OUDaily.com | AJ Lansdale

May 11, 2011 | 0 comments

A long, entertaining semester is coming to a close. For some students, this is another step on their way up the college ladder, but this is the last step for me. Like my fellow outgoing seniors, barring a cataclysmic setback on one of my finals, I will get my degree this weekend. READ MORE

Summer break a great time to catch up on year's best game releases

May 9, 2011 | 1 comment

Despite playing several entertaining/time-consuming games this school year, I’ve managed to get through all my classes just fine, and am ready to go out into the real world. Here are a few of the best games from this academic year. READ MORE

Game review: 'Portal 2' delivers quality over quantity

April 21, 2011 | 0 comments

The original “Portal” was a side project by Valve, the makers of the “Half-Life” series. However, it took off like a rocket becoming one of the best games of 2007. READ MORE

COLUMN: Vinyl records still popular

April 15, 2011 | 0 comments

This may be the era of iPods and digital music, but that hasn’t stopped vinyl records from still being produced. Appealing to a demand by music aficionados and dedicated fans, records have made a comeback in the last few years, a comeback exemplified and celebrated by Record Store Day. READ MORE

COLUMN: April is the cruelest month

April 7, 2011 | 0 comments

Ah, April. The weather is finally staying warm, the trees and flowers on the South Oval are in full bloom, daylight lasts through dinnertime — and there’s no time to enjoy it because we’ve got too much to do. READ MORE

New Music Tuesday: 'vs. & Vitalogy 3CD Deluxe Edition'

April 5, 2011 | 0 comments

I have a running theory that the culture of the ‘90s is coming back in full force, similar to what the ‘80s did in the last decade. Pearl Jam is doing their part to prove my theory correct with their re-release of their second and third albums, “Vs.” and “Vitalogy,” along with a live set of a 1994 show at Boston’s Orpheum Theater. READ MORE

March Mediocrity: A bracket of terrible band names

March 30, 2011 | 3 comments

In the spirit of March Madness, here’s something to do: a bracket of terrible band names. I’ve divided the names of 64 bands into four regions based on characteristics that band name possesses. READ MORE

COLUMN: Reality shows don’t belong in SAT

March 29, 2011 | 1 comment

I’m glad I’m already in college, because some of this year’s SATs have a prompt that could have caused me (and anyone else who doesn’t watch reality TV) to get low scores on the test’s writing portion. READ MORE

Fight Night 1st EA Sports game with 'Mature' rating

March 8, 2011 | 0 comments

EA has been king of the ring when it comes to boxing sim games, dating back to 1998 and the Knockout Kings series. The latest installment in the series, “Fight Night Champion,” is darker, grittier and more graphically polished, but is it better? READ MORE

New Music Tuesday: 'Going Out in Style' by Dropkick Murphys

March 8, 2011 | 0 comments

Boston band Dropkick Murphys is inexorably associated with their hometown’s Irish community, notably for their support of the Red Sox and their version of “I’m Shipping Up To Boston” featured in The Departed. The band’s back again, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, with a strong, meaningful album in “Going Out In Style.” READ MORE

New music tuesday: English duo's sophomore album focuses on ambience

March 1, 2011 | 0 comments

This English duo has a flare for electronic samples and ambience. Malachai’s sophomore effort, “Return To The Ugly Side,” feels like one 35-minute song with the way each track transitions to the next — nearly seamlessly. This can be a good thing if you’re into acceptable background music, but doesn’t necessarily do much to keep a listener’s attention. READ MORE

'Dead Space 2' sacrifices scares for action

February 16, 2011 | 0 comments

A game with a tagline, “your mom’s gonna hate it," means it’s most likely trying to attain a certain shock value. In the case of “Dead Space 2,” it’s definitely violent enough to inspire such rhetoric, but it comes at the expense of sacrificing some of the dread of the first game. READ MORE

New Music Tuesday: 'The World Is Yours' by Motörhead

February 15, 2011 | 0 comments

Give Motörhead some credit: for a band that’s been going since 1975, they still rock harder than most of what passes for “rock music” these days." "The World is Yours” stays with the band’s tried and true formula: loud, aggressive and quick. It’s not revolutionary, but it’s worked for 20 albums and it’s still doing the trick. READ MORE

Is Valentine’s Day worthy of all the hoopla?

