From Spotify Studios, this is Dissect, long-form musical analysis broken into short

digestible episodes. I'm your host Cole Kushner. Oh, Today we conclude our season-long analysis of Flower Boy by Tyler the Creator.

We've got a lot to unpack today so I thought I'd start the show by giving you a rundown of today's

episode. We're going to begin with one last summary of the album's

narrative from start to finish, discussing how each song contributes to the

album's overarching themes and central story. We'll then spend some time

dissecting Flower Boy's cover art, album title, and main thematic symbols,

and see how all these play into the message Flower Boy attempts to convey.

Finally, we'll move into my favorite part of the entire season, hearing from you, the dissect

audience, sharing your thoughts on the album. And so with that, and for the final time

this season, let's dissect. Flower Boy begins with a track forward. Like a forward and a book or novel. This song is not officially a part of the album's narrative, rather it comments on the story about to unfold.

Tyler here takes the opportunity to lay out the album's central themes, including his materialistic intuitions, his chronic loneliness, his anxiety about the future,

and hints at the general isolation he feels due to his closeted sexual identity.

Tyler also lays out two of the album's reoccurring symbols, his sports car and nature.

As we remember, we interpreted the sports car to represent the material and the superficial, the things

Tyler indulges in to cope with his loneliness and fill the void he feels within.

Natural elements like flowers, the ocean, and trees represent the meaningful, the things he finds

beautiful and wishes to assimilate into his life.

Over the course of the album these two symbols the material and the natural will sit on

Tyler's shoulders like Angel and Devil, Hero and Villain, each influencing Tyler

and pushing him toward their respective objectives. Having laid out these themes

and symbols, the narrative of Flower Boy begins proper with the album's second track where this flower blooms.

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