Sounds of the Universe
Sounds of the Universe is the twelfth studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 17 April 2009 by Mute Records. It was supported by the 2009–10 concert tour Tour of the Universe. Three singles were released from the album; "Wrong", "Peace", and a double A-side of "Fragile Tension" and "Hole to Feed". "Perfect" was also released in the US as a promotional single.
As with the previous album, Playing the Angel, Dave Gahan has once again written three songs with Christian Eigner and Andrew Phillpott: "Hole to Feed", "Come Back" and "Miles Away/The Truth Is". "Spacewalker" and the bonus track "Esque" are instrumentals. Martin Gore shares lead singing duties with Gahan on "In Chains", "Peace" and "Little Soul", he sings the lead of "Jezebel" and the B-side "The Sun and the Moon and the Stars" on the second disc of the deluxe box set. The B-side "Oh Well" is the first track ever to be co-written by Gore and Gahan. The final track "Corrupt" is followed by a short hidden instrumental version of the song "Wrong".
Revival (Selena Gomez album)
Revival is the second solo studio album by American singer Selena Gomez. It was released on October 9, 2015, by Interscope and Polydor Records. Gomez began planning the project in 2014, at which time she left her previous label Hollywood Records and subsequently joined Interscope and Polydor, and continued work into 2015. As executive producers, Gomez, Danny D, and Tim Blacksmith collaborated with producers including Hit-Boy, Rock Mafia, and Stargate to achieve her desired new sound. Their efforts resulted in a primarily pop record, with elements of dance-pop, electropop, and R&B connected by a tropical beach sound and lyrics that discuss love and confidence.
The record was inspired by the work of a range of artists, especially Christina Aguilera's sophomore studio album Stripped (2002), and Gomez's trip to Mexico, where she defined the album's sound. Working with a handful of songwriters, Gomez co-wrote eleven out of the sixteen tracks that made the album's tracklists. The album reflects her journey since 2013, including the media scrutiny on her personal life, of which her highly public relationships and personal issues.
Fuckin' Perfect
"Fuckin' Perfect" (stylized "Perfect" on the clean version, and as "F**kin' Perfect" on the main cover) is a song by American recording artist Pink, taken from her first greatest hits album Greatest Hits... So Far!!! (2010). It was released on December 14, 2010 by LaFace Records, JIVE Records, and RCA Records as the album's second single. Written by Pink with Max Martin and Shellback, the track is a pop rock number which encourages people to accept each other for their true identities.
Pink has stated that the main inspiration behind the track is her husband, Carey Hart. Its music video, directed by longtime collaborator Dave Meyers, delivers a message against depression, self-harm and suicide. In November 2011, the song garnered a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance. "Fuckin' Perfect" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Pink's eleventh top-ten hit single in the United States.
In 2011, "Fuckin' Perfect" was ranked at number-fourteen on the "Top 40 Year-End Chart", behind her previous single "Raise Your Glass", based on Mediabase.
Anthem
An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short sacred choral work and still more particularly to a specific form of Anglican church music.
Etymology
Anthem is derived from the Greek ἀντίφωνα (antíphōna) via Old English antefn. Both words originally referred to antiphons, a call-and-response style of singing. The adjectival form is "anthemic".
History
Anthems were originally a form of liturgical music. In the Church of England, the rubric appoints them to follow the third collect at morning and evening prayer. Several anthems are included in the British coronation service. The words are selected from Holy Scripture or in some cases from the Liturgy and the music is generally more elaborate and varied than that of psalm or hymn tunes. Being written for a trained choir rather than the congregation, the Anglican anthem is analogous to the motet of the Roman Catholic and Lutheran Churches but represents an essentially English musical form. Anthems may be described as "verse", "full", or "full with verse", depending on whether they are intended for soloists, the full choir, or both.
Anthem (N-Joi song)
"Anthem," is a song by the British electronic music group N-Joi. The piano-heavy driven single, which also serves as their debut track, has gone on to become one of their most famous signature songs in the act's career, as well as seeing it chart numerous times since its 1990 release.
Background
The track, which was originally released in 1990, has charted on both the UK and US charts. In its first release, it peaked at number 8 on the UK Pop Chart, but in the United States it had better success on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play Chart, where it made two trips to the top 5, reaching number 4 in 1991 with the original mixes, and again in 1996, where it was rereleased with new remixes as "The New Anthem" (under the expanded credited "N-Joi featuring Mark Franklin and Nigel Champion"). The updated version would be their second number one in the US, following "Mindflux."
Although the single and the video also features Nigerian singer/actress Saffron, who did the live performances for the act (and whose career would take off after this track), "Anthem" actually features samples of three songs: "Peanut Butter" by Gwen Guthrie (using the lyrics "I'm In Love With You, Want You to Love Me, Too"; Saffron performs the same lyrics in the act's live shows), "I Found Love" by Darlene Davis (using the lyrics "True Love Can Be Hard To Find") and "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" by Soul II Soul. Because of this, the artists (and their writers) also receive credits on the single.
Anthem (Iced Earth song)
"Anthem" is a song by American heavy metal band Iced Earth from their album Dystopia. Since its release it has become one of the most popular tracks of the album. The song "Anthem" was described by vocalist Stu Block as a celebration of "people, the human spirit and life". A shorter version the song was also featured on the extended play 5 Songs which was released on September 19, 2011.
Music video
Produced and directed by Kosch Fabian Film, the music video for "Anthem", was released on January 24, 2012. The video was filmed at the Essigfabrik in Cologne, Germany on December 7, 2011, during the band's Dystopia World Tour. It switches between live scenes and the band on the road which are in filmed in black and white.
Jon Schaffer commented on the video on Century Media Records:
Critical reception
Caj Källmalmm, from Swedish website Hallowed named "Anthem" as one the album's best songs and Chad Bowar from About described it as "appropriately enough, anthemic." Keith Chachkes of Metal Army America also called "Anthem" "a rousing call to arms against hypocrisy and sycophants who seem to be overrunning the world these days."
