Nothing is no thing,^[1] denoting the absence of something. Nothing is a pronoun associated with nothingness,^[1] which is also an adjective, and an object as a concept in the Frege-Church ontology.

In nontechnical uses, nothing denotes things lacking importance, interest, value, relevance, or significance.^[1] Nothingness is the state of being nothing,^[2] the state of nonexistence of anything, or the property of having nothing.

Philosophy[link]

Western philosophy[link]

Some would consider the study of "nothing" to be foolish, a typical response of this type is voiced by Giacomo Casanova (1725–1798) in conversation with his landlord, one Dr. Gozzi, who also happens to be a priest,

However, "nothingness" has been treated as a serious subject worthy of research for a very long time. In philosophy, to avoid linguistic traps over the meaning of "nothing", a phrase such as not-being is often employed to unambiguously make clear what is being discussed.

Parmenides[link]

One of the earliest western philosophers to consider nothing as a concept was Parmenides (5th century BC) who was a Greek philosopher of the monist school. He argued that "nothing" cannot exist by the following line of reasoning. To speak of a thing, one has to speak of a thing that exists. Since we can speak of a thing in the past, it must still exist (in some sense) now and from this concludes that there is no such thing as change. As a corollary, there can be no such things as coming-into-being, passing-out-of-being or not-being.^[4]

Despite the fact of existence stubbornly refuting Parmenides' conclusion, he was taken seriously by other philosophers, influencing, for instance, Socrates and Plato.^[5] Aristotle too, gives Parmenides serious consideration but concludes; "Although these opinions seem to follow logically in a dialectical discussion, yet to believe them seems next door to madness when one considers the facts."^[6]

Leucippus[link]

Leucippus (early 5th century BC), one of the atomists, along with other philosophers of his time, made attempts to reconcile this with the everyday observation of motion and change. He accepted the monist position that there could be no motion without a void. The void is the opposite of being, it is not-being. On the other hand, a thing that exists is an absolute plenum and there can be no motion in a plenum because it is completely full. But there is not one monolithic plenum, existence consists of a multiplicity of plenums. These are the invisibly small atoms of the atomists theory, later expanded more fully by Democritus (circa 460 BC – 370 BC). They are a necessary part of the theory to allow the void to exist between them. In this scenario macroscopic objects can come-into-being move through space and pass into not-being by means of the coming together and moving apart of their constituent atoms. The void must exist to allow this to happen or else the frozen world of Parmenides must be accepted.

Bertrand Russell points out that this does not exactly defeat the argument of Parmenides, but rather ignores it by taking the rather modern scientific position of starting with the observed data (motion etc.) and constructing a theory based on the data as opposed to Parmenides attempts to work from pure logic. Russell also observes that both sides were mistaken in believing that there can be no motion in a plenum, but arguably motion cannot start in a plenum.^[7] Cyril Bailey notes that Leucippus is the first to say that a thing (the void) might be real without being a body and points out the irony that this comes from a materialistic atomist. Leucippus is therefore the first to say that "nothing" has a reality attached to it.^[8]

Aristotle[link]

Aristotle (384–322 BC) provided the classic escape from the logical problem posed by Parmenides by distinguishing things that are matter and things that are space. In this scenario, space is not "nothing", but a receptacle in which objects of matter can be placed. The void (as "nothing") is different from space and is removed from consideration.^[9][10]

This characterisation of space reached its pinnacle with Isaac Newton who asserted the existence of absolute space. Interestingly, modern quantum theory agrees that space is not the void, there is the concept of quantum foam which still exists in the absence of all else, although Albert Einstein's general relativity no longer agrees with Newton's concept of an absolute space. René Descartes, on the other hand, returned to a Parmenides-like argument of denying the existence of space. For Descartes, there was matter, and there was extension of matter leaving no room for the existence of "nothing".^[11]

The idea that space can actually be empty was generally still not accepted by philosophers who invoked arguments similar to the plenum reasoning. Although Descartes views on this were challenged by Blaise Pascal, he declined to overturn the traditional belief, commonly stated in the form "Nature abhors a vacuum". This remained so until Evangelista Torricelli invented the barometer in 1643 and showed that an empty space appeared if the mercury tube was turned upside down. This phenomenon being known as the Torricelli vacuum and the unit of vacuum pressure, the torr, being named after him. Even Torricelli's teacher, the famous Galileo Galilei had previously been unable to adequately explain the sucking action of a pump.^[12]

