Si Frank Ocean a acquis un véritable statut de légende de la musique moderne, ce n’est ni par des superhits éphémères, ni les coups de com sulfureux, ni quoi que ce soit qui compose pas mal de carrières de nos vedettes actuelles. Parcimonieux dans ses sorties médiatiques ou musicales, l’artiste californien issu du collectif Odd Future a su naturellement imposer ses morceaux à la fois R’n’B et futuristes dans l’histoire musicale de cette dernière décennie.
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Son secret : un sens méticuleux de la production, une véritable maîtrise des tendances et une curiosité insatiable. Tous ces éléments le mèneront à jouer avec les structures, à tronquer les refrains, étendre les sections instrumentales, pour proposer constamment de la nouveauté dans un monde R’n’B masculin pourtant peu friand des expérimentations du genre. L’artiste ajoute à ce tout des textes intimes et narratifs, véritables reflets de l’époque.
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À l’occasion de son grand retour tant attendu au mythique Coachella californien, on a classé la totalité des morceaux (hormis les skits et interludes) de Frank Ocean, issus de ses quatre disques officiels : Nostalgia, Ultra (2011), Channel Orange (2012), Endless (2016) et Blonde (2016).
Évidemment, l’écoute d’une telle discographie relève presque du religieux, et quoi qu’en dise le titre, c’est la subjectivité qui prime à l’écoute de Frank. Donc plutôt que de vous étendre des arguments vains et désespérés pour justifier nos choix de classement, on a accompagné chaque position des plus belles lyrics des morceaux. C’est cadeau.
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#47. “Sideways” | Endless
“Prime prime time of my life witcha
Puttin’ prime numbers up though”
#46. “Songs For Women” | Nostalgia, Ultra
“And you could teach me how to slow dance or something
And I’ma give you chills, harmonizing to Otis, Isley, Marvin”
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#45. “Hublots/In Here Somewhere” | Endless
“Try to love the one you’re with”
#44. “Strawberry Swing” | Nostalgia, Ultra
“But you should know, you should hear
That I have loved
I have loved the good times here”
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#43. “Nature Feels” | Nostalgia, Ultra
“Making love
Underneath the cherry leaves
Baby girl
Tell me how my nature feels”
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#42. “Wither” | Endless
“Hope a garden grows where we dance this afternoon
Hope our children walk by spring, when flowers bloom”
#41. “There Will Be Tears” | Nostalgia, Ultra
“Hide my face, hide my face
Can’t let ’em see me crying
‘Cause these boys didn’t have no fathers neither
And they weren’t crying”
#40. “Alabama” | Endless
“I was writin’ down everything
Things I would tell nobody
Some things I didn’t even tell me
Sleepin’ on my back, my body would wake up after me”
#39. “Solo (Reprise)” | Blonde
“I’ve stumbled and lived every word, was I working just way too hard?”
#38. “Comme des Garçons” | Endless
“Feelings come, feelings go”
#37. “Pilot Jones” | Channel Orange
“You’re the dealer and the stoner
With the sweetest kiss I’ve ever known”
#36. “U-N-I-T-Y” | Endless
“I never let a random motherfucker shoot the B-roll
I never ask advice from him ’cause what could he know?
Never fuck someone you wouldn’t wanna be”
#35. “Slide on Me” | Endless
“Akhi, tell ’em I ain’t gone, wallahi
I’m just all day running numbers
How the fuck you think I live?”
