Downtown (owarai)

Downtown (ダウンタウン, Dauntaun) is a Japanese comedy duo from Amagasaki, Hyōgo consisting of Hitoshi Matsumoto and Masatoshi Hamada. Formed in 1982, they are one of the most influential and prolific comedy duos in Japan today. They are best known for their stand-up acts, hosting numerous Japanese variety shows (such as Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! and Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ) and their sarcastic, short-tempered stage personas.

As a result of their massive popularity and the relative domination of their employer, Yoshimoto Kogyo, the Kansai dialect (in which both performers usually speak) has come to be associated with Japanese comedy (owarai) as a whole.

Members

Background

Childhood and school years

Matsumoto and Hamada attended and met at Ushio Elementary School in Amagasaki, Hyōgo of the Kansai region. They did not become friends until their second year in Amagasaki Taisei Junior High School, where they both joined the school's broadcasting club and called each other Mattsun (まっつん) and Hama-chon (はまちょん). It is then Matsumoto joked about becoming a comedy duo together and planted the idea into their heads. At the time, Matsumoto was part of a manzai trio called "Koma Daisanshibu" with two of his classmates, Itō and Morioka.

Downtown

Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's core (or center) or central business district (CBD), often in a geographical, commercial, or communal sense. The term is not generally used in British English, whose speakers instead use the term city centre.

The term is thought to have been coined in New York City, where it was in use by the 1830s to refer to the original town at the southern tip of the island of Manhattan. As the town of New York grew into a city, the only direction it could grow on the island was toward the north, proceeding upriver from the original settlement (the "up" and "down" terminology in turn came from the customary map design in which up was north and down was south). Thus, anything north of the original town became known as "uptown" (Upper Manhattan), while the original town (which was also New York's only major center of business at the time) became known as "downtown" (Lower Manhattan).

During the late 19th century, the term was gradually adopted by cities across the United States and Canada to refer to the historical core of the city (which was most often the same as the commercial heart of the city). Notably, it was not included in dictionaries as late as the 1880s. But by the early 1900s, downtown was clearly established as the proper term in American English for a city's central business district.

Downtown (Nevada gaming area)

"Downtown Las Vegas Area" is the name assigned by the Nevada Gaming Control Board NGCB which includes the Downtown Las Vegas area casinos and the Stratosphere Tower which is located 2 miles (3.2 km) from Fremont Street. The city of Las Vegas uses the term Downtown Gaming for the casinos near the Fremont Street Experience. The land is part of the 110 acres (45 ha) that were auctioned on May 15, 1905 when the city was founded.

Downtown competition

Currently downtown Las Vegas is the only place in Las Vegas where the casinos are clustered around an outdoor pedestrian zone. Caesars Entertainment has announced plans to build a similar venue with an observation wheel similar to the London Eye near the Flamingo.

In fiscal year 1988 the ratio of revenue for the Strip compared to downtown was less than 3:1. In FY2008 the ratio is over 10:1. However, downtown rode the massive increase in tourist spending from 2004 through 2007 that swelled the non-gaming revenue of the area. Non gaming revenue and income hit an all-time high in FY2006.

It's About Time (SWV album)

It's About Time is the debut studio album by American female R&B trio SWV, released by RCA Records on October 27, 1992 (see 1992 in music). It was certified triple platinum by the RIAA for more than three million copies shipped to store, and it spawned four hit singles with "I'm So into You", "Downtown", "Weak", and a remixed version of "Right Here/Human Nature." The latter two reached #1 on the R&B singles chart, with "Weak" being their biggest pop hit at #1. A remixed version of "Anything" appeared on the soundtrack of the film Above the Rim in 1994 and was released as the final single from It's About Time.

In 1993, the group earned 11 Billboard Music Award nominations for their debut album. In October 2004, I'm So into You appeared in popular videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, playing on fictional new jack swing radio station CSR 103.9.

In 1996, the album was certified 3x platinum, for shipping over 3,000,000 albums in the U.S. alone.

Track Listing

*Initially issued without track 15, but was added to all subsequent CDs in April 1993
*Copies of the album with the catalog number BMG 66074 contain "Right Here (Vibe Mix)" (4:18), as the final track

Eddie Murphy: Comedian

Eddie Murphy: Comedian (1983) was Eddie Murphy's second album. The album was the recipient of one Grammy, Best Comedy Album, at the 1984 Grammy Awards.

The full concert of this performance was released as a 1983 HBO special called Eddie Murphy Delirious.

Track listing