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Administrative divisions | 50 states and 1 district*; Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia*, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.6% (male 31,095,725/female 29,703,997)
15-64 years: 67% (male 98,914,382/female 99,324,126) 65 years and over: 12.4% (male 15,298,676/female 21,397,228) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, corn, other grains, fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; forest products; fish |
Airports | 14,857 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 5,128
over 3,047 m: 188 2,438 to 3,047 m: 221 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1,375 914 to 1,523 m: 2,383 under 914 m: 961 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 9,729
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 160 914 to 1,523 m: 1,718 under 914 m: 7,843 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 9,631,418 sq km
land: 9,161,923 sq km water: 469,495 sq km note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia |
Area - comparative | about half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa; about half the size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China; almost two and a half times the size of the European Union |
Background | Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65) and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation state. The economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology. |
Birth rate | 14.14 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.862 trillion
expenditures: $2.338 trillion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Washington, DC |
Climate | mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains |
Coastline | 19,924 km |
Constitution | 17 September 1787, effective 4 March 1789 |
Country name | conventional long form: United States of America
conventional short form: United States abbreviation: US or USA |
Death rate | 8.25 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.4 trillion (2001 est.) |
Dependent areas | American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Navassa Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Wake Island
note: from 18 July 1947 until 1 October 1994, the US administered the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; it entered into a political relationship with all four political units: the Northern Mariana Islands is a commonwealth in political union with the US (effective 3 November 1986); the Republic of the Marshall Islands signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 21 October 1986); the Federated States of Micronesia signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 3 November 1986); Palau concluded a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 1 October 1994) |
Disputes - international | prolonged drought, population growth, and outmoded practices and infrastructure in the border region strains water-sharing arrangements with Mexico; the US has stepped up efforts to stem nationals from Mexico, Central America, and other parts of the world from crossing illegally into the United States from Mexico; illegal immigrants from the Caribbean, notably Haiti and the Dominican Republic, attempt to enter the US through Florida by sea; 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement in the Bering Sea still awaits Russian Duma ratification; managed maritime boundary disputes with Canada at Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; US and Canada seek greater cooperation in monitoring people and commodities crossing the border; The Bahamas and US have not been able to agree on a maritime boundary; US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease; Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island; US has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other state; Marshall Islands claims Wake Island |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $6.9 billion (1997) |
Economy - overview | The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $40,100. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy considerably greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, to lay off surplus workers, and to develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers to entry in their rivals' home markets than the barriers to entry of foreign firms in US markets. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment; their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households. The response to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 showed the remarkable resilience of the economy. The war in March/April 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq, and the subsequent occupation of Iraq, required major shifts in national resources to the military. The rise in GDP in 2004 was undergirded by substantial gains in labor productivity. The economy suffered from a sharp increase in energy prices in the second half of 2004. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging population, sizable trade and budget deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.66 trillion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 13.36 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 36.23 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 3.839 trillion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Death Valley -86 m
highest point: Mount McKinley 6,194 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution resulting in acid rain in both the US and Canada; the US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and fertilizers; limited natural fresh water resources in much of the western part of the country require careful management; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Hazardous Wastes |
Ethnic groups | white 81.7%, black 12.9%, Asian 4.2%, Amerindian and Alaska native 1%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.2% (2003 est.)
note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person of Latin American descent (including persons of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin) living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.) |
Exchange rates | British pounds per US dollar - 0.5457 (2004), 0.6139 (2003), 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000); Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.3014 (2004), 1.4045 (2003), 1.5693 (2002), 1.5488 (2001), 1.4851 (2000); Japanese yen per US dollar - 108.13 (2004), 116.08 (2003), 125.39 (2002), 121.53 (2001), 107.77 (2000); euros per US dollar - 0.8048 (2004), 0.8866 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.08540 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with Senate approval elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by a college of representatives who are elected directly from each state; president and vice president serve four-year terms; election last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: George W. BUSH reelected president; percent of popular vote - George W. BUSH (Republican Party) 50.9%, John KERRY (Democratic Party) 48.1%, other 1.0% |
Exports | 13.36 billion kWh (2002) |
Exports | $795 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
Exports | 11.16 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
Exports | NA |
Exports - commodities | agricultural products (soybeans, fruit, corn) 9.2%, industrial supplies (organic chemicals) 26.8%, capital goods (transistors, aircraft, motor vehicle parts, computers, telecommunications equipment) 49.0%, consumer goods (automobiles, medicines) 15.0% (2003) |
Exports - partners | Canada 23%, Mexico 13.6%, Japan 6.7%, UK 4.4%, China 4.3% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | 13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent the 50 states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; known as Old Glory; the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags, including Chile, Liberia, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.9%
industry: 19.7% services: 79.4% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $40,100 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.4% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 38 00 N, 97 00 W |
Geography - note | world's third-largest country by size (after Russia and Canada) and by population (after China and India); Mt. McKinley is highest point in North America and Death Valley the lowest point on the continent |
Heliports | 155 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total: 6,393,603 km
paved: 4,180,053 km (including 74,406 km of expressways) unpaved: 2,213,550 km (2003) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 30.5% (1997) |
Illicit drugs | consumer of cocaine shipped from Colombia through Mexico and the Caribbean; consumer of heroin, marijuana, and increasingly methamphetamine from Mexico; consumer of high-quality Southeast Asian heroin; illicit producer of cannabis, marijuana, depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and methamphetamine; money-laundering center |
Imports | 36.23 billion kWh (2002) |
Imports | $1.476 trillion f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
Imports | 114.1 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
Imports | NA |
Imports - commodities | agricultural products 4.9%, industrial supplies 32.9% (crude oil 8.2%), capital goods 30.4% (computers, telecommunications equipment, motor vehicle parts, office machines, electric power machinery), consumer goods 31.8% (automobiles, clothing, medicines, furniture, toys) (2003) |
Imports - partners | Canada 17%, China 13.8%, Mexico 10.3%, Japan 8.7%, Germany 5.2% (2004) |
Independence | 4 July 1776 (from Great Britain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.4% (2004 est.) |
Industries | leading industrial power in the world, highly diversified and technologically advanced; petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining |
Infant mortality rate | total: 6.5 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.17 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, ANZUS, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, G-5, G-7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | 214,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (its nine justices are appointed for life on condition of good behavior by the president with confirmation by the Senate); United States Courts of Appeal; United States District Courts; State and County Courts |
Labor force | 147.4 million (includes unemployed) (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | farming, forestry, and fishing 0.7%, manufacturing, extraction, transportation, and crafts 22.7%, managerial, professional, and technical 34.9%, sales and office 25.5%, other services 16.3%
