Squidoo Lenses by zacman
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Canadian singer and songwriter Avril Ramona Lavigne was born in Napanee, Ontario, Canada, on September 27, 1984, to Judy and John Lavigne, both of whom are French-Canadians. She is the mid-child of the family, with an older brother, Matthew, and a younger sister, Michelle, who also appeared in her 'SK8R BOI' Video. During her childhood, Avril grew up singing country music in a church choir and taught herself guitar since she was 12 years old. Later she explored her skill by joining many talent shows. Early on in her life, Avril started to write her own songs, which were about what happened to her that day. Besides songwriting, she had also started skateboarding since she was 14 years old. (read more)
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Christina María Aguilera (born December 18, 1980) is an American pop singer and songwriter. She was signed to RCA Records after recording "Reflection" for the film Mulan. She came to prominence following her debut album Christina Aguilera (1999), which was a critical and commercial success. A Latin pop album Mi Reflejo, and a Christmas album, My Kind of Christmas, followed during this period and also sold very well. Aguilera took creative control over her second studio album Stripped (2002), which received mixed reviews and yet produced substantial sales. During the album's promotion, her overtly sexual image became the subject of intense criticism and ridicule, although in recent times it has given her respect for promoting independence and female empowerment. Her third studio album Back to Basics (2006) included elements of soul, jazz, and blues music. It was released to good sales and positive critical reception. Aguilera's works have earned her numerous awards including five Grammy Awards amongst sixteen nominations. She has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. read the rest of the Wikipedia article
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Tappahannock, Virginia native Christopher Maurice Brown hit people with his first #1 single "Run It", hitting top of the charts quickly. Then surprised all his fans with his second single "Yo". He has been nominated for a Grammy, took home 2 BET Awards, and many more. His mother Joyce Hawkins has supported him throughout his journey and gave him so much encouragement. Manager Tina Davis, also helped Chris achieve his dreams by helping him get signed to his official lables Jive and Zomba. His bewildering performances, and excellent dancing skills got him the quote of "The next Usher". Mr.Brown recently turned 18 and celebrated his b-day with the fans. He is currently working on his sophmore album calld "Exclusive" which should come into a local store near you in October.  (read more)
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Korn is a Grammy Award winning, influential nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, and are often credited with creating and popularizing the nu metal genre. Former band-member Head stated that their signature sound came from an attempt to emulate Mr. Bungle's guitar tone, which they referred to as "the Bungle chord". Along with other bands of the time, they have also inspired many nu metal, alternative metal and rap metal bands through the mid-1990s and early 2000s. Since their 1994 self-titled debut album, Korn has sold over 32 million records worldwide, including 19 million in the United States, making them one of the best-selling nu-metal acts of the last fifteen years. The band's catalogue consists of five consecutive Multi-Platinum Studio albums (including the compilation album Greatest Hits: Volume 1, a live album, and an MTV Unplugged album) in the top 10 of Billboard Top 200 best selling albums. To date Korn has scored 6 Grammy nominations, and won 2 such awards. Five of their albums have been certified as multi-platinum. Jonathan Davis has entered Hit Parader's "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Vocalists" list peaking at #16, James "Munky" Shaffer and Brian "Head" Welch are #26 at the list of Guitar World's "100 Greatest Metal Guitarists". >>(read all)
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Katy Perry was born in Santa Barbara, California, USA. The middle child of two pastors, she grew up listening to gospel music and singing in church. In her teenage years, Perry found a Queen record, "and the heavens opened and saved me. From then on, they have been my biggest influence," she said. In an article for Blender Magazine, Perry stated she wasn't "a typical Christian", mentioning that she had done a "lot of bad things" during her adolescence. Among her musical influences are Queen, The Beach Boys, Heart, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, and Alanis Morissette. (read more)
