Jon Pareles is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of the New York Times. He played jazz flute and piano, and graduated from Yale University with a degree in music. In the 1970s he was an associate editor of Crawdaddy!, and in the 1980s an associate editor at Rolling Stone and the music editor at The Village Voice. He started contributing to the Times in 1982.^[1] He currently reviews popular music in the arts section of the New York Times.

Books[link]

• Holly George-Warren, Patricia Romanowski, & Jon Pareles, The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll‎ (2001)

References[link]

Sources[link]

• Interview with Pareles from the New York Times^{[dead link]}
• Interview with Pareles at rockcritics.com

This biographical article related to music journalism in the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Arif Lohar (Punjabi, Urdu: عارف لوہار) (born 1966) is a Punjabi folk singer. He usually sings with native musical instrument resembling tongs (called a 'chimta'). His folk music is representative of traditional folk heritage of the Punjab. He is the son of folk singer Alam Lohar.^[1]

Early life[link]

Born in a small village called Aach Goch in Gujrat District, Punjab, Pakistan, arif Lohar started singing to explore the folk singing of Punjab, and to keep the tradition of his father alive.

Career[link]

In 2005, he was awarded Pride of Performance Award from Government of Pakistan-the highest civil award in Pakistan. Son of Alam Lohar (another icon of Punjabi music) he started his singing career at an early age. To-date he has more than 150 albums to his credit and has recorded more than 3000 mostly Punjabi language songs. He is without doubt the number one living Punjabi Folk Singer in Pakistan. Worldwide he is among the Top Five Punjabi Folk and Pop Singers. In 2006 he made headlines in the Punjabi music world by his super hit album '21st Century Jugni', music produced, arranged and mastered by Mukhtar Sahota in Wolverhampton, UK, and was released by Internalmusic UK. Recently in June 2010 COKE STUDIO released his album Jugni COKE STUDIO which became a smash hit in Pakistan and over the Punjabi music world. Arif Lohar has made more than 50 foreign tours around the world during the last 20 years including UK, US and UAE. Further to this he is the only south Asian artist to perform in North Korea as part of a international delegation of peace and goodwill, performing in front of the present president.

In 2004 he performed in China for the opening of the Asian Games which had a crowd of close to 1 million in the open square, and was greatly appreciated by the local people: even though they do not understand: but feel his great performing style and great voice. Arif Lohar in the past has played lead roles in Punjabi movies also. He performed at the Wembly Arena London September 2010 to help the flood victims of Pakistan to an expected crowd of 25000 plus. Currently his career is at the peak in the Punjabi music world. He appeared in Pakistani film Jugni Nach De Aye, singing and producing three songs for the soundtrack.

In 2010 Arif Lohar participated in Coke-Studio(Pakistan live session programe by Rohail Hayat). In Coke-Studio season 3, Arif Lohar performed "Alif Allah Chambay Dey Booti/Jugni" with upcoming music star Meesha Shafi. The song became a massive hit in Pakistan and it is recognized as one of the greatest hits of Coke-Studio series.

Discography[link]

• Alif Allah Chambe Di Bootey ( [Coke Studio] )

• Ek Pal

• Bol Mitti Da

• Sher Punjab Da

• Soniye

• Aakhian

...

See also[link]

• Music of Pakistan
• List of Pakistani folk singers

References[link]

External links[link]

• Arif Lohar & Meesha - Coke Studio
• Arif Lohar Video Collection
• Arif Lohar music

Daniel Lanois ( /lænˈwɑː/ lan-WAH;^[1] born September 19, 1951 in Hull, Quebec) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has released a number of albums of his own work and has produced albums for a wide variety of artists, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Brandon Flowers and Ron Sexsmith. Lanois is best known for his work with Brian Eno, the pair collaborating on a number of projects together and producing several platinum albums for U2, including The Joshua Tree. Three albums produced or co-produced by Lanois have won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and four others received nominations.^[2]

As producer[link]

Lanois started his production career when he was 17,^[3] working in his own studio with his brother Bob Lanois in the basement of their mother's Ancaster, Ontario home, recording local artists including Simply Saucer. Later Daniel started Grant Avenue Studios in an old house he purchased in Hamilton, Ontario.^[4] He worked with a number of local bands, including Martha and the Muffins (for whom his sister Jocelyne played bass), Ray Materick, as well as the Canadian children's singer Raffi.

Lanois worked collaboratively with Brian Eno on some of Eno's own projects, one of which was the theme song for David Lynch's film adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune. Eno invited him to co-produce U2's album The Unforgettable Fire. Along with Eno, he went on to produce U2's The Joshua Tree, the 1987 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and some of the band's other works including Achtung Baby and All That You Can't Leave Behind, both of which were nominated for the same award but did not win. Lanois once again collaborated with U2 and Brian Eno on the band's most recent album, No Line on the Horizon. He was involved in the songwriting process as well as mixing and production.^[5]

Lanois' early work with U2 led to him being hired to produce albums for other top-selling artists. Bono recommended Lanois to Bob Dylan in the late 1980s; in 1989 Lanois produced Dylan's Oh Mercy. Eight years later Dylan and Lanois worked together on Time Out of Mind which won another Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1997. In his autobiographical Chronicles, Vol. 1, Dylan describes in depth the contentious but rewarding working relationship he developed with Lanois.^[6]

Lanois spent most of 1985 producing So, Peter Gabriel's Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum-selling album, released in 1986. Wrecking Ball, his 1995 collaboration with Emmylou Harris, won a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. In 1998, he produced and appeared on Willie Nelson's album Teatro.

