Frank Ocean

An Intimate, Eye-Opening Night With Tyler, the Creator

Better Than: Oprah Tyler, the Creator lost his virginity at age 17 in his grandmother's bed. Yep. You know that now. But chances are, if you're like the type of Tyler obsessive that bought tickets to the Highline Ballroom's sold out interview between the controversial rapper/designer/video director ... More >>

The Hottest Dancing Girls at Coachella, as GIFs

We've spent a lot of time this Coachella talking about the magnificent bros in attendance, but how about the fair and talented ladies? Per usual, they were everywhere, doing their thing like it wasn't a chicken wing, or something. In any case, here are the hottest dancing girls this year -- in GIF f ... More >>

Hip-Hop for Dogs: The Worst Dog Hip-Hop Book Ever?

If you like your music blog experiences to be timely and relevant, I suggest you stop reading now. This piece is neither. It concerns a book from five years ago that's as inconsequential now as the day it was published. This book hasn't dropped a track on Soundcloud, and it's not in a Twitter fight ... More >>

Why We're Still Excited When Eminem Makes Music

We could have stopped caring years ago. Somewhere between Encore (2004) and Relapse (2009), our memory would've waned to the point where Em didn't really matter anymore. Yet, in 2013, it's been confirmed that a full-length album will be released post-Memorial Day along with some tour dates, and we'r ... More >>

Candles As Band Merch: An In-depth Look

Perhaps you have seen that in addition to the T-shirts, hoodies, posters, and brass boat necklaces (?) found in their online merch section, Sigur Ros has introduced their "Vardeldur candle" for the princely sum of $23.50. The site describes its scent thusly: The smoky, slightly briny smell of a fl ... More >>

Meshuggah's Mårten Hagström on Performing Sans Vocalist, and Being "Harm-Friendly" Psychedelic

This week, Swedish progressive metal band Meshuggah have been performing alongside a cardboard cutout of their singer, Jens Kidman, whose fearsome voice was completely annihilated by the flu. (Don't worry, he's recovering.) Whether he'll join his bandmates onstage tonight at the Roseland Ballroom re ... More >>

Five Lesser-Known Soul Men Worth Your Attention

You're right to believe Frank Ocean was robbed by Mumford & Sons for Album of the Year at the Grammys Sunday. But nevertheless, last year was a good one for r&b, one that saw different facets of the genre take center stage. By extension, Frank Ocean is now a household name. And though Kelly Clarkson ... More >>

Ten Rappers We'd Like To See on Reality TV

So many reality shows, and so many of them are terrible. But people watch this stuff, despite feigning revulsion. "Trash culture" is on the rise, and with everyone from Consequence to The Game are landing "roles" in a reality show, we wanted to get in on the action and list some potentially quality ... More >>

I Watched The Grammys And I'm In Love!

I totally fell for the roots rock band Alabama Shakes, particularly lead singer/guitarist Brittany Howard. To me, she's Kate Smith crossed with Tiny Tim crossed with everything else I like. And she can sang! Brittany even gave Mavis Staples a run for her money in the Levon Helm tribute. And how ... More >>

The Best Tweets and Photos From Last Night's Grammy Awards

Last night, during the 55th Grammy Awards, we trudged through the bile and self-loating of angry would-be comedians and critics who took to Twitter to tell Jack White he looks like Edward Scissorhands and Johnny Depp he looks like the butt baby of Jack Sparrow and Steve Tyler and Adele she was dress ... More >>

How Jazz Trio BadBadNotGood and Odd Future Became Unlikely Pals

The hip-hop-inspired jazz trio BadBadNotGood are in a car driving to a show in Vermont while bumping the new My Bloody Valentine album. Comprised of keys player Matthew Tavares, bass man Chester Hansen and drummer Alexander Sowinski (who likes to sport a pig mask while playing out), the Toronto-base ... More >>

Meet Marnie Stern's dog, Fig, and Discover the World According to Frank Ocean Tweets

Hunker down with our favorite music stories of the week while Nemo blows through. Best of luck to youuuuuuuuus.

Om'Mas Keith, The Chosen One

The Queens-born hip-hop producer walks in to the Grammys a double-nominee

An Oral History of the "Super Bowl Shuffle" and Other Links

Over the course of the week we read a lot of music stories. Here are a few we love, love, loved.

