the beatles

In consequence, we're informed that "All the Beatles receive a weekly sum of £50 to cover expenses" and informed on page 438 that George Harrison "has a very long, low, single-storied, brightly painted bungalow at Esher". The laziness of this tautology typifies Davies's slackly-written "authorised biography".

Generously packed with Beatles ephemera, it is bizarrely uninformative about their music. The sole mention of Revolver, the group's finest LP, is in a discography. A new chapter of obituaries records the passing of figures elsewhere referred to in the present tense.

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breaking benjamin

Breaking Benjamin is an American alternative metal band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Influenced by bands such as Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, and Tool, Breaking Benjamin brings catchy riffs to express meaning in their music. Breaking Benjamin is currently working on their fourth studio album yet to be titled, with David Bendeth

History

[edit] Formation

Formed in 1998 by vocalist Benjamin Burnley and drummer Jeremy Hummel, Breaking Benjamin quickly garnered a strong local following in their home state of Pennsylvania. The band derived their name from an incident when Burnley was covering a Nirvana song during an open mic night at a club when he dropped the microphone, breaking it. The person who owned the microphone came on stage and said, "Thanks to Benjamin for breaking my fucking mic."[7] In late 2000, after various line-up changes, the band changed its name back to "Breaking Benjamin" and two friends of Burnley, Aaron Fink and Mark Klepaski, left their previous band, Lifer, and joined the ranks of Breaking Benjamin as guitarist and bassist, respectively. According to the band, the Breaking Benjamin logo, a variation of the Celtic knot, was found in a tattoo book by a fan. The logo is also tattooed on the left wrist of Ben Burnley, Aaron Fink, and Mark James Klepaski, and the right wrist of Chad Szeliga. The band is currently signed to Hollywood records on a five record deal, having released three so far. They achieved their first number 1 single in 2007 with the track "Breath" off their third album Phobia.

[edit] Saturate

The band signed to Hollywood Records in 2001 after the success of an independently-released, self-titled EP, which sold all 2,000 copies that were manufactured. Hollywood Records released their full-length, major-label debut, Saturate, on August 27, 2002. The album peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers Chart and at 136 on the Billboard Top 200.

The album's first single, "Polyamorous", received a fair amount of radio play, although it failed to reach mainstream audiences. A video was released in two different versions for Polyamorous: one that had all live-action footage, and one that had footage of the video game Run Like Hell.

The second single "Skin" was also released from Saturate, although it fared worse than "Polyamorous" and received even less airplay."Skin" was also performed live on several talk shows including "Last Call: With Carson Daly," "The Late Late Show With Craig Kilborn" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live." Singer Burnley has been known to state his disdain for the song during live performances and has the crowd sing the words as the band plays.

"Medicate" was also released as the third and final single, to little commercial success and airplay.

The band was planning on releasing a studio version of their cover of "Enjoy the Silence" along with "Lady Bug" on the European version of Saturate. However, the European version was never released. "Lady Bug" was eventually released on the "So Cold" EP.

[edit] We Are Not Alone

Breaking Benjamin released their second album, We Are Not Alone, on June 29, 2004. The album featured the lead off single "So Cold", which reached number two on the United States Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. The promotional wheel was put behind the track as the band performed live on various talk shows such as "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," "Last Call with Carson Daly," and "Jimmy Kimmel Live." The song has a lengthy history as the band had written 2 other songs before they were finally combined to become "So Cold". The first was "Inertia", then "Always", neither were released, but have been played live. The band had two music videos made for "So Cold." one of which was a promotional video made for the movie Hellboy. "So Cold" spent 37 weeks in the top 20 of the Billboard charts (as of February 3, 2005). The commercial success of "So Cold" led to We Are Not Alone debuting at number 20 on the Billboard 200 selling 48,000 copies in it's first week and achieving platinum status in late 2005.

