HOME
*



picture info

InSoc
Information Society (also known as InSoc) is an American band from Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota, initially active from 1982 to 1997, primarily consisting of Kurt Harland Larson, Paul Robb, and James Cassidy; the latter two reconvened the band in 2006, initially with Christopher Anton as lead vocalist, then with Harland rejoining them as lead vocalist by 2008. The group's breakout single was 1988's "What's on Your Mind (Pure Energy)", a dance song which spent 39 weeks on the dance chart, going straight to number one and would also peak at number three on the Hot 100 pop chart. The track included a vocal sample of Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) from ''Star Trek'', saying "pure energy". The band has been honored with a star on the outside mural of the Minneapolis nightclub First Avenue, recognizing performers that have played sold-out shows or have otherwise demonstrated a major contribution to the culture at the iconic venue. Receiving a star "might be the most prestigious publ ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Kurt Harland
Kurt Harland is an American singer, songwriter, and audio engineer and is the lead singer of Information Society. He also works on video game scores, including two of the soundtracks for the ''Legacy of Kain'' video game series ('' Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver'' and ''Soul Reaver 2'' in collaboration with Jim Hedges). Personal life Kurt has stated he started performing and making music with Information Society at age 19, back in 1982. Career Information Society In early concerts and albums, Harland was credited under the pseudonym "Kurt Valaquen," Valaquen taken from Tolkien, meaning child of light. After the band had achieved mainstream success, he began using his own middle name as his professional last name. 1982-1990 Formed in 1982, synthpop band Information Society achieved mainstream success for a time in the late eighties and early nineties. They are most widely known for their 1988 hit single "What's on Your Mind (Pure Energy)". The band's last major (top 40) c ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

James Cassidy (musician)
James Cassidy, also known as Creepy Cassidy and Jim Pedo, is an American musician and educator who is one of the founding members of the band Information Society (InSoc). He played bass and keyboards with the band from its beginning in the early 1980s until 1992, when the group released its final album as a trio, '' Peace & Love, Inc.'' After the band dissolved, Cassidy left the music business and enrolled at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon, earning an Associate of Science degree in fisheries technology. He earned a bachelor's degree in fisheries science and a master's degree in crop and soil science from Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. Cassidy is an instructor and research assistant in crop science and soil science at Oregon State University, where he also serves as faculty advisor to the OSU Organic Growers Club. In 2006, Cassidy and Paul Robb Paul Jason Robb is a synthesizer player, producer, songwriter and one of the founding members of the ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)
"What's on Your Mind (Pure Energy)" is a song by American synth-pop band Information Society that was released as a single in 1988. The "Pure Energy" subtitle derives from a sample of Leonard Nimoy's voice from the ''Star Trek'' episode "Errand of Mercy". There are also samples of DeForest Kelley and Richard Tatro's (The Android Norman) voices from the episode "I, Mudd". John Leland of ''Spin'' magazine called it a "pretty potent dance record". In 2009, VH1 ran a countdown of the 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the '80s. Information Society's "What's on Your Mind (Pure Energy)" placed at number 74 on the countdown despite the fact that the group had two other top 40 hits: "Walking Away" (number 9) and "Think" (number 28). The song was a big hit in the US, spending 25 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number three in October 1988. The single was certified gold by the RIAA on January 18, 1989, selling 500,000 copies. The song was featured in ''Loverboy'' and ''Amer ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center of Minnesota's government. The Minnesota State Capitol and the state government offices all sit on a hill close to the city's downtown district. One of the oldest cities in Minnesota, Saint Paul has several historic neighborhoods and landmarks, such as the Summit Avenue (St. Paul), Summit Avenue Neighborhood, the James J. Hill House, and the Cathedral of Saint Paul (Minnesota), Cathedral of Saint Paul. Like the adjacent and larger city of Minneapolis, Saint Paul is known for its cold, snowy winters and humid summers. As of the 2021 census estimates, the city's population was 307,193, making it the List of United States cities by population, 67th-largest city in the United State ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Star Tribune
The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolidated, with the ''Tribune'' published in the morning and the ''Star'' in the evening. They merged in 1982, creating the ''Star and Tribune'', and it was renamed to ''Star Tribune'' in 1987. After a tumultuous period in which the newspaper was sold and re-sold and filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009, it was purchased by local businessman Glen Taylor in 2014. The ''Star Tribune'' serves Minneapolis and is distributed throughout the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the state of Minnesota and the Upper Midwest. It typically contains a mixture of national, international and local news, sports, business and lifestyle content. Journalists from the ''Star Tribune'' and its predecessor newspapers have won seven Pulitzer Prizes. Histor ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