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Metallica was easily the best, most influential heavy metal band of the '80s, responsible for bringing the music back to Earth. Instead of playing the usual rock star games of metal stars of the early '80s, the band looked and talked like they were from the street. Metallica expanded the limits of thrash, using speed and volume not for their own sake, but to enhance their intricately structured compositions. The release of 1983's Kill 'Em All marked the beginning of the legitimization of heavy metal's underground, bringing new complexity and depth to thrash metal. With each album, the band's playing and writing improved; James Hetfield developed a signature rhythm playing that matched his growl, while lead guitarist Kirk Hammett became one of the most copied guitarists in metal. - All Music Guide
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Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), popularly known as Jay-Z, (or by a variety of stage names including S. Carter, Jigga, Jay-Hova, Hova, Hov, and Young Hov) is an american hip-hop artist and current president and CEO of Def Jam and Roc-A-Fella Records. He has been one of the most prolific and successful American rappers of the mid-90s and early 2000s. Known for his use of metaphors, freestyling abilities, word play, flow, and blending of street and popular hip hop, Jay-Z became one of the most respected rappers in the music industry before his alleged retirement in 2004. He is admired for his ability to craft songs from memory, without the use of pen and paper; he claims his critically acclaimed album The Blueprint was written in only three days. Some people dispute this claim, but it is accepted by the majority of the hip-hop community. He is one of the founders of Roc-A-Fella Records, a hip-hop record label which also launched the careers of artists such as Beanie Sigel, Kanye West, Memphis Bleek, Young Gunz, Freeway, and Teairra Mari. As of 2005, he is estimated to be worth around $320 million. (read all)
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Daft Punk is the collective name of French musicians, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (born February 8, 1974) and Thomas Bangalter (born January 3, 1975). The duo have released three albums, thirteen singles and are considered one of the most successful electronic collaborations of all time, both in album sales and in critical acclaim. The name Daft Punk was inspired by a review in the British music magazine Melody Maker, which dubbed their first collaboration, the The Beach Boys-inspired guitar group Darlin' >>(read more)
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 This producer turned rapper, made his mark with his debut album The College Dropout, which has gone double platinum in its first year. In 2002, Kanye West was in a brutal car accident in which he fractured his jaw. His album is said to confuse some, as it sounds like some songs are sung by a totally different rapper, when in truth, some songs were recorded before, and some songs were recorded after the accident, which has altered his sound slightly. His debut album, the College Dropout, earned 10 Grammy Nominations for the 47th annual event which was held in early 2005. The album won Best Rap Album, as well as 'Jesus Walks' won best Rap Song. Kanye also won the Best R&B Song award with Alicia Keys and Harold Lilly for his song writing assistance for "You Don't Know My Name." (read more)
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 Red Hot Chili Peppers is a funk rock band that is based in Hollywood, California and was formed in 1983. The band initially formed as a joke act, calling themselves Tony Flow and the Miraculous Masters of Mayhem. Upon renaming themselves Red Hot Chili Peppers, they played a handful of small club venues in Los Angeles in 1983, before they were signed to EMI Records.  The Chili Peppers' original guitarist, Slovak, was replaced in 1984 by Jack Sherman, while Slovak and Irons recorded music with their band at the time, What Is This? Upon Slovak's return, Sherman was fired from the band. Following Slovak's death of a heroin overdose, a young John Frusciante took over as guitarist in 1988. Frusciante, however, quit the band in 1992 due in part to his sadness at the band becoming so successful in such a short time; complex personal issues, involving an addiction to heroin, were also a factor. He was then replaced by Arik Marshall. Approximately a year later, Marshall left the band, to be replaced by former  (read more)
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You would have to be on Mars to not have heard of Souljah Boy. You would have to be blind to have never seen any of the kids doing the dance and you definitely have to be either lame or old as hell to have never heard Crank Dat. The dance phenomenon that is Crank Dat is taking over the country. So much so that even super stars like Beyonce and old heads like Samuel Jackson are doing it. Yeah, we see a lot of people doing the dance but we really do not know much about the man behind the dance. Soljah Boy Tell ‘Em bounced on the scene and immediately erupted without warning. Some people are feeling him and some people wanna know when his five minutes are going to be over.
