to give it a perfect score, I think because I want it to be more cohesive than it is. 9/10

Legendary

Ekstremetelt å jazzaktig

Love this album

this album is very good I like it I think it is his best

One of the best albums of the last 20 years

I liked this way more than I thought I would

This is one of my favourite albums, to the point where I was listening to tracks from it earlier today before this glorious website assigned me Channel Orange. If you want Channel Orange to be deep, it can be. You can sort the songs into pairs, consider Mr Ocean's exploration of his sexual identity and his telling of stories from different corners of society, both as a slice of life and a metaphor of his own experience. Or you can just take every song on their own, feeling sad or loved-up or defiant or introspective as the feeling takes you. "Bad Religion" stands as a glorious cornerstone of the album and ever fails to make my eyes leak. And best of all - this isn't even Frank Ocean's best work.

The album is just a great vibe. Easy listening and suited to so many occasions.

Este álbum me sorprendió mucho, ya que no soy muy fan del R&B, pero me encontré escuchándolo como unas tres veces. No creo que algún otro álbum del género llegue a tener esta calificación por mi. Hay algo respecto de los arreglos musicales que lo hace diferente. No es sólo rap y no me pareció tedioso, además el uso de sonidos ambientales como el Play Station del intro le dio una textura especial. No le presté demasiada atención a la letra, pero después de leer el artículo de Wikipedia creo que debería. Mis canciones favoritas fueron “Pyramids” y “Super Rich Kids”.

This is one of my favorite albums. Almost being 10 years old, it still holds up. By far one of the best albums of this century.

A great album that seems to keep momentum all the way through. Forrest Gump is one of my favorite songs of the past decade. Pyramids is a 9 minute journey.

Catch AF

Damn this is good

Hooked right out of the gate. The hits are massive, drums sound great throughout.

Oooo boy now this is a certified classic. Ocean has clearly already established the mainstays of his discography by this point, with the evocative yet sensitive lyrics and achingly beautiful vocals that underpin each song. "Pyramids" is just plain epic. I love this album!!!

What a please to be assigned this album today. This was something I had on repeat back when it was released. Every track is a banger!

4/03/2022 Today's Album: "Channel Orange" by Frank Ocean - This album is dense, extremely well executed, and packed with a ton of instrumental personality, so it definitely took a few days and a handful of listens to really "get" it. This album is phenomenal. These are really expressive and rich R&B tracks that cover a veriety of subject matters with suprising levels of nuance and with tons of layers of meaning in every line. From a surface level listen, you're met with likeable tracks that fuze pop and R&B with fantastic production and suprisingly listenable heavy sub-bass. Frank's vocals are fantastic on every track, the choruses are quickly learnable and given the hundreds of listens on each track, Frank is obviously a big heavy hitter in the pop scene. Going into the tracklist, there are a lot of times where the themes of drugs, past relationships, racism, systematic inequality, etc. that are all over most albums in this genre and the broader hip hop and rap scenes show up, but in a way that is very interesting to the listener. For instance, the first song of the album, Thinkin' Bout You explores the regret of past relationships by asking their first love if they still think about them, but his lyricism makes it hard to determine if this is an ongoing relationship or one that has already ended, adding to the message. The track Fertilizer is a short poppy interlude with only one line of lyrics, but the meaning of it is one of a partner feeling like they must continue with a relationship despite them being treated like shit. The name Fertilizer is also a play on words, implying the only connection in this relationship is when Frank and his partner have love- less sex (Fertilizing Her). The song Sierra Leone covers seemingly all of the emotions surrounding an unplaned pregnancy, with Frank having to come to turns with his immaturity and grow up to raise a child, the financial and familial struggle of dealing with an unplanned child, and even the relationship Frank has with being a father given how his father left him when he was young. The track Super Rich Kids is not only a fantastic sounding song, but it covers the troubles of young wealth and all of the mental, interpersonal, and legal issues related to someone having vast amounts of wealth when they are young. Pilot Jones and Crack Rock both cover the issues related to drugs and homelessness in America in great depth, with the former being from the perspective of Frank dealing with a parter that is dealing/addicted to drugs. The 10 minute track Pyramids is a great examination into the tarnished identity of black women as they were stolen from their home continent and were bastardized by the west. The first part is about the capturing and exploitation of black woman slaves right from the African Population and the second part is about the modern day black woman and how many have been reduced down to hookers and strippers. This track also sounds phenomenal from start to finish and features some amazing instrumental moments. Lost covers the drug industry further, this time with Frank taking the perspective of a man forcing a woman to mule drugs by putting them inside of her Double D sized breasts. It sounds immature and cliche upon first listen, but after understanding the premise it is a story of a young woman who is unable to escape a world of drug trafficing that she is already too far deep within. Monks is Frank examining his fame, but through discribing a drug fueled sexual encounter he had with a handful of groupies from one of his shows. One of the heaviest hitters, Bad Religion, compares a romantic relationship to a religion, as Frank finds this partner he once worshiped gone from him now. Like many tracks on this album, he describes these past relationships in an absolutely heartbreaking way, shedding light to the parts of a relationship that most dont think about. Pink Matter is a beautiful track that uses relationships and specifically a woman's womb to contemplate desire, fantasy, and even existentialism. It is an example of another pattern of this album, where Frank seems to be simply singing a love song, but there are several deeper meanings underneath simply talking about vaginas or boobs. Forest Gump is a light-hearted track from the perspective of Jenny from Forest Gump, being a metaphor for Frank's first love, who he later admitted was male and the final track End ends the album in a similar way it started, with background chatter and noise as Frank is musically switching through memories like TV channels. From an instrumental and musical standpoint, there are some moments that feel a little underdeveloped on this LP, but the diversity of sounds and melodies alongside solid instrumentals and lyricism that are so layered it can take hundreds of listens to fully comprehend make this album just fantastic from start to end. Themes of first loves, past toxic relationships, drugs, pregnancy, status, wealth, and power are all brilliantly meditated on under the guise of an R&B pop album and I really just cannot emphasize how well it is pulled off. This album is getting me really excited to check out Ocean's other music and about 80 percent of the tracks here are going to find their way into my library. Listen to this one if you like R&B, pop, heavy bass, great vocals, smart lyrics, or any/all of the above. Score: 9.5/10 Smart, Beautiful, Excellent. Highlights: Thinkin Bout You, Fertilizer, Super Rich Kids, Pilot Jones, Pyramids, Lost, White, Monks, Bad Religion, Pink Matter, Forest Gump.

Byrjar á autotune í Thinkin' bout you (mest spilaða laginu) og ég verð fyrir vonbrigðum, en svo lagast það og platan reynist svona líka góð. Mjög gaman að hlusta og ég mun gera það oftar.

goated. absolute classic. one of my favorite albums of all time by my favorite artist of all time. 0 flaws.

king