John the Scot[link]

John the Scot, or Johannes Scotus Eriugena (c. 815–877) held many surprisingly heretical beliefs for the time he lived in for which no action appears ever to have been taken against him. His ideas mostly stem from, or are based on his work of translating pseudo-Dionysius. His beliefs are essentially pantheist and he classifies evil, amongst many other things, into not-being. This is done on the grounds that evil is the opposite of good, a quality of God, but God can have no opposite, since God is everything in the pantheist view of the world. Similarly, the idea that God created the world out of "nothing" is to be interpreted as the "nothing" here is synonymous with God.^[13]

G. W. F. Hegel[link]

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) is the philosopher who brought the dialectical method to its pinnacle of development. According to Hegel in Science of Logic the dialectical methods consists of three steps. First, a thesis is given, which can be any postulate in logic. Second, the antithesis of the thesis is formed and finally a synthesis incorporating both thesis and antithesis. Hegel believed that no postulate taken by itself can be completely true. Only the whole can be true and the dialectical synthesis was the means by which the whole could be examined in relation to a specific postulate. Truth consists of the whole process, separating out thesis, antithesis or synthesis as a stand-alone statement results in something that is in some way or other untrue. The concept of "nothing" arises in Hegel right at the beginning of his Logic. The whole is called by Hegel the "Absolute" and is to be viewed as something spiritual. Hegel then has;^[14]

• Thesis: The Absolute is Pure Being
• Antithesis: The Absolute is Nothing
• Synthesis: The Absolute is Becoming

Existentialists[link]

The most prominent figure among the existentialists is Jean-Paul Sartre whose ideas in his book Being and Nothingness are heavily influenced by Being and Time of Martin Heidegger, although Heidegger later stated that he was misunderstood by Sartre.^[15] Sartre defines two kinds of "being" (être). One kind is être-en-soi, the brute existence of things such as a tree. The other kind is être-pour-soi which is consciousness. Sartre claims that this second kind of being is "nothing" since consciousness cannot be an object of consciousness and can possess no essence.^[16] Sartre, and even more so, Jaques Lacan, use this conception of nothing as the foundation of their atheist philosophy. Equating nothingness with being leads to creation from nothing and hence God is no longer needed for there to be existence.^[17]

Eastern philosophy[link]

This section requires expansion.

The understanding of 'nothing' varies widely between cultures, especially between Western and Eastern cultures and philosophical traditions. For instance, Śūnyatā (emptiness), unlike "nothingness", is considered to be a state of mind in some forms of Buddhism (see Nirvana, mu, and Bodhi). Achieving 'nothing' as a state of mind in this tradition allows one to be totally focused on a thought or activity at a level of intensity that they would not be able to achieve if they were consciously thinking. A classic example of this is an archer attempting to erase his mind and clear his thoughts to better focus on his shot. Some authors have pointed to similarities between the Buddhist conception of nothingness and the ideas of Martin Heidegger and existentialists like Sartre,^[18][19] although this connection has not been explicitly made by the philosophers themselves.

In some Eastern philosophies, the concept of "nothingness" is characterized by an egoless state of being in which one fully realizes one's own small part in the cosmos.

The Kyoto school handles the concept of nothingness as well.

Language and logic[link]

Alice: "I see nothing."

Cheshire Cat: "My. You have good eyes."^[20]

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. (June 2011)

Grammatically, the word "nothing" is an indefinite pronoun, which means that it refers to something^{[citation needed]}. One might argue that "nothing" is a concept, and since concepts are things, the concept of "nothing" itself is a thing. This logical fallacy is neatly demonstrated by the joke syllogism that contains a fallacy of four terms:

1. The Devil is greater than nothing.
2. Nothing is greater than God.
3. Therefore, the Devil is greater than God.

The four terms in this example are God, the Devil, nothing-as-a-thing that the Devil is greater than, and nothing as no-thing or not-some-thing (some thing is not greater than God). The error in the conclusion stems from equating nothing-as-a-thing with no-thing which is invalid logic.

Clauses can often be restated to avoid the appearance that "nothing" possesses an attribute. For example, the sentence "There is nothing in the basement" can be restated as "There is not one thing in the basement". "Nothing is missing" can be restated as "everything is present". Conversely, many fallacious conclusions follow from treating "nothing" as a noun.

Logician Alonzo Church describes this as all names having both a concept or sense, and a denotation. Church did not consider the name "nothingness", and its denotation.

