Congrats are in order for Frank Ocean, y'all. The kid can add another trophy (well, a plaque in this case) to his wall, as his Channel Orange single " Thinkin' Bout You " has officially gone platinum. Just like with album sales, that means he's pushed a total of 1 million units of the track since it officially dropped last year. My only thing is, where can you purchase this track as a single? Unless I'm completely losing it, you can't buy it on iTunes as a "single", though you can clearly purchase the track by itself. Yeah, [...]

Thanks to a bit of happenstance, Frank Ocean and Depeche Mode have recorded a track together. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly , frontman Dave Gahan revealed that while Depeche Mode were working on their new album Delta Machine , Frank Ocean was working on those "10, 11 songs" for his sophomore LP in a nearby studio. "I was singing, Martin [Gore] on guitar, a few of the other guys," Gahan said. "Suddenly in the doorway, I sensed this presence, and I realised there was this [...]

Another year (don't the y seem to go by faster with each one that flies by?), another best-of list. I wasn't crazy about 2012 overall, but I can't say I was not amused. Here are 10 things that kept me entertained during occasionally trying times over the last 12 months. 1. Nashville There's so much to love about my favorite television show of the moment, from its two female leads -- Connie Britton and Hayden Panetierre deserve all the superlatives being thrown at them as well as [...]

Top 10 Albums (no particular order) Kendrick Lamar: Good Kid, m.a.a.d. City "Swimming Pools (Drank)" Kendrick Lamar has the Outkast factor. I can listen to his songs, intently focusing on the lyrics while getting lost in the scenes he vividly describes, or I can zone out, not pay attention to what he’s saying and dance to the beat while singing along with the incredibly infectious hooks. GKMC feels like 3 Stacks and Big Boi [...]
Right then, the top 10 albums of 2012 chosen by the State team. As ever, it's been a fascinating process - especially comparing the list with our mid-year poll . Seven of our final selection where there in July, with three records making their way to the top table. Thanks to all those who contributed, we'll do it all again in six months or so. 10. Hot Chip - In Our Heads ' The rare case of a band getting better and better. 9. Chromatics - Kill [...]
This year saw a number of interesting developments in the indie rock world, all reflective of the genre's ever-expanding palate. Ah, the holiday season, the chilly time (in the northern climes, anyway) when we critics dollop a smidge of eggnog into our pints of bourbon, take a break from mailing boxes of coal to Mumford & Sons, and inundate you readers with list after list after list of our Favorites, Most Importants, and Absolutely the Bests of the year. I know as well as you do the potential for this curatorial spirit to reach maximum...

This has been a seriously brilliant year for music and as a music site it's basically a responsibility of ours to make a list of the best. So on one sunny morning all the Purple Sneakers minds got together and here are the Top 50 albums we chose from 2012. 50. Diiv Oshin 49. Alpine A Is For Alpine 48. Breakbot By Your Side 47. The Cast Of Cheers [...]
Alan Sparkhawk, Lazerbeak, Kevin Bowe, Chris Koza, Sophia Eris, Justin PierreRegina Spektor put it best when she said, "Love what you have, and you'll have more love." Thanksgiving is a day reserved f
The Great American Canyon Band play Johnny Brenda's this coming Saturday, October 20th with a great lineup that includes Fenster and the Philly bands Mock Suns and Oldermost. Go here to purchase tickets to the show and for more information. TGACB is the Baltimore duo of husband and wife team Paul and Krystal Jean Masson. ... Continue reading
This week is going to be a doozie! Though the past few weeks have also been filled with memorable shows, it's been a while since I've seen quite this many of my favorite bands in town all at once. Bon Iver (playing 4 nights at Radio City Music Hall), Wye Oak , Field Mouse , Oberhofer , Efterklang , Dr. Dog (with Kishi Bashi ), Austra , The Echo Friendly , the list just goes on and on. Even more, this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, there's a [...]
Au vu des papiers dithyrambiques dont a pu bénéficier Frank Ocean (de son vrai nom Christopher Breaux) pour son premier véritable album "Channel Orange" (après la mixtape "Nostalgia Ultra", 2011) dans la presse anglo-saxonne, on peut raisonnablement penser que celui-ci se trouvera en haut des[...]

