:: wikimiki.org ::
| Kenny Aronoff |
Kenny AronoffKenny Aronoff is an American drummer who has played with a wide array of soft rock bands. He is probably most famous for his work with John Fogerty and John Mellencamp, but has also played with other musicians such as Melissa Etheridge and alternative rock group, The Smashing Pumpkins.
http://www.kennyaronoff.com
He graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst
Aronoff, KennyAronoff, Kenny
United States:For alternative meanings, see the disambiguation page for US, USA, United States, or American.
The United States of America is a federal democratic republic situated primarily in central North America. It comprises 50 states and one federal district, and has several territories. It is also referred to, with varying formality, as the United States, the U.S., the U.S.A., the States, or simply and most commonly, America.
The official founding date of the United States is July 4, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress—representing thirteen British colonies—adopted the Declaration of Independence. However, the structure of the government was profoundly changed in 1788, when the states replaced the Articles of Confederation with the United States Constitution. The date on which each of the fifty states adopted the Constitution is typically regarded as the date that state "entered the Union" (became part of the United States). Since the mid-20th century, following World War II, the United States has emerged as a dominant global influence in economic, political, military, scientific, technological, and cultural affairs.
Geography and climate
The United States shares land borders with Canada (to the north) and Mexico (to the south), and territorial water boundaries with Canada, Russia, the Bahamas, and numerous smaller nations. It is otherwise bounded by the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea, in the west; the Arctic Ocean, in the northernmost areas; and the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea, in the eastern and southeastern areas.
Forty-eight of the states are in the single region between Canada and Mexico; this group is referred to, with varying precision and formality, as the continental or contiguous United States, sometimes abbreviated CONUS, and as the Lower 48. Alaska, which is not included in the term contiguous United States, is at the northwestern end of North America, separated from the Lower 48 by Canada. The archipelago of Hawaii is in the Pacific Ocean. The capital city, Washington, District of Columbia is a federal district located on land donated by the state of Maryland. (Virginia also donated land, but it was returned in 1847.) The United States also has overseas territories with varying levels of independence and organization.
When inland water is included in the total area, only Russia and Canada are larger than the United States; if inland water is excluded, China ranks third and the U.S. ranks fourth. The United States' total area is 3,718,711 square miles (9,631,418 km²), of which land makes up 3,537,438 square miles (9,161,923 km²) and water makes up 181,273 square miles (469,495 km²).
The United States' landscape is one of the most varied among those of the world's nations: among its many features are temperate forestland and rolling hills, on the east coast; mangrove, in Florida; the Great Plains, in the center of the country; the Mississippi–Missouri river system; the Great Lakes, four of the five of which are shared with Canada; the Rocky Mountains, west of the Great Plains; deserts and temperate coastal zones, west of the Rocky Mountains; and temperate rain forests, in the Pacific northwest. Alaska's tundra, and the volcanic, tropical islands of Hawaii add to the geographic diversity.
Hawaii
The climate varies along with the landscape, from tropical in Hawaii and southern Florida to tundra in Alaska and atop some of the highest mountains. Most of the North and East experience a temperate continental climate, with warm summers and cold winters. Most of the South experiences a subtropical humid climate with mild winters and long, hot, humid summers. Rainfall decreases markedly from the humid forests of the Eastern Great Plains to the semi-arid shortgrass prairies on the high plains abutting the Rocky Mountains. Arid deserts, including the Mojave, extend through the lowlands and valleys of the southwest, from westernmost Texas to California and northward throughout much of Nevada. Some parts of California have a Mediterranean climate. Rainforests line the windward mountains of the Pacific Northwest from Oregon to Alaska.
History
American history started with the migration of people from Asia across the Bering land bridge approximately 12,000 years ago following large animals that they hunted into the Americas. These Native Americans left evidence of their presence in petroglyphs, burial mounds, and other artifacts. It is estimated that 2-9 million people lived in the territory now occupied by the U.S. before European contact, and the subsequent introduction of foreign diseases such as small pox that greatly diminished the native populations. Some advanced societies were the Anasazi of the southwest, who inhabited Chaco Canyon, and the Woodland Indians, who built Cahokia, located near present-day St Louis, a city with a population of 40,000 at its peak in AD 1200.
Vikings first visited North America around 1000, but did not settle permanently. Following the discovery voyages of Christopher Columbus around 1492, other Europeans began to explore and settle there.
During the 1500s and 1600s, the Spanish settled parts of the present-day Southwest and Florida, founding St. Augustine, Florida in 1565 and Santa Fe (in what is now New Mexico) in 1607. The first successful English settlement was at Jamestown, Virginia, also in 1607. Within the next two decades, several Dutch settlements, including New Amsterdam (the predecessor to New York City), were established in what are now the states of New York and New Jersey. In 1637, Sweden established a colony at Fort Christina (in what is now Delaware), but lost the settlement to the Dutch in 1655.
This was followed by extensive British settlement of the east coast. The British colonists remained relatively undisturbed by their home country until after the French and Indian War, when France ceded Canada and the Great Lakes region to Britain. Britain then imposed taxes on the 13 colonies, widely regarded by the colonists as unfair because they were denied representation in the British Parliament. Tensions between Britain and the colonists increased, and the thirteen colonies eventually rebelled against British rule.
British Parliament, George Washington (1789-1797).]]
In 1776, the 13 colonies split from Great Britain and formed the United States, the world's first constitutional and democratic federal republic, after their Declaration of Independence of that year, and the Revolutionary War (1775 to 1783). The original political structure was a confederation in 1777, ratified in 1781 as the Articles of Confederation. After long debate, this was supplanted by the Constitution in 1789, forming a more centralized federal government. Prior to all these was the Albany Congress in 1754, in which a union was first seriously proposed.