note: figures exclude the unemployed (2004) |
Land boundaries | total: 12,034 km
border countries: Canada 8,893 km (including 2,477 km with Alaska), Mexico 3,141 km note: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is leased by the US and is part of Cuba; the base boundary is 29 km |
Land use | arable land: 19.13%
permanent crops: 0.22% other: 80.65% (2001) |
Languages | English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census) |
Legal system | federal court system based on English common law; each state has its own unique legal system, of which all but one (Louisiana's) is based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
Legislative branch | bicameral Congress consists of the Senate (100 seats, one-third are renewed every two years; two members are elected from each state by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives (435 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006); House of Representatives - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 55, Democratic Party 44, independent 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 231, Democratic Party 200, undecided 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.71 years
male: 74.89 years female: 80.67 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 97% (1999 est.) |
Location | North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico |
Map references | North America |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: not specified |
Merchant marine | total: 486 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 12,436,658 GRT/14,630,116 DWT
by type: barge carrier 7, bulk carrier 19, cargo 152, chemical tanker 19, container 92, passenger 17, passenger/cargo 57, petroleum tanker 79, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 28, vehicle carrier 14 foreign-owned: 49 (Australia 2, Canada 8, China 1, Denmark 20, Malaysia 2, Netherlands 1, Norway 2, Singapore 11, Sweden 1, United Kingdom 1) registered in other countries: 680 (2005) |
Military branches | Army, Navy and Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard (Coast Guard administered in peacetime by the Department of Homeland Security, but in wartime reports to the Department of the Navy) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $370.7 billion (FY04 est.) (March 2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.3% (FY03 est.) (February 2004) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 July (1776) |
Nationality | noun: American(s)
adjective: American |
Natural hazards | tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquake activity around Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts; tornadoes in the midwest and southeast; mud slides in California; forest fires in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska, a major impediment to development |
Natural resources | coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber |
Net migration rate | 3.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 244,620 km; natural gas 548,665 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [Howard DEAN]; Green Party [leader NA]; Libertarian Party [Steve DAMERELL]; Republican Party [Ken MEHLMAN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA |
Population | 295,734,134 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 12% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.92% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Corpus Christi, Duluth, Hampton Roads, Houston, Long Beach, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Tampa, Texas City
note: 13 ports north of New Orleans (South Louisiana Ports) on the Mississippi River handle 290,000,000 tons of cargo annually. |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4,854, FM 8,950, shortwave 18 (2004) |
Railways | total: 227,736 km
standard gauge: 227,736 km 1.435-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Protestant 52%, Roman Catholic 24%, Mormon 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 1%, other 10%, none 10% (2002 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: a large, technologically advanced, multipurpose communications system
domestic: a large system of fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and domestic satellites carries every form of telephone traffic; a rapidly growing cellular system carries mobile telephone traffic throughout the country international: country code - 1; 24 ocean cable systems in use; satellite earth stations - 61 Intelsat (45 Atlantic Ocean and 16 Pacific Ocean), 5 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 4 Inmarsat (Pacific and Atlantic Ocean regions) (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 181,599,900 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 158.722 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | more than 1,500 (including nearly 1,000 stations affiliated with the five major networks - NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, and PBS; in addition, there are about 9,000 cable TV systems) (1997) |
Terrain | vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii |
Total fertility rate | 2.08 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.5% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 41,009 km (19,312 km used for commerce)
note: Saint Lawrence Seaway of 3,769 km, including the Saint Lawrence River of 3,058 km, shared with Canada (2004) |


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subset: commoncrawl


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Last month I went to Elysian Park and stumbled across Peter Shire's installation in honor of its protectors Frank Glass and Grace E. Simons. Shire, a local Echo Park resident who also designed LACMA's American art reading area and information kiosk, has unmistakably recognizable work, with its stark industrial forms and whimsical shapes and colors.
Based on the photos I took at Angels Point (above) and his works in LACMA's collection (below), you can easily see how this work is adverse to its environment of approximately 600 green acres—the oldest park in the city.
I was wondering how this installation could connect with its surroundings in a large verdant park until I saw this picture of the installation from Metromix's website:
Photo by Sophia Kercher
Taken from the viewpoint on the path leading toward the installation, the shapes of the columns bear a striking resemblance to the streamlined landscape in the background. The installation encapsulates a palm tree as one of its columns; to me it's a work that defines Los Angeles as a metropolis built among its natural geography. Atop Angels Point, the hills, valleys, and man-made constructions are all within sight. The chairs Shire designed underneath the installation command panoramic views of Dodger Stadium, the downtown skyline, and the Hollywood Hills in the distance-a well-commemorated spot for taking in L.A.'s urban and natural vistas.


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New York Post subway photo: Should photographer have helped victim?
| New York
Authorities said a suspect has implicated himself in the death of a New York man who was pushed onto the tracks and photographed just before a train struck him — an image that set off an ethical debate after it appeared on the front page of the New York Post.
The suspect was taken into custody on Tuesday after investigators recovered security video that showed a man fitting the description of the suspect working with street vendors near Rockefeller Center, said New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne on Tuesday.
"The individual we talked to made statements implicating himself in the incident," Browne said. Police did not release his name and no charges were immediately announced.
Witnesses told investigators they saw the suspect talking to himself Monday afternoon before he approached Ki-Suck Han at the Times Square station, got into an altercation with him and pushed him into the train's path.
RECOMMENDED: Everyday heroes: Nine stories of Americans making a difference
Han, 58, of Queens, died shortly after being struck. Police said he tried to climb a few feet to safety but got trapped between the train and the platform's edge.
The New York Post published a photo on its front page Tuesday of Han with his head turned toward the train, his arms reaching up but unable to climb off the tracks in time. It was shot by freelance photographer R. Umar Abbasi, who was waiting to catch a train as the situation unfolded.
He told NBC's "Today" show Wednesday that he wasn't trying to take a photo of the man, but was trying to alert the motorman to what was going on by flashing his camera.
He said he was shocked that people nearer to the victim did not try to help in the 22 seconds before the train struck.
"It took me a second to figure out what was happening ... I saw the lights in the distance. My mind was to alert the train," Abbasi said.
"The people who were standing close to him ... they could have moved and grabbed him and pulled him up. No one made an effort," he added.
Ethical and emotional questions arose Tuesday over the published photograph of the helpless man standing before the oncoming train accompanied by the headline that read in part: "This man is about to die."
The moral issue among professional photojournalists in such situations is "to document or to assist," said Kenny Irby, an expert in the ethics of visual journalism at the Poynter Institute, a Florida-based nonprofit journalism school.
Other media outlets chimed in on the controversy, many questioning why the photograph had been taken and published.
"I'm sorry. Somebody's on the tracks. That's not going to help," said Al Roker on NBC's "Today" show as the photo was displayed Tuesday.
Abbasi said he did not control how the images were used in the Post, but he did tell the "Today" show he has sold the images.
Larry King reached out to followers on Twitter to ask: "Did the (at)nypost go too far?" CNN's Soledad O'Brien tweeted: "I think it's terribly disturbing — imagine if that were your father or brother."
The Post declined to share the photo with The Associated Press for distribution.
Subway pushes are feared but fairly unusual. Among the more high-profile cases was the January 1999 death of Kendra Webdale, who was shoved to her death by a former mental patient.
After that, the Legislature passed Kendra's Law, which lets mental health authorities supervise patients who live outside institutions to make sure they are taking their medications and aren't a threat to safety.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Tuesday that he believed that "in this case, it appeared to be a psychiatric problem."
