Genre ( or ; from French, genre , "kind" or "sort", from Latin: genus (stem gener-), Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or entertainment, e.g. music, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time as new genres are invented and the use of old ones are discontinued. Often, works fit into multiple genres by way of borrowing and recombining these conventions.

History

The concept of genre originated from the classification systems created by Aristotle and Plato. Plato divided literature into the three classic genres accepted in Ancient Greece: poetry, drama, and prose. Poetry is further subdivided into epic, lyric, and drama. The divisions are recognized as being set by Aristotle and Plato; however, they were not alone. Many genre theorists contributed to these universally accepted forms of poetry. Similarly many theorists continued to philosophize about genre and its uses, which caused genre as Plato and Aristotle knew it to evolve and further expand.

Classical and Romance genre theory

The earliest recorded systems of genre in Western history can be traced back to Plato and Aristotle. Gérard Genette explains his interpretation of the history of genre in "The Architext". He described Plato as the creator of three imitational, mimetic genres distinguished by mode of imitation rather than content. These three imitational genres include dramatic dialogue, the drama; pure narrative, the dithyramb; and a mixture of the two, the epic. Plato excluded lyric poetry as a non-mimetic, imitational mode. Genette further discussed how Aristotle revised Plato's system by first eliminating the pure narrative as a viable mode. He then uses two additional criteria to distinguish the system. The first of the criteria is the object to be imitated, whether superior or inferior. The second criterion is the medium of presentation: words, gestures, or verse. Essentially, the three categories of mode, object, and medium can be visualized along an XYZ axis. Excluding the criteria of medium, Aristotle's system distinguished four types of classical genres: tragedy, epic, comedy, and parody. Genette explained the integration of lyric poetry into the classical system by replacing the removed pure narrative mode. Lyric poetry, once considered non-mimetic, was deemed to imitate feelings, becoming the third "Architext," a term coined by Gennette, of a new long-enduring tripartite system: lyrical; epical, the mixed narrative; and dramatic, the dialogue. This new system that came to "dominate all the literary theory of German romanticism" (Genette 38) has seen numerous attempts at expansion and revision. Such attempts include Friedrich Schlegel's triad of subjective form, the lyric; objective form, the dramatic; and subjective-objective form, the epic. However, more ambitious efforts to expand the tripartite system resulted in new taxonomic systems of increasing complexity. Gennette reflected upon these various systems, comparing them to the original tripartite arrangement: "its structure is somewhat superior to most of those that have come after, fundamentally flawed as they are by their inclusive and hierarchical taxonomy, which each time immediately brings the whole game to a standstill and produces an impasse"

Contemporary genre theories

Rhetorical situation

In 1968, Lloyd Bitzer claimed that discourse is determined by rhetorical situations in his article titled, "The Rhetorical Situation". A rhetorical situation refers to the fact that every situation has the potential for a rhetorical response. He looks to understand the nature behind the context that determines discourse. Bitzer states, "it is the situation which calls discourse into existence" (Bitzer 2). Thus, the situation controls what type of rhetorical response takes place. Each situation has an appropriate response in which the rhetor can either act upon or not act upon (Bitzer). He expresses the imperative nature of the situation in creating discourse, because discourse only comes into being as a response to a particular situation. Discourse varies depending upon the meaning-context that is created due to the situation, and because of this, it is "embedded in the situation" (Bitzer 4).

According to Bitzer, rhetorical situations come into existence, at which point, they can either mature and go away, or mature and continue to exist. Bitzer describes rhetorical situations as containing three components: exigence, audience, and constraints. Bitzer highlights six characteristics needed from a rhetorical situation that are detrimental to creating discourse. A situation calls a rhetor to create discourse, it invites a response to fit the situation, the response meets the necessary requirements of the situation, the exigence which creates the discourse is located in reality, rhetorical situations exhibit simple or complex structures, rhetorical situations after coming into creation either decline or persist. Bitzer's main argument is the concept that rhetoric is used to "effect valuable changes in reality" (Bitzer 14).

In 1984, Carolyn Miller examined genre in terms of rhetorical situations. She claimed that "situations are social constructs that are the result, not of 'perception,' but of 'definition'" (Miller 156). In other words, we essentially define our situations. Miller seems to build from Bitzer's argument regarding what makes something rhetorical, which is the ability of change to occur. Opposite of Bitzer's predestined and limited view of the creation of genres, Miller believes genres are created through social constructs. She agreed with Bitzer that past responses can indicate what is an appropriate response to the current situation, but Miller holds that, rhetorically, genre should be "centered not on the substance or the form of discourse but on the action it is used to accomplish" (Miller 151). Since her view focuses on action, it cannot ignore that humans depend on the "context of the situation" as well as "motives" that drive them to this action (Miller 152). Essentially, "we create recurrence," or similar responses, through our "construal" of types (Miller 157). Miller defines "types" as "recognition of relevant similarities" (Miller 156-7). Types come about only after we have attempted to interpret the situation by way of social context, which causes us to stick to "tradition" (Miller 152). Miller does not want to deem recurrence as a constraint, but rather she views it as insight into the "human condition" (Miller 156). The way to bring about a new "type" (Miller 157), is to allow for past routines to evolve into new routines, thereby maintaining a cycle that is always open for change. Either way, Miller's view is in accordance with the fact that as humans, we are creatures of habit that tightly hold on to a certain "stock of knowledge" (Miller 157). However, change is considered innovation, and by creating new "types" (Miller 157) we can still keep "tradition" (Miller 152) and innovation at the same time.

Ecology of genre

In 2001, Anis Bawarshi's "Ecology of Genre" argues for the teaching of genre as an ecosystem. He compares genre to an ecosystem in order to demonstrate how writing recreates genres as well as genre recreates writing. The genre itself serves as an ecosystem, defining our interpretation and creation of genre. Bawarshi uses the idea of a doctor's office as an ecosystem in order to demonstrate his point more clearly. He does this by defining the Patient Medical History Form as a genre. We recognize this genre; thus, expectations are set. Judging the pre-imposed expectations, we react accordingly within this genre. This genre consists of microenvironments, each consisting of the doctor, patient, and nurse, which form the ecosystem as a whole. As a result, Bawarshi states we are rhetorical beings that act within these ecosystems. We are shaped by the rhetoric surrounding us and we act accordingly. We gather our impressions from rhetoric presented to us, which shapes our actions and perceptions. He also introduces exigence, motive, and intention. Motive operates on the conceptual level and exigence shapes our actions. (Bawarshi)

Reciprocity of genre

People often recognize genre based on the characteristics that the situation offers. Amy Devitt states this when she says, "A genre is named because of its formal markers" (Devitt 10). However she also says, "the formal markers can be defined because a genre has been named" (Devitt 10). When we label something as a certain genre, we also flag these same characteristics as contributing to what we already believe the genre to be. These two quotes show how reciprocity functions within genre. Devitt displays the reciprocal nature of genre and situation according to the individual by using an example of a grocery store list. A question posed by this example is, is something a grocery list because it lists groceries or is it a grocery list because one person says it is a grocery list and we thus recognize all the items on the list as groceries? Though each possible answer to this raised question contradict one another, they are both correct. Similarly, individuals recognize the characteristics of the recurring rhetorical situations in the same way as they see them as affirmation of what they already know about the preexisting genre. The rhetorical attributes of the genre act as both objects which define and are defined by genre. In other words, genre and rhetorical situations are reciprocals of one another. Devitt focused on activity system of genre and that the participants situation, contexts and text are all mutually created "no one aspect fully determines the other." (Devitt)

Antecedent genres

Written in 1975, Kathleen Hall Jamieson's "Antecedent Genre as Rhetorical Constraint" declares that discourse is determined by the Rhetorical Situation, as well as antecedent genres. Antecedent genres are genres of the past that are used as a basis to shape and form current rhetorical responses. When placed in an unprecedented situation, a rhetor can draw on antecedent genres of similar situations in order to guide their response. However, caution should be taken when drawing on antecedent genres because sometimes antecedent genres are capable of imposing powerful constraints (Jamieson 414). The intent of antecedent genres are to guide the rhetor toward a response consistent with situational demands, and if the situational demands are not the same as when the antecedent genre was created, the response to the situation might be inappropriate (Jamieson 414).

Through three examples of discourse, the papal encyclical, the early State of the Union Address, and congressional replies, she demonstrates how traces of antecedent genres can be found within each. These examples clarify how a rhetor will tend to draw from past experiences that are similar to the present situation in order to guide them how to act or respond when they are placed in an unprecedented situation. Jamieson explains, by use of these three examples, that choices of antecedent genre may not always be appropriate to the present situation. She discusses how antecedent genres place powerful constraints on the rhetor and may cause them to become "bound by the manacles of the antecedent genre" (Jamieson 414). These "manacles," she says, may range in level of difficultly to escape. Jamieson urges one to be careful when drawing on the past to respond to the present, because of the consequences that may follow ones choice of antecedent genre. She reiterates the intended outcome through her statement of "choice of an appropriate antecedent genre guides the rhetor toward a response consonant with situational demands" (Jamieson 414).