From early colonial times, there was a shortage of labor, which encouraged unfree labor, particularly indentured servitude and slavery. In the mid-19th century, a major division occurred in the United States over the issue of states' rights and the expansion of slavery. The northern states had become opposed to slavery, while the southern states saw it as necessary for the continued success of southern agriculture and wanted it expanded to the territories. Several federal laws were passed in an attempt to settle the dispute, including the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850. The dispute reached a crisis in 1861, when seven southern states seceded1 from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America, leading to the Civil War. Soon after the war began, four more southern states seceded. During the war, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, mandating the freedom of all slaves in states in rebellion, though full emancipation did not take place until after the end of the war in 1865, the dissolution of the Confederacy, and the Thirteenth Amendment took effect. The Civil War effectively ended the question of a state's right to secede, and is widely accepted as a major turning point after which the federal government became more powerful than state governments.
Thirteenth Amendment). The title of the painting, from a 1726 poem by Bishop Berkeley, was a phrase often quoted in the era of Manifest Destiny, expressing a widely held belief that civilization had steadily moved westward throughout history. [http://americanart.si.edu/t2go/1lw/1931.6.1.html (more)] ]]
During the 19th century, many new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the continent. Manifest Destiny was a philosophy that encouraged westward expansion in the United States. As the population of the Eastern states grew and as a steady increase of immigrants entered the country, settlers moved steadily westward across North America. In the process, the U.S. displaced most American Indian nations. This displacement of American Indians continues to be a matter of contention in the U.S. with many tribes attempting to assert their original claims to various lands. In some areas American Indian populations were reduced by foreign diseases contracted through contact with European settlers, and US settlers acquired those emptied lands. In other instances American Indians were removed from their traditional lands by force. Though some would say the U.S. was not a colonial power until the Spanish-American War when it acquired Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines, the dominion exercised over land in North America the United States claimed is essentially colonial. The Philippines became independent in 1946.
During this period, the nation also became an industrial power. This continued into the 20th century, which has been termed "the American Century" because of the nation's overriding influence on the world. The US became a center for innovation and technological development; major technologies that America either developed or was greatly involved in improving include the telephone, television, computer, the Internet, nuclear weapons, nuclear power, aviation, and aeronautics.
In addition to the Civil War, another major traumatic experience for the nation was the Great Depression (1929 to 1939). The nation has also taken part in several major foreign wars, including World War I and World War II (in both of which the US later joined the Allies). During the Cold War, the US was a major player in the Korean War and Vietnam War, and, along with the Soviet Union, was considered one of the world's two "superpowers". With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US emerged as the world's leading economic and military power. Beginning in the 1990s, the United States became very involved in police actions and peacekeeping, including actions in Kosovo, Haiti, Somalia and Liberia, and the first Persian Gulf War driving Iraq out of Kuwait. After attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, the United States and other allied nations found themselves involved in what has come to be called the "War on Terrorism," which has primarily encompassed military actions in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
Government
Iraq of the United States.]]
Republic and suffrage
The United States is an example of a constitutional republic, with a government composed of and operating through a set of limited powers imposed by its design and enumerated in the United States Constitution. Specifically, the nation operates as a presidential democracy. There are three levels of government: federal, state, and local. Officials of each of these levels are either elected by eligible voters via secret ballot or appointed by other elected officials. Americans enjoy almost universal suffrage from the age of 18 regardless of race, sex, or wealth. There are some limits, however: felons are disenfranchised and in some states former felons are likewise. Furthermore, the national representation of territories and the federal district of Washington, DC in Congress is limited: residents of the District of Columbia are subject to federal laws and federal taxes but their only Congressional representative is a non-voting delegate.
Federal government
The federal government is the national government, comprising the Legislative Branch (led by Congress), the Executive Branch (led by the President), and the Judicial Branch (led by the Supreme Court). These three branches were designed to apply checks and balances on each other. The Constitution limits the powers of the federal government to defense, foreign affairs, the issuing and management of currency, the management of trade and relations between the states, and the protection of human rights. In addition to these explicitly stated powers, the federal government—with the assistance of the Supreme Court—has gradually extended these powers into such areas as welfare and education, on the basis of the "necessary and proper" clause of the Constitution.
The Congress
necessary and proper
The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives consists of 435 members, each of whom represents a congressional district and serves for a two-year term. House seats are apportioned among the states by population; in contrast, each state has two Senators, regardless of population. There are a total of 100 senators, who serve six-year terms. The powers of Congress are limited to those enumerated in the Constitution; all other powers are reserved to the states and the people. The Constitution also includes the necessary-and-proper clause, which grants Congress the power to "make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers."
The President
necessary-and-proper clause
At the top level of the executive branch is the President of the United States. The President and Vice-President are elected as 'running mates' for four-year terms by the Electoral College, for which each state, as well as the District of Columbia, is allocated a number of seats based on its representation (or ostensible representation, in the case of D. C.) in both houses of Congress (see U.S. Electoral College). The relationship between the President and the Congress reflects that between the English monarchy and parliament at the time of the framing of the United States Constitution. Congress can legislate to constrain the President's executive power, even with respect to his or her command of the armed forces; however, this power is used only very rarely—a notable example was the constraint placed on President Richard Nixon's strategy of bombing Cambodia during the Vietnam War. The President cannot directly propose legislation, and must rely on supporters in Congress to promote his or her legislative agenda. The President's signature is required to turn congressional bills into law; in this respect, the President has the power—only occasionally used—to veto congressional legislation. Congress can override a presidential veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both houses. The ultimate power of Congress over the President is that of impeachment or removal of the elected President through a House vote, a Senate trial, and a Senate vote. The threat of using this power has had major political ramifications in the cases of Presidents Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton.
