A Deep Dive into Frank Ocean's Blonde

In 2016, Frank Ocean released his second studio album Blonde. Through its 17 tracks, it gives us a very personal look at an entire period of his life, when he was just a teenager. We follow a young Frank navigating through rocky relationships, friendships, drugs and heartbreaks all while searching for something so unobtainable, that is actually the closest to him.
Extra Links:
Dissect Podcast Blonde: open.spotify.com/episode/5eKE...
Boys don't cry magazine PDF download: drive.google.com/file/d/0B7PQ...
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Twitter: @TennisThom
Instagram: @thetennisthom
Twitch: twitch.tv/tennisthom
Bandcamp: kendlan.bandcamp.com
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Chapters:
Intro 0:00
Spring 2:23
Summer 15:37
Fall 27:24
Winter 37:52
Epilogue 55:45

[@TennisThom]

Hey! I'm making this comment to clarify a few things that have been brought to my attention by viewers in the comments :) - Frank's first love in Ivy is actually a man. The letter (I mention in the video) he wrote to him contains he/him pronouns. That wasn't done with any ill intent. I didn't notice that and just blindly assumed it was a girl (which was definitely wrong, I'm sorry about that) so thank you to the people who brought that up! - The music that's heard in the beginning is called Ambiance #003, it was used on blonded radio I think. Thank you so much for watching really means the world to me ;)

[@lovezra]

Great Job ! :)

[@j02435]

the man's name is Omar Apollo

[@Hiccup45996]

Could you do one of Kanyes albums please?

[@cherylgallegos6539]

@@Hiccup45996 yes please, DJ K

[@cherylgallegos6539]

@@lovezra KKK

[@youtubefriends384]

love how the analysis of blonde is almost the length of blonde itself

[@O.P.D]

Longer actually

[@Emmettb08]

@@O.P.Dthat’s why he said almost

[@O.P.D]

@@Emmettb08 almost means is shorter though about would mean either or

[@derkuehlschrankx8648]

@@O.P.D 🤓☝

[@Bossmanchaz]

@@O.P.D🤓👆

[@flez.]

Firstly I wanna say I love these videos. but also another thing I noticed in the album is the motif of "swimming pools". Every time frank mentions a swimming pool, he is referring to love, which ties into the album cover and name. He dyed his hair blond/e (symbolizing purity) and then dived into a swimming pool (his relationship with Nikea). The chlorine in this swimming pool (Nikea herself) turned his hair green and removed his purity. Genius album writing and storytelling.

[@robertoguzman897]

you cut your hair but you used to live a blonded life. Shit, that's genius

[@nobodygaming6163]

Wow that's brilliant

[@mrq.1236]

⁠I’m so glad you bought this up cause I’ve watched so many Blonde analysis videos and read so many articles and Reddit threads of theories on this album and I almost never hear anyone talk about the recurring image of water and swimming pools throughout the album. Nikes, Pink + White, Self Control, Seigfried

[@MusicIsMyThing5]

idk if you knew this but the length of futura free relates to the last question of "how long is a light year?" the song is 9 minutes and 24 seconds and a light year is 9.24 trillion kilometers

[@jiffu7051]

thats fucking amazing

[@Potatwo]

A light year is approx. 9.46 trillion km though

[@Abrabeck82]

The thing is if you check the percentage of time in the song, it would be ​9.46 @@Potatwo

[@blodinbramo1938]

@@Abrabeck82 didnt get it, what?

[@Abrabeck82]

@@blodinbramo1938 it's the percentage

[@r3_routing47]

holy shit im so glad your visuals have colour now. it looks amazing. please never change the artstyle its one of the best parts about your vids

[@Dr.TestieTester]

I think he changes it for each subject. If you look back on the Tyler The Creator video and Kendrick Lamar video they are both visualized differently as eachother. The glitchy and unstable graphics of the Wolf trilogy show how unstable Tyler was in the album. In DAMN.'s video it's more of a serious timeliness documentary style and for this it's a colorful and visually pleasing which goes with the albums theme and album cover.