The mayor said Han, "if I understand it, tried to break up a fight or something and paid for it with his life."
RECOMMENDED: Everyday heroes: Nine stories of Americans making a difference
Associated Press writers Tom Hays and Tom McElroy contributed to this story.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.


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Adrian Younge: Looking Back To Move Hip-Hop Forward.
Spaghetti Westerns, Philadelphia soul, opera and the Wu-Tang Clan all come together in the music of Adrian Younge. He has produced and composed two new albums — one with William Hart, the lead singer of The Delfonics, and another with rapper Ghostface Killah.
Other segments from the episode on March 12, 2013
March 12, 2013
Guest: Adrian Younge
TERRY GROSS, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. My guest Adrian Younge had the dream of recording with the influential hip-hop group the Wu Tang Clan and the popular '60s soul group The Delfonics. He's just done both. He produced an album by Wu Tang's Ghostface Killah and composed the music on it. That album, "Twelve Reasons to Die," will be released next month, and they'll debut the album Thursday night at SXSW.
And Younge just produced an album with the Delfonics' lead singer William Hart, called "Adrian Younge Presents the Delfonics." Younge wrote or co-wrote the songs, he composed the music, and he plays most of the instruments. Although he grew up with hip-hop and started off as a deejay, Younge is obsessed with music from the '60s and '70s, including blaxploitation film scores. He wrote the score for a satirical blaxploitation homage called "Black Dynamite."
Before we hear a track from his new Delfonics album, here's a couple of things you should hear first that should give you a sense of the sound he was striving for. He wanted the drama of Ennio Morricone's film scores. He's a bit of Morricone's most famous score from the spaghetti Western "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly."
GROSS: Adrian Younge wanted to wed that Morricone sound with the soul sound of the Delfonics in the '60s and early '70s. Here's one of their hits from 1968. This is "La-La Means I Love You."
THE DELFONICS: (Singing) La, la, la, la, la, la, la, I love you. La, la, la, la, la, la, I love you. I hurt, so, girl...
GROSS: So now let's hear how Younge has combined those two inspirations in his new album "Adrian Younge Presents the Delfonics," featuring the Delfonics' lead singer William Hart.
WILLIAM HART: (Singing) There was a time we had just love. There was a time we had just love. I fell for you so deep in love that I was so into. You were the one that never thought that you were in love. (Unintelligible) the time we shared. There was a time...
GROSS: So that's "Just Love" from the new album "Adrian Younge Presents the Delfonics." Adrian Younge, welcome to FRESH AIR. Thank you for being here.
ADRIAN YOUNGE: My pleasure.
GROSS: So I started with that track, because to my ears it's the best illustration from the new album of how you've combined the soul sound and the Ennio Morricone spaghetti Western, you know, drama sound, you know, with the chimes and the guitar and the buzzy instrument, whatever that is.
YOUNGE: Fuzz guitar.
GROSS: Ah, OK. So why did you want to combine soul music and that Ennio Morricone kind of sound?
YOUNGE: Well, to me the Ennio Morricone kind of sound is a derivative of soul music. A lot of Ennio Morricone's music is just - it's very soulful, very cinematic and very psychedelic. So the sounds that were used, like you said the chimes, the bells, the fuzz guitar, it's something that is nostalgic and speaks to a listener in a different way.
You don't usually hear those types of sounds in today's music. But when you hear those sounds, it takes you back to the music I like the best: organic music that is composed by real composers at a time when recording was at its height, which I believe is around - like around '68 to '73.
GROSS: I love the way you said by real composers because I think, you know, one of the things I miss in a lot of hip-hop, in spite of the samples, is the sense of, like, a through composition, that somebody's thought through a whole composition, and you hear the drama build, and, you know, it kind of tells a complete story in one person's completely orchestrated, composed vision.
YOUNGE: Absolutely. I mean, well first of all, you know, I'm a guy that I say I'm hip-hop forever. I'm a hip-hop guy. I was really raised on hip-hop, and hip-hop introduced me, basically, to all the music I listen to now. And what's sad to me is that I can't really listen to hip-hop that much anymore. You know, I mean, there's a lot of great hip-hop out there, but I'm not an avid fan of hip-hop.
I always say to people that I left hip-hop in '97, meaning that I departed from listening to predominately hip-hop and just started really getting into records from the late '60s, early '70s. And once I made that change, I realized how much great music was made back in the day, and it started to become apparent how much we've lost in music.
You know, today on the radio they're playing a bunch of over-compressed music that is not very much thought out, and for me personally, I have no - it doesn't do anything for me. So...
GROSS: See, like you're, like, the - everybody's dream of what happens when a deejay is sampling records, which is they find a sample - the dream is they find a sample, and then they go and listen to whole records and really enjoy the music and get deeper and deeper into that person's records or in that genre of music.
I don't know how often that actually happens. I think a lot of people just keep looking for the sample, just keep looking for that groove or beat or whatever. So, but you fulfilled that dream. You got really deep into music.
YOUNGE: Well, you know, it's a good point. Like with me, like around '97, for Christmas my parents bought me an MPC 2000 sampler and a little eight-track cassette recorder. And I started sampling records and, you know, producing hip-hop beats. And it got to the point where I realized - I innately realized that the music I liked the most was made by people that played instruments.
And I realized at this time also that if I wanted to be the best musician, the best producer, I had to learn how to play instruments because what would happen, it goes back to literally what you just said. I would find a - I would find a break or find a little sample that I wanted to loop, and let's just say that it goes (humming), and I like how that goes, I like how that sounds.
But I'm praying to God that when it goes (humming), and it goes (humming), and I would never get that. I would hear all this stuff in my head, you know, but I would never get it. So I was limited to what I could find on that record and then what I could also synthesize by sampling other records and basically morphing them together to make a new track.
But there's a limitation, and my head was going a lot faster than what I was finding in these records. So one day I just bought a piano, and then the next day I bought a bass guitar. Then I bought an electric guitar. And then I just started playing these things. I would - at that time I was in college. I would come home every day and just play the instruments, play the instruments, play the instruments.
And I would try to get my mechanics, my ability to play these instruments to match the speed of my compositional perspectives in my head, you know, and it got to the point where they met, and I was able to really be who I wanted to be, you know. So it took something that was a derivative, hip-hop, to take me all the way back to try to push things forward now.
GROSS: My guest is Adrian Younge. He produced, co-wrote and plays most of the instruments on the new album "Adrian Younge Presents the Delfonics." And his new Ghostface Killah album will be released next month. More after a break. This is FRESH AIR.
GROSS: So if you're just joining us, my guest is Adrian Younge, and he's a composer and musician and producer. He produced the new Ghostface Killah album and has a new album called "Adrian Younge Presents the Delfonics," in which William Hart, the lead singer of the Delfonics, is features in a setting that kind of combines soul music and Ennio Morricone kind of music.
YOUNGE: Yes.
GROSS: Let's hear another track from "Adrian Younge Presents the Delfonics." And then I'll ask you about the story of how you met William Hart, the lead singer of the Delfonics, who you work with on this. So I want to play "Stop and Look (And You Have Found Love)," which is the single that's released from the album.
