Dissect - S3E14 - Solo (Reprise), Pretty Sweet, Close to You by Frank Ocean

Episode Date: August 28, 2018

We dissect the first four tracks from Blonde's second half: "Solo (Reprise)" feat. Andre 3000, "Pretty Sweet," "Facebook Story," and "Close to You." Listen to Dissect on Spotify and get episodes a week before all other platforms and exclusive bonus episodes. Follow @dissectpodcast on Twitter and Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Spotify Studios, this is Dysect, long-form musical analysis broken into short digestible episodes. I'm your host, Cole Kushner. Today we continue our serialized examination of Blonde by Frank Ocean. On our last episode, we examined Nights, a sprawling, ambitious song about the cyclical nature of night and day. There we realize that not only does Knight's dramatic beat switch divide the song in two parts, it also divides the entire album Blonde perfectly in half. This plays into the recurring dualism presented throughout the album, expressed in the contrast of childhood versus adulthood in songs like Nike's, Ivy, pink and white, and nights,

heaven versus hell in the song solo, and day versus night in the song nights. We even observed dualistic principles in the album's title, Blonde versus Blonde with an E, or Feminine versus Masculine, which may relate to Frank's dualistic sexuality. We also found duality expressed musically, as many of the tracks on blonde have contrasting musical environments within the same song. And so we enter now Blonde's second half knowing there's ample evidence to suggest that this side of the album will contrast with its first half. Indeed, we needn't look any further than the track that follows Knights for confirmation, the angular bombardment, that is, solo reprise.

So now I'm solo that I can see under the skirt of an solo, solo that I don't get hanamo when I try around I'm on, I should go, ha, solo my cup is a roho my tollo my friend, solo that I can admit. When I hear that another kid and shot by a poppo, it ain't, any event. No more solo that no more high horse is so hot that well, Polo. Solo reprise is written by Andre 3,000, James Blake and Frank Ocean, with production handled by Ocean, Blake, and John Bryan. The track is labeled a reprise of Blonde's fourth song, Solo.

Technically, a reprise. refers to repeating previous musical material, typically altered or differentiated in some way. Of course, solo and solo reprise contrasts in many ways, but let's start with what's similar. Both feature a single or solo keyboard instrument and a solo vocalist. They're both in the same key signature, both with keyboard parts that revolve around descending chord progressions. Thematically, they both expound upon the word solo, both solo as an alone or independent, and being so low, as in down or gloomy.

But whereas Frank expressed memories of his drug-influenced young adulthood, which came in stark contrast to the parental warnings of be yourself, we find Andre 3000 expressing his disillusionment as an adult living in contemporary society. And although both solo and solo reprise used just one instrument, the organ on solo is a much softer and subdued timbre than the sharp-edge aggressively played piano of solo reprise. The agitated nature of the reprise is enhanced by a faster tempo, about 20 beats per minute faster,

as well as Andre's double-time delivery. So now I'm solo that I can see under the skirt of an solo that I don't get high no more when I try round, I'd go, solo my friend. Solo my cup is a roho, my tolo, my friend. Solo that I can admit. When I hear that another kid is shot by the Popo, it ain't an even, no more.

Solo that no more high horse is so hard to wear polo. When I do, I cut the pony off. Now there's a hole that once was a logo. How fitting? Solo that I can give a fuck about what is trending. Trying to cut down on my spending regardless of winning Andre begins with a bizarre, surrealist-like image, So low that I can see under the skirt of an ant.

Here Andre establishes his use of solo as being so low, so low in fact that he can see up an ant's skirt. He continues saying, So low that I don't get high no more. When I Geronimo, I just go eh. This appears to have two meanings. Geronimo is the expression one says when jumping off something high like a cliff or bridge. Andre isn't high enough off the ground to yell the phrase Geronimo.

Rather, he's so low that he only has time to briefly exclaim eh. The second meaning plays off smoking weed. Geronimo was a Native American chief, and chiefing is slang for smoking weed. Andre doesn't get high no more when he goes Geronimo, when he's either offered or smokes weed. He either doesn't accept it or finds it less pleasant than he used to. Andre then plays off the red plastic solo brand cups saying, solo my cup is a roho my cholo my friend rojo is spanish for red as in red cup cholo's definition varies depending on its use but here it means something like homie clarified by andre stating my friend directly after

red solo cups are typically used for alcohol and andre so low or alone that his only friend is his drink next andre says so low that i can admit when i hear another kid is shot by the popo and ain't an event due to the frequency of young black men being shot by police, Andre admits that he's so low on or so disillusioned by contemporary society, he's not surprised when hearing of another fatality. It's suspected that Andre wrote this verse in 2014, two years prior to Blonde's release. Trayvon Martin, who is referenced in Blond's opening track Nikes, was killed in 2012, so it's likely this was written during the peak media exposure of the Black Lives Matter movement in the years that followed Martin's death. Andre continues, so low that no more high horses, so hard to wear polo. When I do, I cut the pony off. Now there's a hole that once was a logo.