[@stable_riot]

Franks first love was a dude…

[@Dr.TestieTester]

@@stable_riot what does that have to do with anything

[@henryknapp9397]

​@@stable_riotok? who gives a shit

[@Asdgkliq]

@@Dr.TestieTesterthe dude in the video says its a girl. Doesnt really matter tho

[@Radmj16]

This guy is one of my new favorite KZbinrs

[@John-zg8pw]

same

[@julesst-laurent1540]

same

[@henryknapp9397]

same

[@user-ws2tz6rd9t]

same

[@kasakidoc761]

same

[@n0kx1st60]

Never in my life would I thought I can cry to a KZbin video. I’m 19 years old and I think I’m at the lowest point in my life, in the last 6 months I had my life turn around 180 on me, have broken up with a person I thought I could live forever for, had to come back to my country after 4 years of high school when I already built relationships and friendships with people, and overall just regretted everything I did in the past years. Now I have no clue where I’m going with my life and it’s really hard. This video made me realise how much I feel connected to the album and made the songs even better for me, the last three songs genuinely made me cry, but I felt better. And after your message at the end, I really did feel hopeful, and hopefully I can continue moving forward thanking for what had happened to me in the last several years and not regretting it

[@HoodiMatt]

Alright so you gotta get up and change your life around. ASAP

[@jurgistihomirovs4376]

I know life can be very hard… it’s a part of living. But you can’t live in the past, keep moving forward, keep trying to get back up! I know you can do it… because I did it too, and there is no room for quiting! What really helped me… was this album right here, it gave me power, fuel and love… Also remember that you are loved and wanted, this album loves you, Frank loves you, I love you and others love you too!!! I hope this hepls… wishing you the best ❤️

[@n0kx1st60]

@@HoodiMatt that’s what I’m about to do, I want to go to my manager and speak about quitting my job, and just applying for jobs that I want to do and interested in, don’t care about how much they pay, I really just want to do what will make me happy and not just keep me in “prison”, but thanks for this comment!

[@n0kx1st60]

@@jurgistihomirovs4376 Thanks! I honestly feel like I want to change and listening to the album today helped me clear my emotions and stuff!

[@poctiach]

hope you doing well bruh,stay up and keep going,all be good

[@tuv]

Best video for my personal favorite album of all time. Thank you for making this 💚

[@socki_skateboards]

For real. Blond is on my top 5

[@Andrew-pw5nm]

omg tuv has immaculate music taste

[@Ali46788]

tuv has amazing music taste and amazing music lol

[@Scorchabl]

Oh shit tuv!

[@yutikoo]

@@Ali46788 trash music

[@orishahar7106]

This video is amazing, just a thought: In my perspective, white Ferrari is not about them physically riding in a Ferrari, but rather a metaphor, the car is the lover and the ride is the relationship, Frank is driving without any words, as he knows it’s the end of the “ride”. It also shows Frank’s progress throughout the album, in “Nikes” he sings about his materialistic nature, literally talking about shoes, while in this song, he talks about a physical object but as a metaphor for love, a spiritual thing.

[@ErinJeanette]

It's not coke?

[@TrillTuga]

"who is this girl, Tron Cat?" is so funny if you watched the wolf trilogy

[@g.illian]

34:23

[@ezy5335]

I went to this vid right after I watched the trilogy😭

[@midnightvirtue26]

@@ezy5335same

[@IWillShockAndBaffleYou]

​@@ezy5335ME TOO LOL

[@tedster6090]

I love your analysis's cuz you don't just interpret the lyrics vaguely and give general meaning to them like everybody else. You actually try to create a story and piece everything together.

[@ubzue8402]

I also feel like the track Siegfried questions his masculinity and sexuality. He dissociates himself with his past lover but also what he’s attracted to. There’s many ways to perceive this track.

[@Miruq]

HE LIVES weve missed you thom ❤

[@itskompassguys]

Hey, nice pfp! Where’s it from?

[@langston1351]

franks first love was about a boy in his younger years. i think ivy is about that, and how frank wrote to him before he moved and the boy told frank he loved him back.

