Look up near in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

NEAR or Near may refer to:

Science, mathematics, technology, biology, and medicine[link]

• Nicking Enzyme Amplification Reaction, a method for in vitro DNA amplification
• Near-Earth object, an object in the Solar System whose orbit brings it close to the Earth
  • Near-Earth asteroid
  • Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research
• NEAR Shoemaker, a spacecraft that studied the near-Earth asteroid Eros
• Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer, a scientific instrument for infrared astronomy
• Near Field Communication (NFC), a short-range wireless communication technology
• N.E.A.R. (National Emergency Alarm Repeater), an obsolete civilian warning device in the United States
• Nearness defined as it relates to Point-Set Topology, also known as proximity space
• "Near", an interactive city browser application developed by NearGlobal

Geography[link]

• Near East
• Ancient Near East
• Near Eastern archaeology

Linguistics[link]

• Near-close vowel
  • Near-close near-front rounded vowel
  • Near-close near-front unrounded vowel
  • Near-close near-back vowel
• Near-front vowel
• Near-back vowel
• Near-open vowel
  • Near-open central vowel
  • Near-open front unrounded vowel

Television, film, music, and books[link]

• Near (Death Note) (Real Name: Nate River), a character in Death Note

Food, beverages, and meals[link]

• Near beer, a beer with very low or no alcohol

Other uses[link]

• Near v. Minnesota, a U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding freedom of the press
• Near-death experience (NDE), personal experiences associated with impending death
• New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame

See also[link]

• All pages with titles containing "Near"
• List of nearest stars
• List of nearest bright stars
• List of nearest galaxies
• Distance
• Far (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

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Alison Sudol A Fine Frenzy
Background information
Birth name	Alison Sudol
Born	(1984-12-23) 23 December 1984 (age 27) Seattle, Washington, USA
Origin	Los Angeles, California, USA
Genres	Adult alternative, pop,rock music
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, pianist
Instruments	Vocals, piano, guitar, percussion
Years active	2006-present
Labels	Virgin, EMI
Website	www.afinefrenzy.com

Alison Sudol (born December 23, 1984), known professionally as A Fine Frenzy, is an American alternative singer-songwriter and pianist. Her debut album, One Cell in the Sea, was released in 2007, followed in 2009 by Bomb in a Birdcage. Sudol's songs have charted in the United States, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, and France, among other countries. Her music has also been featured on numerous television shows and featured in several major motion pictures. According to her official website, A Fine Frenzy's upcoming album, Pines, will be released in mid- to late-2012.^[1]

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Born in Seattle, Washington to two dramatic arts teachers, Sudol and both parents moved to Los Angeles after their divorce when she was five years old. She grew up listening to a wide range of music, including Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, and swing.^[2] She has stated that her roots are "Scottish, Irish, Polish, and 'a bit' of German."

She graduated from high school at the age of 16, and considered herself "nerdy and quiet." Sudol did not "drink or smoke or do anything like that." She stated in an interview "I was so nervous about going into college like that and super young. I figured I would take two years and try to find out what I was doing with music. And when I was 18, I was just so deep into it that I didn't want to stop."^[2]

Sudol had a passion for literature, and immersed herself in the works of C. S. Lewis, E. B. White, Lewis Carroll, Anthony Trollope, and Charles Dickens. Her band's name, "A Fine Frenzy", is taken from a verse in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream: "The poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven" (Theseus, Act 5, Scene 1). After teaching herself to play the piano, she began putting her creative energy into writing songs.

The short demo she sent out received attention from EMI's Jason Flom, who signed her after visiting her house and "listening to her play."^[3][4]

Music career[link]

Sudol playing the piano

In March 2007, Sudol appeared at the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference, opening for The Stooges. Shortly after, her debut album, One Cell in the Sea, was released to generally positive reviews.^[5] The first single, "Almost Lover", peaked at number 25 on Billboard's Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart. In mid-2007, she secured another opening spot, this time for Rufus Wainwright on his tour. In March and April 2008, Sudol headlined her own tour in the US and Canada, and in April she toured France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland. In September 2008, she was the star act on the opening night of the New Pop Festival organized by the German broadcaster SWR3. She returned to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland on a headline tour in November 2008 and played in the Super Bock em Stock festival in Portugal in December 2008.

