"Frank Ocean Can Fly"- The man behind the music

Millions of people are tuning in tonight to watch as a multitude of talented musicians compete for the prestigious Grammy awards. From country to R&B, the selection of artists is eclectic. One of these names is Frank Ocean, who has been nominated for 6 Awards pertaining to his recent album “Channel Orange.” Ocean is a unique, devoted, tenacious, and trend-setting 25 year-old who seems to be ahead of his time. His records are distinguishable from the redundant tracks often released in today’s music industry. Jeff Himmelman successfully captures the essence of the man behind the music in his interview with Frank Ocean.

Most interviews are written in a formulaic output. They simply tell an account of the conversations had between interviewer and interviewee. In this sense, they become boring quite quickly. Instead, Himmelman utilizes an anachronistic arrangement to his advantage. By telling things out of order, he becomes a storyteller rather than an interviewer. Ocean’s life and “character” is told through the persona of Himmelman, rather than a bland, chronological retelling of Ocean’s interview.

Frank Ocean has achieved fame mainly through his album “Channel Orange.” To appeal to a likely audience of Ocean fans, Himmelman uses this as a recurring theme. Multiple times throughout the piece, the record is indirectly used to relate and depict parts of Ocean’s life. For example, Himmelman writes, “Like Ocean in person, the album is challenging. It demands to be taken on its own terms, and in places it puts you to work.” The entity of the album is used to analogically describe Ocean as a person. Himmelman also uses certain songs from the album as anecdotes, relating their essential meaning to the topics that Ocean brings up in the interview.

After reading the piece, I have a completely changed view of Frank Ocean. He is no longer a superficial music-maker, but a man with a very interesting story and view of life. Through Himmelman’s anachronistic arrangement and use of “Channel Orange,” a unique reading experience is obtained through the piece that ultimately creates a resonating and impassioned impression of Frank Ocean in its readers. 

For more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/magazine/frank-ocean-can-fly.html?ref=magazine&_r=0