Centre-left is a political term that describes individuals, political parties or organisations such as think tanks whose ideology lies between the centre and the left on the left-right spectrum. It excludes far left stances. The term may refer to a position to the left of a centrist position in a given country, or it may refer to a position to the left in some hypothetical global political spectrum.

The main ideologies of the centre-left are progressivism, social liberalism and social democracy, although it can also include democratic socialism and green politics.

Ideologies associated with centre-left

The main ideologies of the centre-left are modern liberalism and social democracy and sometimes Democratic Socialism. Throughout the world, the two groups generally support:

A mixed economy consisting of both private enterprise and publicly owned or subsidized programs of education, universal health care, child care and related social services for all citizens.

An extensive system of social security (although usually not to the extent advocated by socialists), with the stated goal of counteracting the effects of poverty and insuring the citizens against loss of income following illness, unemployment or retirement.

Equal rights and opportunity.

Government bodies that regulate private enterprise in the interests of workers and consumers by ensuring labor rights (i.e. supporting worker access to trade unions), consumer protections, and fair market competition.

A value-added/progressive taxation system to fund government expenditures.

The term may be used to imply positions on the environment, religion, public morality and so on, but these are usually not the defining characteristics, since centre-right parties may take similar positions on these issues. A centre-left party may or may not be more concerned with reducing industrial emissions regardless of the impact on factory-belt employment than a centre-right party.

Relative definition

In most European countries with mixed economies, the centre-left would include social democrats, social liberals, progressives and also some democratic socialists and greens.

Absolute definition

An "absolute" definition of centre-left refers to a position on some hypothetical global political spectrum. Thus the African National Congress of South Africa terms itself "left", although as the dominant party it is by definition centrist in the South African political spectrum. Similarly, the Communist Party of China is centrist in the sense of being the dominant (the only) political party in China, but also characterises itself as "left".

The policies of a party that is centrist or centre-left in one country could be considered right-wing or left-wing in another country. In Hong Kong the "centre" position is far to the right of the "centre" position in the mainland People's Republic of China. The dominant People's Action Party in Singapore would now be considered "right" in an absolute sense compared to other governments in the region, although the party has in the past characterised itself as socialist, or "left". European social democratic policies would be considered right-wing in Cuba and left-wing in the United States.

See also

Centre-right

Ideology

Left-wing political parties

List of political parties by country

Ultra-left

External links

References

Category:Political terms Category:Political spectrum Category:Left-wing politics

ca:Centreesquerra (política) da:Centrum-venstre de:Mitte-links et:Vasaktsenter es:Centroizquierda política fr:Centre-gauche hr:Lijevi centar id:Kiri tengah it:Centro-sinistra ja:中�?�左派 no:Sentrum-venstre pl:Centrolewica pt:Centro-esquerda scn:Centru-manca sr:Леви центар sh:Lijevi centar fi:Keskusta-vasemmisto vec:Sentro-sanca zh:中間�?�左

Coordinates	57°11′″N39°25′″N
name	Suzanne Vega
background	solo_singer
birth name	Suzanne Nadine Peck
born	July 11, 1959Santa Monica, California, United States
origin	New York City, United States
instrument	vocals, guitar
genre	Alternative rockFolk rock
occupation	Singer, songwriter, record producer
years active	1982–present
label	A&M;Blue Note
website	SuzanneVega.com
notable instruments	}}

Suzanne Nadine Vega (born July 11, 1959) is an American songwriter and singer known for her eclectic folk-inspired music.

Two of Vega's songs (both from her second album ''Solitude Standing'', 1987) reached the top 10 of various international chart listings: "Luka" and "Tom's Diner". The latter was originally an a cappella version on Vega's album, which was then remade in 1990 as a dance track produced by the British dance production team DNA.

Early life

Suzanne Vega was born July 11, 1959 in Santa Monica, California. Her mother, Pat Vega, is a computer systems analyst of German-Swedish heritage. Her father, Richard Peck, is of Scottish-English-Irish extraction. They divorced soon after her birth. Her stepfather, Ed Vega, also known as Edgardo Vega Yunque, was a writer and teacher from Puerto Rico.

When Vega was two and a half, the family moved to New York City. She grew up in Spanish Harlem and the Upper West Side. At the age of nine she began to write poetry; she wrote her first song at age fourteen. Later she attended New York's prestigious High School of Performing Arts (now called LaGuardia High School). There she studied modern dance and graduated in 1977.

Career

While majoring in English literature at Barnard College, she performed in small venues in Greenwich Village, where she was a regular contributor to Jack Hardy's Monday night songwriters' group at the Cornelia Street Cafe and had some of her first songs published on ''Fast Folk'' anthology albums. In 1984, she received a major label recording contract, making her one of the first ''Fast Folk'' artists to break out on a major label.

Vega's self-titled debut album was released in 1985 and was well-received by critics in the U.S.; it reached platinum status in the United Kingdom. Produced by Lenny Kaye and Steve Addabbo, the songs feature Vega's acoustic guitar in straightforward arrangements. A video was released for the album's song "Marlene on the Wall", which went into MTV and VH1's rotations. During this period Vega also wrote lyrics for two songs on ''Songs from Liquid Days'' by composer Philip Glass.

Her next effort, ''Solitude Standing'' (1987), garnered critical and commercial success including the hit single "Luka", an international success. "Luka" is written about, and from the point of view of, an abused child—at the time an uncommon subject for a pop hit. While continuing a focus on Vega's acoustic guitar, the music is more strongly pop-oriented and features fuller arrangements. The a cappella "Tom's Diner" from this album was later a hit, remixed by two British dance producers under the name DNA, in 1990. The track was originally a bootleg, until Vega allowed DNA to release through her record company, and it became her all-time biggest hit.

