I just talked to another local friend who caught the COVID-19, someone who is very near and dear to me. They’re coping but worried about their family. I hate having to ‘yadda yadda’ through disease, illness, suffering, death… We’ve all heard this for months and months but how else do you write a lede anymore?
To take your mind off things, we’ve compiled a playlist of local artists to listen to while you’re washing dishes in your hermetically sealed unit that you live in. If you’ve got the funds, kick these artists some money through Bandcamp, buying their records, or however you can throw them some bucks.
Luke Dick feat. Miranda Lambert – Polyester
I finally watched Luke’s documentary about the legendary strip club last weekend. ‘Red Dog’ was full of good ol’ OKC nostalgia, but also a deep dive into the lives of sex workers in the 80’s. This song pulls off classic pop-country while also telling the story of growing up in that environment. Stay tuned to hear Luke Dick on the TLO Show podcast very soon.
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Lincka – Do You Feel Liberated?
This is some serious pump-up music. It reminds me of playing Sonic the Hedgehog while drinking Dr Pepper as a kid, just jacked up on caffeine and fun. If you’ve got a workout playlist, this belongs there.
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Jabee feat Atmosphere & Lil B – ChecMate
No OKC playlist is complete without a Jabee jam. He dropped his new album ‘This World Is So Fragile and Cruel I’m Glad I Got You” earlier this year. This track has a chill old school 90’s east coast jazz beat by Statik Selektah (if you know you know). Grip your colored vinyl copy now before it sells out.
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Aubrie and Lucas – Benedicta
Lucas Ross and his wife Aubrey put on their finest Whiskey Cake uniforms and dropped this new banjo fueled album. It’s the perfect soundtrack for when you find yourself home, alone and depressed on Christmas Eve, wondering if and when this pandemic will ever end, while sipping on a cup of spiked Braum’s egg nog.
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Samantha Crain – Pastime
Samantha Crain has been a stalwart of the Oklahoma music scene for years, and for a damn good reason. The production on this song is glistening and there’s something I can’t define about the sound and lyrics that pulls me back into a different era. It’s yearning but looking forward.
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Knuckles – Still Cowboy Boots and Shorts
Lawton’s favorite rapper Knuckles is back and he’s still rapping about cowboy boots and shorts. It reminds you that although this pandemic may end, some things won’t!
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Chatpile – Dallas Beltway
This last year has been hard. Fuck, the last four years have been hard. Maybe our entire lives have been hard. Chatpile makes music that exemplifies the bleeding sores and infections that we live with. Sometimes you need that catharsis. They’re my personal favorite local band because they explore the ugliness and tragedy of modern society. It’s good music to listen to while you’re cleaning the toilet and wondering what is the point of all of this.
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The Flaming Lips – Bad Days
Yeah, The Lips have caught some shit on here over the years, but we still love them. The way they can cover the emotional gamut is impressive, and this is a song that will always make you feel good. Fuck your boss, sleep in late, eventually things will get better. That’s the message we need right now.
Y’all need to pick up on Garrett Jacobson’s new album Without Notice. The Lips are still pulling down major label money, he isn’t. Known as Big G locally.
and the flaming lips are no-talents compared to Big G… you know, let me rephrase that
the flaming lips are no-talents, period.
Need to add John Calvin Abney’s “When This All Blows Over” to the list. Really talented guy out of Tulsa.
Chat Pile is the motherfucking truth. The pulsating core of unvarnished emotion that lies beneath the farcical Oklahoma Standard. An ideal soundtrack for reckoning with a cold, indifferent world, as if one were baptized in the warmest, heaviest sludge that is their music. Take my body to Arby’s.
Carter Sampson is another great Oklahoma artist. She has a couple of excellent albums and has done live performances quite often during the pandemic on Facebook. People should check her out.