Frank Ocean - Channel Orange (2012)

Well hurrr, that was the point.

Bowie declared himself gay in an interview with Melody Maker in 72

xp Actually, Stipe is an interesting example because he didn't become known as "gay rock star Michael Stipe". His sexuality wasn't even mentioned in some of the REM obits. I guess alt-rock is used to gay musicians and by the time he came out his mainstream star had dipped.

why is this turning into a TV Tropes entry for gay musicians

Because piscesx asked a question. Forgive me for not knowing what TV Tropes is.

lucky you

good for him.

Gonna be another to chime in that the liner notes are beautiful. Hope all goes well for him, he seems like a good dude and could turn into a v good songwriter.

he already is

that russel simmons statement is really dope imo

i've been feeling so happy about this all day

Yes, of course
I remember, how could I forget?
How you feel?
And though you were my first time
A new feel
It won't ever get old, not in my soul
Not in my spirit, keep it alive
We'll go down this road
'Til it turns from color to black and white

this is great

times profile: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/08/arts/music/frank-oceans-channel-orange.html?_r=4&pagewanted=all

this story is currently the most read article on bbc news

really? young folk? i guess so; not many in the uk i can think of. i mean famous or gonna-be-stars or celeb types.

There is of course a 19 year old lesbian in the current top 5 of the uk - courtney rumbould of stooshe. She's no Frank Ocean but this has passed without much comment or fanfare. I don't think we're that fussed over here.

Courtney Rumbould of StooShe is fucking awesome, tho. Just as a total side note.

But also, the UK doesn't have quite the same weird relationship with fundamentalist religion and homosexuality as America. In the UK, the Conservative Party is in favour of same-sex marriage. In America, the Republicans are, for the most part, at the beck and call of the religious right and cure-the-gays proponents.

stooshe are unpardonable beasts from the depths of hell

has jessie j weighed in, i wonder?

Courtney Rumbould of StooShe is fucking awesome, tho.

?!?!

i feel confused that a non-britisher has cause to even think about stooshe let alone think...this about them. i thought they were a joke when i first heard them. still kind of do.

i like em

Yeah, me too

they're probably quite nice people but good god do they ever make a grotesque racket

a baleful enough example of the brit desire for self-deprecating-to-the-point-of-total-devaluation "light entertainment" to turn one positively lexish

This is kinda bizarre but amazing in a way:

http://www.stooshe.com/agony-aunt.htm

On topic, I never thought I'd find myself thinking "Speech Debelle OTM", and I've already noticed a lot of people on my Facebook/Twitter who are taking notice of Ocean because of this, purely because they have strong interests/beliefs in LGBT issues.

I never thought I'd find myself thinking "Speech Debelle OTM"

^ this

lol "once you've heard his music, it's impossible to not end up in his house talking to him"

dying @ this

hahaha ya

the first thing that happens after you listen to frank ocean is your phone rings. a voice will say: you have 1 week.

http://www.vladtv.com/images/g_blog_image/110499.jpg

some of the well-meaning responses to this are pretty smh

it's weird that there seems to be a general sense that this is some sort of brilliant marketing thing which seems deeply counterintuitive for someone as on the rise as ocean

i think it'll be good for him in the long run. a year ago there might have been more 'at risk' when "Novacane" was climbing the charts, but after that kinda stalled and none of his other songs hit remotely as big, Def Jam gave him a release date and let him drop a 10-minute single so it seems they decided he's not really a radio artist, and if there's not some attempt at crossover appeal something like this can only intensify his cult/critical following.

Good discussion in this Ta-Nehisi Coates post.

Just heard "Thinking Bout You" on the radio last night.

some dude otm - this doesn't hurt Frank because he's not Trey Songz.

nostalgia ultra was probably my favorite album of the year. happy for him.

Frank's twitter timeline is really depressing right now

https://twitter.com/#!/Frank_Ocean_

that's not frank's twitter

https://twitter.com/#!/frank_ocean

"parody account"

it's weird that there seems to be a general sense that this is some sort of brilliant marketing thing which seems deeply counterintuitive for someone as on the rise as ocean

i don't know that it's "brilliant" but making it a point to (sort of?) come out and associate yourself with the feelgood LET LOVE RINNGG blah blah homo camp is inherently going to be a marketing tactic as well no matter how earnest at this point.

the feelgood LET LOVE RINNGG blah blah homo camp

wtf

yeah i don't agree w/ any of that

maybe now that he's being more honest and transparent with the public he might consider performing under his birth name, "frank ocean" really is just the corniest stage name imo

i think that's an incredibly cynical read of the situation. i also don't think that theory is supported by what actually happened.

al, i think he legally changed his name to "frank ocean"

so it's not marketing, it didn't get his name out there, people aren't talking about him more than before?

al, i think he legally changed his name to "frank ocean"

― J0rdan S., Thursday, July 5, 2012 4:26 PM (30 seconds ago) Bookmark

well that makes it even sadder. i said 'birth name' anyway though.

what's the endpoint of that argument? he really should have stayed closeted, you know, true to the music, no gimmicks...

xp well i like the name frank ocean fwiw.

so it's not marketing, it didn't get his name out there, people aren't talking about him more than before?

― fauxmarc, Thursday, July 5, 2012 4:26 PM (10 seconds ago) Bookmark

alright, so what isn't marketing?

if my name was "lonny breaux" i would probably search for a stage name, too