===Social construct=== Bitzer's definition of exigence as "an imperfection marked by urgency... something waiting to be done" (Bitzer 6) ties in with Miller's idea of social action as the next step after an exigency is realized. Miller also points towards the theory that genres recur, based on Jamieson's observation that antecedent genres finding their way into new genres. More importantly, Miller takes on the bigger picture of a rhetorical situation in which all of these steps happen. "Situations are social constructs that are the result, not of 'perception,' but of definition" (Miller 156). From this, it is understood that social constructs define situations and, therefore, exigence is also socially situated.

Genre, also, understood in terms of social contexts provides greater meaning to each recurring situation; it essentially allows for differentiation, though past genres have a role in present and new genres. Through this differentiation, genre is allowed to continue evolving, just as social contexts continue to change with time. Bawarshi describes the way in which this happens as "communicants and their social environments are constantly in the process of reproducing one another" (Bawarshi 69). Rhetoric essentially works the same way, as seen in the example of writing Bawarshi provides, "writing is not a social act simply because it takes place in some social context; it is social because it is at work in shaping the very context within which it functions" (Bawarshi 70). Therefore, through social constructs, one can shape rhetorical works, and in turn, the works can shape the social context: "we create our contexts as we create our texts" (Bawarshi 70).

Genre as social action

The concept of genre is not limited to classifications and lists. People interact within genres daily. Genre is determined based "on the action it is used to accomplish" by the individuals using that particular genre (Miller 152). The distance between the text or action of genre and its users does not have to be vast. People respond to exigencies provided by genre every day. Exigence is "a set of particular social patterns and expectations that provides a socially objectified motive for addressing" the recurring situation of a particular genre (Miller 158). Seeing genre as a social action provides the "keys to understanding how to participate in the actions of a community" (Miller 165). Carolyn Miller argues that, "a rhetorical sound definition of genre must be centered not on the substance or the form of discourse, but on the action it is used to accomplish" (Miller 151).

The idea that rhetorical situations define genre means that participants in genre make decisions based on commonalities and repeat those instances. Genre is not only about the form of but also the mere repetitiveness of similarities. The classroom setting exemplifies this. When students wish to speak, they raise their hands to signify that desire. Raising a hand is the correct response to speaking in turn in that particular social setting. A person at lunch with a group of friends would not raise their hand to speak because the social situation is different. Miller concludes that social actions are the response to "understanding how to participate in the actions of a community" (Miller 156).

Carolyn Miller builds on arguments made by other scholars while also contradicting Bitzer's argument by giving her readers five features to understand genre (Miller 163). She believes that if something is rhetorical, then there will be action. Not only will there be action, but this action will also be repeated. The repetition of action creates a regularized form of discourse. Miller would add that the result has more to do with the action accomplished by the situation. Miller recognizes that a person chooses to take a certain social action within a defined set of rules - rules set in place by that user. Lastly, a situation cannot dictate a response. Miller ends her article with the thought that genres are partly rhetorical education through her statement, "as a recurrent, significant action, a genre embodies an aspect of cultural rationality" (Miller 165). Here, Miller unknowingly encapsulates a future ideology about genre: that genres are created by culture. According to Mnotho Dlamini genre is basically a deep information in a particular context.

Tyranny of genre

The phrase "tyranny of genre" comes from genre theorist Richard Coe, who wrote that "the 'tyranny of genre' is normally taken to signify how generic structures constrain individual creativity" (Coe 188). If genre functions as a taxonomic classification system, it could constrain individual creativity, since "the presence of many of the conventional features of a genre will allow a strong genre identification; the presence of fewer features, or the presence of features of other genres, will result in a weak or ambiguous genre identification" (Schauber 403). Under the classification-system concept of genre, placing a text into a genre is vital, since "every text is read according to a genre which governs its interpretation" (Schauber 401). The classification-system concept results in a polarization of responses to texts that do not fit neatly into a genre or exhibit features of multiple genres: "The status of genres as discursive institutions does create constraints that may make a text that combines or mixes genres appear to be a cultural monstrosity. Such a text may be attacked or even made a scapegoat by some as well as be defended by others" (LaCapra 220).

Under the more modern understanding of the concept of genre as "social action" à la Miller (Miller 152), a more situational approach to genre is enabled. This situational approach frees genre from the classification system, genre's "tyranny of genre". Relying on the importance of the rhetorical situation in the concept of genre results in an exponential expansion of genre study, which benefits literary analysis. One literature professor writes, "The use of the contemporary, revised genre idea [as social action] is a breath of fresh air, and it has opened important doors in language and literature pedagogy" (Bleich 130). Instead of a codified classification as the pragmatic application of genre, the new genre idea insists that "human agents not only have the creative capacities to reproduce past action, such as action embedded in genres, but also can respond to changes in their environment, and in turn change that environment, to produce under-determined and possibly unprecedented action, such as by modifying genres" (Killoran 72).

Stabilization, homogenization and fixity

Never is there total stabilization in a recognized genre, nor are there instances that indicate a complete lack of homogenization. However, because of the relative similarities between the terms "stabilization" and "homogenization", the amount of stabilization or homogenization a certain genre maintains is based on opinion. Necessary discourse is, obviously, always needed and is thus considered perfectly stabilized. In rhetorical situation or antecedent genres, that which is unprecedented mostly leads to stable and predictable responses. Outside the natural setting of a given form of discourse, one may respond inappropriately due to an unrecognized alternate. The unrecognized alternate is created by the lack of homogenization or differing expectations in the presented rhetorical situation. (Jamieson)

Fixity is uncontrolled by a given situation and is deliberately utilized by the affected before the rhetorical situation occurs. Fixity almost always directly effects stabilization, and has little to no bearing on homogenization. The choice of discourse will provide a certain value of fixity, dependent on the specific choice. If a situation calls for more mediated responses, the fixity of the situation is more prevalent, and therefore is attributed with a stable demand of expectations. Stability nor fixity can be directly affected by the subject at hand. The only option is affecting homogenization which in turn, can positively or negatively affect stability. Directly choosing a fixed arena within genre inversely alters the homogenization of said chooser constituting as a new genre accompanied with modified genre subsets and a newly desired urgency. The same ideological theory can be applied to how one serves different purposes, creating either separate genres or modernized micro-genres. (Fairclough)

Culture

Genre is embedded in culture, but may clash with it at times. There are occasions in which a cultural group may not be inclined to keep within the set structures of a genre. Anthony Pare’s studied Inuit social workers in "Genre and Identity: Individuals, Institutions and Ideology". In this study, Pare described the conflict between the genre of Inuit social workers’ record keeping forms and the cultural values that prohibited them from fully being able to fulfill the expectations of this genre. Amy Devitt further expands on the concept of culture in her 2004 essay, "A Theory of Genre" by adding “culture defines what situations and genres are likely or possible” (Devitt 24).

Genre not only coexists with culture, but also defines its very components. Genres abound in daily life and people often work within them unconsciously; people often take for granted their prominence and ever present residence in society. Devitt touches on Miller’s idea of situation, but expands on it and adds that the relationship with genre and situation is reciprocal. An individual may find him- or herself shaping the rhetorical situations, which in turn affects the rhetorical responses that arise out of the situation. Because the social workers worked closely with different families, they did not want to disclose many of the details that are standard in the genre of record keeping related to this field. Giving out such information would violate close cultural ties with the members of their community.

Popular culture

Outside of the academic field, genre regularly affects societal popular culture. The mass media uses genre to classify forms of art such as music, film, television, books, etc. Favoritism plays an important part of distinguishing one genre from another; fans of Horror look differently upon comedy than fans of romance do. Genre has also been used to shape differences in cultural aspects of these popular subjects. American comedies are distinctly different from French ones, as country music is noticeably unlike Irish folk music. Genres sort media efficiently, especially when following trends set by society. From walking in to the nearest movie rental store to searching for music via iTunes, genres are applicable in everyday life as organized classification systems. Even in places such as grocery stores or clothing stores, genres are utilized to form an ordered flow to determine the differences between smaller classes within one particular subject, pointing out the differences between fruit and dairy, and punk to mod. In modern culture, sub-genres often arise to prevent a feeling of homogenization and loss of identity. As the rate of global communication continues to increase, the creation of new pop-culture sub-genres per year does in near perfect tandem.

Audiences

Although genres are not always precisely definable, genre considerations are one of the most important factors in determining what a person will see or read. The classification properties of genre can attract or repel potential users depending on the individual's understanding of a genre.

Genre creates an expectation in that expectation is met or not. Many genres have built-in audiences and corresponding publications that support them, such as magazines and websites. Inversely, audiences may call out for change in a antecedent genre and create an entirely new genre.