The President makes around 2,000 executive appointments, including members of the Cabinet and ambassadors, which must be approved by the Senate; the President can also issue executive orders and pardons, and has other Constitutional duties, among them the requirement to give a State of the Union address to Congress once a year. Although the President's constitutional role may appear to be constrained, in practice, the office carries enormous prestige that typically eclipses the power of Congress: the Presidency has justifiably been referred to as 'the most powerful office in the world'. The Vice President is first in the line of succession, and is the President of the Senate ex officio, with the ability to cast a tie-breaking vote. The members of the President's Cabinet are responsible for administering the various departments of state, including the Department of Defense, the Justice Department, and the State Department. These departments and department heads have considerable regulatory and political power, and it is they who are responsible for executing federal laws and regulations. George W. Bush is the 43rd President, currently serving his second term.
The Courts
George W. Bush
The highest court is the Supreme Court, which consists of nine justices. The court deals with federal and constitutional matters, and can declare legislation made at any level of the government as unconstitutional, nullifying the law and creating precedent for future law and decisions. Below the Supreme Court are the courts of appeals, and below them in turn are the district courts, which are the general trial courts for federal law.
Separate from, but not entirely independent of, this federal court system are the individual court systems of each state, each dealing with its own laws and having its own judicial rules and procedures. A case may be appealed from a state court to a federal court only if there is a federal question; the supreme court of each state is the final authority on the interpretation of that state's laws and constitution.
State and local governments
supreme court of each state. Note that Alaska and Hawaii are shown at different scales, and that the Aleutian Islands and the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are omitted from this map.]]
The state governments have the greatest influence over people's daily lives. Each state has its own written constitution and has different laws. There are sometimes great differences in law and procedure between the different states, concerning issues such as property, crime, health, and education. The highest elected official of each state is the Governor. Each state also has an elected legislature (bicameral in every state except Nebraska), whose members represent the different parts of the state. Of note is the New Hampshire legislature, which is the third-largest legislative body in the English-speaking world, and has one representative for every 3,000 people. Each state maintains its own judiciary, with the lowest level typically being county courts, and culminating in each state supreme court, though sometimes named differently. In some states, supreme and lower court justices are elected by the people; in others, they are appointed, as they are in the federal system.
The institutions that are responsible for local government are typically town, city, or county boards, making laws that affect their particular area. These laws concern issues such as traffic, the sale of alcohol, and keeping animals. The highest elected official of a town or city is usually the mayor. In New England, towns operate directly democratically, and in some states, such as Rhode Island and Connecticut, counties have little or no power, existing only as geographic distinctions. In other areas, county governments have more power, such as to collect taxes and maintain law enforcement agencies.
Political divisions
With the Declaration of Independence, the thirteen colonies proclaimed themselves to be nation states modeled after the European states of the time. Although considered as sovereigns initially, under the Articles of Confederation of 1781 they entered into a "Perpetual Union" and created a fully sovereign federal state, delegating certain powers to the national Congress, including the right to engage in diplomatic relations and to levy war, while each retaining their individual sovereignty, freedom and independence. But the national government proved too ineffective, so the administrative structure of the government was vastly reorganized with the United States Constitution of 1789. Under this new union, the continued status of the individual states as sovereign nation states fell into dispute in 1861, as several states attempted to secede from the union; in response, then-President Abraham Lincoln claimed that such secession was illegal, and the result was the American Civil War. Since the Union victory in 1865, the independent status of the individual states has not been broached again by any state, and the status of each state within the union has been deemed by mainstream officials and academics to be settled as being subordinate to the union as a whole.
In subsequent years, the number of states grew steadily due to western expansion, the purchase of lands by the national government from other nation states, and the subdivision of existing states, resulting in the current total of 50. The states are generally divided into smaller administrative regions, including counties, cities and townships.
The United States–Canadian border is the longest undefended political boundary in the world. The U.S. is divided into three distinct sections:
- the "continental United States," also known as "the Lower 48" and more accurately termed the conterminous, coterminous or contiguous United States
- Alaska, which is physically connected only to Canada
- the archipelago of Hawaii, in the central Pacific Ocean.
The United States also holds several other territories, districts, and possessions, notably the federal district of the District of Columbia, which is the nation's capital, and several overseas insular areas, the most significant of which are American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. The Palmyra Atoll is the United States' only incorporated territory; it is unorganized and uninhabited.
The United States Navy has held a base at a portion of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since 1898. The United States government possesses a lease to this land, which only mutual agreement or United States abandonment of the area can terminate. The present Cuban government of Fidel Castro disputes this arrangement, claiming Cuba was not truly sovereign at the time of the signing. The United States argues this point moot because Cuba apparently ratified the lease post-revolution, and with full sovereignty, when it cashed one rent check in accordance with the disputed treaty.
Foreign relations and military
sovereign]
The immense military and economic dominance of the United States has made foreign relations an especially important topic in its politics, with considerable concern about the image of the United States throughout the world. Reactions towards the United States by other nationalities are often strong, ranging from uninhibited admiration and mimicking of all things American to anti-Americanism. US foreign policy has swung about several times over the course of its history between the poles of strict isolationism and imperialism and everywhere in between.