Modern logic made it possible to articulate these points coherently as intended, and many philosophers hold that the word "nothing" does not function as a noun, as there is no object to which it refers. There remain various opposing views, however—for example, that our understanding of the world rests essentially on noticing absences and lacks as well as presences, and that "nothing" and related words serve to indicate these.^{[21][22][not in citation given]}

Mathematics[link]

Symbol for the empty set

The number zero is sometimes used to denote nothing. The empty set contains no elements.

Computing[link]

In computing, "nothing" can be a keyword (in VB.Net) used in place of something unassigned, a data abstraction. Although a computer's storage hardware always contains numbers, "nothing" symbolizes a number skipped by the system when the programmer desires. Many systems have similar capabilities but different keywords, such as "null", "NUL", "nil", and "None".^[23]

To instruct a computer processor to do nothing, a keyword such as "NOP" may be available. This is a control abstraction; a processor that executes NOP will behave identically to a processor that does not process this directive.^[24]

Physics[link]

In physics, the word nothing is not used in any technical sense. A region of space is called a vacuum if it does not contain any matter, though it can contain physical fields. In fact, it is practically impossible to construct a region of space that contains no matter or fields, since gravity cannot be blocked and all objects at a non-zero temperature radiate electromagnetically. However, even if such a region existed, it could still not be referred to as "nothing", since it has properties and a measurable existence as part of the quantum-mechanical vacuum. Where there is supposedly empty space there are constant quantum fluctuations with particles continually popping into and out of existence. It had long been theorized that space is distinct from a void of nothingness in that space consists of some kind of aether, with luminiferous aether serving as the transmission medium for propagating light waves.

See also[link]

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Bertrand Russell. History of Western Philosophy, Routledge, 1995 ISBN 0-415-07854-7.
• Josef Pieper, Berthold Wald, For the Love of Wisdom: Essays on the Nature of Philosophy, Translator: Roger Wasserman, Ignatius Press, 2006 ISBN 1-58617-087-2.

External links[link]

Look up nothing in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Nothingness

Look up nothing or nothingness in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2009)

Sixpence None the Richer (also known as Sixpence) is an American rock/pop band that formed in New Braunfels, Texas, eventually settling in Nashville, Tennessee. They are best known for their songs "Kiss Me" and "Breathe Your Name" and their covers of "Don't Dream It's Over" and "There She Goes". The name of the band is inspired by a passage from the book Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis.^[1]

Biography[link]

Origin of the band's name[link]

Leigh Nash described the origin of the band's name on the Late Show with David Letterman:^[2]

It comes from a book by C. S. Lewis called Mere Christianity. A little boy asks his father if he can get a sixpence—a very small amount of English currency—to go and get a gift for his father. The father gladly accepts the gift and he's really happy with it, but he also realizes that he's not any richer for the transaction. C.S. Lewis was comparing that to his belief that God has given him, and us, the gifts that we possess, and to serve Him the way we should, we should do it humbly—realizing how we got the gifts in the first place.

Formation and early years (1992–1996)[link]

Guitarist/songwriter Matt Slocum met vocalist Leigh Nash in the early 1990s. They recorded a demo, which now circulates as "The Original Demos", with bassist T.J. Behling and drummer Brad Arnold at Verge Music Works recording studio in Dallas, and eventually an album, The Fatherless and the Widow, for the independent label REX Music in 1993. The record featured Chris Dodds (a member of Love Coma, in which Slocum also played guitar). Shortly after the release of The Fatherless and the Widow, Slocum left Love Coma to pursue Sixpence None the Richer full-time. The band added Tess Wiley (guitar) Joel Bailey (bass) and Dale Baker (drums) to tour in support of The Fatherless and The Widow. On this tour the band toured the US, opening for the Choir, the newly reformed 10,000 Maniacs, Audio Adrenaline, Pray For Rain, Over The Rhine, and more. In the fall of 1994, the band left for their first tour of Europe. The club and festival tour saw them performing with bands such as the Proclaimers, Newsboys, Julie & Buddy Miller, and many more. The band added J.J. Plasencio (bass) for 1995's This Beautiful Mess. Both albums were produced by Armand John Petri, who also managed the band from 1993 to 1997. Shortly after the release of This Beautiful Mess, Wiley left the band.

