Singer-songwriters are musicians who write and perform their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category built on the folk-acoustic tradition. Singer-songwriters provide the sole accompaniment to an entire composition or song using a guitar or piano. "Singer-songwriter" is used to define popular music artists who write and perform their own material, self-accompanied on acoustic guitar or piano. Such an artist performs the roles of composer, vocalist, sometimes instrumentalist, self-manager. According to AllMusic, singer-songwriters' lyrics are personal but veiled by elaborate metaphors and vague imagery, their creative concern is to place emphasis on the song rather than their performance of it. Most records by such artists have a straightforward and spare sound that placed emphasis on the song itself; the term has been used to describe songwriters in the rock, folk and pop music genres including Henry Russell, Aristide Bruant, Hank Williams, Buddy Holly.

It came into popular usage in the 1960s onwards to describe songwriters who followed particular stylistic and thematic conventions lyrical introspection, confessional songwriting, mild musical arrangements, an understated performing style. According to writer Larry David Smith, because it merged the roles of composer and singer, the popularity of the singer-songwriter reintroduced the Medieval troubadour tradition of "songs with public personalities" after the Tin Pan Alley era in American popular music. Song topics include political protest, as in the case of the Almanac Singers, Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie; the concept of a singer-songwriter can be traced to ancient bardic oral tradition, which has existed in various forms throughout the world. Poems would be performed as chant or song, sometimes accompanied by a harp or other similar instrument. After the invention of printing, songs would be performed by ballad sellers; these would be versions of existing tunes and lyrics, which were evolving.

This developed into the singer-songwriting traditions of folk culture. Traveling performers existed throughout Europe. Thus, the folklorist Anatole Le Braz gives a detailed account of one ballad singer, Yann Ar Minouz, who wrote and performed songs traveling through Brittany in the late nineteenth century and selling printed versions. In large towns it was possible to make a living performing in public venues, with the invention of phonographic recording, early singer-songwriters like Théodore Botrel, George M. Cohan and Hank Williams became celebrities. During the period from the 1940s through the 1960s, sparked by the American folk music revival, young performers inspired by traditional folk music and groups like the Almanac Singers and the Weavers began writing and performing their own original material and creating their own musical arrangements; the term "singer-songwriter" in North America can be traced back to singers who developed works in the blues and folk music style. Early to mid-20th century American singer-songwriters include Lead Belly, Jimmie Rodgers, Blind Lemon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker, Blind Willie McTell, Lightnin' Hopkins, Son House, Robert Johnson.

In the 1940s and 1950s country singer-songwriters like Hank Williams became well known, as well as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, along with Ronnie Gilbert and Lee Hays and other members of the Weavers who performed their topical works to an ever-growing wider audience. These proto-singer-songwriters were less concerned than today's singer-songwriters with the unadulterated originality of their music and lyrics, would lift parts from other songs and play covers without hesitation; the tradition of writing topical songs was established by this group of musicians. Singers like Seeger and Guthrie would attend rallies for labor unions, so wrote many songs concerning the life of the working classes, social protest; this focus on social issues has influenced the singer-songwriter genre. Additionally in the 1930s through the 1950s several jazz and blues singer-songwriters emerged like Hoagy Carmichael, Billie Holiday, Ray Charles, Harry Gibson, Nina Simone, as well as in the rock n' roll genre from which emerged influential singer-songwriters Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison, Sam Cooke, Ritchie Valens, Paul Anka.

In the country music field, singer-songwriters like Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Roger Miller, Billy Edd Wheeler, others emerged from the 1940s through the 1960s writing compelling songs about love relationships and other subjects. The first popular recognition of the singer-songwriter in English-speaking North America and the United Kingdom occurred in the 1960s and early 1970s when a series of blues and country-influenced musicians rose to prominence and popularity; these singer-songwriters included Bob Dylan, Neil Young, John Lennon, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell. Artists, songwriters, notably Carole King, Townes Van Zandt, Neil Diamond began releasing work as performers. In contrast to the storytelling approach of most prior country and folk music, these performers wrote songs from a personal

The former Operating Industries Inc. Landfill is a Superfund site located in California at 900 N Potrero Grande Drive. From 1948 to 1984, the landfill accepted 30 million tons of solid municipal waste and 300 million US gallons of liquid chemicals. Accumulating over time, the chemical waste polluted the air, leached into groundwater, posed a fire hazard, spurring critical public health complaints. Recognizing OII Landfill's heavy pollution, EPA placed the financial responsibility of the dump's clean-up on the main waste-contributing companies, winning hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements for the protection of human health and the environment; the Monterey Park Disposal Co. first utilized the landfill in 1948 selling business rights to OII in the 1950s. Two decades the construction of the Pomona Freeway split the 190-acre OII landfill into two parts: the North Parcel and the South Parcel. Out of the North Parcel's 45 acres, only 10 acres served landfill purposes and collecting construction and debris waste such as: wood, metal, cardboard, asphalt and plastic.