Her song "You Picked Me" was featured on iTunes as the "Free Single of the Week" for August 14, 2007, and VH1 featured her as one of their "You Oughta Know" artists.^[6] Additionally, in October 2008, "You Picked Me" was chosen as network theme by SIC, a Portuguese television network.

One Cell in the Sea has sold 300,000 copies. In 2008 it was released in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Poland. In each of those countries, the album peaked within the top 30, with the first single, "Almost Lover," reaching number eight in Germany, number ten on the Swiss Charts and number five in Austria.^[7]

Sudol's second album, Bomb in a Birdcage, was released September 8, 2009.^[8] The first single, "Blow Away," was released on July 17, 2009, followed by two more singles, "Happier" and "Electric Twist."^[9] On November 23, 2009, a live album and concert film recorded in 2007, A Fine Frenzy Live at the House of Blues Chicago, was released on iTunes.

On October 31, 2011 Sudol stated via Twitter that the band were mastering the record.^{[citation needed]} Through Sudol's appearance at the Sundance Film Festival, several song titles have been confirmed for the new album, including "Avalanches" and "Riversong". In the March 2012 issue of Lucky magazine, Sudol revealed the third album's title, Pines.^[10] The album will be released on September 18th, 2012. Along with "Pines", Sudol will release an animated short film and a companion book illustrated by Jen Lobo. ^[11]

Television appearances[link]

On February 6, 2008, Sudol performed "Come On, Come Out" on The Late Show with David Letterman. On February 23, she sang "Almost Lover" and "Come On, Come Out" on CBS' Saturday Early Show. She guest starred in the fourth season premiere of CSI: NY, playing the character Nova Kent. During her October 15, 2009, appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, she sang "Blow Away". On the television series House the song "Whisper" was heard during the episode "Joy to the World", and the song "Hope for the Hopeless" has been in three episodes: "Act Your Age", "Human Error", and "Airborne". "Hope for the Hopeless" was also featured in the series premiere of Defying Gravity. The song "Near to You" was played in the episode "Friendship/Passion" of the TV series Wildfire (TV series). The song "Lifesize" was played during the episode "Doppelgangers" of How I Met Your Mother. Also, the song "The Beacon" was used during the episode "Hot and Bothered" of the Canadian police drama Rookie Blue. "Ashes and Wine" was used in the Vampire Diaries episode "Bad Moon Rising".^[12] Her music has also been used on the series The Hills.

Her track "What I Wouldn't Do" was used by the UK fashion chain Matalan on their Christmas 2010 television advertising campaign. In 2011, Banana Republic used Sudol's songs "You Picked Me", "Blow Away", and "Happier" in their Fall advertising campaign and behind-the-scenes footage.

In 2012, her song "What I Woudn't Do" was featured in the hit movie based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks called ''The Lucky One'' starring Zac Efron.

Literature and writing[link]

Sudol has often referred to the literary influences on her music. Recently she disclosed that she is also pursuing a secondary career as a writer. In an interview, Sudol said she is working a children's story in the "Narnia" tradition, a fantasy featuring animals.^[13] In a later interview with Ladygunn magazine, Sudol revealed the title of her fantasy adventure book to be Three Sails and the Family Moss.^[14]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• One Cell in the Sea (2007), Virgin, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, US
• Bomb in a Birdcage (2009), Virgin
• A Fine Frenzy Live at the House of Blues Chicago (2009), (iTunes exclusive) Virgin
• Pines (September, 18th 2012) ^[15] Virgin

EPs[link]