Lanois was working on Neil Young's record Le Noise in June 2010 when he was hospitalized after suffering multiple injuries in a motorcycle crash in the Silverlake area of Los Angeles.^[7] He has since recovered.

Lanois' production is recognizable and notable for its 'big' and 'live' drum sound, atmospheric guitars and ambient reverb.^[8] Rolling Stone called Lanois the "most important record producer to emerge in the Eighties."^[9]

As recording artist[link]

As well as being a producer, Lanois is also a songwriter, musician and recording artist. A number of his songs have been covered by other artists, including Dave Matthews, Jerry Garcia Band, Willie Nelson, Tea Party,Anna Beljin and Emmylou Harris, and his albums have had some success, particularly in Canada. Lanois plays the guitar, pedal steel, and drums. "Belladonna", an instrumental album released in 2005, was nominated for a Grammy.^[10] Lanois also provided an instrumental score for LOUDquietLOUD, a documentary about the Pixies.^[11] He contributed lead guitar on two songs of Bob Wiseman's 1995 Accidentally Acquired Beliefs.

Lanois premiered a documentary entitled Here Is What Is at the Toronto Film Festival on September 9, 2007. The film chronicles the recording of his album of the same name, and includes footage of the actual recording. The album Here Is What Is was released, first by download, then in compact disc, in late 2007 and early 2008. Soon after, Lanois released a three-disc recording called Omni.

In October 2009, Lanois started a project called Black Dub which features Lanois on guitar, Brian Blade on drums, and Daryl Johnson on bass, along with multi-instrumentalist/singer Trixie Whitley. They released a self-titled album in 2010.^[12] Daniel Lanois' Black Dub also appeared at the 2011 Bonnaroo Music Festival.

Recognition[link]

Daniel Lanois' star on Canada's Walk of Fame.

In 2005 he was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.^[13]

Discography[link]

Videography[link]

Production credits[link]

• Demo – Simply Saucer, 1974 (not released commercially until 1989, on the album Cyborgs Revisited)
• Blues and Sentimental – Jackie Washington, 1976 (As "Dan Lanois")
• Hobo's Taunt- Willie P. Bennett, 1977 (Engineered, as "Dan Lanois", with Bob Lanois)
• More Singable Songs – Raffi, 1977 (Recording credit as "Dan Lanois")
• Can't Wait For Summer – Ron Neilson, 1978
• Choice Cuts – Crackers, 1978 (As "Dan Lanois")
• Millionaires Millionaires, 1980 EP (As "Danny Lanois") (included two members of Teenage Head)
• This is the Ice Age – Martha and the Muffins, 1981
• Dream Away – Bernie LaBarge, 1981
• Mama Quilla, KKK, Angry Young Woman – 3-song 12" Album- 1982, Mama Quilla II
• Dance After Curfew – Nash the Slash, 1982
• Danseparc – Martha and the Muffins, 1982
• Ambient 4/On Land – Brian Eno, 1982
• Parachute Club – Parachute Club, 1983
• Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks – Brian Eno, 1983
• The Pearl – Harold Budd and Brian Eno, 1984
• Mystery Walk – M + M, 1984
• The Unforgettable Fire – U2, 1984
• Secrets and Sins – Luba, 1984
• Thursday Afternoon – Brian Eno, 1985
• Hybrid – Michael Brook, 1985
• Birdy – Peter Gabriel, 1985
• Voices – Roger Eno, 1985
• Power Spot – Jon Hassell, 1986
• So – Peter Gabriel, 1986
• The Joshua Tree – U2, 1987
• Robbie Robertson – Robbie Robertson, 1987
• Acadie – Daniel Lanois, 1989
• Oh Mercy – Bob Dylan, 1989
• Yellow Moon – Neville Brothers, 1989
• Home – Hothouse Flowers, 1990
• Achtung Baby – U2, 1991
• Flash of the Spirit – Jon Hassell and Farafina, 1992
• Us – Peter Gabriel, 1992
• The Last of the Mohicans – movie soundtrack, 1992
• For the Beauty of Wynona – Daniel Lanois, 1993
• Ron Sexsmith – Ron Sexsmith, 1994
• Wrecking Ball – Emmylou Harris, 1995
• Night to Night – Geoffrey Oryema, 1996
• Fever In Fever Out – Luscious Jackson, 1996
• Time Out of Mind – Bob Dylan, 1997
• Brian Blade Fellowship – Brian Blade, 1998
• 12 Bar Blues – Scott Weiland, 1998
• Teatro – Willie Nelson, 1998
• The Million Dollar Hotel – movie soundtrack, 2000
• All That You Can't Leave Behind – U2, 2000
• La Belle Vista - Harold Budd, 2003 (secretly recorded in Lanois Los Angeles living room)
• How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb – U2, 2004 (track "Love and Peace or Else")
• Dusk & Summer – Dashboard Confessional, 2006 (also produced by Don Gilmore)
• loudQUIETloud, A film about the pixies – movie soundtrack, 2006
• Back Where You Belong – Sinéad O'Connor, 2007.
• Snake Road – Bob Lanois
• No Line on the Horizon – U2, 2009 (plus songwriting credits).
• "Mind Games" & "Night Nurse" – Sinéad O'Connor, 2009.
• Mercy – Rocco DeLuca and the Burden, 2009.
• Flamingo – Brandon Flowers, 2010 (also produced by Stuart Price, Brendan O'Brien)
• Le Noise – Neil Young, 2010.

