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

James McMurtry 'makes it' on the Jagermeister Stage


Chris Parker April 22nd, 2010

James McMurtry 7 p.m., Sunday, Jagermeister stage Near Main Street and Porter AvenueJames McMurtry's been playing roots-rock story-songs for two decades, showcasing a deft instrumental touch that acce...

NMFJamesLasManitas
James McMurtry
7 p.m., Sunday, Jagermeister stage
Near Main Street and Porter Avenue

James McMurtry's been playing roots-rock story-songs for two decades, showcasing a deft instrumental touch that accents his sharp slices from American life. Like his father. author Larry McMurtry, he preferred narratives to love songs or political paeans, but all that offered him was critical acclaim and a cult audience before 2004's "We Can't Make It Here."

"I got it from driving around and looking at towns that were slowly disintegrating. That's America right there," he said, explaining the genesis for his devastating critique of the ills political policies have visited on working-class America.

The track trails a Vietnam vet, unemployed textile workers, thinning bar crowds and a teen worried she's pregnant noting how "billionaires get to pay less tax, the working poor get to fall through the cracks." He made it available as a free download before the 2008 election and it became an overnight sensation.

"Suddenly, we started filling clubs where we'd been playing half-houses for a while. It just takes a song that connects with people," he said. "My songs are pretty cerebral and most people don't have time to think. They got a phone bill to pay. But that one, they were already thinking that way, so it connected." "Chris Parker
 
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