• Demo - EP (2006): "Rangers," "Almost Lover," "The Well"
• Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) - EP (2007): "Almost Lover," "The Minnow & the Trout," "Borrowed Time," "Last of Days"
• Live in 2007 (2007), (Amazon.com exclusive): "Almost Lover (Live)," "Come On, Come Out (Live)," "Rangers (Live)," "The Minnow & The Trout (Live)"
• Come On, Come Out (2008), Germany: "Come On, Come Out" + Nachtwandler Protone Mix, "Love Sick," "Devil's Trade"
• Oh Blue Christmas (2009), (iTunes/Target exclusive): "Blue Christmas," "Winter Wonderland," "Winter White," "Christmas Time is Here," "Wish You Well," "Redribbon Foxes"

Singles[link]

• "Almost Lover" (2007), Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Poland, Lithuania
• "Rangers" (2007)
• "Come On, Come Out" (2008), Poland
• "Blow Away" (2009), International
• "Happier" (2009), International
• "Electric Twist" (2010), International
• "Near To You"

Soundtracks[link]

• Dan in Real Life (2007): "Fever"
• Sleepwalking (2008): "Come On, Come Out"
• Powder Blue (2009): "Ride-Goldrush"
• The Vampire Diaries (2010): "Ashes and Wine," "Stood Up," "All You Wanted" (with Sounds Under Radio)
• Monte Carlo (2011): "Blow Away"
• New Year's Eve (2011): "The Fun Begins"

Compilations[link]

• Stockings by the Fire (Starbucks Entertainment Compilation) (2007): "Let it Snow"

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alison Sudol

• A Fine Frenzy official site
• A Fine Frenzy - YouTube channel

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. It includes attribution to IMDb, which may not be a reliable source for biographical information. Please help by adding additional, reliable sources for verification. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2010)

Tim Conway
Tim Conway, 2007
Born	Thomas Daniel Conway (1933-12-15) December 15, 1933 (age 78) Willoughby, Ohio, U.S.
Alma mater	Bowling Green State University
Occupation	Actor, writer, director, comedian
Years active	1956–present
Spouse	Mary Anne Dalton (1961–1978) Charlene Fusco (1984–present)[1]
Website
http://www.timconway.com/

Thomas Daniel "Tim" Conway (born December 15, 1933) is an Emmy award-winning American comedian and actor, who has worked in sitcoms, sketch comedy, and film. Conway is best known for his role in the popular 1960s WWII sitcom McHale's Navy as the inept Ensign Charles Parker, second in command to Lt. Commander Quinton McHale (Ernest Borgnine), and for co-starring alongside Carol Burnett on The Carol Burnett Show.

Early life[link]

Conway was born in Willoughby, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, to an Irish father and Romanian mother, and grew up in nearby Chagrin Falls.^[2] He attended Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, majoring in speech and radio, and was a member of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. After graduating, he joined the Army, and thereafter took a job at a Cleveland radio station, at first answering mail and later as a writer in the promotional department. Conway changed his first name to "Tim" to avoid confusion with actor Tom Conway.

Career[link]

[edit] Ghoulardi

Conway moved back to Cleveland to work with Ernie Anderson on KYW-TV, an NBC affiliate, in 1958 and 1959 and later, from 1960 to 1962, on WJW TV, (then the CBS affiliate) on the weekday morning film (under the Ernie's Place banner) where he also wrote material for the comedic skits shown in between film intermissions. Conway recorded a comedy album with Anderson.

However, WJW dismissed Conway, in part because he (and Anderson) misled station management into thinking he was a director.^[3] Because of this move, which deprived Anderson of his co-host and comic foil, the station asked Anderson if he could host a B-grade (and lower) horror film show on Friday nights instead. Conway would continue to make many appearances alongside Anderson's alter ego Ghoulardi, in addition to "Big Chuck" Schodowski, a station engineer who Anderson got to assume much of Conway's sidekick status (and who would ultimately succeed Anderson as co-host of the horror film program).

After he became famous, Conway would resurface periodically on Cleveland television on the Hoolihan and Big Chuck and Big Chuck and Lil' John shows on WJW-TV in guest spots, and occasional skits. Conway has since made regular guest appearances at numerous "Ghoulardifest" functions held by WJW over the years, along with former Cleveland TV personality Bob "Hoolihan" Wells, in tribute to Anderson, who died in 1997.

