Amy Winehouse

For as long as I can remember, I have loved listening to various genre's of music. Old school jazz to up and coming pop artists. Amy Winehouse combined both my love for old music and a new fresh sound. Her lyrics told a story, and as I grew older - the more I have grown to relating to her lyrics. Every time ' Love is a Losing Game' comes on my phone, I can't help but just shift all my focus onto the music, and it's soft instrumental in the background paired with her low, drawn out vocals captures my attention, almost as if it were to put me into a trance. As silly as that sounds, much of her music has that effect - being able to pull listeners in and see a glimpse into her world.  The best aspect of her music was that it wasn't too old school for young listeners to enjoy, and it wasn't too 'pop' for it to be unenjoyable for others. The blend brought so many people together, and her music will live on to tell stories of heartbreak, joy and other fleeting memories. Rest in Peace Amy Winehouse.

http://www.amywinehouse.com  & amywinehousefoundation.org
This is the link to the official Amy Winehouse website, which includes merchandise, news and a link to the Amy Winehouse foundation which is to help  people with drug and alcohol misuse / addictions. The foundation is specifically created to help those that are at a disadvantage when trying to seek treatment and recovery. The homesite of the official Amy site also celebrates the album Frank's 10th, but was posted back in 2013. Frank was the first album Amy Winehouse wrote and released.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Amy-Winehouse 
This site offers a inside look at the life of Amy Winehouse, including leading up to her death and her childhood before fame. It gives those who are reading a closer look at who Amy winehouse was and give context to her music, as you notice the music became more somber and gloomy leading up to the end.

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/amy-winehouses-back-to-black-10-things-you-didnt-know-104287/
I include this Rolling Stones article about her Back to Black and how it came to be, because it was a part of a celebration of her 2nd and last album before passing. It showcased the inspiration behind much of Amy's music - including jazz girl groups from the 60's as part of her influence from her first album and that she had moved on from that jazz scene in her second album.

 Bonus : On most streaming platforms the Amy Winehouse documentary is available to watch if you want to sit and watch, learn and fall in love with the person who created so many amazing songs in the 2000's.

Marcel Duchamp

https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/themes/dada/marcel-duchamp-and-the-readymade/

This website does an excellent job of describing what a “readymade” is and how it pertains to Duchamp’s artistic philosophy. Readymades contest the notion that art has to be beautiful and that artists have to create everything by their own hand. 

https://www.dadart.com/dadaism/dada/035a-duchamp-cage.html

dadart.com gives a detailed overview of Duchamp’s life, philosophy, artworks, and how his art applies to the Dada movement in the 1910s-1920s. Duchamp integrated a sense of “umor” into his work and had an awareness of what it meant to create satirical pieces: cited within the website, a Guardian article states that Duchamp’s “dictionary” includes “Artist, Bicycle Wheel, Breasts, Cheese, and Chess” among others. 

https://m.theartstory.org/artist-duchamp-marcel.htm

The Art Story discusses the life of Duchamp and how his art was influential to Dada as well as art, as a whole, in the 20th century. Pieces such as Nude Descending A Staircase, Fountain, and L.H.O.O.Q are presented as some of his most important works. 

Marcel Duchamp’s work is especially compelling due to the fact that it subverts every expectation of classical artistic practice. Duchamp took what the art world desired and turned it on its head: artists were expected to create all their own works and have them be traditionally beautiful. They way in which Duchamp interpreted this expectation is especially interesting due to the fact that it had never been seen before. Creating art from “readymade” objects such as urinals and bicycle wheels, Duchamp thought about what it meant for art to actually be art. Other artists, such as Man Ray, took inspiration from this: Ray created Gift and Object to Be Destroyed and based them on the philosophy that art did not have to be classically beautiful but rather aesthetically pleasing. In an increasingly technological world, Duchamp and the Dadaists, including but not limited to Tristan Tzara, Salvador Dali, and René Magritte, were inspired by absurdity of World War I and created reactionary art that displayed their discontent with modern warfare. This posed many questions that the art world was not prepared to answer. Where does art fit into modern society? Are artists responsible for their own work and its interpretations? Duchamp sought to answer these questions through his work. 

