Beth Orton

Elizabeth Caroline "Beth" Orton (born 14 December 1970) is an English singer-songwriter, known for her 'folktronica' sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit, Red Snapper and the Chemical Brothers in the mid-1990s. She released a solo album in 1993, Superpinkymandy (produced by William Orbit), but since the album was only released in Japan, it went largely unnoticed by international audiences. Her second solo album, Trailer Park, garnered much critical acclaim in 1996. Orton developed a devoted audience with the release of the albums Central Reservation (1999) and the 2002 UK top 10 album, Daybreaker. In her 2006 release, Comfort of Strangers, she moved towards a more folk-based sound and away from the electronic sound of her past albums.

American films and television programmes such as Felicity, How to Deal, Charmed, Dawson's Creek, Vanilla Sky and Grey's Anatomy have featured her music and provided her with exposure to a more mainstream American audience.

Trailer park

A trailer park is a semi-permanent or permanent area for mobile homes or travel trailers. Advantages include low cost compared to other housing, and quick and easy moving to a new area, for example when taking a job in a distant place while keeping the same home.

Trailer parks, especially in American culture, are stereotypically viewed as lower income housing whose occupants live at or below the poverty line, have low social status and lead a desultory and deleterious lifestyle. Despite the advances in trailer home technology, the trailer park image survives, as evoked by a statement from Presidential adviser James Carville who, in the course of one of the Bill Clinton White House political scandals, suggested "Drag $100 bills through trailer parks, there's no telling what you'll find"," in reference to Paula Jones. It is also seen in the Canadian mockumentary Trailer Park Boys.

Tornadoes and hurricanes often inflict serious damage on trailer parks, usually because the structures are not secured to the ground and their construction is significantly less able to withstand high wind forces than regular houses. However, most modern manufactured homes are built to withstand high winds, using hurricane straps and proper foundations.

CNX

CNX (or sometimes known as Cartoon Network Extreme) was a channel operated by Turner Broadcasting System Europe in the UK and Ireland between 2002 and 2003. It was aimed at a male audience, with daytime programming aimed at older children and teenagers (predominantly 12–18 years of age), and evening programming aimed at older teenagers and young adults (the 17-34 demographic). The channel was carried in the 'Entertainment' section of the Sky programme guide, and was also available on cable (through the firms which are now Virgin Media).

History

Initially, the CNX branding was used throughout the channel's airtime, but shortly prior to the channel's closure the station switched to branding younger daytime output as Toonami, returning the brand to the UK following the removal of the Toonami branding from Cartoon Network UK at CNX's launch, with CNX remaining as the brand for adult-aimed evening output.

Some daytime programming on the channel had previously screened within the Toonami block on Cartoon Network, and to tie in with this CNX daytime programmes were promoted on Cartoon Network, which remained in the Kids section of the programme guide; however, as the evening/night output was aimed at an older audience, it was not promoted on the kids' channel (though it was promoted on other Turner properties, such as TCM).

Trailer Park (album)

Trailer Park is the solo debut of British singer Beth Orton. Combining folk, electronica, and trip hop elements, it earned Orton two BRIT Award nominations. The only single from the album was the opening track, "She Cries Your Name", which previously appeared in a different form on William Orbit's album Strange Cargo Hinterland. All songs were co-written by Orton except for a haunting, sparse take on the Phil Spector composition, "I Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine." The album was among the first to fuse elements of 60s and 70s folk with modern electronica and trip hop.

An expanded two-disc Legacy Edition was released internationally on 10 March 2009.

Critical reception

Chris Jones of the BBC called Trailer Park "...a very English record", and "Only on the poppier Don't Need A Reason or Someone's Daughter does she go badly wrong."

Track listing

All songs written by Ted Barnes, Ali Friend, and Orton except where otherwise noted.