One oft-cited crumb of advice to remedy powerlessness is to focus not on outward change but on inner attitude. When a person cannot affect progress in people or systems, the person can at least decide how such forces affect them. This fortune cookie wisdom may have some merit, but it is easier said than done. […]
Music
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Soundcheck: Various Artists – ᎠᏅᏛᏁᎵᏍᎩ (Anvdvnelisgi)
“ᎰᎵᎦᏧ ᏂᏥᏫᏪᏍᎬ?” According to the printed lyrics that accompany physical copies of ᎠᏅᏛᏁᎵᏍᎩ, a Cherokee language album released in latter 2022, the preceding question translates to, “Do you know what I’m saying?” Hip-hop artist Zebadiah cheekily and offhandedly mutters it at the tail end of “ᏗᎦᏚᎲᏍᎦ,” a track that is otherwise about big and luxurious […]
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Co-op makes the dream pop
“I don’t know that any one of us could be doing this ourselves,” Sarah Reid said. As a music scene mainstay, kitchen worker, and part-time venue booker, Reid knows as well as anyone about the behind-the-scenes hustle that goes into assuring that musicians have a stage and a community in Norman, and it’s only been […]
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Label makers
For a couple generations of musicians raised on brutal public disputes, scene veteran horror stories, and way too many episodes of Behind the Music, it’s often felt like record labels were the enemy. In an age loaded with hyper-indie sentiment and a prevailing DIY mentality bolstered by social media and YouTube, the question, “Why do […]
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Alien invasion
In the decade since St. Paul & the Broken Bones came out of Birmingham, Ala., the eight-piece outfit has made a name for itself as a horn-driven neo-soul act fronted by singer and namesake Paul Janeway. And while the pandemic kept Janeway and company from touring, the creative juices continue to flow. The result is […]
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Suave Stiles
“I can hold a mean grudge,” Ace Stiles said. The 18-year-old Tulsa singer-songwriter has seen some rejection. While that may not be a rare experience for most young adults, few can say they’ve been turned down in front of millions of people. Stiles progressed to the televised audition rounds of American Idol’s 19th season. Despite […]
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For the record
It might not be the same iconic Double Stop Fiddle Shop that stood as a cornerstone of Americana for a quarter century, but the spirit of Byron Berline filled the music hall on a Saturday night in November. The Hunt Brothers Band — now the shop’s house band — recorded a live performance there which […]
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Soundcheck: Generation Lossless – Advertising Films
In the old 4:3 aspect ratio of an outdated television screen, a teaser trailer for Advertising Films explains that the term generation loss refers to a condition under which recorded media degrades as it is copied and transferred over time. It is especially evident in the VHS format where horizontal waves of static and warped […]
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Machine learning
Nathan Wright worries about technology. The social media plague corrupting our brains. The cold, impersonal algorithms dictating our daily lives. Even the recent pushes into AI-generated art. But as a musical artist in the modernized world, you either figure out how to embrace it or you get crushed beneath the wheels. “There’s a sort of […]
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Soundcheck: Stunna – Solid Gold
Rock and roll is alive and well. One just needs to know where to find it — Ada, in this case. This oft-overlooked college town is a hidden treasure of original music, from metal to folk to hip-hop styles. It figures that one of its major wayward sons would strike gold with his new band, […]