Tom's Diner

Suzanne Vega's song "Tom's Diner" was used as the reference track in an early trial of the MP3 compression system, thus earning her the distinction of being named "The Mother of the MP3". Because it is an ''a cappella'' vocal with relatively little reverberation, it was used as the model for Karlheinz Brandenburg's sound compression algorithm. Brandenburg heard “Tom's Diner” on a radio playing the song and was excited and at first convinced it would be “nearly impossible to compress this warm ''a cappella'' voice.”

"Tom's Diner" takes place in Tom's Restaurant at 112th Street and Broadway in New York City. Exterior shots of the same restaurant appear in the television sitcom ''Seinfeld'' as Monk's, which is the eatery where Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer hang out. The DNA remix of the track was so popular that it inspired many cover versions—the best of which were eventually collected by Vega on an album titled ''Tom's Album''. A variant of this version was the inspiration of a remixed version of Julee Cruise's "Rocking back inside My Heart". Nick at Nite did a remake of the song in the mid-1990s for a commercial advertising ''I Dream of Jeannie'', in which the chorus is set to the theme from the show. The remixed version of "Tom's Diner" was later sampled by hip hop artist Nikki D in her hit single titled "Daddy's Little Girl", the title track of her debut album. Rapper Tupac Shakur sampled the track in "Dopefiend's Diner".

Luka

On a 1987 Swedish television special, Vega said this about her song "Luka": in real life I don't think he was. I think he was just different.}}

Also, in an ASCAP interview, she responded to a question about "Luka":

"Luka" was covered by The Lemonheads on the 1989 album ''Lick'', shortly before the band was signed by Atlantic Records, and was a minor college-airplay hit.

1990s

Vega's third album, ''Days of Open Hand'' (1990) continued in the style of her first two albums.

In 1992 she released the album ''99.9F°''. It consists of a mixture of folk music, dance beats and industrial music.

Her fifth album, ''Nine Objects of Desire'', was released in 1996. The music varies between a frugal, simple style and the industrial production of ''99.9F°''. This album contains "Caramel", featured in the movie ''The Truth About Cats & Dogs'' and, later, the trailer for the movie ''Closer''. A song not included on that album, "Woman on the Tier", was featured on the soundtrack of the movie ''Dead Man Walking''.

In 1997 she took a singing part on the concept album ''Heaven and Hell'', a musical interpretation of the Seven deadly sins by her colleague Joe Jackson, with whom she had already collaborated in 1986 on "Left of Center" from the ''Pretty in Pink'' soundtrack (with Vega singing and Jackson playing piano).

In 1999, Avon Books published Vega's book "The Passionate Eye: The Collected Writings Of Suzanne Vega"; a volume of poems, lyrics, essays and journalistic pieces.

2000s

September 2001 saw the release of a new album, ''Songs In Red and Gray''. Three songs deal with Vega's divorce from first husband Mitchell Froom.

At the memorial concert for her brother Tim Vega in December 2002, she began as the long-term subject of a direct cinema documentary, ''Some Journey'', by director Christopher Seufert of Mooncusser Films. This has not been completed.

In 2003, the twenty-one-song greatest hits compilation ''Retrospective: The Best of Suzanne Vega'' was released. (The UK version of ''Retrospective'' included an eight-song bonus CD as well as a DVD containing twelve songs.) In the same year she was invited by Grammy Award-winning jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, to play at the Century of Song concerts at the famed RuhrTriennale in Germany.

In 2003, she hosted the American Public Media radio series ''American Mavericks'', about 20th century American composers, which received the prestigious Peabody Award for Excellence in Broadcasting.

On August 3, 2006, Vega became the first major recording artist to perform live in the Internet-based virtual world, ''Second Life''. The event was hosted by John Hockenberry of public radio's The Infinite Mind.

On September 17, 2006, she performed in Central Park, as part of a benefit concert for The Save Darfur Coalition. During the concert she highlighted her support for Amnesty International, of which she has been a member since 1988.

In early October 2006, Vega took part in the Academia Film Olomouc (AFO) in Olomouc, the Czech Republic, the oldest festival of documentary films in Europe, in which she appeared as a main guest. She was invited there as the subject of the documentary film by director Christopher Seufert, that had a test screening at the festival. At the end of the festival she performed her classical songs, and added one brand new piece called "New York Is a Woman".

Vega is also interviewed in the book ''Everything Is Just a Bet'' which was published in Czech in October 2006. The book contains twelve interview transcriptions from the talk show called ''Stage Talks'' that regularly runs in the Švandovo divadlo (Švandovo Theatre) in Prague. Vega introduced the book to the audience of the Švandovo divadlo (Švandovo Theatre), and together with some other Czech celebrities gave a signing session.

She signed a new recording contract with Blue Note Records in the spring of 2006, and released ''Beauty & Crime'' on July 17, 2007. The album was produced by Jimmy Hogarth, which won a Grammy for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. Her contract was not renewed and she was dropped in June 2008.

In 2007, Vega followed the lead of numerous other mainstream artists and released her track "Pornographer's Dream" as podsafe. The song spent two weeks at #1 during 2007 and finished as the #11 hit of the year on the PMC Top10's annual countdown. Vega joined the 10th annual Independent Music Awards judging panel to assist independent musicians' careers. She was also a judge for the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th Independent Music Awards.