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Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., Lil' Wayne, also known as Lil Weezy or Weezy F. Baby, began rapping at a young age, with his friends Eric Tittloson and Ricky Williams at parties in his hometown of New Orleans. Later that year Tittloson was shot in a car while driving to one of his arrangements with Wayne. During one of these parties, members of a group called U.N.L.V., signed by the label Cash Money Records, overheard Lil' Wayne and later, during an autograph signing session, they introduced him to the CEOs of the label, Brian "Baby" Williams and Ronald "Slim" Williams. (read more)
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Nine Inch Nails, also known by the acronym NIN, was formed in Cleveland, Ohio, USA in 1988 by Trent Reznor, the only constant member of the band. He is generally credited for popularizing the genre known as "industrial rock". Born Michael Trent Reznor, he was raised by his maternal grandparents in Mercer, Pennsylvania. Reznor took up piano at the age of five and in high school took up the tuba and saxophone. During the early to mid 80s Trent played with various synthpop and new wave groups such as Exotic Birds and Option 30 before beginning his solo project. Nine Inch Nails has issued six major albums. With the inclusion of Broken EP, the band's primary releases  >>(read more)
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Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed by musician Dave Grohl in 1995. The group is named after the World War II term "foo fighter", used to refer to mysterious aerial phenomena. The Foo Fighters began as a solo project taken up by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. On the debut album, Foo Fighters, released in 1995, Grohl plays all the instruments (save for one guitar part recorded by Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs) on X-Static.) However, Grohl subsequently formed a band to play live shows and support the album. (read more)
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Snow Patrol is a Northern Ireland based alternative post-indie rock band. Formed in Scotland by vocalist/guitarist Gary Lightbody and former bassist/keyboardist Mark McClelland, they achieved sudden success with the Run single after years of obscurity in much the same way as Pulp. Originally highly lo-fi and guitar-driven, the band generally combine alternative rock with Coldplay style indie to create tasteful tales of relationships good and bad. Formed in late 1994 as "Shrug", the band started by performing gigs at Dundee University and the surrounding pubs before changing their name to "Polar Bear" (or "Polarbear") in late 1995. In mid 1997, they released a three-track EP, Starfighter Pilot, on the Electric Honey label. Richard Colburn, from Glaswegian indie band Belle and Sebastian, played drums on this record, and Stuart Murdoch, from the same band, sang on one of the b-sides. Due to legal threats from an American band with the same name (led by Eric Avery, the former bassist of Jane's Addiction), they became "Snow Patrol". (read more)
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Chris Dooley Jr. (born 1989) is an American rapper from Shreveport, Louisiana, who raps under the name Hurricane Chris, or Hurricane. The eighteen year old Shreveport native is currently causing quite a commotion down South with his blazing hot Polo Grounds Music/J Records single, "A Bay Bay." According to Hurricane Chris, "A Bay Bay" has its genesis in the namesake of the Ratchet movement's cornerstone DJ, Hollyhood Bay Bay, who spins at a club called KoKo Pellis. Whenever the DJ would come in the club the crowd would start chanting "hey Bay Bay, hey Bay Bay." After a while the crowd would do the chant whenever the club got ratchet regardless of who was on the wheels of steel. "That became so catchy that I changed it from somebody's name to a slang 'A Bay Bay'," says Hurricane Chris. "Now it's a word, it means fa sho." If you haven't heard Hurricane Chris' "A Bay Bay" then you're missing out on the hottest club single since Lil Jon's "Bia Bia" or E-40's "Tell Me When To Go". The song is literally sweeping the nation like an uncontrollable firestorm, reeking havoc on dance floors from the H Town (Houston, Texas) to the ATL (Atlanta, Georgia) and everywhere in between. "Everybody likes 'A Bay Bay' because it's different," says Hurricane Chris. "It's real catchy. And it's something you can say. I bet that its gonna be a baby's first word because it's so catchy. It gets stuck in your head the first time you hear it. Everybody [can] relate to it, white folks, black folks, hustlers and thugs. (read more)
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Goo Goo Dolls is an alternative rock band formed in 1985 in Buffalo, New York by guitarist/vocalist John Rzeznik and bassist/vocalist Robby Takac. They are perhaps most famous for the hit "Iris", featured on the soundtrack to the 1998 film City of Angels. Currently, the band consists of John Rzeznik (guitar, vocals), Robby Takac (vocals, bass) and Mike Malinin (drums). Early in their career, the Goo Goo Dolls were frequently dismissed by critics as mere imitators of the Replacements; however, the band refined and mainstreamed their sound enough to become one of the most popular adult alternative rock bands of the latter half of the '90s, selling millions of records to audiences largely unfamiliar with their inspirations.  >>(read more)