Into the mainstream (1997–2003)[link]

In 1997, the group signed to Steve Taylor's label Squint Entertainment and released a self-titled album, which slowly began garnering attention from a wider audience in the mainstream industry. Although Placencio played bass on most of the album, he left the band before it was released and was replaced by Justin Cary, who joined the band around the same time as second guitarist Sean Kelly.

In 1998, "Kiss Me" was released as a single, propelling Sixpence None the Richer into the national pop spotlight. That year the song was also featured in the film She's All That. In 2001 the film Not Another Teen Movie used the song in a parody. "Kiss Me" was also played on the WB teen drama Dawson's Creek in episodes #2-06 "The Dance" and #2-18 "The Perfect Wedding", and is found on the show's first soundtrack CD, Songs from Dawson's Creek (Volume 1) and also played at the televised wedding of England's Prince Edward.

In 1999, the band recorded a cover of The La's' "There She Goes", which became their second hit single and propelled them into the limelight again. Sixpence appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and numerous morning talk shows. "There She Goes" was added to subsequent pressings of the self-titled album.

In 2000, Sixpence None the Richer contributed the song "Us" to Today Presents: the Best of Summer Concert Series CD, which raised money for the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance. Later that year, the band recorded a Japanese version of "Kiss Me", which was released exclusively in Japan on an EP with numerous versions of the song, as well as remixes of other songs on the self-titled album.

The band had a follow-up album ready to release, but their label Squint Entertainment started to fall apart, leaving the band in limbo for several years. Finally, Squint Entertainment folded and that album, Divine Discontent, was released in October 2002.

Baker left the band before that album's release and was replaced by Rob Mitchell. The album itself differs significantly from the first pre-release version of it that had circulated: the songs "Us", "Deeper", "Don't Pass Me By", "Too Far Gone", "Northern Lights", and "Loser Like Me" were cut, and "Down and Out of Time", "A Million Parachutes", "Tonight", "Waiting on the Sun", and a cover of Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over" were added. All of the unreleased songs were eventually featured on singles or compilations, with the exception of "Deeper". Two of Divine Discontent's singles, "Don't Dream It's Over" and "Breathe Your Name", received significant radio airplay and appeared on various Billboard charts.

The break-up (2004)[link]

On February 26, 2004, Matt Slocum announced that the group had disbanded. On July 22, 2004, it was reported that Matt Slocum had started a new band, the Astronaut Pushers, with Lindsay Jamieson (of the band Departure Lounge) and Sam Ashworth (son of influential musician Charlie Peacock). John Davis (of the band Superdrag) joined the band in 2005. The Astronaut Pushers released a self-titled, four-song EP on their own label, Runway Network, in 2005. Sam Ashworth reported via MySpace that he and Slocum had acquired and were operating a recording studio in Nashville in early 2006.

Leigh Nash solo work (2005–2007)[link]

Leigh Nash began work on a solo album titled Blue On Blue with producer Pierre Marchand in the fall of 2005. Nash's first single "My Idea of Heaven" was released on July 14, 2006. The album Blue On Blue was released by Nettwerk Records under Nash's own imprint, One Son Records and the album's official release date was August 15, 2006, she also released a Christmas EP Wishing For This on 14 November 2006. The song "Ocean Size Love" from Blue On Blue seems to be the second single of Blue On Blue, and yet was never promoted.

In 2007, Leigh Nash worked a collaboration with Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber of Delerium called Fauxliage. Leigh contributed her vocals to the songs "All the World", "Some Day the Wind", "Draw My Life", "Let It Go", "Without You", "Rafe" and "All Alone". The songs "Let It Go" and "All the World" were used in the drama series Moonlight.

Reunion (2007)[link]

In November 2007, Sixpence None the Richer reunited. They released an EP My Dear Machine on the website NoiseTrade in 2008, the band's first official release since The Best of Sixpence None the Richer in 2004. The EP was removed from NoiseTrade in early 2009.

In October 2008, they released a Christmas album titled The Dawn of Grace. Nash commented, "Sixpence fans have been asking for a Christmas album for as long as I can remember. It was something we always wanted to do, but somehow time got away from us. Now that we are back together, we thought a Christmas album would be a nice gift for our long-time supporters. We love it and hope they will too!"

In December 2008 Sixpence joined the "Love Came Down at Christmas Tour" to play songs from The Dawn of Grace, along with Jars of Clay, Leeland and Sara Groves.

