1.
Hartford, Connecticut
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Hartford is the capital of the U. S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, as of the 2010 Census, Hartfords population was 124,775, making it Connecticuts third-largest city after the coastal cities of Bridgeport and New Haven. Census Bureau estimates since then have indicated Hartfords subsequent fall to fourth place statewide as a result of sustained growth in the coastal city of Stamford. Nicknamed the Insurance Capital of the World, Hartford houses many insurance company headquarters, founded in 1635, Hartford is among the oldest cities in the United States. In 1868, resident Mark Twain wrote, Of all the towns it has been my fortune to see this is the chief. Following the American Civil War, Hartford was the richest city in the United States for several decades, today, Hartford is one of the poorest cities in the nation with 3 out of every 10 families living below the poverty line. In sharp contrast, the Hartford metropolitan area is ranked 32nd of 318 metropolitan areas in total economic production, various tribes, all part of the loose Algonquin confederation, lived in or around present-day Hartford. The area was referred to as Suckiaug, meaning Black Fertile River-Enhanced Earth, the first Europeans known to have explored the area were the Dutch, under Adriaen Block, who sailed up the Connecticut in 1614. Dutch fur traders from New Amsterdam returned in 1623 with a mission to establish a trading post, the original site was located on the south bank of the Park River in the present-day Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhood. This fort was called Fort Hoop, or the House of Hope, in 1633, Jacob Van Curler formally bought the land around Fort Hoop from the Pequot chief for a small sum. It was home to perhaps a couple families and a few dozen soldiers, the area today is known as Dutch Point, and the name of the Dutch fort, House of Hope, is reflected in the name of Huyshope Avenue. The fort was abandoned by 1654, but its neighborhood in Hartford is still known as Dutch Point, the Dutch outpost, and the tiny contingent of Dutch soldiers that were stationed there, did little to check the English migration. The Dutch soon realized they were vastly outnumbered, the House of Hope remained an outpost, but it was steadily swallowed up by waves of English settlers. The English began to arrive 1637, settling upstream from Fort Hoop near the present-day Downtown, the settlement was originally called Newtown, but was changed to Hartford in 1637 in honor of Stones hometown of Hertford, England. Hooker also created the town of Windsor. The etymology of Hartford is the ford where harts cross, the Seal of the City of Hartford features a male deer, which in full maturity was referred to by the medieval hunting term hart. The fledgling colony along the Connecticut River had issues with the authority by which it was to be governed because it was outside of the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Bay Colonys charter. Historians suggest that Hookers conception of self-rule embodied in the Fundamental Orders went on to inspire the Connecticut Constitution, today, one of Connecticuts nicknames is the Constitution State
2.
Newport Beach, California
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Newport Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, United States. Its population was 85,287 at the 2010 census, Newport Beach is also home to Newport Harbor. The citys median family income and property values consistently place high in national rankings, the Upper Bay of Newport is a canyon, which was carved by a stream in the Pleistocene period. The lower bay of Newport was formed later by sand that was brought along by ocean currents. Before settlers reached the coasts of California, the Newport area, Indian shells and relics can still be found today scattered throughout the area. Though, throughout the 1800s, settlers began to settle the area due to the availability of land, the State of California sold acre-plots of land for $1 a piece in the Newport area. James Irvine, after hearing the news, quickly traveled from his home in San Francisco to the San Joaquin Ranch. In 1905 city development increased when Pacific Electric Railway established a southern terminus in Newport connecting the beach with downtown Los Angeles, in 1906, the scattered settlements were incorporated as the City of Newport Beach. Settlements filled in on the Peninsula, West Newport, Newport Island, Balboa Island, in 1923 Corona del Mar was annexed and in 2002 Newport Coast, East Santa Ana Heights and San Joaquin Hills, were annexed. In 2008, after a battle with the city of Costa Mesa. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 53.0 square miles. 23.8 square miles of it is land and 29.2 square miles of it is water. Areas of Newport Beach include Corona del Mar, Balboa Island, Balboa Peninsula, Lido Peninsula, Newport Coast, San Joaquin Hills, and Santa Ana Heights, Newport Harbor is a semi-artificial harbor that was formed by dredging Newport Bay estuary during the early 1900s. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries such as boatbuilding, shipbuilding, and commercial fishing and its shores are occupied mostly by private homes and private docks. With approximately 9,000 boats, Newport Harbor is one of the largest recreational boat harbors on the U. S. west coast and its a popular destination for all boating activities, including sailing, fishing, rowing, canoeing, kayaking, and paddleboarding. Newport Bay is divided by the Pacific Coast Highway bridge, which is too low for most sailboats, North of the bridge is referred to as Upper Newport Bay, or the Back Bay. South of the bridge is commonly called Lower Newport Bay, or Newport Harbor, however the Back Bay also has harbor facilities, especially the marina and launch ramp at The Dunes. The north end of the Newport Harbor channels around Lido Island have a number of business centers and were at one time used by the fishing fleets as their home
3.
