SKYLIT: Yousef Srour, FRANK OCEAN'S BLONDE (33 1/3)

It has been ten years since Frank Ocean released his last full-length album to date, Blonde. In 2016, writer Yousef Srour was still in high school. In his new book for the 33 1/3 series, Srour talks about how the album has grown and changed with him, from high school to a quarter-life crisis and beyond. Srour blends intense research and pop culture cross-references with poetic evocations of the indelible emotions that the album created for a generation of listeners. In this discussion with writer and bookseller Justin Remer, he talks about Ocean's development as an artist and the "heist" that he pulled off to create and release this classic album independently. If you like iconoclastic albums of the mid-'10s, check out "SKYLIT: Sequoia Maner, "33 1/3 TO PIMP A BUTTERFLY" " from the Skylight Books Podcast back catalog. Hosted and produced by Justin Remer. Recorded remotely via Zencastr. Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band.