How fitting. So low that I can give a fuck about what is trending. Andre is so low that he's no longer on his high horse, an expression for one who thinks he's superior. Because of this, he feels no need to wear designer clothes like polo, whose logo is a man sitting atop a horse playing polo. He states that he cuts the pony logo out of his polo shirts, as he has no desire for flaunting brand names anymore.

The whole this leaves amuses Andre, as it metaphorically exemplifies the hollowness of materialism and designer clothes. He ironically says, how fitting, a play off the fit of one's clothes or outfit. Andre's verse continues with more clever wordplay. I can give a fuck about what is trending, trying to cut down on my spending regardless of winning instead of pretending

and bending over backwards, over half of the whole had work done, saying they want something real for my man, just saying that we being real persons. I hate that it's like this. I feel for you. I don't know what it's like with a skirt on. So part of me and fire me in a sensitive, but darling, this only were sons.

Solo my halo, say, way, low, it feels like it's been. Solo that when they throw pussy or place those don't pay no attention to it. Solo that I am no rookie but feel like a kid. Looking at the other kids with astonishment while I'm on punishment, watching the summer come close to an end. After 20 years in, I'm so naive I was under the M. Pressing that everyone wrote their own verses. It's coming back different and yet that shit hurts me.

I'm humming and whistling to those not deserving. I stumbled and lift every word was I working just way too hard. Andre continues. over half these hoes had work done, saying they want something real from a man, just saying it, we'd be in real persons. Here, Andre points out the irony of women with plastic surgery demanding authenticity from men. This begins what will become a thread throughout the rest of Andre's verse, the hypocrisy and inauthenticity of contemporary culture.

Andre resumes a verse by attempting to empathize with these women, saying, I hate that it's like this, I feel for you, Anne, I don't know what is like with the skirt on. What at first sounds like the word and the line and I feel for you and is actually the word aunt. Thus the line becomes, I feel for you aunt, I don't know what it's like with a skirt on. This ties back to the opening line of the verse so low that I can see under the skirt of an ant. The verse continues with Andre expressing dissolutionment with the current state of hip-hop, saying,

So low that when they throw pussy or pesos, I don't pay no attention to it. So low that I'm no rookie but feel like a kid looking at the other kids with astonishment while I'm unpunishment, watching the summer come close to an end. Andre compares being grounded as a kid watching other kids play to viewing the contemporary hip-hop scene as a spectator, as an adult, now removed from its youthful core as he doesn't go along with tropes like throwing money or paces at strip clubs. Of course, analogizing this with summer's end in youth tie nicely into blonde's overall setting and subject matter. Finally, Andre concludes his verse expounding on this thread, saying, after 20 years in, I'm so naive, I was

under the impression that everyone wrote their own verses. It's coming back different, and yeah, that shit hurts me. I'm humming and whistling to those not deserving. I've stumbled and lived every word. Was I just working way too hard? A 20-plus year hip-hop veteran, Andre is frustrated and disappointed that many of today's biggest artists don't write their own verses. Again, it's the expression of an elder, an adult, feeling disconnected with youth. Cleverly, when he says the line, I was under the impression, he breaks the word into two, imp, imp, pressure, An imp is a small devilish creature, often in fairy tales. Just as Andre was so low he was smaller than an ant, Andre uses imp in a similar fashion. He was under the impression. At the time of Blonde's

release in August of 2016, it was speculated that this verse was taking aim at Drake, who was exposed for using ghostwriters in the summer of 2015. But it was later revealed that Andre actually wrote his solo reprie's verse in 2014 and wasn't a shot at any one particular artist, just more general commentary on the prolific use of ghostwriters and hip-hop. At the center of Andre's verse is disenchantment and isolation. Drugs, women, rappers, fashion, these things that once appealed to Andre and his youth are exposed as hollow and inauthentic. This realization leaves Andre feeling unsettled and alone, both solo and solo. The tone established on solo reprise contrasts with nearly every song that precedes it on blonde. Its relentless rapid-fire delivery, its cynicism and world-reariness