[@jaggerseiders2334]

Blond has been my all time favorite album and impacted my life in such a massive way since I first heard it. While some songs took some time and replays to understand, I believe every song is still a masterpeice of storytelling. Each song has been prominent in my life no matter what emotion I was feeling at the time because each song has a perfect vibe to fit any mood, If i'm sad Seigfried or White Ferrari are my go-to's, Happy I put on Pink + White and Pretty Sweet, ect. Like you said at the end of the video this is how we'd tell others about our past relationships, that's what I think makes this album so universal for anyone. Each song speaks to a different time in everyones lives and tells of experiences that almost anyone can relate to. I've dissected Blond many times trying to understand each lyric, I've seen lots of video essays on Blond but I don't think any of them come close to this video. This video was beautifully done and went over every detail and more in this masterpiece of an album, I hope more people see the amazing work you made and can understand Blond a little more with the help of this video.

[@totproductions2871]

100% honest this is one of the best KZbin videos I’ve ever seen, can’t wait to re-listen to blond with all this in mind. 🔥

[@blindspotzr3975]

Song timestamps - - - - - - - > Nikes - 2:35 Ivy - 7:13 Pink + White - 10:29 Be Yourself - 13:17 Solo - 15:45 Skyline to - 19:35 Self Control - 21:38 Good Guy - 24:47 Nights - 27:31 Solo (reprise) - 32:11 Pretty Sweet - 33:48 Facebook Story - 36:13 Close to you (my personal fave) - 37:59 White Ferrari - 39:23 Seigfried - 43:16 Godspeed - 48:52 Futura Free - 55:45

[@jusseffnarvaez3437]

Goat

[@aa-rav]

holy youre the best video essayist for music ever keep this up

[@mads7969]

I love the fact that not only is the album a loop, but this video is one as well.

[@DK0324]

It’s crazy how all the albums you choose to talk about are the ones that had the biggest impact on my life. I genuinely appreciate you and your videos. Keep up the great content 🙏

[@dannyjuarez1969]

I mean they’re pretty popular albums

[@MatthewMooreDrums]

DUDE THESE VIDS ARE SO WELL MADE PLEASE DO ONE ON IGOR BY TYLER THE CREATOR. Seriously, Igor is such an in depth story and I would love to see u go over it

[@1iknowIsCool]

2 videos in a row of 2 of my top 5 albums is crazy I love this guy

[@Obama227]

i just watched both of your most recent deep dives and now im ready for another

[@NotBored._]

THE MAN COMES BACK WITH ANOTHER BANGER

[@trapzone707]

you might genuinely be making some of the best damn videos on the platform right now.

[@the-the-the-the-the-the-the]

so cool to see all these different polarizing perspectives coming from ONE album. great video essay, this subscription was earned

[@bounce1094]

Such a good breakdown. Both this and the damn video are some of the best breakdowns I’ve watched and made me appreciate these albums 10x more

[@seahawksandhiphop]

☝️🤓 this isn't a tennis video this is frank ocean

[@wolfsingh1215]

Bro I love your deep dives and bro that timing with the beat switch dividing the album AND YOUR VIDEO BROOOO LEGEND

[@zyrvoid]

probably one of the best yt creators ive found in a while. i never thought there’d be someone that makes videos that just hit and impact so insanely hard, i cant for more of these album documentaries

[@tomascosta3444]

I was needing this so much, I’m halfway through and only now I saw that you released this today. I feel like I can always get a new part of the story when I rehear blonde. Amazing video

[@chimcactusswift5494]

This guy keeps making these insane album breakdowns. Love watching em, keep it up man.

[@JD093]

been waiting sooo long for one of these the animations are 🔥🔥

[@benjybrasington9508]

Dude, your channel is so underrated, all of the videos you have made are so in depth and made with passion

[@bombonsalmon]

Amazing essay Thom, you really cooked with this one, we appreciate you for that.

[@christophebenoit8206]

Man you can't imagine how happy I was seing you uploaded a video about this album thank you for the great content its an inspiration for all of us !!

[@karlrask6479]

I don't think I've ever been this captivated by a youtube video before, the way you're painting the story is truly mesmerizing. One of the best videos I've seen on this platform for sure.

[@CodyKUHN-BOND]

Ive been waiting for one of your videos every since your WOLF video. So happy you covered such a beautiful album!

