Dissect - S3E15 - White Ferrari by Frank Ocean

Episode Date: September 4, 2018

We dissect "White Ferrari" by Frank Ocean, an emotionally potent car ride through Frank's memories of a failed relationship. Season 3 merchandise is now available at dissectpodcast.com/merch Want to be featured on the Season 3 finale episode? Follow @dissectpodcast on Twitter or Instagram for details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Spotify Studios, this is Dissect, long-form musical analysis broken into short digestible episodes. I'm your host, Kolkusha. Today we continue our serialized examination of blonde by Frank Ocean. On our last episode, we dissected the first four tracks on the album's second half, noting a sharp contrast in theme, mood, and musical environment when compared to the warmer, more nostalgic qualities of the first half. This shift in tone continues to gain prominence with the album's next track, The subject of today's episode, White Ferrari.

White Ferrari is written by Frank Ocean, Malay, and Kanye West. Due to the interpolation of the Beatles song Here, There, and Everywhere, John Lennon and Paul McCartney are also credited writers on the track. The song's title is a nod to the Italian sports car company Ferrari. As we've heard in our examination of blonde thus far, cars are a pervading presence throughout the album. Their presence is a reflection of Ocean's real-life passion for automobiles. And whereas hip-hop tropes typically find cars used to peacock wealth and symbolize economic status, cars for Ocean are personal, defining artifacts of different periods in his life, characters that seem every bit inseparable from Frank's memory as friends and location.

On the song Ivy, we heard Frank name drop a BMWX6 when recollecting about a former love. On nights, Frank cites the accurate legend he drove in his youth in New Orleans. And even when he's not name-dropping car models directly, many songs on blonde are informed by the act of driving. On Skyline 2, we hear Ocean sing, that's a pretty long third gear in this car, gliding on the five, the deer run across, kill the headlights. On pink and white, he states, every day we know control, if the sky is pink and white, if the ground is black and yellow, the latter line referring to a paved road.

The song solo features the line, Stay Away from Highways, My Eyes Like Them Red Lights. Cars are also a pervading presence throughout Boys Don't Cry, the magazine that accompanied Blonde's release, as well as the main through line in the magazine's introductory letter. Quote, How much of my life has happened inside a car? I wonder if the odds are that I'll die in one.

Knock on wood grain. Shouldn't speak like that. We live in cars in some cities, commuting across space either for our livelihood or devouring fossil fuels for joy. It's close to as much time as we spend in our beds, more for some, unquote. After describing the experience of riding in a car while tripping on mushrooms, Frank states, quote, I used to ride around in my sinewy crossover SUV, smoke and listen to rough mixes of my old shit before it came out, or whatever someone wanted to play when they hooked up their iPhone to the ox cord. A few years and a few daily drivers later,

I'm not driving much anymore. It's been a year since I moved to London, at the time of writing this, and there's no practical reason to drive in the city. I ordered a GT3RS, and it'll keep low miles out here, but I guess it's good to have in case of emergency. Ralph Siemens told me it was cliche, my whole car obsession. Maybe it links to a deep subconscious straight-boy fantasy. Conscious, though, I don't want straight. A little bent is good, unquote. It would seem cars are deeply ingrained into Frank Ocean's being. as inseparable symbols of the past, as metaphors for aspects of his personality, and as set pieces in which many of his most memorable life experiences took place. The song White Ferrari begins with the latter, as Frank describes the end of a car ride with a significant other, as metaphor for the

end of their relationship. The first minute and 25 seconds of White Ferrari is centered around a simple three-cord progression played on a classic prophet synthesizer. The repetition of these subtle chord changes creates a hazy, meditative environment in which stasis is prioritized over motion, where the perception of time moves slower. In the distance, we'll hear a drum loop so heavily affected that it hardly resembles drums at all. Rather, its presence is felt more than it's heard, less about rhythm, and more akin to a movie director using light and color to capture an overall mood and feeling for a scene in a film. Along with this non-traditional approach to timbre and composition, will hear the threads of a traditional song structure loosen,

as Frank all but abandons a formal verse-chorus structure. Instead, words and melodies freely exist, floating atop a variety of musical textures that will shift at will. Frank began to I didn't know anything I let you out at Central I didn't care to state the plane

kept my mouth closed We're both so familiar Frank begins with a surrealist use of dynamic imagery To set a scene singing, Bad luck to talk on these rides, mine on the road, your dilated eyes watch the clouds float,

White Ferrari. On its surface, Frank outlines a scene driving silently with a significant other. But beneath the surface, this also seems to describe a drug trip, as hinted by dilating eyes. White Ferrari is the nickname of a type of ecstasy.

