Labeled Boys Don’t Cry, the card featured numerous stamps with due dates, referencing the dates associated with the release of Channel Orange‘s successor. Patience turned into frustration as fans took to social media to express their displeasure with Ocean, with comments ranging from funny and lighthearted to offensive and problematic.Īlmost a year later Ocean hinted at a possible second album with an image of a library card on his website. Fans’ patience went unrewarded when neither the album or magazine was released.
Following that was the announcement that Ocean was going to release a new album and magazine, both presumably titled Boys Don’t Cry, in July 2015. Then, toward the end of 2014, came “Memrise,” a new song presumed to be a part of the follow-up to Channel Orange (that ultimately wasn’t the case). When “Fertilizer” begins with Ocean clicking through channels only to finally settle on one before clicking on again, the days of adolescent ennui come to mind, when time seemed infinite, responsibilities were practically non-existent, and one’s only concern was finding a show that looked fun and interesting.įrom Channel Orange, Ocean seemingly disappeared. The video game console reads the disc and transitions to what sounds like the character select screen for Street Fighter before going into “Thinkin Bout You.” The clicks then function as a remote for the rest of the album, evoking the act of channel surfing. A PlayStation has replaced the tape recorder as the system’s iconic introduction music plays. But just as much as music plays a role in Ocean’s exploration of nostalgia so does aesthetically.Ĭhannel Orange, Ocean’s debut album, begins with a click like its predecessor. He alludes to video games ( Soul Calibur, Metal Gear Solid), anime characters (Goku, Majin Buu), films ( Forest Gump) and other pop culture figures from that time through his music, references that are subtle but mean so much to a fan base that gets them. It was a safe and prosperous time as well as being colored with the usual nostalgia of childhood.” “Many Millennials experienced a ’90s childhood of peace and prosperity, only to enter adulthood during the Great Recession…So going back to the ’90s seems especially appealing to them. “Nostalgia is a powerful connection to a time when things at least seemed more innocent and simple,” Twenge said. Jean Twenge explained how Millennials seem to have a stronger connection with the ’90s because it was “last time the economy was doing pretty well and the last time we weren’t worrying about terrorism.” In a 2016 interview with E! News, San Diego State University psychology professor Dr. The yearning for yesterday has arguably accelerated in the age of the Internet, especially for those who grew up or were born in the ’90s. The staccato clicks are more than just auditory effect - they reflect a period of time that has come and gone but people inevitably long for, especially as they get older. Aside from his debut mixtape having the word in its title ( Nostalgia, Ultra) it also functions as a tape player, with Ocean abruptly pausing, reversing, and speeding up through the project’s 14 tracks. However, from the very beginning of his career, Ocean has shown a fondness for nostalgia.
There’s both a comfort and discomfort to Ocean’s presentation - a homage to images and forms of storytelling of another time. The longing is celebrated and shared, reminding fans of what it felt like when life was easier and slower.įlash forward to a recently prolific 2017, fresh off the road, curating and creating a portion of the latest issue of i-D, shooting two covers and a 32-page photo essay dedicated to the creatives that inspired his dream-like summer tour, Ocean commences with a personal note on the value of saying “Yes.” There’s a sense of nostalgia even to the medium - a tangible magazine a collection of photos that, although taken in the present, look like they were captured by a film camera a letter from an artist to their fans.
Nostalgia isn’t just an aesthetic choice for Ocean but a reminder of his innocence, youth, and moments that have become distant memories with age. “Random, but sometimes I prefer my childhood over all this serious adulthood s**t,” Ocean says in his Boys Don’t Crymagazine interview with Lil B. Photo Credit: Vickey Ford for Okayplayer Frank Ocean has been chasing the title of his debut album since its release.