A partial cover version of her song "Tom's Diner" is used to introduce the 2010 British movie ''4.3.2.1'', with its lyrics largely rewritten to echo the plot. This musical hybrid was released as "Keep Moving".

Vega is currently included in the Danger Mouse/Sparklehorse/David Lynch collaboration "Dark Night of the Soul". She wrote both melody and lyrics for her song, which is titled "The Man Who Played God", inspired by a biography of Pablo Picasso.

Suzanne is rerecording her back-catalogue, both for artistic and commercial (and control) reasons , in the Close-up series. Vol.1 (Love Songs) and Vol. 2 (People & Places) appeared in 2010 while Vol. 3 (States of Being) was released in July 2011 and 4 (Songs of Family) is planned for the near future.

Theater

Vega co-wrote (with Duncan Sheik) a play “Carson McCullers Talks About Love”, about the life of the writer Carson McCullers. In the play, which premiered in 2011, Vega alternates between monologue and songs.

Personal life

On March 17, 1995, Vega married Mitchell Froom, a musician and a record producer (who played in and produced 99.9F° and Nine Objects of Desire). They have a daughter, Ruby Froom (born July 8, 1994). The band Soul Coughing's ''Ruby Vroom'' album was named after her, with Vega's approval, though she requested a slight change. Recently Ruby sang with her mother on a couple of occasions. Vega and Froom separated in 1998.

On February 11, 2006, Vega married Paul Mills, a lawyer and poet. They originally met each other at Folk City on West 4th Street when singer-songwriter Lucy Kaplansky, a friend of both, introduced them. In the words of her website, "The couple met at Folk City on West 4th Street in 1981. Mr. Mills proposed to Miss Vega in May, 1983, and she accepted his proposal on Christmas Day, 2005."

Discography

Studio albums

!Year	!Album	!width="40"	!width="40"	!width="40"	!width="40"	!width="40"	!width="35"	!width="35"
1985	style="text-align:left"	11	91	23	9	54	-	-
1987		2	11	7	1	6	-	8
1990		7	50	74	24	16	-	19
1992		20	86	56	38	27	-	24
1996		43	92	-	-	43	25	23
2001		-	178	-	-	53	36	47
2007		-	129	-	-	81	52	79
2010		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2010		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2011		-	-	-	-	-	-	-

¹ Days of Open Hand made #2 in Norway albums chart

² Nine Objects of Desire made #20 in Finland, #23 in Switzerland, #39 in Sweden

³ Beauty & Crime made #9 in Estonia, #13 in Finland, #37 in Czech Republic, #49 in Poland, #74 in Italy

''Close-Up Vol. 2, People & Places'' Number 2 Top Purchased Album (Amazon.com) 11th October-13th October

Compilation albums

''Tried & True: The Best of Suzanne Vega'', 1998 – UK #46, AUS #96, GER #58

''Retrospective: The Best of Suzanne Vega'', 2003 – UK #27 !width="25"|GER !width="25"|SWI !width="25"|AUT !width="25"|NZ !width="25"|CAN !width="25"|SWE !width="25"|FR !width="25"|NL |- |rowspan="3"| 1985 |"Marlene On The Wall" |85 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |rowspan="4"|''Suzanne Vega'' |- |"Small Blue Thing" |65 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |- |"Knight Moves" |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |- |rowspan="3"| 1986 |"Marlene On The Wall"(re-release) |21 |— |39 |9 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |27 |- |"Left Of Center"Feat.Joe Jackson |32 |— |35 |28 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— ||''Pretty in Pink (soundtrack)'' |- |"Gypsy" |77 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |rowspan="4"|''Solitude Standing'' |- |rowspan="3"| 1987 |"Luka" |23 |3 |21 |11 |— |— |9 |8 |5 |2 |24 |40 |- |"Tom's Diner" |58 |— |— |26 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |- |"Solitude Standing" |79 |94 |91 |— |— |— |— |45 |— |— |— |— |- |rowspan="4"| 1990 |"Book Of Dreams" |66 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |rowspan="3"|''Days of Open Hand'' |- |"Tired of Sleeping" |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |- |"Men in a War" |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |- |"Tom's Diner"(DNA remix) |2 |5 |8 |2 |1 |1 |1 |8 |— |— |16 |4 ||''Taste This'' |- |rowspan="3"| 1992 |"In Liverpool" |52 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |rowspan="4"|''99.9F°'' |- |"99.9F°" |46 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |- |"Blood Makes Noise" |60 |— |61 |— |— |— |— |42 |27 |— |— |— |- || 1993 |"When Heroes Go Down" |58 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |- || 1996 |"No Cheap Thrill" |40 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |24 |20 ||''Nine Objects of Desire'' |}

"Rusted Pipe (DNA remix)", promotional, 1991

"Caramel", 1996

"Birth-day", promotional, 1997

"World before Columbus", 1997

"Headshots", promotional, 1997

"Book & a Cover", 1998

"Rosemary / Remember me", 1999

"Widow's Walk", promotional, 2001

"Last Year's Troubles", promotional, 2001

"Penitent", promotional, 2001

"(I'll Never Be) Your Maggie May", promotional, 2002

"Frank & Ava", promotional, 2007

"Ludlow Street", promotional, 2007

"Unbound", promotional, 2007

"Pornographer's Dream", podsafe, 2007 – PMC #1

Other contributions

''Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films'' (1988) – "Stay Awake"

''One World One Voice'' (1990) – "One World, One Voice"

''Deadicated: A Tribute to the Grateful Dead'' (1991) – "Cassidy" and "China Doll"

''DNA: Taste This (album)'' (1992) – "Tom's Diner (DNA Remix)"and "Salt Water"