Also released as singles from the album were "Sooner or Later" and a re- recorded version of "Rain", which was featured on later pressings of the album. "Sooner or Later", had a video created for it and got a fair amount of radio play reaching number two on the Mainstream Rock Charts. The track was also featured during an episode of the tv show "Summerland" and performed live on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

The tracks "Rain," "Forget It" and "Follow" were all co-written by the guitarist and vocalist of The Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Corgan. Breaking Benjamin and Corgan's collaboration took place for six days in December. Burnley admitted he was at first nervous to work with Corgan, but later felt comfortable and called the experience one of the highlights of his career.[8]

During a tour in support of "We Are Not Alone" Aaron Fink's father joined the band on tour, whose music collection is what originally sparked Aaron's interest in music. Gary Fincke is a professor at Susquehanna University and wrote Amp'd: A Father's Backstage Pass about his travels with the band.

In September 2004, drummer, and founding member of Breaking Benjamin, Jeremy Hummel was relieved of his duties in the band. Subsequently, on September 28, 2005, Hummel filed a federal lawsuit against the remaining members of Breaking Benjamin, as well as its management, claiming he was not paid for songs he helped write. Hummel's lawsuit asked for more than $8 million in damages. An article was released October 25, 2006 stating that Hummel does not receive any payments from the making of We Are Not Alone in which he co-authored.[9]

[edit] So Cold EP

Later in 2004, the band released the So Cold EP. The EP contained live recordings of We Are Not Alone's "So Cold" (acoustic), "Breakdown", and "Away", as well as studio recordings of "Blow Me Away", and "Lady Bug", an early fan favorite of the band's.

[edit] Phobia

In the fall of 2006 the band began a tour opening for Godsmack for the IV tour, hitting up mostly eastern and Ohio Valley venues, and soon moving out west, still in support of the Phobia album. Several of the shows had been cancelled, or turned into Breaking Benjamin headliners due to scheduling conflicts. Many of the Breaking Benjamin tour dates from December 3rd have been rescheduled due to illness in the band's ranks. All dates were rescheduled as the band announced another headlining leg before going on a nationwide tour with Three Days Grace and Nickelback.

On February 11, 2007, HDNet premiered a one-hour show of the Breaking Benjamin concert in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania at Stabler Arena. This is also the concert that was included on the Phobia re-release DVD in April 2007, advertised as "The Homecoming". The band obtained their first number 1 billboard single with "Breath". Footage of the band's live Stabler Arena performance of "Breath" comprises the song's music video. On April 17, 2007, Breaking Benjamin re-released the album Phobia. The album featured a DVD with about an hour of their Stabler Arena concert footage. They completed a co-headlining tour in the United States with Three Days Grace and had Red and Puddle of Mudd as openers. The album re-entered the Billboard 100 at number 38 on May 5, 2007 with its reissue.

On June 29, 2007, the band appeared on Jay Leno and they performed "Breath". On July 6, 2007, the band performed "Breath" again on Craig Ferguson. The band did not perform as scheduled on July 9, 2007 at the Tabernacle in Atlanta due to an illness that Ben had. Two other concerts wrapping up their tour (in Myrtle Beach, SC on July 10 and Greensboro, NC on July 11) were cancelled as well. On their website, they announced that Burnley was ill and unable to perform in Atlanta and at the two remaining shows. Rumors that the band was breaking up turned out to be false, as the band announced a 36-date fall 2007 tour with Three Days Grace, Seether, Skillet (first half) and Red (second half).

On July 11, 2007 Ben made this announcement on the band's website:
“ What’s up guys? Just wanted to fill you in on what’s going on. I regrettably had to postpone some shows, because I’m not feeling well and haven’t felt 100% since November when I left the Godsmack tour four days early. I’m a private person, and I would like to keep my personal health to myself but I wanted to go on the record and tell everyone that this is nothing drug or alcohol related. As a matter a fact I have been completely clean and sober for 7 months. I’m working on seeing the best doctors and exploring every avenue possible to fixing this. In the meantime I’d like to say, that I appreciate the support and understanding of all Breaking Benjamin fans. You all mean the world to me. It kills me inside to have to let my fans down. But please understand that I did not choose to get sick. I’m working tirelessly to getting to the bottom of this so I can do what God put me on this earth to do.

P.S. As of yet plans have not changed for future tours nor am I aware of any plans of Breaking Benjamin breaking up. Thank you for your understanding. I hope that we can make it up to those that we missed on this recent tour.

