text:
New 100% natural, colour-free formulation
- Microfibres are finer and electrostatic properties enhanced
- Extremely natural colour shades
- New jar for quicker, more practical application
- Detailed, easy-to-understand instructions for even better application
- Even greater value for money. Best product in its category for quantity/price ratio
Stop balding in 20 seconds!
Available in 9 different natural shades:
Black, Dark Brown, Medium Brown, Light Brown, Auburn, Blonde, Light Grey, Dark Grey, Grey
And four different sizes: 3gr (Traverl Size), 12,5gr (Regular Size), 27,5gr (Economy Size) and 55gr (Refill)
To exactly determine the most suitable colour, you can compare applications with different colours (e.g. buying dark brown one time, medium brown the next, etc.), trying them on your hair until you find the one best suited. You can also mix two or more different colours to get your own personalized colour that's perfect for your hair.
To get the best results - which will gradually improve as you gain confidence with the product and gain experience in its application - it is best to follow a few tips.
- Shake well the Kmax Milano Concealing Hair Fibers before use.
- Open the Kmax Milano Concealing Hair Fibers bottle and remove the sprinkler cap.
- Place the Kmax Milano Applicator on the Milano Concealing Hair Fibers bottle.
- Lightly spray the Kmax Milano Concealing Hair Fibers over the areas you want to cover.
- Hold the bottle at a distance of 10-15cm over the areas you want to cover.
- Gently pat your hair for the fibers to distribute evenly.
- Spray your hair 3-4 times with Kmax Milano Fixing Spray to strengthen the bond of the fibers with your hair.
- You are ready!
Kmax Concealing Hair Fibers is a revolutionary finely textured fiber substance that binds electrostatically to your existing thinning, fine and semitransparent hair, producing an incredible thickening effect in a matter of seconds and concealing the shiny areas of the scalp.
Hair immediately looks thicker and hair thinning is no longer evident, meaning that the user no longer has to worry about unsightly thinning when around others, whether in the workplace, at important ceremonies and events or under bright lights. Some people in showbusiness and famous actors use this kind of product to produce the appearance of thicker hair and hide light being reflecting off the scalp.
Ideal for women, too!
Kmax Concealing Hair Fibers can also be used successfully to tackle thinning hair in women. As a matter of fact, a growing number of women are plagued by the problem of thinning and fine hair
This product makes an incredible "psychological" contribution. Hair actually looks thicker straight away and there are no visible bald patches between thinning hair, allowing users to live more serenely with their hair problem if they have undertaken a regrowth treatment that will take many months before they see results, or during periods of particularly noticeable hair loss (seasonal hair loss in spring and autumn). It can be very useful in releasing the person from the anxiety that often comes with hair loss and that, at the same time, can compound the problem.
This is why dermatologists recommend the product to their patients and why it is also used during the post hair transplant healing process to conceal the tiny scabs that can form in the days immediately following surgery.


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Post your name here if your looking to trade, mine is IHrVces
Post your name here if your looking to trade, mine is IHrVces
what is topps bunt?
Ready for Opening Day? Topps BUNT 2014 is the exclusive digital trading card app of Major League Baseball. Join Mike Trout and get into the thrill of the chase of digital collecting.
This is your chance to collect, trade and play cards with the best baseball card collecting community in the world. If you love baseball, BUNT is your app. Sign up now!
What's new for 2014?
•Our enhanced user interface mixes a sleek, new design with a more user-friendly experience to maximize fun.
•Tired of one base card per player? How about five! In 2014, all players will have five base cards, each one scoring differently based on rarity with our newly-designed cards.
•All-new expanded trading now allows for up to 18 cards to be swapped in a single deal! And with our new Trader Score you'll be able to rate your fellow fan on every offer proposed.
•Limited-print cards will finally offer a better idea to BUNT Nation about exactly how many of a certain card there will be. But you'd better hurry, once a certain number of them are pulled, that card will automatically be sold out!
Topps BUNT 2014 Features
•Authentic and Official Collecting: Collect singles or multiples of 300+ of today's hottest Major League Baseball stars on the exclusive digital trading cards from Topps. New players added every week.
•Real-time Valuation: Is your favorite player in a slump? Cards change in value based on actual on-the-field performance, all in real-time. Use all-new interactive charts, player rankings, and heat indexes to scope out players on the rise or down in the dumps.
•Real People Matter: Card conventions weren't run by robots. Chat and trade with your actual friends and neighbors, not with bots or simulators, using deep Facebook and Twitter integration. Will you earn Fan of the Week honors?
•Strategic Trading: Can't get that superstar or that guy with the mullet? Try 9-for-9 trading to get the rarest or most coveted of cards, but choose your cards and your trading partners wisely.
•Creative Completion: Complete to the beat of a different drummer. Mix and match your collection and get rewarded for fun and interesting collections, like the "All Mustache Club."
•Constantly Informative: Don't just collect, but learn about your players, from their stats to their superstitions. Stay up-to-date and in the know as the back of the baseball card is digitally reimagined.
Follow @toppsbuntcast on twitter.
Check out our fan page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ToppsBUNT
I just started a few days ago. Its cool opening the digital packs. But i have no idea what to do after that. I got a few cards, but not sure if i have anything that anyone wants. Anyone have any tips? And im astroburn on bunt as well as here.
I've become a BETA tester for the Android version, but because I'm outside the US, I cannot download it yet.
I'll post my username once I'm able to get hooked up.
mrmopar. just started two days ago.
Just added a bunch of guys... Mr17met here
Want to buy anything Andre Dawson - Twitter @The8Hawk8
159,911 Total Cards, 4,181 Different Cards, 1,098 Autographs, 355 1/1s, 174 RCs, 373 Graded, 187 Packs, 6 Buttons, 1,282 Mem Cards, 2,666 SN Cards
28 Cameos, 206 Mentions, 337 Checklists
Also collecting Drew Brees with my son
My account is active. NOFRILLS is my fan name.
Looking for any Jays inserts and sigs from anyone.
I downloaded, signed up, now what? I can't seem to figure anything out. So far not a straight forward explanation of what to do with it.
BTW way, my bunt username is jaybrucefan.
You "play" up to 9 cards at a time, and based on each players performance, you earn or lose points.
There are common (white,) uncommon (green,) rare (red,) scarce (silver) and super rare (gold) variations. Think of everything above common as a multiplier. Uncommon earns more than common, rare more than uncommon and so on.
Right now, starting pitchers are where it's at. They can earn you a ton of points if they have a good game, They can also lose points, so choose wisely.
What I like to do is when I get up in the morning before work, I use mlb.com 's schedule for the day, and select pitchers and hitters based on that.
I will play as many players as I can for a specific time period. For example, if there are a couple of 1pm games, I will fill my line up with players from those games. Then, I will do the same for 4-5pm games, again at 7pm, and 10pm (EST.)
You can get even more detailed if you want to..like for example, if you choose a starter, and he is getting killed, you can remove him at any time. You will still score, or lose points for the time he is in your line up, but you can replace him with a reliever, hitter, whatever you choose. Sometimes, is makes more sense to remove a starting pitcher and replace them with a batter if that batter is having a great game. Just remember you only score (or lose) points for the time they are in your line up. If a pitcher starts off bad and has a couple rough innings and you choose to remove him, you stop receiving (or losing) points if he happens to straighten things out, unless you put him back in the game.
Hope that helps some!
This must be the online game that got Baseball Boss shut down a few years ago. It was a great collecting/playing game but it ended abruptly amist rumours that Topps was putting together it's own online game and found a way to sue the makers of Baseball Boss and get them shut down.
Is Bunt free or do you have to buy a subscription? I'll probably give it a try. It sounds pretty addictive, especially with the real-time scoring and allowing you to change your lineup mid-game.
- Rodrick
Collecting John Olerud cards and memorabilia.
My hobby website: www.cardboardcorner.weebly.com
Thanks to JBel4331 for the awesome custom signature and avatar!

subset: commoncrawl


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John W. Vincent II necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 97 diseños de 30 diseñadores freelance.
Washington Economic Development Foundation (WEDF) -- Washington Parish, Louisiana, USA
A logo is currently being sought by the Washington Economic Development Foundation (Washington Parish (County) Louisiana) to promote the organization's mission and enhance its image. While the new logo might be reflective of the past, it should focus on the future growth and development. The type new business development and growth being sought is specialty manufacturing, medical technology (e.g., testing and analysis laboratories), information technology and regional cuisine food processing. There is no established color scheme for the organization, though other organizations in the area have used green and light gold or tan, including a major University in an adjacent Parish, Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond (Green and Gold). Green seems to be a favorite color in the region given the rural woodland setting.
The Washington Economic Development Foundation (WEDF) is a non-profit economic development group serving the citizens and businesses of Washington Parish (County) Louisiana, and entrepreneurs and investors seeking business development opportunities in Washington Parish. The parish is located in Southeast Louisiana in an area known as the Florida Parishes since that area of Louisiana was originally part of the Florida territory. WEDF's web address is, http://www.wedf.com.
Business investors, corporations seeking available buildings and sites where they can set up new operations, technical and high-tech industries with quality jobs that require a skilled workforce, food processing companies that require a high quality and abundant supply of fresh water, and oil field services and component manufacturing companies that support off-shore oil exploration and production in the Gulf of Mexico.
A bold and simple design that attracts attention and conveys the development strengths of the region.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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Due to the ongoing spread of Covid-19, please abstain from climbing outside.
At UKC we are all climbers and we understand the strong urge to be outdoors as the weather is finally improving, but we feel this is no longer socially acceptable. You can read our statement here.
We have suspended the UKC Logbooks Top Ascents and Conditions pages and we will no longer accept ascents dated from 23rd March onwards. You can still upload your historic ascents.
UKClimbing Team


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The Kargath Expeditionary Force (K.E.F.[1][2][3]) is a military exploration group based out of the outpost of Kargath in the Badlands of Khaz Modan. Sent by order of Thrall himself — both to reinforce Kargath and to explore the arid region it was located in — the K.E.F. has made excursions through the region, including into the depths of Uldaman, to discover why it was of more than a passing interest to the dwarves. They also dug a pass through to the Searing Gorge to reach Blackrock Mountain (the intent being to confront the false Warchief Rend Blackhand) but inadvertently set loose the Dark Iron dwarves.
Warlord Goretooth sends adventurers to annihilate General Angerforge's men because they are ruthless killers, responsible for the mass murder of the 109th division of the Kargath Expeditionary Force.[4]


