On VH1 there's an hourlong special, the story behind Courtney Love's power ballad “I'd Die for Me.” The Memoir Channel is featuring Morris Freud. ... “What's on the History Channel?” asked my wife. A new look at the Visgoths.

Author: P. J. O'Rourke

Publisher: Atlantic Books Ltd

ISBN: 9781782395454

Category: Humor

Page: 300

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New York Times best-selling author P. J. O'Rourke lobbed one-liners on the battlefields of the Gulf War, traded quips with communist rebels in the jungles of the Philippines, and went undercover at the Dome of the Rock Mosque as P. .J. of Arabia. Now, in his most challenging adventure, he journeys to the heart of that truly harrowing place-his living room. He waxes cynical over the election of Hillary Clinton. He waxes nostalgic over learning to drive. He waxes poetic as he adds happy endings for liberals to famous tragedies. Now if he would just wax the kitchen floor. And P. J. does still get off the couch and embark on exotic adventures-to the magical land of India, to the U. N. Millennial Summit, to a blind (drunk) wine tasting with Christopher Buckley, and, most exotical of all, to a Motel 6 where he has twenty-eight channels and a bathroom to himself. In The CEO of the Sofa, P. J. tackles everything and the kitchen sink, fighting evil, injustice, and absurdity with the gloves off and the oven mitts on.

A Reference Guide to the 50 Songs That Changed the 20th Century Hardeep Phull. Pete Seeger performing at the Highlander Folk School, Tennessee, in 1959. Both Seeger and the Highlander were instrumental in spreading the power of ''We ...

Author: Hardeep Phull

Publisher: ABC-CLIO

ISBN: 9781567206852

Category: Social Science

Page: 304

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Protest songs are united by the fact they all have something to say, something to dispute, or something to rile against, whether it be political, social, or personal. Story Behind the Protest Song features 50 of the most influential musical protests and statements recorded to date, providing pop-culture viewpoints on some of the most tumultuous times in modern history. Among the featured: songs about the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, the most recent upheaval over policy in the Middle East, as well as teenage rebellion, animal rights, criticisms of mass media, and even protest songs that lambaste other protest songs. This indispensable guide tackles it all: the behind-the-scenes stories of the most influential protest songs in American popular culture, examining the subjects they address, the legacy they left, and the fabric of the songs themselves. Chronically arranged entries cover nearly 70 years of music and offer an expansive range of genres, including rock, punk, pop, soul, hip-hop, country, folk, indie, heavy metal, and more. Each entry discusses the songwriter(s); the inspiration behind the song; and the social, cultural, and political context in which the song was released. Following a detailed musical and lyrical analysis, the entries explain the songs' impact and relevance today. Among the featured: • The Unknown Soldier (The Doors) • Masters of War (Bob Dylan) • Say It Loud-I'm Black and I'm Proud (James Brown) • Get Up, Stand Up (The Wailers) • Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell) • Their Law (Prodigy) • American Idiot (Green Day) • Sweet Home Alabama (Lynrd Skynrd) • Born in the USA (Bruce Springsteen) • Southern Man (Neil Young) Entries are accompanied by further readings and a select discographies as well as a comprehensive resource guide at the end of the book. A must-read for students of music, history, and politics, this volume offers a unique reflection on the most significant and moving protest songs in American history.

Studying headteachers' professional lives: Getting the life history. ... 14 fortællinger om magt, modstand og menneskers tilblivelse [Power ballads. 14 stories about power, resistance and the emergence of human beings].

Author: Helene Ärlestig

Publisher: Springer

ISBN: 9783319230276

Category: Education

Page: 543

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This book provides a unique map of the focus and directions of contemporary research on school leadership since 2000 in 24 countries. Each of these directions has its own particular cultural, educational and policy history. Taken together, the various chapters in the volume provide a rich and varied mosaic of what is currently known and what is yet to be discovered about the roles and practices of principals, and their contributions to the improvement of teaching and the learning and achievement of students. The particular foci and methodological emphases of the research reported illustrate the different phases in the development of educational policies and provision in each country. This collection is an important addition to existing international research that has shown beyond any reasonable doubt that the influence of school principals is second only to that of teachers in their capacity to impact students’ progress and achievement and to promote equity and social justice.

... shared with me stories about how particular ballads have shaped their lives. I hope that I can help them understand why and how ballads have been there for us. Chapter 3 draws upon material previously published in “The Power Ballad ...

Author: David Metzer

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

ISBN: 9781107161528

Category: Music

Page: 240

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The first book to explore the ballad's history and emotional appeal, surveying seventy years of the genre in modern America.

I sat behind the kit and played some warm-up exercises on the fleshy part of my thigh, Swiss triplets: LRRLLRRL RLLRRLLR. Billy began to sing. ... Tough and theatrical—that was the power ballad formula. The first verse was a grab bag of ...

