Wednesday 19 Jun
 
 

Kanye West — Yeezus

Try as you might, but there’s no escaping Kanye West. Turn on the TV, radio, computer — hell, take a stroll downtown and you might see his mug projected on the side of a building. It’s an undeniable fact of life in 2013: Kanye West is bigger than Buddha, Krishna and The Beatles (today, anyway) and he’ll be the first to let you know about it.
06/18/2013 | Comments 0

John Moreland — In the Throes

With the soul of a poet and the look of a Sons of Anarchy extra, Tulsa’s John Moreland has been gifted the sort of gravely, booming voice that does Bruce Springsteen proud and a similar understanding of the universal human experience. It’s made for some fantastic records — both as a solo artist and with his dissolved Black Gold Band — and In the Throes is his best yet.
06/19/2013 | Comments 0

Jumpship Astronaut — Lights Burn Out

Oklahoma has never been the haven for electronic rock music that it is for country, folk and, as of late, psychedelic pop, but from the sound of Lights Burn Out, Oklahoma City upstart Jumpship Astronaut seems intent on changing that.
06/12/2013 | Comments 0

Various artists — Reaching Out

Like so many Oklahomans, the local music scene has responded with generosity and grace in the wake of last month’s tragedy in Moore. In the weeks since, droves of local musicians have banded together for benefit concerts and radio marathons to raise funds for the relief effort, and with extraordinary results.
06/04/2013 | Comments 0

Progress in Color — Get Well

It’s been a long, bumpy ride for Glenpool’s Progress in Color, which saw a record deal with Epic evaporate before even one record could come of it, but it’s led the outfit to where it was supposed to be.
06/04/2013 | Comments 0
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Music

Ted, white and blue


Watch out, Oklahoma City! Ted Nugent’s on his way, and you don’t want to be caught in the classic rocker’s crosshairs.

Matt Carney May 9th, 2012  

Ted Nugent with REO Speedwagon and Styx
6:40 p.m. Friday
OKC Zoo Amphitheatre
2011 N.E. 50th
zooamp.com
364-3700

Propelled by double entendres and hot guitar licks, Detroit rock institution Ted Nugent’s still cruising on a three-decade schtick worth more than 30 million records sold and 6,000 shows performed.

On paper, the Motor City Madman’s career is as mind-boggling as the high-fret theatrics his 63-year-old fingers continue performing. A run from 1975 to 1977 collectively yielded six-times-platinum sales, top-grossing tours and now-iconic hit singles, most notably “Cat Scratch Fever.”

Although that rush of success failed to yield a Billboard Hot 100 single after 1980’s “Wango Tango,” and the showman’s studio output has waned considerably since 1988’s If You Can’t Lick ’Em ...

Lick ’Em, Nugent’s remained on the radar by amplifying a long-running broadcast of conservative politics and defense of gun rights.

Anybody who doubts the shift of focus to hot-button punditry need only compare the subject matter of 2007’s Love Grenade (which contains a song titled “Girl Scout Cookies,” literally about how much he likes them) with his recent streak of inflammatory remarks about President Barack Obama. The latter, naturally, has garnered more attention.

“I do believe I’ve got the American language down pat,” Nugent said. “Great Americans are dedicated to taking our beloved country back from a rotten gang of America-haters who are intentionally dismantling the greatest quality of life and freedom in the history of the world.”

While the Nuge’s populist appeals and brash characterizations push him to the media fringe as a tea party-like outlier, his dog-and-pony show has swelled to include TV and radio programming, and several published books. God, Guns, & Rock ’n’ Roll proved a New York Times best seller.

“Thank you all for more than 40 years of soul-cleansing, passionate, pure, animal, rock-’n’-roll celebration,” he said with a shout-out to Oklahoma City. “You animals deserve me.”

Perhaps we do. Either way, fans attending Friday’s Zoo Amphitheatre set with Styx and REO Speedwagon are as likely to experience political fireworks as ’70s classic-rock standards.

6 Nugent song titles with barely disguised sexual innuendo

1. “Love Grenade”
2. “Missionary Mary”
3. “Hard As Nails”
4. “Saddle Sore”
5. “The Harder They Come (The Harder I Get)”
6. “Habitual Offender”


Hey! Read This:
Ted Nugent's redneck rhapsody


 
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