are at odds with the generally warm and nostalgic first half. This new mood not only continues, but is amplified as the album's second half progresses into its next song, Pretty Sweet. Pretty Sweet was written and produced by Frank Ocean. Additional production comes from Malay and Amoskeith, with string arrangements by John Bryan. If it wasn't clear that the album has took a turn with solo reprise,

it becomes unavoidably clear with the opening moments of Pretty Sweet. The track begins with swelling atonal orchestral chaos, an effect typically created by giving the individualism an orchestra a general direction or part, but allowing those individuals to play unmetered, that is, out of sync with each other, and encouraging them to improvise. A similar effect was used in the Beatles a day in the life. To produce this effect, George Martin said, quote, when I did there was to write the lowest possible note for each of the

instruments in the orchestra. At the end of 24 bars, I wrote the highest note near a chord of V major. Then I put squiggly lines right through the 24 bars, with reference points to tell them roughly what note they should have reached during each bar, unquote. This gives players a general direction, but allows them to play freely and unaligned with the other instruments. Because there's so many notes and rhythms occurring at the same time, our brain cannot pick out any individual part. Rather, we hear a convergence of sounds, of embodied chaos. Over the orchestral noise of pretty sweet, Frank bellows an unmetered series of lines, quote, to the edge I race, to the end I'll make it, all the risk I'll take it. In the context of these lines, the orchestral chaos seems representative

of this edge Frank is racing toward, this place which apparently involves a certain amount of risk or danger. It's Frank Ed is most self-destructive. He continues, head bang with my foe friends, we pour out a taste for the dead. This is the blood, the body, the life right now. Things take a dark turn here as Frank indulges in ceremonial recklessness. He's partying with friends, friends he interestingly labels, foe, or fake. The blood, the body, the life, alludes to the Bible passage John 653 that states, quote, truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I'll raise him up on the last day, for my flesh is the true food and my blood is the true drink.

Of course, we don't believe Frank is worshipping Christ. Rather, he alludes to this Bible passage to express the kind of ceremonial or communal aspect of he and his friend's chaotic behavior, a kind of nihilistic celebration of life. As the introduction of pretty sweet makes its way toward the first of a handful of environment changes, Frank screams, said you want to hurt me now, you can't hurt me now. The latter line cues the abrupt textural shift as the orchestra ceases playing and a strumming guitar enters the left speaker while a slow plucking guitar enters the right. Interestingly, when the musical environment changes, we hear a reverse bass drum.

As you'll remember, the dramatic beat switch on Knights is also signaled by a reverse bass drum. Let's hear them back to back. Hearing this reverse kick drum on Pretty Sweet, used in a similar manner to Knights certainly feels like a callback, especially, given how closely the two songs appear on the album. It adds to the dreamy abstract landscape of Pretty Sweet, which to me always feels like a portrait of the subconscious. Indeed, we get two competing voices as Pretty Sweet makes this musical transition. Frank's natural voice carries over from part one, singing, said you want to kill me now, don't let me down, while a chorus of pitched

up voices sing what it means to be alive on this side. Let's take a listen to this passage with the track pitched down two semitones, an approximation of where Frank might have sung it before pitching it up. Of course, this idea of this side in the line what it means to be alive on this side plays into the central theme of duality we've been discovering throughout blonde, perhaps even a self-referential comment on the album's two halves, a signal that we've entered another side. Frank continues with another expression of duality as the chorus of pitched up vocals sing, Mothers of Us Be Kind to the fathers on whom we rely. Fathers of us be kind to the mothers on whom we rely. Because of the use of us and we, combined with the use of the pitched up vocals, we get the impression these lines are sung

from the perspective of children. It implies the necessity of cordialness between the mothers and fathers, that the responsibility is a requirement for both parties for the sake of their children. It seems to reflect the notion of stay together for the kids, that the behavior and relationship between parents affects and will be reflected in their children, and thus, there's an inherent responsibility to treat each other with respect. As Pretty Sweet continues, we hear another reverse kick drum that signals yet another environment change as a double-time drumbeat erupts beneath Frank's wordless vocals. The drums that enter Pretty Sweet recall patterns typically heard in electronic music, particularly the subgenre known as drum and bass. As an example of this

musical genre, which relies heavily on the uptempled double-time drums, let's take a listen to Netski's 2009 song Tomorrow's Another Day. Drum and bass-style drums of Pretty Sweet are short-lived, as a song transitions yet again into a halftime groove and a children's choir enters. For all of Blonde's references to childhood and use of pitched up vocals to evoke adolescents, it's here on Pretty Sweet that we hear for the first time actual kids singing. They sing, We know your sugar, we know you're sweet like a sucka. Pretty sweet. Given the content of their words, it sounds a lot like playground taunting. And given Frank's sexuality, we may suspect this to be a passage.

