Under the Rex Orange County moniker, O'Connor has released one mixtape, bcos u will never b free, and three studio albums: Apricot Princess, Pony, and Who Cares?. Both Pony and Who Cares? made the top 5 in the UK and US, and the latter topped the UK Albums Chart. O'Connor also released a live album, entitled Live at Radio City Music Hall, in 2020.
Alexander James O'Connor was born on 4 May 1998, to Nina and Phil O'Connor, a professional sports photographer. He grew up in the village of Grayshott, Hampshire near Haslemere. O'Connor's interest in music began at a young age. At age 5, O'Connor joined the choir at the school where his mother worked. He became a drummer and later taught himself piano. The name Rex Orange County is based on a teacher-given nickname, "The OC", after his surname O'Connor.
At age 16, O'Connor began playing the guitar and started to produce his own music using Apple's Logic software. At this age, he also began attending the BRIT School where he studied drumming and was one of four percussionists in his year; the relative rareness of his primary instrument provided him with wide exposure to various projects of others in his school which he credits with exposing him to new music.
On 4 September 2015, O'Connor self-released his debut album bcos u will never b free on SoundCloud and Bandcamp. Upon listening to the album, fellow English musician and producer Two Inch Punch got in touch with him, providing him with a management team. The two have continued to collaborate throughout O'Connor's career in the form of the tracks "UNO", "Best Friend", and "Untitled". The album also caught the attention of American rapper Tyler, the Creator, who sent him an email describing his enjoyment of the project. This led to him flying O'Connor out the following year to Los Angeles to collaborate on his album Flower Boy, with him co-writing and contributing vocals to the songs "Boredom" and "Foreword". On 17 November 2016, O'Connor released the single "UNO", a song Clash magazine described by writing, "The buoyant keyboard riff underpins a hypnotic half-spoken vocal, one that veers from topic to topic in a hazy burst of creative mania." On 25 January 2017, he released the single “Best Friend” (premiering on Apple Music's Beats 1 station), followed later in the year by the release of his second album Apricot Princess. His work was compared by Aimee Cliff of The Fader in 2017 to "other artsy, post-genre teen artists, such as Kevin Abstract or Steve Lacy".
O'Connor's first release following the success of Apricot Princess and Flower Boy was on 11 October 2017 with the single "Loving Is Easy", created in collaboration with the Dutch artist Benny Sings. On 16 April 2018, he performed the song in his television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. On 31 May 2018, he released a cover of "You've Got a Friend in Me" in collaboration with Randy Newman, the creator of the song. He was also featured in Spotify's Rise Program.
On 9 October 2018, O'Connor was scheduled to appear on the French television program Quotidien, but refused to perform because it featured a sketch by comedian Alison Wheeler parodying the Ku Klux Klan, which he called "tasteless".
On 14 February 2019, O'Connor released the single "New House". Later that year on 12 September, he released "10/10"; the lead single from his third album Pony. Released on 25 October 2019, Pony was his first major-label album released through RCA Records.
On 30 September 2020, O'Connor released an EP with recordings from his performance at Radio City Music Hall in New York City during his Pony tour titled Live at Radio City Music Hall alongside a documentary released on YouTube. This documentary showed the events leading up to this performance as well as the early conclusion of the Pony tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In October 2020, O'Connor confirmed that he was in the process of recording a fourth studio album titled Who Cares? In January 2021, he liked a Tweet seemingly confirming that it would be released at some point later that year. However, this did not materialize. On 13 January 2022, he began officially teasing the album, sending out postcards containing a phone number that when called, a snippet of the song would play. The album was released on 11 March 2022, and was his first to top the UK Albums Chart, entering ahead of Impera by Ghost.
Growing up, O'Connor listened to Queen, ABBA, Stevie Wonder, and American alternative artists like Weezer and Green Day. He cites these artists and others as core inspirations for his own music.
Cape Fear
Rex Orange County Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Leaving at 11
And the bus gets later
Sussing out ways to make money, make paper
Brutal honesty makes a great man greater
Laying off the skunk
I smell cheese
Who's got a grater?
Real talks I gotta wake up
Forced to stalk
Cause' of lies that I made up
That's why I'm stuck smoking lies when my day's rough
That's why you gotta deconstruct before you make stuff
Or lose yourself before you find it
24 hours so tired can't lift a eyelid
Caught in the talons of talent
That's why they like this
Caught in the talons of talent
That's why they, time and time again
Sipping a Heineken
Looking at mice again
Looking at how to fly George and Lennie of Mice and Men
Like George and Lennie of Mice and Men
The lyrics of Cape Fear by Rex Orange County are about a person named Fraser who the singer has just met. Fraser is planning on leaving at 11 and the bus is getting late. They're discussing ways to make money and make paper. The singer talks about how brutal honesty makes a great man greater, referencing how being honest with oneself can lead to personal growth. They mention that they're laying off the skunk (slang for marijuana) and smelling cheese, asking who has a grater. They can't get out of bed and have forced themselves to stalk because of lies they've made up. This has led them to smoke lies when their day is rough. The singer suggests that one needs to deconstruct before making something, so as not to lose oneself before finding what they truly want. They feel caught in the talons of talent, and that's why people like them. They end the song sipping a Heineken and looking at mice, referencing the characters George and Lennie from the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, who are also planning to make money and looking for a better life.
