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Four-Calendar Café
''Four-Calendar Café'' is the seventh studio album by Scottish band Cocteau Twins, released on 18 October 1993 by Fontana Records. Background The album distinguishes itself from the rest of the Twins' catalogue in two major areas: The sound is much more pop-oriented and less ambient than previous works, and vocalist Elizabeth Fraser's lyrics are more intelligible than usual. Their single "Evangeline" was a moderate hit in several countries. "Bluebeard" was a moderate success on the United States modern charts. Title and artwork The album took its title from William Least Heat-Moon's book '' Blue Highways'', in which the author considers the quality of a restaurant by how many calendars it has hanging on its wall. ''NME'' named it the 46th best record of 1993. The cover image was taken by Walter Wick, who is known for his photography for the children's book series ''I Spy''. The picture is a set of various small objects scattered across a dark blue background. Inside the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins was a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instrumentalist Simon Raymonde in 1983. The group earned critical praise for their ethereal, effects-laden sound and the soprano vocals of Fraser, whose lyrics often eschew any recognisable language. They pioneered the 1980s alternative subgenre of dream pop. After signing with the British record label 4AD in 1982, they released their debut album '' Garlands'' later that year. The addition of Raymonde in 1983 solidified their final lineup, which produced their biggest hit in the UK, "Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops", peaking at No. 29 on the UK Singles Chart. In 1988, Cocteau Twins signed with Capitol Records in the United States, distributing their fifth album, ''Blue Bell Knoll'', through a major label in the country. After the 1990 release of their m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I Spy (Scholastic)
''I Spy'' is a children's book series with text written by Jean Marzollo, photographs by Walter Wick, and published by Scholastic Press. Each page contains a photo with objects in it, and the riddles (written in dactylic tetrameter rhyme) accompanying the photo state which objects have to be found. Although the first ''I Spy'' book contains unrelated pages of still life pictures, subsequent books are more thematic. Several video games based on the ''I Spy'' books are available for Windows PC, Nintendo DS, Wii, iOS, Leapster, and Game Boy Advance, including '' I Spy Spooky Mansion'', ''I Spy Treasure Hunt'', and ''I Spy Fantasy''. These served as early examples of an increasingly popular hidden object game genre. ''I Spy'' merchandise has been sold in at least 31 countries worldwide. Wick stated in a 1997 news article, "My career can really be put into two categories: before ''I Spy'' and after ''I Spy''. ... The success of the books has been really nice. I never got that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Random Thoughts (Faye Wong Album)
''Random Thoughts'' (), alternatively ''Thinking Here and There'' or ''Wondering Music'', is the translated title of a 1994 Cantonese album recorded by Chinese Cantopop singer Faye Wong when she was based in Hong Kong. It confirmed her move into alternative music and covers songs by the Cocteau Twins, whose influence she readily acknowledged. The title track "Random Thoughts" is a cover of the Cocteau Twins' "Bluebeard". Track 5, "Know Oneself and Each Other", covered their song "Know Who You Are at Every Age", which was likewise from their 1993 album ''Four-Calendar Café''. "Dream Lover" (sometimes translated "Person in a Dream") is a cover of The Cranberries' "Dreams". It was a successful hit single, and was featured in Wong Kar-wai's critically acclaimed film ''Chungking Express'' in which Faye Wong also starred. She also recorded a Mandarin version, "Elude", on ''Sky''. Both versions are still played frequently in Chinese media. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Faye Wong
Faye Wong ( zh, 王菲; born Xia Lin on 8 August 1969) is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter. Early in her career she briefly used the stage name Shirley Wong. Born in Beijing, she moved to Hong Kong in 1987 and her debut album '' Shirley Wong'' (1989) came to public attention in the early 1990s by singing in Cantonese, often combining alternative music with mainstream Chinese pop. Since 1994, she has recorded mostly in her native Mandarin. In 2000, she was recognised by Guinness World Records as the "Best Selling Canto-Pop Female". Following her second marriage in 2005, she withdrew from the limelight, but returned to the stage in 2010. Hugely popular in Hong Kong, Taiwan, China and Singapore, she has also gained a large following in Japan. In the West she is perhaps best known for starring in Wong Kar-wai's films ''Chungking Express'' (1994) and ''2046'' (2004). While she has collaborated with international artists such as Cocteau Twins, Wong recorded only a few songs in Englis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cantopop
Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of pop music written in standard Chinese and sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production and consumption. The genre began in the 1970s and became associated with Hong Kong popular music from the middle of the decade. Cantopop then reached its height of popularity in the 1980s and 1990s before slowly declining in the 2000s and experiencing a slight revival in the 2010s. The term "Cantopop" itself was coined in 1978 after "Cantorock", a term first used in 1974. In the eighties Cantopop has reached its highest glory with fanbase and concerts from allover the world, especially from Mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, and Japan. This is even more obvious with the influx of songs from Hong Kong movies during the time. Besides Western pop music, Cantopop is also influenced by other international genres, includin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bass Guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and scale length, and typically four to six strings or courses. Since the mid-1950s, the bass guitar has largely replaced the double bass in popular music. The four-string bass is usually tuned the same as the double bass, which corresponds to pitches one octave lower than the four lowest-pitched strings of a guitar (typically E, A, D, and G). It is played primarily with the fingers or thumb, or with a pick. To be heard at normal performance volumes, electric basses require external amplification. Terminology According to the ''New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', an "Electric bass guitar sa Guitar, usually with four heavy strings tuned E1'–A1'–D2–G2." It also defines ''bass'' as "Bass (iv). A contraction of Double bas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simon Raymonde