[@johnnymarti7927]

This was the first video i ever saw of yours and it became one of my favorites. You should keep doing these deep dives on music its amazing

[@crzy4u]

I honestly love this channel because in every single one of his videos especially the Deep Dive into DAMN album, he explains the storyline and the concept behind the album clearly. I look forward to watching more of your videos about albums.🙌🙌Keep up the great work‼️‼️‼️

[@r3aprz]

throughout the few "deep dive" videos you've made so far, they have all been amazing. from my perspective you deserve more support and subscribers for all of the time, effort, and work you have put into these hour long videos. the amount of detail, explaining, jokes and quality these have are honestly the reason why i feel you deserve that. i hope you continue to make more on different albums and artists in the future and thank you for all of the hard work put into makes these videos.

[@ezekielkennedy_]

KNEW YOU WOULD RETURNED You’ve inspired me so much, so glad you made this

[@julieneb]

OMG IM SO GLAD YOU POSTED AGAIN I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR SO LONG

[@AnderSmithMusic-nq3tq]

In Siegfried, the part where he says "this is not my life, it's just a fond farewell to a friend" he is actually reprising the song "A Fond Farewell" by Elliot Smith

[@colinpopcorn1117]

i love how you left your voice in even if it was shaky, it shows how much this album and story means to you. being voulnerable on the internet is hard but you made this video really powerful with your emotions.

[@ConnorLiptak]

This was incredibly well done, I have a whole new appreciation to one of my favorite albums

[@stephaniefreire6011]

THANK YOU for putting the time and effort to make these videos 😭😭😭

[@Nikkitu]

We be going blonded with this vídeo Great vid tomtommy!! Great editing too,this video was worth the wait,cant wait to see your next deep dives and videos too!! :DD Wish you the best man!! Great vídeo as always!!

[@nils_k777]

i think i watched every video about blonde on yt but this is special, keep up the good work

[@adriangyongy3632]

your deep dive videos and analysis are so on point i hope you keep making more

[@august5770]

This was really good and honestly is mind boggling I love your production so much you deserve everything

[@spiffyleek5220]

Thank you for a breakdown on this album, tbh I never really understood how or why he wrote and organized it in what seems to be a very confusing way. I'm glad there's people like you who take time to truly try to understand where an artist's mind is at when creating their projects. It's a great way to assist in the growth of art, society, and comprehension of human feelings.

[@Unknown_Ent-ty]

you finally uploaded 😭😭😭

[@efraimt8641]

I genuinely can't describe how this series makes me feel. Please keep releasing this kind of videos🙏🏻

[@puolq]

I didn't think I'd be able to love this album even more but now I do. Thank you so much. This is such an amazing video.

[@danielvill1]

Some of y’all are gonna hate to hear this but this is a queer album. I’m not saying all of it is about his relationships with men bc Frank left the gender of who he’s singing about pretty ambiguous in most of the tracks, but considering that the album references much of his love life from his adolescence onwards, and the fact that he posted on Tumblr that his first love was with a man, it’s slightly inferred that at least a few, if not most, of the songs were written about a man/men. That doesn’t make the music any less relatable, I just think it’s important to note bc this video implies that almost every song in the record was about a woman/women

[@2live4u95]

frfr most these songs abt men. theres no way self control is abt a woman.

[@JungGringo]

Why should this matter

[@kenni.was.here06]

Yeah I was thinking about that especially with the song Pretty Sweet. When I hear the part where the kids are singing "We know you're sugar We know you're sweet like a sucka Pretty sweet" I view it as a taunting manner like they're making fun of him for being "pretty sweet". I know in some communities people like to say "they have sugar in them " or "they have sugar in their tank" to signify that someone might be gay or like the same gender. That's why I thought Pretty Sweet was going to be completely separate experience with the other stories. The experience of being a young queer person growing up.

[@mariitz_]

Some people think the album is about his relationship with drugs, a breakup, or just about him. Unless Frank told you himself what the album is about, your theory isn’t any more valid than anyone else’s. Thats just how you chose to interpret the album so that it connects with you.

