N.W.A., or N***** With Attitude, was an American hip hop group from Compton, CA, widely considered one of the seminal acts of the gangsta rap sub-genre.

On a spring evening in 1991, the late Eazy-E accepted the invitation of Dr. Dre, his fellow member of the notorious "gangsta" rap group NWA, to come hang with him at a recording studio in Hollywood not far from where their mutual dream had been born.

The original lineup consisted of Arabian Prince, DJ Yella, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Dexter Mickle, and MC Ren. Arabian Prince embarked on a solo career in 1989 and Ice Cube left that same year over royalty disputes. Active from 1986 to 1991, the group endured controversy due to the explicit nature of their lyrics. They were subsequently banned from many mainstream US radio stations and even at times prevented from touring. In spite of this, the group has sold over 9 million units in the US alone.

Remembering a young, bright-eyed Ice Cube with a pout on his lips—years away from starring in cheesy family comedies—rapping the words, "F*** the police" Doesn't a part of you kind of want that Ice Cube back? It seems we may get to revisit nostalgic memories of the pioneers of gangsta rap, N.W.A., in a new biopic Straight Outta Compton

.

The movie is set to be produced by Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and the widow of Eazy-E. Straight Outta Compton follows on the heels of the Biggie biopic, Notorious, the announcement of a Run-DMC film and apossible Tupac Shakur biopic. Besides their anti-cop anthem, N.W.A. is notable for selling loads of records, despite relatively little radio airplay due to their strong lyrics. Their albums were also among the first to carry the distinctive Parental Advisory warning.

Sources: http://www.discogs.com/artist/N.W.A.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/17/arts/music/17brow.html?ref=nwa

http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article.html?ArticleID=686

Nirvana

Nirvana was a rock n roll band that changed music how we listened to it. To say, there ideal of a good time was drugs, sex, and rock n roll. Nirvana was a rock band started by a singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington. In the late 1980's Nirvana made a name for itself as a grunge band and released there first album Bleach in 1989. The band was known to have a different type of sound an rock that was of the usual. Nirvana came to get there own type of tune that relied on their own dynamic contrasts, mostly between quiet verses and loud ones.

Later Nirvana signed to a major label DGC Records and had plenty success there. With Nirvana's second album releasing in 1991, Nevermind,  the band saw great unexpected success from there single "Smells like Teen Spirit". As Nirvana was being taken in by the public ear, there new music was widely popularizing alternative rock. Front man Cobain was taking over the rock look with his face everywhere in media, on television, in magazines, Kurt was living life large and people were just soaking up there music. Cobain was called as "spokesman of a generation".

Nirvana went on to make there third album "In Utero" in 1993 but for the year later to be faced with a real sad situation. The death of singer, Kurt Cobain. Since Nirvana's debut, they have sold over 25 million albums in America and 50 million worldwide. Not to bad for a band that was putting out there own tune in the category of alternative rock. Nirvana had its most success in the 90's and influenced many people during the time period. Cobain's death was due with his addiction to heroin, also he went through deep depression. Nirvana changed the music industry in their own way. It is said Nirvana changed the way alternative rock was forever, while other bands had there hits in alternative rock , Nirvana "broke down the doors forever."



sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana_(band)
http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/nirvana/artist.jhtml
http://rock.about.com/od/nirvana/p/Nirvana.htm
images:
http://blogs.1077theend.com/files/2010/10/nirvana-46431.jpg
http://files.myopera.com/musiclyrics/blog/Nirvana_Kurt_Cobain_005.jpg
http://www.oxmonline.com/files/u11/nirvana.jpg

A Blog About Nothing

As the eighties faded out, a revolutionary television show gripped viewers across America. What did the plot revolve around? Nothing. The show amazingly lacked a central theme. Rather, Seinfeld told the mundane story of four friends in New York City. After its debut in 1990, the sitcom ran for nine years. Seinfeld was ranked the #1 Greatest Show of All Time by TV Guide in 2002. This seems a ridiculous feat for a show that bragged to be "the show about nothing".