[edit] The Steve Allen Show

Comedic actress Rose Marie visited WJW in 1961, as part of CBS's promotional practice of sending their major show stars directly to local affiliates: in this case, it was for The Dick Van Dyke Show. She viewed film of some of Anderson and Conway's skits and proceeded to take Conway under her wing. Following his departure from WJW, Conway moved to New York City; where, with Rose Marie's assistance, he auditioned for, and gained a spot on, ABC's The Steve Allen Show as a regular player^[4]. Conway (who by this point had officially changed his first name to Tim) continued on the show for two seasons.

[edit] McHale's Navy

Conway gained a national following from his role as the bumbling, naive Ensign Charles Parker, Executive Officer of the PT-73, in the 1960s sitcom McHale's Navy, alongside Ernest Borgnine and Joe Flynn.

Afterwards, he starred in a string of short-lived TV series, starting with 1967's Rango which starred Conway as an incompetent Texas Ranger.

[edit] Turn-On

Conway was part of one of the most infamous network TV flops ever: Turn-On, a countercultural sketch comedy show on ABC derided as a ripoff of NBC's Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Even though he was only listed as a guest star on the pilot, which ABC broadcast on February 5, 1969, it was the only episode that ever aired.

Turn-On received such negative reaction that several ABC affiliates. TV station WEWS, in Conway's hometown Cleveland, refused to return to the program after the first commercial break, and WEWS management sent an angrily worded telegram to the network's headquarters. Many West Coast affiliates received advanced warning and refused to air it. Conway remarked that the show's premiere party he attended also marked the program's cancellation,^[5][6] but ABC did not officially cancel the program for several days.

[edit] The Tim Conway Show

Conway and Flynn in The Tim Conway Show, 1970.

In the 1970s, The Tim Conway Show paired Tim with Joe Flynn of McHale's Navy in a sitcom as owners-pilots of a one-plane (a Beechcraft 18) airline operated by the pair. Having "nowhere to run", this pressurized situation was ideal for the fast repartee of the lead actors. Tim got his own hour-long variety show, The Tim Conway Razzle Dazzle Hour, which, as his other series had, folded quickly. Typical of his self-effacing humor, he ordered his car's license plate to reflect the short duration of a Conway TV series: "13 WKS" (weeks).^[4]

Beginning in 1975 Conway was often paired with Don Knotts in family films from Disney, including The Apple Dumpling Gang and its 1979 sequel, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again. They also starred in two independent films, a boxing comedy called The Prize Fighter in 1979, and a 1980 mystery comedy film called The Private Eyes. In 1983, he starred in another TV show, Ace Crawford, Private Eye, a parody of detective series; it only lasted five episodes.

[edit] The Carol Burnett Show

Conway then became a regular on The Carol Burnett Show starting in the 1975-76 season^[4]. Conway's work on the show earned him five Emmy Awards. Two of Conway's memorable characters on the Burnett Show were:

• "The Old Man," whose shaggy white hair, slow speech, and shuffling gait ran counter to the much needed energy levels of the various occupations he was usually found in. His comic inability to get said jobs done — usually with slapstick results to himself, and with many an ad-lib — would both frustrate and 'break up' his fellow sketch performers.
• "Mr. Tudball," a Swedish-American businessman whose intentions of running a 'ship-shape' office were usually sunk by the bored indifference of his secretary, "Mrs. Wiggins" (Burnett). Conway used a stereotypical Swedish accent (especially when frustrated); for example, his attempts to pronounce his secretary's name came out as "Mrs. Ah-huh-wiggins". He would also use this accent for other characters, such as an inept dentist.

Conway could also get results with no dialogue, as in a sketch in which he played a tired businessman seeking restful sleep in his hotel — and pestered by a housefly, created only by a sound effect and Conway's gazing after it. After much struggle, he manages to get the fly out of the room through the window; after returning to bed, he hears a persistent knock on his door, gets up to answer it, and opens the door, letting the fly (who was doing the knocking) back in.

Another well-remembered skit, also without a word from Conway, featured him playing Simba, a lion raised by humans then released to the wild (based on the lioness Elsa in the film Born Free). Conway, told of the upcoming eviction from the comfortable home, caused Burnett and Korman to break up with an interminable process of packing to leave.

