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The Good Life hospitality group owns a few of the big landmarks in Norman: Blackbird, Coachs, The Library and Blu. This issue explains why we love the latter: good drinks, especially wine, great food and an atmosphere to match.

ON THE CORNER

STREET MAGAZINE
January 17 , 2014 Issue 1 Volume 13
EdItor-In-ChIef Kelli Smith Art DIrector Kelli Smith

BOYD
LIFE AT THE GROVE COMES FULLY LOADED! Our community includes everything you need to live the way you've always wanted. Come check out our fully furnished 2 and 3 bedroom apartments. PLUS...WE NOW HAVE A SHUTTLE!
CoPy EdItor Ashley Roy PhotoGraPhy Mark Doescher Emilye Lewin ContrIbutors Ashley Roy Alexis Auckland Chase Cook Mel Guapo AdVertIsInG RePresentatIVes Joe Wilhite PubLIsher Joe Wilhite

TECH ATTACK
The Fullbright Companys Gone Home is, in short, a video game that dees expectations. Not your average video game, it will suprisingly deliver a dose of nostalgia ...

10 7 ON THE SCENE 13

Its a new year, and Alexis tosses her resolutions and strives for success another way. Her friend is on board and has her own hopes. Hint: It has to do with the complicated and inconsistent language of love.

ROMANCE

FEATURE
In this issue, Mel Guapo equips us to start our new year with new music. He introduces us to Norman notables in the music world and has them share their experience and personal favorites. This varied group has many avors for our varied readership.

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ON THE CORNER
Happy January to you all! Welcome back college students! I hope this is your best semester yet! Enjoy it while you still can because growing up sucks. This issue has got all kinds of great stuff for you to read! We have our classic tech and romance column that are always entertaining, along with a new feature about some of the best local artists in Norman. Maybe you can add attending more local music events to your list of resolutions. That seems like a better one than hit the gym three days a week. xoxo,

Any articles, artwork or graphics created by Boyd Street Magazine or its contributors are sole property of Boyd Street Magazine and cannot be reproduced for any reason without permission. Any opinions expressed in Boyd Street are not necessarily that of Boyd Street management. WEBSITE & SOCIAL MEDIA boydstreet.com

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Tech Attack Chase Cook

Great Expectations
Disclaimer: Major spoilers for Gone Home We always remember the moments that defy our expectations. In Gone Home, a short video game by The Fullbright Company, you spend a couple hours exploring a typical home, searching for the family you left behind a year ago. The plan was a reunion after studying abroad, but what youre left with is an empty building littered with notes, secrets and angst. Video games typically follow a formula: You are the hero, this is your story and its your job to play through the preordained events. You can die, but thats not how things are supposed to go. So you spawn at a checkpoint with another chance to nish the game as it was designed. Gone Home dees that formula. Sure, you have to follow the story, but all the trappings of player versus enemy conict is gone. Its your job to piece together what happened in the year you were gone, so you explore the home looking at scraps of paper and listening to audio journals. Instead the conict is found within the characters of the story as you piece together their lives over the last year. As you play, you expect certain video game things to happen, but they never do. The developers mission here is telling you a story, and once you understand that, the focused narrative hits you like a freight train, barreling through you with 90s music, teenage angst and all of the fear and loathing kids experience in high school. Weve always played games to avoid reality, jumping into the skins of soldiers and saviors to forget about a hard day, that bully at school or how you feel about that one kid in math class. But Gone Homes true success is that it never acts like a video game. There is no action, there is no violence and there is no big scare at the end. Its a short story that we read, page by page, as we explore the home, pick up bits of paper and involve ourselves in a world that isnt different than our own. Were scared and surprised because, for once, we can relate to the button presses and visual cues. The notes you read arent much different than the notes we passed to each other in high school. It isnt the most bombastic story of video games, but it is the most explosive. You never meet any of the characters, but the shrapnel of their frustration, self-doubt and dreams are embedded throughout the house. As you assemble those fragments and learn about the people in that home, you unexpectedly recall similar moments in your life. It takes us to a time when we were insecure. When we didnt know if we were cool or if that cooler kid liked us back. When our parents didnt understand us and we didnt understand them. When we thought if we could just run away, well, then everything would be OK. Gone Home doesnt want you to leave. It wants you to remember. And anyone who plays it wont forget.