The pill itself is white, and the Ferrari logo is lightly stamped on its surface. Thus the quote-unquote ride they're on here is a drug trip, and white Ferrari becomes both the drug or vehicle they're using for this ride, and the hallucinatory image that appears to them when looking up at the white clouds. Just after the line, had a good time, we hear Frank saying in the background, Sweet 16, how is they supposed to know anything? Which is followed by the line, I let you out at Central. This seems to ground the story in New Orleans, where Frank lived when he was

16. Central likely refers to Central City, a neighborhood in New Orleans. With Frank being so young at the time, we recall that white is traditionally a color that symbolizes purity and innocence, adding another layer of depth to the term white Ferrari. Frank builds off the speechlessness of the car ride as a characteristic of their comfort level and familiarity with each other, saying, I didn't care to state the plane, kept my mouth closed, were both so familiar, white Ferrari. Given that Frank will later state this relationship ended, the obvious thing that he didn't state was either that the relationship was over, and or despite it being over, he still cares

and will continue to care for this person. Because Frank restates White Ferrari at the end of this passage, we might assume that the ride that was this relationship is over. White Ferrari continues with something like a second verse. We're fine. As this is slow, I left when I forget to speak. So I text the speech, lesser speeds,

text his speed, yes. Basic texts is tall. I'm eventually, eventually, yes. I'm eventually, eventually, yes. Frank begins, you left what I forgot to speak, so I text the speech. This outlines the completely modern scenario in which one feels more comfortable texting their feelings than expressing them in person. Frank then plays up the ongoing car theme, comparing this relationship to speed limits and toll

boosts. He sings, Lesser Speeds, Texas Speed, Basic takes a toll on me, eventually. yes. This seems to explain the cause of the end of this relationship, that their lives became slow and stagnant, that Frank desired more from life than he was getting in New Orleans and or with this relationship. This is of course a common reason why young people break up, for a general desire to be free, a desire for the lack of limitation, and the ability to explore all possible and potential experiences. White Ferrari continues with the first of a handful of environment changes. The droning synthesizer stops abruptly, replaced by a lone, a lone,

acoustic guitar. I care for you still and I will forever. That was my part of the deal. We got so familiar. Frank begins this section. Frank begins this section, I care for you still and I will, forever. This is a sentiment that is permeated throughout blonde, that even though a relationship has ended,

Frank still holds this person in high esteem, grateful for their time together, and forever appreciative of the experiences they shared. He's able to view such relationships within the larger lens of his life, knowing that each one contributed to and is inseparable from who he is today. As this passage continues, Frank interpolates a line and melody from the song, Here, There, and Everywhere by the Beatles.

Let's hear the two back to back. The Beatles, Here, There, and Everywhere, expresses the omnipresence of love, and Paul McCartney's desire for his lover to be with them everywhere. It would seem Frank's interpretation of this track plays off a similar notion, but his take on omnipresence is less rooted in physical presence and more grounded in memory, and Frank's everlasting affection and appreciation for the intimate relationships of his past. Indeed, there's a line in here, there, and everywhere, that seems to align with white Ferrari quite well, quote, each one believing that love never dies, watching their eyes and hoping they're always there.

This seems similar in sentiment to Frank's previous line, I care for you still and I will forever. In Frank's hands, love itself is pure and immortal, and all those with whom he's created or shared love with are therefore immortalized in his memory and affections. Despite the infinite number of reasons two people separate or grow apart, the love created between them is indissoluble, its spirit forever embedded in one's emotional DNA. As White Ferrari continues, the guitar shifts from single-stroke resonating chords to a strum pattern. Because the sonic landscape is so sparse on White Ferrari, these subtle changes in texture have a dramatic impact on the song's dynamics. Indeed, this changing guitar pattern signals the dynamic and emotional peak of White Ferrari. A peak we'll dive into right after

the break. Welcome back to dissect. Before the break, we just approached the dynamic and emotional apex of White Ferrari. The guitar begins a strum pattern, and Frank enters with a multilayered vocal passage. Frank sings one of the more surrealist and mysterious lines of the album, one too many years, some tattooed eyelids on a facelift. It would seem Frank is using a facelift to analogize how with age his memory allows him to see his past in a new, more positive or beautiful light, just as a facelift beautifies an aging face. With time, distance, and maturity, memory has the capacity to give a facelift to your emotions regarding a person or situation when viewed in retrospect, when emotions have settled,