The term may be used in categorizing web pages, like "newspage" and "fanpage", with both very different layout, audience, and intention (Rosso, 2008). Some search engines like Vivísimo try to group found web pages into automated categories in an attempt to show various genres the search hits might fit.

Visual arts

The term "genre" is much used in the history and criticism of visual art, but in art history has meanings that overlap rather confusingly. Genre painting is a term for paintings where the main subject features human figures to whom no specific identity attaches - in other words, figures are not portraits, characters from a story, or allegorical personifications. These are distinguished from staffage: incidental figures in what is primarily a landscape or architectural painting. ''Genre painting'' may also be used as a wider term covering genre painting proper, and other specialized types of paintings such as still-life, landscapes, marine paintings and animal paintings.

The concept of the "hierarchy of genres" was a powerful one in artistic theory, especially between the 17th and 19th centuries. It was strongest in France, where it was associated with the Académie française which held a central role in academic art. The genres in hierarchical order are:

History painting, including narrative religious mythological and allegorical subjects

Portrait painting

Genre painting or scenes of everyday life

Landscape (landscapists were the "common footmen in the Army of Art" according to the Dutch theorist Samuel van Hoogstraten) and cityscape

Animal painting

Still life

Linguistics

In philosophy of language, figuring very prominently in the works of philosopher and literary scholar Mikhail Bakhtin. Bakhtin's basic observations were of "speech genres" (the idea of heteroglossia), modes of speaking or writing that people learn to mimic, weave together, and manipulate (such as "formal letter" and "grocery list", or "university lecture" and "personal anecdote"). In this sense genres are socially specified: recognized and defined (often informally) by a particular culture or community. The work of Georg Lukács also touches on the nature of literary genres, appearing separately but around the same time (1920s–1930s) as Bakhtin. Norman Fairclough has a similar concept of genre that emphasizes the social context of the text: Genres are "different ways of (inter)acting discoursally" (Fairclough, 2003: 26).

However, this is just one way of conceiving genre. Charaudeau & Maingueneau determine four different analytic conceptualizations of genre. A text's genre may be determined by its:

#Linguistic function. #Formal traits. #Textual organization. #Relation of communicative situation to formal and organizational traits of the text (Charaudeau & Maingueneau, 2002:278-280).

Literature

In literature, genre has been known as an intangible taxonomy. This taxonomy implies a concept of containment or that an idea will be stable forever.The earliest recorded systems of genre in Western history can be traced back to Plato and Aristotle. Gérard Genette, a French literary theorist and author of ''The Architext'', describes Plato as creating three imitational genres: dramatic dialogue, pure narrative and epic (a mixture of dialogue and narrative). Lyric poetry, the fourth and final type of Greek literature, was excluded by Plato as a non-mimetic mode. Aristotle later revised Plato's system by eliminating the pure narrative as a viable mode and distinguishing by two additional criteria: the object to be imitated, as objects could be either superior or inferior, and the medium of presentation such as words, gestures or verse. Essentially, the three categories of mode, object, and medium can be visualized along an XYZ axis. Excluding the criteria of medium, Aristotle's system distinguished four types of classical genres: tragedy (superior-dramatic dialogue), epic (superior-mixed narrative), comedy (inferior-dramatic dialogue), and parody (inferior-mixed narrative). Genette continues by explaining the later integration of lyric poetry into the classical system during the romantic period, replacing the now removed pure narrative mode. Lyric poetry, once considered non-mimetic, was deemed to imitate feelings, becoming the third leg of a new tripartite system: lyrical, epical, and dramatic dialogue. This system, which came to "dominate all the literary theory of German romanticism (and therefore well beyond)…" (38), has seen numerous attempts at expansion or revision. However, more ambitious efforts to expand the tripartite system resulted in new taxonomic systems of increasing scope and complexity. Genette reflects upon these various systems, comparing them to the original tripartite arrangement: "its structure is somewhat superior to…those that have come after, fundamentally flawed as they are by their inclusive and hierarchical taxonomy, which each time immediately brings the whole game to a standstill and produces an impasse" (74). Taxonomy allows for a structured classification system of genre, as opposed to a more contemporary rhetorical model of genre.

References

Bawarshi, Anis. "The Ecology of Genre." Ecocomposition: Theoretical and Pedagogical Approaches. Eds. Christian R. Weisser and Sydney I. Dobrin. Albany: SUNY Press, 2001. 69-80.

Bitzer, Lloyd F. "The Rhetorical Situation." Philosophy and Rhetoric 1:1 (1968): 1-14.

Bleich, David. "The of Language and the Pedagogy of Exchange." Pedagogy 1.1 (2001): 117-141.

Charaudeau, P.; Maingueneau, D. & Adam, J. Dictionnaire d'analyse du discours Seuil, 2002.

Coe, Richard. "'An Arousing and Fulfillment of Desires': The Rhetoric of Genre in the Process Era - and Beyond." Genre and the New Rhetoric. Ed. Aviva Freedman and Peter Medway. London: Taylor & Francis, 1994. 181-190.

Devitt, Amy J. "A Theory of Genre." Writing Genres. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2004. 1-32.

Fairclough, Norman. Analysing Discourse: Textual Analysis for Social Research Routledge, 2003.

Genette, Gérard. The Architext: An Introduction. 1979. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992.

Jamieson, Kathleen M. "Antecedent Genre as Rhetorical Constraint." Quarterly Journal of Speech 61 (1975): 406‐415.

Killoran, John B. "The Gnome In The Front Yard and Other Public Figurations: Genres of Self-Presentation on Personal Home Pages." Biography 26.1 (2003): 66-83.

Коробова А.Г. Теория жанров в музыкальной науке: история и современность. Москва: Московская гос. консерватория, 2007

LaCapra, Dominick. "History and Genre: Comment." New Literary History 17.2 (1986): 219-221.

Miller, Carolyn. "Genre as Social Action." Quarterly Journal of Speech. 70 (1984): 151-67.

Rosso, Mark. "User-based Identification of Web Genres." Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 59 (2008): 1053-1072.

Schauber, Ellen, and Ellen Spolsky. "Stalking a Generative Poetics." New Literary History 12.3 (1981): 397-413.

Further reading

Pare, Anthony. "Genre and Identity." The Rhetoric and Ideology of Genre: Strategies for Stability and Change. Eds. Richard M. Coe, Lorelei Lingard, and Tatiana Teslenko. Creskill, N.J. Hampton Press, 2002.

Sullivan, Ceri (2007) 'Disposable elements? Indications of genre in early modern titles', ''Modern Language Review'' 102.3, pp. 641–53

Swirski, Peter (2005). ''From Lowbrow to Nobrow''. Montreal, London: McGill-Queen's University Press.

External links

Development of the Genre Concept

Genres of film at the Internet Movie Database

Helping Children Understand Literary Genres

Rhetorica Genre

Museum of Broadcast Communications

Dictionary.com

Category:Narratology Category:Fiction Category:Theme

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name	Don Hertzfeldt
birth date	August 01, 1976
birth place	Fremont, California
nationality	American
field	Independent film, Animation
training	University of California, Santa Barbara
works	''Billy's Balloon'', ''Rejected'', ''Everything Will Be OK''
influenced by	Stanley Kubrick, Monty Python, David Lynch, Edward Gorey, Buster Keaton
awards	2001 Academy Award nominee 1998 Palme d'Or nominee: Cannes Film Festival 2007 Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking: Sundance Film Festival winner of over 150 other film festival awards }}

Don Hertzfeldt (born August 1, 1976) is the creator of many short animated films, including ''Everything Will Be OK'' and the Academy-Award nominated ''Rejected''. His animated films have received over 150 awards and have been presented around the world. Before the age of thirty, his films were already the subject of several career retrospectives. He was the youngest director named in the "They Shoot Pictures, Don't They" list of "The 100 Important Animation Directors" of all time, and in 2010 he received the San Francisco International Film Festival's "Persistence of Vision" Lifetime Achievement Award at the age of 33.

In 2012, Hertzfeldt was ranked # 16 in an animation industry and historian survey of the "Top 100 Most Influential People in Animation."

The popularity of Hertzfeldt's work is unprecedented in independent animation and his films are frequently quoted and referenced in pop culture. In 2009, the Sundance Film Festival noted, "If cinephiles think shorts don't generate the same sort of hype and fanbase as feature films, they obviously haven't heard of Don Hertzfeldt."

Hertzfeldt has recently begun a 30-city theatrical tour in support of his latest short film, the 23 minute It's Such a Beautiful Day, the third and final chapter to his 2006 film Everything Will Be OK. In 2008 and 2009, Hertzfeldt went on a similar 22-city theatrical tour in support of the second chapter in the series, ''I am so proud of you''. "An Evening with Don Hertzfeldt" presented a retrospective of his animated films followed by the regional premiere(s) of the new film and an onstage interview and audience chat with him.

Hertzfeldt lives in Austin, Texas. He spent many years in Santa Barbara, California after attending college there. He keeps a blog on his website that has been continually updated and archived since 1999.