On the Scene
Hammerwatch Review
Chimys Chimys Chimys

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(out of 5)
Hammerwatch is a little indie game developed by Crackshell that plays much like Gauntlet. You explore a castle and battle monsters with spells and swords. But what makes Hammerwatch so fun is poking and prodding every corner of the castle, nding secrets and money that can be spent on power-ups and new abilities. Each class has different abilities that can be purchased, as well as combo abilities that reward players for killing enemies quickly. The game is challenging with a set number of lives that run out before the game forces you to start over. You can play with other players, but you share a life pool, so be careful running around near spikes. It doesnt revolutionize dungeon crawlers, but its still fun enough to play through a few times with friends. The pixelated graphics are bright and crisp and the music provides a great soundtrack for exploring. Just dont expect the game to offer a ton of variety.

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On the Corner Ashley Roy

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Look for the Blu Lights

Normans Blu is a hip destination of The Good Life
Back in college, I realized that overwhelmingly the most advantageous friends to have were the native Normanites. Not only were they effortlessly cool, but they also knew all the places to go. I didnt have to waste my time on trying hit-or-miss bars or getting food poisoning from the hole in the walls that werent amazing (a rarity in Oklahoma because almost all the local little joints rock my socks). One night back in my junior year of college, my Normanite friend Melissa said we should meet up at Blu. Blu? Blu. She nodded dreamily (and probably had dancing two-dollar wells oating through her mind). Wheres that? A little behind Main Street, on Crawford. Youll see the blue lights so youll know youre in the right place. Its by the bank. Well, all righty, then. A place called Blu thats blue. Now Id know why Melissa affectionately referred to Blu as Normans best-kept bar secret. Granted, Blu isnt really a bar bar (well, it is, but I think of it as something more), but it has an excellent one. How to dene it well, it serves ne wine and food, as the subtitle to the name makes explicit. But for all you college kids, heres a little something awesome about Blu: two-dollar wells and three-dollar doubles. Rum and cokes, mimosas and more! (Note: Blu is the only place I guzzle mimosas at 10 p.m. For two bucks, why not?) Oh yeah I once got a little happy just off four dollars worth of drinks. Im sure I got your attention there, college students. Now that thats out of the way, I want to be clear that I dont wish to reduce Blus awesomeness to that (though it is quite nifty). The food is fabulous. Read: macaroni and cheese with a bread crumb crust, bacon and cilantro. Its fancy and delicious. The crinkle sweet potato fries are the perfect amount of crisp, and their vegan dipping sauce is the perfect accompaniment. Pizzas, quesadillas, cheese plates and, my favorite, the Mediterranean plate, are all straight shooters (the latter has hummus, feta cheese and olive tapenade). Blu has a European feel with scrumptious tapa sorts of snacks that are perfect with the good quality wine it boasts. And, true to the name, there are bleu cheese snacks. Maytag blu cheese potato chips rule. Its like gourmet cheese fries. For lunch you can get the Beef and Blu sandwich, a hot black angus roast beef drizzled with blu cheese dressing. Yowza. Seriously, you feel like such a classy little college student when youre there. The atmosphere has evocative ink blot paintings that, paired with wine and the complex avors of the food, leave you squinting at them and debating what the shapes are. And the lounges! My friend swears I saved her 21st when I suggested Blus lounge when the Monts blue room was booked. And you know what? The lounge rocked. I felt like I was in a better version of my living room as we all reclined on the leather sofas, blasted our iPod on the speakers and partook of the gastronomical goodness of Blu. Wow your friends and take them to Blu. Just like I wowed my family when we went there for my graduation dinner. Yep, I was eating and drinking a lot better than they thought. Sidebar: Blu is part of The Good Life hospitality group, which includes other Norman favorites such as The Library, Blackbird and Coachs Brew house. Each bar/eatery has a different avor for various Normanites tastes. Dont forget Blu has brunch every Sunday from 10 a.m. til 3 p.m.! Blu is located at 201 S. Crawford Avenue Norman, OK 73069 Call or make reservations at 405-360-4258

