So Cool
2012 OKC ADDY Awards Show Intro from Steve Jones on Vimeo.
So cool indeed. This video was debuted tonight at the ADDYS. We’ve seen one effort after another by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber and others at trying to come up with a song, a slogan, anything that might capture what makes Oklahoma City special. I’m hoping to get the creative minds behind this video to do a guest blog about the creation of this song and video, and how it might play into our future.
I can’t agree more with this song’s main theme – that we really are a big city with the soul of a small town. Jack Money and I ended our first book, “OKC Second Time Around” with this very same conclusion. And it’s OK that we’re not Dallas, or St. Louis, or Kansas City, or Denver, or Charlotte, or any other “major league city.” We’re Oklahoma City. We’ve got a lot of great momentum underway. But we’re still kind of gritty. It’s a grit that goes back to a gunshot fired on April 22, 1889 when some of the most desperate people in the country all raced in at once with big dreams and hopes of a fresh start. We are perhaps one of the only cities in the world where it started in one day where everybody was equal, where no one was above anybody else. So cool indeed.
Thank you for joining our conversation on OKC Central. We encourage your discussion but ask that you stay within the bounds of our commenting and posting policy.
Comments
Loved your commentary Steve and you hit the nail on the head. WAY TOO MANY nincompoops feel that OKC IS a Tier 1 city. We are not and NEVER WILL BE. So lets get real with ourselves and be the absolute best we can be for what we are and give up the idiotic notion that we can reach the unobtainable.
Most of the streets in OKC are “gritty?” Really? Is that new slang for white/conservative/Christian?
James, I’m the Creative Director of the project and soon I’ll be working with Jabee and Steve, the director, to tell the story of the song and video.
But the gist is this: when I brought Jabee to the project I wanted him to give us his vision of OKC, knowing that it would be a different perspective than what’s commonly out there.
He’ll tell his story soon, but it has nothing to do with anyone being white, conservative or Christian. And I guess only you hold the answer as to why that would even be the first thing you would think of when you watched this labor of love by a group of folks that want to promote the city we all love.
Thankyou Brian! Excellent response to an obnoxious post.
I love this video and thankyou Brian for working on it! I think it IS THE PERFECT representation of what our city is really like. The grittiness of the more urban locations is what I LOVED. Use of local kids, stores, locations, etc. really brings the feeling of “HOME” that we all share for OKC. Well most of us.
Great job.
Oh, I’m sorry Brian. I didn’t realize we were not supposed to engage and/or critically evaluate the lyrics of a song about a city that we live in.
My bad. You are right, it is a wonderful project that should not be processed but just be applauded. And it’s all thanks to you bringing in Jabee for your project.
It is certainly a different perspective. There are plenty of other perspectives out there of the cowtown rising from the ashes of the bombing, the Big Friendly, oil and gas, etc. I think it highlights that this town can be many different things for many different people.
And from my white conservative Christian perspective, I think that’s good.
Something most “cool” cities have in common is that the citizens have the collective confidence to acknowledge and celebrate the flaws that make it unique, special. Who wants to live in a strip mall of a city where everything and everyone is perfectly un-gritty? Proud of those guys for having the guts to create something honest. I feel like it’s obvious that everyone involved with creating this song and video love OKC, just as it is, and should be applauded for the effort.
James, you didn’t critically evaluate anything. Your “critique” was a dumb question based on your ignorant view of OKC and most likely the world.
FYI: Just so it makes sense as you watch it, on Saturday night at the ADDY gala, when the girl in the video says, “Ladies and gentlemen… Jabee!” Jabee jumped on stage to perform the second half of the song live for the crowd (along with co-writer Denver Duncan). It was a pretty amazing experience.
James, there are a lot of other forums where you can discuss politics. Please be respectful. There’s plenty of opportunity to get into hostile discussion over at NewsOK, elsewhere. Let’s keep OKC Central above the fray.
The Coffee Slinger building is pleased to be part of this video. Thrilled the producer liked the style and neon of the building.
steve, i haven’t seen you in over 30 years, but i just wanted to say how proud you have made this city. and congratulations on the accomplishments of a certain “Gold Award” winner in your family.
I liked it. Now how can we get the okc chamber to replace this video with that lame commercial they’ve been running?
I did enjoy the video, even if I also think that it only presented a small slice of what Oklahoma City is, just a bit of the “gritty” part, which I like. That said, it doesn’t come close to reflecting the overall city, at large.
I don’t think it should replace the chamber video. “Where we’ve been (Where we’re goin’)” is great too, just targeted to a different audience.
If money and creative talent grew on trees, there might be a professional quality video like this one reflecting the heart of all of the small slices of OKC, and the state, at large.
Can’t be everything to everyone, and trying to appeal to everyone is the quickest way to appeal to no one.
Great concept, great song and great video.