Para entender bien Channel ORANGE , hay que remontarse un poco a Nostalgia, ULTRA , primer esfuerzo serio de Frank Ocean por lograr un sitio en la música. Mixtape, demo o disco con todas sus letras y características, el año pasado ese trabajo expuso a Ocean al arbitrio y atención popular, cuando la mayoría lo seguía catalogando como un miembro más de la dispersa patota de Tyler, The Creator. Nostalgia, ULTRA , con menos presupuesto y simplemente esparcido por la red, lograba a pequeña escala lo que este [...]

Today we'll continue with our Lollapalooza countdown with Part Three. #6: Frank Ocean He may not technically be a headliner, but no single act at this year's festival has received more of a media push than Frank Ocean in the past few weeks. This month's studio debut Channel Orange was a mega critical and commercial hit, which made even more news considering Ocean's recent coming out. As one of the festival's very few R&B acts, Ocean's upcoming performance should be one of the more unique experiences [...]

In an interview with The Quietus last fall, Frank Ocean stated his belief that genres were outdated. His reasoning behind this was that so many types of music have crossbred at this point, so there's no need to pigeonhole an artist's work, and because of this belief, he considers himself a singer/songwriter rather than R&B musician. "The former implies versatility and being able to create more than one medium," Ocean elaborated, "the second one is a box, simple as that." With the release of his debut album, Channel Orange , nearly eight [...]
Let's be Frank about "Channel Orange" (trust me, that's the least-lame pun I thought of for the teaser). Def Jam, 2012 8.6 / 10.0 The most-discussed aspects of Frank Ocean and his first “official” solo album, channel ORANGE (if one doesn’t count Nostalgia, Ultra, which was “only” a [...]

Here is a great review of an amazing album by Billboard.com: There is a difference between Frank Ocean and the rest of his R&B contemporaries. No, it has nothing to do with his admittedly introverted demeanor, or his Odd Future affiliation, or penchant for playing "Guitar Hero" in time with a legendary Eagles guitar solo. It especially has nothing to do with his sexual orientation. Rather, this 24-year-old is lapping his peers and setting the blogosphere ablaze because of the fearlessness in everything he does. [...]

The release of 'Channel Orange', Ocean's major label debut, has been overshadowed by his recent sexual revelations. Perhaps this is why he's released the album early on his website , pulling focus back on to the music. Sure, (openly) gay/bisexual hip-hop artists may be rare, but it's the music that's most important. Ocean has never been one to shy away from controversy. After a fallout with label Def Jam, previous mixtape 'Nostalgia, Ultra' was released anyway on Ocean's website as a download in February [...]
It's pretty obvious that Frank Ocean owns "Thinkin About You," a song he originally penned for Bridget Kelly that ended up making his new album Channel Orange . At the height of Ocean hysteria, Malaysian singer Yuna recorded a cover of the track in her LA home. Yuna's self-titled album is out now . Who did it best, Frank, Bridget, Justin Bieber & Jaden Smith or Yuna? via Pigeons & Planes [...]
andnbsp;If youandrsquo;re reading this, it means you survived the first week of July, so congrats on that! Big accomplishment, what with all the heat and alcohol going around. It was a tough week here at

Frank Ocean , el cantante R&B, escribió un post en su Tumblr donde básicamente dice ser gay, aunque a través de una muy bella y triste historia de amor. En la era de internet, las redes sociales facilitan ciertos comentarios que, si bien son públicos, mantienen algo de lo privado. En un post en su Tumblr Frank Ocean contó la siguiente historia: Hace 4 veranos conocí a alguien. Yo tenía 19 años y él también. Pasamos ese [...]