Simon Philip Raymonde (born Simon Philip Pomerance; 3 April 1962, in London) is an English musician and record producer. He is the son of the late arranger and composer Ivor Raymonde. He is best known as the bass guitarist and keyboard player with the Scottish band Cocteau Twins from 1983 to 1997. Raymonde now runs the Bella Union record label. Raymonde has acted as producer and mixer on many records, including Clearlake (band), Clearlake's ''Cedars'', James Yorkston's ''Moving Up Country'', the first two albums by John Grant's first band the Czars, three albums by the Duke Spirit including the hit album ''Cuts Across the Land'', Archie Bronson Outfit's "Kangaroo Heart", Anthony Reynolds' "Just So You Know" and The Open (band), the Open's ''Silent Hours''. He co-produced the posthumous album from Billy Mackenzie. He also mixed the Fionn Regan album ''The End of History (album), The End of History'', which was nominated for the 2007 Mercury Music Prize, and the album ''The Tex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strings against frets with the fingers of the opposite hand. A plectrum or individual finger picks may also be used to strike the strings. The sound of the guitar is projected either acoustically, by means of a resonant chamber on the instrument, or amplified by an electronic pickup and an amplifier. The guitar is classified as a chordophone – meaning the sound is produced by a vibrating string stretched between two fixed points. Historically, a guitar was constructed from wood with its strings made of catgut. Steel guitar strings were introduced near the end of the nineteenth century in the United States; nylon strings came in the 1940s. The guitar's ancestors include the gittern, the vihuela, the four- course Renaissance guitar, and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robin Guthrie
Robin Andrew Guthrie (born 4 January 1962) is a Scottish musician, songwriter, composer, record producer and audio engineer, best known as the co-founder of the alternative rock band Cocteau Twins. During his career Guthrie has performed guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, drums and other musical instruments, in addition to programming, sampling and sound processing. Career Following the break-up of Cocteau Twins in 1998, Guthrie released his first solo record, ''Imperial'', in 2003 on Bella Union Records. Guthrie's next release, which was co-written with Harold Budd, was the film score for Gregg Araki's ''Mysterious Skin''. The soundtrack was released in May 2005 by Commotion and consists of 15 complete songs based on the short pieces used in the film. In 2006, Guthrie signed a four-album solo deal with Darla Records, the first product of which was the album ''Continental''. In February 2007, American webzine ''Somewhere Cold'' voted ''Continental'' best album of 2006, on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without accompaniment by musical instruments. Singing is often done in an ensemble of musicians, such as a choir. Singers may perform as soloists or accompanied by anything from a single instrument (as in art song or some jazz styles) up to a symphony orchestra or big band. Different singing styles include art music such as opera and Chinese opera, Indian music, Japanese music, and religious music styles such as gospel, traditional music styles, world music, jazz, blues, ghazal, and popular music styles such as pop, rock, and electronic dance music. Singing can be formal or informal, arranged, or improvised. It may be done as a form of religious devotion, as a hobby, as a source of pleasure, comfort, or ritual as part of music education or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billboard (magazine)
''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music industry. Its music charts include the Hot 100, the 200, and the Global 200, tracking the most popular albums and songs in different genres of music. It also hosts events, owns a publishing firm, and operates several TV shows. ''Billboard'' was founded in 1894 by William Donaldson and James Hennegan as a trade publication for bill posters. Donaldson later acquired Hennegan's interest in 1900 for $500. In the early years of the 20th century, it covered the entertainment industry, such as circuses, fairs, and burlesque shows, and also created a mail service for travelling entertainers. ''Billboard'' began focusing more on the music industry as the jukebox, phonograph, and radio became commonplace. Many topics it covered were spun-off ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nielsen SoundScan
Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and every Monday (for songs sales) to subscribers, which include record companies, publishing firms, music retailers, independent promoters, film and TV companies, and artist managers. It is the source of sales information for the ''Billboard'' music charts. It is owned by PMRC, a joint venture between Eldridge Industries (publisher of ''Billboard'') and Penske Media Corporation. The company operates the analytics platform Music Connect, Broadcast Data Systems (which tracks airplay of music), and Music 360. History Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales data for Nielsen on March 1, 1991. The May 25 issue of '' Billboard'' published ''Billboard'' 200 and Country Album charts based on SoundScan "piece count data," and the first Hot 100 char ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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