your my best that i ever had

hello superman, can you hear me? ...

hello superman, you are strong man, super strong and strong man...

the superman for this end december...

I love Him , even if he might not LOVE me back . 

you always give me support and care . play, laugh, sharing together..

hello my superman, where are you now? are you still here?

 

the whole point of love is to put someone else's needs above your own ....  (230809)

more About TORI AMOS

Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American pianist and singer-songwriter. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument. Some of her charting singles include "Crucify", "Silent All These Years", "God", "Cornflake Girl", "Caught a Lite Sneeze", "Professional Widow", "Spark", "1000 Oceans", and "A Sorta Fairytale", her most commercially successful single in the U.S. to date.

Early life

Amos was born in Newton, North Carolina. When she was two, her family moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where she began to play the piano. By age five, she had begun composing instrumental pieces on piano and, while living in Rockville, Maryland, she won a full scholarship to the Preparatory Division of the Peabody Conservatory of Music.Her scholarship was discontinued at age 11 and she was asked to leave. Amos has asserted that she lost the scholarship because of her interest in rock and popular music, coupled with her dislike for reading from sheet music.At the age of 14 she began playing at piano bars, chaperoned by her father.

Amos first came to local notice by winning a county teen talent contest in 1977, singing a song called "More Than Just a Friend". As a senior at Richard Montgomery High School, she co-wrote "Baltimore" with her brother Mike Amos for a competition involving the Baltimore Orioles. The song won the contest and became her first single, released as a 7" single pressed locally for family and friends during 1980 with another Amos-penned composition as a B-side, "Walking With You". Prior to this period she performed under her middle name, Ellen, but permanently adopted Tori after a friend's boyfriend told her it suited her.

Y Kant Tori Read

In 1986, Amos formed a music group, Y Kant Tori Read, the name of which was a reference to her days at the Peabody Conservatory, where she was able to play songs on her piano by ear, but was never successful at sight reading.

In addition to Amos, the group was composed of Steve Caton (who would later play guitars on all her subsequent albums until 1999), drummer Matt Sorum, bass player Brad Cobb and, for a short time, keyboardist Jim Tauber. Following several phases of writing and recording, during which Amos has since asserted that the band lost their musical edge and direction due to interference from record executives, in July 1988, the Y Kant Tori Read's self-titled debut album was released. Although its producer, Joe Chiccarelli, has stated that Amos was very happy with the album at the time,it is now out of print and Amos has expressed no interest in reissuing it.Following the album's commercial failure and the group's subsequent disbanding, Amos began working with other artists (including Stan Ridgway, Sandra Bernhard, and Al Stewart) as a backup vocalist. She also recorded a song called "Distant Storm" for the film China O'Brien; in the credits, the song is attributed to a band called Tess Makes Good.

Solo career

Despite the disappointing reaction to Y Kant Tori Read, Amos still had to comply with her six record contract with Atlantic Records, who in 1989 wanted a new record by March 1990. The initial recordings were declined by the label, which Amos felt was because the album had not been properly presented,he album was reworked and expanded under the guidance of Doug Morris and the musical talents of Steve Caton, Eric Rosse, Will MacGregor, Carlo Nuccio, and Dan Nebenzal, resulting in Little Earthquakes, an album recounting her religious upbringing, sexual awakening, struggle to establish her identity, and sexual assault. Amos traveled to New Mexico with personal and professional partner Eric Rosse in 1993 to write and largely record her second solo record, Under the Pink. The album was received with mostly favorable reviews and sold enough copies to chart at #12 on the Billboard 200, a significantly higher position than the preceding album's position at #54 on the same chart.Her third solo album, Boys for Pele, was released in January 1996. The album was recorded in an Irish church, in Delgany, County Wicklow, with Amos taking advantage of the church recording setting to create an album ripe with baroque influences, lending it a darker sound and style. She added harpsichord, harmonium, and clavichord to her keyboard repertoire, and also included such anomalies as a gospel choir, bagpipes, church bells, and drum programming. The album garnered mixed reviews upon its release, with some critics praising its intensity and uniqueness while others bemoaned its comparative impenetrability. Despite the album's erratic lyrical content and instrumentation, the latter of which kept it away from mainstream audiences, Boys for Pele is Amos's most successful simultaneous transatlantic release, reaching #2 on both the Billboard 200 and the UK Top 40 upon its release at the height of her fame.

Amos has released eleven studio albums throughout her solo career, nine of which were self-produced.

• Little Earthquakes (1992)
• Under The Pink (1994)
• Boys For Pele (1996)
• From the Choirgirl Hotel (1998)
• To Venus and Back (1999)
• Strange Little Girls (2001)
• Scarlet's Walk (2002)
• The Beekeeper (2005)
• American Doll Posse (2007)
• Abnormally Attracted to Sin (2009)
• Midwinter Graces (2009)

Additionally, Amos has released over 30 singles, over 60 B-sides, and has contributed to nine film soundtracks, including Higher Learning (1995), Great Expectations (1998) and Mission: Impossible II (2000) among others.

Background information
Birth name	Myra Ellen Amos
Born	August 22, 1963 (age 47), Newton, North Carolina, United States(1963-08-22)
Genres	Alternative rock Baroque pop Electronica Piano rock
Occupations	Musician, vocalist, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Piano, harpsichord, clavichord, Hammond organ, harmonium, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Kurzweil, clavinet, vocals
Years active	1986–present
Labels	Atlantic (1988–2001) Epic (2002–2008) Universal Republic (2009–present)
Website	toriamos.com everythingtori.com

How To Stay Asleep: Stop Waking up at Night

Did you know that people who get enough sleep (about 7-9 hours a night) are more likely to have higher productivity, feel more energetic throughout the day, and experience less stress? Sleep is crucial for concentration, memory formation, and repairing and rejuvenating the cells of the body. Both mentally and physically, a good night's sleep is essential for your health and your energy.