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Romance Alexis Auckland

Foreign Love Language

One of my wisest friends recently told me her thing for the countdown to the New Year was to make a goal, not a resolution. This ingenious plan made a lot of sense to me because it seemed to be a softer approach to making a serious change. NY resolutions are not only far-fetched 80 percent of the time, but their unbending nature makes them hard to swallow. These resolutions we set? Theyre unkind. Theyre unattractively concrete, ercely rigid and meant to be loyally adhered to for the rest of our lives or until we fall of the wagon (which for me is usually about a month down the line). This is why I really liked my friends little theory. I could deal with a goal, not a life changeup. A goal meant I could give it a solid try, slowly and steadily gaining on my intention, but without beating myself up for a few slips here and there. Her words were magic to my NYE future, and in true wisest-friend nature, she ended up exploding my mind at the end of our talk. As she explained to me her New Years goal theory, she also enlightened me specically on what her goal was for 2014. Her New Years goal for 2014 was to learn the language of love that her boyfriend spoke. It sounded totally stupid, but with a bit more detail, I sank my teeth right into her philosophy. It wasnt really hers, though. She got it out of a book; shes a big reader and loves non-ction. Lately, shed ventured into a bit of self-help and stumbled across a book about climbing to a higher level of bonding by discovering your partners love language. She explained that every human has his/her own version of love. The way he/she understands, feels and expresses love is just as unique as their ngerprint. That means the likelihood of your partner relaying to you the level of their adoration in a manner that you understand, expect and easily accept isnt great. For instance, a woman may think that if her partner reaches instinctively for her hand on the way into the grocery store, then he is demonstrating a grand gesture of love. He, on the other hand, may not think about hand holding at all, believing it doesnt show the slightest amount of emotional attachment. Holding hands might be as important to him as catching the next episode of The View. Think about how many ways your partner may be expressing his/her love for you without you catching it because you were gauging him/her on your own measuring stick. He may think hes Casanova because he stayed at home to hang with you on Thursday night instead of watching a game with the boys, and you think hes indifferent because you always have to say, I love you rst at bedtime. Youre both showing your lovejust doing it differently. There are words, gifts, touch, acts of service, quality time and your own concoction of mannerisms to display love. Which display is most important to you? Think about it, and then think about the likelihood of your partner considering that display to be most important to them. If you really want to get close to the person you love this year, gure out their language of love. Ask them. Listen to them. Then set a goal to become uent.
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Drop me your situation. Lay down your good, bad and fugly tales from the dating crypt. This is your chance to ask anonymous advice on how to handle the stage 5 cling-on, killer crush, friends disapproval, infamous commitment phobe or any awkward love debacle. Im ready to be brutally honest, if youre ready to hear the hard truth. Write to boydstreetromance@gmail.com.