of childhood torment, of one's subconscious insecurities about their sexuality while growing up. Specifically in the South, calling someone sweet or saying they have sugar in their tank is a derogatory accusation of their being homosexual. Many have used this passage at the end of Pretty Sweet to inform their interpretation of the song as a whole. Lines like, said you want to hurt me now, and said you want to kill me now, become representative of cultural bigotry against homosexuals, while the lines, what it means to be alive on this side, and I'm on this side, and you, and you, you can't hurt me now, become Frank on the other side of being out of the closet, a homosexual in the public eye. While I understand the temptation to interpret Pretty Sweet in this way,

I'm a little hesitant to concretely claim it as such. For me, Pretty Sweet is a fragmented portrait of the subconscious, memories and emotional states juxtaposed and patched together. It's perhaps the most obvious expression of what Frank referred to as brickalage, quote, how we experience memory sometimes, it's not linear. We're not telling the stories to ourselves, we know this story, we're just seeing it in flashes overlaid. Sometimes I felt like you weren't hearing enough versions of me within a song, because there was a lot of hyperactive thinking. Even though the pace of the album is not frenetic, the pace of ideas being thrown out is, unquote. And so, while it's enticing to make concrete claims about pretty sweet, about bisexuality,

about life and death, about childhood and adulthood, there doesn't seem to be enough evidence to pin it down definitively. Rather, I think we're better off with the song like Pretty Sweet to make informed observations and speculations while respecting and experiencing the beauty of its abstraction. We'll be back right after the break. Welcome back to Dysect. Just before the break, we completed our examination of Oceans Pretty Sweet. Blonde continues with a skit entitled Facebook Story.

I was just telling that I got this girl before and I was together since three years and I was not even cheating her or what, and Facebook arrived. And she wanted me to accept her on Facebook. And I don't want it because I was in front of her. And she told me, like, accept me on Facebook. This was virtual means no sense. So I said, I'm in front of you. I don't need to accept you on Facebook.

She's starting to be crazy. She thought that because I didn't accept her, she thought I was cheating. She told me like, it's over, I can't believe you. The Facebook story is told by French electronic musician Sebastian. If you're not familiar with Sebastian's music, you want to do so immediately. Here's one of my favorite Sebastian tracks, Ross Ross Ross. Sebastian is credited on a handful of songs on blonde and endless, including drum programming on white Ferrari and string arrangements on Godspeed.

Regarding his experience working on blonde, Sebastian told Pitchfork, quote, Considering that someone in particular did something on this album is kind of out of the general concept. To me, Frank conceptualized the process of the album as you build an incredible building. He was the architect, and everybody was working with him to make it happen. The concept was more about focusing into the result, not about who did what. It's personal, but I felt that everybody was here for. for the project, for the music, the energy, not especially for themselves. So there's no real manual to explain how the record was built, unquote. Specifically regarding Facebook story,

Sebastian said, quote, it's a true story. We were just chatting about life and relationships in general. I discovered that Frank was recording the conversation sometimes when something seemed interesting to him, but I didn't know when and why exactly. We were just having discussions like anyone else, but he suddenly paid attention to this story. He maybe chose that one because this kind of story reveals something about our time." Here I think Sebastian is absolutely correct. Facebook Story tells the story of a couple's separation due to, or at least in part, triggered by, Sebastian's refusal to accept his girlfriend on Facebook.

Like the majority of the interludes or skits on blonde, Facebook's story features the reoccurring keyboard motif sampled from Buddy Ross's running around. And while line-by-line dissection isn't really necessary to analyze Sebastian's story, there are some key plot points we'll want to establish. First, Sebastian and this woman were together for three years and were at the time living with one another. Based on his statement, when Facebook arrived,

we might suspect this story occurred somewhere between 2006 and 2008, the years in which Facebook rose to prominence as the dominant social media platform. Sebastian was confused as to why his girlfriend needed acceptance on Facebook. For him, the irony of the situation, the fact that she was right in front of him in real life, made him somewhat stubborn in his refusal to accept her. This causes the woman to become enraged, overtaken with jealousy, though Sebastian is adamant that he was not cheating.