Three of the nation's four military branches are administered by the Department of Defense: the Army, the Navy (including the Marine Corps), and the Air Force. The Coast Guard falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime, but is placed under the Department of the Navy in time of war.
The combined United States armed forces consist of 1.4 million active duty personnel, along with several hundred thousand each in the Reserves and the National Guard. Military conscription ended in 1973. The United States Armed forces are considered to be the most powerful military (of any sort) on Earth and their force projection capabilities are unrivaled by any other nation.
The 2005 defense budget amounted to $401.7 billion, which is an increase of 4% over 2004 and of 35% since 2001. Over 50% of that number is spent in research & development.
(For comparison, in 2004 the European Union (considered as the second-largest military force) had a combined total of 1.6 million troops, and a defense budget of €160 billion, with less than 10% of that being spent on R&D.)
Largest cities
The United States has dozens of major cities, including 11 of the 55 global cities of all types — with three "alpha" global cities: New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
The figures expressed below are for populations within city limits. A different ranking is evident when considering U.S. metro area populations, although the top three would be unchanged.
Note that some cities not listed (such as Atlanta, Boston, Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, New Orleans, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.) are still considered important on the basis of other factors and issues, including culture, economics, heritage, and politics.
The twenty largest cities, based on the United States Census Bureau's 2004 estimates, are as follows:
Economy
The United States has the largest single-country economy in the world, with a per-capita gross domestic product of $40,100. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace.
gross domestic product
The largest industry of the U.S. is now service, which employs roughly three quarters of the U.S. work force. The United States has many natural resources, including oil and gas, metals, and such minerals as gold, soda ash, and zinc. In agriculture, the U.S. is a top producer of, among other crops, corn, soy beans, and wheat; the United States is a net exporter of food. The U.S. manufacturing sector produces goods such as, cars, airplanes, steel, and electronics, among many others.
Economic activity varies greatly from one part of the country to another, with many industries being largely dependent on a certain city or region; New York City is the center of the American financial, publishing, broadcasting, and advertising industries; Silicon Valley is the country’s primary location for high-technology companies, while Los Angeles is the most important center for film production. The Midwest is known for its reliance on manufacturing and heavy industry, with Detroit, Michigan, serving as the center of the American automotive industry; the Great Plains are known as the "breadbasket" of America for their tremendous agricultural output; the intermountain region serves as a mining hub and natural gas resource; the Pacific Northwest for fish and timber, while Texas is largely associated with the oil industry; the Southeast is a major hub for both medical research and the textiles industry.
Several countries continue to link their currency to the dollar or even use it as a currency (such as Ecuador), although this practice has subsided since the collapse of the Bretton Woods system. Many markets are also quoted in dollars, such as those of oil and gold. The dollar is also the predominant reserve currency in the world, and more than half of global reserves are in dollars.
The largest trading partner of the United States is Canada (19%), followed by China (12%), Mexico (11%), and Japan (8%). More than 50% of total trade is with these four countries.
In 2003, the United States was ranked as the third most visited tourist destination in the world; its 40,400,000 visitors ranked behind France's 75,000,000 and Spain's 52,500,000.
Labor unions have existed since the 19th century, and grew large and powerful from the 1930s to the 1950s. See Labor history of the United States. Since 1970 they have shrunk in the private sector and now cover fewer than 8% of the workers. However union membership has grown rapidly in the public sector, especially among teachers, nurses, police, postal workers, and municipal clerks. There have been few strikes in recent years.
The United States' imports exceed exports by 80%, leading to an annual trade deficit of $700,000,000,000, or 6% of gross domestic product. It is the largest debtor nation in the world, with total gross foreign debt of over $13,000,000,000,000 (2005 estimate); and it absorbs more than 50% of global savings annually.
Since the 1980s, the U.S. has increased the use of neoliberal economic policies that reduce government intervention and reduce the size of the welfare state, backing away from the more interventionist Keynsian economic policies that had been in favor since the Great Depression. As a result, the United States provides fewer government-delivered social welfare services than most industrialized nations, choosing instead to keep its tax burden lower and relying more heavily on the free market and private charities.
Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have minimum wages higher than the national level ($5.15 per-hour), including the highest, Washington State at $7.35. Twenty-six states are the same as the federal level; two--Ohio and Kansas--are below; and six do not have state laws.
America's wealth is relatively highly concentrated. The average C.E.O. earns 500 times the typical amount a worker grosses, this is up from 25 times in the late 1970s. In terms of wealth the top 1% of Americans own 40% of all assets and 50.1% of the country's income goes to the top twenty percent of households. Average wages for the majority of employees have been largely stagnating since the 1970s.
America's poverty line defined as a family of four earning less than $19,157 is at 12.7% of the general population. Approximately one out of every five children in the United States grows up below the official poverty line. Among racial groups; African Americans have the lowest median income while Asians had the highest. Regionally, the southern states had the lowest median incomes while the West Coast and New England had the highest. The current Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan remarked that the U.S.’s growing income inequality since the 1970s is, "not the type of thing which a democratic society - a capitalist democratic society - can really accept without addressing."[http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0614/p01s03-usec.html?s=itm] However, Greenspan also noted, "...you can look at the system and say it's got a lot of problems to it, and sure it does. It always has. But you can't get around the fact that this is the most extraordinarily successful economy in history."
Transportation
Alan Greenspan ]]
Because the United States is a relatively young nation, most of the development of U.S. cities has taken place since the invention of the automobile. To link its vast territory, the United States built a network of high-capacity, high-speed highways, of which the most important element is the Interstate Highway system, commissioned in the 1950s by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and modeled after the German Autobahn. The United States also has a transcontinental rail system, which is used for moving freight across the lower forty-eight states. Passenger rail service is provided by Amtrak, which serves forty-six of the lower forty-eight states.
