Wednesday 22 May
OKG Newsletter
Stephen Carradini
FM Belfast — Don’t Want to Sleep
Dance-pop album contains my favorite song of the year
Pop
Stephen Carradini
I listened to FM Belfast’s brilliant dance-pop tune “I Don’t Want to Go to Sleep Either” 15-plus times on the first day I heard it, including about eight listens in a row. The frequency was only a little bit lower for the next few days.
June tunes
Jazz in June is bustin’ out all over Norman with a variety of free concerts over three days.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. — It’s a Corporate World
Paul Simon’s resurgence continues via ... gentle electronic music?
Delay Trees — Delay Trees
The best Death Cab album Ben Gibbard didn’t write
Indie
Stephen Carradini
If you’re a longtime fan of Death Cab for Cutie feeling let down by “Codes and Keys,” fear not.
Main squeeze
According to The Accordion Babes, their squeezeboxes are the gift that keeps on giving, all year long.
Music
Stephen Carradini
The Accordion Babes with The End Puppetry
8-11 p.m. Thursday
Istvan Gallery, 1218 N. Western
istvangallery.com, 831-2874
$8
Label love
While the major record labels drop like flies, local indie ones are on the rise.
Music
Stephen Carradini
Major labels may be going the way of the buffalo, but independent record labels still have ardent supporters in Oklahoma City.
Hangin' out in the Alley
Alley Records is a vintage vinyl lovers’ dream come true
Music
Stephen Carradini
An authentic Kurt Cobain signature is a rare thing, but you can see the late Nirvana leader’s pen on a copy of a limited-edition, 1991 7-inch split between Nirvana and The Fluid hanging on the wall at Alley Records.
Heavy Years: 2000-2010 — Chris Mills
An under-radar singer/songwriter gets a well-deserved retrospective
Indie
Stephen Carradini
Singer/songwriter Chris Mills’ appeal can be summed up in the title of his 1996 debut EP, “Chris Mills Plays and Sings.”
Out of the Vinyl Deeps: Ellen Willis on Rock Music — Nona Willis Aronowitz, ed.
A fascinating republishing of an unfairly forgotten seminal rock critic’s work
Nonfiction
Stephen Carradini
The New Yorker hired Ellen Willis as its first pop music critic in 1968. She wrote the monthly “Rock, Etc.” column for the magazine until 1975.
Simple Plan — Get Your Heart On!
Guilelessly enthusiastic pop fun
Pop
Stephen Carradini
Three-minute pop songs about the pitfalls of young love have been a staple of radio for the medium’s entire existence.
Suzanna Choffel — Steady Eye Shaky Bow
Sultry singer/songwriter tunes with some high highs
Barry Manilow — 15 Minutes
A comprehensive overview of the 'Copacabana' hitmaker's latest
Pop
Stephen Carradini
A track-by-track exploration of Barry Manilow’s new album, “15 Minutes,” which drops Tuesday.
Saturday Sirens — Saturday Sirens
Rock debut is a highlight of local music so far this year
Indie
Stephen Carradini
Seth Anderson has the sort of confident snarl that turns heads and perks up ears.
Isis — Live I-V
Metal that is also the world’s loudest post-rock
Rock
Stephen Carradini
I hate showing up late to the party, but it happens sometimes. I’d never been properly introduced to the metal of Isis until I found a posthumously released collection of live recordings in my ears.