CIARA

CIARA // ciara princess harris

An artist that personally inspires me, is Ciara, who is known for her talents as mainly a singer and songwriter, but also as a dancer. Ciara grew up in Austin, Texas and then ended up moving to Georgia where she joined the female group called “Hearsay”. After launching her career through the group, Ciara became an independent artist. Ciara is known for her top hits “One, Two, Step” “Body Party”, and “Ride”. Ciara’s first songs were very much surrounded amongst the purpose of creating entertaining and sexy songs, but now they have increased in deeper meaning. What I love about Ciara is her flawless confidence, female empowerment, dancing abilities, and the positive impact she has on other people. She is most known for her recent song called “Level Up”, which is about becoming a better figure for yourself in all areas of life. It is about embracing your self worth, and not settling for anything in life whether it be a job, relationship, or difficult situation in life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh-ULbQmmF8

In the first few seconds Ciara says “be in your boss, love yourself, dance, level up”. This music video currently has 1.7 million views and the song has taken over the modern choreography world. I like this video alot becuase it showcases her upbeat dancing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdzDXYqsn2Q

This second one is another of my favorites, because it shows aspects of her hertiage and includes classic hip hop styles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX6kEpUno5o

This last video, is an interview. Ciara talks about being “her own CEO”. This in my opinion, was so influential and really showed her fans how much of an independent and hardworking woman she is.

Kim Chungha

The artist that I'd like to share is Chungha Kim, but in Korea they say the last name first, so she goes by Kim Chungha. The reason behind me sharing her is because I truly admire her dancing talent. I, as as a dancer, use her own choreography as an inspiration when it comes down to making my own choreography. Her style is very similar to what I do when I choreograph and watching how she executes her moves is what makes me want to grow as a dancer. In Korea and US, Chungha's dancing is very well known! It has been infamous since her first appearance as a K-pop idol on a Korean show called "Produce 101".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq6zJJdPRPQ (1:50-2:33)
This video is what made Chungha's dancing famous. Nobody could believe that what she did was freestyle. Since then, she's gone through the process of becoming a K-pop idol, and her dancing has grown a lot since then.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9G8mawduUU
This second video is a piece that Chungha choreographed herself. As you can see, her growth in dance is huge compared to the previous video. The way she executes her moves is a lot stronger.

https://www.soompi.com/article/1290089wpp/watch-chungha-takes-1st-ever-solo-win-gotta-go-show-champion-performances
This article is about Chungha's first win with her most recent comeback "Gotta Go". If you take a look at the video that is also included in the article, the choreography is nothing the way you'd expect it because of the way she dances. The choreography that goes along with the song is what gave her the well-deserved winning position on the charts.

Alex Turner

Alex Turner

Not everyone can make a name for themselves. Not everyone can really pull off their own style. But Alex Turner can. This Englishman started his singing career as just another garage band, shaggy-haired average-joe. It took him a couple years in the industry to work out his kinks, explore his potential as an artist, and define his image in the Arctic Monkeys. In fact, Alex Turner has defined his image many times. Because that is what Alex Turner does best. More than a singer, he's an actor, a chameleon, a shifting, shapeless mass of egoism and musical success. He can sing and write music, he knows it, but he also knows how to be something he is not, and he knows how to do it well. What I find most inspiring about Alex Turner is that he just oozes swaggering charisma and confidence on stage despite him knowing how fake he is. He completely pulls off everything he does, whether he is dressed as a leather-jacketed greaser, 70's rocker, or a preppy broken-hearted romantic. He is like a great actor, able to pull off any role and make himself believable, and, as an artist, this makes him more than just a singer.  

http://diymag.com/2018/07/24/alex-turner-looks-ranked-arctic-monkeys

Alex's many styles and looks throughout his career.

https://www.clashmusic.com/features/12-things-you-never-knew-about-alex-turner

Some interesting esoteric facts about the man himself.

https://spinnup.com/uc/blog/how-to-write-a-great-rock-lyric-according-to-alex-turner-of-arctic-monkeys/

Alex gives us some insight on the magic behind his musical madness. 