The Problem - Waking up at Night : Unfortunately, experts estimate that more than 70 million Americans have persistent trouble falling or staying asleep. If you are one of the millions of people who suffer, you know how frustrating it can be to lie awake in bed at night, tossing and turning.
Finding an effective remedy is difficult. Some sleep aids require a visit to your doctor, dealing with unpleasant side effects, and facing the possibility of becoming dependent on the drugs. Even over-the-counter sleep aids can be habit-forming. But don't worry, you don't have to suffer through another sluggish morning.


The Solution - Staying Asleep, and Waking up Refreshed : In contrast, many sleep aid supplements are safe, natural, and quickly gaining popularity. They typically contain melatonin, a naturally-occurring compound that regulates sleeping cycles and also has value a possible antioxidant. You should look for a sleep aid that contains more than melatonin alone. Essential herbal ingredients further promote calming effects leading to quality sleep. The better you sleep, the more energetic and awake you will feel in the morning and throughout the day. There are a variety of sleep supplements available to help promote relaxing and refreshing sleep, but not all brands are equal in quality.

The Benefits of Natural Sleep Supplements

• -Fall Asleep Faster
• -Stay Asleep Longer
• -Wake up Feeling Refreshed and Rejuvenated
• -Safe and Effective All Natural Ingredients
• -Non-Habit Forming

Musical Journeys

Margaritaville

Does music inspire travel — or does travel inspire music? Either way, the two are inseparably linked. We take a tour of some of our favorite destinations that appear in some of our favorite songs.

Find everything you're searching for. Make Bing your homepage.

Jimmy Buffett’s signature song describes a state of mind – fueled by fruity cocktails consumed in laid-back Key West, Fla. "Margaritaville" wasn’t an actual place when the song was released in 1977, but now it’s the name of a chain of restaurants in sunny locales owned by Buffett and visited by flocks of fans called Parrotheads. Interestingly, Buffett has revealed that the song was supposed to be recorded by Elvis, who died before he could sing it.

Image Effects and Graphic Creation Actions

Cross-processing ATN
Simulate the Cross-processing (Xpro) photography technique using this Photoshop action.



Lomo
Give your images a “Lomo” look and feel with this excellent Photoshop action.



Lomo Cross-processing
This Photoshop action is a combination of two popular photography effects: Lomo and Cross-processing.



Polaroid Generator
Automatically frame an image in a Polaroid border with this set of Photoshop actions.



Hand-Colored Vintage Photo
This is a handy Photoshop action set for giving images aged, dirty effects.



Vintage
Aly’s Vintage action set is a nice collection of six vintage image effects that you can use on modern digital photos.



Vintage Wash
Give your images an old, vintage effect with this set of ten different actions.



Old Parchment
Easily create aged paper with this free Photoshop action.





IR Actions
Give your photos the popular infrared effect using Dave’s IR Photoshop action.



IR Effect
Here is another method for faking the infrared photographic effect using a Photoshop action.




Comics Photoshop Action
Give your image a comic book look and feel using this Photoshop action.






Edge Effects
This set of actions allows you to give your images different types of edge effects.



B & Big Picture
Create a three-dimensional collage effect using one source image with the B & Big Picture action.

Photo Enhancement and Processing Actions

Black and White Photoshop Actions
This is a set of useful actions for processing black and white images.



TLR B&W Toning
TLR B&W Toning is a large action set for enhancing and processing black and white images.





Color Enhancing Actions
Here is a variety of actions, such as “colorboost,” “softlight,” and “contrastboost.”



Photoshop Color Actions
A nice collection of color actions to process and enhance your photographs.

Assorted Sets of Actions

Photoshop Actions – 53
This is the 53rd set of Photoshop actions by =night-fate of deviantART.



Productions Action
This is a set of useful actions that will simplify your workflow for common Photoshop tasks.



Photoshop Automator Actions
This is one of the biggest sets of useful actions to cut down on repetitive tasks such as watermarking images, scaling images, and fitting images in the canvas. You need to register before being able to download the set.

sedikit foto waktu gue ospek LSPR (the London School of Public Relation Jakarta )

unforgetable moment : karena gue yg move to unj ihihihi :(

fristha, nei, ka sisca, khoi

yo man buka kadooooo hihi asiklah juara 1

public speaking menaggg loh

public speaking group eith ka ibnu

ziella, nei dan kenny

ini sama kakak pembimbing ka sisca dan ka ibnu

turut suka cita kalo kata ade gue si okta :D

fiuhhh, baru kali ini gue nulis notes buat di baca para facebookers yekan :D ahaha selama ini kalo gak lagu yah apaaan tau deh yg gue ketik hihihihihihihi.. curhat dikit yah gpp dong men :D

---------tanggal 6 agustus 2010, jum'at----------

insommmmnia ooooo insomniiiaaa... (bunyi alarm hape gue) anjrit men, jam 5 skarang. okelah gue bangun tapi kok berasa maaalessss deh. dan gue inget hari ini gue ospek di london school dan yg nganter adalah abang gue si wishnu ikhsan. shit abang gue belum bangun. gimana cara ngebanguninnya yah ..
keras gue berfikir kalo dia pasti bangun kalo gk di cium sm kucing gue tuh si nero, ato gak sama boneka kesayangnya tuh si bubul. ihihihi

okelah gue ngendap ke kamarnya dan yes, bubul membantu gue membangunkan manusia gelonggongan ini.soalnya kalo gak berangkat pagi2 gue disalahin sm dia kenapa gk bangun pagi padahal seharusnya dia berinisiatif bangun sendiri toh kan mau nganter adik tersayang abis itu cabut ngampus. udah gitu kammpus dia kan jauhh men di kemang ajegile aja kalo gue jadi bulan2an nih orang haha