[edit] Lost in Transition (2009–present)

Sixpence signed to Credential Recordings and played a headline slot at the 2009 Greenbelt Festival in the UK. According to Leigh Nash, the band began recording a new album in January 2010.^[3] The album, titled Strange Conversation, was originally slated for an August 24, 2010 release.

The putative release date was later changed to March 8, 2011,^[4]. On April 12, 2011, Nash shared that record label problems had been resolved and that the album would be released.^[5] New recordings of the songs "Failure" and "Safety Line" were released as streaming audio on the band's Facebook page in July 2011.

In December 2011, Leigh Nash announced in interviews that the album had been renamed Lost in Transition and that the band was intending to self-release it in March of 2012. She also mentioned the possibility of more than one Sixpence release in 2012. ^{[6] [7]}On February 2, 2012, Leigh Nash posted on Sixpence None the Richer's official Twitter feed that the album would be released in May 2012.^[8] The song "Radio" from the album debuted on Perez Hilton's site on May 15th, 2012. The article announced a release date of August 7th, nearly two years since the initial announced release date.^[9]

Band members[link]

Current members

• Matt Slocum – guitar, cello
• Leigh Nash – vocals
• Justin Cary – bass (1997–2004, 2008–)

Former members

• TJ Behling – bass (1990–1994)
• Brad Arnold – drums (1990–1994)
• James Arhelger – bass (1994–1995)
• Joel Bailey – bass (1994–1995)
• Dale Baker – drums (1993–2001)
• Tess Wiley – guitar (1995–1996) also in Sixpence None the Richer 2008 European Tour
• J.J. Plasencio – bass (1995–1996)
• Sean Kelly – guitar (1997–2004)
• Rob Mitchell – drums (2001–2004)
• Jerry Dale McFadden – keyboard (2001–2004)

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• 1992: The Original Demos
• 1994: The Fatherless and the Widow
• 1995: This Beautiful Mess
• 1997: Sixpence None the Richer
• 2002: Divine Discontent
• 2008: My Dear Machine EP
• 2008: The Dawn of Grace
• 2012: Lost in Transition

Extended plays[link]

• 1996: Tickets for a Prayer Wheel
• 2008: My Dear Machine EP

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Site

Aesop Rock
Background information
Birth name	Ian Matthias Bavitz
Also known as	A.R., Aes, Aes Rock, Aes Rizzle, Bazooka Tooth
Born	(1976-06-05) June 5, 1976 (age 36) Syosset, Oyster Bay, New York, U.S.
Origin	Northport, New York, U.S.
Genres	Alternative hip hop, underground hip hop, indie hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, songwriter, musician, producer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar,[1] synthesizer, keyboard, sequencer, MPC
Years active	1996 – present
Labels	Definitive Jux, Mush, Rhymesayers
Associated acts	The Weathermen, Blockhead, Doseone, The Orphanage, El-P,Felt, Hail Mary Mallon, Two of Every Animal, SLUG
Website	Official website

Ian Matthias Bavitz (born June 5, 1976), better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American hip hop artist and producer. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emerged during the late 1990s and early 2000s (decade). He was signed to El-P's Definitive Jux label until it went on hiatus in 2010.^[2] The music site betterPropaganda ranked him at number 19 at the Top 100 Artists of the Decade.^[3] He is a member of the groups The Weathermen, Hail Mary Mallon (with Rob Sonic & DJ Big Wiz), and Two Of Every Animal (with Cage).^[4][5] Regarding his name, he said: "I acquired the name Aesop from a movie I had acted in with some friends. It was my character's name and it sort of stuck. The rock part came later just from throwing it in rhymes."^[6]

Biography[link]

[edit] Early and personal life, the beginnings (1976–1994)

Bavitz was born at Syosset Hospital in Syosset, New York and raised in Northport, Long Island, New York to his father Paul and mother Jameija.^[7] Ian has two brothers: Chris (born 1975) and Graham (born 1977). Ian, along with his siblings, was raised Catholic but later on in his life became agnostic.^[8] Bavitz attended Northport High School in 1990 and graduated in 1994. He married Allyson Baker, guitarist and vocalist of rock band Dirty Ghosts in 2005. They now reside in San Francisco, California. The couple has now since divorced.^[9]

He has tattoos on each forearm. His left arm says the words "Must Not Sleep...", and the right says "Must Warn Others," which are quotes inspired by the 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Aesop Rock has used these quotes as lyrics in the chorus of his song "Commencement at the Obedience Academy": "Must not sleep; must warn others / Trust blocks creep where the dust storm hovers." He also used them in his song "Antisocial," in the line "Must not sleep; must warn others / I'll tourniquet your turbulence then trample on your stutters."