Alternative rock
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Alternative rock is a genre of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s and 2000s. In this instance, the word refers to the genres distinction from mainstream rock music. The terms original meaning was broader, referring to a generation of musicians unified by their debt to either the musical style or simply the independent. Ethos of punk rock, which in the late 1970s laid the groundwork for alternative music, Alternative rock is a broad umbrella term consisting of music that differs greatly in terms of its sound, its social context, and its regional roots. Most of these subgenres had achieved minor mainstream notice and a few bands representing them, such as Hüsker Dü, with the breakthrough of Nirvana and the popularity of the grunge and Britpop movements in the 1990s, alternative rock entered the musical mainstream and many alternative bands became successful. By the end of the decade, alternative rocks mainstream prominence declined due to a number of events that caused grunge and Britpop to fade, emo attracted attention in the larger alternative rock world, and the term was applied to a variety of artists, including multi-platinum acts. Post-punk revival artists such as Modest Mouse and The Killers had commercial success in the early, before the term alternative rock came into common usage around 1990, the sort of music to which it refers was known by a variety of terms. In 1979, Terry Tolkin used the term Alternative Music to describe the groups he was writing about, in 1979 Dallas radio station KZEW had a late night new wave show entitled Rock and Roll Alternative. College rock was used in the United States to describe the music during the 1980s due to its links to the radio circuit. In the United Kingdom, dozens of small do it yourself record labels emerged as a result of the punk subculture, according to the founder of one of these labels, Cherry Red, NME and Sounds magazines published charts based on small record stores called Alternative Charts. The first national chart based on distribution called the Indie Chart was published in January 1980, at the time, the term indie was used literally to describe independently distributed records. By 1985, indie had come to mean a particular genre, or group of subgenres, at first the term referred to intentionally non–mainstream rock acts that were not influenced by heavy metal ballads, rarefied new wave and high-energy dance anthems. The use of alternative gained further exposure due to the success of Lollapalooza, for which festival founder, in the late 1990s, the definition again became more specific. Defining music as alternative is often difficult because of two conflicting applications of the word, the name alternative rock essentially serves as an umbrella term for underground music that has emerged in the wake of punk rock since the mid-1980s. Alternative bands during the 1980s generally played in clubs, recorded for indie labels. Sounds range from the gloomy soundscapes of gothic rock to the guitars of indie pop to the dirty guitars of grunge to the 1960s/1970s revivalism of Britpop. This approach to lyrics developed as a reflection of the social and economic strains in the United States and United Kingdom of the 1980s, by 1984, a majority of groups signed to independent record labels mined from a variety of rock and particularly 1960s rock influences. This represented a break from the futuristic, hyper-rational post-punk years
4.