See also[link]

• Canadian Music Hall of Fame
• Music of Canada

Citations[link]

References[link]

• Entry from the Canadian Encyclopedia
• Daniel Lanois interview on Freethescene.com
• Jam.canoe.ca

External links[link]

• Official site
• Official site of Black Dub

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2010)

Jill Sobule
Sobule performing at the EchoPlex, LA August 6, 2009 Photo: Burns!
Background information
Born	(1965-01-16) January 16, 1965 (age 47) Denver, Colorado United States
Genres	Folk rock, Indie rock, rock
Occupations	Songwriter, Musician
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1986–present
Labels	MCA, Atlantic, Beyond, Artemis, Pinko Records
Associated acts	Emma Roberts
Website	www.jillsobule.com

Jill Sobule (born January 16, 1959 in Denver, Colorado) is an American singer-songwriter best known for the 1995 single "I Kissed a Girl", and "Supermodel" from the soundtrack of the 1995 film Clueless. Her folk-inflected compositions alternate between ironic, story-driven character studies and emotive ballads, a duality reminiscent of such 1970s American songwriters as Warren Zevon, Harry Nilsson, Loudon Wainwright III, Harry Chapin, and Randy Newman. Autobiographical elements, including Sobule's Jewish heritage and her adolescent battles with anorexia and depression, frequently occur in Sobule's writing. An appreciable percentage of her work is also dedicated to detailed accounts of both her own fictional female creations and such troubled but celebrated women as Joey Heatherton and Mary Kay Letourneau, whose stories are usually used to make ironic comments about fame and celebrity. In 2009 she released an album funded entirely by fan donations.

History and studio recordings[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2010)

To date Sobule has released seven studio albums of original songs, three EPs, and a greatest hits compilation album. Sobule's output also includes original songs available only via the Internet, a cover of Robert Earl Keen's Christmas novelty track "Merry Christmas from the Family," and a version of the late Warren Zevon's "Don't Let Us Get Sick" included on both Sobule's acoustic album and on a posthumous Zevon tribute record. Though Sobule remains more of an underground artist, playing for fans across the United States in smaller, more personal settings, her albums are frequently critically acclaimed and her music industry supporters include Todd Rundgren, Tom Morello, Steve Earle, Richard Barone, and Eagles member Don Henley.

Sobule's debut album Things Here Are Different was released in 1990. Though produced by pop legend Todd Rundgren, the album failed to sell. During this period a follow-up record was produced by British New Wave rocker Joe Jackson (for whom she opened during 1991) but Sobule was dropped from her label and the second record was never released. It was five years before Sobule landed another recording contract.

Her 1995 album Jill Sobule established Sobule as part of a short-lived but fruitful mid-90s movement of female singer-songwriters that included such artists as Lisa Loeb, Juliana Hatfield and Alanis Morissette. The album contains Sobule's best-known composition "I Kissed a Girl", a story-song about a lesbian flirtation between two suburban girlfriends which became an unlikely radio success thanks in part to a comedic music video featuring beefcake male model Fabio. "Supermodel" (sample lyric: "I didn't eat yesterday... and I'm not gonna eat today... and I'm not gonna eat tomorrow... 'Cause I'm gonna be a supermodel") managed to both send up and celebrate American teenage lifestyles, and became well known after its inclusion in 1995's hit teen comedy film Clueless.

The Jill Sobule album seemed to establish Sobule's commercial prospects, but her third album slowed that momentum while setting what has so far been the musical and production patterns for the rest of her career. 1997's Happy Town featured Sobule's most elaborate pop productions to date and contains songs about an eclectic range of topics including reactionary Christianity ("Soldiers of Christ"), the negative impact of anti-depressant medication on the libido ("Happy Town") and what is either the only track ever recorded that uses Anne Frank's enforced Nazi-era hibernation as the metaphor for a love song or the only song about Anne Frank that couches her life and death in the terms of a tussle over loyalty between two lovers ("Attic"). Though embraced by record reviewers from publications as diverse as the Advocate and Entertainment Weekly, Happy Town sold poorly, simultaneously solidifying Sobule's critical reputation while stalling her commercial momentum.

The 2000 record Pink Pearl may be Sobule's most characteristic set. Anchored by the female character studies "Lucy at the Gym" (about an anorexic exercise addict), "Claire" (about an aging lesbian aviator succumbing to Alzheimer's disease) and "Mary Kay" about Mary Kay Letourneau, the notorious real-life schoolteacher who became impregnated and imprisoned as the result of an affair with a 13-year-old male student, whom she married when he reached the age of consent. Pink Pearl also contains some of Sobule's most directly confessional songwriting, especially the atheist's prayer "Somewhere in New Mexico" and the insomniac's lullaby "Rock Me To Sleep". Henley contributed a promotional quotation to the ad campaign for the album and selected Sobule to open for him during his solo tour that year.

In 2004, Sobule self-released an independent album of demo-quality acoustic tracks entitled The Folk Years 2003–2003. In addition to some of her rarer compositions and several tracks that would later receive fuller arrangements on Sobule's next major-label release, Sobule performed offbeat cover versions of such standards as the old Doris Day theme song "Que Sera Sera" and "Sunrise/Sunset" from the Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof.