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It's a virtual certainty that everyone over 50—more than 98 million Americans—has coronary artery disease. So do 70 percent of 40-year-olds. And about half of people in their 20s and 30s probably have it too.
Yet heart disease doesn't kill everybody.
Understanding the difference between those who die and those who don't has been a confounding riddle for modern medicine.
It's a virtual certainty that everyone over 50—more than 98 million Americans—has coronary artery disease. So do 70 percent of 40-year-olds. And about half of people in their 20s and 30s probably have it too.
Yet heart disease doesn't kill everybody.
Understanding the difference between those who die and those who don't has been a confounding riddle for modern medicine.
An interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center believe they've made a potentially ground-breaking discovery. It's a simple test that effectively determines whether or not a patient is harboring the dangerous type of heart disease that kills one in four Americans every year. Even better, the test could tell an apparently healthy 40-year-old that they are in the earliest stages of the world's No. 1 killer.
Most people live with it, blissfully unaware. They only develop complications late in life, such as chronic chest pain or angina. But there are others who unexpectedly suffer a debilitating or fatal heart attack. It doesn't seem to matter if they're young, fit and trim or a world famous actor vacationing in Europe.
Coronary artery disease is the accumulation of plaque deposits inside the arteries that feed the heart. As plaque builds up, it restricts blood flow. For people who have the unstable and usually lethal form of the disease, a piece of that plaque can break off. It gets swept up in the blood stream, and wedges itself further down the line where it dams off blood flow. The result is a sudden heart attack or stroke.
Unfortunately, that heart attack is too often the first indication that a patient has the lethal form of the disease. But UNMC's new test could change that.
Dr. Geoff Thiele, a professor of internal medicine, and Michael Duryee, a research coordinator for the Division Rheumatology and Immunology at UNMC's College of Medicine, made the initial discovery. While looking for clues to help understand inflammatory conditions such as arthritis and alcoholic liver disease, they focused on a molecule that is a strong indicator of inflammation. Known as MAA or malondialdehyde–acetaldehyde, the molecule also appeared to indicate the presence of coronary artery disease.
"We thought it was cool scientifically, but we're not clinical guys," Duryee said. "We don't see this everyday."
Thiele and Duryee brought in cardiologist Dan Anderson, an assistant professor in the Division of Cardiology who is a rare blend of researcher and practicing physician. He has a frontline view of the battle against the world's most prolific killer, which annually takes more than an estimated 17 million people. Heart disease accounts for 600,000 American deaths every year.
"In the current realm of understanding disease, we know that inflammation is important in cardiovascular disease," Dr. Anderson said. "But we really don't understand a lot about why or how."
By current measures, Anderson said, about 30 percent of people with heart disease slip through the cracks. For those people, the first indication of trouble may be a killer heart attack in what Anderson called "a failure of medicine."
"We should have seen and recognized this decades prior, and prevented it," he said. "People tend to feel okay and think they're okay. But they're not even seeing the tip of the iceberg."
But there are others with the disease who suffer few, if any, ill-effects. Predicting which patients will develop the more deadly form of heart disease is little more than a guess.
Then Dr. Thiele and Duryee knocked on the door.
"I said, 'Oh, my God.' From a clinical diagnostic perspective, this becomes invaluable to help understand those different groups of patients," Dr. Anderson said.
Over the course of two pilot studies, the team tested hundreds of volunteer patients' blood, and found a remarkable correlation.
"Right now, the data really is incredible," Dr. Thiele said.
It's no minor feat for pilot studies to generate significant results with such a small group of patients. Most other studies in cardiovascular research don't show significant results until thousands of patients are included in a study, Dr. Anderson said.
"We're seeing differences where we haven't been able to predict those differences before, and I think that's the value," he said.
The initial results have gained attention elsewhere.
The research team and UNMC's technology transfer office, UNeMed Corporation, are currently in preliminary discussions with several companies on how to translate the results into products that can better factor in a patient's risk of heart attack
Thiele said that any test developed from the discovery would be cheap and easy to implement with any clinical lab facility's existing equipment. It would be a simple blood test, not unlike tests that measure blood-sugar levels for diabetics.
The next rounds of testing will be critical to understand how accurate the test can be, particularly studies that follow individual patients over the course of five or 10 years, Duryee said.
If successful, researchers hope the test could be used to definitively tell younger patients in their 40s, 30s or even their 20s whether or not they will develop potentially fatal heart disease. Perhaps even patients in their teens could get early warnings, and begin taking preventative measures.
"That's what we don't know, but that's our goal," Dr. Anderson said.


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Take a peek at our extensive diaper bag menu. Whether it's a tote diaper bag, shoulder diaper bag, backpack diaper bag, messenger diaper bag or daddy diaper bag you crave, we've got the perfect size and shape to suit your taste. We have diaper bag accessories too, like stroller straps, matching stroller covers, feeding covers and more.
*Free shipping offers are limited to the 48 contiguous states of the USA.


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Girl friends, time to catch up and inspiration from Pinterest meant a night of fun for Valentine's Day! We celebrated with a Pinterest inspired DIY Valentine's Exchange.
After appetizers and drinks, we learned how to make French macaroons in beautiful Valentines colors and assorted flavors.
Then we hit the craft table - each person brought the materials and instructions for a Valentine they loved on Pinterest. After making each, our mailboxes were overloaded with love!
Snacky foods, all frozen from Trader Joe's were enjoyed by all.
What's black and white and red all over? A Penguin on Valentine's Day!


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This week's Agent Spotlight features Scott Hoffman of Folio Literary Management.
Status: Open to submissions.
About: "A refugee from the world of politics, Scott Hoffman is one of the founding partners of Folio Literary Management, LLC.
"He has served as Vice-chairman of the Board of Directors of SEARAC (the only nationwide advocacy agency for Southeast Asian-Americans), a Board Member of Fill Their Shelves, Inc. (a charitable foundation that provides books to children in sub-Saharan Africa) and a member of the Metropolitan Opera's Young Associates Steering Committee.
"Before entering the world of publishing, he was one of the founding partners of Janus-Merritt Strategies, a Washington, DC strategic consulting firm. He holds an MBA from New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business, and a BA from the College of William and Mary." (Link)
About the Agency:
"Folio Literary Management, LLC, is a full-service literary management company dedicated to providing comprehensive representation and career management to authors. Like other literary agencies, we focus on selling the domestic and subsidiary rights to our clients' books. But unlike most other agencies, we don't consider our job done when a client's book hits the shelves. At Folio, we recognize that's just the start. In addition to the traditional role of literary agents, we work closely with all of our clients to develop their platforms, writing, and credentials, and to assist them in extracting the most value possible from their intellectual property." (Link)
Web Presence:
What He's Looking For:
Adult Fiction and Nonfiction, YA, Middle Grade.
From the Website (as of 03/2012):
"My tastes are extremely eclectic; about the only types of projects I won't consider are series romance, cozy mysteries, or Westerns. My current list is about half fiction and half nonfiction. My fiction is about half literary, and half commercial (chick lit? Sure – if it's smart and fresh, and has a strong voice.) My nonfiction is spread out among serious journalistic or academic nonfiction, narrative nonfiction, and quirkier pop-culture books.
"If your project doesn't fit one of the 'established' categories, I'm probably your guy – I love projects that can't be easily classified." (Link)
"I'm always on the lookout for: Experts in their fields, looking to integrate a book into their business; People who have an incredible story to tell, and who want to change the world; Books about business, history, or politics. Beautifully-written literary fiction, regardless of the subject; Spiritual or religious-themed fiction and nonfiction (it doesn't matter what religion); Books that can hook me on concept alone; Dark, dark novels. The darker the better; Any book about a time, place, or group of people that hasn't been extensively written about; Political, historical, or science-based nonfiction, particularly from academics; Excellent SF or Fantasy that crosses over into the world of literary fiction; Heartbreaking memoirs; Website or blog-based books; Drop-dead funny nonfiction; (I'll probably regret this, but…) First novels. There's nothing better than the feeling of telling an author you've just sold his or her first book." (Link)
From an Interview (02/2007):
"…with Science Fiction and Fantasy…the kind of books I gravitate towards aren't your traditional space opera or sword and sorcery. They are more the ones that happen to be like literary fiction that also have elements of the fantastic or paranormal in them. Books like The Time Traveler's Wife or the George R.R. Martin books or Philip Pullman's work. Those books are beautifully written; large epic novels are the type of novels that appeal to me." (Link)
What He Isn't Looking For:
Poetry, screenplays, stage plays, series romance, cozy mysteries, westerns. (Link, Link)
Editorial Agent?
Yes, he views editorial attention as "at least 50 percent of the job." (Link.)
There are lists of Folio clients on the website. Mr. Hoffman's clients include:
Mario Acevedo, Brendon Burchard, Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, Pam Jenoff, Chris Moriarty, Nick Savoy, Norb Vonnegut, Jeremy Wade, among many others.
The agency has a "Recent Deals" page on the website that's kept up-to-date. They also list deals on their Publisher's Marketplace page.
As of this posting, Mr. Hoffman is listed on Publisher's Marketplace as having made 4 deals in the last 12 months, 1 six-figure+ deal, and 44 overall. Recent deals include 1 women's/romance, 1 advice/relationships, 1 history/politics/current affairs, 1 narrative.
NOTE: PM is usually not a complete representation of sales.
Query Methods:
E-mail: No.
Snail-Mail: No.
Online-Form: Yes (only).
Submission Guidelines (always verify):
See the Folio Literary website for complete, up-to-date submission guidelines, then complete Mr. Hoffman's form online.
Do not submit simultaneously to more than one agent at Folio. For information on queries and manuscript formatting see the "Submissions" tab on the website.
Query Tips:
"Make sure there aren't any spelling or grammar errors. In general three paragraphs about the book, and one more paragraph about yourself. It's been my experience that this last is the most important, for I've found that interesting people write interesting books. The more quirky and cool things you can put in that paragraph—without going over the top—the more likely you are to interest an agent in your work." (Link)
Response Times:
Mr. Hoffman's stated response time for queries is up to 6-8 weeks. Stats on the web show a range of just days to 8 weeks with an average close to a month. Submission response times seem to fall within a similar range.
What's the Buzz?
Scott Hoffman is a successful and well-respected literary agent who is currently open to submissions but taking on few new clients.
He is open to MG and YA manuscripts, though neither seem to largely interest him. His children's/YA sales (that I'm aware of) include Heather Cocks' and Jessica Morgan's SPOILED and Chris Moriarty's THE INQUISITOR'S APPRENTICE.
I recommend listening to his Blot Talk Radio Interview with Kristen Moeller.
Worth Your Time:
Interview with Scott Hoffman by Kristen Moeller at Blog Talk Radio (04/2011).
An Interview with Scott Hoffman, Agent at SF Canada (02/2007).
Q&A: Scott Hoffman's Reasons to Rep at Poets & Writers (05/2006).
Blog/Article Stuff:
Agent Scott Hoffman On: Making Sense of a Rejection Letter at GLA (11/2010).
Scott Hoffman: Don't Let A Glock Kill Your Book at The Graveyard Shift (04/2008).
Scott's Writers' Conference Etiquette at the Folio Literary website.
The Top Five Ways Not To Get A Literary Agent by Scott Hoffman at Writer's Digest (03/2008).
Around the Web:
There's a great list of resources on the Folio Literary website.
You can sign up for the Folio Literary newsletter here.
Scoff Hoffman on P&E ($).
Folio Literary Management on P&E (Recommended, $).
Folio Literary Management thread on Absolute Write.
Please see the Folio Literary Management website for contact and query information.
Profile Details:
Last updated: 3/29/12.
Agent Contacted For Review? Yes.
Last Reviewed By Agent? N/A.
Have any experience with this agent? See something that needs updating? Please leave a comment or e-mail me at agentspotlight(at)gmail(dot)com
Note: These agent profiles presently focus on agents who accept children's fiction. They are not interviews. Please take the time to verify anything you might use here before querying an agent. The information found herein is subject to change.