Punk rock
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Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed in the early to mid-1970s in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in 1960s garage rock and other forms of what is now known as proto-punk music, Punk bands typically produced short or fast-paced songs, with hard-edged melodies and singing styles, stripped-down instrumentation, and often political, anti-establishment lyrics. Punk embraces a DIY ethic, many bands self-produce recordings and distribute them through informal channels, the term punk was first used in relation to rock music by some American critics in the early 1970s, to describe garage bands and their devotees. The following year saw punk rock spreading around the world, for the most part, punk took root in local scenes that tended to reject association with the mainstream. An associated punk subculture emerged, expressing youthful rebellion and characterized by distinctive styles of clothing and adornment, by the beginning of the 1980s, faster, more aggressive styles such as hardcore and street punk had become the predominant mode of punk rock. Musicians identifying with or inspired by punk also pursued a range of other variations, giving rise to post-punk. At the end of the 20th century, punk rock had been adopted by the mainstream, as pop punk and punk bands such as Green Day. The first wave of rock was aggressively modern, distancing itself from the bombast. According to Ramones drummer Tommy Ramone, In its initial form, unfortunately, what happens is that people who could not hold a candle to the likes of Hendrix started noodling away. Soon you had endless solos that went nowhere, by 1973, I knew that what was needed was some pure, stripped down, no bullshit rock n roll. In critic Robert Christgaus description, It was also a subculture that rejected the political idealism. Technical accessibility and a DIY spirit are prized in punk rock, in the early days of punk rock, this ethic stood in marked contrast to what those in the scene regarded as the ostentatious musical effects and technological demands of many mainstream rock bands. Musical virtuosity was often looked on with suspicion, according to Holmstrom, punk rock was rock and roll by people who didnt have very many skills as musicians but still felt the need to express themselves through music. In December 1976, the English fanzine Sideburns published an illustration of three chords, captioned This is a chord, this is another, this is a third. The title of a 1980 single by the New York punk band Stimulators, inscribed a catchphrase for punks basic musical approach. The previous year, when the rock revolution began in Great Britain, was to be both a musical and a cultural Year Zero. As a Clash associate describes singer Joe Strummers outlook, Punk rock is meant to be our freedom, were meant to be able to do what we want to do. Scholar Daniel S. Traber argues that attaining authenticity in the identity can be difficult, as the punk scene matured, he observes
5.
Nu metal
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Nu metal is a form of alternative metal that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk and grunge. Nu metal bands have drawn elements and influences from a variety of musical styles, Nu metal rarely features guitar solos, the genre is heavily syncopated and based on guitar riffs. Many nu metal guitarists use seven-string guitars that are down-tuned to play a heavier sound, DJs are occasionally featured in nu metal to provide instrumentation such as sampling, turntable scratching and electronic backgrounds. Vocal styles in nu metal include singing, rapping, screaming and growling, Nu metal is one of the key genres of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal. Nu metal became popular in the late 1990s with bands and artists such as Korn, Limp Bizkit, Slipknot, many heavy metal fans have criticized nu metal, and do not regard it as true heavy metal. Many nu metal musicians have rejected the nu metal label and also have rejected being labeled as heavy metal, Nu metal is also known as nü-metal and aggro-metal. It is a subgenre of alternative metal, MTV states that the early nu metal group Korn arrived in 1993 into the burgeoning alternative metal scene, which would morph into nü-metal the way college rock became alternative rock. Stereogum has similarly claimed that nu metal was a outgrowth of the Lollapalooza-era alt-metal scene. Nu metal merges elements of metal music with elements of other music genres such as grunge, hip hop, funk. Nu metal bands also are influenced by and use elements of genres of metal music such as death metal, rap metal, groove metal, funk metal, alternative metal. Some nu metal bands such as Static-X and Dope made nu metal music elements of industrial metal. Nu metal music is heavily syncopated and is based mostly on guitar riffs, mid-song bridges and a general lack of guitar solos contrasts it with other genres of heavy metal. N its efforts to tune down and simplify riffs, nu-metal effectively drove a stake through the heart of the guitar solo. Another contrast with other metal genres is nu metals emphasis on rhythm, rather than on complexity or mood. The wah pedal is occasionally featured in nu metal music, Nu metal guitar riffs occasionally are similar to death metal guitar riffs. Nu metal bassists and drummers are often influenced by funk and hip hop, respectively, blast beats, which are common in heavy metal subgenres such as black metal and death metal, are extremely rare in nu metal. sound a Mack truck being crushed by a collapsing skyscraper. Some nu metal bands use seven-string guitars that are generally down-tuned, likewise, some bass guitarists use five-string and six-string instruments. Bass guitar-playing in nu metal often features an emphasis on elements such as slap bass, a percussive style of playing in which the thumb slaps the low strings
6.