First Avenue (nightclub)
First Avenue & 7th St Entry are two historic music venues housed in the same landmark building in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. The nightclub sits on the corner of First Avenue North and 7th Street North, from which the venues get their names. The two are colloquially distinguished by locals as The Mainroom and The Entry. The building was constructed in 1937 as the Minneapolis depot of the Greyhound Lines bus system and operated for 31 years. Allan Fingerhut purchased the facility in 1970 and converted it into a nightclub. During the 1980s, First Avenue flourished and became a landmark in the music and entertainment industry, playing a seminal role in establishing the '80s funk rock sub genre via the Minneapolis sound, and being the primary local venue for hometown star Prince. Since its rise to fame in the 1980s, First Avenue has hosted many notable local and national music acts. The building is marked by more than 400 large stars on its exterior commemorating these performers ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins in timber and as the flour milling capital of the world. It occupies both banks of the Mississippi River and adjoins Saint Paul, the state capital of Minnesota. Prior to European settlement, the site of Minneapolis was inhabited by Dakota people. The settlement was founded along Saint Anthony Falls on a section of land north of Fort Snelling; its growth is attributed to its proximity to the fort and the falls providing power for industrial activity. , the city has an estimated 425,336 inhabitants. It is the most populous city in the state and the 46th-most-populous city in the United States. Minneapolis, Saint Paul and the surrounding area are collectively known as the Twin Cities. Minneapolis has one of the most extensive public par ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Information Society - First Avenue Star
Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level information pertains to the interpretation of that which may be sensed. Any natural process that is not completely random, and any observable pattern in any medium can be said to convey some amount of information. Whereas digital signals and other data use discrete signs to convey information, other phenomena and artifacts such as analog signals, poems, pictures, music or other sounds, and currents convey information in a more continuous form. Information is not knowledge itself, but the meaning that may be derived from a representation through interpretation. Information is often processed iteratively: Data available at one step are processed into information to be interpreted and processed at the next step. For example, in written text each symbol or letter conveys information relevant to the word it is part of, each word conveys information relevant ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into various films, television series, video games, novels, and comic books. With an estimated $10.6 billion in revenue, it is one of the most recognizable and highest-grossing media franchises of all time. The franchise began with ''Star Trek: The Original Series'', which debuted in the US on September 8, 1966 and aired for three seasons on NBC. It was first broadcast on September 6, 1966 on Canada's CTV network. It followed the voyages of the crew of the starship USS ''Enterprise'', a space exploration vessel built by the United Federation of Planets in the 23rd century, on a mission "to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before". In creating ''Star Trek'', Roddenberry w ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the ''Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, then '' Star Trek: The Animated Series'', the first six ''Star Trek'' films, and '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. Nimoy also directed films, including '' Star Trek III: The Search for Spock'' (1984) and '' Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home'' (1986), and appeared in several films, television shows, and voice acted in several video games. Outside of acting, Nimoy was a film director, photographer, author, singer, and songwriter. Nimoy began his acting career in his early twenties, teaching acting classes in Hollywood and making minor film and television appearances through the 1950s. From 1953 to 1955, he served in the United States Army as a Staff Sergeant in the Special Services, an entertainment branch of the American military. He originat ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Sampling (music)
In sound and music, sampling is the reuse of a portion (or sample) of a sound recording in another recording. Samples may comprise elements such as rhythm, melody, speech, sounds or entire bars of music, and may be layered, equalized, sped up or slowed down, repitched, looped, or otherwise manipulated. They are usually integrated using hardware ( samplers) or software such as digital audio workstations. A process similar to sampling originated in the 1940s with '' musique concrète'', experimental music created by splicing and looping tape. The mid-20th century saw the introduction of keyboard instruments that played sounds recorded on tape, such as the Mellotron. The term ''sampling'' was coined in the late 1970s by the creators of the Fairlight CMI, a synthesizer with the ability to record and play back short sounds. As technology improved, cheaper standalone samplers with more memory emerged, such as the E-mu Emulator, Akai S950 and Akai MPC. Sampling is a foundation of ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Dance Music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance music. While there exist attestations of the combination of dance and music in ancient times (for example Ancient Greek vases sometimes show dancers accompanied by musicians), the earliest Western dance music that we can still reproduce with a degree of certainty are old fashioned dances. In the Baroque period, the major dance styles were noble court dances (see Baroque dance). In the classical music era, the minuet was frequently used as a third movement, although in this context it would not accompany any dancing. The waltz also arose later in the classical era. Both remained part of the romantic music period, which also saw the rise of various other nationalistic dance forms like the barcarolle, mazurka, ecossaise, ballade and po ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]