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Porcelain (Sparta Album)
''Porcelain'' is the second album by the musical band, band Sparta (band), Sparta. It was released on July 13, 2004 on Geffen Records and peaked at number 60 on the Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200. The first single released from the album was "Breaking the Broken." Critical reception ''Porcelain'' garnered a positive reception from Music journalism, music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a Standard score, normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an Weighted mean, average score of 62, based on 19 reviews. Johnny Loftus of AllMusic praised the album for maintaining Sparta's "caustic intellectualism" without compromising their musical integrity through "label-side meddling" or adhering to "a cliquey music-fan nation", highlighting "From Now to Never" for crystalizing the band's musicianship: "At nearly nine minutes, it renders each facet of ''Porcelain'' in perfect miniature, and emphasizes Sparta's stance as a group working faithfully ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sparta (band)
Sparta is an American rock band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 2001. The band currently consists of Jim Ward (vocals, guitar) and Matt Miller (bass), who are touring as a three-piece with rotating session drummers. Founding members Ward, Paul Hinojos, and Tony Hajjar were members of post-hardcore group At the Drive-In, forming Sparta in 2001 after the break-up of their former band. The band entered a hiatus from 2008 onwards for Ward to focus on his solo career and side projects, reuniting from 2011 to 2013 for a series of shows and permanently reuniting in 2017. The band has released four studio albums to date, with their fourth, ''Trust the River'', being released in 2020 after a 14-year break between releases. Sparta's music has been described by ''Pitchfork'' as "anxious, epic guitar rock", and have been described by ''SPIN Magazine'' as having "a reliably cathartic and emotionally charged presence". History ''Austere'' (2001–2002) After the demise of their previous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Austin Chronicle
''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demographic. The newspaper reported a weekly readership of 545,500. It is part of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia and it emulates the typical publications of the 1960s counterculture movement. History The ''Chronicle'' was co-founded in 1981 by Nick Barbaro and Louis Black, with assistance from others who largely met through the graduate film studies program at the University of Texas at Austin. Barbaro and Black are also co-founders of the South by Southwest Festival, although the festival operates as a separate company. The paper initially was published bi-weekly, and later weekly. Its precursor in style and format was the ''Austin Sun The ''Austin Sun'' was a biweekly counterculture newspaper, similar in nature to ''Rolling Ston ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Hinojos
Pablo J. Hinojos-Gonzalez (born July 17, 1975), also known as Paul Hinojos, is an American musician best known as the bass guitarist for At the Drive-In, and former touring member of The Mars Volta. He is also a former guitarist of Sparta. Biography Hinojos was born in Los Angeles. He met future bandmate Omar Rodríguez-López at the age of 13 in El Paso, Texas and apparently introduced Omar to another close friend and collaborator Cedric Bixler-Zavala. Rodriguez-Lopez and Bixler-Zavala would later ask him to join At the Drive-In after some significant member changes in 1996, making him a part of the band's most successful and well-known line up. After At the Drive-In took an indefinite hiatus in 2001, Hinojos, along with fellow ATDI members Jim Ward and Tony Hajjar, formed the band Sparta. Hinojos left Sparta in 2005, quoted as saying, "My time with Sparta has run its course, and simply wasn't fun anymore." A few days later, it was announced that he had joined The Mars Volt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coast. Beirut has been inhabited for more than 5,000 years, and was one of Phoenicia's most prominent city states, making it one of the oldest cities in the world (see Berytus). The first historical mention of Beirut is found in the Amarna letters from the New Kingdom of Egypt, which date to the 14th century BC. Beirut is Lebanon's seat of government and plays a central role in the Lebanese economy, with many banks and corporations based in the city. Beirut is an important seaport for the country and region, and rated a Beta + World City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Beirut was severely damaged by the Lebanese Civil War, the 2006 Lebanon War, and the 2020 massive explosion in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim Ward (musician)
James David Ward (born September 19, 1976) is an American musician. A self-taught guitarist and pianist, he is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the band Sparta; he is also a co-founder of the post-hardcore band At the Drive-In, which he formed in 1993 when he was 17 years old. At the Drive-In While in At the Drive-In, Ward played guitar and sang backup vocals, as well as playing piano and keyboards on select songs. He performed lead vocals on two tracks, entitled ''"Hourglass"'' and ''"Ursa Minor"'', as well as singing co-lead with lead vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala on a number of tracks. Using the money from his college savings, he created the label "Western Breed Records" specifically to release Hell Paso and Alfaro Vive, Carajo!, At the Drive-in's first two releases. After the demise of At the Drive-In, Ward has stated that he is happy with the break-up, that he started the band when he was 17, and felt like he was always 17 while in the band. On January 9, 2012, i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Hajjar