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Oakland, California (EastBayDaily) — In 1969 Mills College was among the first colleges to establish an Ethnic Studies Program, the same year the discipline itself was founded in the United States. In keeping with its commitment to incorporate the experiences and insights of people of color into higher education, Mills College will host the 42nd annual National Association for Ethnic Studies (NAES) conference titled, Research as Ceremony: Decolonizing Ethnic Studies, from April 3–5, 2014.
A nonprofit organization and the nation's oldest ethnic studies association, NAES provides an interdisciplinary forum for scholars and activists concerned with the national and international dimensions of ethnicity.
Hosted by the Mills College Ethnic Studies Department in partnership with the National Association for Ethnic Studies, and DataCenter: Research for Justice, the three-day long event will explore three conference themes: research justice, decolonizing ethnic studies, and critical intersectionality. The conference seeks to restore and renew the critical purpose of ethnic studies as a way toward self-determination, social justice, and intersectional praxis through these themes.
"The conference will bring together scholars, activists, tribal leaders, grassroots organizers, and community-based organizations who view research justice as a critical, intersectional praxis that can unlock the power and knowledge of our own communities both within and outside of academia," said Julia C. Oparah, conference co-chair and chair of the Mills College Ethnic Studies Department.
Participants will have the opportunity to learn about research justice and the sacredness of research as a ceremonial act. According to the DataCenter, which coined the term in 2009, research justice is a strategic framework that seeks to transform structural inequities in research.
The conference includes a special off-site convening Friday evening, April 4, 2014, at the First Congregational Church in downtown Oakland. Andrew Jolivette, chair of American Indian Studies at San Francisco State University , will moderate a conversation titled, "Research Justice: Decolonizing Knowledge, Building Power" that will feature Angela Y. Davis, Jason Ferreira, and Chief Caleen Sisk.
A sampling of sessions and presentations is listed below. For a complete schedule of events and for more information visit the conference website.
Sessions and Presentations Ceremony as Praxis: Critical Intersectionality as a Decolonizing Project Sandra C. Alvarez, UC Santa Cruz; Cindy Rose Bello, UC Berkeley; Sara Benson, San Jose State University; Soma de Bourbon, San Jose State University; Ruth Kim, University of San Francisco; Susy Zepeda, UC Davis Abolitionist Futures, Community Accountability, and Emerging Movements to Transform Violence Clarissa Rojas, CSU Long Beach; Mimi Kim, UC Berkeley; Alisa Bierria, UC Berkeley; Andrea Smith, UC Riverside
Research Justice for Reproductive Justice: Taking Back Our Bodies Julia Chinyere Oparah, Mills College; Linda Jones, Birth and Postpartum Doula; Talita Oseguera, Black Women Birthing Justice; Kimala Price. San Diego State University; Monica McLemore, UCSF
Spiritual Activism, Curandismo, and Decolonization Agustin Palacios, Contra Costa College; Mara Diaz-Chavez, UC Berkeley
Ethnic Studies and Community Action Carlos Salomon, Cal State East Bay; Justin Blea, UNITE HERE; Jesus Barraza and Melanie Cervantes, Dignidad Rebelde; Jose Malvido, Peace and Dignity Journeys Theory in the Flesh: Healing as a Political Act Sara Salazar, California Institute for Integral Studies (CIIS); Michelle Gutierrez, CIIS; Mara Diaz-Chavez, UC Berkeley
NAES 2014 Conference Convenings Opening Convening: "Critical Intersectionality as a Framework to Decolonize Ethnic Studies" Thursday, April 3, 2014 5:00 pm–7:30 pm Mills College, Lisser Hall
Off-site Convening: "Research Justice: Decolonizing Knowledge, Building Power" Friday, April 4, 2014 7:00 pm–9:30 pm First Congregational Church 2501 Harrison Street Oakland, CA
Closing Convening: Ethnic Studies Congress Saturday, April 5, 2014 10:30 am–12.30 pm Mills College, Lisser Hall
About Mills College Nestled in the foothills of Oakland, California, Mills College is a nationally renowned, independent liberal arts college offering a dynamic progressive education that fosters leadership, social responsibility, and creativity in approximately 1,000 undergraduate women and 600 graduate women and men. The College ranks as one of the Best 378 Colleges in the country and one of the greenest colleges in the nation by The Princeton Review. U.S. News & World Report ranked Mills one of the top-tier regional universities in the country and lists it among the top colleges and universities in the West in the "Great Schools, Great Prices'' category. For more information, visit http://www.mills.edu.


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|Biosequences .. Software .. Molbio soft .. Network News .. FTP
Here is a reminder about the NAASC elections. See below for the previous announcement. ____________________________________________________________________________ Dear North American Colleagues, Below is the list of individuals on the ballot for NAASC membership (see http://www.bio.net/hypermail/ARABIDOPSIS/9711/0037.html for information about the NAASC and nominations process). To vote in the elections, please select two individuals and type their names in the body of an email message and send the message to: naasc1 at cornell.edu. The election process will run until 15 December, 1997, at which time votes will be tallied. An announcement of the results should follow shortly thereafter. Thanks for your participation. NAASC 1997 Elections naasc1 at cornell.edu NOMINEES: Judy Bender John Bowman Clint Chapple Steve Clark Xing Wang Deng Nina Federoff Chuck Gasser Sue Gibson Jane Glazebrook Mary Lou Guerinot George Haughn Vivian Irish Steve Kay Hong Ma Rob Martienssen Rob McClung Peter McCourt Jason Reed Eric Richards Brenda W. Shirley Mike Sussman Mike Thomashow Rick Vierstra Eric Ward


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The Canadian Centre for International Justice
The Canadian Centre for International Justice is a charitable organization that works with survivors of genocide, torture and other atrocities to seek redress and bring perpetrators to justice.
What is international justice?
Thousands of people around the world and even some here in Canada are denied justice every day. Too often, there is no justice against those who plan and carry out atrocities, especially against people in war-torn regions, refugees, and immigrants.
Between 25-30% of refugees & immigrants globally (including in Canada) have experienced torture, rape, mutilation, or the murder or disappearance of loved ones. In most cases, no one is punished for the crimes.
At a human level, justice provides critical healing to survivors of crimes.
At a societal level, justice is a deterrent to genocides, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
There are two important parts of the international justice equation: justice for the survivors of crime, and consequences for the perpetrators.
Canada has a greater role to play in developing the global system of justice that includes international courts and tribunals. We can all contribute to strengthening that system while supporting survivors.


text: 1. A history of United States Army Base Hospital No. 19, American Expeditionary Forces, Vichy, France, A.P.O. 781 Author(s): Swan, John M. (John Mumford), 1870-1949, authorHeath, Mark, 1895-, author Publication: Rochester, N. Y. : Wegman-Walsh Press, Inc., [1922?] Subject(s): Hospitals, MilitaryWorld War IUnited StatesUnited States. Army. Base Hospital No. 19.


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Live to Love One Another - Organic TeeRegular price $28.00 Save $-28.00
Our timeless, gender neutral designs are made to celebrate your special moments and create lasting memories during these special times. Featuring buttery soft and breathable premium organic fabrics. A natural organic cotton t-shirt is the perfect top for every boy or girl and comfortable for every day wear!
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U.S. Men's National Team Update - Jan. 9, 2009
B.J. Hoeptner Evans
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: email@example.com
ANAHEIM, Calif. (Jan. 9, 2009) – U.S. middle blocker David Lee (Alpine, Calif.) and his Italian team Trenkwalder Modena have started the new year out well and won their first matches in the Serie A League.
On Jan. 3, Lee scored two points on one block and one kill as Modena defeated host Antonveneta Padova, 3-1 (14-25, 25-17, 17-25, 23-25). On Jan. 6, host Modena defeated Marmi Lanza Verona, 3-1 (18-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-17). Lee had five points on three blocks and two kills.
Modena is in eighth place in the league with a record of 7-9. It is tied with Sisley Treviso, which it will host in its next match on Jan. 11.
Outside hitter Jayson Jablonsky (Yorba Linda, Calif.) and his Italian team Wayel Bologna have gone 1-1 so far this year in the Serie A2 league. On Jan. 3, Jablonsky scored seven points on six kills and one ace as visiting Bologna fell to Samgas Crema, 0-3 (25-18, 25-23, 25-16).
On Jan. 6, Bologna came back to defeat visiting Gherardi Cartoedit Tratos Città Di Castello, 3-2 (25-21, 14-25, 25-14, 18-25, 15-11). Jablonsky scored 11 points on nine kills, one block and one ace.
U.S. middle blocker Tom Hoff (Park Ridge, Ill.) scored 6.17 points on four kills, 1.17 blocks and one ace as his Greek team Olympiacos shut out league-leading Panathinaikos, 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-11) on Jan. 7 and handed the team its first loss of the season.
Olympiacos remains in second place in the league with a record of 10-2. Panathinaikos remains in first with a record of 11-1.
U.S. players Paul Lotman (Lakewood, Calif.) and Theo Brunner (Ridgefield, Conn.) and their Greek team PAOK defeated U.S. outside hitter Nils Nielsen (Fallbrook, Calif.) and MGS Apollon Kalamarias, 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-20) on Jan. 7. Lotman scored 15 points on 12 kills and three aces. Brunner had 12 points on nine kills and three blocks. Nielsen scored five points on four kills and one block.
PAOK is in ninth place in the league with a 4-8 record while MGS Apollon Kalamarias is in 10th place at 3-9.
Matt Denmark (Edmund, Okla.) and his team AO Finikas Sirou fell to GS Lamia 1-3 (22-25, 25-23, 22-25, 22-25) on Jan. 7. Denmark was credited with 11.83 points on eight kills, 1.83 blocks and two aces. AO Finikas Sirou is in eighth place in the league with a 5-7 record.