''Hector Zazou: Songs From The Cold Sea (album)'' (1994) – "The Long Voyage" (with John Cale)

''Tower Of Song (album)'' (1995) – "Story Of Isaac"

''Dead Man Walking O.M.P.S. (album)'' (1995) – "Woman On The Tier (I'll See You Through)"

''The Smithereens: Blown To Smithereens (album)'' (1995) – "In A Lonely Place"

''Time And Love (album)'' (1997) – "Buy And Sell"

''Perfect Day (single)'' (1997)

Joe Jackson: ''Heaven & Hell'' (1997) – "Angel (Lust)"

''Mitchell Froom: Dopamine (album)'' (1998) – "Dopamine"

''Celebrate The Season (album)'' (1998) – "Coventry Carol"

''Bleecker Street: Greenwich Village in the 60's (album)'' (1999) – "So Long, Marianne" (with John Cale)

''Dan Zanes: Rocket Ship Beach (album)'' (2000) – "Erie Canal"

''Hear Music Volume 7: Waking'' (2002) – "Widow's Walk"

''107.1 KGSR Radio Austin - Broadcasts Vol.10'' (2002) – "Widow's Walk"

''WYEP Live and Direct: Volume 4 - On Air Performances'' (2002) – "(I'll Never Be) Your Maggie May"

''Vigil (album)'' (2004) – "It Hit Home"

''WFUV: City Folk Live VII'' (2004) – "Penitent"

''The Acoustic Album'' (2006, Virgin) – "Marlene On the Wall"

''Dar Williams: Promised Land'' (2008) – "Go To The Woods"

''Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse Present: Dark Night of the Soul (2009) – "The Man Who Played God"

''Pioneers For A Cure: Songs To Fight Cancer]] (2011) – "Streets of Laredo (song)"

References

External links

Suzanne Vega on A&M; Records

Suzanne Vega documentary clips

Love Songs Review – Love Songs Review by SLUG Magazine

Category:Fast Folk artists Category:American female singers Category:American folk singers Category:Songwriters from California Category:American female guitarists Category:Barnard College alumni Category:Musicians from New York Category:Female rock singers Category:Feminist musicians Category:People from Santa Monica, California Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:A&M; Records artists Category:Blue Note Records artists

ca:Suzanne Vega cs:Suzanne Vega cy:Suzanne Vega da:Suzanne Vega de:Suzanne Vega es:Suzanne Vega fa:س�?زان �?گا fr:Suzanne Vega gl:Suzanne Vega ko:�??잔 베가 hr:Suzanne Vega io:Suzanne Vega id:Suzanne Vega it:Suzanne Vega he:סוזן וגה csb:Suzanne Vega hu:Suzanne Vega nl:Suzanne Vega ja:スザ�?��?��?��?�ェガ no:Suzanne Vega pl:Suzanne Vega pt:Suzanne Vega ru:Вега, Сюзанна szl:Suzanne Vega fi:Suzanne Vega sv:Suzanne Vega zh:苏珊娜·薇佳

Coordinates	57°11′″N39°25′″N
background	solo_singer
birth name	Serj Tankian
born	August 21, 1967 Beirut, Lebanon
genre	Heavy metal, experimental, alternative metal, progressive rock, alternative rock, art rock, classical
occupation	Musician, singer–songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, poet, political activist
years active	1992–present
instrument	Piano, keyboards, guitar, bass, synthesizer, violin, harmonica, melodica, bouzouki, dulcimer, theremin, sampler, drum machine
label	Serjical Strike, Reprise, American, Columbia, Axis of Justice
associated acts	System of a Down, Axis of Justice, The F.C.C.
website	www.serjtankian.com
notable instruments	}}

Serj Tankian (Armenian: Սերժ Թանգեան ; born August 21, 1967) is an Armenian-American singer–songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, playwright, record producer, poet, and political activist. He is best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, keyboardist, and occasional live rhythm guitarist of the rock band System of a Down.

During his musical career, Tankian has released five albums with System of a Down, one with Arto Tunçboyacıyan (''Serart''), as well as two solo albums ''Elect the Dead'' and ''Imperfect Harmonies'' and a live orchestral version of the former incorporating the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra named ''Elect the Dead Symphony''. In 2002, Tankian and Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello co-founded a non-profit political activist organization, Axis of Justice. Tankian also founded the music label Serjical Strike Records.

Tankian is ranked 26th in the Hit Parader's Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time.

On August 12th, 2011, Tankian was awarded the Armenian Prime Minister's Medal for his contributions to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the advancement of music.

Biography

Early life

Tankian was born in Beirut, Lebanon on August 21, 1967. At age seven, Serj Tankian moved with his parents to Los Angeles, California. In his youth, he attended a school for Armenian-Americans, The Rose & Alex Pilibos School, which was also attended by Tankian's future System of a Down bandmates Daron Malakian and Shavo Odadjian. Having achieved academic success in high school, and UK MTV. Tankian appeared on MTV's You Rock The Deuce to promote ''Elect the Dead''. A music video was directed and filmed for every song on the record, each by unique directors. Tankian explained, "I asked each of the directors for their visual interpretation of my work. They were asked not to write treatments and that they could make whatever they liked. The results have been overwhelmingly amazing!". Some music videos were initially released exclusively to those who purchased the limited edition of ''Elect the Dead'', while all of the music videos, except "Money", have since been publicly released on Tankian's website and YouTube channel. Some videos have alternative versions which were originally released as well, but later altered.

