Dissect

Season 3 of Dissect is dedicated entirely to the music of Frank Ocean. Today we begin with Ocean’s upbringing in New Orleans and his move to Los Angeles after Hurricane Katrina. We’ll then break down his landmark 2011 mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra.

Our serialized examination of the music of Frank Ocean continues with a look at the cultural impact of Frank’s open letter that revealed his sexuality days before the release of Channel Orange. Then we dissect Ocean’s biggest hit to date “Thinking About You.”

Our serialized examination of Frank Ocean’s channel ORANGE continues with “Super Rich Kids”, a tragic rumination on the effects of wealth disguised as a party anthem.

We dissect Frank Ocean’s 10-minute masterwork “Pyramids” from Channel Orange. Part 1 of 2.

We conclude our two part analysis of Frank Ocean’s contemporary masterwork "Pyramids."

We dissect "Bad Religion" by Frank Ocean, a harrowing ballad expressing the torment of unrequited love.

We dissect the last three tracks from Frank Ocean's Channel Orange before drawing some overall conclusions about the album as a whole. Then we take a look at the events during the 4 years between Channel Orange and Frank's next albums Endless and Blonde.

In this bonus episode, Cole sits down with grammy-award winning producer/songwriter Tricky Stewart. Tricky is responsible for songs like "Single Ladies" by Beyonce and "Umbrella" by Rihanna. He also signed Frank Ocean to Def Jam in 2009 and helped Frank produce his debut mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra.

Our season long examination of Blonde by Frank Ocean begins with its iconic opening track "Nikes."

We continue our examination of Blonde by Frank Ocean with the heartbreaking song "Ivy."

We dissect "Pink + White" by Frank Ocean, a beautiful, mosaic-like remembrance of childhood.

We dissect "Solo" by Frank Ocean, a series of narrative vignettes expounding on loneliness, freedom, and the heaven and hell within us all.

Today's special double episode dissects "Skyline To" and "Self Control" by Frank Ocean, two songs that reflect deeply on summer romance.

We dissect "Nights" by Frank Ocean, a two-part odyssey whose iconic beat switch divides more than just the song's two halves.

We dissect the first four tracks from Blonde's second half: "Solo (Reprise)" feat. Andre 3000, "Pretty Sweet," "Facebook Story," and "Close to You."

We dissect "White Ferrari" by Frank Ocean, an emotionally potent car ride through Frank's memories of a failed relationship.

We dissect "Seigfried" by Frank Ocean, a song expressing Frank's feelings of alienation and isolation, leading to an existential crisis.

We dissect Blonde's closing tracks "Godspeed" and "Futura Free." You're gonna wanna listen to the end on this one.

We conclude our season-long analysis of Blonde by Frank Ocean.

We hear from Dissect listeners sharing their biggest takeaways from Frank Ocean's "Blonde" and Season 3.