Dan Avidan

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9CuvdOVfMPvKCiwdGKL3cQ
This is the Youtube channel that is partly owned by Dan Avidan, along with Arin Hanson. This is a well known media outlet and source of information on Dan do to it being of of the biggest Lets Play channels on Youtube where both he and Arin Hanson post videos of them playing video games to earn revenue through the use of Youtube advertisement monetization and the selling of channel related merchandise.
http://ninjasexparty.com/
This is the main website for the band Dan Avidan Co owns with Brian Wecht. This is what first got Dan Avidan on the scene of pop culture and in the view of the public eye. The band itself makes comedy 1980's style music and has so far published four original albums: NSFW, Strawberries and Cream, Attitude City, and Cool Patrol.
https://starbomb.com/
Starbomb is another band co owned by Dan Avidan, along with Arin Hanson, and Brian Wecht. The band identifies itself as a Synthpop/Hip-Hop supergroup that creates video game based parody music. This is the second band that has Dan Avidan as a main vocalist and co owner.

I feel as though Dan Avidan is worth sharing do to the way he rose into modern day pop culture, the parody/comedy type of music that he produces, and the important part that he has played in the modern day sub culture of Youtube Lets Play communities. His rise into what is modern day pop culture could be seen as a strange and lucky one within the eye of someone viewing it. With his initial start up in the genre of comedy pop music its rare to see someone rise to the level of popularity that he has. This can somewhat be attributed to his time spent on the Lets Play channel on Youtube "Game Grumps" where he gained some following do to his time spent playing video games with Arin Hanson a fellow Youtube entertainer and vocalist. This in itself is also another reason I feel that he deserves to be recognized within this post, the rise in popularity of  the Youtube Lets Play community can partially be attributed to him along with Arin Hanson and Jonathan Jafari do to their time spent on the popular channel "Game Grumps". From his rise to stardom in an uncommon musical genre to his continuing success as a personality, entertainer, and performer. I feel although he deserves to be recognized as a influential artist of our time do to his impact on what we view as current pop culture and art within his mediums.

Raffaello Sanzio Da Urbino

     Raphael has always been one of my very favorite artists due to his compelling work in painting, and the content that he chose to picture in his art. He worked in the same era as Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci in the high renaissance period. My favorite work of his has to be "The School of Athens" which is present in the Vatican. I love how he references historical figures that he admired, as well as showcasing his ability to use point perspective to give the painting depth and make it lifelike. Additionally, I find Raphael a very compelling artist due to his tendency to paint self-portraits. Many artists want to be recognized for their work, so I find it entertaining that Raphael made himself the subject of many of his works to point out how highly he thought of himself as a painter. He mainly painted oil on canvas but also completed many drawings and some architecture in his lifetime. After a two week long illness at the age of only thirty-seven, Raphael passed away and was buried in the Pantheon.

Three informational website links about Raphael:

• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Raphael-Italian-painter-and-architect - This website provides a great short biography on Raphael. It provides information on his various life periods and the major art that he produced. It is a very reliable source and would be great for researching before writing an essay on him.
• https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/raphael - This website provides a brief synapse of who Raphael was, but is most useful due to its visual images of his work. It includes photos, titles, and descriptions of all of his most famous art. This site would be a good source for seeing and analyzing photos of his paintings.
• https://www.nga.gov/features/slideshows/raphael.html - This website has a detailed but concise description of Raphael's life and works, but should be most noted for its slideshow of several of his most famous works. It is a very reliable website to find a brief description of this artist along with showing viewers a good sample of his work. It would be best for just learning a few facts about Raphael, not necessarily an essay research resource.

Misty Copeland

          Misty Copeland is a ballet icon in America, especially among dancers of color. Misty Copeland began dancing at the age of 13, which is unusually late for a professional ballerina, and rose quickly through the ranks of the ballet world. In the year 2000, at the young age of 18, Misty became the first African American dancer to join the American Ballet Theater as a principal ballerina. In a company of 80 dancers, Misty remained the only African American dancer in the company for a decade, and even now is accompanied by only 2 other dancers of color. Misty is an incredibly inspirational figure to many aspiring dancers because she has become an advocate for diversity in the world of dance, and has even written several books about her life and experience of prejudice throughout her journey as a prima ballerina. She is now 36 years old, a full year past the average retiring age for principal dancers, and she continues to perform for the American Ballet Theater as well as traveling around the world to spread her message of encouragement to young dancers across the globe. Misty Copeland is an important role model to me personally because as a child she is exactly what I wanted to be. I remember seeing videos of Misty online in The Firebird, The Nutcracker, and many other productions and imagining myself in her place on that stage. I still firmly believe it was that fantasy and Misty's words of encouragement that convinced me to keep pursuing my dreams of becoming a professional dancer. 