YOUNGE: Yeah.
GROSS: You know, the Delfonics had their hits in what, was it, '70s?
YOUNGE: Sixties and '70s, late '60s, early '70s.
GROSS: Yeah, "La-La Means I Love You."
YOUNGE: "Ready or Not."
GROSS: Yeah.
YOUNGE: "Here I Come," "Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time." I mean, they had like 20 top 100 hits. I mean they - yeah, they had a lot back then, you know, "Somebody Loves You, Girl," I mean all that.
GROSS: And William Hart has a great falsetto, but he's 68 now, and there are very few 68-year-olds who still have a functioning falsetto.
YOUNGE: Yeah, yeah, I know. He takes care of himself. He takes care of himself. But to answer the question of what this song is, basically when I was thinking about how I wanted this album to sound, I didn't want it to be a mere rehash of old '70s soul. I can't stand that. You know, to me I wanted to go back in time. I wanted to go travel back in time to about '69, and I wanted to compete with the other soul groups that are out.
So when we were - when me and William were sitting in the studio, these are things that we discussed, you know, and what I wanted to do was find a song that felt like "Ready or Not," that had the sentiment, kind of a hip-hop flavor of funky, timing is a little off, but there's a super-warm groove in there and a message.
Basically I wanted to have something that had that, like I said, mixed hip-hop, which is more '90s hip-hop, early '90s hip-hop, with early '70s soul. So Quincy Jones said something that I feel is very imperative to soul music, to modern soul music. He said: Hip-hop mastered the drums, but hip-hop never really mastered composition, which I agree with 150 million percent.
Now so that being said, I wanted the song to have a hip-hop sentiment as far as the drums are concerned. So the drums are a little raw and dirty but still high in the mix. The base line, I wanted the base line to kind of be fat and warm as - like a Curtis Mayfield track. And then the bells and whistles and all that, that's something that Ennio Morricone would have done.
And also there's - I use something called a bell tree on here, a bell tree and I mixed it with timpani, and this is something that Thom Bell did actually on the Delfonics' first single "He Don't Really Love You." So I wanted to mesh all that together and try to form something new.
GROSS: OK, so this is "Stop And Look" from the new "Adrian Younge Presents the Delfonics" album with William Hart singing lead.
HART: (Singing) Stop and look and you have found love. Stop and look and you have found love. Stop and look and you have found love. Stop and look and you have found love. Now that you've found your other half, we have a love that's gonna last. Nature has opened up the door. Now we don't have to look no more. You've been looking for love, and I've lost all the way. But what if I told you I'm the one for you? (Unintelligible) You're in love with me.
(Singing) Stop and look and you have found love...
GROSS: That's "Stop and Look" from the new album "Adrian Younge Presents the Delfonics," featuring the Delfonics' original lead singer William Hart.
YOUNGE: Yes.
GROSS: And, you know, I have to tell you, and don't take this the wrong way, you know, because - you know, as I said William Hart's 68, and he's still singing in a falsetto, but I don't think he has, like, quite the control that he would've when he was, you know, decades younger.
And there's something about it that almost sounds like it's a vinyl pressing that was pressed something just a little bit off-center. So it's just, like, a little wavery, and it makes it sound - like it makes it especially like you're catching him kind of odd.
YOUNGE: Well, basically what I did - I mean, I have a - so my studio, let's just back up a little bit. My studio is fully analog. There's nothing modern. There's not even a computer in my studio. Everything's old and, you know, old instruments, old Pro Audio. The mic that he's singing out of is an old ribbon mic. It's - everything's old.
So I record, and then when I'm mixing, I mix down in the way that they would have back then also, which is not, quote, perfect. With William, he's still a great singer, he doesn't sound exactly, exactly, exactly, 100 percent like he did when he was younger, but he still sounds great. There's a modern - there's a modern, mature charm to what he's doing right now that I wanted to really capture and own on this album.
So in doing that, I had to also balance the huge reverb that they used to use back then, and I panned a lot of it, and I also mixed this down to quarter-inch tape. That's what they used to do back in the day. So my quarter-inch tape machine is an old, finicky machine, as well, so that there's also a charm in hearing a mix that's mixed down to an old, finicky, quarter-inch tape machine that comes off at the end sounding somewhat strange yet interesting.
GROSS: So how did you get to work with William hart of the Delfonics?
YOUNGE: OK, one day on Twitter, a little over a year ago, I tweeted the question who is better, the Dramatics or the Delfonics. And people went back and forth saying who they thought was better, and one guy said hey, I know William Hart of the Delfonics. He's like: Yo, I'm a fan of your music, man. I would love for you and him to do music together. And, I mean, to me it's always been a dream to do something with the Delfonics.
So a day later I'm on the phone with William Hart and we're speaking for like two hours. And then we're speaking the next day for like two hours. And we hit it off in a way that was just cosmic. It was just - it was strange, because I understood everything he was saying. I studied his music for so long. I studied music that was derivative of the music that he created.
And to be able to listen to a legend, you know, a legend like that, you know, I was - I didn't want to get off the phone.
GROSS: So how old are you, can I ask?
YOUNGE: I'm 34.
GROSS: OK. so you're obsessed with the '60s and the '70s, with music and movies and graphics of that era.
YOUNGE: Yes.
GROSS: Did you grow up with that in any way? I know you found it through looking through record bins for samples, and then you wanted to hear more and more and more. But did your parents or grandparents listen to music of that era or talk about movies from that period?
YOUNGE: No, you know, you know what's strange, this is - one thing that's really strange about black people, and this is what - something that we learn on "Black Dynamite." So I was an editor on "Black Dynamite," and I also did the score for "Black Dynamite," and I was...
GROSS: Which I should say is an homage to and a satire of the blaxploitation films of the '60s and '70s, yeah.
YOUNGE: Yes, so this is something that was released in 2009. Now Scott Sanders, a director of "Black Dynamite," is one of my very close friends. And Mike Jai White, which played Black Dynamite, is another good friend. And I learned a lot about them. And we taught each other a lot of things. And one of the things that Scott Sanders made me realize is that when a black person is done with something, they leave. The black culture does not go back.
YOUNGE: When they're done, they are out. And what happens is that white people come in, and they go back, and they study and bring a different approach to it and preserve what a lot of black people did. And this - the reason why I - the reason why I say that here is that I'm that white guy, you know. I'm the black dude that loves old black culture. I also love old white culture. I just love history.
But I'm the guy that wants to bring things back and push them forward. A lot of black people don't like that kind of stuff. They don't like doing that kind of stuff, you know. So that's one of the reasons why I wanted to kind of go back and push things forward.
GROSS: Adrian Younge will be back in the second half of the show. His new album with William Hart is called "Adrian Younge Presents the Delfonics." They'll perform tonight in New York. Younge also produced the new Ghostface Killah album, which will be released next month. I'm Terry Gross, and this is FRESH AIR.
GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross back with producer, composer, and musician Adrian Younge. He has a new album called "Adrian Younge Presents The Delfonics," which features the '60s soul group's lead singer William Hart. Next month is the release of Younge's other new album with Ghostface Killah called "Twelve Reasons to Die."
So you've said that one of your goals has been to produce a record that sounded like The Delfonics, produced by RZA, producer of the Wu-Tang Clan...
YOUNGE: Yes.
GROSS: ...and, you know, with Ennio Morricone mixed in.
YOUNGE: Yes.
GROSS: And now you've actually produced an album not only with William Hart of The Delfonics, but you produced an album with Ghostface Killah, who is one of the Wu-Tang Clan.
YOUNGE: Yes.
GROSS: So how did that come about?
YOUNGE: So RZA has a label called Soul Temple Records and he started this with Bob Perry. So I get, I'm at South by Southwest last year and about a week, actually a week before I went to South by Southwest, I was contacted on Facebook by Bob Perry, saying hey man, I love your music and would love for you to do a Wu-Tang-oriented project. So that moment I said, wow. One of my dreams, or another one of my dreams is about to come into fruition. So I took about a week to develop a story. So this album is called "Adrian Younge Presents Twelve Reasons to Die Starring the Ghostface Killah." And basically this is a score to a vintage Italian horror film, a faux obviously a faux, Italian horror film. He takes place in 1968. So in my hand I pictured all the artwork. All those old Argento-type artwork and I wanted it to be something that Morricone would've scored back then. And then I wanted to pull in all of that Morricone sense of sentiment, all of that old American soul sentiment. And then I went to kind of fabricate that in a way that the RZA would have put the album together had he been a producer in the late '60s. So that was my whole vision.
So like with this whole thing with the Ghostface album I wanted to create another world. You know, I tell people I don't make music. I make worlds. And what I mean by that is that I'm not the guy that's going to make a single for somebody or make a single for somebody there. It's like I want when people are listening to my music they're entering the world. You know, it's just like when I first heard King Crimson back in the day, you know, I mean I entered their world. If somebody listens to the Beatles you enter their world. So back to this "Ghostface Twelve Reasons to Die" thing, I put this Italian crime horror story together and closed my eyes to really think about what the visuals would be. What would Ghostface Killah look like in this? You know, what with the characters look like in this? How do we enhance that we just audio, you know?
GROSS: So did Ghostface Killah come in and just lay in his rhymes down over this elaborate scenario that you'd to created would you feel like he got in the spirit of the story you'd created in your mind and in the images that you created in your mind?
YOUNGE: Well, OK, I'll be - OK, so basically I'm a real control freak - big-time control freak. So with this Ghostface album I had some trepidation regarding what he wanted to bring to the story because I respect the guy big-time, you know, and I want to make sure that all of his thoughts and feelings were incorporated in this project that we mutually share. So what I did, if you see the artwork for the Ghostface Killah album, I shot all that stuff. And actually what I did is I bought a camera and bought a whole bunch of vintage lenses and I spent about like two months studying vintage photography, buying old vintage photography books, learning how they use their lenses, learning how they adjusted their money in order to be able to shoot these images that took me back to that time frame. And I put these photos together and that I also put a script together - a full script with the 12 songs. I said, you know, in part one you should be rapping from 103 to 145, and then this is what you should be talking about, this is what we need to talk about in the story because it's a full story. So every song he has something that he supposed to elaborate upon. So when I put the script together I gave it to Bob Perry and Andrew Kelly, The A&R, and they made their modification to it and then submitted it to Ghost and then Ghost faced all his recordings actually in New York and sent me everything.
GROSS: So part of the lyric and the rap is: I'm a black vigilante killer. It's the Almighty lives of the murderous Ghostface. Murder. Murder. Murder. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.
YOUNGE: Yes.
GROSS: Does that fit with your story or does that sound like just...
YOUNGE: No it's not...
YOUNGE: It's not noted in black like hip-hop, like oh, I got my gun. I'm going to shoot the - no, it's nothing like that. It's a very, it's very contextual. It's something like, this is a basically what this is, this is a vintage Italian crime story. OK. I'll say some of the story. So Ghostface Killah historically has a character called Tony Starks. He uses his - this is one of his alter egos when he's doing albums. He's been doing this since the '90s, OK? So in my story Tony Starks is a member of a white Italian crime family. He's the only black guy in there. And the Italian crime family, they're called the Twelve DeLucas, OK? So he's the only black guy in the Twelve DeLucas in the late '60s. And he's doing runs for them, he's doing hits, he's, you know, making them money. But because he's black he can't rise in the ranks. So when he decides to do is start his own criminal faction against the Twelve DeLucas. So a war ensues between them and then he falls in love with one of the women of the Twelve DeLucas. She betrays him and then the Twelve DeLucas kill him. And then everything else is - I can't say it, but you get the point. So this is why he sang that stuff. At this point, he's getting revenge. So basically what this is supposed to be, this is supposed to be like a blaxploitation movie that was made for Italy.
GROSS: There's a reference in the opening of the track that we're going to hear, which is "Rise of the Ghostface Killah"...
YOUNGE: Yes.
GROSS: ...in which he refers to vinyl and I know you're obsessed with vinyl records.
YOUNGE: Yeah.
GROSS: So just explained that reference and then we'll hear it.
YOUNGE: OK. So that's RZA. So RZA is narrating the entire album, OK?
GROSS: Oh OK.
YOUNGE: So he does that at the beginning. And if you listen that, or when we listen to it, you'll hear a choir going (Singing) La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la. And basically what I wanted to do, I wanted to capture - '70s, that '70s, early '70s horror nostalgic element that I feel like has been lost in modern cinema. And basically it's that type of Antichristy(ph), "The Omen," you know, good-versus-evil type thing. That's what this is supposed to be. So when we hear him making that reference, I'm trying to figure out if I should just tell the story right now.
GROSS: No. Just to the reference.
YOUNGE: OK. Well he - OK, well, he says...
GROSS: Because it's it sounds to me like he's making people into vinyl records, but...
YOUNGE: OK. Well, basically, what happens - so, you know what? I'm backing up. I'm letting it loose. I don't care. Let's go.
YOUNGE: OK? I'm with Terry Gross right now. I'm going to go. All right?
YOUNGE: So this is how it goes. Tony Starks fell in love with one of the women of the 12 DeLucas, and she lures him into a trap. And what happens is she invites him to an old record manufacturing plant in Italy, OK, to meet her. So he goes there, and the 12 DeLucas sabotage the meeting by killing his people, and also killing him by burning him in a barrel of acetate. Acetate is what is used to make records. So when they burn him in this acetate, when they burn Tony Starks in this acetate, they make 12 vinyl records, for souvenirs of his death to give to each one of the 12 DeLucas. And when these records are played, the spirit of the Ghostface Killah comes out to kill them all. So when you hear the song, murder, murder, kill, kill, kill, and all that stuff, and I'm a black vigilante, pro-violence, he's now Ghostface Killah coming back to kill all these people. So that's what this is. That's when Tony Starks becomes the Ghostface Killah.