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Mel Guapo Feature

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New Music for a New Year

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Some of Normans hardest working and best talent provide a list of their favorite music from 2013 to soundtrack your life in 2014
Opinion is the essence of humanity. Essentially, we as people function as Complex Taste Machines. We feed our Taste Machine Souls with the things we love and hate, and our Souls hum and feed back that love and hate in whatever ways we direct it. Music is a way to inuence our Taste Machine Souls. We have now all entered into the New Year 2014 and we must look to the future. How will we set the soundtrack of our lives for 2014? What follows is a list comprised of some of Normans nest musical minds of the greatest records from 2013. Music to live 2014 by. Jeff Richardsons 2013 Favorites for 2014: Light Heat / Light Heat The National / Trouble Will Find Me The Baptist Generals / Jackleg Devotional to the Heart Grant Hart / The Argument Janelle Monae / The Electric Lady

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Jeff Richardson is a family man and front man for several local acts, including Locust Avenue, an original rock-androll act from Norman, and more recently Empty Bottles, a country cover band, which plays tunes that cover several decades and can be seen with regularity at The Deli and Opolis. Empty Bottles original holiday song Kiss Them All Goodnight was a part of Fowler VW Presents, A Blackwatch Christmas, Volume 3: Jingle Beats and Holly Tonk. Richardson has taken part in several tribute shows over the years, dedicated to covering the work of bands like The Who. Jeff also has a reputation as one of Normans friendliest bartenders, and you can get to know the man himself most evenings of the week and talk music with him by sidling up to his bar at Pepe Delgados on Campus Corner. If hes not there, chances are hes playing down the street at The Deli or across Main at The Opolis.

Dont be fooled by how easy he makes it look: John Calvin is one of the hardest working and most supernaturally talented musicians in the state. When hes not on tour with his own or another act, he can be found most nights of the week playing solo or sitting in with a variety of acts across a rainbow of genres. Calvin is a founding member of two of Normans most exciting acts from the past two years: Addverse Effects (hip-hop) and Poolboy (garage rock). You cannot put John Calvin in a box, although I would like to see you try, because he is scrappy and you will fail miserably. Im not sure there is anyone is Oklahoma who plays music with more pure joy than John Calvin. The list of Oklahoma music projects that Calvin has been a part of and made richer with his soulful talents is staggering. John Calvins 2013 Favorites for 2014: Jesse Aycock / Flowers and Wounds Beachwood Sparks / Tarnished Gold Thee Oh Sees / Putrier II Kurt Vile / Wakin on a Pretty Daze Midlake / Antiphon

active in the Norman scene and have released projects within the past year (Early Beat full-length, Shapeshifter and Poolboy EP, Soda Kids, respectively). Loveland has a unique and undeniable voice that embodies the Soul of Norman more completely and unpretentiously than any other artist in town. Loveland had this to say about his list of favorites from 2013:

an hour of radio dedicated to Americana. In 2013, Crain released her third full-length record, Kidface, to worldwide acclaim. During the month of January, Samantha will be rst doing a small run on the northwest coast before going overseas to play through the end of February all over the EU, bringing evermore pride to our state. Samantha Crains 2013 Favorites for 2014: Devendra Banhart / Mala John Moreland / In the Throes Molly Drake / Molly Drake James Blake / Overgrown

Joshua Rehanek, front man of Normans groundbreaking Hip-hop act Addverse Effects, making the possibly intentional mistake of sending me a New Years Eve photo with an Arkansas Razorbacks logo in the background. Luckily its upside down.