2004's more elaborately recorded Underdog Victorious was one of the last albums distributed by legendary personal manager and media entrepreneur Danny Goldberg's now-defunct Artemis Records. The album is a representative selection that alternates between self-portraiture and ironic story songs. Here Sobule comments on her own unconventional show business career (the bittersweet "Freshman") as well as the tragicomic arc of go-go dancing 60s icon Joey Heatherton ("Joey") alongside whimsical autobiographical songs ("Cinnamon Park" and "Strawberry Gloss") and more politicized tracks dealing with issues related to adolescent homosexuality ("Underdog Victorious" and the humorous "Under the Disco Ball") and even sexual slavery ("Tel Aviv," sung in the voice of a girl forced into prostitution after going overseas for a waitressing job "in the Promised Land"). Sobule's niche as one of the more empathetic satirists working in popular song is encapsulated by her "tribute" to Heatherton, which gets a lot of comedic mileage out of the garish shallowness of Heatherton's story but with a chorus that finds Sobule singing "All she ever wanted was your love and affection/Isn't that the same thing that we all want?" before ending with the words "You can sleep at my house if you want to, Joey."

The liquidation of Artemis Records led Sobule to extend her experiments with online music distribution and to relocate from New York City to Los Angeles, where she has continued to write and perform prolifically and to compose original music for television, including for the popular Nickelodeon series Unfabulous.

In mid-January 2008, Sobule launched a website, jillsnextrecord.com, which sought to raise $75,000 through fan donations in order to produce, manufacture, distribute and promote an upcoming studio album. In exchange for their donations, Sobule offered her patrons an assortment of gifts with values commensurate with the amount of the donation. These gifts ranged from a free download of the album upon its release ($10) to the opportunity to attend a recording session and sing on the record ($10,000). On March 8, 2008, 53 days after the public launch of the site, Sobule reached her target through donations from over 500 people in 44 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and eleven foreign countries.^[1] The subsequent album, California Years, was released on April 14, 2009 on Sobule's own label, Pinko Records. Produced by Don Was, it is a song cycle reflecting Sobule's personal and professional experiences after relocating from New York to Los Angeles, and containing humorous and poignant observations about the people, geography and popular culture of the West.

Music[link]

Jill Sobule and Lloyd Cole during a concert in Seattle, Washington in 2005

Sobule uses both satire and personal experience to sing about a range of issues, including sexuality, depression, war, abandonment, and greed. According to her website bio, a central preoccupation of her work is the classic one: "Love found, love lost, love wished for and love taken away." Many of her songs incorporate humor into their narrative. She often creates detailed character sketches, especially of women.

Generally, her songs are unconventionally folk-like, using lounge music percussion flourishes and retro horn charts not usually found in tracks recorded by mainstream artists. Occasionally her arrangements intentionally mimic works by other performers, most noticeably on "Rainy Day Parade" from 2000's Pink Pearl, which quotes TV's The Mary Tyler Moore Show theme to lend ironic triumphalism to a song about a woman going back on anti-depressant medication, and "Cinnamon Park" from the 2004 album Underdog Victorious, which paraphrases portions of the 1972 single "Saturday in the Park" by the band Chicago. Her rhythmic sensibility at times recalls cocktail music producer and recording artist Esquivel, and her harmony parts can resemble the Beatles on some of her more elaborate album tracks – possibly an influence from her early recording efforts with Nazz founder and avowed Beatlemaniac Todd Rundgren.^{[citation needed]}

Collaborations[link]

Sobule is a prolific collaborator, writing and performing both with other musicians and with artists from nonmusical disciplines, including blogger Ariana Huffington, television producer Sue Rose and comedienne Julia Sweeney.

Jill Sobule, in 2007, performing at D5 in Carlsbad Caverns

In the late 90s, Sobule toured with Richard Barone as "The Richard & Jill Show." Together they wrote "Bitter" from Happy Town, "Rock Me To Sleep" from Pink Pearl, "Big Shoes" from I Never Learned to Swim, and "Waiting For The Train" from Barone's Clouds Over Eden album. They also appeared together in the underground film Next Year In Jerusalem, which features another of their compositions, "Everybody's Queer." The pair continue to collaborate, including on a new song, "Odd Girl Out" for Barone's new album, Glow (Bar/None Records, 2010). Their songs have been used on The West Wing. Felicity, Dawson's Creek, South of Nowhere and other television shows.

In 2000, Sobule joined Lloyd Cole's short-lived band The Negatives.

In 2004, she played one of the five leads in the film Mind The Gap with six of her songs featured on the soundtrack.

In 2005, Sobule contributed music to Unfabulous, a popular Nickelodeon TV series about a 13-year-old aspiring songwriter, including a title song performed by Sobule under the program's opening credits. Four Sobule compositions or co-compositions appear on the series star's debut album, Unfabulous and More: Emma Roberts: a Roberts cover version of "Mexican Wrestler" from Sobule's album Pink Pearl; "Punch Rocker" and "94 Weeks (Metal Mouth Freak)," both written by Sobule for Roberts' character to "compose" on the program; and "New Shoes," a track co-written by Sobule with Unfabulous series creator Sue Rose.

In 2006, Sobule met Julia Sweeney, the actress, writer and comedienne, and started performing the "Jill and Julia Show", a compilation of songs and stories. They performed at the James Randi Educational Foundation meeting in Las Vegas on January 19, 2007, as well as at regular showings for the Groundlings Theater in Los Angeles.

Also in 2006, Sobule created a theme song for blogger Ariana Huffington's self-help book On Becoming Fearless. The tune was briefly featured on Huffington's popular aggregated weblog The Huffington Post in a music video featuring vocals by both Sobule and Huffington.

In 2007, Sobule teamed up with John Doe to produce and record a cover of Neil Young's "Down By The River" for the American Laundromat Records benefit CD Cinnamon Girl – Women Artists Cover Neil Young For Charity. Other contributing artists included Lori McKenna, Tanya Donelly, Josie Cotton, Kristin Hersh, Britta Phillips, and The Watsons Twins.