GROSS: OK. And excuse me, I laughed in the middle of that. I know it's this big drama, but I think it's just hysterical the way you've managed to work your obsession with vinyl records into...
YOUNGE: Yeah.
GROSS: ...into this horror-revenge story. Wonderful.
YOUNGE: Yeah. Go for it.
GROSS: Let's not put it off anymore.
YOUNGE: Go for it.
GROSS: So this is from the new Ghostface Killah album. And it's - the album is called "Twelve Reasons to Die." It was composed and written and conceived by my guest, Adrian Younge.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Singing) La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la...
RZA: The DeLucas pressed Tony's remains into 12 vinyl records, one for each member of the family. But little did they know he would return.
GHOSTFACE KILLAH: (Rapping) Yeah. Yeah. Yo, yo. Medusa stare, my guns bust in silence. I'm a black vigilante killer, pro-violence. It's the rebirth, born again, rise through the vinyl spin. They took out Starks, but the light shines within. It's the almighty rise of the murderous Ghostface. Bodies dropped in alleys, left a cold case, Colombian neckties from a black Gambino. Bodies get dumped in the black El Camino. It's Reno, gangster wars, money, power, respect. Revenge is felt like the heat from a tec. Tommy guns are irrelevant. I'm bulletproof now. I could fly through the air, and duck your chick-a-pow. Black superhero, crime boss arch-nemesis, good vs. evil since the first book of Genesis. Battle to the end, that's the way of the thriller. And Starks is reborn as the Ghostface Killah. Yeah. Yeah. No one could get iller.
(Rapping) Murders, bodies chopped into Ziplocs. Kill or be killed on these cobblestone street blocks. Crime boss, I call warn the DeLucas. Watch my eyes turn red, I got a squad full of shooters. Murder, murder, kill, kill, kill. When the gas starts to pump, I put the spark to your grill. Yo, late night, stuck in the limo, Hogtie, the capo all up...
GROSS: That's from the new Ghostface Killah album, "Twelve Reasons to Die," which was composed, conceived and produced by my guest, Adrian Younge. We'll be back after a break. This is FRESH AIR.
GROSS: So if you're just joining us, my guest is Adrian Younge, and he is a composer and musician and producer. He produced the new Ghostface Killah and has a new album called "Adrian Younge Presents the Delfonics."
So let's get to DJ'ing. What kind of DJ'ing were you doing?
YOUNGE: OK. Well, I - OK. As far as DJ'ing, I own a record store in downtown LA called The Artform Studio, and it's a boutique record store, and also a hair salon. So when you walk in, everything there is vintage. You know, it's like all these vintage records on the wall. It's, like, everything - it feels like - people call it a museum. And it's a hybrid, you know, between the art of music and the art of hair.
Now, what I do as a DJ represents what I have in my store. It's all - like, I love spinning old prog rock, old vintage soul stuff and old soundtracks. You know, that's what I spin the most. So, basically, I DJ'ed for parties. I have a club called Bridges that we've - we've just had our 10-year anniversary, and it's a hybrid between, like, hip-pop, funk, soul, house.
And I'd spin at Bridges, or I'd spin at different parties. There's something that we do called Rendezvous, where we literally just been vintage Italian soundtracks. That's it. You know, I mean, you know, it's just eclectic stuff. I collect records and spin records because I like the music. I'm not the guy that spins records for people to dance to. And that's one hell of a craft. I just don't - it's just not enjoyable for me like that. You know, I like to spin music because I love what the music sounds like. And most of the music I love is, you know, it's slow. It's like 70 or 80 BPMs. It's the slow stuff that you can't really dance to. So that's the kind of music I spin.
So, you know, in a DJ set, I'll play some rare Ennio Morricone records and play some old Francis Lai type stuff to old, soft-porn Emmanuelle type stuff. You know, I love all that old music, you know, and that's what I spin, predominantly.
GROSS: I'm glad you mentioned soft-core porn.
YOUNGE: Yes.
GROSS: My husband...
YOUNGE: Why do you love that I mentioned this?
GROSS: No, no - because my husband just got back this - I don't renumber his name but I think he was German...
YOUNGE: Yeah.
GROSS: ...and they're these German soft-core porn scores.
YOUNGE: Yes.
GROSS: And, apparently, he had a reputation outside of that. But they asked him to do these movies, and he kept doing more of them. And it's this really odd music.
YOUNGE: You know what it is...
GROSS: But the cover have like, you know, women with their breasts, naked and everything...
YOUNGE: Right. Exactly. Yes.
GROSS: And it's really just like - it's hysterical, but the music's really interesting, though some of it sounds just like schlock. But the stuff that doesn't sound like schlock is pretty good.
YOUNGE: Well, you know what it is? It's instrumental music that is very sexy. It's very sexy, and it's the chord changes. The chord changes are meaningful. You know, it's like basically telling stories without words. That's why I love that music so much. That's why I studied that music so much.
GROSS: I just thought I should mention for anybody who's thinking why was her husband bringing home soft-core porn...
GROSS: ...music with these pictures on it, and the answer is because he spends so much time in record stores. And this was playing.
YOUNGE: Yeah.
GROSS: And he thought, wow, that is great. I've got to know what it is. And that's what it was.
YOUNGE: Yeah. I have - in my record store, I have a wall of records, but on this wall of records I have a list of just rare European soft-core porn original records. I mean, they're all, like, aligned on the wall. I love that music. I love that music.
GROSS: OK. Now, you love opera. One of the things you love is opera...
YOUNGE: Yeah.
GROSS: ...which really surprised me, because that usually does not go with hip-hop or with soul music.
YOUNGE: Yeah.
GROSS: How did you develop an interest in opera?
YOUNGE: Well, I love music that can make somebody cry. I like to move people without saying a word. And opera, even though they're saying words, it's more like I always look at their vocals as like a lead instrument and how they play the lead instrument. It's like a violin, you know. And I just love the feeling, the emotion, that is evoked, the passion behind the music.
But also the opera singer that I use for my - that's part of band, her name is Brooke DeRosa, she showed me a lot of stuff that even pushed me further in it. And I was like, oh, my god. I mean, it's just a world of great music. And this song that you're about to play which is entitled "Something About April" fuses soul, psychedelia, and the cinematic notions of having or seeing an opera singer sing, you know, like I wanted to put all that together into one song.
GROSS: OK. So this is "Something About April" and...
YOUNGE: Yes.
GROSS: ...tell us the name of the opera singer and the soul singer we'll be hearing.
YOUNGE: OK. In "Something about April," the lead singer on my Venice Dawn band, Loren Oden, and he's also singing on the "Black Dynamite" score and everything else I do. He's the soul singer. And this album is called "Something about April." This song is the title song called "Something about April." And what "Something about April" actually means, it means that there's something about the month of April.
And it represents springtime when everything is blooming, when everything is coming back. And that's what the opera singer represents. The black soul singer, he represents winter. So if you listen to the lyrics, he's talking about how it's dark and cold and, you know, should we come back together? She's saying it's spring again; we should let bygones be bygones and come back. And they represent both of these times of the year.
And they also help to accentuate the disparity between these two feelings I was trying to capture in one song.