https://mistycopeland.com/

Misty Copeland's official website contains a description of her life history as well as a gallery of images and videos of her performances.

https://www.npr.org/2015/07/01/419076143/misty-copeland-seeks-to-enspire-other-african-american-dancers

This NPR article contains an interview of Misty Copeland on her book Firebird, which is about her struggle for acceptance in the ballet community as a minority dancer. 

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/05/dancer-misty-copeland-shares-her-life-story-with-students/

This article from The Harvard Gazette gives readers an inside look into a special lecture Misty gave at Harvard in which she shares her life story and her inspiration for her book Ballerina Body: Dancing and Eating Your Way to a Leaner, Stronger and More Graceful You, which is all about the critiques she faced about her body type as an African American dancer.

Jordan Peele

Jordan Peele is a filmmaker responsible for creating the box office hits Get Out and Us. His work in creating these movies have made leaps and bounds in diversity within modern film. Get Out was released in 2017, resulting in Peele being the first black director to have a one million dollar film debut. This film was rated 99% on Rotten Tomatoes and was a smash hit on almost every film review site. Jordan Peele uses his platform to create films that address relevant issues in modern America, such as racism, social class, and police brutality. I think that it is important for people to see his movies, as they feature an immense amount of representation, and pass along very important messages. He is able to tell his stories in terrifying, yet emotionally compelling ways. He is taking his activism for equality to a place where it can be digested and appreciated by many, in a tasteful, an artistic way. 

USA Today: Jordan Peele embraces his latest role with 'Us': 'I'm a truth seeker in my work'

This article discusses Peele's passion for his work, and why he does what he does. This article mostly addresses his most recent work, Us. Peele goes into detail on his "truth" and how he displays that within his movies.

The Hollywood Reporter: Jordan Peele on Making Movies After 'Us': "I Don't See Myself Casting a White Dude As the Lead"

This piece addresses the diversity in Peele's cast, and why he feels it is important to have representation.

The New York Post: How ‘Us’ director Jordan Peele honed his horror chops on ‘Key & Peele’

The New York Post analyzes Peele's history in comedy and how that lead him to being the director of horror movies that he is today. This article links videos of his old darker sketches, and allows the reader to find parallels between then, and now.

Bill "Bojangles" Robinson

Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, in my opinion is the best tap dancer the world has ever seen. He was a trailblazer, becoming the most famous African American tap dancer in the 20^thcentury known for breaking the boundaries of dance and film being the first African American to perform alongside a white woman onscreen and still has a large impact today. Bill is important to me because he is the reason I wanted to enroll in tap. When I was just six years old, I was watching The Little Colonel a Shirley Temple movie with my sister and I was instantly intrigued by his stair dance with Shirley. I loved how he was able to make music with his feet; it was an amazing sight to see. When I saw Shirley jump in and dance with Bill, I thought to myself if she could keep up with him certainly I can too. I began tap because of him and I’ve been doing it ever since. Bill’s footwork is a sight to watch, somehow, he is able to make multiple sounds at once and make it all look so effortless and easy. He was also an innovator in the sense that he danced more up on the balls of his feet and his toes rather than the previous style of flat-footed shuffling. His style of tap was delicate and perfect.  

The Little Colonel (1935)

http://atdf.org/awards/bojangles.html

This article is a biography of Bill’s life and incredible career. He was inducted into the American Tap Dance Foundation’s Hall of Fame in 2002. 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/bill-robinson-king-of-tap-180963332/

This article, from the Smithsonian tells of the three ways Bill changed dance forever not only just tap. The three ways were through performing solo, not using the norm of blackface, and performing alongside of white actors. 

https://www.npr.org/2014/02/14/276986764/shirley-temple-and-bojangles-two-stars-one-lifelong-friendship

Lovely article from npr on how Shirley Temple and Bill had a lifelong friendship. The two were the first interracial couple to appear onscreen in a dance.