Tony Hajjar (born August 17, 1974) is a Lebanese American drummer, best known for playing in At the Drive-In and Sparta. As of 2016, he is playing in the reformed At The Drive-In, as well as the new group, Gone Is Gone. Tony also produced and drummed on the forthcoming New Language record. Both New Language and Gone Is Gone made their live debuts on April 27, 2016 to a sold out crowd at the Dragonfly in Los Angeles. Biography Hajjar was born in Beirut, Lebanon. His family fled Lebanon during the Civil War, moving to the United States and settling in El Paso, Texas. When Hajjar was fourteen his mother died from cancer and his father, who had been distant, left the family. His brother, only 18 years old at the time, assumed responsibility for the family and raised Tony and his sister. Hajjar joined post-hardcore band At The Drive-In in 1996, becoming the band's fourth drummer. He remained with the band until they split up in 2001. During breaks from touring Hajjar taught chemistry ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spin (magazine)
''Spin'' (stylized in all caps) is an American music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione, Jr. Now owned by Next Management Partners, the magazine is an online publication since it stopped issuing a print edition in 2012. History Early history ''Spin'' was established in 1985 by Bob Guccione, Jr. In August 1987, the publisher announced it would stop publishing ''Spin'', but Guccione Jr. retained control of the magazine and partnered with former MTV president David H. Horowitz to quickly revive the magazine. During this time, it was published by Camouflage Publishing with Guccione Jr. serving as president and chief executive and Horowitz as investor and chairman. In its early years, ''Spin'' was known for its narrow music coverage with an emphasis on college rock, grunge, indie rock, and the ongoing emergence of hip-hop, while virtually ignoring other genres, such as country and metal. It pointedly provided a national alternative to ''Rolling Stone's'' more e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dashboard Confessional
Dashboard Confessional is an American rock band from Boca Raton, Florida, led by singer Chris Carrabba. The name of the band is derived from the songThe Sharp Hint of New Tears off their debut album, '' The Swiss Army Romance''. History Early history (1999–2002) Dashboard Confessional's first recording was the 2000 album '' The Swiss Army Romance'', initially a solo side project of Chris Carrabba while he was in the band Further Seems Forever. The following year, Further Seems Forever, with Chris Carrabba, recorded its debut album, '' The Moon Is Down''. Carrabba left the band before the album was released to record and release his second solo album, ''The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most'', and a follow-up EP, ''So Impossible''; both were released under the name Dashboard Confessional. By 2002, three other musicians had joined Dashboard Confessional. After the success of his second album, Carrabba was asked to perform on ''MTV Unplugged'', and the subsequent live rele ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jenny Eliscu
Jenny Eliscu is a radio host for Sirius XM and a contributing editor for ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. She also had a recurring presence on the TV program ''I'm from Rolling Stone'' and has been on other music programs, including ''Behind the Music''. She has written a book ''Schools That Rock: The Rolling Stone College Guide.'' She wrote the liner notes for Britney Spears' greatest hits album ''Greatest Hits: My Prerogative''. References External links * * Living people American music journalists American women journalists American women writers American people of Romanian descent Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women {{US-journalist-20thC-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weighted Mean
The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The notion of weighted mean plays a role in descriptive statistics and also occurs in a more general form in several other areas of mathematics. If all the weights are equal, then the weighted mean is the same as the arithmetic mean. While weighted means generally behave in a similar fashion to arithmetic means, they do have a few counterintuitive properties, as captured for instance in Simpson's paradox. Examples Basic example Given two school with 20 students, one with 30 test grades in each class as follows: :Morning class = :Afternoon class = The mean for the morning class is 80 and the mean of the afternoon class is 90. The unweighted mean of the two means is 85. However, this does not account for the difference in number o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Standard Score
In statistics, the standard score is the number of standard deviations by which the value of a raw score (i.e., an observed value or data point) is above or below the mean value of what is being observed or measured. Raw scores above the mean have positive standard scores, while those below the mean have negative standard scores. It is calculated by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation. This process of converting a raw score into a standard score is called standardizing or normalizing (however, "normalizing" can refer to many types of ratios; see normalization for more). Standard scores are most commonly called ''z''-scores; the two terms may be used interchangeably, as they are in this article. Other equivalent terms in use include z-values, normal scores, standardized variables and pull in high energy physics. Computing a z-score requires knowledge of the mean and standard d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Music Journalism
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on what is now regarded as classical music. In the 1960s, music journalism began more prominently covering popular music like rock and pop after the breakthrough of The Beatles. With the rise of the internet in the 2000s, music criticism developed an increasingly large online presence with music bloggers, aspiring music critics, and established critics supplementing print media online. Music journalism today includes reviews of songs, albums and live concerts, profiles of recording artists, and reporting of artist news and music events. Origins in classical music criticism Music journalism has its roots in classical music criticism, which has traditionally comprised the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of music that has b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