[edit] College years (1994–1998)

After graduating from high school, Bavitz went off to Massachusetts where he attended Boston University, a private research college. He studied fine arts and eventually acquired his bachelors in 1998.^[10] This is where he met his future producer, Blockhead where he too was aspiring to be an MC until he first met Ian in '94, the one year he attended Boston University. After hearing him freestyle, he decided to put his dreams of rapping aside and focused on producing instead.^[11] Blockhead was involved with a crew in New York called The Overground that consisted of him, some of his friends, & Dub-L.^[12] This is how Dub became a part of Bavitz music production earlier on in his career. Aesop Rock is on the prestigious B.U. Wall of Fame, along with people like Howard Stern and Bill O’Reilly. He is also part of Boston U's Board of Trustees as well.^[13]

Musical career[link]

1985-1995: N.Y.C. underground music scene[link]

As a youth, Ian and his family would usually commute to New York City. This had a great impact on him and the way he viewed the hip hop culture. Bavitz began rapping in the early 1990s. He states Public Enemy, BDP, KMD, and Run DMC as being his early influences.^[6] Bavitz also listened to rock acts such as The Dead Kennedys, Fugazi, and Ministry; he was introduced to these groups by his older brother Chris.^[14] Bavitz started to play instruments such as the piano and bass at an early age. He then eventually acquired a sampler.^[15]

1996-1998: Early musical efforts[link]

While attending college, Bavitz initially recorded and released two self-financed efforts, Music for Earthworms (1997), a full-length featuring underground artist Percee P on two tracks. Bavitz also released a music video to "Abandon All Hope", which was one of the tracks on the CD. The album sold over 300 copies,^[14] largely from a grassroots internet-based promotion at his website AesopRock.com and then-popular web portal, MP3.Com.^[16] It was a success. With the money he made from his previous release, he then released his Appleseed EP in 1999 which received critical acclaim in the underground hip hop circuit.^{[citation needed]} Both of his early records were produced by long-time friend Blockhead, and underground producer Dub-L. He completed these albums while also working as a waiter.^{[citation needed]}

1999-2001: Record label acquisition, major debut, and breakdown[link]

After his breakthrough success in the underground hip hop and indie rap community, he was eventually noticed by the Mush label and obtained his first record deal in 1999, just a year after he graduated from college. Aesop released his first major album, Float (2000), with guest appearances from Vast Aire, Slug, and Dose One. Production was split between Blockhead and Aesop himself, with one track by Omega One. During this time, Aesop worked at a photography gallery.^[17] In August 2001 tragedy struck – Bavitz had a nervous breakdown. His song "One of Four" on his Daylight E.P. documents his struggles.^[18]

Def Jux years (2001–2007)[link]

[edit] 2001–2002: Labor Days, Daylight EP, and Billboard breakthrough

Shortly after releasing Float, Aesop Rock signed to Manhattan-based label Definitive Jux (commonly shortened to Def Jux), where he released Labor Days (2001), an album dedicated to the discussion of labor in American society and the concept of "wage slaves". This album was most well known for its single "Daylight".^{[citation needed]} Because of its popularity, Daylight was re-released in 2002 as a seven-track EP, including an "alternative" new version of the song "Night Light", whose paraphrased lyrics simultaneously refer back to, and stand in stark opposition to, the original's. The song "Labor" (from Labor Days) was featured in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4; it also was the first album in his catalog to break through the Billboard charts, peaking at number 15 at the United States Independent Charts, giving Aesop Rock more recognition.

Aesop Rock performing live

2003–2004: Bazooka Tooth and Compilation[link]

Labor Days was followed by Bazooka Tooth in 2003. For the first time, production was mostly handled by Rock himself, with three tracks from longtime collaborator Blockhead and one from close friend and Definitive Jux label CEO El-P. Guest appearances include Party Fun Action Committee, El-P, and Mr. Lif (all Definitive Jux labelmates) and Camp Lo. With this release Aesop hit a higher level of recognition, releasing "No Jumper Cables" as a single and music video, then another single, "Sary Jane", shortly after. A remix of "No Jumper Cables" was featured on Tony Hawk's Underground 2, furthering Aesop's recognition. In 2004, He released Build Your Own Bazooka Tooth and created a contest in which you had to create a remix of an Aesop Rock song using the a cappellas and instrumentals.