Three different promo versions of the album have surfaced to the public. The instrumental promotional version, issued by Serjical Strike/Reprise Records and intended for the music and movie industry, contains instrumental versions of the twelve album tracks. Another promotional version, issued by Reprise Records and made only for individual reviewers, features the album in final master form. This promotional CD-R, which was labeled "Smart Talk" as a codename for "Serj Tankian" to prevent leaking by unauthorized persons, also indicates that the album was finalized prior to . Before this a similar but undated promo, also under the name 'Smart Talk', was issued featuring the final versions of the songs, albeit not yet mastered. Whilst the printed track list on this version is identical the released album, tracks ten and eleven are in fact juxtaposed on the promo itself.

The official tour for ''Elect the Dead'' commenced on October 12, 2007 with a show at Chicago's Vic theater. Roughly one thousand people attended the first concert. Although Tankian had stated he would not be performing any material by his former band, System of a Down, he performed "Charades", a song co-written by Daron Malakian, the guitarist of System of a Down. Although it is originally a song restricted to piano and vocals, Tankian used his backing band, the Flying Cunts of Chaos (F.C.C.), to provide guitars, drums, and bass. The songs "Beethoven's Cunt", Empty Walls, and Sky Is Over are available as downloadable content for ''Rock Band'' . A portion of the song "Lie Lie Lie" is currently featured in the opening title sequence of NBC's ''Fear Itself'', a horror anthology show from the creators of ''Masters of Horror'', and can be viewed on the show's main website..

More recently, he sang with Les Rita Mitsouko on the song "Terminal Beauty". Also, he sang with the band Fair to Midland during a live improvisational version of their song "Walls of Jericho", from the album ''Fables from a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True'', which was a massive hit with fans. He often collaborates with his close friend, director Diran Noubar on various projects, including the voice-over of Noubar's ''Armenia, a Country Under Blockade''. Noubar played some guitar on Tankian's ''Elect the Dead'' album on the track "Saving Us" and directed the music video for "Baby". Tankian is also politically involved. Together with Tom Morello, he founded the organization Axis of Justice. Tankian is a New Zealand resident and has a secondary vacation dwelling there. There has been a misconception that he intends to stay in New Zealand until the Iraq War is over, but as stated in an interview, Tankian has no intention of doing so. He often speaks publicly against violence and injustice in the world. Tankian released a new song "Fears" in November 2008 exclusively in support of Amnesty International's Global Write-A-Thon.

On March 16, 2009, Serj performed with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in New Zealand, an orchestral version of the album ''Elect the Dead''. The live performance was captured in a CD/DVD titled Elect the Dead Symphony which was released on March 9, 2010.

Tankian co-wrote a musical with the American playwright Steven Sater. It is based on the Ancient Greek tragedy Prometheus Bound. It will open at the American Repertory Theater on March 14, 2011.

In 2009, Tankian collaborated with the band Viza (previously known as Visa) for their track "Viktor". Viza is signed to Tankian's Serjical Strike label.

On February 15, 2010, Serj Tankian released a new single, "The Charade." The song is available as a digital download on iTunes.

''Imperfect Harmonies'' (2010–present)

Tankian's third solo album was originally due in 2009. It is said to be more of a jazz and orchestral based sound. Said Tankian of the second album, "I'm structuring the next record kind of like a jazz orchestral. I've got a full orchestra interested, so I want this giant electric guitar in the air to be played by a full orchestra. I want the orchestra to be the electric guitar. I want to make an orchestra do what it's never done before, like a GG Allin type orchestra. Think of that." The album had the working title ''Music Without Borders'', however, the final album title is ''Imperfect Harmonies''. On June 23, 2010, a promo single from his upcoming album ''Imperfect Harmonies'' was released called "Borders Are." The first radio single from'' Imperfect Harmonies'', "Left Of Center", was released on July 13, 2010. A third single, "Disowned Inc." was released on August 9, 2010. ''Imperfect Harmonies'' was released on September 21, 2010. Preceding the album's release, two contests were announced (one consisting of brainteasers related to the album/song titles, the other an art contest) in which fans could win prizes such as Tankian's autograph and merchandise. On August 22, 2010, a music video for ''Left Of Center'' was released on Tankian's MySpace account.

The premiere date for Tankian and Sater's ''Prometheus Bound'' at the American Repertory Theater is February 25, 2011. The singer has said that collaborating on the show has been a great learning experience for him. “I’ve been using a lot of my archives, a lot of different types of music that I had already put together for underscoring and what not,” he said. “It’s quite diverse, from noise to jazz to electronic stuff to hip-hop songs to rock songs to cool, piano dark underscores, and that’s a whole different bag of tricks there because it’s always evolving. Unlike a film score that’s very linear and you get a scene to score for, this is something where you do another workshop and one song is gone, that underscore changes to 20 seconds and they need something else on the spot. Everything’s always changing until the show comes, so it’s quite interesting.”

In January 2011 Tankian released a music video for his song ''Reconstructive Demonstrations'' from his album ''Imperfect Harmonies''. Tankian also announced on his Facebook page, during the video's release, that a new EP entitled ''Imperfect Remixes'' will be released sometime within 2011. On February 3, Serj uploaded a photo of him singing into a microphone onto his Facebook fan page, accompanied with the description "New music video coming soon..." On March 1 Serj released ''Imperfect Remixes'' and the music video for ''Goodbye'', a remix of ''Gate 21'' from ''Imperfect Harmonies''.