GROSS: Well, Adrian Younge, thank you so much for talking with us. It's really been fun. I really appreciate it.
YOUNGE: Oh, thank you, Terry. Thank you for having me.
GROSS: Adrian Younge produced and co-wrote the new album "Adrian Younge Presents the Delfonics." And he conceived, composed, and produced the new Ghostface Killah album "Twelve Reasons to Die." Younge and Ghostface Killah will debut the album at South by Southwest Thursday night and the Adrian Younge Band will perform later that night. Here's Younge's song "Something about April."
BROOKE DEROSA: (Singing) Something about April makes me want to spring, fall into your arms, and clip my wings. Recline in love and history. My mind rewinds the time for me.
LOREN ODEN: (Singing) Oh, something about winter sends my heart astray. Those cold, cold winds of love whistle tunes of yesterday. The sparrow sings in harmony. Melodies and mystery. My soul can see the sun. Mm-hmm. And likes the lakes a lot. Oh.
DEROSA: (Singing) Oh...
GROSS: You can hear a track from Adrian Younge's new album, "Adrian Younge Presents the Delfonics," on our website freshair.npr.org. The new book "Lean In," is described by its author Sheryl Sandberg as a sort of feminist manifesto, but the book's pretty controversial in feminist circles. Coming up, our book critic Maureen Corrigan weighs in. This is FRESH AIR.
TERRY GROSS, HOST: Sheryl Sandberg is chief operating officer at Facebook and before that was a vice president at Google and chief of staff at the U.S. Treasury Department. It's an understatement to say that she is a powerful woman. Her first book, "Lean In," was officially published yesterday but it's been generating controversy for weeks. Our book critic Maureen Corrigan weighs in.
MAUREEN CORRIGAN, BYLINE: Sheryl Sandberg tells an anecdote in her new book, "Lean In," about sitting down with her boss, Mark Zuckerberg, for her first performance review as chief operating officer at Facebook. Zuckerberg told her that her desire to be liked by everybody would hold her back. I hope she's worked on that problem because over the past few weeks, there sure have been a lot of people hating on Sheryl Sandberg.
"Lean In," which Sandberg describes as sort of a feminist manifesto, has been slammed by Maureen Dowd, Jodi Kantor, Judith Shulevitz and others for its elitism, for being hard on women and soft on institutional sexism, and for making an unfair exemplar of the 43-year-old Sandberg's own Amazonian accomplishments.
She has two Harvard degrees and a personal worth just shy of a billion dollars. Sandberg was named the fifth most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine - all this, in addition to raising two young children in concert with a totally supportive spouse.
Her critics, some of them without first reading her book, have belittled "Lean In" as a vanity project. The wittiest takedown I've read is a piece by Noreen Malone in The New Republic, which focuses on Sandberg's name-dropping. As Malone notes, the acknowledgements section of "Lean In" runs to seven and a half pages and lists 140 people, among them: Oprah Winfrey, Gloria Steinem, Arianna Huffington and Sandberg's old Treasury secretary boss and undergraduate mentor, Larry Summers.
Given all those heavy-hitters pitching in and considering the pre-publication feminist firestorm, you would think Sandberg's book would be a riveting read. But lean in and I'll tell you something: I dozed off twice while reading it. Most of the book is kind of blah, composed of platitudinous corporate-speak intermixed with pallid anecdotes.
Sandberg bolsters her argument about the need for women to lean in, or assert themselves at work and at home with truisms such as: Equality between partners leads to happier relationships. Even though, Oprah-esque, Sandberg resolves to speak her truth, mostly mild confessions follow.
We hear about how Sandberg vomited her way through her two pregnancies at work; not something juicier like that she drunkenly vomited all over Mark Zuckerberg at the last Facebook holiday party. Sandberg wrote "Lean In" with the help of a professional co-writer, Nell Scovell, and the book has that ironed-out quality of a collaborative project. If Mary Wollstonecraft had written this tepidly, the first women's movement might have wilted before it ever took root.
But, but, but there are still some compelling reasons why, echoing some of Sandberg's supporters, I'd optimistically slide "Lean In" into my teenage daughter's bookshelf. First of all, the final two chapters of the book are more hard-hitting, riskier, less worried about alienating those readers, like stay-at-home moms, who may not share Sandberg's vision.
Sandberg kicks off her final chapter by saying: For decades, we have focused on giving women the choice to work inside or outside the home. But we have to ask ourselves if we have become so focused on supporting personal choices that we're failing to encourage women to aspire to leadership.
In her famous 2010 TED Talk on the dearth of female leadership, Sandberg sounds more like that: opinionated and challenging. I notice, by the way, that some of the feminists who've weighed in positively on "Lean In" - thinkers I respect like Rebecca Traister and Katha Pollitt - have acknowledged that they've attended invitation-only events hosted by Sandberg.
I'm not suggesting that Sandberg slipped them a spare million or two to influence their reviews; rather, it's obvious that she's dynamic and funny in person and, toward the end of "Lean In," some of her intellectual charisma breaks through the blandness.
"Lean In" is worth reading because, even though many of its observations about internalized sexism may be old hat to us older feminists, they're sadly still true. Women do denigrate themselves to be liked; they phrase assertions like questions and politely raise their hands while men grab the floor. I see it all the time in my classrooms; I still see that behavior in myself.
"Lean In" may not be the most impassioned or entertaining feminist manifesto ever written and, sure, Sandberg is somewhat blinkered by her big bucks and privilege and inhibited by corporate caution. Yet, it's great to have a woman with such a platform speak up about sexism. In a world full of crude, sometimes violent misogyny, Sandberg is following the first axiom of political organizing: start where you live.
GROSS: Maureen Corrigan teaches literature at Georgetown University. She reviewed "Lean In" by Sheryl Sandberg. You can download podcasts of our show on our website freshair.npr.org and you can follow us on Twitter @nprfreshair and on Tumblr at nprfreshair.tumblr.com.
Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.


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Anyone who has followed the decades-long controversies over the role of genes in IQ scores will recognize the names of the two leading advocates of opposite conclusions on that subject – professor Arthur R. Jensen of the University of California at Berkeley and professor James R. Flynn, an American expatriate at the University of Otago in New Zealand.
What is so unusual in the academic world of today is that professor Flynn's latest book, "Are We Getting Smarter?" is dedicated to Arthur Jensen, whose integrity he praises, even as he opposes his conclusions. That is what scholarship and science are supposed to be like, but so seldom are.
Professor Jensen, who died recently, is best-known for reopening the age-old controversy about heredity versus environment with his 1969 article titled, "How Much Can We Boost IQ and Scholastic Achievement?"
His answer – long since lost in the storms of controversy that followed – was that scholastic achievement could be much improved by different teaching methods, but that these different teaching methods were not likely to change IQ scores much.
Jensen argued for educational reforms, saying that "scholastic performance – the acquisition of the basic skills – can be boosted much more, at least in the early years, than can the IQ" and that, among "the disadvantaged," there are "high school students who have failed to learn basic skills which they could easily have learned many years earlier" if taught in different ways.
