Brandy

Brandy (from brandywine, derived from Dutch brandewijn, "gebrande wijn" "burned wine") is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks, some are coloured with caramel colouring to imitate the effect of aging, and some brandies are produced using a combination of both aging and colouring.

In broader sense, the term "brandy" also denotes liquors obtained from distillation of pomace (pomace brandy) or mash or wine of any other fruit (fruit brandy). These products are also named eaux-de-vie.

Varieties of wine brandy can be found across the winemaking world. Among the most renowned are Cognac and Armagnac from Southwestern France.

History

The origins of brandy were clearly tied to the development of distillation. While the process was known in classical times, it wasn't used for significant beverage production up until the 15th century.

Initially wine was distilled as a preservation method and as a way to make it easier for merchants to transport. It is also thought that wine was originally distilled to lessen the tax which was assessed by volume. The intent was to add the water removed by distillation back to the brandy shortly before consumption. It was discovered that after having been stored in wooden casks, the resulting product had improved over the original distilled spirit. In addition to removing water, the distillation process led to the formation and decomposition of numerous aromatic compounds, fundamentally altering the composition of the distillate from its source. Non-volatile substances such as pigments, sugars, and salts remained behind in the still. As a result, the taste of the distillate was often quite unlike that of the original source.

Brandy Norwood

Brandy Rayana Norwood (born February 11, 1979), better known mononymously as Brandy, is an American recording artist and actress. Born into a musical family in McComb, Mississippi and raised in Carson, California, she enrolled in performing arts schools as a child and performed as a backing vocalist for teen groups. From 1993 to 1994, Norwood appeared in a supporting role on the short-lived ABC sitcom Thea and signed with Atlantic Records. The following year, she released her self-titled debut album. Norwood starred in the UPN sitcom Moesha as the title character, which lasted six seasons and resulted in numerous other roles. She resumed her music career in 1998 with the widely successful duet with fellow R&B contemporary Monica, "The Boy Is Mine", and her second album, Never Say Never; it sold 16 million copies, featured two number one singles, and earned Norwood her first Grammy Award.

Throughout the 2000s, Norwood held a precarious position in the pop industry. In 2002, she starred in the reality series Brandy: Special Delivery. Her third and fourth albums, Full Moon (2002) and Afrodisiac (2004), were released to critical success; however, they were not as commercially successful as her previous two albums in the 1990s. She served as a judge on the first season of America's Got Talent before being involved in a widely publicized car accident in 2006. After several lawsuits stemming from the accident, Norwood's fifth album Human (2008) was released to commercial failure.

Human?

Human? is an anthology of science fiction and fantasy stories edited by Judith Merril, published as a paperback original by Lion Books in 1954. No further editions were issued.

Contents

S&M (Metallica album)

S&M (an abbreviation of Symphony and Metallica) is a live album by the American heavy metal band Metallica, with The San Francisco Symphony conducted by Michael Kamen. It was recorded on April 21–22, 1999 at The Berkeley Community Theatre. This is the final Metallica album to feature Jason Newsted as bassist.

Album information

S&M contains performances of Metallica songs with additional symphonic accompaniment, which was composed by Michael Kamen, who also conducted the orchestra during the concert. The idea to combine heavy metal with an epic classical approach, as James Hetfield has stated repeatedly, was an idea of Cliff Burton. Burton’s love of classical music, especially of Johann Sebastian Bach, can be traced back to many instrumental parts and melodic characteristics in Metallica’s songwriting including songs from Ride The Lightning and Master of Puppets. The other inspiration was Deep Purple's 1969 Concerto for Group and Orchestra. Purple revived their hybrid musical performance in 1999's Live at the Royal Albert Hall after being notified that Metallica were doing theirs earlier that year.

Human (Goldfrapp song)

"Human" is an electronic song performed by British group Goldfrapp. The song was written by the group with members of Startled Insects' (Tim Norfolk and Bob Locke), and produced by Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory for the duo's debut album Felt Mountain (2000). "Human" is the only track on Felt Mountain with additional songwriters. It was released as the album's third single on 26 February 2001.

Critical response

"Human" received generally positive reviews from pop music critics. Flak Magazine reviewer Eric Wittmershaus called the song a "surprisingly-daring-yet-easy-to-listen-to genre-bender" that "is easily the disc's standout track." Sacha Esterson of Musicomh.com described the track as "middle eastern-influenced upbeat gem" that is "particularly fantastic."NME wrote that "Human" "sounds like Shirley Bassey, but with none of the dance nous the Welsh warbler brought to her collaboration with the Propellerheads."

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Human".