**jam 05:25 WIB**
gue mandi dan nyiapin sarapan sendiri.setelah nyokap gue denger bunyi berisik dia pun bangun dengan banyak pertanyaan "ade ospek jam berapa" , "ade, sarapan pake apa" , "ade, kakak udah bangun belum" , "ade, udah solat belumm...." dan bla la la la banyak pertnayaan gue cuma jawab, udah semuanya bunda

diamlah si nyokap, tapi dia tetep manawarkan ayo kamu sarapan pake sosis ato telur. gue jawab melenceng yaitu roti haha biar deh roti dan susu.padahal sebelumnya gue udah minum susu bnyk bgt sekardus kali (ckck lebai aja)

setelah abang gue malakukan kegiatannya mandi makan pake baju dll jalanlah gue dari rumah **jam 6:15 WIB** anjrit, apa keburu nih jam segini nyampe london school trus abang gue ngampus. mati gue di jalan bakalan di omelin deh ama si penjahat makanan ini wah wah wah siap siap tutul kuping


**jam 6:45 WIB**
oh my god, untungnya punya abng yg kaya lorenzo kecelakaan di pasar blok A di jahit kakinya di rs ibu bersalin muhammadiyah taman puring dan punya banyak luka jahitan karena kecebur gie waktu kecil main speda. dia melesat dengan cepatnya seperti di arena balapan. dan perlu di ketahui sebenernya dia gak tau jalanan berkali2 nanya gue tapi gue budek karena bnyk angin yg masuk kuping gue

hahahahahahahaahah

**jam 6:55 WIB**
akhirnya gue sampe lspr sudirman park. alhamdulillaaaaaaaahh, abang gue gak maran2 justru dia malah senyum lebar bener soalnya dia sampe kampus bisa sambil leha leha. nyihaiii. orientasi gue hari ini gimana yaaaahhhhh. shit harus nunggu jam 8:00 WIB itu lama gileyyyyy sumpah gue ngeri dpt temen yg jahat ato judes soalnya abang gue bilang, biasanya klo orang judes dpt tmn judes nyolot juga. wtf, abang gue nyindir gue siiiallll

**8:00 WIB**
yes gue masuk orientasi, dan dapet kakak pembimbing ka sisca dan ka ibnu. yihai, untung pada baeeeeeee bgt deh pikiran gue mreka killer kayak di mos sma tuh yg dimana gue di sudutkan disuatu ruang karena gue gak makan nasi sial ini pengalaman buruk hidup gue tapi santai gue emg mrs santai. gue gk makan nasi kan bukan krn kemauan gue akhirnya skrg gue doyan bgt sm nasi gr2 lsdk tp gue pingsan seharian coi mabok nasi haha

setelah registrasi ulang (kalo bahasa sma sih ngisi daftar hadir diikuti dengan tanda tangan) gue dapet kelompok yg namanya public speaking. yesssss gue punya temen baruuuuu bnyk bgt deh. sebelumnya pagi2 gue udah dapet temen namanya sarah, fristha, sama ka nova (cewe cantik lulusan d3 tarki yes gue bnyk ngobrol tentang tarki sm dia ternyata apa yg kakak gue rasain 3 tahun di tarki sm kaya yg ka nova alamin ckck menderita yah)

setelah dapet kelompok ternyata gue pisa sm ks nova dan sarah. gue dan fristha se kelompok.awal2nya jaim bgt deh sumpah, ternyata seru bgt perkenalan singkat di kelompok gue seru paraaaaahhhhhh. yeah ada satu cewe yg badannya imut parah namanya syadonara aduh ini anak lucu bgt dia lulusan tarki pulor.( widih flashback waktu gue milih tarakanita sebagai sekolah sma gue.gue milih kejurusan dan dapet di akuntansi, shit gue ngeri sm kakak kelasnya udah cukupppppp serem gila yeh)

jam jam jam ban berjam2 gue laluin di auditorium lspr kampus b. suer dingin gue laper tapi gk blh kmn2.sial bgt. perut gue dan fristha saling bersorak sorai minta di berikan asupan gizi hah tapi jam makan itu pas solat jum'at oh my gooooooodddd cukup sudah cacing kalian jangan buat gue sedihhhh ckck

**jam makannn siangg tiba**
begiru pertama buka kotak makan yg di bagikan. gue melihat buat kebenciannnnn
"PISANG" anjrit buah pisang gue benci sama buah yg aneh modelnya dan rasanya ini. gue jadi ilang selera makan. tapi gue pintaaaaaaaaaarrr, pisangnya gue bungkus di tissu trus gue masukin tas. yes yes mampus lo enyaaaaaaahhh yes gue benci pisang dan ampe kapan juga gk gu makan haha (dejavu lagi gue, inget waktu mos sma di suruh makan pisan gue muntah dan akhirnya yg ngabisain pisang gue otu temen sebangku gue si annisa nur endah.haha thankssss nissa si mrs pisang haha :D)

ternyata setelah makan, ka sisca yg anak perfom arts ini bilang ke kita kalo harus menampilkan panampilan dari tiap group. wow, kita kedapetan ice breaking. nice, main kata bersusan dan diakhiri oleh satu orang buat nyebutin kata pertama sampe akhir. yes syadonara bisaaaaa dia emang jagoo bgt nagapal otak nya pintarr biar kecil tapi pintarr :D