The show tracked the events of four average, boring, New York City residents. The main character is the rising comedic star Jerry Seinfeld who plays himself on the show. Most scenes originate in is apartment. His closest friends include Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards), Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and George Costanza (Jason Alexander). Each episode follows rather normal occurrences in the lives of average New Yorkers, but Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the show's producers, add an entertaining twist to such events.

Most people today get the Seinfeld references adults a little past our generation drop in casual conversation. However, their television viewing lives are more directly impacted by shows Seinfeld inspired.


A very popular show today is Modern Family. The show has no riveting plot line, but rather follows the common lives of three families in their day to day endeavors. Also on this bandwagon is The Middle. This show follows a set of average, lower middle class parents as they try to overcome the daily tasks of raising three children. Seinfeld started the idea of turning boring daily events into hysterical plot lines.




A more mature twist on Seinfeld can be seen in the show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. This show follows five friends as they concoct schemes to earn a quick buck. The influence of Seinfeld can clearly be seen in the show.



Seinfeld producer Larry David continues to make television shows, but few rival the success of Seinfeld. This show, which capitalized on late 80's and early 90's humor, showed how many Americans viewed life during this period. It set the bar for shows Americans can just tune into without any prior knowledge of the story line. Even today Americans tune in to watch re-runs of this classic.

Sites
http://www.tbs.com/stories/story/0,,266,00.html
http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/seinfeld/about/
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/135333-the-best-tv-of-2010/

Images
http://maryloukayser.com/2010/06/04/predictably-irrational-the-keys-to-your-success-may-be-the-opposite-of-what-you-think/
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/living-room/jerry-seinfelds-apartment-then-and-now-095767
http://static.tvguide.com/MediaBin/Galleries/Shows/A_F/Cq_Cz/Curb_Your_Enthusiasm/season7/curb-your-enthusiasm11.jpg
http://www.tvfanatic.com/gallery/modern-family-cast-pic/
http://img.listal.com/image/786410/600full-the-middle-artwork.jpg
http://elvzonline.info/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Its-Always-Sunny-in-Philadelphia.jpg

The Us Festivals were two early 1980s music festivals operated and sponsored by former of Apple employee Steve Wozniak. Steve pretty much paid for all the expenses of the two show held on Labor Day weekend in September 1982 and the second was Memorial Day weekend in May 1983. The expenses includes the bulldozing and construction of a new open-air field venue and the construction of an tremendous state-of-the-art temporary stage at Glen Helen Regional Park near Devore, San Bernardino, California. (Later on known as the Block Buster headquarter) The festival stage has resided at the Disneyland theme park in California since 1985 and has operated under various names and functions as the Videopolis dance club, the Videopolis Theatre, and the Fantasyland Theatre.

The plane accident that Woz got into made him rethink his priorities and he decided that he wanted to go back to college to earn his undergraduate degree. He enrolled in the engineering program at UC Berkeley. In the summer of 1981, Woz was listening to his favorite radio station KFAT and had an inspiration about putting together a music festival, a "Woodstock West" featuring his favorite progressive country music performers. He realized that while he had the financial wherewithal, he didn't know the first thing about the music industry and filed the idea away, after mentioning it to a few friends.

Woz, being the epitome of geek cool, didn't need to be rich to be happy. He didn't like to be surrounded with a personal entourage of financial counselors and wheeler dealers bent on turning his fortune into a mega-fortune.he wanted, instead, to throw a party that reflected the world that he saw craving our future. Woz wanted to diplay a world just starting to swirl with cross-currents between the arts and sciences, a mix that was giving birth to a cultural climate of innovation not seen since the Renaissance. He wanted to capture the moment that reflected the cultural movement from the selfish focus of 'me' to the social focus on 'us'.

This "personal party" of Woz was a great success. Big bands like The Police, Santana, Pat Benatar and Jimmy Buffet appeared on the 1983 "Us" and The Clash, Ozzy Osbourne, Motley Crue and U2 played on the 1984 "Us". The concert failed to continue due to the commercial failures and Woz lost over 20 million dollars over the festival.

