Matt Carney

Inherently, documentaries — like journalists — ask difficult questions. Any good documentary, like any good journalist, seeks the most functional version of a truth available at a given time. READ MORE

There are documentaries, and there are propaganda films. Billed as the former, “Purple Hearts: Requiem for Mad Dog 5” is clearly the latter. Oklahoma filmmaker Mike Wilkerson spends most of his 90 minutes trying to convince his audience that the U.S. military royally screwed 1st Lt. Michael Behenna, an Edmond native, in his 2009 conviction for the unpremeditated murder of a purported Iraqi terrorist. READ MORE

About three-quarters through the worldwide premiere of director Stephen Mitchell’s Kings of Leon-focused rockumentary “Talihina Sky,” the brothers and cousins Followill whip their hair back and forth (sorry) in a montage of high-octane, rock-'n'-roll-driven frenzy. READ MORE

I’m proud to say that the first and last stories I wrote in my three years at The Daily were about local concerts. From spring 2009 when I first wandered into Opolis to see Blitzen Trapper to April’s totally epic, full-scale sonic assault that was Norman Music Festival 4, it’s been an eventful and exciting adventure. READ MORE

For one former Southwestern Bell repairman and long-time Norman resident, a newly opened recording studio was a dream come true. At a rented space in north Norman, Chris Harris flicks one of the many switches spread across the board before him and speaks to somebody he can’t see. READ MORE

A list of totally awesome bands who, according to Opolis owner Andy Nunez, have performed within the cramped, black walls of his venue is: Vampire Weekend, The National, Blitzen Trapper, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Lightning Bolt and more. READ MORE

For most, the reflexive, hipster-condemning reaction to Merrill Garbus’s bizarre stylizing will be enough to prevent them from ever experiencing the steady tenderness of “Powa” or the primal, aesthetic pleasure in singing the chorus of “Gangsta”. They’ll have never given her a chance, in other words. READ MORE

You can take the boy out of Oklahoma, but you can’t take Oklahoma out of the boy. That’s the short story for Tulsa-bred, Brooklyn, N.Y. singer Beau Jennings. READ MORE

Seduction seems both the dominant theme and purpose of modern R&B, at least the kind of modern R&B that makes any money. It’s become a staid cash cow during the last 20 years, with few artists straying from the standardized formula. READ MORE

The final lineup for Norman Music Festival 4 has been announced, and you’ve had a few weeks to scan this year’s impressive field of more than 220 performers. READ MORE