2005–2006: Fast Cars EP and The Weathermen[link]

In February 2005, Aesop Rock released a new EP, Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives. The first pressing of the EP included an 88-page booklet with lyrics from every release from Float until this EP (the lyric booklet is titled The Living Human Curiosity Sideshow); later pressings of the album come without the booklet, but with an additional bonus track, "Facemelter". In addition, a limited number of albums were available direct from Def Jux with Aesop Rock's graffiti tag on them. In response to demands from his fans, Rock did less production on the EP: three songs are produced by Blockhead, three produced by Aesop, and one by Rob Sonic. During this time he was asked to join the Weathermen to replace Vast Aire.

2007: Deal with Nike+iPod, None Shall Pass, and Hiatus[link]

Aesop Rock was commissioned to create a 45-minute instrumental track for the Nike+iPod running system, entitled All Day. It was released in February 2007. Distributed via the iTunes Music Store and featuring his wife Allyson Baker on guitar and scratches from DJ Big Wiz, Aesop has described the release as "something that evolved enough that the sound was constantly fresh and attractive, as though the runner were moving through a set of differing cities or landscapes."^[19]

All Day was followed in August of the same year by Bavitz's fifth full-length album, None Shall Pass (2007). The album also contained original artwork by Jeremy Fish. About Jeremy Fish, Aesop Rock said: "Man that guy is my hero. We have a friend in common who hit me up a while back saying that this guy Jeremy Fish had an opportunity to pitch a cartoon to Disney and wanted me to be involved in the music side. I flipped out cuz I was also a fan of his, and owned some of his work." Aesop Rock also teamed up with Jeremy Fish again in a project called Ghosts of the Barbary Coast. Aesop Rock made a song called "Tomorrow Morning", to go along with a slideshow of drawings that Jeremy Fish drew. This was displayed in San Francisco, but was also made available for download online.^[20]

When El-P announced that the label, although it will carry on selling its catalog and merchandise, it would be put "on hiatus". Bavitz has since been absent when it came to making any new albums or EPs, albeit being featured on other artist records and producing.

[edit] 2008–present: Rhymesayers, Rob Sonic, Kimya Dawson, and Skelethon

In 2009, Bavitz produced Felt's third album, Felt 3: A Tribute To Rosie Perez. In November 2011, Bavitz announced via Reddit that he is working on his next solo album, and has a majority of it complete.^[21]

On April 20, 2011, it was announced that Rhymesayers Entertainment would release Hail Mary Mallon's debut album Are You Going To Eat That?. A music video for their first single off the album Smock was announced that same day.^[22]

Aesop Rock is also reportedly working on an album with anti-folk singer Kimya Dawson, famous for being one half of group The Moldy Peaches.^[23] The working title for the project is called Hokey Fright, while the group has been named The Uncluded.^[24]

On January 17, 2012, it was reported that Aesop Rock finished recording his upcoming solo album Skelethon, and it is scheduled to be released July 10, 2012 through Rhymesayers Entertainment.^[25]

On April 10, 2012, The first official single Zero Dark Thirty off of Aesop Rock's Rhymesayers debut album Skelethon was released on both SoundCloud and YouTube. As of April 20, 2012 the song had already received a combined plays/views of 86,434 on the official YouTube and SoundCloud pages.^[26]

Lyrics[link]

Bavitz's lyrics are generally seen as complex and abstract while others^[who?] just dismiss it as logorrhea or inscrutable ramblings. Critics state that the use of words can be so detailed that it becomes difficult to determine their originally intended meaning.^[27] The interpretation is highly subjective, because the messages conveyed are not always clearly defined. The lyrics are sometimes inspired by events which have occurred in Bavitz's personal life.^[28][29]

Questioned about his lyrical style in an interview, Bavitz responded:

It’s probably because it’s not the most accessible music in the world. It may pose a slight challenge to the listener beyond your average pop song. I'm no genius by a long shot, but these songs are not nonsensical, that's pretty preposterous. I'd have to be a genius to pull this many nonsensical records over people's eyes. It's not exactly fast food but when people pretend I'm just spewing non-sequiturs and gibberish I can’t help but think they simply haven’t listened and are regurgitating some rumor they’ve heard about me. Even if it's not laid out in perfect sentences—is any rap?—you’d have to be an idiot to not at least grasp a few things from these songs. Or have had no interest in pulling anything from them in the first place.^[30]