MTV
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MTV is an American cable and satellite television channel owned by Viacom Media Networks and headquartered in New York City. Launched on August 1,1981, the originally aired music videos as guided by television personalities known as video jockeys. In its early years, MTVs main target demographic was young adults and it has received criticism towards this change of focus, both by certain segments of its audience and musicians. MTVs influence on its audience, including issues involving censorship and social activism, has also been a subject of debate for several years, in recent years, MTV had struggled with the secular decline of music-related cable media. In April 2016, MTV announced it would start to return to its original music roots with the reintroduction of the classic MTV series MTV Unplugged. It was also reported that the series MTV Cribs would be making a return on Snapchat, MTV has spawned numerous sister channels in the US and affiliated channels internationally, some of which have gone independent. As of July 2015, approximately 92,188,000 US households have received MTV, several earlier concepts for music video-based television programming had been around since the early 1960s. The Beatles had used music videos to promote their records starting in the mid-1960s, CBS rejected the idea, but Williams premiered his own musical composition Classical Gas on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, where he was head writer. The series featured clips from various popular artists, but was canceled by its distributor in 1971. The channel, which featured video disc jockeys, signed a deal with US Cable in 1978 to expand its audience from retail to cable television, the service was no longer active by the time MTV launched in 1981. The QUBE system offered many specialized channels, One of these specialized channels was Sight on Sound, a music channel that featured concert footage and music-oriented television programs. With the interactive QUBE service, viewers could vote for their favorite songs, the original programming format of MTV was created by media executive Robert W. Pittman, who later became president and chief executive officer of MTV Networks. Pittman had test-driven the music format by producing and hosting a 15-minute show, Album Tracks, the inspiration for PopClips came from a similar program on New Zealands TVNZ network named Radio with Pictures, which premiered in 1976. The concept itself had been in the works since 1966, when record companies began supplying the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation with promotional music clips to play on the air at no charge. Few artists made the trip to New Zealand to appear live. A shortened version of the shuttle launch ID ran at the top of hour in various forms. The first music video shown on MTV was The Buggles Video Killed the Radio Star and this was followed by the video for Pat Benatars You Better Run. Sporadically, the screen would go black when an employee at MTV inserted a tape into a VCR, MTVs lower third graphics that appeared near the beginning and end of music videos would eventually use the recognizable Kabel typeface for about 25 years
7.
Sevendust
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Sevendust is an American alternative metal band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vince Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and guitarist John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and guitarist Clint Lowery joined the group, following a few name changes, the members settled on the name Sevendust and released their self-titled debut album on April 15,1997. They have attained success with three consecutive RIAA gold certified albums and have sold millions of albums worldwide, the self-titled album sold 311 copies in its first week. However, through touring and TVT support, the album gained charting success through Billboard, since formation, Sevendust has released ten studio albums, earned additional charting success and gold sales certifications. They have also re-released their self-titled album as Sevendust, Definitive Edition which contains five new tracks, bassist Vince Hornsby joined drummer Morgan Rose in 1994 in a band called Snake Nation. John Connolly, a drummer, left his band and joined Snake Nation as a guitarist. Not happy with vocals, however, Snake Nation spent a year searching for a new singer before finding Lajon Witherspoon, six months passed, Clint Lowery joined the band, and they renamed themselves Rumblefish. Rumblefish was short-lived, however, because they found another band with the same name and they renamed themselves Crawlspace, and released My Ruin on the Mortal Kombat soundtrack album entitled More Kombat through TVT Records in 1996. Shortly after, another band named Crawlspac sent notice that they wanted $2,500 for the rights to their name, rather than purchase the rights, the band members chose to rename themselves Sevendust, a name inspired by the commercial insecticide brand Sevin Dust. The song Rumble Fish was included on the second album. Black became the song for nearly every Sevendust concert until 2004. The debut album contains the song My Ruin, from the Mortal Kombat soundtrack. Sevendust appeared on the Billboard 200, remained there for sixteen weeks, the album went gold on May 19,1999. In 1998, Sevendust performed at Dynamo Open Air and Ozzfest 1998, in the same year they released a compilation called Live and Loud which featured live footage of the bands performance of September 16,1998 at Chicagos Metro. On August 24,1999, they released their second album, the album peaked at 19 on the Billboard 200 and featured Skin from Skunk Anansie and Chino Moreno from Deftones as guest vocalists. The two singles from the album, Denial and Waffle, gave the band moderate chart success, in 1999, they gained European exposure by opening for Skunk Anansie at various shows in Germany. Skin from Skunk Anansie provided guest vocals on the track Licking Cream off Home and they also opened with Kid Rock and Ted Nugent for Metallica on New Years Eve in 1999 at the Pontiac Silverdome near Detroit, Michigan. They also joined Slipknot, Coal Chamber and other bands on the Tattoo the Earth Tour in June 2000, also in 2000, the song Fall was recorded by producer Sylvia Massy in 1998 at Southern Tracks in Atlanta, Georgia
8.