A prime example of his ability to make his co-stars laugh uncontrollably involved Lyle Waggoner as a captured American airman, with Conway as a stereotypical blond-haired Gestapo agent charged with his interrogation. Stating that "the Fuhrer" had taken particular interest, Conway produces a small Hitler hand puppet. With Conway providing a falsetto voice, the puppet suggests that singing might relax Waggoner's character to the point he is willing to talk. In a long, drawn-out fashion, the Hitler puppet sings "I've Been Working on the Railroad", and with each passing verse, Waggoner loses more of his composure, finally laughing hysterically when puppet-Hitler screeches, "FEE-FI-Fiddely-I-O!"

Dorf[link]

Conway's more recent work includes a series of satirical how-to videos in which he plays a diminutive, dark-haired Scandinavian known as Dorf (a variation on "dwarf"), reprising his goofy Mr. Tudball accent. The Dorf character first appeared in the 1987 film Dorf on Golf and has since appeared in eight other films on a variety of sports from baseball to auto racing. Dorf on Golf was remastered for DVD in 2007. In 2010, all of the Dorf films were remastered on a DVD Collection featuring all eight films, a behind the scenes with Dorf, and a commentary track by Tim Conway on "The Legend of the Paddle: The Oldie Hollis Story".

Since 2009 Tim Conway's Dorf character has started "helping" Santa Claus on the website iSpotSanta,^[7] created by comedy filmmaker Pasquale Murena and Anything Goes Productions. Each year Dorf has three sketches; in 2009 he tried to give Santa his Christmas list, failing and accidentally hitting Santa with a golf ball. Then in 2010 he tried to give all of the world's letters to Santa directly using jet rockets to fly to his sleigh, cannon balls and more.

Other television[link]

Conway as an angel with Robert Morse on That's Life, 1968.

Conway has also made many guest appearances and other roles in television.

He guest-starred in ABC's Coach, for which he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series playing Kenny Montague in the 1996 episode "The Gardener".^[8] Conway won another Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Bucky Bright in the 30 Rock episode "Subway Hero", which initially aired on April 17, 2008.

His other TV roles include:

• Batman: The Brave and the Bold, where in one episode he voiced the Weeper, a washed up former supervillain idolized by the Joker.
• Channing, a drama about college life in the early 1960s.
• Diagnosis: Murder, in 1997. Tim Conway and Harvey Korman appeared in a episode called "Comedy is Murder", playing former comedy partners called Tim Conrad and Harvey Huckaby. A clip of the well-known dentist sketch from The Carol Burnett Show was used to illustrate "Huckaby and Conrad"s former television partnership.
• Garfield's Fun Fest, where Conway voiced Freddy Frog and other characters.
• Hermie and Friends, Max Lucado's animated cartoon, where he provides the voice of the title character in all eight episodes so far.
• Hot in Cleveland. On July 28, 2010, Conway guest-starred in an episode of the TV Land sitcom.
• Married... with Children in several apparances portraying Ephraim Wanker, the hillbilly father of Peg Bundy.
• The New Scooby Doo Movies, where Conway appeared in animated form in a guest shot in the October 6, 1973 episode, "The Spirited Spooked Sports Show".
• On The Spot. In 2003, he returned to television on the short-lived WB Network comedy.
• SpongeBob SquarePants, where Tim voices the character "Barnacle Boy" in a recurring role on the Nickelodeon cartoon sitcom; in this role, he is once again paired up as the sidekick to his old McHale's Navy co-star, Ernest Borgnine (who voices Mermaid Man, the "mentor" of Barnacle Boy).
• Wizards of Waverly Place, playing Cragmont in the episode Justin's Back In.
• Yes Dear. Conway has guest starred occasionally on the CBS sitcom, playing Tom Warner, the father of Anthony Clark's stuffy character, Greg, with Conway's old Carol Burnett Show co-star Vicki Lawrence playing his wife, Greg's overbearing mother.