Ultimately, the woman leaves Sebastian over the incident, and he's left dumbfounded. He ends a story saying, pure jealousy for nothing, you know, a virtual thing. At the heart of Sebastian's story is this idea of dualistic identity, virtual versus physical, and the ways in which those two interact, how they both conflict and reflect one another.

Sebastian thought it ridiculous to add his girlfriend on Facebook. He saw his virtual self as separate from and not a reflection of his physical, reality-based self. The idea of merging these two things seemed to him illogical. On the other hand, his girlfriend believed the virtual and physical should be closely aligned and thought it ridiculous that Sebastian wouldn't accept her on Facebook, concluding the only reason why he would refuse is because he was hiding something. In 2018, it might seem silly to most of us that Sebastian wouldn't just accept his girlfriend's

request. But 10 or so years ago, the world was a much different place than it is today. Digital and social media was only just emerging, its influence minuscule compared to what it's become today. Just 10 years ago in 2008, only 10% of Americans use social media, a number that has now reached 80% in 2018. And to this point, daily digital screen time has also risen dramatically, as the average adult spends close to 11 hours a day looking at a screen and checks their phone every 10 minutes. Likewise, not long ago, meeting someone online for dating purposes was an embarrassing confession. Now it's commonplace, as meeting online is statistically the most common way two people meet. Given this data, the digital virtual versions of ourselves have unquestionably become

prioritized in our modern world, almost a necessity every bit the equal to our physical selves and getting a job or finding a partner. We now think very actively about how to present and construct our digital selves, our personal brands, with many of us unable to resist the temptation to enhance our virtual representations through careful curation, filters, or Photoshop. It allows us to present a fragmented, idealized version of our lives and personalities in order to sell ourselves to the world. A recent study showed that the majority of people, 53% lie about their age, height, weight, or income on their online dating profiles. Another study is even more problematic, finding that only 16 to 32% of people said they were completely honest in their behavior online.

In other words, more people lie on the internet than not. These dishonest tendencies already show how the digital versions of ourselves skewed toward the inauthentic. At the very least, it shows the separation and misalignment of our dualistic identities, and the consequences of that separation have yet to reveal themselves fully. Because the digital versions of ourselves is a new phenomenon, We're the guinea pigs of an unprecedented time and history. We're still figuring out the etiquette, the limitations, the consequences of this new construct, this new dimension of reality.

Facebook Story forces us to think critically about this rapid social technological evolution and the complicated societal dynamic it's created. We're all attempting to understand and navigate these dynamics successfully, but we do so blindly as there's no history to fall back on for guidance. Facebook Story presents one of the many potential, unprecedented scenarios in which the virtual is in combat with the physical. And as we heard, it's complicated. And not only is it complicated, it's a complication without precedent, without history.

And like Facebook's story proves, it's a virtual complication with real-world consequences. I'm in front of you, I'm every day here in your house. But it means like it's jealousy, pure jealousy for nothing. you know, that's all the whole thing. After Facebook story, Blonde continues with the brief song, Close to You. During a rare live performance in 2017, Frank performed close to you, prefaced by a story of the song's origin. My favorite song forever was this song called When You Were Mine.

And I think I was up late. I lived in hotels for the past couple years, so I'm sure this took place in a hotel room. But I was in a hotel room and I was on the, the YouTube wormhole and a thumbless cover that Stevie did of a carpentice song called Close to You. It was like I had to sing it and it in his rendition made it my favorite song. So I hope I do it justice, but this is my rendition of Close to You. Frank makes reference to a Stevie Wonder video he found on YouTube. The video features Stevie Wonder showing TV host David Frost how he utilizes a talk box, an effects unit that

that allows a musician to modify the sound of their instrument by applying speech sounds onto the sound of that instrument. Stevie goes on to perform the Carpenter's Close to You using the talk box. And now let's compare Stevie's rendition to the original Carpenter's version of Close to You. Like me, close to you, I do stars fall down from every time. To create his rendition of Close to You, Frank samples two passages from the Steve's Stevie Wonder performance. First he takes the phrase you are born from the line on the day you are born. Next Frank grabs a melodic flourish on the word you and the line close to you. These two samples become the foundational elements of Frank's close to you.