and you can reflect on the experience somewhat outside of yourself. As for the tattooed eyelids phrase, some people tattoo eyeballs on their eyelids so that when they close their eyes, it gives the illusion that they're still open. We often close our eyes when remembering or reflecting, and the tattooed eyes may represent Frank quote unquote seeing while remembering. Frank's ability to affirmatively change his perception through his memory might also explain the next lines, mind over matter is magic, I do magic. Again, memory occurs in the mind, and Frank is able to transcend the past disagreements or disconnects between himself and a former love by using his mind. He likens the act to a magic trick as he has the ability to change his perception of events in his past.

Frank continues this threat of using one's mind with the final line of this passage, saying, If you think about it, it'll be over in no time, and that's life. This seems to express the tragic fleeting quality of life. When compared to our 14 billion-year-old universe, our time here is extremely miniscuous. not even a speck of sand in the hourglass of the cosmos. Saying, and that's life, is at once a recognition and submission to this reality, a kind of shrug of one's shoulders regarding our inability to change the truth of our diminutive existence. As White Ferrari continues, the strum guitar settles again to simple resounding chords, which are now accompanied by a keyboard.

When Frank begins singing again, he outlines existential differences and worldview between him and his past partner. seems to work on two levels. First, it can be read as their differing views on their relationship. Frank feels that given a different time or circumstance, their love or relationship could flourish. It's a similar sentiment to one found on self-control in which Frank sings, Wish I was there, wish we'd grown up on the same advice, and our time was right. Frank recognizes that timing and circumstance play a crucial role in the cultivation of his sustaining relationship. We can also view these lines metaphysically. Frank expresses the transcendent potential

of the spirit, that in another dimension or afterlife we carry on in a greater capacity than our mortal physical forms we embody in our life on earth. Frank's partner is more pessimistic, citing the insignificance and meaninglessness of our existence, characterizing it as small and not worth the mention. The disagreement between Frank and this person continue, quote, you're tired of moving, your body's achin. We could vacay, there's places to go. Clearly, this isn't all that there is. Frank seems unsettled, desiring more from life through travel and experience, while his partner's pessimism seems to have them uninterested in exploring the world. Finally, the outro concludes, you dream of walls that hold us

imprisoned. It's just a skull, at least that's what they call it, and we're free to roam. Again, contrasting worldviews, even in his partner's dream, a place of exploration and imagination beyond the physical world. This person constricts themselves with walls. This also speaks to the person's desire to settle down and their lack of interest in traveling or being open to new experiences. Frank interprets and specifically words this mentality as imprisonment. Frank then responds likening this person's mental prison to a skull, the walls of the mind. He says it's just a skull, and later we're free to roam. Frank isn't limiting or imprisoning his thoughts and desires. He's allowing them life, allowing them to roam freely.

This skull versus the freedom of the mind analogy is a microcosm of their differing beliefs and priorities. Like his partner, one can choose to view a skull as an imprisoning restriction. Or like Frank, one can view the skull as simply a shell for a much larger entity, the mind, something that transcends physical limitations. It's a continuation of the mind over matter principle we heard Frank speak of in the song's previous section. We can even extend this line of thinking to the concept of a white Ferrari. Like a skull and the mind within, a vehicle has the potential to transcend its physical structure. It becomes a symbol of free. freedom, a means of exploration, independence, experience, and adventure.

Conclusions. Regarding White Ferrari, Frank Ocean told the New York Times, quote, when I was making blonde, there was 50 versions of White Ferrari. I have a 15-year-old little brother, and he heard one of the versions, and he's like, you got to put that one out, that's the one. And I was like, nah, that's not the version, because it didn't give me peace yet, unquote. When asked a follow-up question about what he is reaching for, Frank responded, quote, they're They're just chords, just melodies. I don't know what combination of those objects is going to make me feel how I need to feel. But I know precisely the feeling that needs to happen, unquote. At first blush, it's perhaps somewhat perplexing to hear that it took 50 different iterations of White Ferrari to find the one that made the album. Of all the tracks on blonde, White Ferrari appears to be one of the most minimal in its instrumentation and production elements. The song is carried primarily by a single instrument, at first a synthesizer, then a single acoustic guitar.