Has This Guy Punched You in the Head Recently? (Updated)

Updated 1:30 p.m.: NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly says the suspect was caught on a Texas-bound Greyhound bus and arrested. Police tracked his cell phone to a bus station, then stopped both buses that had departed the station overnight. Commisso was found on one of them, asleep. --- While Chris Brow ... More >>

Defend Your Ballot: Eric Sundermann, Pazz and Jop 2012 Contributor

You can't really know where you're headed unless you know where you've been. For that reason, we're taking a look back at Pazz & Jop 2012 to drill down into the ballots of contributors and voters who participated. Maybe amongst the rubble we'll find clues about lies ahead for music lovers in 2013. H ... More >>

Who or What Will Chris Brown Fight Next?

When you look at Chris Brown, what do you see? A bully with an entourage all too happy to start a dust-up over a perceived slight or a parking space? An emotionally crippled/stunted young man who is the sad victim of the cycle of domestic abuse? A wanton spreader of pink eye? The boo-hooingest cryba ... More >>

Pazz & Jop: A Note on Crap

True art lives where no one is paying attention. Or probably not.

Pazz & Jop: Top 42 Singles

Pazz & Jop: Top 40 Albums

Pazz & Jop: Frank Ocean's Sea Change

His musical and personal honesty made waves in 2012

Pazz & Jop 2012 Tabulation Notes

Weak consensus versus inspiring diversity

Pazz & Jop: The Comments

Frank Ocean Is Boring: The Year Lifeless Music Found Critical Praise

In 2012, nothing was as popular as being massively boring. Frank Ocean drained the sexiness and excitement out of r&b, to widespread critical acclaim. Lana Del Rey sighed listlessly over string arrangements in a tight dress, like some kind of Kristen Wiig character who stumbled out of the Holodeck a ... More >>

The Glorious Absurdity of Celebrity Poetry

I talked about it as a guest at Molly Equality Dykeman's show at the Laurie Beachman. Molly (the zany yet slightly dazed comic creation of Andrea Alton) is a lesbian traffic guard slash poet who I feel is the new Emily Dykenson, or perhaps a nouveau Vadge-inia Woolf. And she gamely gave me the gre ... More >>

Aaliyah- and Sade-Inspired Jessie Ware Brings Her "British Electronic Soul Music" To Town

Jessie Ware, 28, is British soul's new leading lady. Her penchant for smooth, '90s r&b has played a major part in shaping her elegant sound, while a strong appreciation for British bass music has enabled her to put a different spin on things. Ware's debut LP, Devotion, entered the UK album chart at ... More >>

CLIQUE, CLIQUE, CLIQUE

Trash Talk and Mellowhype rep Odd Future

Frank Ocean, the Weeknd, Miguel: Who Will Be the Token Black Guy on Year-End Best of Lists?

There's an intense race going on right now. A race not a lot of you may know about. A race that even the people involved may not know they're a part of. But it's a race, and it's happening: the race to see which r & b singer will end up on most critics' top-ten lists at the end of the year. It's a ... More >>

EPIC FAIL

Death Grips won't be stopped

Live: Bon Iver and Frank Ocean Are Trying to Break Your Heart

Better Than: Seeing either of these guys in a festival setting, which seems to be the only way you're going to these days. Last night Fader magazine and Vitamin Water's collaborative Uncapped tour series hosted their grand finale at the Lower East Side's Angel Orensanz Center. The performers were b ... More >>

Frank Ocean, Hannibal Buress, Lee Ranaldo - All Tomorrow's Parties - 9/21 -9/23

Better than: That cousin of yours who has fantastic taste and knows he has fantastic taste coming to your house and playing you fantastic music and showing you a great time, and every so often you catch him looking at you in a condescending way and you want to enjoy yourself less but you just can't ... More >>

Venerated Festival All Tomorrow's Parties Comes to New York City

Good taste wins

WHEN FRIDAY COMES AROUND

All Tomorrow’s Parties curate your weekend of shows

Live: Jeremih Headlines Ladies Night At Webster Hall

Jeremih Webster Hall Thursday, September 6 Better than: Going to sleep and hoping that someone else got this story right. Generally speaking, I have no problem with a narrative. Artists influence artists, and sounds influence sounds. Sometimes an artist or a sound is so compelling or so right for ... More >>

What's So Funny About A Little Bump N' Grind? R. Kelly, Frank Ocean, And The "Right" Kind Of R&B

In case you haven't yet gotten your fill, over the past couple of years, of artists beating Aaliyah samples into a flavorless pulp, not to worry—Yeasayer frontman Chris Keating has got your back. In a Rolling Stone interview published this week, Keating recalls being struck by watching high sc ... More >>