Much love, Ben[10]
”

[edit] 4th Studio Album

David Bendeth[11] who produced the band's last two studio efforts, We Are Not Alone and Phobia, is going to produce Breaking Benjamin's 4th studio album. On their MySpace blog, Breaking Benjamin stated, "We are busy crafting the new material and have several songs ready for the Bendeth production treatment." On November 20, 2008 lead singer Ben Burnley was interviewed on Cage Rattle Radio and stated that he is writing so much for the new album that it is consuming his life. He also stated that he is getting no deadlines or pressure from the label on this album so he is taking his time. Ben did not divulge any information on the new album other than the fact that the new album could possibly have a cover of "Dream On" by Aerosmith, although he said it will be changed to spread the similarities.

A revision note on David Bendeth's website stated that Breaking Benjamin's fourth studio album has no current release date and that the album "will be started shortly in the spring".

A blog post on the band's MySpace (posted January 18th 2009) stated the tracks are 'shaping up nicely' and the band is ready to get into the studio during the next few months. The blog also mentioned that the band hopes to have the album ready by summertime.[12]

On April 7th, the Washington DC radio station, DC101 said Breaking Benjamin will have their album out by late summer. This announcement was made directly after the station played So Cold. This has not been confirmed by the band, however, and there is no confirmed date or timeframe in which the album will be released.

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muse

The Muses (Ancient Greek αἱ μοῦσαι, hai moũsai [1]: perhaps from the Proto-Indo-European root *men- "think"[2]) in Greek mythology, poetry, and literature are the goddesses or spirits who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge, related orally for centuries in the ancient culture, that was contained in poetic lyrics and myths. Originally said to be three in number, by the Classical times of the 400s BC, their number had grown and become set at nine goddesses who embody the arts and inspire the creation process with their graces through remembered and improvised song and stage, writing, traditional music, and dance.

In one myth, King Pieride, once king of Macedon, had nine daughters he named after the nine Muses, believing that their skills were a great match to the Muses (mousi). He thus challenged the Muses to a match, resulting in his daughters being turned into magpies and jackdaws. In Greek Mythology these nine daughters of the king usually are referred to as the Pierides.

Sometimes they are referred to as water nymphs, associated with the springs of Helicon and with Pieris.

The Olympian myths set Apollo as their leader, Apollon Mousagetēs. Not only are the Muses explicitly used in modern English to refer to an inspiration, as when one cites one's own artistic muse, but they also are implicit in words and phrases such as "amuse", "museum"(changed from muselon--a place were the muses were worshipped), "music", and "musing upon".[3]

According to Hesiod's Theogony (seventh century BC), they were daughters of Zeus, the second generation king of the gods, and the offspring of Mnemosyne, goddess of memory. For Alcman and Mimnermus, they were even more primordial, springing from the early deities, Uranus and Gaia. Gaia is Mother Earth, an early mother goddess who was worshipped at Delphi from prehistoric times, long before the site was rededicated to Apollo, possibly indicating a transfer to association with him after that time. Pausanias records a tradition of two generations of Muses; the first being daughters of Uranus and Gaia, the second of Zeus and Mnemosyne. Another, rarer genealogy is that they are daughters of Harmonia (the daughter of Aphrodite and Ares) which contradicts the myth in which they were dancing at the wedding of Harmonia and Cadmus. This later inconsistency is an example of how clues to the true dating, or chronology, of myths may be determined by the appearance of figures and concepts in Greek myths.[citation needed]

Compare the Roman inspiring nymphs of springs, the Camenae, the Völva of Norse Mythology and also the apsaras in the mythology of classical India.

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trivium

Trivium is an American metalcore band formed in 2000 in Orlando, Florida.[1] The band has released four studio albums, eleven singles, and twelve music videos. Signed to Roadrunner Records, the band has attended major music festivals, including Ozzfest and the Download Festival.