February 14, 2011 | 1 comment

My friend certainly has an optimistic view about this “holiday.” Indeed, she will likely be the beneficiary of many gifts and outpourings of affection from her beau. However, I urge you to see this day as it is: a commercial farce, a caricature of love that really should not exist in its current form. READ MORE

Couple works relationship around World of Warcraft

February 7, 2011 | 1 comment

With more than 12 million subscribers worldwide, “World of Warcraft” has a stranglehold on the online-gaming market. Since Blizzard released the original title in 2004, the game has continued to evolve. As time went by, new expansions came out — most recently, “World of Warcraft: Cataclysm” in December. READ MORE

Bottom of the Redbox Barrel: 'The Human Centipede (First Sequence)'

December 10, 2010 | 0 comments

The final Redbox column of the fall semester falls on my shoulders ... or keyboard. Whatever. READ MORE

Hipster vs. Metal Head

December 9, 2010 | 2 comments

You’d be hard-pressed to find two life & arts staffers with more divergent musical tastes than our metal aficionado AJ Lansdale and our indie kid Matt Carney. But college is the time for experimentation, so each curated a playlist that would help the other better understand a foreign aural landscape. READ MORE

New Kanye Tuesday: The Daily reviews 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'

November 30, 2010 | 0 comments

Kanye West is one of the biggest names in popular music today — with the talent and ego to match. We felt a single review wouldn’t do his latest album justice. READ MORE

Latest 'Assassin's Creed' delivers solid sequel

November 29, 2010 | 0 comments

The “Assassin’s Creed” series offers a different sort of experience within the world of video games. Part historical game and part science-fiction, the series seems to be finding its legs with its latest installment, “Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood.” READ MORE

Video Game Review: 'Force Unleashed II' full of unsatisfying elements

November 15, 2010 | 1 comment

In recent years, “Star Wars” games have been rather hit-or-miss. The better ones usually focus on the expanded universe beyond the movies, but most of the games try to cash in on the latest movie or TV show (see the current “Clone Wars” series). READ MORE

Rally for sanity merges discourse, humor

November 1, 2010 | 3 comments

Despite being a momentous (and rather amusing) event, the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear was not quite sane — although it had the right idea. READ MORE

OU instructor imagines the history that might have been

October 25, 2010 | 0 comments

A notable American historical event occurred on Aug. 15, 1935. Legendary entertainer, Oklahoma native and future president of the United States Will Rogers survived a plane crash in Barrow, Alaska. READ MORE

New 'Guitar Hero' entry fails to shake up formula

October 4, 2010 | 0 comments

After finally giving their cash cow a well-deserved break from constant milking this past year, Activision and Neversoft return to the music game genre with a somewhat new, more narratively focused direction, but “Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock” isn’t a complete departure from the old formula. The best place to begin with the game is the preposterously amusing Quest Mode. The game opens with a cutscene of The Beast doing battle with and imprisoning the “Demigod of Rock” (voiced by KISS’s Gene Simmons, who also narrates the game), and only the eight default characters in the game can liberate him. READ MORE

NCAA Football 11 predicts OU to win Saturday's game

September 29, 2010 | 0 comments

The first score of the game came near the end of the first quarter, with OU quarterback Landry Jones throwing a booming 76-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Brandon Caleb. The first half as a whole was a defensive struggle, with two OU fumbles (one overturned), and Texas sophomore quarterback Garrett Gilbert getting knocked out for a couple of series, although he returned to throw an 86-yard bomb to senior receiver John Chiles. OU led 14-7 at the half. READ MORE

Anthrax still puts on a good show

September 27, 2010 | 0 comments

I wasn't sure what to expect from Anthrax when it came to the Diamond Ballroom on Thursday night, having only heard its music off its albums from the 1980s. Well, 25 years later, in its first show in the U.S. after Europe's Sonisphere Festival, Anthrax still had the energy and the talent to bring down the house in Oklahoma City, as my ringing ears could attest to. READ MORE

Q&A with Dave Lombardo from Slayer

September 22, 2010 | 1 comment

The Daily’s AJ Lansdale interviews Dave Lombardo, the drummer for metal act Slayer. READ MORE

Metal singer ready to rock with Anthrax again

September 22, 2010 | 0 comments

Joey Belladonna was the lead singer of metal act Anthrax from 1984 to 1992, during which time the band was nominated for three Grammy Awards. Earlier this year, Belladonna rejoined the band to perform a series of shows in Europe with the “Big Four” — Anthrax, Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth. Anthrax makes a stop in Oklahoma City Thursday before heading out on tour again with Slayer and Megadeth. READ MORE

Is this a great State Fair or what?