Kwang Suk Kim

Kwang Suk Kim

 Kwang Suk Kim was born January 22, 1964 and died on January 6, 1996, he was one of the popular and influential South Korean folk-rock singers. He achieved widespread popularity as a member of the folk band "Dongmulwon". He was a singer-songwriter, who write, compose, and perform his own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. He sold over five million records, it's an impressive number for a South Korean musical artist at that time. At aged 31, he committed suicide by hanging himself. That news surprised a lot of Koreans, not only his fans. Some people aroused doubts about his death that they said his suicide was definitely suspicious. He wrote the song based on social criticism and the truth about common people's life in South Korea's financial crisis. 

 The reason why I chose Kim to create a blog post is his lyrics and melodies are truly touched my heart even though I wasn't born at that time period. His voice, guitar and harmonica play techniques, and song itself are not opulence but more lyrical with calmly voice. But with his calmly voice and that chosen words for sentimental lyrics are touched everyones' heart more than any other technical difficulties songs. The combination of sincerity in his songs and realness in his life attracted big audiences. Due to that so many Korean still miss Kim and his song even now.

(Above image is a mural art in Kim Kwang-suk st. in Deagu)

Kim Kwang-suk street is located in Deagu city. His fans made this street to remember Kim. This street became one of the popular mural street in Korea, and many people are visiting this street. When you walked along this road, you will hear the Kim's music through the speakers.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7345294/

The link above is a documentary about Kwang-suk Kim's singer life and his death that still remains hidden to people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxp2CGK_WWE

The link above is the playlist for the sound track of his most popular songs.

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20170825000454

The link above is an article about how the documentary (provided in the first link) is made.

Peter Draws

Monday, May 6th, 2019

---

Deligdishch (2017)


                                                                                                                                                                         Rocket - Peter Draws


I chose to post about one of my favorite creators, Peter Deligdisch, who is an artist of a multitude of different mediums as well as a Youtuber posting his artwork along with tips on how to create art. Peter was born on July 9th, 1990 and has been posting to his Youtube channel since 2009 where he has amassed a following of over 700k fellow artists and fans. Peter has never taken an art class in his life and really tries to push the point that anyone can do art in anyway they like, and he talks a lot about just beginning. Beginning is what I always struggle with but after listening to his therapeutic, Bob Ross-esque voice for hours on end, I now struggle a little less with beginning my artworks. This is very inspirational and helps me get started on a lot of my wire pendants as well as a lot of my illustrations. He is also extremely humble about his artwork, almost denoting them to "doodles that take longer" however most people disagree, including myself as his works are master pieces every time. He also states he the only way someone can experience artists block is "physically blocked from making art..." which is a hard truth but makes you realize how open ended art is potentially making it easier for you to get started on a project.

1. http://artonthefridge.com/2016/10/06/peterdraws/?i=1

A short interview conducted by Keren Duchan where they chat about artists block, authenticity and Peters attitudes towards art and the creation of art.

1. https://capefearlivingmagazine.com/an-artist-of-a-peculiar-sort/

Peter chats with Kevin Ward on his beginnings of art and growing his online influence.

1. https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/7fvpd3/hi_im_peter_draws_i_draw_pictures_and_make/ (reddit AMA)

A reddit AMA (ask me anything) where users quite literally ask Peter any questions they have about him including lessons hes learned as an artist, and how his finances work coming mainly from Youtube and Twitch streaming.

Stephen Sondheim

                                                   

Image from Stephen Sondheim's "Into the Woods"

          Stephen Sondheim is well known in the theater world as one of the most influential composers and lyricists of the last half century in the world of Broadway and musical theater. He has been an active writer since 1954. At the age of 10, he began being mentored by Oscar Hammerstein II, of 'Rogers & Hammerstein' fame, who is well known for such classics as The King and I and The Sound of Music. He then went on to attend Williams College in Massachusetts, and achieved his initial Broadway fame through the musicals Saturday Night and West Side Story, of which he wrote the lyrics for both and the music for the former. He has since gone on to write music and lyrics for such musicals as Into the Woods and Sweeney Todd, becoming known for dry humor and sometimes disturbing or unusually dark imagery in the shows he writes for.