**jam 13:15 WIB**
kembali ke auditorium lantai brp deh gue lupa yg jelas bnyk aja haha.
dingin2an lagi gue yaampu perut gue malah gk enak gara2 kebnykn makan. pengan empup.haha tapi bisa gue tahan dan akhirnya itu ilang rasa pengan empupnya haha

setelah melewatkan berbagai banyak presentasi dari dosen si anu itu dan ono sampailah di penampilan kelompok. yihaiiii semua kelompok kerennnn bgt tapi cuuuuuma kelompok gue yg garing bgt cuma sedikittt bgt dan kaliaaan haruuss tahu kelooompppokk gue menangggggg loh padahal gak berfikir buat menaang yg lainnya kereen bgt sih ckck :D

**jam 14:15**
yes jam pulangggggg asik yah pulang pulang, tapi tenyata masih ada presentasi IT buat anak2 lspr yg segitu bnyknya punya email sendiri dengan format email@lspr.edu
wow, semua anak lspr ini dia emailnya haha . mantep yeee baru kali ini kampus seenak ini. ospek di kasih makan, kerjaanya mainan terus dan santai abissss gak usah mikirin yg naaamaya di apa2in sm senior. hihi seneng bgt gue


**jam 19:30**
gue sampe rumaaaahhhhh , anjrit banjirrrrr kacauuuu. amburadul semuaaaanya rumah gue kemasukan air. yg sebelumnya sm sekali gk pernah tergenang air tp dengan hujan yg cuma beberapa menit malah ngebuat banjir.oh my god pertama kalinya rumah gue banjir. ckck.
badan gue pegel bgt. stelah mandi gue dapet smssssss dari nadia debri astriutami (kayaknya salah deh tulisannya) dia bilang ktrima unj. WHAT ? UNJ ? ini kan masih besok pengumumannyaaa. dengan hati penasaran dan berdebaaaaarrrr gue nyalain laptop dan menyalakan moden speddy gue yg wtf ini selalu mati pada jam2 tertentu dan putus koneksinya karena hujan ato gerimis. haha


**jam 20:30 WIB**
www.penmaba.unj.ac.id

penuh kesabaran gue nunggu situs ini gk loading, akhirnya bisa juga. komat kamit mulut gue supaya hasil yg gue liat gk bikan ortu gue kecewa.setelah sebelumnya gue menolak salah satu perguruan tinggi di jakarta yg beken abisssssss di fakultas hukum hah gue deg degaaan. sengaja gue gk manggil siapa2 buat liat hasilnya. cukup gue yg menyaksikan keterpurukan (halah shit bgt bahasa gue) haha

dan hasilnyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa:
gue di teriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimaaaaa di unj fakultas tekhnik pendidikan tata rias.oh my god sebelum gue bayangannya gue dapet sastra inggris ternyata gue dapet tekhnik yg gk pake tes ketrampilan dan murni cuma test soal penmaba. anjrit gue ngitung cos son tan aja lupa tp dengan ke[edean yg gue punya gue sok inget aja. yo men ternyata gue lulus men, tekhnik me. asiklaaahhh gue gak kebayang apa jadinya kalo gue gak dapet ngeri gak jadi disayanggggg gue sm nyokap bokap gak jadi deh buat bokap gue ngebuat gue jadi guru dosen ato apalah itu huah gue harus maju itu di otak gue saat itu.kapan buat banggaaa

dan akhirnya gue bisaaaaa sekarang haru bgt gue langsung teriak dan lari ke nyokap gue tercinta, wow mreka bangga. bokap gue antusias bgt men yo men yo yo bangga bgt mereka sm gue.akhirnya gue bisa masuk universitas yg di idam idamkan bokap gue. asyikkkkkk gue harus sukses.

hmmm, gak apa2 hukum ui gue tolak, gak apa apa london school gak jadi . yang penting impian bokap gue buat gue jadi guru/dosen bisa kecapai. gak sia2 gue begadang jam4 bangun buat blajar soal2 dari buku penmaba yg di kasih ka fadil. semuanya terima kasihhhhhhh berkat doa kalian gue sekarang jadi mahasiswi unj loh :D . buat kakak gue yg di belanda. novi indayani, mba tungguyah aku bisa bikin salon di belanda kok tenang aja kita bisa jadi orang kaya gak kadi susah terus. hihi asyikkk :D terima kasih allaaaah yg udah ngabulin doa hamba. GBU :D

CUT COPY LIVE IN JAKARTA

CUT COPY – Live in Jakarta 2010 @ Bengkel Night Park
Saturday, 10th July 2010
Venue: BENGKEL NightPark
Door opens 6pm

CUT///COPY
Agrikulture
[More Acts to be announced soon]

((((( TICKETS INFO – starts 10 May 2010 )))))

Limited EARLY BIRD Tickets ONLY Rp 200,000-
( 10 May – 23 May ) LIMITED ONLY AND SELLING FAST

Limited Release PRESALE Tickets: Rp 250,000-
( 24 May – 06 June ) LIMITED ONLY

NORMAL Tickets: Rp 300,000-
( 07 June – 07 July, and At the Door )
 

*WHERE TO BUY??

JAKARTA
- SUSHIGROOVE
Mal Taman Anggrek, Pondok Indah Mal 2, Grand Indonesia, Setiabudi One, Emporium Pluit, Mal Kelapa Gading 3, CityWalk Sudirman
- PIZZA E BIRRA (Plaza Indonesia, Setiabudi One)
- BLOWFISH
- DRAGONFLY
BANDUNG
- SUSHIGROOVE Paris Van Java

((( more ticket boxes will be added soon )))

HOTLINE: 021 5225285
Website: www.ismayalive.com/Twitter: @IsmayaLive

ALBUM - TRACKS

Mew -Half the World is Watching me.