Many cities in the United States have extensive mass-transit systems. New York City operates one of the world's largest and most heavily used subway systems. The regional rail and bus networks that extend into Long Island, New Jersey, Upstate New York, and Connecticut are among the most heavily used in the world.
Air travel is often preferred for destinations over 300 miles (500 kilometers) away. In terms of passengers, seventeen of the world's thirty busiest airports in 2004 were in the U.S., including the world's busiest, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport; in terms of cargo, in the same year, twelve of the world's thirty busiest airports were in the U.S., including the world's busiest, Memphis International Airport. There are several major seaports in the United States; the three busiest are the Port of Los Angeles, California; the Port of Long Beach, California; and the Port of New York and New Jersey. Others include Houston, Texas; Charleston, South Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco, California; Boston, Massachusetts; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Seattle, Washington; plus, outside the contiguous forty-eight states, Anchorage, Alaska, and Honolulu, Hawaii.
Society
Demographics
Hawaii
The mean center of the U.S. population continues to drift farther west and south. The fastest growing region is the western United States followed by the southern portion. According to Census 2000, the states that saw the greatest increases from 1990 were: Nevada (66.3%), Arizona (40%), Colorado (30.6%), Utah (29.6%), Idaho (28.5%), Georgia (26.4%), Florida (23.5%), Texas (22.8%), North Carolina (21.4%), and Washington (21.1%). [http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t2/tab03.pdf]
Ethnicity and race
:Main article: Racial demographics of the United States
The United States is a very racially diverse country. According to the 2000 census, it has 31 ethnic groups with at least one million members each, and numerous others represented in smaller amounts.
The majority of Americans descend from white European immigrants who arrived at the establishment of the first colonies (most after Reconstruction). This majority--69.1% in 2000--decreases each year, and is expected to become a plurality within a few decades. The most frequently stated European ancestries are German (15.2%), Irish (10.8%), English (8.7%), Italian (5.6%) and Scandinavian (3.7%). Many immigrants also hail from Slavic countries such as Poland and Russia. Other significant immigrant populations came from eastern and southern Europe and French Canada.
Russia
Hispanics from Mexico and South and Central America are the largest minority group in the country, comprising 12.5% of the population (2000 census). People of Mexican descent made up 7.3% of the population in the 2000 census, and this proportion is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades.
About 12.3% (2000 census) of the American people are African Americans (Blacks). African Americans are spread throughout the country, but their presence is largest in the South.
Asian Americans--including Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders--are a third significant minority (3.7% of the population in 2000). Most Asian Americans are concentrated on the West Coast and Hawaii. The largest groups are immigrants or descendants of emigrants from the Philippines, China, India, Vietnam, South Korea, and Japan.
Indigenous peoples in the United States, such as American Indians and Inuit, make up 0.9% of the population (2000 census). About 35% live on Indian reservations.
Religion
Polls estimate that just under 80 percent of Americans are Christians of various denominations. The other 20 percent comprises other religions such as Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism, other various faiths, and those without a specific religion.
The United States is noteworthy among developed nations for its relatively high level of religiosity. According to a 2004 Gallup poll, about 44% of Americans attend a religious service at least once a week. However, this rate is not uniform across the country; attendance is more common in the Bible Belt—composed largely of Southern and Midwestern states—than in the Northeast and West Coast. In the Southern states, Baptists are the largest group, followed by Methodists; Roman Catholics are dominant in the Northeast and in large parts of the Midwest due to their being settled by descendants of Catholic immigrants from Europe (such as Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Poland) or other parts of North America (mainly Quebec and Puerto Rico). The rest of the country for the most part has a complex mixture of various Christian groups.
Education
West Coast's home at Monticello and the University of Virginia (library building shown above, and designed by Jefferson), the only collegiate campus on the list. Both sites are located in Charlottesville, Virginia.]]
In the United States, education is a state, not federal, responsibility, and the laws and standards vary considerably. However, the federal government, through the Department of Education, is involved with funding of some programs and exerts some influence through its ability to control funding. In most states, all students must attend mandatory schooling starting with kindergarten, which children normally enter at age 5, and following through 12th grade, which is normally completed at age 18
John FogertyJohn Fogerty (born 28 May, 1945 in Berkeley, California) is an American singer and songwriter, best known for his time with the southern rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival. Fogerty's family name is Irish, an Anglicized form of the Irish personal name Fógartach, from fógartha, meaning 'banished, outlawed' (Hanks & Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames [Oxford UP, 1988], p. 187).
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Irish John and his brother, Tom Fogerty, formed the band in El Cerrito, California in the late 1950s as Tommy Fogerty and the Blue Velvets. The name was changed to The Golliwogs in the mid 1960s, but the band remained unpopular.
By 1968, things were starting to pick up. The band released its first album, the self-titled Creedence Clearwater Revival, and also had their first hit single, "Susie Q." Other hit singles of Creedence Clearwater Revival were "Proud Mary," "Fortunate Son," "Up Around The Bend," "Green River," "Down On The Corner," "Travelin' Band," "Lookin' Out My Back Door," "Bad Moon Rising," and "Who'll Stop The Rain."