Early life

Hertzfeldt was born in Fremont, California where he attended local schools and drew homemade comic books. At 15, he began to teach himself animation with a small video camera. Two of Hertzfeldt's teenage VHS cartoons can be seen on the "Bitter Films: Volume 1" DVD collection.

From a 2001 interview, Don says: "I watched films relentlessly growing up, and was fascinated by visual effects. My family used to make outings to animation festivals in San Francisco every year, so credit my parents for that. I ended up seeing all of those classic [independent] cartoons throughout my teenage years. But animation production for me sort of just happened as a by-product. I've been drawing things and writing things all my life, and animating my stories was always cheaper to do and looked more interesting than low budget live action."

Hertzfeldt has never held any job other than creating his animated films, not even in his youth. His earliest video animations found film festival exposure, and in film school at the University of California, Santa Barbara he was able to find international distribution for each of his 16mm student films.

Technique

Hertzfeldt's work commonly features hand-drawn stick figures, in stories of black humor, surrealism, and tragicomedy. Some films contain deeper existential and philosophical themes while others are more straightforwardly slapstick and absurdist. His animation is created traditionally with pen and paper, often with minimal digital aid. Hertzfeldt uses antique 16mm or 35mm film cameras to photograph his drawings and very often employs old-fashioned special effect techniques such as multiple exposures, in-camera mattes, and experimental photography (significantly used in works such as ''Everything Will Be OK'' and ''I am so proud of you''). While some of these techniques are as established as an occasional stop-motion animation sequence (as in ''Intermission in the Third Dimension'') or a universe of moving stars created by back-lit pin holes (''The Meaning of Life''), other effects are new innovations on classical methods, as seen with the rippling and blurring paper landscapes of ''Rejected'' or the in-camera compositing of multiple, split-screen windows of action in the ''Everything Will Be OK'' films.

Since 1999, Hertzfeldt has photographed all his films on a 35mm Richardson animation camera stand, believed to be the same camera that photographed many of the early ''Peanuts'' cartoons in the 1960s and 1970s. Built in the late 1940s, it is reportedly one of the last remaining functioning cameras of its kind left in America (if not the world), and Hertzfeldt finds it to be a crucial element in the creation of his films and their unique visuals.

Discussing film and digital technology with ''The New York Times'', Hertzfeldt noted:

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It's not unusual for Hertzfeldt to single-handedly write, direct, produce, animate, photograph, edit, perform voices, record and mix sound, and/or compose music for one of his films, at times requiring years to complete a single short. The animation alone for one of his films may often require tens of thousands of drawings.

Hertzfeldt frequently scores his pictures with classical music and opera. The music of Tchaikovsky, Bizet, Smetana, Beethoven, Richard Strauss, and Wagner have all appeared in his films. On occasion, Hertzfeldt has also scored portions of his films himself, with a guitar or keyboard.

Popularity and influence

Hertzfeldt's early films have been credited with being a prominent influence on surrealism and absurdism in animation in the 2000s, as well as influencing Adult Swim style animated comedy. In 2008, Comedy Central noted his work as having "influenced an entire generation of filmmakers."

His more recent films, such as ''The Meaning of Life'', ''Everything Will Be OK'', and ''I am so Proud of You'', expanded upon his signature style of dark humor to explore deeper themes of existentialism and life and death philosophy. Critics have favorably compared these shorts to the work of Stanley Kubrick and David Lynch, respectively. ''Everything Will Be OK'' was described as "probably the best work he’s done in his very incredible and consistently amazing young career."

Hertzfeldt's films are regularly found in film festivals around the world, touring animation programs like the Animation Show, and on DVD collections. The cartoons are also featured occasionally on television: MTV, Bravo, Via X, Sundance Channel, IFC, Showtime, and the Cartoon Network being a few channels that have carried his work internationally.

The popularity of Hertzfeldt's shorts has led to many Internet bootlegs, bringing his work to an audience of millions. Though he's unhappy with the poor quality most of these online videos offer (as well as the frequent re-editing of them), he says he is not interested in "harassing fans." In the FAQ of his website, Hertzfeldt simply notes that movies are not meant to be seen on the Internet: "If you've only seen a film downgraded on the Internet or some strange miniature device, in many ways you haven't really seen it yet. YouTube is great for home videos of your cat falling off the roof but it is not really the proper setting for "cinema"... Movies are meant to be seen in the dark, hopefully with an audience, and with your undivided attention - this last one is non-negotiable." Recently however, Hertzfeldt has allowed "official" versions of ''The Meaning of Life'' and ''Everything will be OK'' to appear online in high quality on sites like MUBI and YouTube. ''Wisdom Teeth'' also debuted online after being acquired by Showtime.

Hertzfeldt prefers to not sell any of his animation artwork. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, his website Bitter Films annually auctioned off artwork instead to raise thousands of dollars for local Santa Barbara charities. Other original drawings have been occasionally given away through the Bitter Films online store through special promotions. Because Hertzfeldt also rarely does signings, his artwork is very rare for animation collectors or casual fans to own.

Student films, 1995-1998

Hertzfeldt made four 16mm animated student films while majoring in film at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

''Ah, L'Amour'' and ''Genre'' were produced at the ages of 18 and 19. ''Ah, L'Amour'' would win the HBO Comedy Arts Festival Grand Prize for "World's Funniest Cartoon."

His first dialogue short, ''Lily and Jim'', was released in 1997, and tells the story of a disastrous blind date, rife with awkward conversations. Its partially improvised vocal performances helped the short win twenty five awards, including the Grand Prize at the New Orleans Film Festival.

His last student cartoon, ''Billy's Balloon,'' is about an inexplicable attack on small children by malevolent balloons. It was nominated for the Short Film Palme d'Or at the1999 Cannes Film Festival, and won the Grand Jury Award at the 1999 Slamdance Film Festival. In total it won thirty three awards.

The popularity of each student short at film and animation festivals - and eventually around the world from screening on MTV and other networks - helped fund the next one, and eventually financed the production of his first film after college.

Independent animation, 2000-2009

''Rejected''

Soon after graduating from film school, Hertzfeldt purchased his own 35mm rostrum camera, and made his next animated short, ''Rejected''. Released in theaters in 2000, the short won dozens of awards, was nominated for an Oscar, and is an enduring cult classic that is frequently quoted and referenced in pop culture. Fans of the cartoon have been known to wear costumes, re-enact their favorite scenes in fan films, and some have had tattoos made of their favorite characters. Public screenings of the short sometimes become a "''Rocky Horror Picture Show''-esque feedback loop" of fans reciting favorite lines back at the screen. The short's enduring popularity has led the film to be described as "this generation's ''A Hard Day's Night''".

The film presents itself as a reel of rejected commercial work by a fictional version of Don Hertzfeldt. The commissioned animated vignettes grow more and more abstract and inappropriate as the animator suffers a mental breakdown, until they literally fall apart.

Although the film is of course fictional and Hertzfeldt has never done commercial work, he did receive many offers to do television commercials after ''Billy's Balloon'' garnered international attention and acclaim. Hertzfeldt is an artist with anti-corporate leanings and in appearances has often told the humorous story of how he was tempted to produce the worst possible cartoons he could come up with for the companies, make off with their money, and see if they would actually make it to air. Eventually this became the germ for ''Rejected'''s theme of a collection of cartoons so bad they were rejected by advertising agencies, leading to their creator's breakdown.

''The Animation Show''

In 2003, Hertzfeldt created ''The Animation Show'' with ''Beavis and Butt-head'' creator Mike Judge. It was a biennial North American touring festival that brought independent animated short films to more movie theaters than any distributor in history. The programs were personally curated by Hertzfeldt and Judge. A second ''Animation Show'' edition toured throughout 2005, featuring Hertzfeldt's short film ''The Meaning of Life'' and new films by animators like Peter Cornwell and Georges Schwizgebel. The third season of ''The Animation Show'' began its nationwide release in January 2007, featuring new work by animators Joanna Quinn and Bill Plympton, as well as Hertzfeldt's own ''Everything Will Be OK''.

A stated goal of ''The Animation Show'' was to regularly "free the work of these independent artists from the dungeons of Internet exhibition," and bring them into proper movie theaters where most of the short films were meant to be seen. ''The Animation Show'' has meanwhile launched a supplemental DVD series of animated short films, with content that often varies from the annual theatrical programs. These DVDs are distributed by MTV.

In a March 2008 entry in his blog, Hertzfeldt announced he had decided to leave ''The Animation Show'', after having programmed (and contributing films to) three tours. A fourth season of the program was released in theaters in summer 2008, with no involvement from him.

''The Meaning of Life''

Almost four years in the making, Hertzfeldt's twelve minute ''The Meaning of Life'' premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and toured film and animation festivals in 2005-06. Though its abstract nature puzzled some critics, it received almost universally positive reviews. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' called the film "the closest thing on film yet to Kubrick's ''2001: A Space Odyssey''."

