4. Frank Ocean – Thinking About You
video version:
http://vimeo.com/28366669
demo version:
http://www.musicplace.nl/2011/07/28/frank-ocean-thinking-about-you/
On the surface you'd suspect this song would bomb hard: A synthy R&B ballad with a falsetto chorus that pretty much makes girls cream their pants. This is also known as the average rock fan's worst nightmare. There's only so much sugar a person can take before he decides that he might not want diabetes. I am well on my way to getting musical diabetes, I think.
Luckily, Frank Ocean is a songwriter who can break that barrier of candy coating, and he makes a contemporary R&B song sound real. He has your 'typical' smooth voice but he also has a unique tone that sets him aside from the usual black guy on helium. There's only a few times he even dares to sing in falsetto, and this song is one of those times. And it is by no means a bad thing: It's executed perfectly here.
I do have to say that I prefer the more toned down, intimate original demo compared to the video version. It's not that much different, it just takes away the robotic backing vocals that come in from the second chorus and on.
If 2012 isn't the year of Odd Future, it definitely is THE breakthrough year for at least one of them, and this is him.
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