System of a Down Reunion (2011)

On November 29, 2010, following several weeks of internet rumors, System of a Down officially announced that they will play shows In Europe during Festivals and in North America, mostly in US. Dates are between May and July 2011. Among the announced tour dates included UK's Download Festival, Switzerland's Greenfield Festival, Germany's Rock am Ring/Rock im Park, Sweden's Metaltown, Austria's Nova Rock Festival and Finland's Provinssirock. In their reunion statement posted on their website, the band was unclear as to the extent of their reformation. It read, "We have no master plan of sorts -- we are playing these shows simply because we want to play together again as a band and for you, our amazing fans." Dates have been announced in the official System of a Down website.

Animal rights

In recent years Tankian has taken a stance supporting animal rights. He also has become a vegetarian who has strong feelings against the establishment of industrial slaughterhouses. In an interview with PETA, he also claimed his change due to "touring and its variety of edible crap," and also he felt it was "instinctive somewhat." Furthermore, he also feels the need for respect towards 'mother earth'.

In July 2009, Serj signed a PETA petition against the slaughtering methods of chickens in KFC slaughterhouses.

The F.C.C.

The F.C.C. (Flying Cunts of Chaos) was Serj's backing band when he played live up until 2009.

;Final line-up

Mario Pagliarulo  — bass, vocals

Erwin Khachikian  — keyboards, piano, synthesizers, vocals

Troy Zeigler  — drums, vocals

Dan Monti  — guitar, vocals

Jeff Mallow  — guitar, vocals (2008–present)

;Past members

Larry "Ler" LaLonde  — guitar, vocals (2007–2008)

Discography

;Solo

''Elect the Dead'' (2007)

''Imperfect Harmonies'' (2010)

''Imperfect Remixes'' (2011)

;With System of a Down

''System of a Down'' (1998)

''Toxicity'' (2001)

''Steal This Album!'' (2002)

''Mezmerize'' (2005)

''Hypnotize'' (2005)

;With Serart

''Serart'' (2003)

;With Buckethead and various artists

''Enter The Chicken'' (2005)

;With Tony Iommi

''Iommi'' (2000)

;With Wyclef Jean

''Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant'' (2007)

Bibliography

''Cool Gardens'' (2001)

''Glaring Through Oblivion'' (2011)

Awards and nominations

System of a Down has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, of which has won one in 2006 for Best Hard Rock Performance for the song ''B.Y.O.B.''. The band has also been nominated for several Kerrang! and MTV awards.

;Grammy Awards |- | || "Chop Suey!" || Best Metal Performance || |- | || "Aerials" || Best Hard Rock Performance || |- | || "B.Y.O.B." || Best Hard Rock Performance || |- | || "Lonely Day" || Best Hard Rock Performance ||

General

In 2005, System of a Down won for Best Alternative Act in the Europe Music Awards

In 2006, System of a Down won the "MTV Good Woodie Award" for their song "Question!"

In 2006, System of a Down's song "Toxicity" was #14 on the VH1 Top 40 Metal Songs list

References

External links

Serj Tankian's official Flash-based website

Serjical Strike official website

System of a Down's official website

Category:1967 births Category:People from Beirut Category:Lebanese Armenians Category:American activists Category:American anti–Iraq War activists Category:American heavy metal singers Category:American essayists Category:American experimental musicians Category:American male singers Category:American multi-instrumentalists Category:American poets Category:American rock pianists Category:American songwriters Category:American vegetarians Category:American musicians of Armenian descent Category:American people of Armenian descent Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Armenian rock musicians Category:Living people Category:Melodica players Category:System of a Down members

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Coordinates	57°11′″N39°25′″N
name	Alastair Sim
birth date	October 09, 1900
birth place	Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
death date	August 19, 1976
death place	London, England, UK
occupation	Actor
years active	1930–1976
spouse	Naomi Plaskitt (1932-1976; his death) }}

Alastair Sim, CBE (9 October 1900 – 19 August 1976) was a Scottish character actor who appeared in a string of classic British films. He is best remembered in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in the 1951 film ''Scrooge'', and for his portrayal of Miss Fritton, the headmistress in two St. Trinian's films. He was memorably described by comedian Ronnie Corbett as a "sad-faced actor, with the voice of a fastidious ghoul", in Corbett's autobiography ''High Hopes''.

Early life

Alastair Sim was born in Edinburgh in 1900. His mother had been born on the island of Eigg, and when she came to the mainland in her teens she could speak only Gaelic. His father, Alexander Sim, was a prosperous businessman with property in Braemar and Edinburgh. He designed and paid for the construction of the Earl Haig Gardens in Edinburgh for the use of returning servicemen to sit in during the day.

Alastair Sim was educated at the independent George Heriot's School in Edinburgh. He became an elocution and drama lecturer at the University of Edinburgh from 1925 until 1930, where he was later rector from 1948 until 1951. He once remarked to an interviewer, "As I passed imperceptibly from a beautiful child to a strong and handsome lad, I wanted more than anything else in the world to be, of all things, a hypnotist. I practised on gentle dogs."

Acting career

Preferring the stage, Sim made his London debut in ''Othello'' in 1930. He also appeared for a season at the Old Vic. He notably portrayed Captain Hook in six different stage productions of ''Peter Pan'' between 1941 and 1968.

He made his film debut in 1935 in ''The Case of Gabriel Perry'', and spent the remainder of the decade playing supporting roles in films, often being credited with "stealing the scene" from the star. As a supporting actor, his most notable success was as Detective Sergeant Bingham, a light comedy role played opposite Gordon Harker, in the popular Inspector Hornleigh film series: ''Inspector Hornleigh'' (1939), ''Inspector Hornleigh on Holiday'' (1939), and ''Inspector Hornleigh Goes to It'' (1941). He outshone Harker to the extent that it was frequently unclear who was actually the star.