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Banning Users!
Banning Users!
Sep 28 2007, 10:39 AM
Post #1
Group: Members
Posts: 438
Joined: 12-August 03
From: Leeds, UK
Member No.: 346
I have been busy banning users. Apart from banning myself temporarily I don't think I have banned anyone or anything but spammers and spambots!
I hope I've got all of the old ones!
If you are a user who finds that you have been banned, by mistake, you can let me know here and I will check your contributions and recheck the pages which led me to think you needed banning.
Please accept my apologies in advance.
With the new software and the new settings that are being made by DZ, there should be a lot less spam and vandalism. I will continue to watch out for it.
If you find any vandalism or any spam please let me have the page title and I will look into for you.
|Lo-Fi Version
|Time is now: 4th April 2020 - 04:11 PM


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Home » Sound Art - Radio Art » KUBISCH, CHRISTINA: Magnetic Flights
KUBISCH, CHRISTINA: Magnetic Flights
Continuing her investigations into, and documentations of, the normally inaudible electromagnetic fields through which advanced urban civilians daily swim - Christina here uses material collected entirely from international airports and planes in flight. All the familiar sounds, the sounds occupying frequencies that excite the human ear, are suppressed, so that we hear only what is happening in an electronic space normally inaccessible to us - produced by hotspots, wi-fi antennae, occupants of radio spectra, security and other electronic devices � made audible through listening (and recording) devices appropriately attuned. This CD � a stereo reduction of an 8-channel installation - tracks the information gathered by an electromagnetic ear in departure areas, during flights and landings, and at arrival zones around the world. These electronic sounds are epiphenomenal, captured, not made or built, so they have a logic, grain and structure that exists outside � and indeed resists � a human aesthetic; something like the sonic equivalent of Van Leeuwenhoek applying his first microscope to pond water and discovering a universe of animalcules and seething life-forms never seen until that moment. Or even imagined. It�s not a toe-tapper, but in the context of its provenance, it offers a fascinating and strangely musical experience; as well as a slightly spooky intimation of the secret life of machines. L
Code: imprec328
Price: £14.50


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Congressman Frank Lucas, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, would rather forego passing a hurry-up farm bill that jeopardizes the well-being of rural America and take his chances fighting for a better program next summer.
"I will not be a part of legislation that's bad policy," Lucas said during a telephone hook-up to the Texas Ag Forum, meeting recently in Austin.
The Texas Ag Forum is an association of key agricultural leaders and representatives from across the Texas food and fiber system. The Forum meets when appropriate to discuss crucial agricultural issues.
Lucas said farm legislation in the 1930s and 1980s represented "bad federal policy that almost destroyed agriculture in the Southwest. I will not give away a huge portion of rural America to get a bad deal. I'll take my chances next summer."
He admitted that waiting until summer would mean a fight.
Debate on the 2012 farm bill has been unusual, Lucas said. "In a normal year we would be holding field hearings at this point. This is not a normal year. We have the Super Committee (a committee equally divided between Democrats and Republicans, senators and representatives charged with reducing the deficit by $1.5 trillion) standing over our shoulders or behind us with a cattle prod," Lucas said.
"We (both the House and Senate committees on agriculture) are doing our part to meet our responsibility of deficit reduction. And we have a lot of members of Congress who have no clue where their food comes from."
Lucas said he's convinced that the ag committees can come up with $23 billion in farm bill savings. "We're putting together a framework so we don't have to depend just on the Super Committee's numbers. We have a lot of discussions going on."
50/50 chance for deadline
He said the possibility of getting a farm bill to the Super Committee by the November 1 deadline is "about fifty-fifty."
Lucas said direct payments represent a big target. "The program is constantly under pressure from the national media and colleagues in both the House and the Senate. The direct payment program has opponents from both the hard right and the hard left and those further away from rural America."
He said a group of freshman House members "came here to reduce spending and they don't care where they reduce it. And a number of nervous senators are running for re-election.
Lucas said he may be "the last defender of direct payments in Washington. It's the least distorting within WTO."
He says programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program, which "pays producers to grow grass — are considered good, but with direct payments we maintain the ability to produce food and that's bad. It makes no sense.
"Maintaining the productive capacity of agriculture in this country is as important as maintaining the ability to produce ICBMs (inter-continental ballistic missiles)."
Lucas said members of both House and Senate ag committees, along with input from commodity organizations, are looking at options to replace direct payments and maintain some kind of safety net. Some program featuring revenue assurance seems most likely.
"But the farm bill is still about raising food and fiber to feed and clothe the country and the world," Lucas said. "We have to keep farm in the farm bill. It has become a feeding program."
He said commodity programs should not take all the cuts. "We also have to consider conservation and nutrition," he said. "Some colleagues see nutrition as 'carved in stone,' but we still have to keep products on the shelves or nutrition programs have nothing to buy."
Lucas believes a farm bill "should work for everybody — cotton in West Texas and corn in Iowa. Our challenge is to maintain equity in every part of the farm bill and also within commodities and regions."
He said the Renewable Fuel Standard already gives one commodity a "huge advantage."
Several forum participants, representing key leadership from Texas' broad-based farm and ranch interests, as well as critical agencies and educational units, expressed concern for a safety net that relies on historical or olympic yields and commodity prices instead of a consistent, if minimal, revenue floor.
Revenue Plan concerns
"We are concerned about a revenue plan," said L.G. Raun, a Texas rice producer and leader in the rice industry. "The fatal flaw in a revenue program is that we have to rely on historical prices."
He said a period of sustained low prices would be ruinous to rice producers and the safety net would disappear. "The direct payment," Raun said, "is very bankable." He explained that with assurance of the direct payment a producer can show lenders at least a minimal cash flow.
"Without the direct payment, we're concerned about bankability," he said.
Lucas agreed that revenue assurance leaves gaps. He said he understood the uncertainty of agriculture and that good years are often followed by bad ones and crafting a program based on higher valued commodities leaves producers more vulnerable.
He offered the possibility of Congress having to revisit a farm program if prices deteriorate. He also said that Congress would be under extreme pressure for the next five to 10 years to hold expenses in check.
"The $23 billion savings is achievable," Lucas said. "But it's sheet ice we're sliding on. And to achieve that savings, significant things must happen and there is a big bulls-eye on direct payments."
He said the Super Committee is not "stacked in favor of the countryside. But it reflects the flavor of the country." The committee may take up ag spending or leave it to Congress' ag committees. "It may decide to do something, do nothing (with ag) or not get a bill. But the administration will push the Democrats on the committee and Republicans want to get a bill. We're traveling in uncharted waters. But I'm working with the other three principals on the ag committees."
Steve Verett, executive vice president, Plains Cotton Growers, told Lucas that farmers "need some kind of reference price" included in the safety net. "It only takes one or two years of low prices to ruin a farmer. That will happen sooner or later."
He also thanked Lucas for his leadership. "It's a comfort to know that we have people who have our backs and keep our interests in mind," he said.
Lucas said the national media, as well as many legislators, have a skewed view of how agriculture works in the country. The past few years of good yields and high commodity prices created an impression that farmers are making huge profits and no longer need the safety nets that have served them well in past farm programs.
"We have had decent weather for the past five years, with the exception of the drought in the Southwest this year," Lucas said. That string of good years, added to pressure to reduce the deficit and constant criticism from the national media, puts farm programs in the crosshairs of budget hawks, Lucas said.
"This is a tough time to write a farm bill."


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À propos de Michael Giacchino
Michael Giacchino is a prolific composer of scores and soundtracks for video games, television and film. He first gained recognition in the late '90s for his orchestral scores for Dreamworks Interactive games like The Lost World: Jurassic Park and four Medal of Honor editions; he has continued working with WWII-themed material across Call of Duty and Secret Weapons over Normandy. He frequently works with Pixar, having scored The Incredibles, Ratatouille and Up. His most successful work might be for the television series Lost, in which he combined percussive sounds played on pieces of plane fuselage with darkly atonal strings; his falling brass fanfare became a signature of the series.
Artistes similaires
Danny Elfman, David Arnold, Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard, John Powell, Steve Jablonsky


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I'm investigating the eigenvalue ratios
$$ \frac{\lambda_1}{\sum_{j=2}^N\lambda_j} \quad\mbox{and}\quad \frac{\sum_{j=1}^N\lambda_j}{\sum_{j=2}^N\lambda_j} $$
of the NxN matrix $B=AA^T$. $\lambda_1$ denotes the largest eigenvalue. The ratios can be thought of as a measure of "rank-1-ness" of $B$.
I haven't found any mention of either ratio in literature, regardless of constraints on $B$. Has any work been done on this before, and could someone point me there?