#34. “Good Guy” | Blonde
“I know you don’t need me right now
And to you, it’s just a late night out”
#33. “American Wedding” | Nostalgia, Ultra
“We had an American wedding
Now what’s mine is yours
American divorce”
#32. “Sierra Leone” | Channel Orange
“I’ll sing a Lennon lullaby, she can have a pretty dream
Baby girl, if you knew what I know”
#31. “Close to You” | Blonde
“I run my hands through what’s left
But we’re getting older, baby
Don’t have much longer, baby“
#30. “Monks” | Channel Orange
“What a great escape
But there’s a long way still, in fact
We’re lost in a jungle underneath these clouds”
#29. “Skyline To” | Blonde
“It begins to blur, we get older
Summer’s not as long as it used to be
Everyday counts like crazy”
#28. “Rushes (To)” | Endless
“I ain’t felt this way in years
First, I was rushing for a wait
This time I’m waiting for a rush”
#27. “Mitsubishi Sony” | Endless
“Hit the road and get rich or stay home and get broke
It’s your choice in the end”
#26. “Sweet Life” | Channel Orange
“Keepin’ it surreal, not sugar-free
My TV ain’t HD, that’s too real
Grapevines, mango, peaches, and lime, a sweet life”
#25. “Pretty Sweet” | Blonde
“Head bang with my faux friends
We pour a taste out for the dead
This is the blood, the body, the life right now”
#24. “Lovecrimes” | Nostalgia, Ultra
“You write me love letters
With your father’s pen, oh
If he knew the freaky, freaky things
That you write with it, oh man”
#23. “Futura Free” | Blonde
“I’m just a guy, I’m not a god
Sometimes I feel like I’m a god, but I’m not a god
If I was, I don’t know which heaven would have me, mama”
#22. “Lost” | Channel Orange
“Triple weight
Couldn’t weigh the love I’ve got for the girl”
#21. “Godspeed” | Blonde
“I will always love you
How I do”
#20. “Self Control” | Blonde
“I’ll be the boyfriend in your wet dreams tonight”
#19. “Higgs” | Endless
“What if we decide to live by choice?
All this time
I knew that average was something to fall back on after genius ends”
#18. “Solo” | Blonde
“It’s hell on Earth and the city’s on fire
Inhale, in hell, there’s heaven
There’s a bull and a matador dueling in the sky
Inhale, in hell, there’s heaven”
#17. “Novacane” | Nostalgia, Ultra
“Been tryna film pleasure with my eyes wide shut
But it keeps on movin'”
#16. “At Your Best (You Are Loved)” | Endless
“‘Cause when you’re at your best, you are love
You’re a positive motivating force within my life
Should you ever feel the need to wonder why, let me know”
#15. “Ivy” | Blonde
“If you could see my thoughts, you would see our faces
Safe in my rental like an armored truck back then”
#14. “Seigfried” | Blonde
“I can’t relate to my peers
I’d rather live outside
I’d rather chip my pride than lose my mind out here”
#13. “Swim Good” | Nostalgia, Ultra
“I’m about to drive in the ocean
I’ma try to swim from somethin’ bigger than me”
#12. “Forrest Gump” | Channel Orange
“My fingertips and my lips
They burn from the cigarettes
Forrest Gump, you run my mind, boy”
#11. “Super Rich Kids” | Channel Orange
“Super rich kids with nothing but loose ends
Super rich kids with nothing but fake friends”
#10. “Pink + White” | Blonde
“Gimme something sweet
Bitch, I might like immortality
This is life, life immortality”
#9. “Bad Religion” | Channel Orange
“Taxi driver
I swear I’ve got three lives balanced on my head like steak knives
I can’t tell you the truth about my disguise
I can’t trust no one”
#8. “Nikes” | Blonde
“I may be younger, but I’ll look after you
We’re not in love, but I’ll make love to you”
On vous glisse la version a capella en bonus.
#7. “Crack Rock” | Channel Orange
“Fuckin’ pig get shot, three hundred men will search for me
My brother get popped and don’t no one hear the sound”
#6. “We All Try” | Nostalgia, Ultra
“I believe that marriage isn’t between a man and woman
But between love and love”
#5. “White Ferrari” | Blonde
“You dream of walls that hold us in prison
It’s just a skull, least that’s what they call it
And we’re free to roam”
#4. “Pink Matter” | Channel Orange
“What do you think my brain is made for
Is it just a container for the mind?”
#3. “Thinkin Bout You” | Channel Orange
“My eyes don’t shed tears, but boy, they pour
When I’m thinkin’ bout you”
#2. “Pyramids” | Channel Orange
“Can we make love before you go?
The way you say my name makes me feel like I’m that n*gga
But I’m still unemployed”
#1. “Nights” | Blonde
“Every night fucks every day up
Every day patches the night up”