The whole thing should be seen as a tribute to OKC, and not just lyrically and visually. OKC is a vibrant, diverse and interesting city with many more slices of culture than any one person thinks.
To some, it’s Stockyard City and Graham’s. To some, it’s Bakers Street and Outlet Shoppes. To some, it’s Big Truck Tacos and Whole Foods. To some, it’s Bricktown and the Thunder. To some, it’s the Hi-Lo and the Flaming Lips. To some, it’s Kamp’s and Bobo’s.
To some, it’s all of the above.
Thankfully, OKC doesn’t have to be just one way for everyone.
Liked the video but despised the rap sound track (not the lyrics, just the “music” style).
I came to the same conclusion myself years ago. We are a Rural City. We aren’t Dallas, New York etc, and if we ever become one of those other cities, I will be leaving. If I wanted to live in someplace like that, I would have moved there years ago.
Larry, OKC is not a rural city. It was born as an urban city and due to White flight, sprawl, urban renewal, etc., became more of a suburban city in the latter half of the 20th Century. I welcome our 21st Century urban renaissance and look forward to wishing you a friendly bon voyage as you depart for Wichita Falls, Amarillo, or whatever “rural city” outpost you choose as your future home.
Brian, I respectfully disagree. While it may have had urban elements (mainly downtown) that seems to have been the extent of it. I have an image of the city’s founding (Oklahoma City, Indian Territory, 1890) and looks nothing like New York, Chicago etc of the day as my desktop. We had urban sprawl all most from the beginning with the rather extensive streetcar network that was built with the interurban lines going to the surrounding communities.
Yes, much of what urban fabric the city had was destroyed by the things you mentioned. But I still contend that we have nearly always been and remain a rural city. As to my my own experience…it has been a rural city as long as I have known it….was born here…live across the street from the hospital where I was born…am nearing my 49th birthday and my parents were born here/moved here at grade school age concur.
In case you missed it, I was agreeing with Steve when he said:
“I can’t agree more with this song’s main theme – that we really are a big city with the soul of a small town. Jack Money and I ended our first book, “OKC Second Time Around” with this very same conclusion. And it’s OK that we’re not Dallas, or St. Louis, or Kansas City, or Denver, or Charlotte, or any other “major league city.” We’re Oklahoma City.”
So unless we become one of the forementioned cities, I have no intention of moving someplace else…”am Sooner born, Sooner bred…when I die, I’ll be Sooner dead”
Larry OKC, I agree with Brian. We are not a rural city. Oklahoma is a rural state with a vibrant and diverse city which is Oklahoma City. No we’re not New York because New York is New York, we’re not Dallas because Dallas is Dallas, just as we’re not Omaha because Omaha is Omaha. Each city in America has something that makes them unique. Oklahoma City is unique for being an American oil hub and we are quickly becoming one of the strongest economic hubs in the aerospace industry. Many engineers are pouring into the city to work for Fortune 100 and 500 OKC companies such as Devon, Chesapeake, Sandridge, and Boeing, amongst others. We have a strong Southern hospitality kind of culture here which does not make us rural, it’s just a culture that’s predominant in this part of the country. With the arrival of the OKC Thunder and the national attention we have received, OKC and all it has to offer has been internationally displayed and we are no longer overlooked as we were when you were a kid growing up. I too remember a time when we were a place seemingly headed nowhere and if that’s what you liked then I’m sorry to say it may be turning into a place that may make you uncomfortable. However, if you can handle the incoming diversity you will find your place in this city as our community continues to thrive. There too, will be a place for country folk just as there is in Dallas/Fort Worth and other Southern cities. But we will continue, as we have in recent years, to see an increase of peoples of all races, religions, sexual orientations, and creeds. The arts are becoming a major part of the city and we are on a fast track that just cannot be stopped. The only close cities that are a safe bet to not becoming much of anything fast are towns like Lawton, Wichita Falls, Amarillo, etc. I feel like you think OKC is similar to these places and if so you haven’t experienced much or may be in denial as a handful of “old school” residents in OKC who dispise diversity and growth are. It’s okay if you don’t like this sort of thing but like I said, if you wish to stay here happily you will either have to learn to love and accept the rennaissance that we are in, or you will have to find your part of the city that is a little slower paced. I would recommend an outerlying suburb. People need to remember that you can’t say a city is rural or not a city just because of the part of the country it lies in. People seem to think that New York, Philadelphia, Boston, etc. constitute what a city truly is or should be but those are northeastern cities just as Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, OKC, Memphis are Southern cities. Kansas City, St. Louis, Detroit, Chicago are Midwestern cities, and LA, San Diego, San Francisco are Western cities. They’re all urban cities, they just happen to have a different predominant culture based on their geographical location. 
Wow this video was awesome and the song really captured word for word the essence of okc, I’ve only been here 7years but I consider it home. Bravo to the writers of the song and creative minds behind the visual