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Every year we get the opportunity to buy at the lowest prices. Check Jouica Women's Casual Sweatshirt V Neck Batwing Sleeve Knit Top Loose Pullover Sweater Black Friday deal 2019 before it runs out of stock or the event ends. Every women knows that a good bargain will have 3 benefits: you save money, you get the excitement of getting a good deal and you get to update your wardrobe.
Similar to any discount event you have to act quick once the offers start. Ideally save the products that you want in your cart and once the events starts checkout with the new listed prices.
Ideally you don't want to spend more and regret later. So, make your list with the things you want the most and consider your budget. You can check campaigns from previous years and make an idea of what the price will be, so you can administer your budget better. Keep your head cool during these offers and take only what your budget allows it.
As a women, most likely, you already have your eyes on the things you want to have. Adding beautiful new items to your cloths collection is satisfying and it can mark a new beginning. For most women we know that changing the looks (hair style, make-up) and/or the fashion style. There might be colors you haven't used that much but recently fall in love with. Or there might be this new trend in fashion that you love to keep up with. Or maybe you just go for a classic or vintage look. The real difference that a new item does for a women is how it makes her feel and what statement does that piece of clothing make.
And for your women that their bodies are still in the changing process (teens) or they have gone through a diet and exercise program, getting new clothing that will compliment their body figure is important. Just like with any positive change we experience in our lives, it is good to make the best out of it. Marking such moments with new outfits is like an extra reward and an extra boost for confidence.
Stop thinking about your old cloths. Start thinking of who you are now in the present moment. And take into account where do you want to be in the future. This will show you the way on how to change your fashion style, so you get where you want to be.
So, no matter if you buy Jouica Women's Casual Sweatshirt V Neck Batwing Sleeve Knit Top Loose Pullover Sweater for yourself or someone else consider what is the best choice to boost that person style and confidence. There is nothing better than to have a closet full with things you love to mix in such a way that your outfits tells about your inner state. And Black Friday deals 2019 are at this time of the year the best thing you could wish for your budget and your closet.