Track Listings
Disc: 1
1. Am I Wry? No
2. Mica
3. Saliva
4. King Christaian
5. Her Voice Is Beyond Her Years
6. 156
7. Symmetry
8. Comforting Sounds




Disc: 2
1. Half the World Is Watching Me [Studio Outtake]
2. Her Voice Is Beyond Her Years [Live 2001]
3. Mica [Live 2001]
4. Wheels Over Me [Live 2001]
5. Wherever [Live 2001]
6. 156 [Cubase Demo]
7. Quietly [Demo Version]
8. Comforting Sounds (Do I Look Puerto Rican?) [Demo Version]



Mew - And The Glass Handed Kites

1. Circuitry of the Wolf
2. Chinaberry Tree
3. Why Are You Looking Grave?
4. Fox Cub
5. Apocalypso
6. Special
7. The Zookeeper's Boy
8. A Dark Design
9. Saviours of Jazz Ballet (Fear Me, December)
10. An Envoy to the Open Fields
11. Small Ambulance
12. The Seething Rain Weeps for You (Uda Pruda)
13. White Lips Kissed
14. Louise Louisa
15. Forever And Ever (Japan Bonus Track)
16. Shiroi Kuchibiruno Izanai (Japan Bonus Track)


Mew - A Triumph For a Man
1. Wheels over Me
2. Beautiful Balloon
3. Wherever
4. Panda
5. Then I Run
6. Life Is Not Distant
7. No Shadow Kick
8. Snowflake
9. She Came Home for Christmas
10. Pink Monster
11. I Should Have Been a Tsin-Tsi (for You)
12. How Things Turn out to Be
13. Web
14. Coffee Break




Mew - Frengers


1. Am I Wry? No
2. 156
3. Snow Brigade
4. Symmetry
5. Behind The D****s
6. Her Voice Is Beyond Her Years
7. Eight Flew Over, One Was Destroyed
8. She Came Home For Christmas
9. She Spider
10.Comforting Sounds

my Favorite My MEW

Mew (band)

Mew
Background information
Origin	Hellerup, Denmark
Genres	Alternative rock Indie rock Shoegazing New prog Post-rock Dream pop[1] Experimental rock
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Exlibris Musik, Evil Office, Sony BMG, Sony Music Entertainment
Associated acts	Apparatjik
Website	www.mewsite.com
Members
Jonas Bjerre Bo Madsen Silas Utke Graae Jørgensen
Former members
Johan Wohlert

Mew is a Danish alternative music band consisting of Jonas Bjerre, Bo Madsen, and Silas Utke Graae Jørgensen. Bassist Johan Wohlert was also a founding member of the band, but left in 2006. Whilst their music may be classified as indie and on occasion (like on And the Glass Handed Kites) progressive rock, they sometimes humorously refer to it themselves as "pretentious art rock". The band's guitarist Bo Madsen refers to the band as "the world's only indie stadium band".

History

Mew singer Jonas Bjerre

Formed in 1994 in Hellerup, an upper-class suburb of Copenhagen, they had a profound impact on the Danish indie scene, emerging alongside the likes of Carpark North, Swan Lee and Saybia, amongst others, in 2003. At the 2003 Danish Music Critics Award Show, Mew won the awards for "Album of the Year" and "Band of the Year".

Their first major commercial success came with Frengers, released in 2003, described as "a work of quiet brilliance, aiming for the epic without straying into the bombastic, offering cerebral arrangements while keeping things accessible."^[2] The album was well received. After a European tour supporting R.E.M. they began to attract wider attention. Their next album And the Glass Handed Kites was released in Denmark on 19 September 2005, in the United Kingdom and rest of Europe on 26 September, and in the United States on 25 July 2006. The album received critical acclaim, with Mew described as making "dreamy thunderstorm pop".^[3] They were MTV Asia "Buzz-Worthy" as of January, 2006, and at the DMA06 (Danish Music Awards) they took home 4 statuettes.

Mew performing at Virgin Festival Ontario day 2 2009

On 11 April 2006, Wohlert left the band to spend more time with his girlfriend, Pernille Rosendahl from the now dissolved band Swan Lee, who was to give birth to their baby boy in May 2006. The two would later go on to form a duo, The Storm.

The band tours with Nick Watts (formerly of UK indie band Headswim) as their keyboardist, and Bastian Juel (who used to act as a studio and live bassist for Swan Lee and also played bass on Tina Dico's EP Far) recently joined them as their live bassist. However, he is not an official replacement for Johan and the band has said they will return to the studio with just the three original members.

The band finished touring for And the Glass Handed Kites in the summer of 2007. They returned to Brooklyn, New York in May 2008 in order to begin recording their next record, and tapped Rich Costey (who produced their breakthrough album, Frengers) once again as producer.

The band's fifth album No More Stories / Are Told Today / I'm Sorry / They Washed Away // No More Stories / The World Is Grey / I'm Tired / Let's Wash Away was released on August 17 in Scandinavia, August 24 in the UK, and August 25 in the US^[4].

In 2009, the band supported Nine Inch Nails for various tour dates across Europe with Jane's Addiction.

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Year	Details	Peak chart position						Certifications (sales thresholds)
		DEN [5]	FIN [6]	NOR [7]	SWE [8]	UK [9][10]	US [11]
1997	A Triumph for Man Released: 1997, 2006 (reissue) Label: Exlibris Musik	8	—	—	—	—	—
2000	Half the World Is Watching Me Released: 2000, 2007 (reissue) Label: Evil Office, Playground	34	—	—	—	—	—
2003	Frengers Released: April 2003, 2007 (reissue) Label: Sony BMG, Epic	2	36	6	—	102	—
2005	And The Glass Handed Kites Released: 19 September 2005 Label: Sony BMG	2	4	4	36	129	—
2009	No More Stories...1 Released: 19 August 2009 Label: Sony BMG	1	2	2	41	110	130

¹ The name in its entirety is: No More Stories / Are Told Today / I'm Sorry / They Washed Away // No More Stories / The World Is Grey / I'm Tired / Let's Wash Away.