Tensions flared in 1971, causing John's brother, Tom, to leave the band. John demanded that Stu Cook and Doug Clifford write and sing one third each of the next album. They protested, saying it wouldn't be a CCR album, and that the fans would not understand. John replied, "my voice is a unque instrument and I will not lend it to your songs." He threatened to quit the band immediately if his ultimatum was not met. Mardi Gras; however, this turned out to be their last album. Fogerty bought himself out of his contract and officially left the band.
However, his influence was not forgotten with his departure. His guitar playing with CCR would later lead Rolling Stone to name him the 40th greatest guitarist of all time.
Solo recording career
John Fogerty began a solo career, originally under the name the Blue Ridge Rangers for his 1973 debut, on which he played all of the instruments and covered others' hits, such as "Jambalaya" (which was a Top 40 hit). John Fogerty was released in 1975 (see 1975 in music). Sales were slim and legal problems delayed a follow-up, though it yielded two minor hit singles, "Rockin' All Over The World", later covered much more successfully by Status Quo, and "Almost Saturday Night", later a minor UK hit for Dave Edmunds. Creedence Clearwater Revival's former management filed a suit against Fogerty, claiming that his new, solo compositions sounded too much like his former work as songwriter for Creedence.
Fogerty's solo career emerged in full force with 1985's Centerfield, which went to the top of the charts and included a Top Ten hit in "The Old Man Down The Road" and a title track frequently played on classic rock radio and at baseball games to this day. But that album was not without its legal snags either; two songs on the album, "Zanz Can't Dance" and "Mr. Greed", were believed to be attacks on Fogerty's former boss at Fantasy Records, Saul Zaentz. When Zaentz responded with a lawsuit, Fogerty issued a revised version of "Zanz Can't Dance" (changing the lead character's name to Vanz). Another lawsuit claimed that "The Old Man Down The Road" shared the same chorus as "Run Through The Jungle" (a song from Fogerty's days with Creedence). Fogerty ultimately won his case when he proved that the two songs were whole, separate and distinct compositions. Bringing his guitar to the witness stand, he played excerpts from both songs, demonstrating that many songwriters (himself included) have distinctive styles that can make different compositions sound similar to less discerning ears.
The follow-up was Eye of the Zombie in 1986, which was less successful. In 1993, his group Creedence Clearwater Revival was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but Fogerty refused to perform with his former bandmates, thus claiming his revenge against them for having sided with Fantasy Records in his disputes with the company. He retired until returning with 1997's Blue Moon Swamp. Blue Moon Swamp
He had a very successful tour in 1998 in the United States and Europe. He released a live album from that tour titled Premonition.
In 2004 John Fogerty released Deja Vu (All Over Again). Rolling Stone wrote: "The title track is Fogerty's indictment of the Iraq war as another Vietnam, a senseless squandering of American lives and power." On the album, Fogerty succinctly squeezed ten songs into only 34 minutes.
In October 2004 John Fogerty appeared on the "Vote for Change" tour, playing a series of concerts in American swing states. These concerts were organized by MoveOn.org with the general goal of mobilizing people to vote for John Kerry and against George W. Bush in that year's presidential campaign. Fogerty's numbers were played with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.
The sale of Fantasy Records to Concord Records in 2004 ended the 30+ year estrangement between Fogerty and his former label as the new owners took steps to restore royalty rights Fogerty gave up in order to be released from his contract with Fantasy in the mid 1970s. In September 2005, Fogerty returned to Fantasy Records. The first album released under the new Fantasy contract was The Long Road Home, a compilation CD combining his Creedence hits with solo material which was issued on November 1, 2005. A new studio album is planned for 2006 release.
See also
- Rolling Stone's List of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time
External links
- [http://www.johnfogerty.com/main.php John Fogerty's official web site]
- [http://www.oldielyrics.com/j/john_fogerty.html John Fogerty lyrics]
- [http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/1577/ Deja Vu (All Over Again) annotated]
- [http://www.creedence-online.net/ Creedence-Online]
- [http://ccr-tribute.sverige.net/hoodoo.htm Fogerty's Unreleased Album, Hoodoo]
Fogerty, John
Fogerty, John
Fogerty, John
Fogerty, John
Fogerty, John
Fogerty, John
Melissa Etheridge
Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961 in Leavenworth, Kansas) is an American rock musician.
Biography
Etheridge has produced eight albums since signing her first major recording contract in 1987. Three of them have gone multi-platinum: Melissa Etheridge (1988), Yes I Am (1993) and Your Little Secret (1996). Two others went platinum and another gold.
She has won the Grammy award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance twice in her career, for the song "Ain't It Heavy" in 1992 and "Come to My Window", in 1994.
She is a Bruce Springsteen fan, and she has covered his song "Thunder Road" during live shows.
Etheridge is also famous as a gay rights activist, having publicly come out as a lesbian during President Bill Clinton's first inauguration in January 1993. She had a long-term partnership with Julie Cypher, with whom she had two children via a sperm donor, David Crosby. However, in 2000, Cypher began to reconsider her sexuality, and on September 19, 2000, they announced they were separating. In 2001, Etheridge documented this and other experiences in her memoir The Truth Is... My Life in Love and Music. In it, she recounts that she was molested by her sister, Jennifer, over five years as a child, and mentions an alleged affair Cypher had with k.d. lang.
After splitting from Cypher she went on in 2003 to marry actress Tammy Lynn Michaels.
Though she is limited in acting experience, it has been announced that a sitcom is in production to star Etheridge as a lesbian living with her heterosexual male best friend (together raising a third person's child.) Critics have predicted that it will be "like Will & Grace except cancelled".
