Music just isn’t as political as it used to be, but don’t tell Jay Farrar. The Son Volt front man is a revivalist in many senses, writing songs from a different time and place than most other acts operating at the moment. There’s one figure, in particular, who has had a profound effect on Farrar’s […]
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Ever so Slightly
Nearly 20 years in, and California’s Slightly Stoopid is still on top of its game. The reggae-punk fusion act released its seventh studio album, Top of the World, last August to its highest Billboard chart position to date. “It’s amazing. We’re living a blessed life,” guitarist, bassist and singer Miles Doughty said. “I don’t know […]
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Lotus flowers
Photo: Tobin Voggesser American music’s evolving scope hasn’t played into the hands of many bands as well as it has for instrumental act Lotus. The collective of Deadheads with penchants for Aphex Twin and The Orb has ridden the rise of electronic dance music to sold-out tours and high-profile festival slots. “When we first started […]
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The Thieves
So don’t complain that you have to read subtitles; literacy is good for you. Depicting the theft of a national treasure from a seemingly impenetrable art vault, a 10-minute prologue puts viewers right in the mood for its jaunty, addicting vibe — one that marries the globetrotting derring-do of the Mission: Impossible franchise with the […]
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Diamond dolls
Credit: Brad Gregg AAA’s Four Diamond rating is a recognition associated with a level of regality that the thread-count of sheets can’t relegate. The standards for North America are rigorous, but not any match for Oklahoma City’s Waterford Marriott, now a proud four-diamond recipient for 17 consecutive years. Downtown’s Renaissance Oklahoma City Convention Center Hotel, […]
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Still swinging, swinging
Tyson Ritter Ten years ago, The All-American Rejects were wide-eyed kids fresh out of Stillwater, just inking a deal to rerelease their self-titled debut album with DreamWorks Records after a limited release through an indie label. The humble pop-rock act had a standout single in “Swing, Swing” on its hands, and the rest is history. […]
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Crow about it
Photo: Crackerfarm The only thing Americana act Old Crow Medicine Show likes better than working the stage is working the corner. “It’s always been our heart and soul. Our performance comes out of all those years spent cutting our teeth on the street corner,” singer Ketch Secor said of the band’s humble beginnings busking on […]
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‘Free’ at last
Rap has long held domain over comedy skits between songs until country crooner Jerrod Niemann laid claim to them with his breakout 2010 album, Judge Jerrod & the Hung Jury. “We were just laughing, having a blast and couldn’t stop between takes,” said the self-described half-Oklahoman who grew up in Liberal, Kan. “We’d get these […]
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Locked and loaded
UK rock band Young Guns didn’t have the biggest expectations for its first substantial trek across the pond. “We were kind of thinking, ‘We are first ones on, from England, and no one is going to give a shit,’” singer Gustav Woods said. “It’s been fantastic, though. We were hungry. It’s so great to come […]
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Hank airin’
Politics and social justice have never been too far from the mind of punk legend Henry Rollins, and the world of the Black Flag front man turned spoken-word artist plunges more and more into that realm as we approach Election Day on Nov. 6. Naturally, it’s become a chief point of discussion during this tour, […]