          The reason why I picked Sondheim is because he is some of the first exposure I personally had to acting in musical theater. The first musical I ever acted in was Into the Woods, and I spent a lot of time reflecting on the meanings and morals behind his work, and helped shape a lot of my perspective on theater to this day. His darker, more bittersweet endings reflect real life in a way that a lot of musicals don't. You'd be hard pressed to find many musicals that don't end with everything relatively happy, and tied up all nice in a bow, but his work usually takes the audience to dark places and then only somewhat brings them out of it. In that way, I think he has contributed a lot to the identity and view of modern musical theater. 

http://www.sondheim.com/

This website is a really great base of operations for finding all of Sondheim's works and learning more about them! It is also a good place to find potential productions and Sondheim-related merch.

https://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/stephen-sondheim/

A PBS article about Stephen Sondheim! It's very informative and goes into his history and training more in-depth than I did here. 

https://www.sondheimsociety.com/

Sondheim Society is a charitable foundation run with the express purpose promoting Sondheim's work, as well as advancing music education for children. 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL171AD3631237030A

This is a link to the playlist for the soundtrack to the original Broadway cast of Into the Woods. It's a great time, and a lot of fun to listen to, whether you're looking for the in-depth meanings or not. I highly recommend in particular Giants in the Sky and Agony. 

David Bowie

Born David Robert Jones in 1947, David Bowie is a british musician and actor who held mainstream popularity from the late 60s to the early 2000s and then a later resurgence with his death in 2016. The biggest reason I chose to create a blog post about Bowie is how unique, innovative, and infulential he was as a musician. His uniqueness and influence as a musician can be attributed to his theatrical performances, glammorous outfits, and overall ambiguous sexuality and strange personality that resonated with many young people in the 60s and even today.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000309/
A list of appearances and works related to film.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/12/arts/music/david-bowie-dies-at-69.html
An article about his death and his legacy as an artist.

https://www.grunge.com/130199/david-bowies-tragic-real-life-story/
An interesting article about his family's history of mental health issues.

Johnny Cash 

Johnny Cash was born on February 26, 1932 as Sam Phillips in Kingsland, Arkansas where he realized and began his love for music and had a major talent for it. Cash learned to play the guitar in Germany when he was serving our country and began to write songs. He later moved to Tennessee to pursue his musical career and by 1955, just five years after serving the military and moving to Tennessee he was already successful. I choose Cash due to his connection that he created with his audience through his songs, he created songs that not only connected with not just one group but everyone within a short amount of time. Cash did suffer from drug addiction in the 1960's but by the late 1968 he was back on track with a turnaround. What made him unique was recording a song within a prison that eventually changed the living conditions within jail. Cash was not only like everyone else, people knew that through the struggles he had faced in his career and how he came back in a positive way from his ups and downs within his career. He understood his audience and the audience understood him through his music. He had 13 Grammy awards, including a lifetime achievement award, 9 country music association awards and not only made it into the Country Music Hall of Fame but also the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame which is an amazing accomplishment. 


https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johnny-Cash 

Above is the link to the background information of Johnny Cash as well as his accomplishment throughout his career. This is the location of where I found most of the information in the paragraph above. It also talks about his struggles during his career as well as his successes and how he got there.

https://www.biography.com/musician/johnny-cash

In the link above it provides a biography of Johnny Cash's life throughout his childhood to his death. It provides more detailed information on the songs and how he got to create them throughout his career as well as his marriage with a timeline of what happened and how he overcame those difficult times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDktBZzQIiU

In the link above provides a video on YouTube of Cash singing Folsom Prison Blues and you can hear the employee and inmates of the prison in the background. I think this shows how Cash can make a mistake and then turn it into something good by providing a concert for inmates.

https://www.biography.com/news/johnny-cash-10-interesting-facts

In the above link, you will read fun facts about Johnny Cash for example Johnny Cash is not his real name. It list about 10 facts that ordinary people might not know about Cash and how he was an author not just a musician.

The image above was posted by Yolanda Withaar on Flickr.

