Backup Singers

Offers a decade-by-decade history of American singing groups, from the Ames and Mills Brothers, to the Platters and the Beach Boys, to Destiny's Child, the Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, and many others, covering more than 380 artists and furnishing information on each group's career, key members, influences, photos, and discographies. Original.

The research presented in this volume is very recent, and the general approach is that of rethinking popular musicology: its purpose, its aims, and its methods. Contributors to the volume were asked to write something original and, at the same time, to provide an instructive example of a particular way of working and thinking. The essays have been written with a view to helping graduate students with research methodology and the application of relevant theoretical models. The team of contributors is an exceptionally strong one: it contains many of the pre-eminent academic figures involved in popular musicological research, and there is a spread of European, American, Asian, and Australasian scholars. The volume covers seven main themes: Film, Video and Multimedia; Technology and Studio Production; Gender and Sexuality; Identity and Ethnicity; Performance and Gesture; Reception and Scenes and The Music Industry and Globalization. The Ashgate Research Companion is designed to offer scholars and graduate students a comprehensive and authoritative state-of-the-art review of current research in a particular area. The companion's editor brings together a team of respected and experienced experts to write chapters on the key issues in their speciality, providing a comprehensive reference to the field.

Poetry. Browning follows up her sold out debut, EITHER WAY I'M CELEBRATING, with an even rawer and starker, and again darkly humorous navigation of friendship, marriage, and motherhood. The result is a more overtly political assessment of the absurd deficit between what we're confronted with and what we're equipped with to deal with those confrontations: "It's a girl, / and the wires she needs // open her hands / before they're fists." Browning combats this deficit with relentless anaphora and repetition, reducing seemingly impossible relationships to their most basic element a love that begets an unconditional loyalty: "I'm here I didn't run "

On the Dead Planet in the Heritia galaxy, demons converge to prepare for battle. They are led by Kazar, the most evil of demons. He has a devious plan to overtake the galaxy and to rule Heritia, but to do so he must first conquer those with powers that threaten his agenda. For instance, on the planet of Alkemmila, it is possible for youth to connect with nature and learn to harness its elemental power or strength. One such youth is Shun Kazano, Kazar's main target. Kazar murdered Shun's parents, leaving him an orphan. Since the loss of his parents, however, Shun has become strong. He has harnessed the power of the wind, and even well-trained soldiers and fellow power fighters don't stand a chance against him. Although Kazar wants to add Shun's strength to his own, Shun chooses instead to fight against him. Shun is not alone in the battle against Kazar. There are others with power over the elements, and with the right training they could become an army worthy to fight the demons of the Dead Planet. Shun keeps his past a secret, though-something that could cause a rift among the fighters. Will an argument give Kazar a way to win and rule the galaxy, or will Shun and his new friends fulfill their destiny and save the galaxy from a ruthless, evil dictator?