Shouldering the majority of wastes, the South Parcel received industrial and residential refuse, liquid chemicals, hazardous materials. Close to 4,000 companies disposed of millions of gallons of waste during the landfill's operation time. 300 million gallons were liquid industrial wastes. The culmination of these wastes led to contaminated air and soil as well as a fire risk. All of these factors caused great concern for the well-being of nearby residents. According to the 2000 US Census, 2,151,372 people lived within 10 miles of the landfill, while 23,000 people drank water from wells 3 miles from the landfill. In January 1984, the State of California placed the OII landfill on the California Hazardous Waste Priority List, shutting down the landfill within the same year. In May 1986, EPA listed OII Landfill on the National Priorities List for remediation. Conducting studies, the Los Angeles County Sanitation District, the California Department of Health Services, South Coast Air Quality Management District and OII discovered carcinogenic chemicals such as tetrachloroethylene, benzene-type compounds, chloroform and toluene leaching into the groundwater.

Tests confirmed the presence of methane and vinyl chloride in subsurface soils and the air surrounding the landfill. Overall, the EPA cited 61 contaminants, earning the OII Landfill an Hazard Ranking of 30 to 40 percent higher than the national average; the EPA identified 195 companies as waste contributors, labeling them as Potentially Responsible Parties. In 1989, the PRPs signed a Consent Decree with EPA. In 1991, 178 PRPs agreed to contribute $130 million to $150 million towards OII landfill clean-up, making the largest settlement in the history of federal environmental remediation. In 2002, EPA won another settlement -the eighth since 1986 -with 161 PRPs for $340 million. To date, the total cost of remediation runs over $600 million. More than 60 of the PRPs are required to implement the final remedy for cleanup of the OII site, which includes the following components: Monitor landfill liquids: Using monitoring wells or extraction wells to measure landfill liquids at the perimeter of the site.

When levels are too high, they are treated at the leachate treatment facility. Clean up groundwater: Natural processes will be relied on allow the groundwater to return to normal levels. If these processes fail, the water will be treated. Operate and maintain the environmental control systems: The leachate treatment facility and the gas control and cover systems must be maintained properly; the gas control and cover systems include the landfill gas control system, the cover system, the surface water management system. Site security must be provided. Establish control mechanisms: The control mechanisms are to guarantee that the site will be used for appropriate purposes in the coming years and to ensure no one is exposed to contaminated groundwater. In 1992, a landfill cover system was designed to prevent rainwater from seeping into the landfill and gas from seeping out. About 6 million cubic yards of earth was removed and replaced with a geosynthetic clay liner and a six-foot-thick cover of clean soil and vegetation.

Grass and other vegetation, planted above the liner are native to the region and blend in with the surrounding land. Construction for the south parcel cover was completed in 2000 while a final cover design for the north parcel was completed in the summer of 2009. Remediation efforts require continuous treatment of landfill gases and liquids. Injurious gases rise from decomposing garbage and organic matter; the gas collection system burns it. In 2002, EPA installed micro-turbines which convert landfill gases into electricity for operating site systems. Environmentally friendly, the micro-turbines send their emissions towards the gas treatment system, destroying all contaminants. For landfill liquids, a series of wells and pipes captures leachate, directing it towards a leachate treatment plant. After the treatment, the liquids filter into the sanitary sewer; the project to monitor the air inside residences near the OII site began in 1993 to make sure harmful gas migrating underground from the landfill did not accumulate in homes.

This project involved bi-annual monitoring of the air inside some homes adjacent to the South Parcel. A few homes were found to have landfill gas

Girl Next Door is the first album from Girl Next Door released on December 24, 2008. It was released in a Normal Edition and an Album + DVD version. Both versions had a first press which included a one of two photobooks. For the first time in the world of music, all the songs included in this album are tie-up to the media such as drama series, television shows, or commercials; the album is certified platinum by RIAJ for shipment of 250,000 copies. Winter Game FujiTV show Uchikuru!? Ending theme Drive Away Toyota Technical Development commercial song Power of Love Tokyo Tower 50th Anniversary official song Shiawase no Jōken TBS show Osama no Branch October and November ending theme Winter Mirage NTV drama Heroes Season 2 theme song Jōnetsu no Daishō TVAsahi Drama Gira Gira theme song Fine After Rain NTV show NNN News Realtime Real Sports section theme song Breath TBS show Uwasa no! Tokyo Magazine ending theme Day's... NTV show NNN Straight News weather theme Escape Toshiba cellphone W65T commercial song Winter Garden TBS show Rank Okoku December and January ending theme Climber's High NTV show Guru Guru Ninety Nine ending theme Next Door Tokyo FM Akasaka Yasuhiko no Dear Friends ending theme Gūzen no Kakuritsu TBS show CDTV opening theme TBS show Osama no Branch August and September ending theme TBS show Arabiki-dan August and September ending theme Gūzen no Kakuritsu Drive Away Jōnetsu no Daishō Winter Game