Human (Brandy album)

Human is the fifth studio album by American recording artist Brandy, first released in France in December 2008 and by March 2009 in most international music markets. Distributed by Koch Records and Sony Music, the album marked Norwood's debut on the Epic Records label, following her split with Atlantic Records in 2005, and her reunion with long-time contributor and mentor Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, who wrote and executive produced most of the album with his songwriting collective.

Generally well received by critics, Human debuted at number fifteen on the US Billboard 200 with opening week sales of 73,000 copies, becoming Brandy's lowest-charting debut since her first album fourteen years prior. With a domestic sales total of 214,000 copies, it widely failed to revive the success of its predecessors. While leading single "Right Here (Departed)" scored Norwood her biggest chart success since 2002's "Full Moon," the album failed to impact elsewhere, resulting into lackluster sales in general and the release of just one other single, "Long Distance."

"@" (album)

"@" is a studio album by John Zorn and Thurston Moore. It is the first collaborative album by the duo and was recorded in New York City in February, 2013 and released by Tzadik Records in September 2013. The album consists of improvised music by Zorn and Moore that was recorded in the studio in real time with no edits or overdubs.

Reception

Allmusic said "@ finds two of New York City's longest-running fringe dwellers churning out sheets of collaborative sounds that conjoin their respective and distinct states of constant freak-out... These seven improvisations sound inspired without feeling at all heavy-handed or urgent. More so, @ succeeds with the type of conversational playing that could only be achieved by two masters so deep into their craft that it probably feels a lot like breathing to them by now".

Track listing

All compositions by John Zorn and Thurston Moore

?! (album)

?! is the third studio album by Italian rapper Caparezza, and his first release not to use the former stage name MikiMix.

Reception

Reviewing the album for Allmusic, Jason Birchmeier wrote, "The Italian rapper drops his rhymes with just as much fluency and dexterity as his American peers throughout the album. [...] Caparezza's mastery of the Italian dialect [makes] this album so stunning."

Track listing

References

Album (Land of the Lost)

"Album" is the seventh episode of the first season of the 1974 American television series Land of the Lost. Written by Dick Morgan and directed by Bob Lally, it first aired in the United States on October 19, 1974 on NBC. The episode guest stars Erica Hagen.

Plot

Will awakens in the early morning to a high-pitched whirring sound which fills the jungle, but eventually it goes away. Rick has Holly build a trap to catch whatever has been breaking into their stores, and Will goes to weed the garden. While outside, he again hears the sound and follows it to the Lost City. Within, he enters a chamber with a very crude-looking attempt to simulate a matrix table but filled with colored stones instead of crystals. On the ground is a pulsating blue crystal that attracts his attention. Picking it up, he sees his mother (Erica Hagen) materialize in a cloud of mist. Afterwards, he returns to High Bluff but doesn't speak of his encounter.

The next day Holly's trap has not worked, and Will again hears the sound. Holly hears it briefly as well, but dismisses it. Will returns to the Lost City and again witnesses his mother while holding a blue stone. His mother calls for him, but he is interrupted by Holly, who sees nothing until she touches the blue crystal as well. Holding it together, they are both beckoned by their mother to "come home," but then she quickly adds, "Too late. Come tomorrow. Don't tell." Will explains to Holly that he wants to tell Rick about his discovery but for some reason he is unable to. Holly replies that she will tell their father if he does not and Will sincerely hopes that she can. Will theorizes that they were looking through a time doorway that is open to a period when she was still alive. When Holly asks why her image is not very clear, her brother suggests that it might be because they do not remember her very well.

Brandy

Brandy (from brandywine, derived from Dutch brandewijn, "gebrande wijn" "burned wine") is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks, some are coloured with caramel colouring to imitate the effect of aging, and some brandies are produced using a combination of both aging and colouring.

In broader sense, the term "brandy" also denotes liquors obtained from distillation of pomace (pomace brandy) or mash or wine of any other fruit (fruit brandy). These products are also named eaux-de-vie.

Varieties of wine brandy can be found across the winemaking world. Among the most renowned are Cognac and Armagnac from Southwestern France.

History

The origins of brandy were clearly tied to the development of distillation. While the process was known in classical times, it wasn't used for significant beverage production up until the 15th century.

Initially wine was distilled as a preservation method and as a way to make it easier for merchants to transport. It is also thought that wine was originally distilled to lessen the tax which was assessed by volume. The intent was to add the water removed by distillation back to the brandy shortly before consumption. It was discovered that after having been stored in wooden casks, the resulting product had improved over the original distilled spirit. In addition to removing water, the distillation process led to the formation and decomposition of numerous aromatic compounds, fundamentally altering the composition of the distillate from its source. Non-volatile substances such as pigments, sugars, and salts remained behind in the still. As a result, the taste of the distillate was often quite unlike that of the original source.

DIIV

DIIV are an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York City, formed in 2011. The band consists of Zachary Cole Smith (vocals, guitar), Andrew Bailey (guitar), Devin Ruben Perez (bass), Colin Caulfield (keyboards, guitar) and Ben Newman (drums).

Initially called Dive, the band started as Smith's solo recording project. After releasing three singles - "Sometime", "Human" and "Geist" - on Captured Tracks, DIIV released its debut full-length album, Oshin, on June 26, 2012.

In 2016, the band released its second studio album, Is the Is Are, after a lengthy and troubled gestation period.

History

Oshin (2011–2013)

Zachary Cole Smith (former touring guitarist of Soft Black,Darwin Deez, and Beach Fossils) started a solo project in 2011. Smith, who originally named the project Dive after the Nirvana song of the same name, put together a live band that included guitarist and childhood friend Andrew Bailey (like Smith, from Connecticut), bassist Devin Ruben Perez (from New York City), and drummer Colby Hewitt (from California and formerly of Smith Westerns). Smith explained to Pitchfork that "everybody in the band is a water sign, that's kind of why the name Dive really spoke to us all."

Illmind production discography

The following is a list of productions by !llmind, an American hip hop producer. He has had a number of co-written and/or produced singles and studio albums reach the Billboard 200 charts since the mid-2000s, including his 2010 album Live from the Tape Deck. He has also worked with musicians such as Joell Ortiz, Symbolyc One, Skyzoo, and 50 Cent.

Chart positions

Production credits

2003-2005

2003: Grand Agent - Fish Outta Water: The Remixes (Soulspazm)

2003: Akrobatik - Balance (Coup D'État)

2004: The Last Poets, Dead Prez & Common - Panthers (Counterflow, Traffic)

2004: Braille - Shades Of Grey (Syntax)

2004: Supastition - The Deadline (Soulspazm)

2004: Strange Fruit Project - Soul Travelin (Octave)

2004: Strange Fruit Project - From Divine (Special Edition) (Spilt Milk, Soul Kontrollaz Productions, Black Son)