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Nirvana was a popular and highly influential American rock band. The band formed in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987, and was part of the Seattle grunge scene of the late 80s. Other Seattle grunge bands such as Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden also gained in popularity, and, as a result, alternative rock became a dominant genre on American and Canadian radio and music television during the early-to-mid '90s. Nirvana's initial incarnation consisted of Kurt Cobain on guitar and vocals, bassist Krist Novoselic, and drummer Chad Channing. After a brief stint as a four-piece in 1989 with the addition of second guitarist Jason Everman, followed soon after by the replacement of Channing on drums in 1990, the band found the lineup that would form the core of the group when they added former Scream drummer Dave Grohl. (read more)
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Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969) is an American record producer, mogul, CEO, clothing designer, and rapper. He was brought into the hip hop industry by life long friend Sami Al-Hakkak. As of October 2006, his nickname and recording name is Diddy (adopted in August 2005). Previously, he had been known as Puff Daddy and later as P. Diddy (Puff and Puffy being often used as a nickname, but never as recording names). He is still called P. Diddy in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, the latter after a legal battle with another artist, Richard "Diddy" Dearlove. His business interests include Bad Boy Records, the clothing lines Sean John and Sean by Sean Combs, a movie production company, and two restaurants. He has taken the roles of recording executive, back up singer, performer, producer of MTV's Making the Band, writer, arranger, clothing designer, and Broadway actor. Diddy is the second richest hip-hop entertainer, having a net worth estimate of US$358 Million. read the rest of the Wikipedia article
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A self-proclaimed product of his past, rapper Sean Kingston's history helps describe his sound. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, then raised in Miami, FL, from the age of six, he mixes more than a little dancehall and reggae into his hip-hop. The hard lyrics come from a hard life, which included incarceration, homelessness, and growing up a lot faster than he should have. His young parents didn't play teen pop or teen rap while he was being raised, so he absorbed the adult lyrics of Buju Banton, Ice Cube, and Rakim. He also lived the lyrics and landed a breaking-and-entering charge at age 11. Twenty-one days in jail, boot camp, and living in a car while his mother was incarcerated on an identity fraud rap all followed. None of it swayed the youth against hustling; it just pointed him in a different, more lucrative direction.Taking his ability to write rhymes and hooks, he started working Miami's talent show and showcase circuit hard, eventually sharing the stage with Pitbull, Ludacris, and Trick Daddy. Producer Jonathan "J.R." Rotem (Britney Spears, 50 Cent, Rihanna) caught his demo and signed the young rapper to his Beluga Heights record label right before the major-label bidding wars were to begin. The Sony imprint Epic won and introduced their new artist in the spring of 2007 with the single "Colors 2007" featuring the Game and Rick Ross. Although he sounded much older, Kingston was only 16 years old when the track landed.>>(read more)
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System of a Down (sometimes referred to as S.O.A.D., SOAD or just System) was formed in 1995 in Hollywood, California. The band consists of Serj Tankian (Vocals, Keyboard, Guitar), Daron Malakian (Guitar, Vocals), John Dolmayan (Drums) and Shavo Odadjian (Bass). Former members include Andy Khachaturian. Malakian and Tankian were together in an earlier incarnation of the band, called Soil, which Odadjian managed. They are all from Armenian families. System of a Down's lyrics are often politicized and/or abstract. System of a Down is a part of the Axis of Justice, a non-profit organization formed by Tankian and Tom Morello of Audioslave and Rage Against the Machine. Their claimed purpose is to bring together musicians, music fans and grassroots political organizations to fight for social justice. They are known for their songs " Sugar," " Spiders," " Toxicity," " Lonely Day," and others. At the Moment the singer "Serj Tankian" is doing his own solo-project "Elect The Dead"  (read more)
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T-Pain (born Faheem Najm in Tallahassee, Florida in 1985) is an American hip-hop singer. At the age of ten he turned his bedroom into a small studio with a keyboard, beat machine and four-track recorder, and began enjoying music. He was previously a member of the five-man rap act known as Nappy Headz. In 2002 he founded his own label, Hard & B. T-Pain had been known locally in Florida for his work with Nappy Headz, and gained notoriety for his song "Fucked Up", a reworked version of Akon's "Locked Up". The song gained the attention of Akon, who then signed T-Pain to his newly formed Konvict Music record label. T-Pain released his solo debut single, "I'm Sprung", in August 2005. His debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, was released on November 8, 2005, under Konvict Music. The "T" in T-Pain actually stands for Tallahassee (Florida), and the Pains means the pain trying to get out of Tallahassee. He made the song "I'm Sprung" for a girl that he knew when he was younger. On BET's 106 & Park he told audiences that that girl is now his wife. He is also known to be experimenting in the now world-famous "Crunk-n-B" style of music made famous by artists such as Ciara. Hit singles "I'm Sprung" and "I'm N Luv (Wit a Stripper)" spawned official remixes titled "I'm Sprung 2" with Trick Daddy and the YoungBloodZ, and "I'm N Luv (Wit a Stripper), The Remix" with R.Kelly, Twista, Pimp C, Paul Wall, MJG, and Too $hort respectively. (read more)