American Idol
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It began airing on Fox on June 11,2002, and ended on April 7,2016. It started off as an addition to the Idols format based on the British series Pop Idol, the concept of the series involves discovering recording stars from unsigned singing talents, with the winner determined by the viewers in America through telephones, Internet, and SMS text voting. American Idol employed a panel of judges who critiqued the contestants performances, the original judges were record producer and music manager Randy Jackson, pop singer and choreographer Paula Abdul and music executive and manager Simon Cowell. The judging panel for the final consisted of country singer Keith Urban, singer and actress Jennifer Lopez. The first season was hosted by radio personality Ryan Seacrest and comedian Brian Dunkleman, the success of American Idol has been described as unparalleled in broadcasting history. The series was said by a rival TV executive to be the most impactful show in the history of television. It became a springboard for launching the career of many artists as bona fide stars. The series concluded after 15 seasons, American Idol was based on the British show Pop Idol created by Simon Fuller, which was in turn inspired by the New Zealand television singing competition Popstars. Television producer Nigel Lythgoe saw a version in Australia and helped bring it over to Britain, Fuller was inspired by the idea from Popstars of employing a panel of judges to select singers in audition. He then added elements, such as telephone voting by the viewing public. The show debuted in Britain in 2001 with Lythgoe as showrunner—the executive producer and production leader—and Simon Cowell as one of the judges, it was quite successful with the viewing public. In 2001, Fuller, Cowell, and TV producer Simon Jones attempted to sell the Pop Idol format to the United States, but the idea was initially met with poor responses from the Fox television network. However, Rupert Murdoch, head of Foxs parent company, was persuaded to buy the series by his daughter, Elisabeth. The show was renamed American Idol, The Search for a Superstar, Cowell was initially offered the job as showrunner but later turned down the offer, Lythgoe then took over that position. Much to Cowells surprise, it one of the biggest shows of the summer. The show grew into a phenomenon largely due to its personal engagement of the contestants, thereby prompting viewers to vote, by 2004, it had become the most-watched show on U. S. television, a position it then held for seven consecutive seasons. However, after a few years of declining ratings, the network announced that the fifteenth season would be its last. A fourth judge, radio DJ Stryker, was originally chosen, the show decided to continue with the three judges format until season eight
9.