Addverse Effects front man Joshua Rehanek is the Norman Music Scenes foremost avor scientist. Rehanek has assembled and leads a team of players, amassing a unit that has brought the Life back to Live Music. Addverse Effects is a complex construction of diverse elements from The Oklahoma Soul, giving life to a new organic brand of hip-hop that is immediately relatable in a Live Performance setting (he will literally have you singing his hooks by the middle of your rst listen). Not only do the tunes move you, but there is also substance in the music and the lyrics and, more important than that, an emerging culture in the sound; the true meaning of the word avor. Joshua Rehaneks 2013 Favorites for 2014: Chance The Rapper / Acid Rap A breath of fresh hip-hop air. Autre Ne Veut / Anxiety Beautiful underground RnB. Earl Sweatshirt / Doris Technique on Technique. James Blake / Overgrown Blends RnB and hip-hop effortlessly, and that voice Van Morrison / Astral Weeks Released in 1968, found its way to me in 2013, this album was my Summer. Changed my writing and myself forever. Michael Loveland is a young father and husband to local Norman artist Ruth Loveland and has a long history of playing music in Norman. In the beginning, there was Early Beat, self described and best described as a fun-loving rock and roll band with a twist of In Your Face Punk After becoming a father, Lovelands life changed, and so did his approach to music. His outlet in music took a back seat to his family, and thus was formed the more informal group DAD, a two-man rock and roll outt with friend and fellow rst-time father Reese Truesdell, former owner of The Wild Hare bead shop on Campus Corner, next to Campus TV. After Truesdell left town, Early Beat ignited again, along with the formation of the new outt Poolboy, a garage rock project with John Calvin on drums and Sean Barker on bass. Both Early Beat and Poolboy are currently
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Well, this is obsessive, all this came from roughly the same area of the country. But, I am obsessed. So Michael Lovelands 2013 Favorites for 2014: Ty Segall / Sleeper Fuzz / Fuzz The Oh Sees / Floating Cofn King Tuff / Was Dead (Rerelease on Burger Records) The Oh Sees / Single Collection, Vol. 3

John Moreland / In the Throes Kyle Reid has one of the boldest and yet most underrated styles in the state. His jazzy guitar licks and swinging tempos house a collection of original tunes that span from the dark and serious to the sunny and playful. His spirit is rowdy but his technique is pure. Reid works intermittently as a session player at Normans own Breathing Rhythm Studios with producer Steve Boaz, who can often be seen sitting in with Kyle at The Deli, amongst other venues around the state. His tenacity as both a player and a songwriter have made him an important and growing part of the Norman music scene. He will be performing with his band, The Low Swinging Chariots, on January 12 at 7:30 p.m. at the Norman Train Depot for a two-hour set of original swing tunes and classic standards. (Tickets $10, $7 for students.) Kyle Reids 2013 Favorites for 2014: Luke Winslow-King / The Coming Tide Preservation Hall Jazz Band / Thats It! John Moreland / In the Throes Caitlin Rose / The Stand-In Tallows / Memory Marrow

Drake / Nothing Was the Same

Matt Duckworth, far right, playing drums on New Years at OKCs Bricktown Music Hall with Stardeath & White Dwarfs, fronted by Tyson Mead (formerly of the Chainsaw Kittens) collaborating together to cover David Bowies entire Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. (Photo by Autena Torbati.)

Samantha Crain has given our state a great deal to be proud of, and Norman is incredibly lucky to call her one of its own. With blood, sweat and gasoline she has crawled across our mighty nation, garnering persistent attention from our countrys most rened music sources such as Rolling Stone, Paste magazine and NPR. Crain maintains an active presence in Oklahoma between long stints on the road, as well as co-hosting Songs from the Plains (along with her good friend Samantha Lamb, another notable Normanite) on KOSU and The Spy FM Sunday nights,

Matt Duckworth is a man of a thousand bands, and this year he has added another major project to his name, emerging as the front man of a collaboration, Brainwasher, developed with Tommy McKenzie (formerly of The Boom Bang, and active member of half a dozen Norman-based bands). Duckworths main gig, Stardeath & White Dwarfs, in which he plays drums and shares songwriting and vocal duties, completed their sophomore record this past year and will look to release it in 2014. When hes not playing or recording original music, hes on the road selling merch with The Flaming Lips or contributing in the studio at Bell Labs. Matt has a wide range of tastes and capabilities and he has proven himself to be an unrelenting explorer and is emerging as one of Normans prodigious musical creators. Matt Duckworths 2013 Favorites for 2014: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds / Push the Sky Away Darkside / Psychic Vampire Weekend / Modern Vampires of the City Phosphorescent / Muchacho A$AP Rocky / Long Live A$AP

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