September 16, 2010 | 0 comments

The Oklahoma State Fair begins tonight and with the fair comes sideshows, carnival rides and vomit-inducing food. As a whole, there are plenty of annoyances to deal with, but a lot of people still go, and not without reason: There’s some decent entertainment to be found. If you’re going to head up to Oklahoma City, here are some of the highlights. READ MORE

COLUMN: 'Madden 11' hot addition to video game series

August 24, 2010 | 0 comments

Another NFL season is starting, and EA Sports has released another version of “Madden NFL.” The latest iteration, “Madden NFL 11,” is a good football game, although it isn’t especially deep. READ MORE

COLUMN: Fall semester has potential to be gamers’ paradise

August 24, 2010 | 0 comments

This fall is going to be a busy season for video games. Sequels, reboots and reviving franchises have the potential to keep gamers busy throughout the fall semester. It may become a daunting task to pull oneself away from these titles to study for a CHEM 1315 midterm or write that term paper. READ MORE

GAME REVIEW: Starcraft II makes strides

July 29, 2010 | 0 comments

Twelve years ago, gamers heard “You want a piece of me, boy?” in a revolutionary real-time strategy game. READ MORE

Game Review: NCAA Football 2011

July 23, 2010 | 1 comment

The popular series comes back with many improvements, but is it enough? READ MORE

COLUMN: Video game scenarios for Lebron’s heated move to Miami

July 15, 2010 | 0 comments

What do the video game gods have to say about Lebron's move? READ MORE

Point-Counterpoint: Macs suck, PCs rule

July 8, 2010 | 2 comments

Why use a Mac? There's not point. READ MORE

July concerts showcase talent across state

July 1, 2010 | 0 comments

Summer is the time when the music festivals come out in force. There’s a reasonably-wide variety of good stuff coming to the state in the coming month, and I’ve been looking through some of the best across the genres. READ MORE

COLUMN: E3 brings surprises, disappointment

June 24, 2010 | 0 comments

New games and peripherals were not enough to excite people. READ MORE

Is the iPhone 4 right for you?

June 19, 2010 | 11 comments

Do the advancements make it worth getting? READ MORE

COLUMN: Online codes and used games

June 11, 2010 | 0 comments

Changes to video game sales might spark controversy. READ MORE

New Mario game a 'Galaxy' of fun

June 3, 2010 | 0 comments

Mario continues to provide fun and excitement. READ MORE

Review: Red Dead Redemption

May 27, 2010 | 0 comments

Game of the year? READ MORE

Movie Review: 'The Hangover'

June 10, 2009 | 0 comments

What happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas, but it doesn’t do much good if you can’t remember any of it … or if one of your friends gets lost there. This movie is obviously not a movie for families to go see. I wouldn’t call it a cinematic masterpiece either, but it’s definitely a fun movie if you liked "Wedding Crashers," "Old School" or any similar adult comedy. READ MORE

Summer gaming preview

May 7, 2009 | 0 comments

The Daily's AJ Lansdale takes a look at some of the most notable video games that will be hitting shelves over the summer. READ MORE

Oklahoma town provides historical fun, food

April 30, 2009 | 0 comments

With summer around the corner, it’s almost time to unwind and relax. If you are looking for somewhere close and cheap after finals week, check out the Wichita Mountains. READ MORE

Arcadia store ‘Pops’ and fizzes

April 15, 2009 | 0 comments

Everyone loves soda. Most people know the main brands: Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper and the other flavors under the brand umbrellas. But have you ever heard of sodas like Rat Bastard Root Beer or Leninade Soviet-Style Soda? You can find these and more among the hundreds supplied by an I-35 gas station. READ MORE

Rock isn’t dead, it’s in video games

April 1, 2009 | 0 comments

“Guitar Hero: Metallica,” the latest entry in Activision’s line of music games, has raised the bar at which music video games compete. READ MORE

Review: Watchmen - From comic to film

March 9, 2009 | 0 comments

Adaptations from graphic novel to cinema can leave some disappointed and others excited. For every gem like “The Dark Knight” comes a lemon like “Spawn” or “Judge Dredd.” In “Watchmen,” comes another strong comic book movie for this era, although fans of the graphic novel may disagree. READ MORE

New Music Tuesday: Jonbear Fourtet, Lamb of God and K'Naan

March 3, 2009 | 0 comments

The Daily's Claire Douthitt, AJ Lansdale and Ty ler Branson take a look at new releases from Jonbear Fourtet, Lamb of God and K'Naan. READ MORE

Your guide to anti-valentine’s day

February 13, 2009 | 1 comment

Valentine’s Day is a terrible day for single people. While couples get to bask in the “joy” of being together, singles have to try and make their own fun. Now I’m not necessarily evil but I am all right with crashing people’s party. READ MORE

Articles by AJ Lansdale