Author: Will Boast

Publisher: University of Iowa Press

ISBN: 9781609380434

Category: Fiction

Page: 184

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Real musicians don’t sign autographs, date models, or fly in private jets. They spend their lives in practice rooms and basement clubs or toiling in the obscurity of coffee-shop gigs, casino jobs, and the European festival circuit. The ten linked stories in Power Ballads are devoted to this unheard virtuoso: the working musician. From the wings of sold-out arenas to hip-hop studios to polka bars, these stories are born out of a nocturnal world where music is often simply work, but also where it can, in rare moments, become a source of grace and transcendence, speaking about the things we never seem to say to each other. A skilled but snobby jazz drummer joins a costumed heavy metal band to pay his rent. A country singer tries to turn her brutal past into a successful career. A vengeful rock critic reenters the life of an emerging singer-songwriter, bent on wreaking havoc. The characters in Power Ballads—aging head-bangers, jobbers, techno DJs, groupies, and the occasional rock star (and those who have to live with them)—need music to survive, yet find themselves lost when the last note is played, the lights go up, and it’s time to return to regular life. By turns melancholy and hilarious, Power Ballads is not only a deeply felt look at the lives of musicians but also an exploration of the secret music that plays inside us all.

The real stories behind 50 classic pop songs Michael Heatley ... find the formula for sustained success but were rewarded for their perseverance as, with a second change of record label to Capitol, they perfected the AOR power ballad.

Author: Michael Heatley

Publisher: Portico

ISBN: 9781909396876

Category: Music

Page: 144

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The Boy in the Song is a follow up to 2010's The Girl in the Song. It features the real-life stories that inspired some classic pop songs about the male of the species. While the first book was filled with songs about unrequited love, the follow-up is more varied, with songs written from a number of emotions. There are songs motivated by love and hate, there are tributes and there are biographical tales. Each song is featured on two, four or six pages with a small biography of the artist along with the story of how and why the song was written, and, most intriguingly, what happened after the song became a hit.

The fascinating stories behind 50 of the world's best-loved songs David Cheal, Jan Dalley ... Poison's mighty power ballad marks the last popular flourish of transvestism in rock, a tradition stretching back from the New York Dolls to ...

Author: David Cheal

Publisher: Hachette UK

ISBN: 9781473668188

Category: Music

Page: 112

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Who knew that Paul McCartney originally referred to Yesterday as 'Scrambled Eggs' because he couldn't think of any lyrics for his heart-breaking tune? Or that Patti LaBelle didn't know what 'Voulez-vous couches avec moi ce soir?' actually meant? These and countless other fascinating back stories of some of our best-known and best-loved songs fill this book, a collection of the highly successful weekly The Life of a Song columns that appear in the FT Weekend every Saturday. Each 600-word piece gives a mini-biography of a single song, from its earliest form (often a spiritual, or a jazz number), through the various covers and changes, often morphing from one genre to another, always focusing on the 'biography' of the song itself while including the many famous artists who have performed or recorded it. The selection covers a wide spectrum of the songs we all know and love - rock, pop, folk, jazz and more. Each piece is pithy, sparkily written, knowledgeable, entertaining, full of anecdotes and surprises. They combine deep musical knowledge with the vivid background of the performers and musicians, and of course the often intriguing social and political background against which the songs were created.

... Alice, Louis and James pushed back a giant black fridge door with fluorescing blue lights to find a secret chamber behind. It was surprisingly warm, and laughter emanated from the depths of the cavern. The Power (Ballads) that Be ...

Author: Friends of James Sanderson

Publisher: Lulu.com

ISBN: 9781291855173

Category:

Page:

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Typically stories about events or people that were already known to a general audience, ballads often narrate the lives of social outcasts—outlaws such as Robin Hood—or those alienated from the main centers of power in society—like the ...

Author: Gale, Cengage Learning

Publisher: Gale, Cengage Learning

ISBN: 9781410340856

Category: Literary Criticism

Page: 17

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A Study Guide for Dudley Randall's "Ballad of Birmingham," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Poetry for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Poetry for Students for all of your research needs.

'Romantic' ballads feature stories about couples who have chosen each other in defiance of social norms or the wishes of ... When abandoned, couples become subject to predatory attacks by men in power, and the ballads can criticize ...

Author: Raziuddin Aquil

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

ISBN: 9781351987325

Category: Social Science

Page: 222

View: 186

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Covering the history of medieval and early modern India, from the eighth to the eighteenth centuries, this volume is part of a new series of collections of essays publishing current research on all aspects of polity, society, economy, religion and culture. The thematically organized volumes will particularly serve as a platform for younger scholars to showcase their new research and, thus, reflect current thrusts in the study of the period. Established experts in their specialized fields are also being invited to share their work and provide perspectives. The geographical limits will be historic India, roughly corresponding to modern South Asia and the adjoining regions. Chapters in the current volume cover a wide variety of connected themes of crucial importance to the understanding of literary and historical traditions, religious practices and encounters as well as intermingling of religion and politics over a long period in Indian history. The contributors to the volume comprise some fine historians working from institutions across South Asia, Europe and the United States: Matthew Clark, David Curley, Mridula Jha, Sudeshna Purkayastha, Sandhya Sharma, and Mikko Viitamäki.