Line by Line Meaning
I just met Fraser
The singer recently met someone named Fraser.
Leaving at 11
The singer is leaving at 11 o'clock.
And the bus gets later
The bus is running behind schedule.
Sussing out ways to make money, make paper
The artist is brainstorming ways to earn money.
Brutal honesty makes a great man greater
Being truthful with oneself and others can boost one's character.
Laying off the skunk
The singer is quitting smoking marijuana.
I smell cheese
The singer smells cheese.
Who's got a grater?
The artist is looking for a cheese grater.
Can't get out of bed
The artist is having difficulty getting out of bed.
Real talks I gotta wake up
The artist needs to wake up and face reality.
Forced to stalk
The singer feels compelled to obsessively follow someone.
Cause' of lies that I made up
The artist's own lies have led to their current predicament.
That's why I'm stuck smoking lies when my day's rough
The singer turns to their own lies for comfort when they are having a bad day.
That's why you gotta deconstruct before you make stuff
It's important to examine one's thoughts and behaviors before taking action.
Or lose yourself before you find it
If you are not introspective, you may lose sight of who you truly are.
24 hours so tired can't lift a eyelid
The artist is exhausted and can't keep their eyes open.
Caught in the talons of talent
The artist feels trapped by their own talent.
That's why they like this
This is why people enjoy the singer's music.
Sipping a Heineken
The singer is drinking a Heineken beer.
Looking at mice again
The artist is observing mice.
Looking at how to fly George and Lennie of Mice and Men
The artist is contemplating how to escape their problems, similar to the characters in the novel 'Of Mice and Men'.
Like George and Lennie of Mice and Men
The artist relates to the characters George and Lennie in 'Of Mice and Men'.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Alexander James O'Connor, Cosmo David Agustus Pyke
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@michaponiatowski2924
[Verse: Cosmo Pyke]
I just met Fraser
Leaving at 11
And the bus gets later
Sussing out ways to make money, make paper
Brutal honesty makes a great man greater
Laying off the skunk
I smell cheese
Who's got a grater?
Can't get out of bed
Real talks I gotta wake up
Forced to stalk
'Cause of lies that I made up
That's why I'm stuck smoking lies when my day's rough
That's why you gotta deconstruct before you make stuff
Or lose yourself before you find it
24 hours so tired can't lift a eyelid
Caught in the talons of talent
That's why they like this
Caught in the talons of talent
That's why they, time and time again
Sipping a Heineken
Looking at mice again
Looking at how to fly George and Lennie of Mice and Men
Like George and Lennie of Mice and Men
@extratee333
i have this song on vinyl. never knew it was so rare guess i have a really early version of this album. great track
@misty7822
rex never had a vinyl for bcos until last year, urs was prolly a bootleg
@ElliotK2
@@misty7822 I did actually see A bootleg that had it so yeah it’s probably that
@elohkayeye6277
I found out about Rex OC in like 2017 (After Flower Boy dropped) and the full album videos on YT had this version, now I rewatch this video everytime I play Paradise
@louwheeze978
wished this stayed in the album....
@aprilhan99
wowww i had NO CLUE this existed until now
@joshuahamilton7683
SAME
@michaponiatowski2924
[Verse: Cosmo Pyke]
I just met Fraser
Leaving at 11
And the bus gets later
Sussing out ways to make money, make paper
Brutal honesty makes a great man greater
Laying off the skunk
I smell cheese
Who's got a grater?
Can't get out of bed
Real talks I gotta wake up
Forced to stalk
'Cause of lies that I made up
That's why I'm stuck smoking lies when my day's rough
That's why you gotta deconstruct before you make stuff
Or lose yourself before you find it
24 hours so tired can't lift a eyelid
Caught in the talons of talent
That's why they like this
Caught in the talons of talent
That's why they, time and time again
Sipping a Heineken
Looking at mice again
Looking at how to fly George and Lennie of Mice and Men
Like George and Lennie of Mice and Men
@Seth-ps8zj
Both the instrumental and lyrics where written and performed by Cosmo Pyke.
@axx5789
Lo sigo desde hace años y es la primera vez que escucho esta canción