In October 2004 she was diagnosed with breast cancer, but is expected to make a full recovery. At the 2005 Grammy Awards, she made a return to the stage and, although bald from chemotherapy, performed in tribute to Janis Joplin with Joss Stone. Etheridge was praised for her performance, which was considered one of the highlights of the show.
In August 2005 she announced that she and Michaels are considering having a child together.
On September 10, 2005, Etheridge participated in ReAct Now: Music & Relief, a telethon in support for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, MTV, VH1, and CMT. ReAct Now: Music & Relief, part of an ongoing effort by MTV, VH1, CMT, will seek to raise funds for the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, America's Second Harvest. Etheridge introduced a new song specially written for the occasion called Four Days. The a cappella song included themes and images that were on the news during the aftermath of the hurricane.
In October 2005, she appeared on Dateline NBC with Michaels to discuss her struggle with cancer. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Etheridge's hair had grown back by the time of this appearance and was short and sandy-blonde. She said that her partner had been very supportive during her illness.
On November 15, 2005, she appeared on the Tonight Show to perform her song "I Run For Life", which references her illness and her determination to overcome it. After her performance, Jay Leno told her, "Thanks for being a fighter, kiddo."
Discography
- Melissa Etheridge (1988)
- Brave and Crazy (1989)
- Never Enough (1992)
- Yes I Am (1993)
- Your Little Secret (1995)
- Breakdown (1999)
- Skin (2001)
- Lucky (2004)
- Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled (2005)
Singles
References
- [http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/melissa_etheridge/bio.jhtml CMT.com: Melissa Etheridge: Biography]
See also
- Best selling music artists — World's top-selling music artists chart.
External links
- [http://www.melissaetheridge.com/ Official Web site - Melissa Etheridge Information Network]
- [http://www.lyricsdir.com/melissa-etheridge-lyrics.html Melissa Etheridge Lyrics]
- [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0305/24/pitn.00.html CNN interview (May 24, 2003)]
Etheridge, Melissa
Etheridge, Melissa
Etheridge, Melissa
Etheridge, Melissa
Etheridge, Melissa
Etheridge, Melissa
Etheridge, Melissa
Etheridge, Melissa
Etheridge, Melissa
Etheridge, Melissa
Etheridge, Melissa
Etheridge, Melissa
Alternative rock
The terms alternative rock and alternative music were coined in the early 1980s to describe punk rock-inspired music genres which didn't fit into the mainstream genres of the time. At times it was used as catch-all phrase for rock music from underground artists in the 1980s and rock music in general in the 1990s and 2000s. More specifically, it is made up mostly of genres that appeared in the 1980s and became popular or well known by the 1990s, such as indie rock, grunge, post-punk, gothic rock, and college rock. Most alternative bands were unified by their collective debt to punk, which laid the groundwork for underground and alternative music in the 1970s. Though the genre is considered to be rock, some of its genres were influenced by folk music, reggae, techno and jazz music among other genres.
Overview
In the late 1970s and early 1980s only CFNY, a commercial radio station in Toronto, Ontario, regularly broadcast alternative rock in North America. By 1982, a handful of college radio stations, like Danbury, Connecticut's WXCI, and WPRB in Princeton, NJ, broadcast alternative rock in the United States. Most commercial stations, CFNY being a notable exception, ignored the genre. It was played extensively in the UK, particularly by DJs such as John Peel (who championed alternative music on BBC Radio 1), Richard Skinner, and Annie Nightingale. American college DJs such as John Soloman of WPRB echoed the alternative wave as early as 1986 on his daily radio shows. As such, alternative rock became more popular in the mid-1980s, it spread widely to other college radio stations, leading to the use of the name "college rock" in the United States. In the UK, it became the predominantly popular form of rock for young people, and many alternative bands had chart success. Finally, in the late 1980s in North America, commercial stations such as Boston, Massachusetts's WFNX began playing alternative rock. By that time, CFNY's format was moving away from alternative as university radio stations took over the genre. Outside of North America, Triple J, a government-funded radio station in Australia, started broadcasting alternative rock from 1975 in Sydney. In 1990 it began broadcasting nationally, albeit with what some perceived as a "watered down" format.
Notable alternative bands of the early to mid 1980s include R.E.M., Sonic Youth, the Replacements, and Hüsker Dü from the United States, and New Order, The Smiths, The Cure, and The Jesus and Mary Chain from the United Kingdom.
Although these groups never generated spectacular album sales, they exerted a considerable influence on the generation of musicians who came of age in the 80s. Alternative music and the rebellious, DIY ethic it espoused became one of the inspirations for grunge, an alternative sub-genre created in the 80s that launched a large movement in mainstream music in the early 90s. Led by the popularity of Nirvana, the grunge movement took alternative rock into the mainstream. While "alternative" was simply an umbrella term for a diverse collection of underground rock bands, Nirvana and similar groups gave it a reputation for being a distinct style of guitar based rock which combined elements of punk and metal; their creation met with considerable commercial success.
By the mid-90s, alternative was synonymous with grunge in the eyes of the mass media and the general public, and a supposed "alternative culture" was being marketed to the mainstream in much the same way as the hippie counterculture had in the 1960s (the existence of any such culture is debatable, and is often seen by some fans of the music to have been a creation of the media). By this time, however, alternative bands who were leery of broad commercial success had developed indie rock, a new genre that espoused a return to the original ethos of alternative music.
In the first decade of the 21st century, mainstream rock has continued to evolve beyond alternative's 80s roots and low-fidelity ethos. Today's most popular rock music acts, typified by youth oriented modern rock groups such as Linkin Park, incorporate complex electronic beats and highly produced albums, but owe a heavy debt to their metal and grunge influences. In spite of being influenced by alternative rock, many fans of the genre do not see these bands as being alternative, but instead as part of the nu-metal genre.