In 2002 on the song "One of Four" (a hidden track on the Daylight EP) Aesop Rock explains:

But I can tell you that I only write shit down when I believe it so take this how you want but know I mean it.
— Aesop Rock 2002

Selected discography[link]

Collaborations[link]

• Crooked - Evil Nine (2004)
• Ghosts of the Barbary Coast – Aesop Rock and Jeremy Fish (2009)
• Are You Gonna Eat That? – Hail Mary Mallon (Aesop Rock, Rob Sonic, and DJ Big Wiz) (May 2011)^[31]
• Daytrotter Session Recorded May 26, 2011 – Aesop Rock and Kimya Dawson^[32]
• Two of Every Animal (Aesop Rock and Cage) (TBA)
• Hokey Fright – The Uncluded (Aesop Rock and Kimya Dawson) (2012)^[33]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (November 2011)

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Aesop Rock

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Aesop Rock

• Aesop Rock on Myspace
• Aesop Rock on Twitter
• 900Bats Artist Website
• Aesop Rock on LastFM
• Definitive Jux Biography
• Mush Records Biography
• Aesop Rock on IMDb
• Aesop Rock discography at Discogs.
• Aesop Lyrics Explained at RapGenius
• Aesop Rock interview and profile in Exclaim! magazine
• Interview with Aesop Rock in Guernica (guernicamag.com)
• "All Day, All Night" April 2008, Interview with Submerge Magazine
• Sept 2008 Interview with L.A. Record
• September 2008 Interview with L.A. Weekly
• Pitchfork article
• Know The Ledge interview with Aesop Rock
• Delarge interview
• Aesop Rock on Scones
• Roy Christopher interview with Aesop Rock

Chris Crocker (born Christopher Darren Cunningham; December 7, 1987)^[4] is an American Internet celebrity, songwriter, blogger, and recording artist residing in Bristol, Tennessee.^[1] Crocker gained international fame in September 2007 from his viral video "Leave Britney Alone", in which he tearfully defended pop singer Britney Spears's comeback performance at the MTV Video Music Awards; his video had over four million views in two days.^[5] The video received international media attention, hundreds of parodies and criticism for Crocker.^{[6][7][8][9][10][11]}

He is a self-described "edutainer" who produces and acts in multiple videos.^{[12][2][13][14]} In almost all of Crocker's work he presents himself as an openly gay and effeminate Southern adolescent in a "small-minded town" in the Bible Belt where his sexual orientation and outspokenness are a "subtext... rarely addressed directly and never completely accepted."^[12][13] The Tennessee-based Crocker, a stage name, keeps his identity and exact location private because according to him, and as seen in the public comments to his work; there were safety concerns and death threats in response to his YouTube and MySpace video blogs and profile.^{[12][15][16][17][18]} According to his MySpace profile, Crocker lived in Los Angeles as of January 2008.^[19] As of May 2010, Crocker has returned home to Tennessee and solely travels to Los Angeles for business ventures.^[20]

His work consists mainly of short-form self-directed monologues shot in his grandparents' home.^[21] As of October 2010^[update], Crocker's videos have received a combined 50 million plays on MySpace, and his vlog channel on YouTube is the 100th most viewed of all time in all categories, with over 205 million video views.^[22][23] Crocker's detractors and critics have accused him of narcissism, melodramatics, histrionics, and using Spears' personal shortcomings to bolster his own fame.^{[10][24][25][26][27]} Others have accused Crocker of acting in the "Leave Britney Alone" video, although he insisted it was genuine on a September 2007 appearance on Maury Povich's Maury show.^[18][28][29]

Early life[link]

Crocker was born in East Tennessee to a teenage couple and was raised by his grandparents.^[21] Crocker said he "raised eyebrows" by bringing Barbie dolls to kindergarten for show and tell rather than the toys or action figures usually associated with boys.^[21] He lived in East Tennessee and was homeschooled in response to constant "death threats, bullying and glares at his clothes and makeup"^[12][19][21] specifically after allegedly being "harassed by a homophobic high school gym coach".^[15][30] Crocker lived with his fundamentalist^[31] Pentecostal grandparents who continued raising him when his teenage parents were not able; while his grandfather reportedly knows little about his Internet fame, his grandmother has reluctantly appeared in some of his videos.^[12][21][32]