Edinburgh Festival Fringe

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (The Fringe) is the world's largest arts festival, with the 2015 event spanning 25 days and featuring over 3,314 shows from 49 countries in 313 venues. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August. The Fringe is a showcase for the performing arts, with show categories including Cabaret, Children's shows, Comedy, Dance, Physical Theatre & Circus, Events, Exhibitions, Music, Musicals and Opera, Spoken Word and Theatre. In addition to ticketed, programmed events, the Fringe Street Events hosted by Virgin Money run each day of the festival, primarily on the Royal Mile and at the Mound Precinct.

The Fringe is an unjuried festival with no selection committee, and therefore any type of performance may participate. The Fringe has often showcased experimental works that might not be invited to a more conservative arts festival. The Festival is supported by the Festival Fringe Society, which publishes the official Fringe Programme, sells tickets to all events from a central physical box office and website, and offers year-round advice and support to performers. The Society's permanent location is at the Fringe Shop on the Royal Mile, and in August they also manage Fringe Central, a separate space catered to providing support for Fringe participants during their time at the festival.

Fringe (season 1)

The first season of the American science fiction television series Fringe commenced airing on the Fox network on September 9, 2008, and concluded on May 12, 2009. It was produced by Bad Robot Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, and its showrunners were Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman. The first season introduces a Federal Bureau of Investigation "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security. The team uses unorthodox "fringe" science and FBI investigative techniques to investigate a series of unexplained, often ghastly occurrences, which are related to mysteries surrounding a parallel universe. FBI agent Olivia Dunham is portrayed by actress Anna Torv, while actors Joshua Jackson and John Noble play father-son duo Peter and Walter Bishop. Other regular cast members include Lance Reddick, Jasika Nicole, Blair Brown, Mark Valley, and Kirk Acevedo.

The season contained 21 episodes, although only 20 of them aired as part of the first season. The unaired episode, "Unearthed", was aired a few days before the episode "Johari Window" as a special episode during the show's second season.

Fringe (season 5)

The fifth and final season of the American Fox science fiction television series Fringe premiered on September 28, 2012, and concluded on January 18, 2013. The series is produced by Bad Robot Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. The show was officially renewed for a 13-episode fifth season on April 26, 2012. The fifth season was released on DVD and Blu-ray in region 1 on May 7, 2013.

J. H. Wyman served as a sole showrunner during the last season, with four other writers: Alison Schapker, Graham Roland, David Fury and Kristin Cantrell. Lead actors Anna Torv, John Noble, Joshua Jackson, Jasika Nicole reprised their roles as Olivia Dunham, Walter Bishop, Peter Bishop, and Astrid Farnsworth, respectively. Previous series regulars Lance Reddick, Blair Brown and Seth Gabel returned as special guest stars.

This season takes place in 2036, the Observer-ruled dystopian future previously seen in Season 4's "Letters of Transit". The opening sequence for the season retains the one featured in "Letters of Transit", with terms including community, freedom, joy, imagination, individuality and free will.

Fringe (season 3)

The third season of the American science fiction television series Fringe commencing airing on the Fox network on September 23, 2010, and concluded on May 6, 2011. Twenty-two episodes long, the season was produced by Bad Robot Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, and its showrunners were Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman. Lead actors Anna Torv, John Noble, and Joshua Jackson reprised their roles as FBI agent Olivia Dunham and the father-son duo Walter and Peter Bishop. Previous series regulars Lance Reddick, Jasika Nicole, and Blair Brown also returned, along with recurring guest stars Kirk Acevedo, Seth Gabel, and Ryan McDonald.

Building off the finale from the previous season, Fringe's third season dealt with a war between the prime and parallel universes. During the first part of the season, odd-numbered episodes mostly took place in the parallel universe and have a red title sequence, while even-numbered episodes mostly took place in the prime universe and have the original blue title sequence. In episode eight, "Entrada", the title sequence is a mixture of blue and red, and since have been either blue or red or both to signify the universal focus of the episode. In the rest of the season, however, the episodes focus on the prime universe with brief shifts to the parallel universe.

First (Cold War Kids song)

"First" is a song by American indie rock band Cold War Kids. The song was written by the band and produced by Lars Stalfors and Dann Gallucci. It was the second single off their fifth album Hold My Home (2014) and was released on February 17, 2015. The song received a positive reception from music critics.

"First" peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, becoming the band's highest charting single. A music video was made for the single and was released on January 12, 2015.

Critical reception

"First" received positive reviews from music critics. Philip Cosores of Paste called it a "clap-along anthem" and said that together with "All This Could Be Yours" and "Hot Coals", is "the strongest run the band has put together in its career." Heather Phares of AllMusic remarked the song being a highlight of the album due to its "anthemic power."

Music video

The music video was uploaded on the band's VEVO page on January 12, 2015.

Chart performance

The song appeared on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart at number 40 and peaked at number 1, their first song to top that chart. It has stayed on the chart for twenty-eight weeks (as of the October 24, 2015 chart date), making it their longest charting single to date.

First (David Gates album)

First is the first solo album by David Gates of Bread. The musicians include: Jimmy Getzoff, Jim Gordon, Jim Horn, John Guerin, Larry Carlton, Larry Knechtel, Louie Shelton, Mike Botts and Russ Kunkel. Suite, Clouds & Rain is definitely worth a listen as Gates experimented with his sound.

Track listing

All tracks composed by David Gates

First (EP)

'First' is the debut EP of Singaporean singer, Ferlyn G. It consists of a total of three tracks and was released on January 2, 2015.

Background

In 2014, Ferlyn announced that she will be leaving Skarf and releasing a solo EP in 2015 before Chinese New Year. After a series of teasers, the EP was released on January 2, 2015, during a press conference at Bugis+ in Singapore. The music video for both Xīn fàng kāi (心放开) and Luv Talk was released through iGlobalStar's official YouTube channel on January 2, 2015.

Composition

Ferlyn worked with various well known composers and singers such as Gen Neo from Noizebank and Mint from Tiny-G. The promotional tracks, Luv Talk and Xīn fàng kāi (心放开) is a fun pop tune and is about having a crush while the second track, Bùjiàn bú sàn (不見不散) about the experience during a breakup.

Music video

The music video for the promotional track, Luv Talk and Xīn fàng kāi (心放开) begin on a deceptively melancholy note with a teary Ferlyn perched on a bridge and dramatic piano instrumental playing behind her, the song soon ramps up the atmosphere with a full brass tone and hip rhythm. The story flashes back to an unpleasant conversation Ferlyn has with an unknown man. However, after being down, she transforms herself into a new self with a change in make up and outfit.