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The High Llamas
The High Llamas are an Anglo-Irish chamber pop band formed in London circa 1991. They were founded by singer-songwriter Sean O'Hagan, formerly of Microdisney, with drummer Rob Allum and ex-Microdisney bassist Jon Fell. O'Hagan has led the group since its formation. Their music is often compared to the Beach Boys, a band he acknowledges as an influence, although more prominent influences were drawn from bossa nova and European film soundtracks. O'Hagan formed the High Llamas after the breakup of his group Microdisney. The band initially played in a more conventional acoustic indie pop style, but after he joined Stereolab as a keyboardist, he was inspired to revamp the High Llamas' style closer to the Electronic music, electronic and orchestral sound he preferred. Their second album, ''Gideon Gaye'' (1994), anticipated the mid 1990s easy-listening revivalist movement, and its follow-up ''Hawaii (The High Llamas album), Hawaii'' (1996) nearly led to a collaboration with the Beach Bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Thames in southeast England, at the head of a tidal estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years. Its ancient core and financial centre, the City of London, was founded by the Roman Empire, Romans as Londinium and has retained its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has been the centuries-long host of Government of the United Kingdom, the national government and Parliament of the United Kingdom, parliament. London grew rapidly 19th-century London, in the 19th century, becoming the world's List of largest cities throughout history, largest city at the time. Since the 19th cen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indie Pop
Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and subsequently generated a thriving fanzine, Independent record label, label, and club and gig circuit. Compared to its counterpart, indie rock, the genre is more melodic, less abrasive, and relatively angst-free. In later years, the definition of ''indie pop'' has bifurcated to also mean bands from unrelated DIY scenes/movements with pop leanings. Subgenres include chamber pop and twee pop. Development and characteristics Origins and etymology Both ''indie'' and ''indie pop'' had originally referred to the same thing during the late 1970s, originally abbreviations for ''Independent music, independent'' and ''Popular music, popular''. Inspired more by punk rock's DIY ethos than its style, guitar bands were formed on the then-novel prem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Friends (The Beach Boys Album)
''Friends'' is the fourteenth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on June 24, 1968, through Capitol Records. The album is characterized by its calm and peaceful atmosphere, which contrasted the prevailing music trends of the time, and by its brevity, with five of its 12 tracks running less than two minutes long. It initially sold poorly, peaking at number 126 on the ''Billboard'' charts, the group's lowest U.S. chart performance to date, although it reached number 13 in the UK. ''Friends'' was recorded primarily at Brian Wilson's home but is a departure from the lo-fi production style of previous efforts. The album's sessions lasted from February to April 1968 at a time when the band's finances were rapidly diminishing. Despite crediting production to "the Beach Boys", Wilson actively led the entire project, later referring to it as his second unofficial solo album (the first being 1966's ''Pet Sounds''). Some of the songs were inspired by the grou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spin (magazine)
''Spin'' (stylized in all caps as ''SPIN'') 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. It returned as a quarterly publication in September 2024. 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. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yellow Magic Orchestra
Yellow Magic Orchestra (abbreviated to YMO) was a Japanese electronic music band formed in Tokyo in 1978 by Haruomi Hosono (bass, keyboards, vocals), Yukihiro Takahashi (drums, lead vocals, occasional keyboards) and Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards, vocals). The group is considered influential and innovative in the field of popular electronic music. They were pioneers in their use of synthesizers, samplers, sequencers, drum machines, computers, and digital recording technology, and effectively anticipated the "electropop boom" of the 1980s. They are credited with influencing the development of various electronic genres, including synth-pop, city pop, dance, electro, hip-hop, J-pop and techno. They also explored subversive socio-political themes throughout their career. The three members were veterans of the music industry before coming together as YMO, and were inspired by eclectic sources, including the electronic music of Isao Tomita and Kraftwerk, Japanese traditional music, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martin Denny