EPs

• The Zookeeper's Boy EP (2006)
• Live Session EP (2007) Released exclusively on iTunes
• No More Stories EP (2009)

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart position					Album
		DEN [12]	FIN [13]	NOR [14]	SWE [15]	UK [9]
1997	"She Came Home for Christmas" [a]	—	—	—	—	55	A Triumph for Man
2000	"King Christian"	—	—	—	—	—	Half the World Is Watching Me
	"Her Voice Is Beyond Her Years"	—	—	—	—	—
	"Mica"	—	—	—	—	—
	"Am I Wry? No" [b]	—	—	16	—	47
2003	"Comforting Sounds"	—	—	—	—	48	Frengers
	"156"	—	—	—	11	—
2005	"Apocalypso"	—	—	—	—	75	And the Glass Handed Kites
	"Special"	—	—	—	—	46
2006	"Why Are You Looking Grave?"	20	—	—	—	53
	"The Zookeeper's Boy"	—	—	13	—	80
2009	"Introducing Palace Players" [c]	—	—	—	—	—	No More Stories...
	"Repeaterbeater"	—	—	—	—	—

Notes

• a^ Re-released in 2000, 2002 and 2003. Peaked at #76 on the UK Singles Chart in 2002.
• b^ Re-released in 2003. Peaked at #137 on UK Singles Chart on its first release.
• c^ Download-only

Other singles

Year	Single	Album
2000	"I Should Have Been a Tsin-Tsi for You"	A Triumph for Man

B-Sides

Song Title
Animals Of Many Kinds
Bones (Song For Albert)
City Voices
Drown
Forever And Ever
In Time Do You Forget? (Daydream)
Killer
Like Chaser
Like Paper Cuts
Misplaced
Nothing Is Red
Quietly
Safe As Houses
Succubus
Superfriends
That Time On The Ledge
Watch This Space
Where Have All The Geysers Gone?
Wherefore Are You Not There?
Shiroi Kuchiburu No Izanai
King Christian (New Version)
Mica (New Version)
She Came Home for Christmas (Acoustic)
Swimmer's Chant
Start
Owl
Nervous

Videography

DVDs

• Live in Copenhagen (2006)

Music videos

• 1996 "I Should Have Been A Tsin-Tsi For You"
• 2001 "Mica"
• 2003 "Am I Wry? No"
• 2003 "156"
• 2003 "She Came Home for Christmas"
• 2003 "That Time On The Ledge" (Unofficial music video)
• 2003 "Comforting Sounds"
• 2005 "Apocalypso" (Internet promo video only)
• 2005 "Special"
• 2006 "The Zookeeper's Boy"
• 2006 "King Christian" (New version)
• 2006 "Why Are You Looking Grave?"
• 2009 "Introducing Palace Players"
• 2009 "Repeaterbeater"
• 2010 "Beach"

The Killers

The Killers are an American rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2002. The band consists of Brandon Flowers (vocals, keyboards), Dave Keuning (guitar, vocals), Mark Stoermer (bass guitar, vocals) and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. (drums, percussion).

Part of the post-punk revival movement,^{[citation needed]} The Killers draw their influences from music styles of the 1980s. The group's debut album, Hot Fuss (2004) brought the band mainstream success. The Killers' second album, Sam's Town, was released in 2006, and compilation album Sawdust containing B-sides, rarities, and new material, was released in 2007. Their third studio album, Day & Age, produced by Stuart Price, was released in 2008.

The band have sold over 5.0 million albums in the United States, over 4.5 million albums in the United Kingdom and over 15 million worldwide.

History

Formation and early years (2002–2003)

In 2002, Brandon Flowers was abandoned by his first band, a synthpop band known as Blush Response,^[1] after he declined to move with the rest of them to Los Angeles, California. He then met David Keuning after responding to an ad that Keuning had placed in a Vegas newspaper which listed Queen, Oasis, The Cure, U2 (for whom The Killers have since been an opening act), and The Beatles as influences.^[1][2] Ronnie Vannucci Jr. and Mark Stoermer were approached by Flowers and Keuning with an offer to join "The Killers", a name which comes from the bass drum of a fictional band in the music video for the New Order song "Crystal".^[1]

Initially, The Killers played at small clubs in Las Vegas, Nevada, where they often played at drag shows. With the band's lineup stable and its repertoire of songs expanding, the band attracted the attention of Alex Gilbert, a British representative for Warner Bros. Though Warner Bros. did not like the band, he took the demo back with him, showing it to friend Ben Durling, who worked at UK indie label Lizard King. The Killers went on to sign with the British label in July 2003.^[3]

On the 19 August 2003 , "Mr. Brightside" premiered on DJ Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show in the UK.^[4] The Killers then travelled to the UK and began to play shows in bars and clubs , the crowds grew every night through word of mouth and critical reviews were extremely positive, upon returning to the US they were signed by Island Def Jam.^[2]

Before Stoermer and Vannucci became a part of The Killers, The Killers had numerous other bassists, and two other drummers. One former drummer, Buss Bradley, was let go from the band in 2002 after Ronnie Vannucci watched The Killers perform at a club in Las Vegas, and decided he wanted to be a part of the band. Flowers and Keuning knew of Vannucci from the Las Vegas music scene, and they knew he was much more experienced and talented than Bradley, so they hired Vannucci as the permanent drummer. The Vannucci hiring was also endorsed by The Killers then manager, Braden Merrick, who told the band to upgrade their rhythm section almost as soon as he had heard of them.