But, regardless of what Arthur Jensen actually said, too many in the media, and even in academia, heard what they wanted to hear. He was lumped in with earlier writers who had promoted racial inferiority doctrines that depicted some races as being unable to rise above the level of "hewers of wood and drawers of water."
These earlier writers from the Progressive era were saying, in effect, that there was a ceiling to the mental potential of some races, while Jensen argued that there was no ceiling but, by his reading of the evidence, a difference in average IQ, influenced by genes.
When I first read Arthur Jensen's landmark article, back in 1969, I was struck by his careful and painstaking analysis of a wide range of complex data. It impressed me but did not convince me. What it did was cause me to dig up more data on my own.
A few years later, I headed a research project that, among other things, collected tens of thousands of past and present IQ scores from a wide range of racial and ethnic groups at schools across the United States. Despite serious limitations in these data, due to constraints of time and circumstances, these data nevertheless threw some additional light on the subject.
A feature article of mine in the Sunday New York Times Magazine of March 27, 1977, pointed out that any number of white groups, here and overseas, had at some point in time had IQs similar to, and in some cases lower than, the IQs of black Americans. During the First World War, for example, white soldiers from some Southern states scored lower on army mental tests than black soldiers from some Northern states.
Professor Jensen read this article and came over to Stanford University to meet with me and discuss the data. That is what a scholar should do when challenged. But the opposite approach was shown by professor Kenneth B. Clark, who earlier had sought to dissuade me from doing IQ research. He said it would "dignify" Jensen's work, which Clark wanted ignored or discredited instead.
Unfortunately, professor Clark's ideological approach became far more common in academia, so much so that Jensen's attempts to speak on campuses around the country provoked dangerous disruptions, instead of reasoned arguments.
Years later, professor James R. Flynn created the biggest challenge to the hereditary theory of intelligence, when he showed that whole nations had risen to much higher results on IQ tests in just one or two generations. Genes don't change that fast.
Professor Flynn told me that he would never have done his research, except that it was provoked by Jensen's research. That is just one of the reasons for having a free marketplace of ideas, instead of turning academic campuses into fortresses of politically correct intolerance.


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Gostoso! Alexsander Freitas is finally here. We've been waiting to get this sexy slice of Brazil with us and today's the day. Alexsander is 35 and originally from Rio de Janeiro from the beautiful shores of Copa Cabana Beach; adjacent to the better known Ipanema. Dark and tan and inked and lovely, the boy from Copa Cabana goes walking; and when he passes, each one he passes goes "DAMN!" Alexsander just oozes sex. His beard, furry power house frame and tattoos just add to his charms. Back to help welcome Alexsander is David Scott. David is 27 and from Orlando, FL. We asked these two if they could take a vacation all expenses paid anywhere in the world where would they go. Alexsander would want to go to Fernando de Noronha, Brazil. Fernando de Noronha is an archipelago of 21 islands off Brazil's coast and one of the most beautiful places as well as ecologically preserved in Brazil. David looks over at his co-star before answering and says, "Well, if they all look like him, I'd wanna go to Rio." Not a bad move at all. Alexsander likes Asian men with smooth skin and no hair. Makes sense since opposites attract. David likes older men which is why he loves us here at MenOver30. In a few you'll get to see why…A photo shoot is the scenario as David snaps picks of hot Alexsander. Alexsander starts posing and showing off his hot body and is soon playing footsy with David's cock. He starts to grope his growing 'pica dura' (boner) and it doesn't take David long to figure out he's needed in front of the camera. They start to make out as Alexsander strips off David's clothes. Alexsander takes off his shirt and we get a better view at his intricate ink. David gets a better view too…of Alexsander's uncut cock. "Suck that cock" he orders as David hauls it out and goes to work. Alexsander starts to hump away at that hot mouth finally getting some relief on that aching cock. He pistons it in and out of David's mouth as he watches his dick disappear. David savors that cock as he takes his time making sure to drive Alexsander wild. Alexsander's smooth balls slap away at David's chin as he starts to fuck his face again. Alexsander crams his thick meat down David's throat making him take it. Alexsander has a tattoo on his hand that says "Power Fuck" and it's not just for show. Alexsander then moves David over to the couch and starts to explore his smooth ass.He fingers that ass and licks it getting it ready for a good fucking. He suits up and then starts to slide inside. David's hole eases a bit as Alexsander starts to fuck him. David's tight ass needs more lube and Alexsander sends some spit south to help his cock get inside. Once that ass has the right amount of lube Alexsander starts to fuck. David can only moan and hold on as Alexsander starts to pound away at his hole. He holds on to David's shoulders, holding him in place as he slams his cock deep inside. David winces with every thrust and hearing him whimper just makes Alexsander harder for more. The sound of fucking fills the room as Alexsander takes David, impaling him at the end of his Brazilian bone. He pulls out to admire that smooth hole he's fucking, spits on it and then slams his thick cock back in. He can't get enough. He then lies back on the couch and has David ride him. David sits on that cock and then holds himself up as Alexsander fucks up into him. He piston-fucks that hungry hole harder and harder as David takes every thrust. Alexsander then gets David on his side on the floor where he gets behind him for more. No matter the position Alexsander is fucking David silly. David can't hold it anymore and they move to jack on the couch. David cums within seconds and as Alexsander get ready to bust, he gets up in front of David. He blows his wad ALL over David's face leaving him spent and dripping. ¡Muito obrigado!


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One of the recipes that I had bookmarked to try that used paneer was this one for a palak paneer . Palak paneer is a dish that consists of the paneer which is cooked in a spinach, tomato and onion gravy with Indian spices. Now that I had my own home made paneer I was ready to try making the palak paneer. In this dish the paneer is fried until golden brown on all sides before being added to the spinach gravy to simmer and absorb all of the curries flavours. The palak paneer recipe is pretty easy to follow though I did end up running into one problem. My mini chop 'food processor' was not up to the task of truly pureeing the spinach and my spinach gravy ended up being a bit chunkier than I had been hoping for but it was still really tasty. The homemade paneer worked really well in the curry having absorbed all of the tasty flavours of the gravy and it added a great texture to the dish. I served the palak paneer with some freshly made still warm naan which was also addictively good! One thing that I noticed about the palak paneer was that the leftovers tasted even better the next day as the flavours had a chance to mingle and develop a bit more.
Palak Paneer
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 cups paneer (cut into bite sized cubes)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 onion (pureed)
- 2 jalapenos (chopped)
- 1 teaspoon garlic (grated)
- 1 teaspoon ginger (grated)
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 cup tomato (blanched, pealed and pureed or canned)
- 3 bunches spinach (trimmed, blanched and pureed or 1 10 ounce package frozen spinach, thawed and pureed)
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup water
- Melt the butter in a pan.
- Add the paneer and fry until golden brown on all sides.
- Let the paneer soak in warm water for 30 minutes.
- Melt the butter in a pan.
- Add the cumin, onion and chillies and saute until brown.
- Add the garlic and ginger and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add the chili powder, coriander, turmeric and tomato puree and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the spinach and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the garam masala, paneer and water and simmer for 15 minutes.