Pussy Riot

Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist punk rock protest group based in Moscow. Founded in August 2011, it has a variable membership of approximately 11 women ranging in age from about 20 to 33 (as of 2012). The group stages unauthorised provocative guerrilla performances in unusual public locations, which are edited into music videos and posted on the Internet. The collective's lyrical themes include feminism, LGBT rights, and opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom the group considers a dictator, and to his links with the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church.

On February 21, 2012, five members of the group staged a performance in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The group's actions were eventually stopped by church security officials. By that evening, the collective had turned the performance into a music video entitled "Punk Prayer - Mother of God, Chase Putin Away!" The women said their protest was directed at the Orthodox Church leader's support for Putin during his election campaign. The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill I, said the performers were doing the work of the devil.

Nursery rhyme

A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the late 18th /early 19th century. In North America the term Mother Goose Rhymes, introduced in the mid-18th century, is still often used.

History

Lullabies

The oldest children's songs of which we have records are lullabies, intended to help a child sleep. Lullabies can be found in every human culture. The English term lullaby is thought to come from "lu, lu" or "la la" sound made by mothers or nurses to calm children, and "by by" or "bye bye", either another lulling sound, or a term for good night. Until the modern era lullabies were usually only recorded incidentally in written sources. The Roman nurses' lullaby, "Lalla, Lalla, Lalla, aut dormi, aut lacta", is recorded in a scholium on Persius and may be the oldest to survive.

Many medieval English verses associated with the birth of Jesus take the form of a lullaby, including "Lullay, my liking, my dere son, my sweting" and may be versions of contemporary lullabies. However, most of those used today date from the 17th century. For example, a well known lullaby such as "Rock-a-bye, baby on a tree top", cannot be found in records until the late-18th century when it was printed by John Newbery (c. 1765).

Pussy

The word pussy is a noun, an adjective, and in rare uses a verb in the English language. It has several meanings, including use as slang, as euphemism, and as vulgarity. Because of its multiple senses including both innocent and vulgar connotations, it is often the subject of double entendre.

The etymology of the word is not entirely clear. Several different senses of the word have different histories or origins.

Common meanings of the noun include "cat", "coward or weakling", and "the human vulva or vagina", or as a synecdoche, "sexual intercourse with a woman". Adjective meanings are related to the noun. As a homograph, pussy also has the meaning "containing pus"; with this meaning, the word is pronounced /ˈpʌsɪ/, while the other forms are all pronounced /ˈpʊsɪ/. Another adjective is the rare or obsolete Northern English dialect form pursy meaning "fat" or "short-winded". Meanings of the verb relate to the common noun senses, including "to act like a cat", "to act like a coward", or "to have sex with a woman".

The Pussycat Dolls

The Pussycat Dolls were an American girl group and dance ensemble, founded in Los Angeles, California, by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995 as a burlesque troupe. After attracting media attention, Antin negotiated a record deal with Interscope Geffen A&M Records in 2003 turning the group into a music franchise comprising Nicole Scherzinger, Carmit Bachar, Ashley Roberts, Jessica Sutta, Melody Thornton and Kimberly Wyatt. Overseen by Antin, Interscope and various partners, the group was transformed into a global image and commercial brand. The Pussycat Dolls were launched into mainstream recognition following the release of PCD, which contained the number-one singles "Don't Cha", "Buttons", and "Stickwitu". However, despite their commercial success, the group was plagued by internal conflict due to the overemphasis on Scherzinger, the group's lead member, and the subordinate treatment of the other members. Bachar's departure from the group preceded the release of their second and final studio album Doll Domination, which contains singles "When I Grow Up", "I Hate This Part" and "Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)".

Hal David

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Harold Lane "Hal" David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York City. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick.

Life and career

David was born in New York City, a son of Austrian Jewish immigrants Lina (née Goldberg) and Gedalier David, who owned a delicatessen in Brooklyn, and younger brother of American lyricist and songwriter Mack David. He is credited with popular music lyrics, beginning in the 1940s with material written for bandleader Sammy Kaye and for Guy Lombardo. He worked with Morty Nevins of The Three Suns on four songs for the feature film Two Gals and a Guy (1951), starring Janis Paige and Robert Alda.

In 1957, David met composer Burt Bacharach at Famous Music in the Brill Building in New York. The two teamed up and wrote their first hit "The Story of My Life", recorded by Marty Robbins in 1957. Subsequently, in the 1960s and early 1970s Bacharach and David wrote some of the most enduring songs in American popular music, many for Dionne Warwick but also for The Carpenters, Dusty Springfield, B. J. Thomas, Gene Pitney, Tom Jones, Jackie DeShannon and others.