In the book "Destiny Is Calling Me" by Jarret Keene, The Killers unofficial biography, it is mentioned that the Killers went through various bassists, including Dell Star, before finally deciding on Stoermer in late 2002. The exact count of bassists is not known, but it seems to be a few, as they would decide on a bassist for a week or two, then cut him loose in favor of another bassist. This all ended when Stoermer joined the band in late 2002.

Hot Fuss (2003–2006)

The Killers performing in 2006 on the Sam's Town Tour 2006.

The Killers released their album Hot Fuss in June 2004 in the United Kingdom on Marrakesh Records, and in the United States on Island Records.^[5] Hot Fuss has been classified 6x Platinum by the BPI^[6] and 3x Platinum by RIAA.^[7] The band also had chart success with its singles "Mr. Brightside", which reached the Top 10 in the UK when released,^[8] and "All These Things That I've Done".^[9] However, their mainstream success came when they scored a number three chart position in the UK with their re-release of "Somebody Told Me".^[5]

The members of the band appeared as themselves in the episode "The New Era" of the teen television drama The O.C., which aired in December 2004. In July 2005, The Killers performed on the London stage of the Live 8 concert, playing "All These Things That I've Done". Robbie Williams incorporated the song's refrain "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier" into his own performance.^[10] Coldplay and U2 followed suit and, at their separate concerts played in Las Vegas, with The Killers in the crowd, incorporated the line into their songs "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face" and "Beautiful Day", respectively.^[11]

Sam's Town (2006–2007)

The Killers' second album, Sam's Town, was released in October 2006 under Island Def Jam Music Group.^[12] Brandon Flowers said that Sam's Town would be "one of the best albums people would remember 20 years from now",^[13] though the album received a mixed response from critics and fans.^[14] The album sold over 706,000 copies worldwide in the first week of release, with a number two debut on the Billboard chart.^[15] The record sold over a million copies by January 2007.^{[citation needed]} The album produced four singles in the United Kingdom and United States: "When You Were Young" released in September 2006, "Bones" which was released in November 2006, "Read My Mind" which was released in February 2007, and "For Reasons Unknown" which was released in June 2007.^[16] The first single from Sam's Town, "When You Were Young", entered the chart on downloads alone at number five, and the following week on its official release went to number two on the UK Singles Chart.^[17]

The Killers recorded a live session at Abbey Road Studios for Live from Abbey Road on November 29, 2006.^[18] They performed an almost totally unplugged set, which included a rendition of the Dire Straits hit "Romeo and Juliet". In December 2006 the band released a Christmas charity song, "A Great Big Sled", which benefited Product Red. This was followed by the release of "Don't Shoot Me Santa" in November 2007,"Joseph, Better You Than Me" in 2008, and "¡Happy Birthday Guadalupe!" in 2009, again for Product Red. In February 2007, The Killers attended the BRIT Awards in the United Kingdom, where they performed "When You Were Young". The band won two awards — Best International Group & International Album.^[19] In June 2007, The Killers headlined the iconic Glastonbury Festival.^[20]

Sawdust (2007–2008)

The band released a compilation album called Sawdust, containing B-sides, rarities, and some new material, in November 2007. Sawdust has been classified Platinum by the BPI.^[21] The album's first single "Tranquilize", a collaboration with Lou Reed, was released in October 2007.^[21] The album also contains the songs "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town", (a Kenny Rogers and The First Edition cover), "Romeo and Juliet", (a Dire Straits cover), and "Daddy's Eyes", a B-side from "Bones"/Best Buy Bonus Track to Sam's Town. The first pressing of Sawdust contained a rare demo version of "Move Away" which Brandon Flowers later stated was a mistake on the part of the band's record label; the proper version the group intended to put on the album was previously available on the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack is included on later pressings of Sawdust.^[22] The band released a cover version of Joy Division's "Shadowplay" on the American iTunes Store that same month.^[23] In a Rolling Stone magazine article, Sawdust was compared to the classic Smiths album Hatful of Hollow.

Day & Age (2008–2010)

The Killers performing in September 2009 in the United States.

The Killers finished working on a third album, which was released on November 24, 2008 in the UK and November 25, 2008 in North America. Brandon Flowers confirmed the album's title as Day & Age in an interview with NME.^[24] They worked with Stuart Price who did the Thin White Duke remix of "Mr Brightside" and produced "Leave the Bourbon on the Shelf" and "Sweet Talk". The first single from the album was "Human", although originally planned for Sawdust, it was released on September 22, with the music video released on iTunes on October 16.^[25] The band released a third Christmas single in December 2008, "Joseph, Better You Than Me". It features Elton John and Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys. Proceeds from the downloads will benefit Product Red.^[26][27] Day & Age became the band's third studio album to reach number one in both the UK and Ireland, it reached number six on the Billboard 200 album chart.^[28] On July 13, 2009, UNICEF, MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) and the US Agency for International Development used a shortened version of the song "Goodnight, Travel Well" in a video to promote awareness of sex trafficking.^[29] The Killers headline the Friday night show of 2009's Hard Rock Calling in Hyde Park, London. The Killers also released a Christmas single in December 2009 called 'Happy Birthday Guadalupe', and in November 2009 their song 'A White Demon Love Song' was added to the 'New Moon' soundtrack.