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Review: Glen Campbell, Ghost on the Canvas
Since he reached his commercial peak almost a decade before I was born, most of my initial exposure to Glen Campbell was through his various tabloid appearances and his conservative political stumping, none of which did much to endear him to me. That he's spent the better part of the last two decades in semi-retirement, while fellow Country Music Hall of Fame acts like Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, and Dolly Parton have all been busy recording some of the best music of their careers, hasn't really offered many new reasons to revisit Campbell's catalogue either. Sure, "Galveston" is a classic single for a host of obvious reasons, and Campbell is undeniably a gifted singer and guitarist, but his super-polished brand of pop-country has never resonated with me.
That said, I believe it's important to acknowledge how one's biases shape perceptions and to be honest about what those biases are. After finding 2008's Meet Glen Campbell an uneven, misguided attempt at launching a late-career renaissance, I didn't expect much from Ghost on the Canvas. Still, given its context (Campbell announced in 2010 that he's suffering from Alzheimer's Disease and that Ghost on the Canvas will be his official retirement album), I figured it was a noteworthy enough release that I still wanted to hear it.
I'm glad I did. Ghost on the Canvas is an insightful, ambitious album of real reflection and depth. Collaborating again with Julian Raymond, producer of Meet Glen Campbell, Campbell has crafted an album that alludes to the various stages of his lengthy, storied career without becoming a proper retrospective or a simple exercise in easy nostalgia. To that end, Ghost on the Canvas plays as both an effective swan song and the most creative and varied album of Campbell's career.
Because he hasn't recorded all that often, Campbell's tenor is still in fine shape, and he brings a genuine, lived-in authority to his vocal performances. His choices of cover songs are unexpected and uniformly excellent. Jakob Dylan's "Nothin' But the Whole Wide World" is especially lovely, as Campbell delivers a light-handed and affecting meditation on the feelings of security and optimism that his faith provide. "A Better Place," written by Paul Westerberg, opens the album on a similarly hopeful note, as Campbell sings, "The one thing I know/The world's been good to me" over a simple, fingerpicked guitar figure. A cover of Teddy Thompson's "In My Arms" is the album's most surprising cut, with Campbell turning in on a downright youthful, exuberant performance that matches the energy of the song's rollicking arrangement.
It's Campbell's original songs that are the album's strongest and most poignant. "Thousand Lifetimes," which boasts the heaviest rock production in the singer's catalogue, is a clear-eyed confrontation of mortality, as he addresses personal demons head-on and remarks, "Each breath I take is a gift that I will never take for granted." In another context, that line might scan as maudlin, but there's such force to Campbell's delivery that it plays instead like a personal mission statement. "Strong" is even more impressive in its unflinching honesty, as Campbell sings to his wife, "This is not the road I want for us/But now that it's here/All I want to be for you is strong." It's a song that trades in fear and uncertainty as much as it expresses perseverance, and it's that willingness to disclose and to confront personal vulnerability that makes Ghost on the Canvas such a strong album.
Raymond, for his part, generally keeps the focus on Campbell and his thoughtful performances. He establishes a lo-fi aesthetic that reinforces the intimacy of the album, bringing occasional flourishes of texture to his relatively unobtrusive production. Though Campbell is considered a country artist, his pop leanings have always been strong, and Raymond certainly produces Ghost on the Canvas like a contemporary indie-pop record. There are a few significant missteps, including the overlong, indulgent instrumental outro to "There's No Me," and a few orchestral flourishes that recall some of Campbell's schmaltzier singles.
The brief instrumental interludes that punctuate the album are also a distraction. Intended to pay tribute to specific eras of Campbell's career (the lush, wordless vocal harmonies on "The Rest Is Silence" are a nod to his stint with the Beach Boys), they're simply too short and too abstract to make many clear points or to add depth to the record. Fortunately, Ghost on the Canvas doesn't need much assistance in that regard. It's not a perfect album, but it's honest and ambitious, and it allows Campbell to end his career both on his own terms and on a real high note.
Label: Surfdog Release Date: August 29, 2011 Buy: Amazon
Review: The Weeknd's After Hours Is a Triumphant Depiction of Heartbreak
The album explores new levels of sonic innovation, expanding on old themes while finding new shades of emotional maturity.
The Weeknd's music has, to this point, focused on three major subjects: having sex, doing drugs, and having sex on drugs. Despite the ostensible physical pleasure of these activities, Abel Tesfaye's vocal delivery and sonic landscapes have often felt anhedonic. He writes about chasing pleasure not for the thrill, but out of habit, like a dog chasing a car—best exemplified by his hit "Can't Feel My Face," a galactic love song about getting so high that your emotions shut down. The Weeknd's fourth album, After Hours, is reportedly a chronicle of Tesfaye's on-again, off-again relationship with model Bella Hadid, and he straight-facedly embraces vulnerability like never before, resulting is his most personal album to date.
Though his work is pop-oriented, Tesfaye has always been willing to chase wild hares. On After Hours, he collaborates with electronic artist Oneohtrix Point Never, né Daniel Lopatin, who composed the score for the Safdie brothers' Uncut Gems, in which Tesfaye was featured. Lopatin worked on three tracks here, but his influence is palpable throughout the album, as Tesfaye embraces the type of crystalline electronica Oneohtrix Point Never is famous for.
On the standout "Hardest to Love," Tesfaye delivers one of the most affecting vocal performances of his career over a glitchy pop soundscape. The song's lyrics are direct: "I've been the hardest to love/You're tryna let me go," shouldering the blame for a relationship's demise. The song's catchiness belies its melancholy, a sophisticated combination that's a testament to Tesfaye's depiction of a relationship that results in a confusing morass of emotions that we seldom process them in a linear fashion: anger, sadness, gratitude, elation, loneliness. On this song and throughout After Hours, Tesfaye navigates these conflicting emotions in a way that captures the experience of being lost in that swirl.
Elsewhere, "Scared to Live" displays the grandeur of a pop ballad, with a swooning earworm of a chorus and lyrics that tenderly reflect on a past love, showing the type of maturity that comes only with hindsight. The song nearly edges into schmaltz, but it's full of surprises, including a nod to Elton John's "Your Song" that's so well integrated into the chorus it's easy to miss.
Of course, since this is an album that deals with a troubled relationship, not every song is a magnanimous, gentle reverie. "Save Your Tears" revels in spite, flaunting how over-it Tesfaye is in front of his ex while teasing the possibility of reconciliation. Tesfaye's distinct brand of R&B consistently draws from other genres, but hearing him embrace a straight-up synth-rock sound here is an exciting change of pace. "Repeat After Me" is grimly comic, with Tesfaye repeating, "You don't love him/You're just fucking/It means nothing to me," before later adding, "You're thinking of me." Lopatin's spare production and the cyclical pattern of the lyrics make it clear that he's trying to convince himself.
After Hours, the first Weeknd album to feature no guest vocalists, isn't completely divorced from Tesfaye's usual themes, as he turns to substances to assuage his feelings. Lead single "Heartless" is a dark fantasy about driving too fast and engaging in joyless sex while experiencing amphetamine-driven nausea, while the chilling "Faith" chronicles a codependent relationship that leads to a drug-fueled emotional collapse. The song's centerpiece is a ghoulish fantasy of two people enabling their worst impulses: "If I O.D., I want you to O.D. right beside me." Tesfaye sings the line in a tone that can best be described as disastrously triumphant, which is also a fitting description for the album as a whole.
Label: Republic Release Date: March 20, 2020 Buy: Amazon
Review: Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia Is a Euphoric Escape Hatch to Pop's Past
The album understands that the best diversions are as fleeting as they are exhilarating.4
When Dua Lipa decided to name her sophomore effort Future Nostalgia, she couldn't have fathomed that the album would be released in the midst of a socially and economically devastating global pandemic. It's unlikely that future generations will look back on 2020 with wistful nostalgia. Fortunately for us, Future Nostalgia leans into the latter half of its oxymoronic title, offering a well-timed escape hatch to pop music's past.
A throaty mezzo, Lipa is capable of churning out an album full of the sort of power ballads that were liberally sprinkled throughout her self-titled debut. But like Mariah Carey before her, the grooves are just as important to the English pop singer's success—though the closest Carey ever got to a full-fledged dance album was Glitter. Which is, perhaps, an apt point of comparison, since Carey's 2001 movie soundtrack and Lipa's Future Nostalgia—coincidentally both released during national crises—are doggedly devoted to '80s pastiche.
The album's mix of past and present is best captured on two tracks that draw overtly from their sources: "Love Again" is a dizzying dance-floor filler that pairs lush orchestral swells with a sample of the canned strings from White Town's 1997 single "Your Woman," while the guitar hook from INXS's "Need You Tonight" provides the melodic basis for "Break My Heart." Both songs demonstrate Lipa's knack for wringing pathos from everyday dating woes and pouring it into sublime dance-pop. It's a role that once squarely belonged to Robyn, whose long sabbaticals Lipa seems more than willing to fill with kiss-offs like "New Rules," "IDGAF," and "Don't Start Now," the nu-disco slower burner that served as Future Nostalgia's lead single.
The album's second single, "Physical," interpolates Olivia Newton-John's 1981 hit of the same name but eschews that song's loose R&B rhythm for the frenetic future-pop of Newton-John's "Twist of Fate." That makes Lipa's song, with its admittedly robotic hook, a bit of a bait-and-switch, but the album is nothing if not surprising. Chic-indebted guitar licks, sleek mono synths, and judiciously appointed cowbell bump up against more contemporary pitch-modulated vocal effects on tracks like "Pretty Please" and "Levitating." The latter is a feel-good earworm that, like the cheeky "Good in Bed," conjures Lizzo-esque pop-funk.
Occasionally, the album's commitment to juxtaposition feels strained. The title track, which soars when it unabashedly embraces early-'80s electro and the ivory-soul stylings of Teena Marie, falls flat when Lipa attempts Kesha's brand of talk-singing amid references to futurist architecture. And "Hallucinate," Future Nostalgia's most bald-faced gesture to clubland, is a Kylie Minogue-style house banger with a Lady Gaga-esque hook that, on a lesser album, would be a highlight but feels generic when sandwiched between the simmering "Pretty Please" and the euphoric "Love Again."
Notably missing from the album are those aforementioned power ballads. The closest equivalent is the closing track, "Boys Will Be Boys," a baroque-pop anthem that tackles gender politics and the media: "When will we stop saying things 'cause they're all listening/No, the kids ain't all right/And they do what they see 'cause it's all on TV/Oh, the kids ain't all right." It's theoretically an enervating way to end an album whose primary virtue is its sense of escapism, snapping us back to a reality where kids predictably emulate the bad behavior of our leaders and one ill-advised remark can send the stock market into a nosedive. At just 37 minutes, however, Future Nostalgia seems to understand that the best diversions are as fleeting as they are exhilarating, so we should enjoy them while we can.
Label: Warner Release Date: March 27, 2020 Buy: Amazon
The 10 Best Albums of 1984
We take a look back and reflect on the music that defined one of the most definable of decades.
In my introduction to Slant's list of the 100 Best Albums of the 1980s, I noted that, while '80s pop culture is largely remembered for its frivolity, the social unrest that stirred beneath the decade's brightly colored gloss and greed resulted in not just the guilt-driven good intentions of enterprises like the star-studded USA for Africa, but a generation of artists whose music genuinely reflected the state of the world. From political violence across the pond and the struggles and dreams of the American working class, to race relations, sexuality, and gender, no topic was left unexcavated by the pop, rock, and hip-hop artists of the Reagan era. As we enter the 2020s, an entire generation removed from the '80s, it seems as good a time as any to once again look back and reflect on the music that defined one of the most definable of decades. Sal Cinquemani
Honorable Mention: Minutemen, Double Nickels on the Dime; R.E.M., Reckoning; Meat Puppets, Meat Puppets II; Madonna, Like a Virgin; U2, The Unforgettable Fire; Laurie Anderson, Mister Heartbreak; Chaka Khan, I Feel for You; Run-DMC, Run-DMC; The Bangles, All Over the Place; Los Lobos, How Will the Wolf Survive?
10. Husker Du, Zen Arcade
With 1984's Zen Arcade, Hüsker Dü married their fast and furious brand of punk with swirling psychedelica, elaborate noise arrangements, and a newfound melodious side. Bob Mould's cacophonous solos and treble-heavy riffing are raw and intense, while his sullen acoustic jams are gorgeous in their own melancholic way, and he even gets raise-your-fist anthemic with "Turn on the News." With all this sonic shapeshifting, and an exhausting 70 minutes on the clock, Zen Arcade is something of an operatic frenzy, one where violent forays of rapid-fire punk are set to eccentric and elaborate structures. Huw Jones
9. Art of Noise, Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise
"In the nineteenth century, with the invention of the machine, Noise was born," wrote Luigi Russolo in a letter to fellow Italian futurist composer Balilla Pretella. And in the late 20th century, avant-garde electronic-pop collective Art of Noise, who took their name from Russolo's famous essay, was born, concocting cacophonous collages of digital beats and samples that would influence an entire generation of knob twirlers. The group's 1984 debut opens with the proto-political "A Time for Fear (Who's Afraid)," portions of broadcasts from the U.S. invasion of Grenada building to industrial beats and a minimalist sub-bass that informed the work of future pioneers like Björk and Tricky. Surprisingly, it's the album's least noisy track, the 10-minute instrumental chill-out "Moments In Love," that truly veers off into some exhilaratingly strange, unexpected territory. Russolo would be proud. Cinquemani
