Live performances exist as much for the artist as they do for the fan. It gives the artist an opportunity to elaborate on his or her work, embellishing and improvising it for the moment to create almost an entirely new work. Last weekend's edition of Saturday Night Live brought us a particularly notable live performance by arguably the most romantic Odd Future member, Frank Ocean, performing "Pyramids" and "Thinkin Bout You", off his critically acclaimed album, Channel Orange. With riveting instrumental support from John Mayer, who is featured on the album, Ocean draws us into his world of love, innocence and loss as articulated through his bold lyricism and emotive vocals. Blinking screens on vintage video arcade games in the background add the perfect thematic touch.
As he did with the digital release of Channel Orange, Ocean flexes his intuition once again making his SNL performance the ideal segue to premiere his video for "Pyramids" (just a warning: it's NSFW) which features similar psychedelic elements as his visuals for "Novacane", both of which were directed by Nabil Elderkin. For a song that is nearly ten minutes long, the eight minute "Pyramids" video does the song justice, shot almost like a short film with expansive desert (and strip club) scenes which include a trippy cameo by Mayer, masterfully wielding his guitar.
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/49497576[/vimeo]