In the film, the evolution of the human race is traced from prehistory (mankind as blob forms), through today (mankind as teeming crowds of selfish, fighting, or lost individuals), to hundreds of millions of years into the future as our species evolves into countless new forms; all of them still behaving the same way. The film concludes in the extreme future, with two creatures (apparently an adult and child subspecies of future human), having a conversation about the meaning of life on a colorful shore.

In 2009, Hertzfeldt noted, "I don't often make the same sort of movie twice in a row. It’s always been whatever's next in my head. From a commercial standpoint I guess I’ve made some pretty inscrutable decisions, like following up 'Rejected' with a sprawling abstract film about human evolution, but it's really just been whichever ideas won't go away at the time. There's always a lot of new things I’d like to try..."

The ''Everything will be OK'' films

''Everything Will Be OK'' was released in 2006 and was Hertzfeldt's most critically successful piece to date, receiving his strongest reviews. The 17-minute animated short was based on his character "Bill" from his webcomic "Temporary Anesthetics". The Boston Globe called the film a "masterpiece" with the Boston Phoenix declaring Hertzfeldt a "genius." The short film was a cover story on the Chicago Reader, receiving four stars from critic J.R. Jones. ''Variety'' film critic Robert Koehler named ''Everything Will Be OK'' one of the "Best Films of 2007."

''Everything will be OK'' is the first chapter of a three-part story about Bill, a young man whose daily routines, perceptions, and dreams are illustrated onscreen through multiple split-screen windows. Bill's seemingly mundane life, narrated in humorous and dramatic anecdotes, gradually grows dark as we learn he may be suffering from a possibly fatal mental disorder.

The film's scenes are often divided into multiple windows of action on the screen at once, against a background of pure black. Animated still photographs are also incorporated inside certain windows, as well as a handful of the colorful special effects and experimental film techniques that Hertzfeldt first utilized in ''The Meaning of Life''. As with all his films, no computers were used in creating the picture; all of the multiple window effects were captured in-camera.

''Everything Will Be OK'' won the Grand Jury Prize for Short Filmmaking at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, the Lawrence Kasdan Award for Best Narrative Film at the Ann Arbor Film Festival, the Grand Prize at the London Animation Festival, and 34 other awards.

''I am so proud of you'', the second chapter in the story, was released in autumn 2008. Upon its release, Hertzfeldt traveled with ''I am so proud of you'' and a selection of his other films to 22 cities on a sold-out American tour (with two stops in the UK and three in Canada). ''I am so proud of you'' also played at film festivals throughout 2009 and has to date won 27 awards.

The third and final chapter, ''It's such a beautiful day,'' premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Hertzfeldt is currently traveling with ''It's such a beautiful day'' on another American theatrical tour of his work.

Current work

Chapter 3 of ''Everything Will Be OK'', titled ''It's Such a Beautiful Day,'' has been recently completed and is now screening in select theaters and film festivals.

In October 2009, Hertzfeldt premiered an unannounced, new five minute comedy short entitled ''Wisdom Teeth'' at the "Evening with Don Hertzfeldt" screening at the Ottawa Animation Festival. It was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2010 and the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal, where it was awarded a Special Jury Mention. In 2010, it appeared as part of a series on the Showtime Network called 'Short Stories.'

According to his blog, Hertzfeldt has been developing a feature length animated project. He has also made references to working on a graphic novel.

Awards and honors

Hertzfeldt has had more films play in competition at the Sundance Film Festival than any other filmmaker, with six: ''Rejected'', ''The Meaning of Life'', ''Everything Will Be OK'', ''I am so proud of you'', ''Wisdom Teeth'', and ''It's Such a Beautiful Day.''

In 1999, at the age of 22, Hertzfeldt was nominated for the Short Film Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for ''Billy's Balloon'', where he was the youngest director in competition. The same year ''Billy's Balloon'' won the Slamdance Film Festival Grand Jury Award.

In 2000, at the age of 23, Hertzfeldt was nominated for the Academy Award for Animated Short Film for his fifth short film, ''Rejected''.

In 2001, Hertzfeldt was named by ''Filmmaker Magazine'' as one of the "Top 25 Filmmakers to Watch."

In 2007, Hertzfeldt's ''Everything Will Be OK'' won the Jury Award for Short Filmmaking at the Sundance Film Festival, a prize rarely given to an animated film.

In 2007, according to the animation industry website Cartoon Brew, ''Everything Will Be OK'' advanced to the final round of voting as a contender for an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short, but did not make the ultimate list of five nominees.

In 2007, Hertzfeldt accepted an invitation from the George Eastman House's motion picture archives to indefinitely store and preserve the historically important original film elements and camera negatives to his collected work.

In 2009, ''Rejected'' was the only short film named one of the "Films of the Decade" by Salon.com. In 2010, it was noted as one of the five "most innovative animated films of the past ten years" by The Huffington Post.

In April 2010, at the age of 33, Hertzfeldt was the youngest filmmaker to ever receive the San Francisco International Film Festival's "Persistence of Vision" Lifetime Achievement Award, "for his unique contributions to film and animation," and "for challenging the boundaries of his craft." Past recipients of the POV award include Errol Morris, Guy Maddin, Jan Švankmajer, and Faith Hubley.

In 2012, Hertzfeldt received the Ted M.Larson memorial award from the Fargo Film Festival, for his contributions to film culture.

DVD releases

Hertzfeldt self-produces and self-distributes his own DVDs. With these sales, fans of his work are literally financing his next films, with no middle men in between.

Nevertheless, several international ad campaigns have borrowed heavily from his unique style and bear enough resemblance to Hertzfeldt's work as to be mistaken for it. The most well-known instance of this is a series of 2004-2009 television ads for Kellogg's Pop-Tarts, which use black and white stick figures, "squiggly" animation, surreal humor, and even an occasional crumpling paper effect, all very similar to Hertzfeldt's style. Despite all these similarities, Hertzfeldt was not involved in any way. In Canada, the not-for-profit corporation Encorp has used a Hertzfeldt-like style of short animation clips on TV and the Internet to promote its "Don't Mess With Karma" campaign to encourage recycling. One of the latest ad campaigns to use an art style similar to Hertzfeldt's is Krystal fast food restaurant to promote their Blitz Energy Drink.

Filmography

''Ah, L'Amour'' (1995)

''Genre'' (1996)

''Lily and Jim'' (1997)

''Billy's Balloon'' (1998)

''Rejected'' (2000)

''Welcome to the Show/Intermission in the Third Dimension/The End of the Show'' (2003) ''(cartoons created to book-end the first "Animation Show")''

''The Meaning of Life'' (2005)

''Everything Will Be OK'' (2006)

''I am so proud of you'' (2008)

''Wisdom Teeth'' (2010)

''It's Such a Beautiful Day'' (2012)

References

External links

Bitter Films Home Page

American Film Institute 2009 interview

Category:American animators Category:Stop motion animators Category:University of California, Santa Barbara alumni Category:People from Fremont, California Category:Artists from California Category:1976 births Category:Living people Category:Short film directors

de:Don Hertzfeldt fr:Don Hertzfeldt pl:Don Hertzfeldt fi:Don Hertzfeldt

#REDIRECT:Marcus Schössow

Name	B.o.B
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Bobby Ray Simmons, Jr.
Alias	Bobby Ray
Birth date	November 15, 1988
Birth place	Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S.
Origin	Decatur, Georgia, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano, drum machine, synthesizer
Genre	Hip hop
Occupation	Rapper, record producer, singer-songwriter,
Years active	2002–present
Label	Grand Hustle, Rebel Rock, Atlantic Records, Web
Associated acts	T.I., All City Chess Club
Website	}}

Bobby Ray Simmons, Jr. (born November 15, 1988), better known by his stage name B.o.B, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is currently signed under the labels of Grand Hustle Records, Rebel Rock Entertainment, and Atlantic Records. His debut single "Nothin' on You" reached number one in both the United States and the United Kingdom. His second single "Airplanes" peaked at number one in the UK and at number two in the US. His third single, "Magic", became B.o.B's third consecutive top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100. B.o.B was named the ninth Hottest MC in the Game of 2010 by MTV. On April 27, 2010 his debut album, ''B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray'' was released, reaching number one on the US charts.

Biography

1988-2006: Early life and career beginnings

Simmons was born November 15, 1988 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He played the trumpet in his school band from elementary school through high school. Although his parents wanted him to continue his education, Simmons decided in sixth grade that he wanted to pursue a music career. His father, a pastor, disapproved of his son's choices until he realized that Simmons was using music as a form of therapy and a creative outlet. Simmons later reflected on his experience, saying, "They’ve always supported me. They got my first keyboard to make beats on and they helped me out getting equipment here and there. But it was kind of hard for them to really understand what I was really trying to accomplish." B.o.B attended Columbia High School in Decatur, Georgia.