Also in 2007, Sobule's song San Francisco became the first single released by producer Don Was as part of his Wasmopolitan Cavalcade of Recorded Music, an advertiser-sponsored means for the recording and distribution of new music, part of the multimedia website mydamnchannel.com. The pair also collaborated on a 16 minute concert video entitled "Jill Sobule's Dance Party," distributed for free in two parts on both mydamnchannel.com and YouTube.

In May 2008, Sobule released a CD of music from Prozak and the Platypus, a multi-media collaboration of Sobule, playwright Elise Thoron, and graphic artist KellyAnne Hanrahan. The play, written by Thoron (book, lyrics) and Sobule (music) and illustrated in a graphic novella by Hanrahan, tells the story of a fierce young woman, Sara (a musician) and her father Arvin, a neuroscientist, who relocates his family from Los Angeles to Brisbane, Australia to study REM sleep in the platypus, a unique species native to Australia. Shattered by her mother's recent suicide and unhappy with the side-effects of her own treatment for depression, Sara renames herself "Prozak," rages through her songwriting, and rebels.^[2] Meanwhile, in her father's lab, Sara finds an unexpected confidant in her father's current lab subject, a jaunty platypus who speaks to her and calls himself "Frankie." In the piece, according to its website, "Music club and science lab become testing grounds in which angry teen and scientist father pit aboriginal mythology against modern neuroscience research. The dreams of a platypus prove to be the link between the two."

Sobule was a frequent guest on National Public Radio's The Bryant Park Project. Her contributions took the form of musical essays offering commentary on contemporary issues, including record-financing in the music industry, the 2007 Writers Guild strike, and the popularity of tarty, uncreative Halloween costumes.

Sobule toured twice with the late Warren Zevon, with whom she shares a penchant for sardonic storytelling. The two artists frequently accompanied one another during each other's sets, and Zevon was known on multiple occasions to take the lead vocal on Sobule's "I Kissed a Girl". Sobule has said that part of their bond came from the fact that she, like Zevon, was best known for a single fluke hit (Zevon's being "Werewolves of London").

In recent public statements, Sobule has expressed interest in compiling a live album, in addition to shifting her musical distribution toward an online-only model, based on quickly produced, "EP" length works.

In 2009 and 2010, Sobule performed with Julia Sweeney in a revue called "Jill and Julia". Sobule and Sweeney originally met at a TED (conference) and performed together at TED in 2008.^[3] They brought the show on the road in 2009 and 2010, performing in New York and Denver among other locations. The show is an autobiographical mix of music, stories and commentary.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• Things Here Are Different (1990)
• Jill Sobule (1995)
• Happy Town (1997)
• Pink Pearl (2000)
• The Folk Years 2003–2003 (2004) (Independent Release)
• Underdog Victorious (2004)
• Jill Sobule Sings Prozak and the Platypus (2008)
• California Years (2009)
• A Day At The Pass (2011)

Compilations[link]

• I Never Learned to Swim: Jill Sobule 1990–2000 (2001) (Best of Compilation)

EPs[link]

• It's the Thought That Counts [EP] (2000) (Independent Release)
• Be Mine... Please [EP] (2001) (Independent Release)
• It's the Thought That Counts (Re-issue) [EP] (2005) (Independent Release)

Singles[link]

• 1990: "Too Cool to Fall in Love"
• 1990: "Living Color"
• 1995: "I Kissed a Girl"
• 1996: "Good Person Inside" (Radio Version)
• 1996: "Supermodel" (Radio Remix)
• 1997: "Bitter" (PG-13 Edit)
• 1997: "When My Ship Comes In" (Edit)
• 2000: "One of These Days" (Radio Version)
• 2000: "Rainy Day Parade"
• 2001: "Stoned Soul Picnic"
• 2004: "Cinnamon Park" (PG Edit)
• 2007: "San Francisco"

Soundtrack appearances[link]

• 1995: "Supermodel" from Clueless
• 1996: "Where Do I Begin" from The Truth About Cats & Dogs
• 1996: "Truth Is You Lied" from Grace of My Heart
• 1996: "The Secretive Life" from Harriet the Spy
• 1999: "Rainy Day Parade" from Mystery Men
• 2003: "Tel Aviv," "Nothing Natural," "Bitter," "Somewhere in New Mexico," "Freshman," and "Vrbana Bridge" from Mind the Gap
• 2005: "Love Is Never Equal" from Jenny McCarthy's Dirty Love

Various artist compilations[link]

• 1992: "Too Cool to Fall in Love" from An Elpee's Worth of Productions
• 1995: "The Jig Is Up" from Grooves: Volume 8
• 1995: "Good Person Inside" and "The Man in the Boat" from Spew
• 1995: "Merry Christmas from the Family" from You Sleigh Me
• 1997: "Stoned Soul Picnic" from Time and Love: The Music of Laura Nyro
• 1997: "I Will Survive" from In Their Own Words and from Hard Rock Live
• 1998: "Saddest Day of the Year" from A Christmas to Remember
• 1999: "Just a Little Lovin'" from Forever Dusty
• 1999: "Sunrise, Sunset" from Knitting on the Roof
• 2000: "Rainy Day Parade" from New Talent Spotlight Volume 2
• 2000: "I Kissed a Girl" from K-TEL Pop Alternative
• 2004: "Don't Let Us Get Sick" from Enjoy Every Sandwich: The Songs of Warren Zevon
• 2007: "Down by the River" with John Doe from Cinnamon Girl – Women Artists Cover Neil Young For Charity