[@tinasheee]

it definitely is, but I feel like that's not what he was trying to paint the main idea of the album as. in all the interviews and stuff he's done about blonde it's about different specific periods of his life and coming of age/growing up and letting go. especially on songs like seigfried there's these moments of an existential crisis where it goes beyond a failed relationship. I think frank was aiming for something much closer

[@returnsyt]

I personally think that maybe the 'white ferrari' mentioned in the song is not actually about a white ferrari. The song is about the duality of the relationship, and i think the white ferrari symbolizes the innocence and fun of the relationship, and then goes on later to say how he hopes his relationship worked out in another dimension

[@fabiansilva1476]

I like how when he mentions the 30 minute mark of the album, it’s at 30:30 of the video. The attention to detail is crazy

[@alexanderl9634]

I just want to compliment you on the audio design or rather control in this video, the way you let the respective songs for each section flow in and out of focus was extremely well done, genuinely one of the best viewing and listening experiences i've had with an essay video in a really long time.

[@mr.boombastic5772]

You gotta make one of these type of videos around (MBDTF) by Kanye West It is a amazing album with a beatutiful story behind it, and inside the album!

[@nichijoureal]

i absolutely LOVE your videos summarizing albums!! Keep this shi up dawg 💯💯

[@killuanik3040]

you uploading is like a holiday event, amazing vid keep it up fr

[@xilayk859]

With every video this channel gets better, you deserve so much more popularity man. much love

[@user-sk7bu7nb4b]

i believe ivy is actualy about a man as he says in the" hall of your hotel arm around my shoulder..." this is typically in a gay relationship with public affection to show how much they mean to them that they are willing to show their relationship except for that great video

[@arisumego]

it's not about belief, you're right and this guy is just wrong, at least with his baseline assumption that the song is about his first love which we all know was a man yet he makes it about a woman for no reason other than... homophobia i guess? lol

[@keefingthathoe]

seigfried is not abt a girl lol. its a song where frank is struggling to come to terms with his bisexual identity, "im not brave" "maybe i should move and settle down 2 kids and a swimming pool" frank is not brave enough to accept his identity and thinks maybe he should just settle down with a woman have kids with her and a "normal" life. Also Frank's first love was a guy he said it himself in his coming out letter so idk why you would assume he was talking abt a girl on ivy lol. Bro forgot abt blond and only remembered blonde

[@dhiaezd_theone1777]

He told you that?

[@BitterSavory]

⁠​⁠@@dhiaezd_theone1777keep this same energy for this whole ass delusional video. this is the most rational comment here 😭

[@archibombyt]

​@@dhiaezd_theone1777😂😂😭

[@oddfuture.]

@@BitterSavoryit’s built off a theory

[@BitterSavory]

@@oddfuture. my fault for being a hater it’s just this album means a lot to a lot of us and we all kinda developed our own interpretations of it 😪 i’ll stfu now

[@dsan925]

This is beautiful

[@RubyIsAPunkRocker]

Ngl I've been tweaking since this was video announced awhile back and I'm glad to be here relatively early Keep doing what u love doing 💙💙💙💙💙💙

[@bitties1346]

This video and the visualization was amazing! Keep up the fantastic work!

[@bleeckeroc]

perfect video

[@sakleijnv]

i’m wondering how you consider the letter at 8:36 and the song ivy to be connected. he only ever addresses his first love with the pronouns “he” but you portray the visual character for ivy as a woman. in ivy frank never mentions his first love by pronoun so ivy could either be about the person he wrote the letter about or it could be that the letter is not connected to it at all. i’d say it’d be more accurate to portray the character of ivy as a man or i’d recommend mentioning that the gender of the character isn’t known. it’s such a small detail but just something i noticed !