After meeting his mentor and co-manager, B. Rich, in 2002 at 14 years of age, B.o.B sold his first beat to former Slip-n-Slide recording artist Citti for a song titled "I'm the Cookie Man." Meanwhile B.o.B felt he had made it: "I went and blew all of my money on fast stuff like a chain and ballin'. Soon I was broke again, but I learned two important things from it; make sure I save my money and that I was hooked on music." Back to square one, B.o.B continued performing at open mics and underground venues to perfect his craft. In 2006, because he was underage, B. Rich helped sneak B.o.B into Club Crucial, a night club owned by Atlanta rapper T.I.. There, B.o.B performed a song titled "Cloud 9", a self -produced, spoken word-like ode to marijuana. In attendance was producer and industry veteran, T.J. Chapman, CEO of TJ's DJ's. TJ Chapman agreed to co-manage B.o.B, which only a month later led to B.o.B's signing with Atlantic Records and subsidiary imprint Rebel Rock, run by Florida producer Jim Jonsin. His first single for Atlantic, 2007's "Haterz Everywhere", reached the top five of Billboard's Bubbling Under R&B;/Hip-Hop singles chart. Along with his solo production career, B.o.B is part of a production/rap group called HamSquad, along with Playboy Tre, TJ Chapman, and B. Rich.

2007-2008: Rise to fame and mixtapes

B.o.B first began to gain major recognition at the start of 2007. The underground single, "Haterz Everywhere," featuring Wes Fif, gained the rapper recognition and peaked at #5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles. A remix featuring Rich Boy was included in the video game ''Fight Night Round 4'', and a music video was later released for that version. Another single, "I'll Be in the Sky," was released in late 2008 reached #115 on the follow chart. About.com called the song a "smart, funky artrap and a strong prelude to his album" and included it at #13 on its subjective ranking "Top 100 Rap Songs of 2008." This was followed by another single called "Don't Let Me Fall" which was more of an R&B; song than the usual rap. He was also featured on T.I.'s album ''Paper Trail'' on the song "On Top of the World." Incidentally, another song produced by Bobby Ray called "Generation Lost" listed alongside the song on the ranking at #32.

The same year, he appeared on the cover of ''XXL'' magazine along with Asher Roth, Charles Hamilton, and Wale as "Hip-Hop's Class of '09". In October 2008, B.o.B was featured on the cover of ''Vibe'' along with some of these same young musicians and was similarly identified as promising young talent. He has described his influences as "80's music, techno, rock, funk, even doo-wop...". B.o.B has also worked with artists such as British rapper Giggs. From 2007 to 2008 B.o.B released four mixtapes; ''The Future'' (2007), ''Cloud 9'' (2007), ''Hi! My Name is B.o.B'' (2008) ''Who the F#*k is B.o.B?'' (2008) and two extended plays; ''Eastside'' (2007), ''12th Dimension'' (2008).

2009–2010: Mainstream success and ''The Adventures of Bobby Ray''

On May 16, 2009, B.o.B, released a cover of "Mr. Bobby" as performed by Manu Chao and introduced a new stage name, 'Bobby Ray' and claimed he was taking his music in a "new direction": "Now I go by the name Bobby Ray. Make sure you put Bobby Ray. I’m really going into a new direction — more free and not trying to live up to any particular genre. I don’t feel like I’ve been doing that. I don’t feel like I’ve been trying to fit in, but I feel even more free-spirited. I have more willingness musically. That’s all I’m about. I’m about guitars, chords and keyboards". On June 22, 2009, B.o.B released his fifth mixtape, appropriately titled ''B.o.B vs. Bobby Ray''. The mixtape, reminiscent of T.I.'s ''T.I. vs. T.I.P.'' (2007), was mainly produced by Fury and B.o.B. The mixtape also included a song produced by Red Spyda, titled "Fly Like Me" and another titled "Put Me On" which is a remix to A Tribe Called Quest’s 1990 hit, "Bonita Applebum". Reebok used "Put Me On" in celebration of the ''Reebok Classic Remix'' collection. The track is available for download exclusively to customers who purchase styles from the Reebok Classic Remix collection, at Foot Locker stores nationwide.

On January 13, 2010, B.o.B announced his debut studio album, ''The Adventures of Bobby Ray'', was expected to be released on May 25, 2010. To promote the album B.o.B announced a mixtape titled ''May 25th'', in reference to his album's release date. ''May 25th'' was released on February 1, 2010, to critical acclaim. The mixtape features guest appearances from J. Cole, Asher Roth, Playboy Tre, Charles Hamilton and Bruno Mars. The latter of whom was featured on the bonus track and B.o.B's debut single "Nothin' on You". Due to the commercial success of his mixtape ''May 25th'' and his single "Nothin' on You", the release date of his debut album was advanced to April 27, 2010. The album was released under T.I.'s record label Grand Hustle and includes features from Lupe Fiasco, T.I., Playboy Tre, Hayley Williams, Rivers Cuomo, Ricco Barrino, Janelle Monáe, Bruno Mars, and Young Dro.

Three other singles followed: "Don't Let Me Fall" (released April 6, 2010), "Airplanes" (April 13, 2010; featuring Hayley Williams), and "Bet I" (April 20, 2010; featuring T.I. and Playboy Tre). A video for "Bet I" was released on Atlantic Videos on YouTube. The album, released April 27, 2010, was given generally positive reviews. His album sold 84,000 copies in the first week and debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. It made B.o.B the thirteenth solo male artist to have a debut album arrive at #1 in its first week. In July, B.o.B announced he will go on tour, naming it The SHOOTiN for Stars Tour. The dates and times were released on his website on July 13. B.o.B has received nominations for his album, singles, and himself by the BET Awards, Teen Choice Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, and the new Suckerfree Summit. "Airplanes" was featured in the trailer for the upcoming movie ''Charlie St. Cloud'' and his single "Magic" featured him in an advertisement for Adidas’ “Magic” campaign. B.o.B was announced to be a performer at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on August 18. He was added to the line-up of Eminem, Linkin Park, Kanye West, Drake, Usher, Paramore, Florence and the Machine, and Justin Bieber.

On August 14, 2010, Hayley Williams announced via the Official Paramore Fan Club that B.o.B would be the main support for Paramore's November U.K. Tour. B.o.B also opened for Eminem and Jay-Z's The Home & Home Tour at Comerica Park. B.o.B also did a MTV Unplugged session. He performed songs off his debut album, as well as a cover of "Kids" by MGMT, with guests Robin Thicke, Melanie Fiona, and Janelle Monae. B.o.B also made an appearance in Lollapalooza 2010. B.o.B. made an appearance at the 2010 MTV VMA's on September 12, 2010. He performed parts of both his singles, "Nothin' on You" with Bruno Mars and "Airplanes" with Hayley Williams. On December 7, 2010, B.o.B. released his mixtape titled ''No Genre''. B.o.B was named "Best New Artist" by iTunes 2010 Rewind Chart. ''The Adventures of Bobby Ray'' was certified Gold by the RIAA on December 16. Jessie J released a single along with B.o.B called "Price Tag" on 30 January 2011 in the United Kingdom. The song was quick to reach number one in the UK charts selling 84,000 copies in its first week of sales.

2011–present: ''Strange Clouds'' and ''The Man and the Martian''

On March 22, 2011, Electronic Arts released the Launch Trailer for the upcoming first-person-shooter ''Crysis 2'' which featured a song by B.o.B. titled "New York New York" containing the main piano chorus from the song "Theme from New York, New York" commonly sung by Frank Sinatra; the artist who sung the chorus is unconfirmed. The full song later appeared on his eighth mixtape ''E.P.I.C. (Every Play Is Crucial)'', which revealed that the song was produced by Mike Caren.

In early 2011 Odd Future's Tyler, the Creator released a song titled "Yonkers". In the song Tyler raps ''(What you think of Hayley Williams?) Fuck her, Wolf Haley robbing 'em / I'll crash that fucking airplane that that faggot nigga B.o.B is in / And stab Bruno Mars in his goddamn esophagus / And won't stop until the cops come in''. In response, on March 25, B.o.B released "No Future" a song in which he takes aim at the hip hop collective and their leader. In June 2011, it was revealed that B.o.B was featured and produced a song on Tech N9ne's twelfth studio album, ''All 6's and 7's''. The track, titled "Am I a Psycho?" features rapper Hopsin as well, who also seems to have issues with Tyler, the Creator. In the song, B.o.B apparently takes more shots at Tyler, the Creator. B.o.B appeared on the official remix to Kesha's hit single "Blow". The remix was released to iTunes on May 17, 2011.

In the summer of 2011 B.o.B was announced the new face of T.I.'s clothing line A.K.O.O. He will be featured in AKOO Clothing’s upcoming fall 2011 national advertising campaign alongside Curtis Granderson of the New York Yankees, Carl Crawford of the Boston Red Sox, and star of the BET hit sitcom, The Game, Hosea Chanchez. He will be appearing in a graphic novel for A.K.O.O titled ''Hide In Plain Sight – Saving the World From Fashion Conspiracy''.

