Erasure

Erasure (/ᵻˈreɪʒər/) are an English synthpop duo, consisting of singer and songwriter Andy Bell and songwriter and keyboardist Vince Clarke. They formed in London, and entered the music scene in 1985 with their debut single "Who Needs Love Like That". Following the release of their fourth single "Sometimes", the duo established itself on the UK Singles Chart and became one of the most successful artists of the late 1980s to mid-1990s.

From 1986 to 2007, Erasure achieved 24 consecutive Top 40 hits in the UK, while having three Top 20 hits in the US (on the Billboard Hot 100): "A Little Respect", "Chains of Love", and "Always". By 2009, 34 of their 45 singles and EPs (of which 8 out of the 45 were not chart eligible in the UK) had made the UK Top 40, with 17 climbing into the Top 10. At the 1989 Brit Awards, Erasure won the Brit Award for Best British Group.

The duo are most popular in their native UK and mainland Europe (especially Germany, Denmark and Sweden) and also in South America (especially Argentina, Chile and Peru). To date, they have sold over 25 million albums worldwide. The band is also popular within the LGBT community, for whom openly gay Bell has become a gay icon.

Erasure (novel)

Erasure is a 2001 novel by Percival Everett and originally published by UPNE. The novel reacts against the dominant strains of discussion surrounding the publication and criticism of African American literature.

Plot

The novel's plot revolves around how the publishing industry pigeon-holes African-American writers. The protagonist, Thelonious "Monk" Ellison, a professor of English literature, is repeatedly criticized for not writing "black enough". Ellison is angered by the success of an Oprah-like book club's selection of a novel reflecting what is supposedly contemporary black experience, but which presents a stereotypical story. He composes a satirical response based on Richard Wright's Native Son and Sapphire's novel Push, which he first entitles My Pafology before changing it to Fuck. The talk show host, a Hollywood producer, and a panel of famous novelists, all prove more willing to accept the brutal, dehumanized black man of the novel than a middle-class intellectual like Ellison. He in turn has trouble facing impoverished blacks both real and fictional.

Erasure (artform)

Erasure is a form of found poetry or found art created by erasing words from an existing text in prose or verse and framing the result on the page as a poem. The results can be allowed to stand in situ or they can be arranged into lines and/or stanzas. Erasure is a way to give an existing piece of writing a new set of meanings, questions, or suggestions. It lessens the trace of authorship but requires purposeful decision making. What does one want done to the original text? Does a gesture celebrate, denigrate, subvert, or efface the source completely? One can erase intuitively by focusing on musical and thematic elements or systematically by following a specific process regardless of the outcome.

Here is a nonce example using text from the November 2003 version of the English Wikipedia Main Page:

Several contemporary writer/artists have adopted this form to achieve a range of cognitive or symbolic effects.

Examples

Doris Cross appears to have been among the earliest to utilize this technique, beginning in 1965 with her "Dictionary Columns" book art. d.a. levy also worked in this mode at about the same time.

Everyday (OMD song)

"Everyday" was the third and last single from Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's 1993 album Liberator. Co-founder Paul Humphreys, who had left the band four years prior, is credited as a co-writer.

"Everyday" was the only single from Liberator to miss the UK Top 25, charting at #59. Its accompanying music video features Sara Cox, who would later be known as a BBC Radio DJ.

Track listing

7" single

Cassette single

5" CD single

Chart positions

Everyday (Widespread Panic album)

Everyday is the third studio album by the Athens, GA based band Widespread Panic. It was first released by Capricorn Records and Warner Bros. Records on March 3, 1993. It would later be re-released in 2001 by Zomba Music Group. On July 3, 2014 the band announced that Everyday would be reissued on Vinyl in August, 2014. The reissue will be distributed via ThinkIndie distribution and sold only at participating independent record stores.

Beginning on November 5, 1992, The band recorded the album at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, AL. They were in the studio for roughly 5 weeks.

The album reached a peak position of #184 on the Billboard 200 chart and #10 on the Heatseekers chart.

The album was the group's first to feature bandmate, John Hermann.

Track listing

All tracks written by Widespread Panic, except where noted.

The Secret Value of Daydreaming

The Secret Value of Daydreaming is the second studio album by singer–songwriter Julian Lennon.

Background and recording

After going on tour the previous year to promote his previous album, Valotte, Lennon took a break to write material for The Secret Value of Daydreaming. Recording took place in the Bahamas, at Compass Point Studios, with mixing at the Hit Factory in New York City.

Release

The Secret Value of Daydreaming was released on 24 March 1986 on Charisma in the UK, and a day later on the 25th on Atlantic in the US. The album peaked at number 32 on the Billboard 200 chart upon its release. It was certified gold for sales of over 500,000 copies in the US by the RIAA on 22 May 1986. "Stick Around" reached number 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and number 32 on their Hot 100 chart.

The album was reissued, along with Mr. Jordan and Help Yourself, on 8 September 2009 by Noble Rot Records.

Track listing

All songs written by Julian Lennon, except where noted.