Plush

Plush (from French peluche) is a textile having a cut nap or pile the same as fustian or velvet. Its softness of feel gave rise to the adjective "plush" to describe something soft or luxurious, which was extended to describe luxury accommodation, or something rich and full.

Originally the pile of plush consisted of mohair or worsted yarn, but now silk by itself or with a cotton backing is used for plush, the distinction from velvet being found in the longer and less dense pile of plush. The soft material is largely used for upholstery and furniture purposes, and is also much employed in dress and millinery.

Modern plush are commonly manufactured from synthetic fibres such as polyester. One of the largest uses of this fabric is in the production of stuffed toys, with small plush toys made from plush fabric, such as teddy bears. Plush is also one of the main materials for the construction of designer toys.

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

Liam Hayes

Liam Hayes, professionally known as Plush since 1992 is an American songwriter and performer, originally from Chicago, Illinois, United States.

His discography includes three critically acclaimed records: More You Becomes You (1998), Fed (2002), and Bright Penny (2009). In 2000, Hayes appeared as himself performing "Soaring and Boring" in the film High Fidelity.

Early recording years, More You Becomes You (1994-1998)

Between 1994 and 1998 Liam Hayes recorded and released two singles, 1994's debut single "Found A Little Baby", and 1997's "No Education". 1998 saw the release of Hayes' debut solo album, More You Becomes You.

Fed (1999-2002)

After the release of More You Becomes You, Hayes began writing and collecting songs for his second studio album. The album combined rock arrangements with big band instrumentation and full string sections. The end result was Fed, which was released in 2002.

Bright Penny (2005-2009)

Around 2005, Hayes began to work on his third proper studio album. The sessions were spread between L.A., New York, Michigan, and Chicago and involved numerous musicians including Brian Wilson's rhythm section and legendary Chicago Blues and Jazz drummer Morris Jennings. Almost a year to the day of the belated UK release of Plush’s Fed, Broken Horse Records announced the release of its follow up album, Bright Penny.

Plush (song)

"Plush" is a song by American rock band Stone Temple Pilots. It is one of the band's biggest hits, and was released as the second single from the 1992 band's debut studio album, Core.

Composition and inspiration

The song's chord structure was inspired by Robert DeLeo's love of ragtime music, and its lyrics were loosely based on a newspaper article Scott Weiland had read about a girl who had been found dead in an area outside of San Diego. Weiland had also said that the song's lyrics are a metaphor for a failed relationship.

Reception

The song was released in 1992 as Core's second single and became a major rock radio hit in the U.S., peaking at #1 on the Album Rock Tracks and #9 on the Modern Rock Tracks. The song was also one of the first alternative rock songs to reach the #1 spot on the Album Rock Tracks chart during height of the alternative rock/grunge scene. "Plush" won in the category of "Best Hard Rock Performance" at the 1994 Grammy Awards. The music video also earned the band an MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist in 1994. "Plush" remains one of the biggest rock hits of the 1990s, and is still commonly heard on radio stations today. The song also was voted #12 on the Australian annual music poll Triple J Hottest 100 in 1993. In 2004, this song was featured in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas soundtrack on Radio X. The song also appeared as a playable song in the music video games Rock Band 3 and Power Gig: Rise of the SixString in addition to the VH1 series Hindsight.

Aubrey

Aubrey is an English given name. It is most commonly a female name, although historically its use has been masculine. The name is a Norman French derivation of the Germanic given name Alberic, which consists of the elements alf "elf" and ric "power", with the meaning of "Fair Ruler of the Little People." Before the Norman conquest, the Anglo-Saxons used the corresponding variant Ælf-rīc (see Ælfric).

An early female form is recorded as Aubrée and does not share the same etymology. It is instead derived from the Germanic Albereda or Alberada. It can be found in certain genealogies of the noble Norman families (See f. e. Aubrey of Buonalbergo).

The name is traditionally male, but is more commonly used as a feminine name in the United States. It was the 20th most popular name given to girls born in the United States in 2014. The variants Aubree and Aubrie were the 61st most and 428th most popular given names for girls respectively. It was last ranked among the top 1,000 most common names for boys in the United States in 2002. It was the 479th most common name for all males in the United States in the 1990 census.

Aubrey (song)

"Aubrey" is a song written and composed by David Gates, and originally recorded by the pop-rock group Bread, of which Gates was the leader and primary music producer. It appeared on Bread's 1972 album Guitar Man. The single lasted 11 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 15.

David Gates wrote the song after watching Breakfast at Tiffany's starring Audrey Hepburn.

This song swapped the assumed gender of the name Aubrey, nearly extinguishing its use as a male name and popularizing it as a female name up to the present. Actress Aubrey Plaza is named after the song, and Canadian rapper Drake (rapper)'s birth name is Aubrey

The main melody of the song was sampled by Vampire Weekend on their song "Step".

Musical structure and lyrics

The song features David Gates' solo voice, with no backup vocals or drumming. It relies on various melodic resources such as orchestral strings, acoustic guitar, celeste, and orchestra bells. In the lyrics, the singer talks about a longing for a girl named Aubrey for whom he had unrequited love ("the hearts that never played in tune"); perhaps a first love. It is also said to be a song about shyness ("I never knew her, but I loved her just the same"). It is regarded as one of Bread's most beautiful, yet melancholic, songs. The song was later recorded by Perry Como and released on his 1973 album And I Love You So.

Aubrey (producer)

Aubrey is a techno and house music producer and DJ Allen Saei. (Not to be confused with the female vocal artist Aubrey Ayala.)

Allen grew up in the suburbs of Portsmouth. When he moved to Cowplain, he had a red nose as a result of having a cold. As the new boy at school, he was teased as having a nose like the contemporary animation character Aubrey (TV series), and the nickname stuck.

As an adolescent, Aubrey became interested in hip-hop. As well as being the leader of the 247 crew (of breakdancers), he is one of the few people from the area to have attended UK Fresh 86. As well as an interest in hip-hop, Aubrey also had an interest in the Chicago sound.

In the summer of 1989, Aubrey got his first booking at a warehouse rave. It was at this time that he started to regularly attend Thursday nights at Top Cats in North End (now the Post Office social club) where he met DJ Pete Couzens, and his peers (Dave Nutbeem, Trevor Mann, Ghost, Jake Marsh, Starry, Johnny Pain and others).