Crazy (Seal song)

"Crazy" is a song originated by English soul artist Seal, who wrote its lyrics and jointly composed its music in collaboration with producer Guy Sigsworth. The song was produced by Trevor Horn for Seal's debut album Seal (1991). Released as his debut single, "Crazy" became one of Seal's biggest hits, reaching the top five in the United Kingdom while becoming his first top ten single in the United States. It has since been interpreted by several artists, including Alanis Morissette, whose version was released as a single from her album The Collection (2005).

Background and composition

Seal wrote "Crazy" in 1990 inspired by the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1990 and the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989. In 2015, Seal said of the song's conception in 1990: "I felt the cycle had reached its apex. I felt the world changing and I felt profound things happening."

According to the song's producer Trevor Horn, "Crazy" was made over the course of two months: "Crazy wasn't an easy record to make, because we were aiming high".

Crazy (Ricki-Lee Coulter song)

"Crazy" is a song by Australian recording artist Ricki-Lee Coulter, taken from her third studio album Fear & Freedom (2012). It was written by Coulter, Brian London and Johnny Jam, while the production was also handled by the latter two. The song was released digitally on 13 July 2012, as the third single from the album.

Lyrically, Coulter stated that "Crazy" is about "encouraging you [to] let go of your inhibitions, go crazy and let the music take over". Following its release, "Crazy" peaked at number four on the ARIA Dance Chart and number 46 on the ARIA Singles Chart. The accompanying music video was directed by Melvin J. Montalban and filmed in the Callan Park Hospital for the Insane in Sydney. The video features Coulter playing three characters – a nurse, patient and psychologist.

Background and release

"Crazy" was written by Ricki-Lee Coulter, Brian London and Johnny Jam, while the production was also handled by the latter two. During an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Coulter said she wrote the song "as if I was actually singing it directly to the people on the dance floor". She went on to describe it as "sensual and erotic, encouraging you let go of your inhibitions, go crazy and let the music take over". "Crazy" was released digitally on 13 July 2012. On 23 July 2012, it debuted at number 52 on the ARIA Singles Chart and number four on the ARIA Dance Chart. The following week, "Crazy" fell out of the top 100 of the ARIA Singles Chart. On 6 August 2012, the song re-entered the chart at number 46, where it peaked.

Because of You (Ne-Yo album)

Because of You is the second studio album by American recording artist Ne-Yo, released on April 25, 2007 by Def Jam Recordings in the United States. It features guest contributions from rapper Jay-Z on "Crazy" and singer Jennifer Hudson on "Leaving Tonight". Because of You debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, selling over 250,000 copies in its first week. Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews from most music critics, based on an aggregate score of 74/100 from Metacritic. It won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 2008 Grammy Awards.

Critical reception

The album has drawn mainly positive reviews, with Entertainment Weekly magazine noting, "Indeed, the album is an unmistakable attempt to channel [Michael Jackson's early work such as "Off the Wall"]...and the effort often pays off beautifully...Ne-Yo's lithe falsetto puts the many others who've been labeled Jackson-esque to shame." PopMatters.com called the album "a masterpiece of a record" and praised the title track's blend of "upbeat modern-day funk tempo, beautifully melodic backdrop and love-sick (in a good way) vocals...[it's] the perfect lead single off an album that is filled with number-one hits".Slant Magazine also compared the album's sensual ballads to Janet Jackson.

Dancer (novel)

Dancer is a novel based on the life of Rudolf Nureyev, written by Colum McCann and published in 2003.

Background

Nureyev was a Russian ballet dancer who achieved fame with the Kirov Ballet before defecting to the West in 1961 and subsequently became "one of the most written-about dancers in history". He died in 1992. McCann, born in Ireland, had previously written novels, short stories and newspaper reports while travelling and teaching in the United States and Japan; some of his work was set in Ireland and Northern Ireland. In 2001, already having "a growing reputation as an international writer", he moved to Russia where he researched his novel based on Nureyev while teaching English. A decade after the book's publication, McCann commented that he personally saw Nureyev as "a monster".

Plot and structure

The book begins on the Eastern Front during World War Two, with Nureyev performing for injured Soviet soldiers as a child. It covers his good fortune in gaining the chance to study ballet in his home country, his success there and then his life, work, loves and excesses as a celebrity after his defection to the West.

Assault Attack

Assault Attack is the third studio album from The Michael Schenker Group, and the only album to feature former Rainbow vocalist Graham Bonnet. The album was recorded in France at the Château d'Hérouville and was produced by Martin Birch.

Overview

After returning to the UK from Japan in August 1981, having recorded the live album One Night at Budokan, Schenker and his band played a short tour of the UK. After the tour, Cozy Powell and Peter Mensch (Michael Schenker Group's manager) wanted a better singer for the band and suggested David Coverdale, but Schenker himself wanted Graham Bonnet. After some disagreements, which ultimately led to the termination of the cooperation between Mensch and MSG, Bonnet joined the MSG in February 1982. Meanwhile, Powell and Paul Raymond left the band for their own reasons and were replaced by drummer Ted McKenna and session keyboardist Tommy Eyre. After four months the band went to France to start recording the album that would become Assault Attack with producer Martin Birch, who arrived fresh from Iron Maiden's album The Number of the Beast. The sessions took place at a French castle, Le Château d'Hérouville.

Santa Claus's reindeer

Santa Claus's reindeer form an imaginary team of flying reindeer traditionally held to pull the sleigh of Santa Claus and help him deliver Christmas gifts. The commonly cited names of the reindeer are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen. They are based on those used in the 1823 poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (commonly called "The Night Before Christmas"), which is arguably the basis of reindeer's popularity.

The enduring popularity of the Christmas song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" has led to Rudolph often joining the list.

List of reindeer

In traditional lore, Santa Claus's sleigh is led by eight reindeer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder (variously spelled Donder and Donner), and Blixem (variously spelled Blitzen and Blixen), with Rudolph being a 20th-century inclusion.

The names Dunder and Blixem derive from Germanic words for thunder and lightning, respectively.

Origins

Eight reindeer

The 1823 poem by Clement C. Moore "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (also known as "The Night Before Christmas" or "'Twas the Night Before Christmas") is largely credited for the contemporary Christmas lore that includes the eight flying reindeer and their names.

Čika

Čika (Zadar, first half of 11th century - Zadar, after 1095; Latin: Chicca) was a Croatian benedictine nun, founder of the benedictine monastery of st. Mary in Zadar. She is also known for the illuminated prayer book known as Čika's book of hours, the oldest prayer book for personal use in Europe.

Life

She was the daughter of Dujam and Vekenega, niece of prior Madi, and the wife of Andrija.

She was the member of the noble patrician family Madi. After the death of her husband in 1066, she founded the monastery of St. Mary in Zadar with the help of her family. King Petar Krešimir IV referred to her as his sister when he placed the monastery under the royal protection, though such geneaology is debated.

She is the mother of Vekenega.

References