History

[edit] Formation and Ember to Inferno (2000–2004)

At his High School talent show at Lake Brantley High School, guitarist Matt Heafy performed cover versions of Metallica's "No Leaf Clover" and "Self Esteem" by The Offspring.[2] Vocalist Brad Lewter noticed Heafy and asked him to try out for his band. The pair went over to drummer Travis Smith's house where they played Metallica's "For Whom the Bell Tolls". Impressed with Heafy's performance, they accepted him into the band known as Trivium. After several shows at bars, Lewter quit the band and Heafy took over his position as the new vocalist for the band.[3] In early 2003, Trivium went into the recording studio to record its first high-quality demo disc.[4] A copy of the demo was heard by German label Lifeforce, who signed Trivium. The band entered a studio to record its debut album, Ember to Inferno.[3]

As time went on, Corey Beaulieu became the second lead guitarist. In 2004, Paolo Gregoletto joined as the band's bassist to replace Brent Young, before a tour with Machine Head.[5] Ember to Inferno was a small success and managed to garner the interest of Roadrunner Records representatives, who signed Trivium. The members began writing songs for their major label album debut.[3]

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korn

History

[edit] Formation, Neidermeyer's Mind demo, Korn (1992–1995)

Korn formed after the group L.A.P.D. folded, due to singer Richard Morrill's drug addiction. Musicians Reginald Arvizu, James Shaffer, and David Silveria wanted to continue, and recruited guitarist Brian Welch and started a new band called Creep.

In early 1993, the band took notice of vocalist Jonathan Davis after seeing his band Sexart and attempted to get him to join Creep. Davis initially did not want to join the band, but after consulting a psychic he decided to audition and then joined the band, as mentioned by Jonathan Davis himself in interview in the DVD Who Then Now?. The band soon changed their name to "Korn" (after Jonathan was recruited, they decided to get a new name. Jonathan suggested Korn as just a brainstorm, but everyone else enjoyed it. So Jonathan got a Crayola crayon and wrote their logo in a child's handwriting, with a "K" instead of "C" and a backwards upper-case "R"[citation needed]).

In April that year, the band began a working relationship with producer Ross Robinson, which led to their first demo tape entitled Neidermeyer's Mind. The band had problems getting signed during its first year, due to the 1990s rock scene, which was primarily grunge. After many attempts at a record deal, Paul Pontius from Immortal/Epic Records heard the band in a nightclub and was so impressed, he signed them on the spot.[4] With a producer and a label, Korn started work on their self-titled debut album.

Musically, the album was a mix of alternative metal, grunge, hip hop, and funk the latter elements encompassed in the rhythmic approach to the band's compositions. "Blind" was the first single from the album, which got a decent amount of airplay and attention. Once Korn saw a release on October 11, 1994, the band toured incessantly with no support from radio or video stations. They relied solely on their intense live shows, which created a large cultlike following of dedicated fans. It was through the effort of this fanbase that helped push Korn onto the Billboard 200, eventually peaking at #72 in 1996,[1] with "Shoots and Ladders" being their first Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance.[5]

On their first large tour, Korn opened for Danzig alongside Marilyn Manson. Other bands for which Korn opened in 1995 included Megadeth, 311, Fear Factory, Flotsam and Jetsam, and KMFDM. However, the first tour that widely exposed the band was opening for Ozzy Osbourne alongside the Deftones. After opening for lesser-known bands such as Dimestore Hoods, Sugar Ray (at the time), and Life of Agony, Korn returned to the studio to record a second album.

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new radicals

The New Radicals were an American rock band active in the late 1990s, centered on frontman Gregg Alexander, who wrote and produced all of their songs and was the sole constant member. They released one album, 1998's Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too, an alternative album heavily influenced by the rock and soul of the 1970s,[1] containing—among radio-friendly modern rock tracks and love songs—strong criticism of corporate America.[2][3]

The band is best known for their debut single "You Get What You Give", which became a top 5 hit in the United Kingdom and whose lyrics, which insulted celebrities at the end of the song, provided a minor media spectacle.[4][5] Tired of touring and promotional interviews, Alexander disbanded the group in mid-1999 before the release of their second single, "Someday We'll Know", to focus on writing and producing songs for other artists. As a result, "Someday We'll Know" received little attention in most countries and the band is widely considered a one-hit wonder.