David Bergeaud

David Bergeaud

Picture of David Bergeaud

Background:

David Bergeaud (born 1968 in Paris, France) also known as "KOR", is a film, television, and video game composer, as well as a record producer and multi instrumentalist. Bergeaud has composed scores for such noteworthy projects as the PlayStation franchise Ratchet & Clank series and the award-winning Television Series Strong Medicine and The Outer Limits, and the controversial feature-length documentary film Kurt & Courtney.

Early Life:

David Bergeaud was born in Paris. His father a successful stage director/choreographer and his mother Christine Nerac, a well known singer, raised him while on tour through much of Europe, the Middle East and East Africa. David began his musical education at the age of 5 and, after ten years of classical conservatory and private studies, moved to Los Angeles to explore jazz and contemporary electronic music.

Summary:


What made me want to research David Bergeaud was his work on the music in the Ratchet and Clank series. With it's atmospheric electronic theme/style of music, I can't imagine playing this games without music. From playing the Ratchet and Clank games that he made music for, The music as a whole fits the setting for each place or planet that you go through with Ratchet and Clank. Particularly the first main three originals in the series (Ratchet and Clank, Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando, and Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal). Even though the music did change from the this atmospheric theme/style to this action theme/style, it still felt the setting whenever you went to a particular place or planet in these games.

Additional Information:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q00O5mXjiNg&t=1247s
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ8flS2V7QI&list=PL791HlgsFk8bczL_rQ42iKQlxKSlVMIdW&index=2
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm-zFW1oCJI&list=PL791HlgsFk8bczL_rQ42iKQlxKSlVMIdW&index=3
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy5YseUV3O0&list=PL791HlgsFk8bczL_rQ42iKQlxKSlVMIdW&index=4
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf8sB51A8hM
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QFJhFaRzBo&t=1071s
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNo0bbF-DmU&t=4278s
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5jsrD68Nbk

The links above are David's production eight of the Ratchet & Clank soundtracks from the first game up top down to the the last game he made music for the Ratchet Clank series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i2WIpPlzts

The link above is an interview of David Bergeaud (a film, television, and video game composer, as well as a record producer and multi instrumentalist) and goes into great insight into how he started producing music, his inspirations, what it was like to work on the Ratchet & Clank series and much more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0xwvkIfMF4

The link above is a discussion of the David Bergeaud's music in the Ratchet & Clank series, (especially of the old games up until Quest For Booty) and they dive into technical aspect of music composition.

• https://www.bergeaud.com/
• https://soundcloud.com/bergeaud_composer
• https://soundcloud.com/bergeaud
• https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0074011/
• http://musipolis.com/

The links above are David's social media

References:

• https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCspdzSB-b0sLEpObbq2IK0A
• https://www.youtube.com/user/TheVivi7007
• https://www.youtube.com/user/CrystalFissure

Zac Brown Band

Zachary Alexander Brown was born on July 31, 1978. He was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, along with his eleven other siblings. The band itself was established in 2000. Later renovations of the group led to its expansion. In 2004 they ended up adding a violinist and a tenor vocalist to their lineup. They have created six albums; The Foundation, Uncaged, Welcome Home, You Get What You Give, Jekyll + Hyde, Greatest Hits So Far. Their music resonates with me because they tend to sing about things they have gone through in life. One of the major themes of their songs is love. Love is shown many ways, and they just don't sing about loving another, but rather, loving all the little things in life. One of my favorite songs by the band itself is "I'll be your man", which is a song for daughters. He sings to his daughter in the song saying he'll be her man until she finds someone who'll be good to her and treat her how she deserves. The song fills your heart up with joy knowing that the bond they share is so deep. I myself, don't have a father, so this song gives me hope; that one day i'll find someone who'll love me just as much as a father should love their daughter. Overall, Zac Brown has beautiful control over his vocals, the musicians in the band all harmonize wonderfully, and this band can go into any genre and really win people over.


https://twitter.com/zacbrownband?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor 

Above i have placed the link to one of Zac Brown Bands' social medias. I think this is a very specific way in which many celebrities use the power of media to stay in touch with fans. I think this is very influential and an amazing way to stay updated on the bands new arrivals and surprises.

 https://www.topfan.com/app/zac-brown-band/

Above is a link to a site where you can find a lot of information about the band itself. This page was produced by Zac Brown Band's fans, and then created this larger community; bringing everyone together. This page is described as a multimedia content, published by only the biggest fans.

https://zacbrownband.com/pages/band

Above is a link to a page entirely on information about all members of the band. Each one is directly from the member themselves and is meant to build a closer bond with their fans.


https://www.youtube.com/user/zacbrownband

If you are interested in any music from this band: the link above will take you to their YouTube channel and the first video that'll pop up is called "Someone I Used to Know". I hope you guys enjoy their music and love as much as i do!