However, upon closer examination, it becomes apparent that the song contains an abundance of subtle but extremely effective details in sonic fragmentations. There's the strange, swelling drum loop, random clicks of a hi-hat, unexpected distant vocal flourishes, abrupt splices of indiscernible distorted samples. Because Frank's voice is so magnetic, many of these details go unnoticed consciously, though they're elements we most definitely feel more than we hear. And as a musician myself, I can tell you that these kinds of details only emerge after endless experimentation, after trying a thousand things that don't work to find the one small thing that does. And so to me it's not all that surprising to know that there is excessive iterations of White Ferrari,

because in many ways the song sounds like a composite or collage of a number of these versions spliced and pieced together. If you haven't already, I'd encourage all of you to sit down and listen to this song with headphones on, preferably with your eyes closed. resist the temptation to listen to Frank's voice, and instead focus your attention on the background, the space is behind his voice. You'll be amazed at the things you hear. Thematically, like a number of songs on Blonde, White Ferrari details a failed relationship that occurred in Frank's youth. A white Ferrari is used as the song's only refrain in central symbol. We noted the possible meanings of White Ferrari as a vision in the clouds, a type of ecstasy,

and or representative of a relationship, a car ride that's now over. But we also realize that the Ferrari's logo is a horse, and that white horses have a history of symbolic use in literature. Across various cultures, horses are often associated with freedom without restraint, an emblem of wild independence, symbols of travel, movement, and desire. We also realized that a horse was a car before there were cars, tying nicely into the song's sports car symbolism. Whether intentional or not, this traditional symbolic use of a horse seems to be thematically at home on Ocean's White Ferrari, a song that's so much about the desire for unrestricted roaming of the mind and spirit.

It would seem at the center of this relationship's disillusion was Frank's desire to explore and experience the world. Unlike his partner, who seemed content with stasis, whose cynicism led to apathy, Frank recognizes the impermanence of existence, and that recognition distilled in him the need to extract more from his life. Like a number of songs on Blonde, Frank presents the story of this separation without,

anger or resentment. Rather, he seems to understand that despite their feelings for one another, they were simply in different places in their lives, and they'd over time develop different worldviews, desires, and ambitions. This is, of course, a very common reason two people separate, and why it's so hard for a relationship to last when we're young. Life pulls us in so many different directions, especially during those transformative years of young adulthood. Some of us leave for college, some of us settle early into a career, some of us have kids, some of us travel the world, some lose ambition, falling into monotonous routines, some of us develop drug or alcohol dependencies, some of us desire the flexibility of freedom, a life without commitments to

anyone or anything. Given the infinite number of directions our lives can take, especially during those years of profound personal transformation and self-discovery, it seems almost a miracle that two people can successfully sustain a lasting relationship at all. And if you allow me to get personal for a moment, I'm reminded of a relationship I once had in my early 20s. This girl and myself had been close friends and eventually that friendship evolved somewhat unexpectedly into romance. She was a phenomenal singer. We'd often stay up late into the night,

writing songs and drinking whiskey on the floor of her little studio apartment. She loved to travel, and on the wall of her apartment hung a map of the world. She was always planning her next trip. She had her sights set then on Greece, and when the time came, I drove her to the airport, We embraced, and I watched her walk away carrying just a small backpack with a few items of clothes. That would be the last time I ever saw her.

She was supposed to be gone two weeks. She's still there to this day. In an email, she explained to me her decision to stay. I don't remember the reason she gave, because my eyes were too swelled with tears to read the whole thing. I was crushed. I was angry. I felt betrayed. But mostly, I was just really, really sad.

These days I'm now over 10 years removed from this relationship. Time passed, and as it always does, life moved on. What remains of this once very real, very strong romance are but memories, random fragments of images that appear in my mind as I recall our time together. With distance and the wisdom of perspective, I can now recognize her leaving wasn't personal. We were simply two young individuals, who despite her very true feelings for one another,

were traveling on two different life. trajectories. Our love was real, but our time wasn't right. And just like Frank Ocean has beautifully exhibited throughout blonde, I can now look into my life's rearview mirror and appreciate the beautiful moments we shared. We were two strangers whose past briefly intersected, who each gifted to the other a piece of themselves before fate saw our paths divided. I'm no longer angry she left, I'm no longer sad. Rather, I'm grateful for the memory she gifted me, knowing that despite the great distance between us now, I, like Frank Ocean so eloquently expresses on white Ferrari, care for her still, and I will forever. Dissect 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 Dissect 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.