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Modest Mouse is an American alternative band. The band was formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington by guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green and bassist Eric Judy. Since being signed to Sony's Epic Records in 2000, the band has attained significant popular success. Brock came up with the name "Modest Mouse" when he read the Virginia Woolf stream of consciousness essay The Mark On the Wall in which the author described the working middle class as "modest, mouse-coloured people." Brock frequently moved around with his mother when he was a child. Around this time, his mother left his father for his father's brother (Brock's uncle). Brock's mother's house flooded and forced them to move into his mother's new husband's trailer, but there was no room for Brock. Brock stayed behind, living in the second story of the flooded house, until he was eventually evicted by police. He then moved into a shed next to his mother's house and it is said this is where Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green and bassist Eric Judy first began playing music. In 1994, the band recorded their debut EP, Blue Cadet-3, Do You Connect?, at Calvin Johnson's Dub Narcotic Studios,  >>(read all)
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Akon has had many troubles with the law in his life, including a car-theft charge in which he was in jail for three years. He has also gone to jail on many other occasions. Currently, he is planning to work on a full-length movie about his life. The title has been confirmed as Money, Power, Kundi & Respect: A Hustler's Dream, and the release date will be in late 2007. He also appeared in "Poppin' Tags", an episode of television crime-show CSI, performing "Snitch" alongside Obie Trice. (read more)
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Placebo is an alternative rock band consisting of Brian Molko, Stefan Olsdal and Steve Hewitt. The band was founded in London in 1994 when Brian and Stefan, who went to the same school but apparently never spoke, met again by chance in London and subsequently formed 'Ashtray Heart'. >>(read more)
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Rammstein is a German band formed in 1994. Their musical style, which they have dubbed "Tanz-Metall" ("Dance Metal"), incorporates elements of industrial, metal and ebm music. Rammstein took their name indirectly from the western German town of Ramstein, site of an airshow disaster in 1988. The band's signature song, the eponymous "Rammstein", is a commemoration of the tragedy that took place at the Ramstein Air Base. The extra "m" in the band's name means that it translates literally as "ramming stone" or "battering ram", reinforcing the style of music the band plays.  (read more)  
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Formed during the punk era of the 1970s while still in secondary school in Crawley, West Sussex, England, The Cure has been one of the most enduring bands of the last thirty years, even if that has come at the price of multiple line-up changes, with only original frontman Robert Smith remaining in the band. Shunning the anarchistic tendencies of many punk bands after their formation in 1976, The Cure's first release was Killing an Arab, based on material from French writer Albert Camus' "L'Etranger" (translated into English as The Stranger or The Outsider). This track courted controversy because of its theme (misinterpreted as rascist, it was in fact, about the futility of killing any ethnicity), but it started to secure a small following, which grew following the release of debut album Three Imaginary Boys and non-LP single Boys Don't Cry in 1979, the latter of which would become one of The Cure's most famous songs. Following this, The Cure moved from their punk leanings into the portentous post-punk territory, releasing three albums of doom-laden rock in three years, Seventeen Seconds, Faith and Pornography, the latter of which charted inside the UK top 10, though the band were repeatedly dogged by the "Second-class Joy Division" tag. (read all)
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Audioslave made their way onto the charts in 2002, with their outstanding hits such as "Show Me How to Live", "I am the Highway" and "Like a Stone." They recently released their second album, entitled "Out of Exile" which includes their number one hit "Be Yourself." Also on the album worth hearing is, "Drown Me Slowly" and "Your Time Has Come." The band is a combination of Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden's lead singer. After Zack de la Rocha left Rage, Chris Cornell, lead singer or Audioslave, former lead singer of Soundgarden, teamed up with the men from Rage, and they have since been one of the best bands we have seen in the past half decade. >>(read more)
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