The Current-Feb. 2008 Feature Story 1

The State Capitol Never Sounded So Good

By Regan Henson

Art Garfunkel has walked across America. All the way across, from New York City to the west coast of Washington. The fact that the journey took over 14 years notwithstanding, that is still an impressive feat. He has also walked across Japan. That little jaunt took just a few weeks, but the most astounding thing is that he wrote poetry as he walked. Have you ever tried writing while you walk? If you, while walking, can put pen to paper and come up with something not resembling Muhammad Ali’s grocery list, then you must be talented. Another thing about Art Garfunkel: he is a legend of folk-pop music.

For younger music fans and Current readers who may be unfamiliar with Art Garfunkel, remember the scene from Old School when Will Ferrell’s Frank the Tank character shoots himself in the jugular with a high-powered tranquilizer, then stumbles into the pool? The song you hear as Frank the Tank slowly sinks beneath the water is “The Sounds of Silence,” sung by the folk-pop maestros Simon and Garfunkel. Yes, that Garfunkel. While we’re on the subject of movie soundtracks, the duo also wrote arguably the most famous soundtrack single in the history of cinema, “Mrs. Robinson,” from Mike Nichols’ 1968 classic, The Graduate.

Of course, older fans will be intimately familiar with Garfunkel, although mostly from his days in the aforementioned Simon and Garfunkel. The legendary duo released four albums in the sixties before breaking up following their 1970 masterpiece, Bridge Over Troubled Water. Following the break-up, Garfunkel focused on acting, most notably in Mike Nichols’ adaptation of Joseph Heller’s classic satirical novel, Catch-22, and began a solo music career, which has included the release of 14 albums and ten charting singles. Along the way he has reunited with his old pal Paul Simon to tour as Simon and Garfunkel a number of times, and to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

These days you can catch Garfunkel touring in support of his 2007 solo release, Some Enchanted Evening. He’ll be in Oklahoma City as part of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Pop Series at the Civic Center Music Hall performing at the Thelma E. Gaylord Performing Arts Theatre on Friday Feb. 22 and Saturday Feb. 23. Both shows start at 8pm with tickets from $12 to $62. Call 405.297.2264 or 1.800.364.7111 for details.

If Art Garfunkel is a little too soft rock-y for your particular tastes, you might want to wait a week before you head to the city and check out the guys from Linkin Park when they roll into town in support of their latest album, Minutes to Midnight. After an early career that found them pigeon-holed by critics somewhere between the hardcore sonic thunder of Korn and the lame-ass white boy rap posers of Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park has emerged as the cream of the nu-metal crop, with over 50 million albums sold and two Grammy wins. This latest album serves as a departure from their previous hip-hop centric sound, with more politically charged lyrics and less reliance on rap metal influences.

The album debuted at number one on Billboard Magazine’s Top 200 Album chart, establishing Linkin Park as one of the hottest rock bands in the world. The first three singles from Minutes to Midnight have all cracked the top five on Billboard’s Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts, with debut single, “What I’ve Done” coming in at number one on both charts and peaking at number two on the Top 100 Singles chart.

If you want to witness a rock band at the height of its popularity operating at peak performance, come see Linkin Park with special guest Coheed and Cambria on Friday Feb. 29 at the Ford Center in OKC. The show starts at 7pm and tickets are $37.50 and $47.50. To order tickets, go online at www.okfordcenter.com or call 405.235.8288.

For anyone who thought of the 90s as the zenith of pop-rock, March 2 is going to be a treat. Two of the biggest selling acts of the decade will be teaming up to bring the noise and nostalgia when Matchbox Twenty and special guest Alanis Morissette play the Ford Center.

Already a mild star in her native Canada at the time, Alanis Morissette burst onto the music scene with the 1995 release of Jagged Little Pill, technically her third album due to two earlier Canadian only releases. The album came to be considered a neo-feminist statement on independence and self-actualization that drew both women and men with its blunt lyrics and melodic arrangements. Behind the strength of the singles “Ironic,” “Hand in My Pocket,” and “You Oughta Know” (which, by the way, is rumored to be about former Full House cast member, Dave Coulier. You remember him, the one who wasn’t funny at all. No, the other one. No, the other one. Never mind!), Jagged Little Pill became the biggest selling international debut album by a female artist in history, the second biggest selling album by a female artist in history, and the biggest selling debut album by an artist of either gender in history. A lot of people bought the album, is the point here.

The album also won four Grammys, including Best Rock Album and Album of the Year, but Morissette wasn’t finished there. Her follow-up album, 1998s Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, debuted at number one on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart, and, while falling short of the success of her previous album, gained multi-platinum sales status. Two more albums followed, 2002s Under Rug Swept and 2004s So-Called Chaos, though none have reached the astronomical sales figures of Jagged Little Pill. Her latest album, Flavors of Entanglement, is due in April.

Headlining the bill will be another 90s titan, Matchbox Twenty, who, it turns out, are still a band. This may come as a surprise to fans who have gotten used to seeing front man Rob Thomas singing on everything from Carlos Santana’s album to commercial spots for the NBA, but there is a new Matchbox Twenty album available, Exile on Mainstream, which features five original songs and a collection of previously released tracks. But before you get overly excited about the prospects of a new album of original material you should know that after the spring the band will once again go on hiatus so Thomas can work on material for his second solo album. If being in a band really is like a marriage, then these guys are like Pam and Tommy Lee, only hopefully without the hepatitis-c.

Whichever artist you might prefer, and I’m guessing these two share much of the same fan base, it’s sure to be a fun night of fairly recent nostalgia. Speaking of nostalgia, Alanis Morissette once opened for Vanilla Ice during his 1991 tour. So she has that going for her, which is nice. The show is March 2 at the Ford Center. Tickets are $49.50, $59.50 and $75 and can be purchased online at www.okfordcenter.com or by calling 405.235.8288. The concert starts at 7pm with Mute Math opening.