On August 27, 2011, a video appeared on YouTube of B.o.B performing at Colorado State University, where he previewed a song titled "Strange Clouds" and announced it features Lil Wayne. In an interview with Syracuse University’s The Daily Orange, B.o.B spoke of his second studio album for the first time. He went on to say "It's a more mature sound but nothing too experimental. It's a happy medium between the sound of ''B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray'' and the mixtapes, so everyone should be able to enjoy it. I'd say I'm 90 percent done with it right now, but the album title is still TBA." On September 23, 2011, B.o.B released a trailer, through his website, for the upcoming single "Strange Clouds". The trailer announced the single will be officially released October 3. The single leaked prior to the release date on September 25, causing the single to be released on iTunes on September 27. Later that day B.o.B appeared on an online video stream on radio station V103 and announced the title of the album to also be ''Strange Clouds'' and is set to be released in early Spring of 2012. Bobby Ray held the first listening session for his album ''Strange Clouds'' at Tree Sound Studios on October 25, 2011. Seven new songs were previewed during the listening session, including the promotional single "Play the Guitar" which features André 3000. Other big guest appearances confirmed, as the album was not fully complete, include Lil Wayne, Big K.R.I.T., Nelly and a song with T.I. titled "Arena". In addition he has worked with OneRepublic on a song and has been quoted as having: "the song of 2012 with a mega feature from somebody who never does features with anyone!". On November 15, 2011, B.o.B revealed he will be releasing a mixtape titled ''E.P.I.C. (Every Play Is Crucial)'' prior to the album's release. The mixtape was released on November 28, 2011, featuring guest appearances from Eminem, Mos Def, Roscoe Dash, Meek Mill, and Bun B amongst others and included production from Ryan Tedder to Lil C and Jim Jonsin.

While on set for the "Strange Clouds" music video, MTV interviewed B.o.B and confronted him of a rumor that he and T.I. are working on a collaborative album, B.o.B responded: "The joint album, it actually started as a joke. Tip would always refer to me as 'the Martian', and in one of his lyrics, he said, ‘It’s the man and the Martian,’ and we said, ‘Man that could be an album title.’ We kinda just played around with it. But it seems to be taking form in a very organic way." On December 1st, 2011 B.o.B appeared on New York City's Hot 97 radio station and confirmed that he and T.I. are indeed working on a collaborative album titled ''The Man & The Martian''.

On December 22, 2011, B.o.B released a snippet of "Play the Guitar", a promotional single, featuring André 3000 and a sample of "Fancy" as performed by Drake, T.I. and Swizz Beatz. "Play the Guitar" was later released to digital retailers on December 27, 2011. On February 14, 2012, B.o.B released a trailer for the second official single, "So Good". The song, produced by Ryan Tedder, was released on February 21. In 2012 in a interview with PopCush, B.o.B expressed his desire to work with Kid Cudi, James Blake and Skrillex: "I would also like to work with James Blake. That’d be crazy. I think me, James Blake and Kid Cudi should do a song and it should be produced by Skrillex. I think the sky would fall if we did that song and the sky would come down to Earth and party with us.". On March 20, 2012, B.o.B released the second promotional single from ''Strange Clouds'' titled "Where Are You (B.o.B vs. Bobby Ray)". "So Hard to Breathe" was released as the official third single on April 17, 2012. B.o.B appeared on Haley Reinhart's debut studio album ''Listen Up!'' on the intro track "Oh My."

Discography

;Studio albums

''B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray'' (2010)

''Strange Clouds'' (2012)

;Collaborative albums

''The Man and the Martian'' (with T.I.) (TBA)

;EPs

''Eastide'' (2007)

''12th Dimension'' (2008)

;Mixtapes

''The Future'' (2007)

''Cloud 9'' (2007)

''Hi! My Name is B.o.B'' (2008)

''Who the Fuck is B.o.B?'' (2008)

''B.o.B vs. Bobby Ray'' (2009)

''May 25th'' (2010)

''No Genre'' (2010)

''E.P.I.C. (Every Play Is Crucial)'' (2011)

Awards and nominations

! Year !! Award !! Category !! Work !! Result
		"Best Breakthrough"
"Best Hip-Hop Artist"
"Best Hip-Hop Album"	The Adventures of Bobby Ray
	"Best Male Hip-Hop Artist"	B.o.B
"Best Collaboration"
"Video of the Year"
	"Made-You-Look Award"
"People's Champ Award"
"Track of the Year"	Airplanes (with Hayley Williams)
"Perfect Combo Award (* of the year"
"Best Hip-Hop Video"
"CD of the Year"	The Adventures of Bobby Ray
	"Video of the Year"
Best Collaboration
Best Male Video
Best Hip-Hop Video
Best Pop Video	Nothin' On You (with Bruno Mars)
	Best New Act
Best Push Act
	Best Song	Nothin' On You (with Bruno Mars)
Best New Artist	B.o.B
	Rap Album	The Adventures of Bobby Ray
Hook Up Song	Airplanes (with Hayley Williams)
Best Single	Nothin' On You (with Bruno Mars)
Male Breakout Artist
Male Music Star
Best Summer Song	Airplanes (with Hayley Williams)
		Best Male Hip-Hop Artist	B.o.B
Best Collaboration
Video of the Year
Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals	Airplanes Pt. 2 (with Hayley Williams and Eminem)
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration	Nothin' On You (with Bruno Mars)
Record of the Year
Best Rap Song
Best Rap Album	The Adventures of Bobby Ray
MTV Video Music Awards Japan	Best New Artist Video	Nothin' On You (with Bruno Mars)
NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding New Artist	B.o.B
		Favorite Hip-Hop Artist	B.o.B

References

External links

B.o.B at Billboard.com

Category:1988 births Category:Living people Category:African American rappers Category:African American record producers Category:American pop singers Category:Hip hop singers Category:American record producers Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:People from Decatur, Georgia Category:Rappers from Atlanta, Georgia Category:People from Winston-Salem, North Carolina Category:Southern hip hop musicians

cs:B.o.B da:B.o.B de:B.o.B et:B.o.B es:B.o.B fa:بی.او.بی fr:B.o.B ko:B.o.B hr:B.o.B id:B.o.B it:B.o.B he:B.o.B lv:B.o.B nl:B.o.B ja:B.o.B no:B.o.B pl:B.o.B pt:B.o.B ro:B.o.B ru:B.o.B simple:B.o.B fi:B.o.B sv:B.o.B th:บี.โอ.บี tr:B.o.B vi:B.o.B zh:B.o.B

name	Duane Allman
background	solo_singer
birth name	Howard Duane Allman
alias	Skydog
birth date	November 20, 1946
birth place	Nashville, Tennessee
death date	October 29, 1971
death place	Macon, Georgia
instrument	Guitar, vocals
genre	Southern rock, blues, blues-rock, soul, rock, jazz
occupation	Musician, songwriter
years active	1961–1971
label	Mercury, Capricorn
associated acts	The Hour Glass, Wilson Pickett, The Allman Brothers Band, Derek and the Dominos, Aretha Franklin, Herbie Mann, Greg Allman, The Allman Joys
website	AllmanBrothersBand.com
notable instruments	Gibson Les PaulGibson SGFender Stratocaster Gibson ES-345 }}

Duane Allman (born Howard Duane Allman; November 20, 1946 – October 29, 1971) was an American guitarist, session musician and the primary co-founder and leader of the The Allman Brothers Band, until his early death in a motorcycle accident in 1971 at the age of twenty four.

ABB were formed in 1969 and, unusually for the time, based in the Southeastern United States. In the early 1970s the band was hugely successful. Duane is best remembered for his brief but influential tenure in that band and in particular for his expressive slide guitar playing and inventive improvisational skills. In 2003, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked Allman at #2 in their list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time, second only to Jimi Hendrix and in 2011 he was ranked #9. His tone (achieved with a Gibson Les Paul and two 50-watt bass Marshall amplifiers) was named one of the greatest guitar tones of all time by ''Guitar Player''.

A sought-after session musician both before and during his tenure with the band, Duane Allman performed with such established stars as King Curtis, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, and Herbie Mann. He also contributed heavily to the 1970 album ''Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs'' by Derek and the Dominos.

Duane Allman’s skills as a guitarist were complemented by personal qualities such as his intensity, drive and ability to draw the best out of others in making music. He is still referred to by his nickname "Skydog".

Early years

Duane Allman was born November 20, 1946 in Nashville, Tennessee. He was the eldest son of Willis Allman, a career United States Army sergeant, and Geraldine (née Robbins). His younger brother Gregg Allman was born in late 1948.

While the family were living near Norfolk, Virginia, his father was murdered by a fellow veteran hitchhiker. In order to retrain as an accountant, Geraldine "Mama A" Allman sent Duane and Gregg to Castle Heights Military Academy in Lebanon, Tennessee, which they both disliked intensely. In 1957, the family moved to Daytona Beach, Florida where the boys attended Seabreeze High School.