B-sides[link]

• 1995: Queen of Spades (from the Supermodel single)
• 1997: Loveless Motel (from the Bitter single, later included on album Pink Pearl)
• 2000: Lucy at the Gym (from the When My Ship Comes In single, later included on album Pink Pearl)
• 2004: Almost Fell (Bonus track on the Borders edition of Underdog Victorious)

Unreleased[link]

• 2000: "Youthful Indiscretions"
• 2003: "Nothing I Can Do" (from the off-Broadway production Prozak and the Platypus)
• 2004: "Perry St." (from the Underdog Victorious sessions)
• 2004: "Let's Get Back Together" (from the Underdog Victorious sessions)
• 2004: "Mickey and Me" (from the Underdog Victorious sessions)
• 2004: "Western Skies"
• 2004: "Blue America"
• 2006: "Manhattan in January"
• 2006: "The End of Love"
• 2007: "Odd Girl Out" (with Richard Barone)
• 2007: "Letting Go of God" (from the Julia Sweeney stage show Letting Go of God)
• 2007: "Slutty Halloween"
• 2007: "We Are the Writers" (on the 2007 Writers Strike)
• ????: "Billy's Thing"
• ????: "Small Things"
• ????: "Mom"
• ????: "My Life Uncovered"
• ????: "The Rapture"
• ????: "Red Purse"
• ????: "Texas"
• ????: "Money Shot"
• ????: "Everybody's Queer" (with Richard Barone)
• ????: "Don't Fuck with Me"
• ????: "The Most Miserable Girl in the World"
• ????: "Ritalin Kid"
• ????: "Agony Cafe"
• ????: "Hearts and Minds"

Other[link]

• Clouds Over Eden (1994) – Richard Barone
• The Negatives (2000) – Lloyd Cole and The Negatives
• Unfabulous – TV show soundtrack
• So Jill – Tribute song written & performed by Jane Wiedlin, Lloyd Cole & Charlotte Caffey

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jill Sobule

• Official website
• Jill's Next Record (website soliciting fan donations to fund production, release and promotion of Sobule's 2009 album)
• Jill Sobule's Blog on The Huffington Post
• Jill Sobule's Blog on Yahoo! Music
• Video Interview with Jill with theDigitalLifestyle.tv
• March 2008 Interview
• Prozak and the Platypus site
• Audio interview with Erin McKeown and Jill Sobule on Well-Rounded Radio, 2009

Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow at the 68th Venice Film Festival, September 2011
Born	Gwyneth Kate Paltrow[1] (1972-09-27) September 27, 1972 (age 39)[2] Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, singer, author
Years active	1990–present
Spouse	Chris Martin (m. 2003) «start: (2003)»"Marriage: Chris Martin to Gwyneth Paltrow" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Gwyneth_Paltrow)
Children	2
Parents	Bruce Paltrow (deceased) Blythe Danner
Relatives	Jake Paltrow (brother) Katherine Moennig (cousin)

Gwyneth Kate Paltrow ( /ˈɡwɪnɨθ ˈpæltroʊ/; born September 27, 1972) is an American actress and singer.^[3][4] She made her acting debut on stage in 1990 and started appearing in films in 1991. After appearing in several films throughout the decade, Paltrow gained early notice for her work in films such as Seven (1995) and Emma (1996) (in which she played the title role). Following the films Sliding Doors (1998) and A Perfect Murder (1998), Paltrow garnered worldwide recognition through her performance in Shakespeare in Love (1998), for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, for Outstanding Lead Actress and as a member of the Outstanding Cast. She also won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2011 for her role as Holly Holliday on the Fox hit TV show Glee in the episode "The Substitute".

Paltrow has portrayed supporting as well as lead roles in films such as The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Shallow Hal (2001), and Proof (2005), for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actress in Motion Picture Drama. Since 2008, she has portrayed Pepper Potts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starring in Iron Man and its sequel, Iron Man 2 (2010), and also appearing in The Avengers (2012). Paltrow has been the face of Estée Lauder's Pleasures perfume since 2005. She is married to Chris Martin, the lead vocalist of Coldplay. They have two children together, Apple and Moses. She is also the face of American fashion brand Coach,^[5] owner of the lifestyle company Goop.com^[6] and author of the cookbook My Father's Daughter: Delicious, Easy Recipes Celebrating Family & Togetherness.^[7]

Early life[link]

Paltrow was born in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of actress Blythe Danner and film producer/director Bruce Paltrow. Her father was Jewish (of Russian Ashkenazi origin),^[8][9] and her mother is a Quaker of Pennsylvania Dutch and more distant white Barbadian ancestry.^[10][11][12] Paltrow's paternal great-great-grandfather, whose surname was "Paltrowicz," was a rabbi in Nowogród, Poland.^[13] Paltrow has a younger brother, Jake Paltrow, and is a half-cousin of actress Katherine Moennig, and a second cousin of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (AZ-08).^[14]

Paltrow was raised in Santa Monica, where she attended Crossroads School, before enrolling in The Spence School, a private girls' school in New York City.^[15] Later, she briefly studied art history at University of California in Santa Barbara, before dropping out to act.^[16] She is an "adopted daughter" of Talavera de la Reina (Spain), where at 15 she spent a year as an exchange student and learned to speak Spanish.^{[17][clarification needed][18]}

Career[link]

1990–1995: Early work[link]

After spending several summers watching her mother perform at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts, Paltrow made her professional stage debut there in 1990.^[16] Her film debut followed with Shout (1991), starring John Travolta, and she was cast by Steven Spielberg in his film Hook (1991), as the young Wendy Darling.^[16] Paltrow's next roles were in two made-for-television films: Cruel Doubt (1992) and Deadly Relations (1993). Her first plum supporting role in a big-screen film was in the 1993 drama Flesh and Bone, where she played the much-younger girlfriend of James Caan. In the hit thriller Seven (1995), she played Brad Pitt's wife. Paltrow's character was the high school sweetheart of Pitt's, even though she is nine years younger than him in real life. Her performance earned her a Satellite Award nomination. Also in 1995, she appeared in Moonlight and Valentino and Jefferson in Paris.