[@sarelht6101]

THANKS

[@way_2_saucy848]

Please never stop making these deep dive videos, this video was absolutely amazing

[@C4MI741]

YAYY ANOTHER VIDEO!! I love ur essay vids that i’ve watched 😭

[@gavin_se7]

8:35 kinda insane how you represent ivyianna as a woman and then compare ivy to the love letter frank shared as him coming out, ivy the song has queer themes too.. and yet you don't talk about that, once....And then in skyline too you literally ignore the third line of the song which is about the person hes making love too...being hard. "you got your metal on" like??? atp its just intentional

[@jewsweat6088]

Thank you

[@JuanseA-vn9bd]

your last videos have been amazing. i am really looking forward for more deep dives into albums. ty

[@floxynzekwesi8182]

This was one of the best things I’ve seen in a long time, thank you for dissecting this brilliant masterpiece in such a compelling way

[@montymorton8770]

These videos are the best thing to come to youtube. Really showing what albums mean. Thank you thom.

[@futekina]

Great video, every one of the deep dive videos you've done have been really good, you're great at explaining the plots of these albums and putting all of the pieces together. Keep up the good work🙏

[@slatt__]

such an amazing video. seriously this was so well told and the animations were perfect. new fav youtuber found…

[@AngelHall05]

This was an amazing vid. Ur visuals everything about it was fire. Keep going man.

[@arthurjolly3490]

The story telling of the video and the visual aspect are incredible to appreciate the album and the story around it, really great job

[@nuggetbodypillow5292]

I know that this stuff takes so much work and gets stressful sometimes, but bro... please dont stop, this video was amazing

[@rodgyisdodgy2597]

These videos are so in depth but so simple at the same time , i love your ability to explore albums in this way allows me to listen to music with a way stronger bond and connection . Thank you sir 🙏

[@oshyyyx]

genuinely such a good video man cant wait to see whats next for u

[@michaelevans6558]

Bro you have been putting out some of my favourite videos recently. From the Wolf analysis, to Damn to this. Keep this shit up and you'll blow up man.

[@blanca4802]

this is my favorite album of all time. i cannot express how much i love this video. thank you !!

[@4dread]

I always look forward to your long videos, your production is amazing! Keep up bro

[@drdeepster1329]

amazing video , have listened to the album several times didnt know there was so much to it

[@mint3894]

Hi, I just wanna say thank you. You made me want to listen to an album even more. Your videos are great, especially this kind of video, and please do more of this. It is interesting!!!

[@danipimbor6599]

FINALLY I LOVE YOU SO MUCH I’ve just started listening to frank ocean again and you dropped this video yooo

[@NinjamusPrime1]

More album analysis bro!! You’re killin it !! Love the content !!

[@luisirizarry8793]

you gotta keep making more of these, fire album selections so far.

[@2_636]

Bro become one of my top 3 fav KZbinrs OAT keep going, and I love the work that you put on your Animation ❤

[@Clarencetompkins]

I Love this story analysis so much! Keep up the great work man!

[@EliasBrown999]

I've loved your video's from since you released your wolf trilogy video and been watching alot of your old stuff, but man this one hit different. I've personally always had a special feeling when listening to blond, but after watching your video here I finally came to realize, that can relate to this in a crazy way. I think the line went "We can be taller in another universe", That almost hurt, because of how much truth there is in it. Anyways I would just like to say that you're doing an amazing job with these video's, and that you got so much support from all your fans and viewers. Thanks man.

[@Hellcatchannel]

This is such a well done video everything is PERFECT ! Thank you so much, it makes so much sense now after all these years 🙌🙌

[@joshuadavis430]

Been looking for an in depth breakdown of this album for a while thank you

[@nitronick1075]

The way you break down albums is superior to anyone else on the platform. The way you go over each song in detail and breakdown lyrics to make the album make more sense as a whole is such a good way to do things. After watching your damn video I went to find a good video on Tpab but I just never found one that made me get it. Keep up the good work man I can’t wait to see which album you do next.

[@meitsjustme205]

i just found your channel about 2 months ago from the Kendrick video but I love your takes and interpretation of all these albums and how everything correlates to eachother. Please come out with more in the near future

[@serinab]

WOW THAT WAS A MASTERPIECE. i loved the video and the visuals were so pretty, u made so many good points and i Love how there are so many ways one can interpret Blonde with all its meanings

[@messiandrew1353]

What a video man it's so inspiring, I really liked the story the images the characters, everything, you gave a good interpretation and you let me know more info about my favorite music album, now I'm gonna listen this with a new perspective