The boys returned to Nashville to spend summers with their grandmother where Gregg learned guitar basics from a neighbour. In 1960, Gregg had saved enough money to buy his first guitar, a Japanese-made Teisco Silvertone while Duane acquired a Harley 165 motorbike which he soon wrote off. So Duane began to take an interest in the guitar leading to fights over it and eventually their mother bought Duane a Gibson Les Paul Junior.

It was also in Nashville that the boys became musically inspired by a rhythm and blues concert they attended, at which blues guitar legend B. B. King performed. Apparently, Duane turned to Gregg and said, "We got to get into this." After months of nonstop rehearsing and gigging, including free shows in Macon's Central City Park and Atlanta's Piedmont Park, the group was ready to settle on the Allman Brothers Band name, and to record. Their debut album, ''The Allman Brothers Band'', was recorded in New York in September 1969 and released a few months later. In the midst of intense touring, work began in Macon and Miami (Atlantic South - Criteria Studios), and a little bit in New York, on the band's second album, ''Idlewild South.'' Produced mostly by Tom Dowd, ''Idlewild South'' was released in August 1970 and broke new ground for them by quickly hitting the ''Billboard'' charts.

A group date in Miami, also that August, gave Allman the chance to participate in Eric Clapton's ''Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs''. Clapton had long wanted to meet Allman; when he heard that the Allman Brothers were due to play in Miami, where he had just started work on ''Layla'' with producer Tom Dowd, he insisted on going to see their concert, where he met Allman. At one point, Allman approached Clapton, fully admiring his ability to play guitar as much as Clatpon admired his, and cautiously asked Clapton if he could come by the studio to watch. Clapton was in no way reluctant to say yes, as he knew that his masterful playing combined with Allman's would be greater than the sum of its parts. After the show the two bands—the Allman Brothers Band and Derek and the Dominos—returned to Criteria, where Allman and Clapton quickly formed a deep rapport during an all-night jam session. Allman wound up participating on most of the album's tracks, contributing some of his best-known work. Allman never left the Allman Brothers Band, though, despite being offered a permanent position with Clapton. Allman never toured with Derek and the Dominos, but he did make three appearances with them on December 1, 1970 at the Curtis Hixon Hall in Tampa (''Soulmates'' LP) and the following day at Onondaga County War Memorial, and one appearance (or possibly just Delaney Bramlett or both Duane and Delaney) November 20, 1970 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, California.

In an interview, Duane told listeners how to tell who played what: Eric played the Fender parts and Duane played the Gibson parts. He continued by nonchalantly noting that the Fender had a sparklier sound, while the Gibson produced more of a "full-tilt screech".

The Allman Brothers went on to record ''At Fillmore East'' in March 1971. Meanwhile, Allman continued contributing session work to other artists' albums whenever he could. According to ''Skydog: the Duane Allman Story,'' Allman was in the habit of spontaneously dropping in at recording sessions and contributing to whatever was being taped that day. He received cash payments but no recording credits, making it virtually impossible to compile a complete discography of his works.

Allman was well known for his melodic, extended and attention-holding guitar solos. During this period two of his stated influences were Miles Davis and John Coltrane, having listened extensively to ''Kind of Blue'' for two years.

As Allman's distinctive electric bottleneck steel sound began to mature it evolved in time into the musical voice of what would come to be known as Southern Rock, being picked up and redefined in their own styles by slide guitarists that included bandmate Dickey Betts (after Duane's passing), Rory Gallagher, Derek Trucks and Gary Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Death

Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident only months after the release and initial success of ''At Fillmore East''. While in the western part of Macon on October 29, 1971 during a band break from touring and recording, Allman was riding his motorcycle at high speed toward an intersection as a flatbed truck carrying a lumber crane approached. The flatbed truck stopped suddenly in the intersection, forcing Duane to swerve his Harley Davidson Sportster motorcycle sharply to the left to avoid a collision. As he was doing so, he struck either the back of the truck or the ball on the lumber crane and was immediately thrown from the motorcycle. The motorcycle bounced up in the air and landed on Allman and proceeded to skid another ninety feet with Duane pinned underneath, crushing his internal organs. Though he was still alive when he arrived at the hospital, despite emergency surgery, he died several hours later from massive internal injuries. He was just weeks from his 25th birthday.

Memorial

After Allman's funeral and some weeks of mourning, the five surviving members of the Allman Brothers Band carried on, resuming live performances and finishing the recording work interrupted by Duane's death. They named their next album ''Eat a Peach'' for Duane's response to an interviewer's question: "How are you helping the revolution?" Allman replied: "There ain't no revolution, only evolution, but every time I'm in Georgia I 'eat a peach' for peace." Released in February, 1972, this double album contains a side of live and studio tracks with Allman, two sides of "Mountain Jam", recorded with Duane at the same ''At Fillmore East'' stand in March, and a side of tracks by the surviving five member band.

Bass guitarist Berry Oakley died less than 13 months later in a similar motorcycle crash with a city bus, three blocks from the site of Duane Allman's fatal accident. Oakley's remains were laid to rest beside Duane Allman's in Macon, Georgia's Rose Hill Cemetery.

The variety of Allman's session work and Allman Brothers Band bandleading can be heard to good effect on two posthumous Capricorn releases, ''An Anthology'' (1972) and ''An Anthology Volume II'' (1974). There are also several archival releases of live Allman Brothers Band performances from what the band calls "Duane's Era".

Shortly after Duane's death, Ronnie Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd dedicated the song "Free Bird", to the memory of Duane Allman. Van Zant would sometimes allude to this in concert; in the "Free Bird" performance at Skynyrd's famed 1976 appearance at Knebworth, England, Van Zant says to pianist Billy Powell, "Play it for Duane Allman." Many people assume the song was written about Duane. However, it had actually been written well before Duane died. (Allen Collins wrote the song after his then girlfriend asked him the question "if I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?")

In 1973, fans carved the very large letters "REMEMBER DUANE ALLMAN" in a dirt embankment along Interstate Highway 20 near Vicksburg, Mississippi. A photograph was published in ''Rolling Stone'' magazine and in the ''Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll''; the carving itself lasted for over ten years.

In 1998 the Georgia State Legislature passed a resolution designating a stretch of State Highway 19, US 41, within Macon as the "Duane Allman Boulevard" in his honor.

Country singer Travis Tritt, in the song "Put Some Drive In Your Country" on his debut album, sings "Now I still love old country/I ain't tryin' to put it down/But damn I miss Duane Allman/I wish he was still around."

Equipment

Allman Joys, Hour Glass

Fender Telecaster, modified with a Stratocaster neck. Marshall amplifier, with six 10-inch speakers and two horns.

Early session work

1954 Fender Stratocaster, used on the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio studio sessions, now at the Hard Rock Cafe in London at the Vault.

Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, which used old 9V batteries because "they make a special sound."

Fender Twin Reverb with JBL speakers. Maestro Echoplex. 1959 Fender Bassman.

Allman Brothers Band, "Layla", later session work

1961 Fender Stratocaster (for early session work overlapping with formation of the Band). 1958-1962 Gibson ES-345 Semi-hollow body (first album)

1957 Gibson Les Paul Standard goldtop, serial no. 7 3312. Traded on September 16, 1970 for a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard cherry sunburst, except for the pickups.

1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard cherry sunburst, acquired on September 16, 1970, except for the pickups.

1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard tobacco sunburst, acquired in June 1971. 1961 Gibson SG, used for slide, given by Dickey Betts. Marshall 50-watt head, two Marshall 4x12 cabinets with JBL speakers.

Fender Champ combo amplifier ("Layla")

Other

Gibson L-00 acoustic guitar

Fender Rock N' Roll 150 strings (Hour Glass)

Coricidin medicine bottle (slide)

Discography

References

Further reading

''Duane Allman: An Anthology (1972)'' liner notes

''The Allman Brothers Band: Dreams'' (1989 boxed set) liner notes

Poe, Randy, ''Skydog: The Duane Allman Story'' (Backbeat Books)

External links

Duane Allman.com

Duane Allman on allmanbrothersband.com

Duane Allman.info

In memory of Duane Allman: 35 years after his death, Skydog still among rock's very best guitarists, on MSNBC

The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time

Georgia House of Representatives SR653, designating Duane Allman Boulevard and Raymond Berry Oakley Bridge

Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 1995

Category:1946 births Category:1971 deaths Category:American rock guitarists Category:American blues guitarists Category:Lead guitarists Category:Slide guitarists Category:American session musicians Category:The Allman Brothers Band members Category:Derek and the Dominos members Category:Delaney & Bonnie & Friends members Category:Motorcycle accident victims Category:Road accident deaths in Georgia (U.S. state) Category:People from Nashville, Tennessee Category:People from Volusia County, Florida Category:Musicians from Tennessee Category:Georgia Music Hall of Fame inductees

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