After the final stretch of The Killers Day & Age tour, the band will take a short break after being on the road for the better part of six years.^[30][31]In late February, The Sun (a British newspaper) published the story that Flowers' mother had died after a two year fight with brain cancer. This meant a premature closing of their Day and Age tour cancelling the Asian dates. Two Australian dates in Sydney and Perth were cancelled, however both the Gold Coast and Melbourne concerts went ahead, with the Day & Age tour finally coming to a close in Melbourne on February 21 as the headline act at the Good Vibrations Festival at Flemington Racecourse.^[32]

On February 24, 2010 Rolling Stone magazine revealed that Ray Davies had chosen The Killers to contribute to a cover album of The Kinks' songs, due out at the end of the year.^[33]

As of the 24/04/10, The Sun (British newspaper), reported that all members of The Killers will be branching out for solo projects during the bands hiatus. Brandon Flowers, Dave Keuning, Mark Stoermer and Ronnie Vanucci Jr. have projects lined up. Ronnie Vanucci Jr. will join Mt. Desolation, with members of Keane and Mumford & Sons, who will release an album of country songs in the near future. ^[34]

Reception

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by The Killers

The Killers have won four NME Awards: Best International Band in 2005, 2008 and 2009 and Best Video for "Bones" in 2006. They have also picked up two awards in the first NME Awards USA in 2008 for Best Band and Best Track for "Tranquilize". The Killers have also been nominated for seven Grammy Awards, but have yet to win. In 2006 the band won the BRIT Award for Best International Band and the album Sam's Town won Best International Album.

Opinion polls and sales charts

Hot Fuss was the 26th best-selling album of the decade in the United Kingdom. It spent 173 weeks on the UK Albums Chart, more than any other album. Sam's Town was the 70th best-selling album of the decade in the UK and The Killers were the 21st Best-Selling Artist of the decade in the UK.^[35]

The Killers were #4 in the MTV Greatest Superstars poll which was run throughout August 2009 on MTV: the poll included all genres of music.^[36]

In November 2009, "Mr Brightside" was voted the best song of the decade by the listeners of the British alternative rock station XFM.^[37] Over 14,000 individual votes were cast by XFM listeners via the station's official website. "Somebody Told Me" was ranked #9^[37] and "All These Things That I've Done" was ranked #22.^[38] "When You Were Young" was also ranked #31^[39] and "Read My Mind" at #86,^[40] and "Human" at 94.^[41][42]

The readers of the American music magazine "The Rolling Stone", in December 2009, voted Sam's Town the most underrated album of the decade.^[43] The magazine also ranked Hot Fuss as the 43rd best album in their 100 Best Albums of the Decade list.^[44] and Mr. Brightside was ranked the 48th Best Song Of The Decade.^[45]

The Killers were at #2 on the Last.fm "Best of 2009" list with 12,471,571 album scrobbles.^[46]

Amazon.com UK released their lists of the best-selling artists and albums of the decade,^[47] with The Killers coming in at #3 in Top 10 best-selling artists of the decade and their Day & Age album coming in at #10 in Top 10 best-selling albums of the decade

Spin voted The Killers number 3 in the 30 Biggest Concerts of 2009^[48] for their January 19 show at Magness Arena in Denver, CO. SPIN's Tim Dwenger wrote about the show saying, "The production quality of the show was top notch, and it was immediately clear why the Killers are on the arena circuit."^[49]

In December 2009, Mr Brightside was voted the second-best song of the decade in the tv show: Greatest Songs of the Noughties, on the British tv channel, Channel 4.^[50]

At the end of 2009 The UK's XFM radio station ran a poll to determine the top 1000 songs of all time, the countdown began on Christmas Day 2009 and finished on the 3rd January 2010. Dustland Fairytale came in at 585,^[51] Spaceman at 342,^[52] Jenny Was A Friend of Mine at 327,^[52] Bones at 325,^[52], Smile Like You Mean It at 219 ^[53] Read My Mind at 168,^[54] Human at 122,^[55] Somebody Told Me at 61,^[56] When You Were Young at 51.^[57] All These Things That I've Done came in at number 18.^[58] And at number 1, beating off competition from Oasis, The Beatles, The Smiths, Arctic Monkeys and many more, Mr Brightside was voted the number one song of all time.^[59] Mr Brightside was also the no. 1 song played on last.fm of all time with over 40 billion times being played.

Controversy

Since going platinum, the band has incited a few rivalries, most notably with The Bravery and Fall Out Boy, who are both labelmates (Island Records), as well as Green Day, after the release of their Bullet in a Bible DVD in 2005. Flowers has said that these bands are riding on the coattails of their success, to which Bravery frontman Sam Endicott replied by calling Flowers "a little girl" and a "kid in a wheelchair".^[60]

Additionally, in an article of NME, Flowers claimed Fall Out Boy was hogging the A&R man both bands share, setting off Fall Out Boy's bassist Pete Wentz.^[61] However, after Wentz commented on the rivalry on his blog in September 2005, he offered a virtual cease-fire.^[61] Flowers has since apologized to The Bravery, Fall Out Boy, and Panic at the Disco, saying "I'd like to take it all back — these people are just doing what they want to do, just like I am," and said that he was "not proud of" his actions.^[62]

After the band fired him in May 2005, former manager Braden Merrick filed a $16 million breach of contract suit in federal court in Los Angeles against the band in February 2006. He claimed that the band simply stopped paying him his reported 25% service fee (from the band's annual gross income) for a contract that Merrick claimed ran through 2007. The Killers swiftly filed their own breach-of-contract counter suit, alleging Merrick's poor management had cost the band millions. The lawsuit was dismissed on October 9, 2009 following a settlement reached by both parties. Merrick is now a partner at a new music label, Bright Antenna.^[63]

Discography

Main article: The Killers discography

Date of Release	Title	Label
June 7, 2004	Hot Fuss	Island Records, Universal, Lizard King
October 3, 2006	Sam's Town	Island Records, Vertigo
November 9, 2007	Sawdust	Island Records, Vertigo
November 24, 2008	Day & Age	Island Records, Vertigo