Souces: http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2011/04/25/sfiff_is_first_us_festival_to_join_festival_scope_online_viewing_platform_f/

http://www.woz.org/US/

http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=US_Festival.txt&characters=Steve%20Wozniak&sortOrder=Sort%20by%20Date

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Festival

E.T. Phone Home!

An all time great movie of the early 80's that changed the movie industry forever was 1982 science fiction film, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The movie, in a nut shell, was about a boy named Elliot, played by actor Henry Thomas, who an alien comes onto the planet which he names "E. T." and has to hide it from the government and outsiders. As the story of the movie goes on the boy Elliot and E.T. become very close and it shows a bond so tight between the boy and the alien that for the majority anyone who would see the movie would and still does fall in love for the duo's friendship and relationship. Directed and co-produced by world known director Steven Spielberg.

 Spielberg has won many of the top awards for the picture and music scene, including Academy Awards and many others to say the least. Spielberg had a strong image in his brain and made a imaginary friend after his parents divorce in 1960 and wanted to create this picture for everyone to see. The actual character of E.T. by itself was a breakthrough in early mechanics being used so frequently on camera. The views that were put into E.T. were at 1.5 million dollars for the total character of E.T. After E.T. hit the movie screen in summer of 1982, it became a major hit in all movie theatre's all over the United States and had people loving the little extra terrestrial. The movie itself was a breakthrough and showed a theme of peace and to look pass what people or things look like.

E.T. was a hit! Its opening weekend did 11.9 million in the box office and stayed at the top of the charts for over four months. At the time it was the largest gross revenue a movie ever did. All critics a couple years down all called E.T. a "classic of its time". President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan were so moved by the film, also Princess Diana was in tears after watching the film. The film was viewed by the United Nations and Spielberg received the U.N. Peace Medal. The movie won awards over seas and a blue ribbon in Japan. E.T. touched the hearts of millions and remains one of the best movies ever in production.



Sources:
http://history1900s.about.com/od/1980s/qt/ETmovie.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.T._the_Extra-Terrestrial
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083866/

images:
http://jaymckinnon.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/et1.jpg
http://io9.com/assets/resources/2007/10/ET.jpg
http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/02_01/macetsplit0202_228x340.jpg

Michael Jackson: The King of Pop?

Michael Jackson has been credited by many as the King of Pop. His albums - Off the Wall, Thriller, Bad, Dangerous and HIStory, are some of the best selling albums of all time, and Thriller was the largest selling record worldwide in music history. This guy sold over 750 million records across the globe. Thirteen of his singles went to #1. Did I mention he was inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of fame? Twice. How the man who the Guinness Book of World Records credited as being the number one entertainer of all time grew up from the awkward 11 year old lead for the Jackson 5 is a wonder. MJ revolutionized the pop music industry. The use of background dancers became, and still is, a staple for good pop performers, a technique Jackson pioneered. Modern day musicians have also copied his style of music videos. His quest for fame began to peak around the time that MTV came out in August of 1981, and much of his popularity derived from the captivating music videos he released. I can talk about how today's artists imitate Michael Jackson, but the point can be proven much more by viewing some of MJ's music videos of the19 80's compared to some of our well known artists of the 21st century. Take some time and check out these videos.

Michael Jackson's "Thriller" (1983) vs Chris Brown's "Wall to Wall" (2009)



Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" (1983) vs B.o.B.'s "Nothin on You (2010)



Michael Jackson's "Beat it" (1982) vs Nelly Furtado's "Maneater" (2009)




Sources
http://www.michaeljackson.com/us/bio
http://socialtimes.com/mtv-vevo-youtube-online-music-video-history_b23698

The Perfect Season

In the National Football League it is hard to compete game in and game out, but to go UNDEFEATED?! That's exactly what the 1972 Miami Dolphins did with an amazing year capping it all off with a Super Bowl win over the Washington Redskins and a record of 17-0. The coach for the Dolphin's at the time that led them to a amazing season was head coach Don Shula. Shula holds the current record for NFL career wins at a very strong 347. All across the nation to sports fans the headline was being made for the Dolphins, "Perfect Season". They are the only team in the NFL to ever have a perfect record and go undefeated all the way to take home the Lombardi Trophy which is for the Super Bowl.