Charmed
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Charmed is an American television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadcast by The WB for eight seasons from October 7,1998, each sister possesses unique magical powers that grow and evolve, while they attempt to maintain normal lives in modern-day San Francisco. The series initially focuses on the three Halliwell sisters, Prue, Piper and Phoebe, however, following Prues death in the third-season finale, their long-lost half sister Paige Matthews assumes her place within the Power of Three from season four onwards. During its fifth season, the became the highest-rated Sunday night program in The WBs history. The shows ratings, although smaller than rival shows on the big four networks, were substantial for The WB as it was not one of the main TV networks in the US. At 178 episodes, Charmed is the second-longest drama broadcast by The WB, the series has also received numerous awards and nominations. Charmed has also become a source of pop culture references in film, the shows success has led to its development in other media, including a video game, board games, novels, and a comic book series which serves as a continuation of its narrative. Throughout 2012, six years after it ceased broadcasting, Charmed was the second-most watched television series on subscription services, including Amazon Video. The series starts when Phoebe Halliwell returns from New York and moves back into the familys Halliwell Manor in San Francisco to live with her sisters Prue and Piper. By the end of the first episode, each sister learns that she has a magical power. Prue, the eldest, has the power of telekinesis, Piper, the middle sister, has the power to effectively freeze people and objects. As she grows more proficient, she learns how to freeze only certain people or objects or body parts, in season three, her powers evolve further, as she is able to cause evil beings or objects to explode using her hands. Phoebe, the youngest of the three, initially possesses the power of allowing her to receive visions of the future. She later develops the powers of levitation in season three, and empathy in season six, the latter allowing her to sense and tap into others emotions and, sometimes, in accordance with the series mythology, a witchs powers are tied to their emotions. During the first two seasons, the sisters face various evil beings from week to week, however, in the third season, they discover that their ultimate enemy is The Underworlds demonic ruler, The Source of All Evil. Eventually, Prue is killed in the season three finale by The Sources personal assassin, Shax, the Source, responsible for the majority of attacks on the sisters, becomes the main villain during season four until he is finally vanquished. After his demise, an annual season-long storyline and several antagonists are introduced in subsequent seasons, the sisters also fight to prevent the exposure of the existence of magic to the human community at large, contending with several police and FBI investigations. The sisters also face romantic storylines, eventually, the two manage to marry and consecrate their union in season three, producing a son named Wyatt in season five
10.
Dave Mustaine
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David Scott Dave Mustaine is an American musician, singer, songwriter, actor and author. David Mustaine was born September 13,1961 in La Mesa, California, to Emily and his father was of French, Canadian and Irish descent and his mother was German. He was brought up as a Jehovahs Witness, the lineup was Mike Leftwych on drums, Bob Evans on bass, Tom Quecke on rhythm guitar, Pat Voeks as the vocalist, with Mustaine as the lead guitarist. Both Mike Leftwych and the man were killed in a car crash after Panics second show. In 1981, Mustaine left Panic to join Metallica as the lead guitarist, Metallicas drummer Lars Ulrich had posted an ad in a local newspaper, The Recycler, looking for a lead guitarist. In his own words, Mustaine remembers his first meeting with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, I was in the warming up and I walked out and asked. And they said, No, youve got the job, I couldnt believe how easy it had been and suggested that we get some beer to celebrate. Mustaines membership in Metallica ended before recording Kill Em All in 1983, brian Slagel, owner of Metal Blade Records, recalls in an interview, Dave was an incredibly talented guy but he also had an incredibly large problem with alcohol and drugs. Hed get wasted and become a crazy person, a raging megalomaniac. I mean, they all drank of course, but Dave drank more … much more, I could see they were beginning to get fed up of seeing Dave drunk out of his mind all the time. On one occasion, Mustaine brought his dog to rehearsal, the dog jumped onto the car of Metallica bassist Ron McGovney, Hetfield allegedly yelled at Mustaines dog and kicked it in anger, to which Mustaine responded by physically attacking Hetfield and McGovney and verbally abusing Ulrich. Mustaine was fired following the altercation, but the next day, another incident occurred when Mustaine, who had been drinking, poured a full can of beer down the neck and into the pick-ups of McGovneys bass. McGovney then told Mustaine and Hetfield to leave his house and left the band shortly after, the band packed up Mustaines gear, drove him to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, and put him on a Greyhound bus bound for Los Angeles. It was on this bus ride that Mustaine scribbled some lyrical ideas on the back of a hand bill, which would later become the song Set the World Afire from the 1988 Megadeth album So Far, So Good. During his time in Metallica, Mustaine toured with the band, co-wrote four songs that appeared on Kill Em All, Mustaine has also made unverified claims to have written parts of Leper Messiah from Master of Puppets. He also recorded songs with the band including the No Life Til Leather demo tape. A few of the songs he wrote with Hetfield and Ulrich went on to be re-recorded by Metallica. The most well-known of these is The Four Horsemen from Kill Em All, Fallen Angels was the name of the short-lived band that Mustaine founded after his departure from Metallica