1996–2001: Breakthrough and film stardom[link]

Paltrow at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival

Paltrow's first role as the central lead was the title role in Emma (1996), for which she received critical acclaim. She had leading roles in several films throughout 1998, including Sliding Doors and the adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations with Ethan Hawke, Robert De Niro, Anne Bancroft and Chris Cooper. She also appeared in two thrillers, Hush opposite Jessica Lange and A Perfect Murder inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film, Dial M for Murder. Paltrow appeared opposite Michael Douglas as Emily Taylor, based on Grace Kelly's character from the original film, though the film was met with mixed reviews.^[19]

In 1998, Paltrow starred in Shakespeare in Love, portraying the fictional lover of William Shakespeare, played by Joseph Fiennes. The film earned more than US$100 million in box office receipts in the United States, and Paltrow gained critical acclaim for her portrayal. Entertainment Weekly commented, "Best of all is Gwyneth Paltrow, who, at long last, has a movie to star in that's as radiant as she is."^[20] The New York Times summed up her turn as Viola as such: "Gwyneth Paltrow, in her first great, fully realized starring performance, makes a heroine so breathtaking that she seems utterly plausible as the playwright's guiding light."^[21] The award-winning Shakespeare in Love^[22][23] earned Paltrow the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role from the Screen Actors Guild,^[24] the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress^[24] and the Academy Award for Best Actress, among other honors.^[23] Her Pink Ralph Lauren dress worn at the 71st Academy Awards in collecting her Oscar was extremely popular and was credited for bringing pink back into fashion.^[25]

In 1999, Paltrow co-starred alongside Jude Law, Matt Damon and Cate Blanchett in The Talented Mr. Ripley, which earned $80 million domestically and received positive reviews.^[26] She showcased her singing ability in 2000's Duets, which was directed by her father and co-starred singer Huey Lewis. The same year, Paltrow co-starred with Ben Affleck in the romantic drama Bounce as Abby Janello. In 2001, she played Margot Tenenbaum as part of an ensemble cast in the Wes Anderson film The Royal Tenenbaums and starred with Jack Black in the comedy Shallow Hal, where she had to wear a specially designed 25-pound fatsuit and heavy make-up.

2002–2007: Career down[link]

Paltrow at a ceremony for receiving her Hollywood Walk of Fame star, December 2010

Since the Oscar for Shakespeare in Love, Paltrow's film success has been less noteworthy.^[27] She said she was unequipped for the pressure, leading to several bad movie choices,^[28] agreeing with peers who believe the win is, in some ways, a curse.^[29] During this time, Paltrow rarely appeared in films, having taken a career hiatus to raise her family.^[15] In The Guardian, she said she divided her career into movies for love and films for money: The Royal Tenenbaums, Proof, and Sylvia fell into the former category, while she did View from the Top and Shallow Hal for the latter.^[18] In 2004, she appeared in the science-fiction film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow opposite Jude Law. The same year, she was recognized as an outstanding woman in entertainment by Women in Film Los Angeles with the Crystal Award.^[30] In 2005, she appeared in the film Proof as the depressed daughter of a brilliant, eccentric mathematician. The movie is based on the play of the same name, in which Paltrow also played the same character at London's Donmar Warehouse in 2002. For her performance Paltrow earned her second Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama. In 2006, she had small roles in Running With Scissors and Infamous, in which she sang Cole Porter's "What Is This Thing Called Love?".

2008–present: Career comeback[link]

In 2008, she appeared in the superhero film Iron Man as Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's closest friend, budding love interest, and business partner.^[31] Iron Man is Paltrow's highest-grossing film to date, earning more than $585,000,000 worldwide.^[32] Paltrow said she was hesitant to appear in a big-budget project but she was won over by Robert Downey Jr., the film's lead, and director Jon Favreau. She recalled a conversation with Downey, saying:^[33]

Robert called me and he said, 'This is gonna be fun, and this is gonna be good.' And then he said to me, 'Don't you want to be in a movie that people see?' And I was like, 'Whoa! What would that feel like?' And he's right. Moviemaking is not supposed to be a masturbatory exercise; it's supposed to be shared by other people.