There have been three other teams in the NFl to have come close, but yet have not achieved the perfect season. Those teams are the 1934 Chicago Bears, 1942 Chicago Bears, and 2007 New England Patriots. All these teams that had a undefeated season in there grasp all lost in either playoff games after the regular season or in the Super Bowl. The closest team that had a chance to repeat what the Dolphins made so special was the 2007 New England Patriots which ended up losing in the Super Bowl after having a perfect record before that of 16-0.

The '72 Dolphins had a special group of players that got the job done for them. Quarterback Bob Griese, running backs Larry Csonka, and Earl Morrall, both which had over 1,000 yards running in one season. All three are now in the NFL Hall of Fame. There defense, which got the national title, "No-Name Defense' because of all the stars on the Dolphins offense, led the league in all categories and finished off number one. The Dolphins changed the way television would be watched for the NFL from every season on. In a way we have them to thank. Many people had to travel somewhere to watch a Miami game on television or just listen to the radio or go the game. Super Bowl VII which is what the Miami Dolphins played in, was the first Super Bowl to be nationally televised. What the 1972 Dolphins accomplished with having the perfect season is what many aspiring athletes have in their mind set when they dream. To be the best and have a undefeated season in whatever sport it may be. The Miami Dolphins hit the definition of perfect.


Sources:
www.google.com
http://www.72dolphins.com/
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_NFL_teams_have_had_undefeated_seasons
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_season
http://www.phins.com/72phins/

Images:
http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/multimedia/photo_gallery/0901/history.january14/images/006272945final.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JvaoyCwbcLI/SzoOVAK1AJI/AAAAAAAAAdk/p0ehn8qMZuc/s320/don_shula_1972_dolphins_undefeated.jpg

Shredding the 70's: Skateboarding in the 70's

Many activities we find popular today had their roots in the seventies. Toys such as the Rubiks Cube and the Atari gaming system changed the way kids played. However, the most revolutionary "toy" of the seventies was the skateboard.


Skateboarding had its beginnings in the fifties. The sport gained momentum until it exploded when companies began mass producing boards in the seventies. Allure faded in the sixties, but a resurgence of interest occurred with the invention of urethane skateboard wheels in 1972. This invention allowed for faster boards and a plethora of new tricks to perfect.


The most famous skateboarders of the seventies were the members of the Zephyr skate team. In 1972 Jeff Ho, Skip Engblom and Craig Stecyk started the surf shop Jeff Ho and Zephyr Surfboard Productions. The group worked on innovative graphics and board designs at their home base in Dogtown, what would become a skateboarding mecca, in West Los Angeles, California. Before the Zephyr team, skateboarding had lost popularity due to the lack of durable wheels. Coincidentally, urethane wheels hit the scene the same year the surf shop opened.





The Zephyr team picked up skateboarding as a means of entertainment after they had finished surfing. Skateboarding soon turned into a new way of life for the boys. They took many aspects of surfing and added wheels. These skateboarders rode the concrete much like they rode the waves. Many tricks street skaters today use originated from the Zephyr team. Another aspect of today's skateboarding emerged when California experienced a severe drought. Many homeowners emptied their pools, and the Zephyr boys took advantage of the new terrain.



1975 was a landmark year for skateboarding. The first major skateboarding competition since the sport lost popularity in the sixties, the Del Mar Nationals, was held. The Zephyr team blew the crowd away on both the freestyle and hill courses. It was at this event that the Zephyr's made the Vans shoe popular. New fame due to their success shortly tore the Zephyr team apart, and Jeff Ho and Zephyr Surfboard Productions closed soon after. The group had helped to create monumental tricks like the ollie, the invert, and the aerial and to solidify skateboarding as a part of American culture.




Skateboarding's biggest setback occurred in the eighties when insurance companies, worried about added injury, would not cover many of the skate parks which scattered the nation in the seventies. Nonetheless, this sport is still huge today. Many 21st century skateboarders use tricks invented in the seventies, and undoubtedly show respect for the sport's forefathers.