He has lent his voice to other TV shows including The Simpsons, Disney spin-off Hercules, The Wild Thornberrys, Cybill, What's New, Scooby-Doo?, The Proud Family, Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy!, Caillou and What's with Andy?. He also narrated The Secret Shortcut in Reading Rainbow and hosted The Flintstones' 25th Anniversary Celebration.

During The Biography Channel's biography of Conway, Borgnine referred to Conway as "a credit to his profession" and Burnett said words to the effect that Conway's talent for comedy was only outstripped by his genuine kindness and good nature.^{[citation needed]}

On his 75th birthday, Conway was interviewed as a guest on The Bonnie Hunt Show and given a surprise cake by Bob Newhart.

Other film and video[link]

He starred in Disney films such as The World's Greatest Athlete (1973), The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975) and Gus (1976). He starred in the 1977 comedy film The Billion Dollar Hobo.

Conway and Harvey Korman created a Collector's Edition DVD of new comedy sketches, titled Together Again; sold through Conway's official website.

From 2003 through the present, Conway teamed up with good friend Don Knotts again to provide voices for the direct-to-video children's series Hermie and Friends, which would continue until Knotts' death in 2006. Conway continues to do the series.

Personal life[link]

Conway has been married twice. He was married to Mary Anne Dalton from 1961 until 1978. They had six children together. He has been married to Charlene Fusco since May 18, 1984.^[1] Among Tim Conway's children is KFI Los Angeles radio host Tim Conway, Jr.

Charitable endeavors[link]

On June 6, 7 and 8, 2010, Conway came back to his hometown of Chagrin Falls to put on a fund-raising performance at the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre to help kick off their capital campaign.^[9]

He is a spokesperson for the United Leukodystrophy Foundation.^[10]

A fan of thoroughbred horse racing, and an occasional racehorse owner, Conway is a co-founder and vice-president, of the Board of Directors of the Don MacBeth Memorial Jockey Fund.^[11]

Other honors[link]

On February 1, 2010, Conway was awarded the PTC Integrity in Entertainment Award, which says that "recognizes those individuals and corporations who have demonstrated a longstanding commitment to creating, distributing and sponsoring quality entertainment that is free from graphic and gratuitous sex, violence and profanity."

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tim Conway

• Official website
• Tim Conway at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview, Archive of American Television, 20 April 2004 on Google Video
• Disney Legends profile
• Two takes on "The Elephant Story"
• Q&A with Tim Conway

Ólafur Arnalds
Ólafur Arnalds in 2007
Background information
Born	(1986-11-03) 3 November 1986 (age 25) Mosfellsbær, Iceland
Genres	Neo-classical Indie Experimental Electronica Psychedelic
Occupations	Musician, Composer, Record Producer
Instruments	Piano Drums Guitar Banjo
Years active	Early 2000s–present
Labels	Erased Tapes Records
Website	Official Myspace Page

Ólafur Arnalds (born 3 November 1986) is a multi-instrumentalist and producer from Mosfellsbær, Iceland.^[1] Ólafur Arnalds mixes strings and piano with loops and edgy beats crossing-over from classical to pop.^[1]

Ólafur was a drummer of hardcore/metal bands Fighting Shit and Celestine, as well as others.

In 2004, Ólafur composed and recorded the intro and two outros for tracks on the album Antigone by German metal band Heaven Shall Burn.

On 12 October 2007, Ólafur's first solo album Eulogy for Evolution was released. It was followed by the EP Variations of Static in 2008. In the same year, Ólafur toured with Sigur Rós. He is also reported to have sold out The Barbican Hall in London.^[1]

In April 2009, Ólafur composed and released a track daily for seven days, instantly making each track available within 24 hours from foundsongs.erasedtapes.com. The collection of tracks was entitled Found Songs. The first track was released on 13 April.

In October 2009, the ballet Dyad 1909 premiered with a score composed by Ólafur. Choreographed by Wayne McGregor and performed by Wayne McGregor Random Dance, the ballet was inspired by Ernest Shackleton’s Nimrod expedition to the South Pole in 1909.