As a result, by the 1940s he had progressed to leading roles; and in 1950 he was voted the most popular film actor in Britain in a national cinema poll. His earliest successes as a leading man included the police detective in the thriller ''Green for Danger'' (1946); as the headmaster of Nutbourne College, co-starring with Margaret Rutherford, in the comedy ''The Happiest Days of Your Life'' (1950); and as a writer of lurid crime fiction in the comedy ''Laughter in Paradise'' (1951).

Also in 1951, he gave his most celebrated performance: playing the title role of ''Scrooge'' in a film adaptation of Charles Dickens's ''A Christmas Carol''.

In 1971, he revisited the character, voicing an Academy Award-winning animated film version of Dickens's story.

He is perhaps best remembered for portraying the headmistress, Miss Fritton, in two of the ''St Trinian's'' film comedies, principally the first, ''The Belles of St Trinian's'' (1954), in which he also played her shady brother, Clarence Fritton. He later reprised the role (albeit in a cameo part) of Miss Fritton in ''Blue Murder at St Trinian's'' (1957). Though Scottish, he turned down the lead role in ''Whisky Galore!'' saying "I can't bear professional Scotsmen".

Other notable film roles included ''Waterloo Road'' (1944), Alfred Hitchcock's ''Stage Fright'' (1950), ''Folly to be Wise'' (1953), and ''An Inspector Calls'' (1954). His performance as Mr Squales in ''London Belongs to Me'' (1948) impressed Alec Guinness so much that he based his own performance in ''The Ladykillers'' (1955) on it, and is often mistaken for Sim as a consequence.

Later film roles included ''The Ruling Class'' (1972) with Peter O'Toole, and a cameo in Richard Lester's ''Royal Flash'' (1975) with Malcolm McDowell.

On stage, he had particular success in the last decade of his life in two plays by Arthur Wing Pinero, playing Mr Posket in ''The Magistrate'' and Augustin Jedd in ''Dandy Dick'' both at the Chichester Festival Theatre and in the West End of London. In both productions Sim co-starred with Patricia Routledge.

On television, his best remembered performance was playing a Mr. Justice Swallow, in the 1967-1971 comedy series ''Misleading Cases'', written by A. P. Herbert. It co-starred Roy Dotrice as the mischievous, bumbling Mr Albert Haddock, who always ended up in court over some comedic, petty misdemeanour.

Private life

He was married to Naomi Plaskitt (1913–1999) from 1932 until his death in 1976. They had one child, a daughter named Merlith.

Sim was keen to promote and encourage young acting talent, and, having seen a young talent in the making, the Sims invited George Cole to live with them in 1940, when he was 15 years old. Cole lived with the couple for 14 years. They are credited with mentoring the young actor. Sim appeared with Cole in the films ''Cottage to Let'' (1941), ''The Happiest Days of Your Life'' (1950), ''Scrooge'' (1951), ''Laughter in Paradise'' (1951), ''The Belles of St. Trinian's'' (1954), ''An Inspector Calls'' (1954), ''The Green Man'' (1956) and ''Blue Murder at St. Trinian's'' (1957).

He always remained ambivalent about fame, and never signed autographs. In a rare interview to the magazine ''Focus on Film'' he said, "I stand or fall in my profession by the public's judgment of my performances. No amount of publicity can dampen a good one or gloss over a bad one." He was made a Commander of the British Empire in 1953, but (emulating his father) he later refused a knighthood.

In 1959, he successfully sued the makers of a televised baked beans commercial (which had a voiceover sounding uncannily like him), claiming he would not "prostitute his art" by advertising anything.

He died in 1976, aged 75, in London, England, from lung cancer. An English Heritage blue plaque was unveiled at his former home at 8 Frognal Gardens, Hampstead, London on 23 July 2008.

Filmography

''The Riverside Murder'' (1935)

''The Private Secretary'' (1935)

''Late Extra'' (1935)

''A Fire Has Been Arranged'' (1935)

''The Case of Gabriel Perry'' (1935)

''Wedding Group'' (1936)

''Troubled Waters'' (1936)

''Man in the Mirror'' (1936)

''Keep Your Seats, Please'' (1936)

''The Big Noise'' (1936)

''Strange Experiment'' (1937)

''A Romance in Flanders'' (1937)

''Melody and Romance'' (1937)

''Clothes and the Woman'' (1937)

''Gangway'' (1937)

''The Squeaker'' (1937)

''This Man Is News'' (1938)

''The Terror'' (1938)

''Sailing Along'' (1938)

''Alf's Button Afloat'' (1938)

''Climbing High'' (1938)

''This Man in Paris'' (1939)

''The Mysterious Mr. Davis'' (1939)

''Inspector Hornleigh'' (1939)

''Inspector Hornleigh on Holiday'' (1939)

''Law and Disorder'' (1940)

''Inspector Hornleigh Goes to It'' (1941)

''Cottage to Let'' (1941)

''Let the People Sing'' (1942)

''Waterloo Road'' (1945)

''Green for Danger'' (1946)

''Captain Boycott'' (1947)

''Hue and Cry'' (1947)

''London Belongs to Me'' (1948)

''Stage Fright'' (1950)

''The Happiest Days of Your Life'' (1950)

''Laughter in Paradise'' (1951)

''Lady Godiva Rides Again'' (1951)

''Scrooge'' (1951)

''Innocents in Paris'' (1952)

''Folly to Be Wise'' (1953)

''The Belles of St Trinian's'' (1954)