Today, skateboarding has become a cultural phenomenon. The sport made a name for itself in 1995 when ESPN held the first X Games. There are over 20 recognized skateboarding teams in America. Now the sport is a high paying career with countless fans. Discrepancies have arisen over the industry however. Some skateboarders argue the teams and competitions have made skateboarding too mainstream. They complain that the Dogtown skaters strove to be individual and scorned conformity. It is obvious that skateboarding is now a public display, but the debate is over whether this is simply an evolution of the sport or a lapse in skateboarding's integrity. Regardless of this issue, every person who steps foot on a board can thank skateboarders like the Dogtown boys who revitalized the sport in the seventies.



Check out this video of the Dogtown boys shredding to Boston
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_LTHHEqjs8

Sources:
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/toys.html
http://www.skatelog.com/skateboarding/skateboarding-history.htm
http://skateboard.about.com/od/boardscience/a/DogtownHistory_3.htm
http://skateboard.about.com/cs/boardscience/a/brief_history_3.htm
http://www.skatewarehouse.com/probrands.html

Images:
http://www.visualnews.com/2010/12/07/vintage-skateboard-advertisments/
http://www.visualnews.com/2010/12/07/vintage-skateboard-advertisments/
http://www.allmoviephoto.com/photo/2001_Dogtown_and_Z-Boys_photo.html
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHCNeazviOeJPJrfPJB3oIAWrWcaGzT4ZA7dUL-gTpkhs6y_SrTg0jveifzB9umaUaf2KhjwdLrFgpk7V2j_oXqz1hIYezWi-unYze_PtyBkZ7kTqLd2b8TiLLkDFoz1ltMkeDwAW5sTw/s1600-h/www.futuravanguardie.blogspot.com-Dogtown_and_ZBoy.jpg
http://www.mrbikeonline.com/UserFiles/Image/skateboarding.jpg
http://www.juicemagazine.com/images/9-1-2007news/xgames-djfarley/-2007XGames1562.jpg

Taxi Driver

The 70's of America belongs to Rock N' Roll. Many great bands such as KISS and sex pistols stemmed from the Post-Beatles era. This era is also the era of the Vietnam war which created unappeasable wound and emptiness looming through the whole decade. But contrary to the decadent 21 century, America in the 70's seemed to be a place full youth energy, freedom and love. The long haired hippie with their flared pants, the mechanical meters in those yellow taxis, the big black vinyl records are all the characteristics of the 70's. The 70's also made Robert De Niro. He has the eyes that will make smiles look sorrowful. You also have Jodie Foster who is just as pretty as an angel can get swinging her long legs at the age of 17. These two artists made a movie called "Taxi Driver" which almost made the innocent President Reagan the scapegoat of the crazy love.

Taxi Driver is one of the milestone works by Martin Scorsese. It not only got many awards and good feedbacks from the audience, but also the realism and the deep meaning presented in this movie. Taxi Driver is set in New York City after the Vietnam War, a time period when most Americans started doubting about the politics and the American spirit. People lost faith in each others, division gradually formed in the society. Yet, in New York City where prosperity can be seen everywhere, loneliness and emptiness envelop each one of the individuals. The main character Travis Bickle, a Vietnam war veteran, a man from a foreign land, became extremely confused and desolated in this big city. Working as a taxi driver enabled him to see the filthy underworld of this city. He saw prostitutes, pimps, drug dealers and mafias as trash but, like most of the people, he could only watch these things happening in front of his eyes numbly and continue on with his tedious life. Despite all the vices that was happening in the city, he still desired to be accepted by it and to find true love and friendship. But repetitive rejections from the reality made him want to revenge against the society he lived in. He tried to save the young prostitute Iris and kill the presidential candidates in order to save his hollow soul from the society. In the end, he broke into a whore house and killed everyone in it as a violent redemption to all the vices in the city.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCDXRTbXd2Q

Sources:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/taxi_driver/

http://movie.mtime.com/10364/