8. Cocteau Twins, Treasure
No, you still can't make out a damn thing that Elizabeth Frazer sings on Treasure. But you don't need to: Her rolling, ululating syllables impart the kind of feelings that verbal communication is notoriously ill-suited for, and besides, when she swoops between the extremes of her range on a devastating number like "Lorelei," you'll swear you're speaking her language. Robin Guthrie's hypnotic guitar playing, by turns majestic and muscular, is everything that dream-pop guitar should be—if not for My Bloody Valentine, maybe all it ever would be. Critics sometimes protested that the Cocteau Twins shouldn't really be considered a rock band at all, and that's fine by me: When "Donimo" closes the album with operatic splendor, it's clear that they're something far more special. Matthew Cole
7. Tina Turner, Private Dancer
Like another mega-successful pop monster, Michael Jackson's Thriller, Private Dancer is a staggering display of self-affirming artistry and vocal expression. For Turner, who was 45 when the album was released, it also represented a kind of vindication, with songs like the gritty, powerful "What's Love Got to Do with It" and the sultry ultimatum "Better Be Good to Me" all but destroying the false pretense that she was somehow only fit to play second fiddle to Ike. Both a personal liberation and sonic redemption, Private Dancer established Turner not only as a genuine diva, but a bona fide force of nature. Kevin Liedel
6. Talking Heads, Stop Making Sense
Inseparable from Jonathan Demme's concert doc of the same name, arguably the finest concert film ever made, and subject to endless hemming and hawing among Talking Heads's diehards for the elisions made to said concert's set list when the soundtrack was being produced, Stop Making Sense remains a divisive album. A 1999 reissue rectified many of the most common complaints about the original release, nearly doubling the length of the album and restoring some continuity to the band's performance, but that takes nothing away from the fact that Stop Making Sense, even in its truncated original form, is a testament to one of the most compelling, forward-thinking bands of the rock era at the peak of their craft. Jonathan Keefe
Through the Years: Madonna's Iconic "Vogue" Turns 30
From MTV to Madame X, the queen of pop's ode to voguing continues to endure three decades later.
Released in March of 1990, Madonna's "Vogue" wasn't just a hit single—it was a cultural phenomenon. Ironically, no other song better exemplifies both the singer's influence on pop culture and the accusations of appropriation that have been lobbed at her over the years. The track, produced by Shep Pettibone, is at once a musical map of disco, shamelessly ripping MFSB's "Love Is the Message" and Salsoul Orchestra's "Ooh, I Love It (Love Break)," and an enduring prototype of its own, spawning countless copycats and spoofs in the early '90s and inspiring covers by more contemporary acolytes like Britney Spears, Rihanna, and Katy Perry. The queen of pop herself has even paid homage to her own hit, erupting into the song's refrain at the end of her 1992 single "Deeper and Deeper" and sampling elements of the track on 2015's "Holy Water" and her most recent club hit, "I Don't Search I Find." Like the Harlem drag balls that inspired it, "Vogue" is about presentation, and unlike, say, "Like a Virgin," the queen of reinvention has found little need to fuss with perfection. Sal Cinquemani
Music Video (1990)
Look closely when that butler brushes off the bannister. Nope, no dust there; the finger pulls clean. Those who objected to Madonna's co-opting two vibrant New York scenes—ball culture and the house underground—had every reason to cast any available aspersions once the instant-classic music video for "Vogue" hit the airwaves. Directed with diamond-cut precision by David Fincher long before he became the fussiest of the A-list auteurs, the already plush song became a plummy fantasia of Old Hollywood luxury, and an actualization of the sort of glamour Paris Is Burning's drag queens and dance-floor ninjas openly longed for. And it came with a steep price tag. "It makes no difference if you're black or white," goes the familiar refrain, but it's unclear whether Madonna realized to what extent the clip's flawless, monochromatic cinematography would underline the point. To some, the video (like New York's ball scene) represented the ultimate democratization of beauty. To others, a presumptuously preemptive eradication of the racial question entirely. Eric Henderson
Blond Ambition Tour (1990)
Compared to the spectacles Madonna would go on to stage for the song over the next quarter century, the premier live performances of "Vogue" were surprisingly quaint. Stripped down to the bare basics (aside from the dancers' headdresses, even the costumes consisted solely of simple black spandex), the Blond Ambition version of the song came closest to capturing the essence of the gay ballroom scene the lyrics were inspired by: presentational, preening, and all about the pose. Cinquemani
Rock the Vote (1990)
Along with "Vogue," this year also marks the 30th anniversary of Rock the Vote, the nonprofit organization aimed at mobilizing and registering young voters. In 1990, the group made its national debut with a TV spot featuring Madonna and two of her Blond Ambition dancers harmonizing to a cheeky, revamped version of her then-recent smash. In what might seem tame by today's standards, the sight of the world's biggest pop star draped in the American flag, comparing freedom of speech to sex, threatening to give non-voters a "spanky," and name-dropping Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., all while dressed in red lace lingerie, twisted more than a few panties among the Moral Majority. And that was before it was revealed she wasn't even registered to vote. Cinquemani
MTV Video Music Awards (1990)
Indulging in a cheeky bit of dress-me-up make believe, Madonna's performance at the 1990 VMAs gracefully elided politics altogether in favor of lace-front cosplay. Borrowing liberally from Dangerous Liaisons, specifically costume designer James Acheson's cleavage-crushing bodice, Madonna and regalia flitted around a rec room, taunting a bevy of eligible suitors in short pants, punctuating every tease with an audible snap of fans that sounded more like trashcan lids. Sandwiched as the song was between "Like a Prayer" on one side and "Justify My Love" and Erotica on the other, it was nice to see at least one performance of the song that revels in the simple thrill of innocent ribaldry. Henderson
The Girlie Show Tour (1993)
Not by any stretch the most iconic performance of the tune, and in fact very likely the most rote of the bunch, especially when you consider its place in context with the surrounding Erotica-heavy content, against which "Vogue" can't help but sound just a smidge "Let's All Go to the Lobby." The Mata Hari headdress promises subversion that never really materializes, which is hardly a surprise given Madonna—clad in a boy bra and chunky platform military boots—has probably never looked more rectangular. This marked the last time she would perform the song in concert for more than a decade, and the vague sense that an increasingly doom-obsessed Madonna was vaguely bored with the song's escapism is palpable here. Henderson
Review: Pearl Jam's Gigaton Finds the Band Locked in a Holding Pattern
The more the band moves outside their comfort zone, the worthier they become of their apparent permanence.3
"I changed by not changing at all," Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder once solemnly intoned on 1993's "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town." That sentiment has become something of a guiding principle for a veteran rock band that, despite lacking Nirvana's raw emotion and the Smashing Pumpkins's sense of theatricality, has managed to outlast many of their alt-rock contemporaries. While Vedder has penned some indelible rock songs—"Yellow Ledbetter" is but one example—Pearl Jam has been locked in cruise control since the late '90s, and their latest, Gigaton, is largely more of the same.
The album's opening track, "Who Ever Said," comes out swinging with some growling, interlocking guitar riffs. Vedder's voice is likewise in fine form (he's beginning to sound a bit like Chris Cornell, who was always a better singer) and he delivers some clever wordplay: "'It's all in the delivery,' said the messenger who is now dead." The song's hook—"Whoever said it's all been said?"—seems to directly confront the notion that the band is out of ideas. And for a couple of minutes, Pearl Jam sounds determined to prove their naysayers wrong—until the song shifts into a meandering second movement and ultimately peters out. In that way, it serves as a microcosm of the album as a whole: a few good ideas and moments of experimentation alongside some baffling head-scratchers.
Most baffling is "Superblood Wolfmoon," which boasts a two-step rhythm with skittering cymbal fills, giving it a nervous energy that's matched by Vedder's clipped delivery. But the kludgy guitars feel oddly out of sync with the song's too-muchness, and the lyrics read like an attempt to confront political catastrophe through the prism of personal loss and weird fiction. Elsewhere, "Buckle Up" suffers from a lyrical fuzziness: "Firstly do no harm, then put your seatbelt on, buckle up!" Vedder seems to be trying to address the importance of self-care, but the song's loping rhythm and his warbly delivery make the lyrics sound like a goofy P.S.A.
Occasionally, Vedder and company's experimentation works. Despite its silly title, "Dance of the Clairvoyants" is a successful reworking of the band's signature sound. The track's elastic, funk-inspired rhythm section and unsettling synth riff are a good match for Vedder's vocals, which sound alternately enraged and exhausted. "When the past is the present and the future's no more/When every tomorrow's no more," he sings, sounding like a man who's lived more lives than he can remember. In sharp contrast to that track's maximalism, "Comes Then Goes" is a gentle, country-inflected ballad that showcases Vedder's often under-appreciated vocal range. Reliability may be what's made Pearl Jam such a powerful mainstay, but the more they move outside their comfort zone, and away from their longstanding identity (or lack thereof), the worthier they become of their apparent permanence.
Label: Republic Release Date: March 27, 2020 Buy: Amazon
Review: Walking Proof Finds Lilly Hiatt in Full Command of Her Craft
The singer melds influences as disparate as backwoods country and garage punk into a cohesive signature sound.4.5
Lilly Hiatt's songs are disarmingly personal and immensely endearing, even when she's singing about fucking up—which is pretty often. There's an almost parasocial element to Hiatt's songwriting: Her voice is like that of an old friend who's perpetually in various stages of getting her shit together. Her love life, in particular, always seems to be a mess, and she's looking for a shoulder to lean on.
Hiatt's fourth album, Walking Proof, forms something of a thematic trilogy with her last two: 2015's Royal Blue, a portrait of a relationship in its death throes, and 2017's harder, darker Trinity Lane, which depicted its immediate aftermath. Hiatt spent both albums seeking solace and guidance for her troubles everywhere she could, from family to her favorite records. On Walking Proof, she's emerged wiser and more confident, ready even to dispense advice of her own. She also finds herself in full command of her broad stylistic palette, melding influences as disparate as backwoods country and garage punk into a cohesive signature sound.
Written for the singer's sister, Georgia Rae Hiatt, the album's opening track, "Rae," offers a hint of Hiatt's new, more positive outlook. It's the kind of sweet, tender ode, built around a pretty tremolo rhythm guitar riff, that could have appeared on either of her previous two albums, but in the context of the songs that follow, the hook line sounds almost like an atonement: "I put so much on you, Rae." She appears to have put some of her problems behind her, and that becomes clear on "P-Town," ostensibly another Lilly Hiatt song about a failed relationship. This one, however, is electrifying and ebullient, sounding like a classic Loretta Lynn track amped up with huge, fuzzy guitars. "I don't think I'm who we thought I was," Hiatt suggests, perhaps taken aback by her newfound sense of defiance.
The rest of the album's first half showcases Hiatt's impressive musical range, shifting from the punk-tinged power-pop of "Little Believer" to the brittle guitar rock of "Some Kind of Drug" to the sweet balladry of "Candy Lunch." Walking Proof hits an emotional apex at its midpoint with a pair of country songs. The title track is a gorgeous slice of electric guitar-infused mountain music that suits Hiatt's high, keening voice perfectly, as if it's wafting down from the Blue Ridge Mountains. Her ethereal presence underscores the authority and experience behind her words: "I could tell you that it's easy, but that wouldn't be the truth/If you ever need to call me, well you know there's walking proof." She could well be singing to her past self as much as anyone else. The same goes for "Drawl," a call to embrace one's idiosyncracies rather than conform: "I've hid behind my hair too/Told myself I'm nothing new."
There are a couple of lingering references to Hiatt's past relationship problems. But when, in the hauntingly stark closer "Scream," she claims, "I swear to God I'm done with him," it's convincing this time. That's because she sounds so invigorated by her new beginnings, romantic and otherwise. "I got a man…He makes me feel real good/Yeah he treats me right," she declares on the country anthem "Never Play Guitar." On "Brightest Star," she assures the new guy: "So don't worry 'bout that other guy/You just got the right tattoos/The brightest star in my whole sky is you." These aren't exactly the most poetic or complicated of romantic pledges, but given Hiatt's history, they're rather profound in their simplicity.
Label: New West Release Date: March 27, 2020 Buy: Amazon
The 15 Best Björk Music Videos
One of pop music's most forward-minded performers, Björk has always been at the forefront of the video medium.
Though Björk had enjoyed minor cult fame as the lead singer of the prog-punk band the Sugarcubes, it only took one solo album to solidify the Icelandic artist as a viable pop iconoclast. The plainly titled Debut and its accompanying music videos showcased the endlessly fascinating sides to Björk's offbeat persona, from sweater-clad explorer ("Human Behaviour") to trailer-hitch improvisational performance artist ("Big Time Sensuality"). Subsequent eras found the singer delving deeper into surrealism ("Army of Me"), technology ("Hyperballad"), and, occasionally, raw performance ("Pagan Poetry" and "Black Lake"). One of pop music's most forward-thinking performers, Björk has always been at the forefront of the video medium, a true multimedia pioneer whose influence can be seen in the work of Arca, FKA twigs, and countless others who have followed her wake.