History

The New Radicals were formed in Los Angeles, California in 1997 by Gregg Alexander, who had previously released two unsuccessful solo albums, 1989's Michigan Rain and 1992's Intoxifornication. Michael Rosenblatt, MCA Records' A&R Senior Vice President, signed the band to the label in 1998,[8] and Alexander received a $600,000 advance for their first (and only) album, Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too.[9] The album was released on October 20, 1998, and was well received by music critics, who praised the record for its wide range of untypical influences for a modern pop-rock album, such as Todd Rundgren, World Party and Hall & Oates, and compared its funk and soul-influenced upbeat pop rock to the early work of Prince and Mick Jagger.

Some critics, however, disliked the album's themes—Alexander's criticism of society and the frequent references to drugs and sex that run throughout the album—denoting them as "shallow posturing" and "empty social pronouncements"[10] while others found that Alexander's social criticism and observations "would sound clichéd if they werent [sic] so insightful and articulated with such uninhibited truth."[11] Also popular with the general audience, the album reached #10 on the UK Albums Chart and #41 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S., where it also achieved platinum status (1,000,000 copies sold). It was also certified gold in the United Kingdom (100,000 copies sold) and in Canada (50,000 copies sold).

To promote their album, the New Radicals embarked on a tour through the United States, starting in late 1998. Apart from many concerts and festivals the tour also included several live performance on the radio, appearances at The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Nickelodeon's All That and a performance at the House of Blues in Chicago on New Year's Eve 1998—which is probably the only New Radicals show of which bootlegs are circulating.[12] They also opened for the Goo Goo Dolls on their tour starting on March 30 in 1999.[13]

The album was followed on November 17, 1998 by the release of their first single, "You Get What You Give" (co-written with Rick Nowels), which reached #36 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on the UK Singles Chart, got heavy radio airplay and rotation on MTV and received much media attention. In large part this attention focused on the celebrity-slamming line "Fashion shoots with Beck and Hanson/ Courtney Love and Marilyn Manson/ You're all fakes run to your mansions/ Come around we'll kick your ass in" (New_Radicals_-_You_Get_What_You_Give_(clip).ogg audio sample (help·info)).

When asked about it in an interview, Marilyn Manson replied he was "not mad that [Alexander] said he'd kick my ass, I just don't want to be used in the same sentence with Courtney Love" and would "crack his skull open if I see him."[4] Beck reported that "I was in a grocery store and he [Alexander] came running up to me, so apologetic, and saying, 'I hope you weren't offended. It wasn't supposed to be personal.' I was kind of pleased, because he's a big guy."[5] Hanson said they weren't really bothered by the song, as they saw it as just a pop-culture reference. They also co-wrote the song "Lost Without Each Other" from their 2004 album Underneath with Alexander. Zac Hanson said that "It was cool working with Gregg... [he]'s definitely a character but he's a cool guy."[14]

Following the mass media's excitement about the celebrity insults, Alexander explained that the verse, along with the lines directly preceding it ("Health insurance rip off lying/ FDA big bankers buying/ Fake computer crashes dining/ Cloning while they're multiplying") were an experiment to see if the media would focus on the real issues, or on the celebrity ridicule.[2] Similar complaints and attacks on Christian religion, American society, politics and corporations can be found in other songs on the album as well, and Alexander would often use promotional interviews to talk about these topics, complaining about—among other things—corrupt, greedy politicians and corporate officers, credit card interest, the poor American social security system, and lack of education.[3]

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jason miraz

Jason Mraz (IPA: /ˈdʒeɪsʌn mɜrˈæz/,[1] born June 23, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter, born and raised in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Mraz's stylistic influences include reggae, pop, rock, folk, jazz, and hip hop.

Mraz released his debut album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come in 2002 but it wasn't until the release of his second album, Mr. A-Z that Mraz achieved commercial success. The album peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 200 and sold over one hundred thousand copies in the US. In 2008, Mraz released his third studio album, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 was a commercial success worldwide, peaking in the top ten of many international charts.

Mraz's international breakthrough came with the release of lead single from We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. titled "I'm Yours". The single peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Mraz his first top ten single. The song was a huge commercial success in the US with it receiving a triple-Platinum certification from the RIAA for sales of over three million[2]. The song was successful internationally and topped the charts in New Zealand and Norway and peaking in the top ten of multiple international charts.

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