Grinspoon

Grinspoon was an Australian rock band from Lismore, New South Wales formed in 1995 and fronted by Phil Jamieson on vocals and guitar with Pat Davern on guitar, Joe Hansen on bass guitar and Kristian Hopes on drums. Also in 1995, they won the Triple J-sponsored Unearthed competition for Lismore, with their post-grunge song "Sickfest". Their name was taken from Dr. Lester Grinspoon an Associate Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, who supports marijuana for medical use.

Grinspoon changed their sound to more mainstream rock by their 2002 album, New Detention, gaining fans and peaking at No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Charts; similarly 2007's Alibis & Other Lies also reached No. 2. Their 2004 album, Thrills, Kills & Sunday Pills, which peaked at No. 4, won the 2005 'Best Rock Album Award' at the ARIA Music Awards.

The band was signed to Universal Records in United States by late 1998, they were promoted by the songs "Champion", which featured in Gran Turismo 3; "Post Enebriated Anxiety", which was on the international version of Guide to Better Living; "Chemical Heart", via the internet; and a cover of the Prong song "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck", from Grinspoon's Pushing Buttons EP, which was included on ECW: Extreme Music.

Undercover operation

To go "undercover" is to avoid detection by the entity one is observing, and especially to disguise one's own identity or use an assumed identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an individual or organization to learn or confirm confidential information or to gain the trust of targeted individuals in order to gather information or evidence. Traditionally, it is a technique employed by law enforcement agencies or private investigators, and a person who works in such a role is commonly referred to as an undercover agent.

History

Undercover work has been used in a variety of ways throughout the course of history, but the first organized, but informal, undercover program was first employed in France by Eugène François Vidocq in the early 19th century. At the end of 1811, Vidocq set up an informal plainclothes unit, the Brigade de la Sûreté ("Security Brigade"), which was later converted to a security police unit under the Prefecture of Police. The Sûreté initially had eight, then twelve, and, in 1823, twenty employees. One year later, it expanded again, to 28 secret agents. In addition, there were eight people who worked secretly for the Sûreté, but instead of a salary, they received licences for gambling halls. A major portion of Vidocq's subordinates were ex-criminals like himself.

Undercover (dance group)

Undercover were a dance music group from the UK, who had two Top 10 hits in 1992. The vocals on all the group's songs were sung by John Matthews, The band were formed in 1991, and are still active today.

Overview

The first single they released was a cover version of Gerry Rafferty's 1978 UK/U.S. hit "Baker Street". It became their biggest hit when it reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart in September 1992, held off from the top only by another dance track "Rhythm is a Dancer" by Snap. It was the 11th biggest selling single of 1992 in the UK, and also attained major chart success across Europe, selling over a quarter of a million units in Germany alone.

Undercover released five more chart singles. The second single was a cover of Andrew Gold's "Never Let Her Slip Away", coincidentally also originally from 1978. It reached #5, and stayed in the UK chart for a total of 11 weeks. After the success of these two singles, an album, Check Out the Groove, was released, reaching #26 in the UK Albums Chart. "I Wanna Stay With You" (a cover of the Gallagher and Lyle song) and "Lovesick", both from 1993, managed #28 and #62, respectively. In 1994, Undercover released a new single, "Best Friend", and their second album, Ain't No Stopping Us. The musical style of Undercover´s interpretations is best described as cheerful and upbeat, incorporating into the song electronic drums and short piano or organ harmonies, along with repetitive and layered vocal phrases, typical for club songs of the 1990s.

Stars Dance

Stars Dance is the debut solo and fourth overall studio album by American singer Selena Gomez. It was released on July 19, 2013, by Hollywood Records. Gomez began planning the project in 2012, at which time she announced that her band Selena Gomez & the Scene would be taking an indefinite hiatus, and continued work into 2013. She has cited artists such as Britney Spears and Skrillex as influences on the record, which stylistically features EDM and electropop music. Elements of dubstep, techno, disco and worldbeat have been noted on the album. Gomez worked with producers such as Rock Mafia and The Cataracs on the album.

Upon its release, Stars Dance received generally mixed reviews from music critics. While some complimented both Gomez's maturing image and the album's content both lyrically and vocally, the album was criticized for its electronic-heavy and somewhat "generic" production. It is her first album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200. The album sold 97,000 copies in its first week of release in the country, making it her highest selling debut at the time. It became her fourth top twenty entry in the United Kingdom, peaking at number fourteen. As of September 2014, the album has sold an estimated 392,000 copies in the United States, making it her lowest selling studio album to date in the country.