In 2010, Paltrow reprised her role in the sequel to Iron Man, Iron Man 2. Later in 2010, she appeared in the musical Country Strong and recorded the song Country Strong for the film's soundtrack.^[34] The song was released to country radio in August 2010.^[35] At the 83rd Academy Awards, Paltrow performed another song from the movie, "Coming Home," which was nominated for Best Original Song.^[36] She also appeared in Fox's Glee, as substitute teacher Holly Holliday, who fills in for Matthew Morrison's character when he falls ill. In her first episode, "The Substitute," she sang "Nowadays" from the musical Chicago with Lea Michele, Cee Lo Green's "Forget You", and a mash-up of "Singin' In the Rain" and Rihanna's "Umbrella" with Morrison and the rest of the cast.^[37] She later performed "Forget You" with Cee-Lo Green himself and several puppet characters provided by the Jim Henson Company at the 2011 Grammy Awards.^[38] She reprised her role twice more that season, performing "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" by Gary Glitter, an acoustic version of "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac, "Kiss" by Prince, and Adele's "Turning Tables". In 2011, Paltrow appeared in the Steven Soderbergh thriller Contagion, in which she was part of an ensemble cast, including Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard and her The Talented Mr. Ripley co-stars Matt Damon and Jude Law ^[39]. The movie opened at number 1 at the US Box Office Weekend and received positive reviews. In 2012 she stars in the independent romantic comedy Thanks for Sharing with Mark Ruffalo and reprised her role as Pepper Potts in the film The Avengers, which broke records as the highest grossing U.S. opening weekend film of all time. It was confirmed that Paltrow will star in a Spanish film alongside Antonio Banderas to shoot in late 2012.

Other projects[link]

Paltrow on the 84th Academy Awards Red Carpet 2012

Paltrow is a Save the Children artist ambassador, raising awareness about World Pneumonia Day.^[40] She is on the board of the Robin Hood Foundation, a charitable organization that works to alleviate poverty in New York City.^[41] In February 2009, Paltrow received a Grammy nomination for her reading of the classic bear books of author Bill Martin, Jr.^[42]

Paltrow had her singing debut in the 2000 film Duets, in which she performed a cover version of Smokey Robinson's "Cruisin'". The song was released as a single. The song went to number one in Australia, while Paltrow's rendition of the Kim Carnes classic "Bette Davis Eyes" reached number three.^{[citation needed]} In the 2006 film Infamous, she sang "What Is This Thing Called Love". On September 27, 2006, Paltrow sang with rapper Jay-Z during his concert at Royal Albert Hall. She sang the chorus for "Song Cry", from the rapper's album Blueprint.^[43] In an interview, she said she would be at the concert but not that she would perform. She was quoted as saying "I'm a Jay-Z fan. He's my best friend."^[44]

In May 2005, Paltrow became the face of Estée Lauder's Pleasures perfume. She appeared in Chicago on August 17, 2007, to sign bottles of the perfume, and on July 8, 2008, she promoted Lauder's Sensuous perfume in New York with the company's three other models.^[45] Estée Lauder donates a minimum of $500,000 of sales of items from the 'Pleasures Gwyneth Paltrow' collection to breast cancer research.^[46] In 2006, she became the face for Bean Pole International, a Korean fashion brand.^{[citation needed]}

In October 2007, she signed for a PBS television series Spain... on the road Again with Mario Batali that showcases the food and culture of Spain.^[47] In September 2008, she launched a weekly lifestyle newsletter, Goop, encouraging readers to 'nourish the inner aspect'. The website's title is derived from the initials of her first and last names.^[48] Each week, the newsletter focuses on an action: Make, Go, Get, Do, Be, and See. It has been ridiculed by E-Online,^[49] Vanity Fair,^[50] The Independent,^[51] and the UK's Daily Mirror.^[52]

Personal life[link]

At the age of 24, Paltrow was engaged for six months to actor Brad Pitt, whom she dated from December 1994 to June 1997.^[53] The engagement was called off, according to Paltrow, because she was not ready for marriage, and she later felt responsible for hurting Pitt since she was "such a mess" during that time in her life.^[54] Paltrow has since said that, as this was her first high-profile relationship with another celebrity, it taught her the need for public discretion about her romantic life; she told Biography magazine, "I said things about being in a relationship [with Brad Pitt] that felt wrong to me even as I was saying them."^[55]

Paltrow had an on-off three-year relationship with actor Ben Affleck from 1997 to late 2000.^[56] Soon after their breakup, Paltrow convinced Affleck to work in the film Bounce with her;^[57] during the making of the film, which was shot in mid 1999, the couple started dating again and eventually broke up in October 2000.^[56]

In October 2002, Paltrow met Chris Martin of the British rock group Coldplay backstage three weeks after the death of her father, Bruce Paltrow. They married on December 5, 2003, in a ceremony at a hotel in Southern California.^[58] On May 14, 2004, the couple had their first child, a girl named Apple Blythe Alison Martin. Paltrow explained the unusual first name on Oprah, saying: "It sounded so sweet and it conjured such a lovely picture for me – you know, apples are so sweet and they're wholesome and it's biblical – and I just thought it sounded so lovely and … clean! And I just thought, 'Perfect!'"^[59]

Her second child, a boy named Moses Bruce Anthony Martin, was born on April 8, 2006, in New York City's Mount Sinai Hospital.^[60] Her son's first name was explained as the song, titled "Moses", that her husband wrote for her before their wedding.^[60] Paltrow has stated that she cut down on work after becoming a mother.^[61] She has also said that she suffered from postpartum depression after the birth of her second child.^[62]

In 2010, she suffered a severe tibial plateau fracture, due to a vitamin D deficiency and osteopenia.^[63]

Paltrow discovered in 2011 that her father's family came from a long line of influential East European rabbis, and that inspired her to raise her daughter and son in a Jewish environment.^[64]

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

Singles[link]

Featured singles[link]

Album appearances[link]

Music videos[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gwyneth Paltrow

• Gwyneth Paltrow at the Internet Movie Database
• Gwyneth Paltrow at People.com
• Gwyneth Paltrow's Newsletter, Goop
• Gwyneth Paltrow on Twitter