Bob Dyaln

The main reason I find Bob Dylan a majorly important artist to share is because of the impact his music had on people during the changing times of the civil rights movement and on. Many found his songs to be both moving and powerful, especially for those seeking racial justice and peace. In 1962, Dylan was featured on the Ed Sullivan Show to promote his new album Freewheelin; he performed “Talkin’ John Birch Society Blues” which satirized the conservative reactionary group making the producers nervous, when asked to switch songs Dylan wandered off and his appearance on the show was cancelled. Amongst many other political rally performances, Dylan and others performed at the Freedom March in Washington D.C. before Martin Luther King Jr. gave his most renowned speech, “I Have a Dream”. Dylan was a strong believer in the power of a song to create change and has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Nobel Prize for Literature, as well as Grammy, Academy, and Golden Globe awards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWwgrjjIMXA

The above link is a video of Bob Dylan’s live performance of “Blowin in the Wind” televised in March of 1963.

https://www.biography.com/musician/bob-dylan

This site gives a detailed background on Bob Dylan including his early life and driving influences. It as provides a gallery of photos of Dylan throughout his career.

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/bob-dylan-records-blowin-in-the-wind

This site provides details about the recording of Bob Dylan’s popular song, “Blowin in the Wind” from his breakthrough album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. Additionally, it considers Dylan’s “Blowin in the Wind” as an effective protest song.

https://www.thoughtco.com/bob-dylan-and-civil-rights-movement-1322012

This link discusses Bob Dylan’s protest songs such as “The Death of Emmitt Till” and “Blowin in the Wind”. Additionally, it illustrates his activism, particularly during the civil rights movement.

Antony Gormley

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/antony-gormley-interview-about-art-519437

Antony Gormley is famous in, "Exploring the relation of the human body to space and moments in time." He began by recognizing himself as a figure and building off himself creating sculptures with relative size to his own body (see picture above). With this, he began incorporating the art in all sorts of places and taking pictures to see how the figure would be portrayed at different viewpoints among the places he chose. Gormley created 31 body forms on sidewalks, riverbanks, and on top of roofs. His perspective was to create art in a common place people would be. He didn't want to make his work of human art seem like objects, but rather wanted to show how particular bodies sit relative to the space they're provided. I chose this artist because he didn't create normal art, he chose to make his art more meaningful in the sense that people can be seen as objects, but they are so much more than that. His art dives deep into the way people can be seen from near and afar and portrays a conceptual idea that humans are art by providing art based off the human being with various forms. Some forms include simple lines, detailed texture, high amounts of movement between spaces of the body and incorporating it all together to make a human figure with different shapes. 

1. https://www.artsy.net/artist/antony-gormley

This site is useful in that it has a bunch of appealing artwork that Gormley created, as well as an introduction and overview of Gormley's most famous art. On this site you can even signup and purchase his art if it is as appealing to you as it is to me. This site also includes the prices which can range up to a couple million dollars.

2. http://www.antonygormley.com/biography

This site is appealing in that it explores every aspect of Gormley's art. From sculpture to drawings it covers what Gormley indulged with his dramatic yet captivating artwork. This site also covers news articles about him, publications, and text, audio and videos of him.

3. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Antony-Gormley

This site is the most meaningful as it talks about Gormley's life and achievements as well as his upbringing in the art world. It also explores his sense of the human body and why he chose to make art from in object form of the human body portraying it in all sorts of ways to make it more appealing to the audience observing it. 

Here is a picture of one of Gormley's most famous art pieces, "The Angel of the North"

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/antony-gormley-art-is-being-ignored-and-thats-a-tragedy-and-a-travesty-cmqzt0jsr