This feels too much like Hunter S Thompson in like the worst, most indulgent ways. HST is my favorite author but there’s always a sense in his work that he is every bit of the participant in the madness he describes. The first few paragraphs of this piece feel like just straight flowery prose, overly detailing every possible concert stereotype that would show up to a Frank Ocean concert.

And then the flimsy connection to AI is so lazy and uninspiring. Music does feel generated, sure. IF you listen to the hyper-processed slop that the music industry shoves into your face. Kpop inherently is that by definition. A lot of rap music sounds like dudes going through the motions on basic FL-made tracks. The singer-songwriter era we’re in means we have the same fake British accent hush whisper from some 19 year old jailbait waif singing about how her tinder date fucked her and then ghosted her after she wanted to ghost him first.

If you look in that narrow lens, yes music feels insincere. Frank’s music feels like he curated a playlist for a moment in time. But I also think mythologizing his artistry, even when he does mess up like in this concert, is giving him a pass on shitty behavior.

People didn’t fly halfway around the world to dress like utter whores and to pop a molly just to watch a performance art piece. If this was Frank’s intention, then he miscalculated the venue to do that in. People want to have fun and be free and uninhibited while vibing out. Jeff Weiss can say this challenges us in our relationship with the artist but I don’t think it’s parasocial to just want a normal concert.