In April 2010, Ólafur released a new album entitled ...And They Have Escaped The Weight Of Darkness.^[2]

On October 3rd 2011, Ólafur started another seven-day composition project similar to Found Songs, this one entitled Living Room Songs. The tracks are made available at livingroomsongs.olafurarnalds.com/ each day throughout the week. The project was released as an album on December 23rd, 2011.^[3]

Ólafur Arnalds has been involved with various other projects and has his music appear in many films, television shows and advertisements. His song Brotsjór was featured on So You Think You Can Dance Season 8. He also spoke at length on the subject of fan-submitted art in the 2011 documentary film, Press Pause Play. ^{[4] [5]}

Ólafur's cousin Ólöf Arnalds is also a well known singer/songwriter.

Discography[link]

• 2007: Eulogy for Evolution
• 2008: Variations of Static (EP)
• 2009: Found Songs (EP)
• 2009: Dyad 1909 (EP)
• 2010: ...And They Have Escaped the Weight of Darkness
• 2011: Living Room Songs (EP)^[6]
• 2012: Stare (EP) with Nils Frahm

Film Scores[link]

• 2010: Blinky TM (Short)
• 2010: Jitters
• 2011: Another Happy Day

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ólafur Arnalds (Official Site)
• Ólafur Arnalds on Myspace
• Article on Ólafur Arnalds.
• interview on tokafi
• Olafur Arnalds on …And They Have Escaped The Weight of Darkness, July 2010

Mac Miller
Mac Miller performing at the Governor's Ball in 2011.
Background information
Birth name	Malcolm McCormick
Also known as	Easy Mac
Born	(1992-01-19) January 19, 1992 (age 20) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, producer, actor, songwriter
Years active	2007 – present
Labels	Rostrum Records, Most Dope Entertainment
Associated acts	Wiz Khalifa, Beedie, The Ill Spoken, I.D. Labs, Big Jerm
Website	www.macmillerofficial.com

Malcolm McCormick (born January 19, 1992),^[1] known by his stage name Mac Miller (previously Easy Mac), is an American rapper from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is signed to Rostrum Records and released his debut album Blue Slide Park on November 8, 2011.^[2]

Early life[link]

Malcolm McCormick was born on January 19, 1992, the son of an architect and a photographer, and raised in the Point Breeze part of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.^[1][3] His father is Christian and his mother is Jewish; Miller was raised Jewish and had a Bar Mitzvah.^[4][5][6] Before attending Taylor Allderdice High School, Miller attended Winchester Thurston School.^[7] In high school, Miller decided to focus on his hip-hop career, later noting, "Once I hit 15, I got real serious about it and it changed my life completely ... I used to be into sports, play all the sports, go to all the high school parties. But once I found out hip-hop is almost like a job, that's all I did."^[1] Miller, a self-taught musician, plays piano, guitar, drums, and bass.^[1][8]

Career[link]

Before embarking on a solo career, Miller was part of rap group The Ill Spoken together with fellow Pittsburgh rapper, Beedie. The Ill Spoken released the mixtape How High in 2008. Prior to changing his name to Mac Miller, he was known as EZ Mac and released the mixtape But My Mackin Ain't Easy in 2007 at 15 years old. In 2009 Mac Miller released two mixtapes The Jukebox: Prelude to Class Clown and The High Life before getting signed to Rostrum Records.

In early 2010, Miller signed with Rostrum Records.^[9] Rostrum president Benjy Grinberg met Miller while recording with Wiz Khalifa at ID Labs.^[10] Although Grinberg started giving Miller advice, he didn't show any interest in getting involved with his career until the artist began work on the K.I.D.S. mixtape, when, as he later told HitQuarters, Grinberg "noticed a maturation in his sound and approach to his music."^[10] By that point Miller had started attracting interest from different record companies but chose Rostrum due to its location in his hometown and association with Wiz Khalifia.^[10] K.I.D.S. was released by the label in August 2010.^[1] The mixtape was inspired by the movie Kids. A significant breakthrough came in late 2010 when Miller embarked on his first "Incredibly Dope Tour", selling out at every location on the tour.^[10]

Miller's 5th^[when?] release was a mixtape titled Best Day Ever. The mixtape features his single "Donald Trump" and the hit songs "Wear My Hat", "BDE Bonus" and "All Around The World." The mixtape featured mainstream producers such as Just Blaze, 9th Wonder, and Chuck Inglish. On November 22, 2010 his first single "Knock Knock" premiered its video on YouTube.^[11]

On March 29, 2011, he released an EP called On And On And Beyond. The six-track work was produced by Rostrum Records.