Martin Denny (April 10, 1911 – March 2, 2005) was an American pianist, composer, and arranger. Known as the "father of exotica," he was a multi-instrumentalist and could play a number of percussion instruments. In a long career that saw him performing up to 3 weeks prior to his death, he toured the world popularizing his brand of lounge music which included exotic percussion, imaginative rearrangements of popular songs, and original songs that celebrated Tiki culture. Biography Denny was born in New York City and raised in Los Angeles. He studied classical piano and toured South America for four and a half years in the 1930s with the Don Dean Orchestra. This tour began Denny's fascination with Latin rhythms. Denny collected a large number of ethnic instruments from all over the world, which he used to spice up his stage performances. After serving in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II, Denny returned to Los Angeles in 1945 where he studied piano and composition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington metropolitan area and has a national audience. As of 2023, the ''Post'' had 130,000 print subscribers and 2.5 million digital subscribers, both of which were the List of newspapers in the United States, third-largest among U.S. newspapers after ''The New York Times'' and ''The Wall Street Journal''. The ''Post'' was founded in 1877. In its early years, it went through several owners and struggled both financially and editorially. In 1933, financier Eugene Meyer (financier), Eugene Meyer purchased it out of bankruptcy and revived its health and reputation; this work was continued by his successors Katharine Graham, Katharine and Phil Graham, Meyer's daughter and son-in-law, respectively, who bought out several rival publications. The ''Post ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victorian Era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the Georgian era and preceded the Edwardian era, and its later half overlaps with the first part of the ''Belle Époque'' era of continental Europe. Various liberalising political reforms took place in the UK, including expanding the electoral franchise. The Great Famine (Ireland), Great Famine caused mass death in Ireland early in the period. The British Empire had relatively peaceful relations with the other great powers. It participated in various military conflicts mainly against minor powers. The British Empire expanded during this period and was the predominant power in the world. Victorian society valued a high standard of personal conduct across all sections of society. The Victorian morality, emphasis on morality gave impetus to soc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cathal Coughlan (singer)
Cathal Coughlan (16 December 1960 – 18 May 2022) was an Irish singer and songwriter from Cork, best known as the frontman of the band Microdisney, formed with Sean O'Hagan in 1980. Their second album ''The Clock Comes Down the Stairs'' reached number one in the UK Indie Chart. They developed cult followings in the Irish and UK indie music scenes before breaking up in 1988. Coughlan went on to lead the harder-edged The Fatima Mansions, who found critical success with their aggressive live shows and five consistent albums, but broke up in 1995. In the following years Coughlan released intermittent solo material with musicians such as O'Hagan, Jonathan Fell and Nick Allum. His solo career and reputation peaked in 2021 with the well received album ''Song of Co-Aklan'' (composed from the point of view of his alter ego "Co Aklan") which was released to critical acclaim fifteen years after his previous solo album ''Foburg'' (2006)."There's an Ironic Symmetry there, and I feel pre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawaii (The High Llamas Album)
''Hawaii'' is the third studio album by the Anglo-Irish avant-pop band the High Llamas, released on 25 March 1996 on the band's Alpaca Park label. The arrangements of ''Hawaii'' incorporate more electronic sounds than its predecessor '' Gideon Gaye'' (1994), while its lyrics loosely address themes of nomadism, nostalgia, film and musical theatre, and the effects of colonialism. The record peaked at 62 on the UK Albums Chart for a one-week stay. In the United States, the album was issued with a 40-minute bonus CD containing material that was previously unreleased in that region. Overview Bandleader Sean O'Hagan described the album as a fusion between the music of the "post mid-European Stockhausen era" and the "really screwed up West Coast American sort of music, of the Wrecking Crew variety". Academic Theodore Gracyk characterized the majority of ''Hawaii'' as "pay ngunmistakable homage to Brian Wilson's arrangements on the Beach Boys' ''Pet Sounds'' (1966). More specifically, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Easy-listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, non- rock vocals and instrumental covers of selected popular rock songs. It mostly concentrates on music that pre-dates the rock and roll era, characteristically on music from the 1940s and 1950s. It was differentiated from the mostly instrumental beautiful music format by its variety of styles, including a percentage of vocals, arrangements and tempos to fit various parts of the broadcast day. Easy listening music is often confused with lounge music, but while it was popular in some of the same venues it was meant to be listened to for enjoyment rather than as background sound. History The style has been synonymous with the tag "with strings". String instruments had been used in sweet bands in the 1930s and was the dominan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gideon Gaye
''Gideon Gaye'' is the second studio album by the Anglo-Irish avant-pop band the High Llamas, released in 1994 on the Brighton-based Target label. Notable for anticipating the mid 1990s easy-listening revivalism, the album's music was influenced by Brian Wilson, Steely Dan, Brazilian bossa nova and European film soundtracks, and was recorded with a £4000 budget. It was met with high praise by the British press. '' Q'' dubbed the LP "the best Beach Boys album since 1968's ''Friends''". In the US, the album was indifferently promoted. Background Upon release, bandleader Sean O'Hagan responded to Beach Boys comparisons: "There are aspects that are blatantly Brian-esque, because I've always been a huge Brian ilsonfan. He has been the biggest influence in my career to date. I was always shy bouthow much I liked him, but this time I decided to be blatant about it. But then I'm also a huge John Cale fan." The album's sleeve art is a homage to Van Dyke Parks' 1967 album ''Song Cycle'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