Deftones: Here Comes the Rain

Offering a master class in outperforming a storm

Live: The Internet Shows Off Its "Weird-Ass Music" At Bowery Ballroom

The Interet w/Kilo Kish, Phony Ppl Bowery Ballroom Sunday, August 5 Better than: Staying home to wait for Drake's posthumous Aaliyah collaboration. The MTA and its agenda of mediocrity made me late for last night's Kilo Kish/The Internet show at Bowery Ballroom, but as I walked into the main space ... More >>

SWEET LIFE

Frank Ocean sets Terminal 5 
to Channel Orange

100 & Single: The R&B/Hip-Hop Factor In The Music Business's Endless Slump

Here are a few recent data points from chart bible Billboard and data provider Nielsen Soundscan as we move into the second half of 2012: • In its midyear music-industry report card, Soundscan reports a return to the dismal album sales climate; year-to-date disc sales are off 3.2% from the sam ... More >>

Billy Ocean Comes Out! I Knew It!

When he used to swish around singing that hypnotically annoying song "Caribbean Queen," I just knew those loafers were lighter than the air between a reality star's ears! And when he whinnied into his hit "Loverboy," I always felt the Gay Chorus should have been singing backup! Caribbean Queen ind ... More >>

Underwhelmed And Overstimulated, Part Seven: The Sorrows (And Fantastic Sound System) Of Young Drake

Shhh... He's thinking. ​Sound of the City's year-end roundtable, with contributions from Tom Ewing, Eric Harvey, Maura Johnston, Nick Murray, and Katherine St. Asaph, continues. Follow along here. Look, it's what I've been dreading talking about all year! Anyway. For the past hour, Maura, I'v ... More >>

Underwhelmed And Overstimulated, Part The Sixth: Was 2011 The Best Year For Women In Music Ever?

​Sound of the City's year-end roundtable, with contributions from Tom Ewing, Eric Harvey, Maura Johnston, Nick Murray, and Katherine St. Asaph, continues. Follow along here. Hi again everyone, Sure, there was lots of great music put out by women this year—my Pazz and Jop top tens will ... More >>

Live: Frank Ocean Returns To The Bowery Ballroom For The First Time

​Frank Ocean Bowery Ballroom Sunday, November 27 Better than: Canceling an hour before showtime. This March, Frank Ocean released the free mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra on Tumblr, and it was subsequently passed around like a sex tape, picking up steam with every like, every reblog, every retweet, ... More >>

Frank Ocean Calls In Sick To His New York Show

​Last night Frank Ocean was scheduled to play his first New York show at the Bowery Ballroom, but about an hour before the 9 p.m. scheduled showtime the word came down via his Tumblr: He was too sick to perform, having contracted some sort of illness in Los Angeles a few days ago that apparent ... More >>

FRANK, THE CREATOR

Frank Ocean numbs the pain at Bowery Ballroom

Ten Trends That Watch The Throne Could Kickstart

​It's way too early to have a critical judgment on Watch The Throne; didn't you read the rules? But since Kanye West and Jay-Z's colossal collaboration plopped into the raging waters of Internet opinion early Monday morning, I've been watching for ripples. Here are ten new things that Watch Th ... More >>

Frank Ocean's "Best Seller" Flips The Script, Sorta

​"Best Seller," the newest track from the rapidly ascending R&B singer-songwriter Frank Ocean, made its way online over the weekend. And as luck would have it, Watch The Throne, which features him on two tracks and will likely be a best seller of its own, finally landed on peoples' hard drives ... More >>

Live: People Gather To Watch Jay-Z And Kanye's Throne, See The Stars

​ The Throne (Watch The Throne listening session) Hayden Planetarium Monday, August 1 Better than: any listening session I've ever been to. Album listening parties have almost always existed as excuses to drink on the record company's dwindling dime, the music itself largely ignored; backgro ... More >>

Frank Ocean Tides Over The Internet With "Thinking About You"

​Frank Ocean's Nostalgia Lite—a reworked, Def Jam-distributed version of his mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra—was supposed to be released earlier this week, but the day came and went without anything officially sanctioned landing in those places where one can officially buy music, and with ... More >>

Love vs. Money: The Weeknd, Frank Ocean, and R&B's Future Shock

As the Weeknd says, "XO till we overdose.."​Two days ago, r&b changed again. On Sunday night, a Canadian collective called the Weeknd released their nine-song mixtape, House of Balloons, on their web site. Though they were quick to deny the direct involvement of Drake's sonic architect, Noah " ... More >>