''An Inspector Calls'' (1954)

''Geordie'' (1955)

''Escapade'' (1955)

''The Green Man'' (1956)

''Blue Murder at St Trinian's'' (1957)

''The Doctor's Dilemma'' 1958)

''Left Right and Centre'' (1959)

''The Millionairess'' (1960)

''School for Scoundrels'' (1960)

''The Anatomist'' (1961)

''Misleading Cases'' (1967)

''Cold Comfort Farm'' (1968)

''A Christmas Carol'' (1971)

''The Ruling Class'' (1972)

''The General's Day'' (1972)

''Royal Flash'' (1975)

''Rogue Male'' (1976)

''Escape from the Dark'' (1976)

References

Notes

Bibliography

Naomi Sim, ''Dance and Skylark: Fifty years with Alastair Sim'', London: Bloomsbury, 1987.

David Quinlan, ''Quinlan's Film Comedy Stars'', 1992, ISBN 0-7134-6149-7

Mark Simpson, ''Alastair Sim: The Star of Scrooge and The Real Belle of St Trinian's''. Stroud, Glos: The History Press Ltd, 2008. ISBN 0-7509-4966-X

External links

http://www.alastairsim.net

Funny Peculiar - Sight & Sound profile of Alastair Sim by Michael Brooke

Category:Scottish film actors Category:Scottish stage actors Category:British television actors Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:People from Edinburgh Category:Rectors of the University of Edinburgh Category:1900 births Category:1976 deaths Category:People educated at George Heriot's School Category:Cancer deaths in England Category:Deaths from lung cancer

de:Alastair Sim es:Alastair Sim fr:Alastair Sim it:Alastair Sim ro:Alastair Sim sv:Alastair Sim

Coordinates	57°11′″N39°25′″N
name	Ian Carmichael, OBE
birth name	Ian Gillett Carmichael
birth date	June 18, 1920
birth place	Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England
death date	February 05, 2010
death place	Esk Valley, North Yorkshire, England
spouse	Jean Pyman (Pym) Maclean (1943–1983) (widower)Kate Fenton (1992–2010)
years active	1948–2009
occupation	Actor }}

Ian Gillett Carmichael, OBE (18 June 1920 – 5 February 2010) was an English film, stage, television and radio actor.

Early life

Carmichael was born in Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The son of an optician, he was educated at Scarborough College and Bromsgrove School, before training as an actor at RADA. He made his stage debut as a robot at the People's Palace in Mile End, East London in 1939. With the outbreak of World War II his acting career was interrupted by service with the Royal Armoured Corps as a commissioned officer in the 22nd Dragoons. He served in the Normandy campaign, losing the tip of one finger to an accident with the turret hatch of a Valentine tank, and reached the rank of major before leaving the Army in 1947.

Career

The young actor had turned his back on his family's shopkeeping business in Hull to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, and to sing in talent contests at the Hammersmith Palais de Danse.

He portrayed serious characters in ''Betrayed'' (1954), starring Clark Gable and Lana Turner, and in ''The Colditz Story'' (1955), but he made his name playing in a series of films for the Boulting Brothers, including ''Private's Progress'' (1956), ''Brothers in Law'' (1957) and ''I'm All Right Jack'' (1959), as well as similar films for other producers, for example ''School for Scoundrels'' (1960). He also appeared in the "Pride" segment of ''The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins'' (1971).

During the 1960s and 1970s, he was successful on television, including the sitcom, ''Bachelor Father'', based on the story of a real-life bachelor who took on several foster children. On television he was Bertie Wooster, opposite Dennis Price as Jeeves, in several series of ''The World of Wooster'', based on the works of P. G. Wodehouse. In later years, he was heard on BBC radio as Galahad Threepwood, another Wodehouse creation. In the 1970s, he played Lord Peter Wimsey in several drama series based on the mystery novels by Dorothy L. Sayers.

Carmichael continued to act until shortly before his death. In 1999, he appeared in the BBC serial ''Wives and Daughters''. In the ITV series ''Heartbeat'', and its spin-off ''The Royal'', he played the Hospital Secretary T.J. Middleditch (2003–2006, 2007, 2009, 2011).

He was appointed an OBE in the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours List.

Personal life

Ian Carmichael was married twice: firstly to Jean Pyman (Pym) McLean, from 1943 until her death in 1983 (they had two daughters, Lee and Sally) and then to the novelist Kate Fenton, from 1992 until his death in 2010.

He had five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

His autobiography, ''Will the Real Ian Carmichael...'' was published in 1979.

Death

Ian Carmichael died, at the age of 89, at his home in the Esk Valley on the North York Moors on 5 February 2010.

Partial filmography

See also

The Lord's Taverners

References

Bibliography

''Will the real Ian Carmichael– : an autobiography'', London: Macmillan, 1979, (400 pp.), ISBN 0-333-25476-7

External links

Jeeves and Wooster on Television

BBC Humber feature on Ian Carmichael

''The Guardian'' obituary

''Daily Telegraph'' obituary

''New York Times'' obituary

''Times'' obituary

''The Independent'' obituary

Category:1920 births Category:2010 deaths Category:British Army personnel of World War II Category:English film actors Category:English radio actors Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:Old Bromsgrovians Category:Actors from Kingston upon Hull Category:Royal Armoured Corps officers Category:Sandhurst graduates Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Category:People educated at Scarborough College

cy:Ian Carmichael da:Ian Carmichael de:Ian Carmichael et:Ian Carmichael nl:Ian Carmichael fi:Ian Carmichael sv:Ian Carmichael