15. "Army of Me"
Directed by French filmmaker Michel Gondry, the video for "Army of Me," the first single from 1995's Post, is a surreal vision that complements the track's call for self-sufficiency with a dreamlike, often nonsensical, narrative. On a mission to rescue a man from an art installation at a local museum, Björk drives a giant tank—a nod toward the film Tank Girl, in which the song is featured—through a cartoonish urban landscape, encountering a thieving gorilla-dentist who snatches a diamond from the singer's mouth along the way. Sal Cinquemani
14. "Human Behaviour"
Björk's very first music video as a solo artist was also the start of a fruitful professional relationship with frequent collaborator Michel Gondry. "Human Behaviour," in which the singer is chased by a stuffed bear in a twisted nod to Goldilocks and the Three Bears, literally set the stage for both of the respective auteurs' careers. Cinquemani
13. "Crystalline"
The eighth (and, to date, most recent) collaboration between Björk and Michel Gondry, 2011's "Crystalline" boasts a charmingly and deceptively simple concept—Björk portrays a lunar goddess-cum-club-kid overseeing a meteor shower on the surface of the moon like a musical conductor—that nods to both A Trip to the Moon and early stop-motion animation. Cinquemani
12. "The Gate"
In the same sense that Stéphane Sednaoui's interpretation of "Big Time Sensuality" stripped away everything extemporaneous to find more than enough in that essential Björkish energy, director Andrew Thomas Huang sees the spectrum of life itself within his muse and assigns it the only appropriate visual analogue. Dressed in a corrugated prism, Björk gets her groove back in a spasmic frenzy of pure, OLED fireworks. In "All Neon Like," she promised to weave a "marvelous web of glow-in-the-dark threads," and with "The Gate," she's delivered. Eric Henderson
11. "Mutual Core"
Eric Henderson calls this video "little tectonic plate of horrors." The lyrics to "Mutual Core" sometimes feel like Björk is reading from a science textbook ("As fast as your fingernail grows/The Atlantic Ridge drifts"), but the video, a sort of sequel to the Gondry-directed 1997 clip for "Jóga," brings the song to explosive life, with Björk, naturally, in the role of neglected Mother Nature. Cinquemani
The 10 Best Albums of 1983
We take a look back and reflect on the music that defined one of the most definable of decades.
In my introduction to Slant's list of the 100 Best Albums of the 1980s, I noted that, while '80s pop culture is largely remembered for its frivolity, the social unrest that stirred beneath the decade's brightly colored gloss and greed resulted in not just the guilt-driven good intentions of enterprises like the star-studded USA for Africa, but a generation of artists whose music genuinely reflected the state of the world. From political violence across the pond and the struggles and dreams of the American working class, to race relations, sexuality, and gender, no topic was left unexcavated by the pop, rock, and hip-hop artists of the Reagan era. As we enter the 2020s, an entire generation removed from the '80s, it seems as good a time as any to once again look back and reflect on the music that defined one of the most definable of decades. Sal Cinquemani
Honorable Mention: Eurythmics, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This); Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Doppelganger; David Bowie, Let's Dance; Malcolm McLaren, Duck Rock; The Pointer Sisters, Break Out; Minutemen, What Makes a Man Start Fires? ; Def Leppard, Pyromania; Paul Simon, Hearts and Bones; Cocteau Twins, Head Over Heels; Zazou/Bekaye/CY1, Noir et Blanc
10. The Police, Synchronicity
Their status as classic rock radio titans has made the Police seem like a much less weird band than they were. On paper, a fusion of jazz-reggae and world-punk with yowly, philosophically inflected lyrics might sound like abject torture. And yet, for a couple of years, they were pretty much the biggest band in the world. Like all Police albums, Synchronicity has a couple of clunkers—the Andy Summers-penned "Mother" is a howling nuisance, and the loping "Walking in Your Footsteps," in which Sting asks dinosaurs for advice about nuclear disarmament, is less playful than it should be—but the heights are sublime. The band comes out with guns blazing on "Synchronicity I," a head-spinning song that makes a forceful case for Stewart Copeland being the best drummer in rock history. "Synchronicity II" and "Miss Gradenko" are excellent Cold War-era time capsules into the growing disaffection with Western culture. At its heart, Synchronicity is a breakup album though. During recording, Sting was in the process of divorcing his first wife, and the band wouldn't survive much longer. The triptych of "Every Breath You Take," "King of Pain," and "Wrapped Around Your Finger" depict all the messy ugliness, from obsession to miserable wallowing, that accompany the death of a failed relationship. After this album, Sting would dissolve the band so he could focus on making the type of music that fades into the background at a grocery store, but he'll always be the king of pain. Seth Wilson
9. U2, War
The aptly titled War found U2 not only diving into the jagged terrain of British politics, but likewise, developing a harsher, needle-nosed sound. The album finds the band in attack mode, where on standout tracks like "Sunday Bloody Sunday" an instrument as refined as the violin takes turns playing electrical whip, wailing animal, and battle cry across the song's marching protest beat. This is U2 at their angriest, each piece infused with a sense of dark urgency that reaches a frothy head on "New Year's Day." Bono's resolution, "I will begin again," is perhaps indicative of the spiritual introspection to come on The Unforgettable Fire and The Joshua Tree, but for War, the music is as immediate, violent, and striking as its subject matter. Kevin Liedel
8. Talking Heads, Speaking in Tongues
If the title of the Talking Heads' sixth album found them embracing their lyrical Dadaism with an almost religious zealotry, and if the title's mission statement is more than fulfilled in the likes of "Moon Rocks" ("I ate a rock from the moon/Got shicked once, shocked twice") and "Girlfriend Is Better" (where "Stop making sense" became a mantra), it's also worth noting that the tunes were counterintuitively accessible like never before, no more so than "Burning Down the House," which set fire to no wave and planted one of the many seeds for new wave. Eric Henderson
7. Eurythmics, Touch
If Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) proved that the Eurhythmics had mastered the new wave genre's icy detachment and ironic distance better than just about anyone, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart's follow-up, Touch, found them ready to move on to greater challenges. The album may not be as song-for-song consistent as Sweet Dreams, but it's far more diverse in its style, leaning heavily on the soulfulness of Lennox's performances to keep its synth-pop aesthetic grounded in palpably human emotions. To that end, standout cuts like "Who's That Girl" and the defiant "Aqua" confirm Lennox's status as one of pop music's most gifted, singular vocalists. Jonathan Keefe
6. Madonna, Madonna
Few would deny that Madonna went on to pursue deeper goals than the simple pop perfection of Madonna. But any debut album that yields a "Holiday" and a "Lucky Star," both released as singles in the span of two consecutive days (albeit an ocean apart), is still pretty untouchable. Wistful and eager to please, Madonna's sparkling ditties aren't so much "post-disco" as they are "disco ain't going nowhere, so shut up and dance." Like a heavenly body atop the surging underground currents of every synth-heavy dance subgenre that preceded her, Madonna's cultural co-opting is nothing if not fervent. Henderson
All 25 Justin Timberlake Singles Ranked
We've ranked all 25 of Justin Timberlake's singles from worst to best.
By the time the teen-pop bubble burst in 2001, Justin Timberlake had shrewdly positioned himself as the de-facto frontman of NSYNC, parlaying the short-lived boy band's success into a lucrative career as a solo artist and producer, and even managing to convince the likes of David Fincher and Joel and Ethan Coen to cast him in their films. The singer's foray into Hollywood resulted in years-long gaps between studio albums, but that hasn't stopped him from racking up the hits. Last week saw the release of the soundtrack to Trolls World Tour, which was executive-produced by Timberlake and features the singles "The Other Side" and "Don't Slack," with SZA and Anderson Paak, respectively. To celebrate the release of his 25th single, we've ranked all of Timberlake's hits—not including tracks on which he's credited as a guest, like Timbaland's "Give It to Me" and Madonna's "4 Minutes"—from worst to best. Sal Cinquemani
25. "I'm Lovin' It"
McDonald's reportedly paid Timberlake $6 million to sing the jingle for what would become the fast-food chain's longest running advertising campaign. The story behind the ad's conception is long and twisty, but it began in Unterhaching, Germany, where an ad agency came up with the slogan "Ich Liebe Es," which as a hook would have made the single's existence only slightly more tolerable. Cinquemani
24. "Drink You Away"
A special edit of "Drink You Away" was serviced to country radio programmers in late 2015, setting the stage for Timberlake's impending bearded woodsman persona. The Memphis soul-infused track is driven by strained, cliché metaphors. "Bottom of the bottle," indeed. Cinquemani
23. "Supplies"
The second single from Timberlake's Man of the Woods did little to assuage confusion over the discrepancy between the album's musical content and the Americana imagery touted in the project's promotional materials. The track, co-produced by the Neptunes, pairs a plodding trap beat with sitar flourishes, staccato interjections from Pharrell Williams, and lyrics that liken romantic commitment to surviving the apocalypse. Cinquemani
The one saving grace of this unsuccessful attempt to recreate the magnificent bad faith of "Cry Me a River" is, at least for those of us who are "Mirrors" skeptics, imagining it to be the inevitable outcome for the 2013 hit's protagonist. Like Björk once sang, how extremely lazy to think she could replace the missing elements in him. Henderson
21. "Not a Bad Thing"
The least ambitious track on either installment of The 20/20 Experience, "Not a Bad Thing" isn't a bad thing, per se, but its guitar-driven blue-eyed sorta-soul represents the watering down of the formula established by the previous year's "Mirrors." The track sounds more like an NSYNC castaway than a representative of Timberlake's most challenging album to date. Cinquemani
Review: Waxahatchee's Saint Cloud Is Grounded in a Sure Sense of Place
The album is marked by songs that are at once deeply intimate and broadly accessible.4
Katie Crutchfield's songs are personal, openhearted, and earnest, displaying keen pop sensibilities that starkly contrast the lo-fi sound of her work as Waxahatchee. With Saint Cloud, Crutchfield has at last formulated an approach that provides the ideal outlet for both her poetically confessional lyrics and her billowing, marbly voice. Adopting a free and easy Americana style marked by both twangy guitars and dreamy keys, the songs here are at once deeply intimate and broadly accessible, like selections from an alternative universe where modern mainstream country radio isn't all pandering, homogenized slop.
Saint Cloud opens with the lilting, sublime "Oxbow." On top of a silky combination of plaintive, bittersweet piano chords, bleeping electronics, and crackling drums, Crutchfield cycles through a small handful of unexpectedly swaggering melodic phrases that wouldn't sound out of place in a Lorde song. The song's only flaw is that it drifts away far too quickly. The delicately funky "Fire" likewise owes at least some of its DNA to the minimalist pop of Billie Eilish, while "Lilacs" is a pretty country-folk song with subtle psychedelic touches and a strutting, radio-ready chorus.
Even when sliding into conventional roots fare, though, Crutchfield and her band—currently featuring members of Detroit band Bonny Doon, along with in-demand indie-rock instrumentalist Josh Kaufman—work up an irresistibly comfortable groove that perfectly suits the singer's buoyantly direct songs. "Can't Do Much" is a classic honky-tonk love song, barreling ahead with a friendly twang as Crutchfield slides effortlessly in and out of her upper register. The freewheeling "War" is even more fun, sounding like something Steve Earle could have written in one of his more jovial moods.
Lyrically, Crutchfield covers typical singer-songwriter territory like relationship strife and the mistakes of the past—she reportedly wrote the album after getting sober—but rarely succumbs to cliché. On "Lilacs," she sings, "And the lilacs drank the water/And the lilacs died," which is some kind of zen poetry. The album is full of similarly aesthetic lines that feel almost subversive in the context of usually more plainspoken country and folk songs. "The Eye" is a rumination on the intersection of creativity and romance, featuring a string of unconventional metaphors like "A scientific cryptogram lit up behind a sunbeam." But like great country songwriters do, Crutchfield grounds her songs in a definite sense of place—from famous city streets to rural creeks—that keeps their true-life origins in perspective.
Label: Merge Release Date: March 27, 2020 Buy: Amazon


text:
Through dramatic gesture, Nancy Stewart Bowman attempts to capture the fleeting emotions of a moment in time.
"I have been influenced by Rodin's impressionist approach, the elongated figures of Giacometti and was further influenced by some of the African sculpture I observed on a trip to Kenya and Tanzania several years ago. I am fascinated by line in art and nature and also have a love of color. I satisfy my color need with photography and other forms of art, believing that all art is related and that the study of one form leads to a better understanding of all art."
Recently Ms. Bowman had the opportunity to spend two years in England. She was able to take art classes during her stay as well as have an exhibition in Germany. She found the beauty of southern England to be truly inspiring.
Nancy Bowman, a graduated of the University of California at Los Angeles, has studied with Bruno Lucchesi in Scotsdale, Arizona, Michael Linstrom, and Marianne de Hatten Groh. She has completed additional course works at the UC Santa Cruz and West Valley College.
ZANTMAN ART GALLERIES is proud to present the work of this talented artist.
American Sculpture