On July 5, 2011, Miller announced the title of his first album Blue Slide Park on his YouTube channel, set for a Fall release.^[12] In September 2011 it was revealed that Miller would release a mixtape titled 92 Til Infinity hosted by DJ Jazzy Jeff prior to the release of Blue Slide Park.^[13] However, the release did not happen, and it was since then left in planning.

Prior to his 2011 national Blue Slide Park tour, Miller traveled Europe on his "Incredibly Dope Tour" visiting cities such as London, Manchester, and Amsterdam.

On October 14, 2011, Mac Miller released a 13 song mixtape called I Love Life, Thank You for reaching 1,000,000 followers on Twitter. It had features from Sir Michael Rocks of The Cool Kids, Talib Kweli, and Bun B.

On November 2011, Blue Slide Park debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 with first week sales of 144,000 copies.^[14]

On March 23, 2012, Mac Miller released his seventh mixtape called Macadelic. He released "Loud" as a single off the mixtape as well as filiming a music video. Miller also released a video for "Thoughts From A Balcony".

Awards and honors[link]

In 2009 at age 17, he made it to the final four in Rhyme Calisthenics, the MC competition at Shadow Lounge.^[15] In 2010, he won two awards at the Pittsburgh hip-hop awards.^[16] His video "Live Free" won video of the year and he also won Best Artist Under 21. In September 2011 Maroon 5 announced that Mac Miller will be featured on their remix of their top chart song "Moves Like Jagger".^[17] In 2011 Miller was one of eleven rappers featured in XXL magazine's Freshman Class of 2011.^[18] The video for the first single released from this mixtape, "Donald Trump", has reached over 53 million views on YouTube^[19] and Donald Trump himself, who is referenced on the song, acknowledged the video on the social networking site Twitter when it reached 20 million views stating "Who wouldn't be flattered?". He declared that Miller was the “new Eminem,” and stated “I am very proud of him.”^[20] Endorsements by Donald Trump helped Miller become increasingly more popular. The song also charted on iTunes debuting at #73 and peaking at #40,^[21] before Miller was signed to a major label. In 2011, his first TV appearance took place in the VH1 show Single Ladies; he played a fictionalized version of himself that succeeded in selling one of his mixtapes to one of the main characters. Also in 2011, he was a part of MTV Jams Fab Five artists.^[22]

Musical philosophy[link]

Mac Miller includes Big L, Lauryn Hill, The Beastie Boys, Outkast, and A Tribe Called Quest among his influences.^[8] He also has a close relationship with fellow Pittsburgh rapper Wiz Khalifa, saying "Wiz has been a big brother to me with this music thing so far. Our relationship is beyond music. He really is just my homie, whether I will be making music or not."^[23]

As an artist, Mac Miller has performed in a number of different styles. His classic musical style contains lyrics focused on marijuana, women, and "a dream". However, Miller has lately been experimenting with new styles in his music, such as in his 2012 mixtape Macadelic. Most songs have a heavy psychedelic influence, and include lyrics with deeper meaning. Also, older artists and music performers are praised on some of Mac's new works (the beginning of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by the Beatles is used as an interlude for the song "Loud").

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Blue Slide Park (2011)

Extended plays

• On and On and Beyond (2011)

Mixtapes

• But My Mackin' Ain't Easy (2007)
• The Jukebox: Prelude to Class Clown (2009)
• The High Life (2009)
• K.I.D.S. (2010)
• Best Day Ever (2011)
• I Love Life, Thank You (2011)
• Macadelic (2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Mac Miller Website