Next a drumbeat is added making cohesive the otherwise abstract samples. Finally simple synth flourishes are added coloring the minimal instrumental texture. This minimal instrumental texture allows for enough space for Frank to utilize what's come to be known as the Prismizer effect. This audio effect, created with the Ontario's Harmony Engine plugin, creates synthesized harmonies using just a single audio source, typically the human voice. Basically what this means is that using just a single recorded voice,

you can create what sounds like a choir of voices singing any type of harmony you can imagine. As an example, let's apply this Prismizer effect to an isolated vocal passage from Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder. with a language we all understand. So using this sung passage, let's add a third, a harmony three notes above the original. Music is a world within itself with a language we all understand. Now let's add a fifth, five notes above the original.

Music is a world within itself with a language we all understand. Now we'll fill out the low end and add an octave, 12 notes below the original. Music is a word within itself with a language we all understand. Okay, now let's add an octave lower than that, 16 notes below the original. Music is a world within itself with a language we all understand. And so using just a single vocal track, Music is a world within itself with a language we all understand. We can create this.

Music is a world within itself with a language we all understand. This is the prismizer effect, a combination of the word prism and harmonizer, because the finished sound resembles the broad spectrum of color when light hits a prism. The origins of the effect is credited to Francis Starlight of Francis and the and the lights. Francis has worked with high-profile artists chanced the rapper, Kanye West, and Boni Vair, helping them to utilize the effect. Francis Starlight is credited as a producer on Oceans Close to You, bringing his prismizer effect to Frank's vocal passage. In the context of Stevie Wonder's talkbox performance of the original

song, using the prismizer on Oceans Close to You seems to be a deliberate nod to Wonders' performance, a kind of 21st century update or interpretation of the talk box. Frank begins, I'll be honest, I'll be honest, I'm being honest, I'm preaching this age, yes. devastated, but you could have held my hands through this baby. It's established quickly that someone left Frank abruptly and or coldly. We also realize that while the song's title and sample suggests this to be a cover of the original Close to You, Frank has reinvented the song's lyrics and subject matter. While the original Close to You was a romantic poem from an infatuated lover, Frank's rendition is more somber, outlining his feelings post-breakup. Frank continues,

Let my mind run underneath warm jets. I run my hands straight. I run my hands straight. through what's left. Here we get an image of Frank in the shower, thinking deeply about what had happened in this particular relationship. He uses an image of running his hands through his hair in the shower as an expression of his mind running through the memories of their time together. Frank then hits on blonde's recurring theme of growing older, saying, but we're getting older, baby, don't have much longer. At this point, he realizes the futility in his words, saying, why am I preaching to this choir, to this atheist? Frank's ex doesn't believe in their love, so there's no point in carrying on about it. Instead, he resigns to the fact that it's the memories

of this relationship that will live on, that will keep him close to this person even as time passes and they grow apart. He says, just like mine, versions of these belong to you. After a while, they're keeping me close to you. This line plays off the original close to you refrain, just like me, they long to be close to you. But rather than Frank's physical self being close to this person, as the original song suggests, it's Frank's memories that do the trick. Close to You ends with Stevie Wonder singing the song's original refrain, bringing the song full circle, back to its source material. Conclusions. Today we covered the first four tracks on Blonde's second half. With solo reprise and pretty sweet, we heard a dramatic shift both musically and thematically from the warmer, more nostalgic qualities of the first half of Blonde. The music is much more angular and dissonant, the themes and subject matter addressing disillusionment, isolation, authenticity, and, and confusion. Facebook story continues in this vein as the story's narrator becomes baffled

and confused after being left by his girlfriend over a fight caused by social media. Close to you then speaks about an experience of being left abruptly and coldly, loosely tying into the situation outlined on Facebook story. As we continue our exploration of the second half of blonde, we'll find that this shift and tone and theme will only become more prominent. Indeed, the next three songs on the album will be stripped of drums, their tempo's slower, their tempo's slower, their textures ambient and otherworldly. This drastic shift in environment and mood begins with the album's next track, White Ferrari, which we'll thoroughly discuss next time on Dysect.

Dysect is written and produced by me. Additional project support by Spotify's Michelle Santucci. Original theme music by Birocratic. Song Recreations by Andrew Atwood. Remember, when you listen to Dysect on Spotify, you'll get new episodes a week before all other platforms, as well as access to exclusive bonus episodes only available on Spotify. Follow at Dissect Podcast on Twitter and Instagram

and join our mailing list at dissectpodcast.com. Okay, thanks everyone. I'll talk to you next week.