Influences
- Punk rock
- Post punk
- New wave music
- Industrial music
- Hardcore punk
- Heavy metal
Styles
- Britpop
- Christian alternative music
- College rock
- Dream pop
- Gothic rock
- Grunge
- Indie rock
- Industrial rock
- Jam band
- Jangle pop
- Madchester
- Noise pop
- Paisley Underground
- Psychobilly
- Shoegazing
- Twee pop
See also
- List of alternative rock artists
- Timeline of alternative rock
- Music webzines
Footnotes
# The term "alternative music" is particularly favored over "alternative rock" in British English, while "alternative rock" is favored in American English. The term underground music is sometimes also used, though more often used in reference to the music of little-known artists.
External links
- [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE47B16DF49AD7320C59E3349DCA77AF129D342F382172E4B41D3A77F4B82006AE050F98488F2A326F878AEE02BBB580FD3CEA25EF6DE6E373D8DFEC61D&sql=77:4464 All Music Guide entry for alternative rock]
- [http://www.bandnews.org/genre/Rock/Alternative Alternative Rock News]
- [http://www.y100rocks.com Alternative Rock Internet Radio Station]
Category:Alternative music
Category:Rock music genres
Category:radio formats
ja:オルタナティブ・ミュージック
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins (formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988) were an influential American alternative rock band.
Less influenced by punk than many of their contemporaries, the Pumpkins had densely layered and guitar-heavy sound, containing elements of psychedelic rock, heavy metal, gothic rock, power pop, shoegazer-style production and, in later recordings, electronica. The emotional tone of bandleader Billy Corgan’s songs ranged from angry (“Bullet with Butterfly Wings”) to dour (“Disarm”) to jubilant (“Cherub Rock”).
Selling more than 12 million albums in the United States alone, the Smashing Pumpkins were one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands of the 1990s, but infighting, diminishing sales, and cultural vitality hampered the band in their later years, leading to a 2000 break-up. Recently, Corgan has announced a desire to reform the band.
Members
The Smashing Pumpkins were originally Billy Corgan (guitar and vocals), James Iha (guitar), D'arcy Wretzky (bass) and Jimmy Chamberlin (drums). However, Melissa auf der Maur replaced D'arcy in the final year (Dec. 1999 to Dec. 2000) of the band. The band also dealt with several replacement drummers through 1997 - 1998 including Matt Walker and Kenny Aronoff.
History
Early years: Foundation and Gish
At the age of 19, singer and guitarist Billy Corgan left his native Chicago, Illinois, moving to St. Petersburg, Florida with his goth band The Marked, so called because of the birth marks on his and his drummer's hands. The band had limited success and quickly dissolved. Corgan returned to Chicago, taking a job in a record store. There, he met guitarist James Iha. They began writing songs with the aid of a drum machine. In 1988, Corgan met bassist D'arcy Wretzky during an argument at another band's gig in Chicago; Wretzky would join the band shortly after. Wretzky and Iha would eventually have a short-lived personal relationship. They played their first gig as a trio at a Polish bar. Jazz drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was brought in to the band after Cabaret Metro owner Joe Shanahan agreed to book the Pumpkins to open for Jane's Addiction, provided they threw out the drum machine and recruited a human drummer instead.
In 1989, the group had recorded a handful of demo tapes, which appeared on the 1995 bootleg release Early 1989 Demos. They released their first record, a limited edition single called "I Am One" in 1990 on local Chicago label Limited Potential. The single sold out and they released another single, "Tristessa" on Sub Pop Records, after which they signed to Virgin Records. To give them indie credibility, Virgin matched the band with Sonic Youth producer Butch Vig and recorded their 1991 debut album Gish in his own studio, Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin. They released the album on Virgin subsidiary label Caroline Records. Although the album is often associated with silent film actress Lillian Gish, Corgan has alleged that the record was not named for her. The music fused heavy metal guitars, psychedelia and dream pop. The album became a minor success. During the Gish tour, Iha and Wretzky went through a messy breakup, Chamberlin became addicted to narcotics and alcohol and Corgan entered a deep depression, writing some songs for the upcoming album in the parking garage where he lived at the time. Gish was overshadowed by the monumental release of Nirvana's Nevermind.
Siamese Dream : Mainstream success
Gish release.]]
To counteract his depression, Corgan worked overtime, saying he practically lived in the studio for the 1993 follow up album, Siamese Dream. Contemporary music press portrayed Corgan as somewhat of a tyrant during the recording sessions, with rumors circulating that he had recorded all the guitar and bass parts himself, claims which band members say were greatly exaggerated. It was never confirmed exactly how much each member participated on the album, although Billy did say he performed a majority of the guitar work, but only because he wrote the songs. On songs such as Soma on Siamese Dream, Corgan looped up to 40 heavily distorted guitars, a technique that critics thought could not be reproduced live.
A bad case of writer's block came upon Corgan before recording and he feared he may not be able to finish an entire album's worth of songs. His writer's block is the subject of the song "Hummer".
The album was recorded at Triclops Sound Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, mostly between December 1992 and March 1993, with Butch Vig reprising his role as producer; the band lived in Marietta during the Siamese Dream recording sessions. The decision to record so far away from their hometown was motivated partially to keep away from local friends and distractions during the recording, but largely as a desperate attempt to cut Chamberlin off from his known drug connections. In this respect, the strategy failed miserably, as Chamberlin quickly managed to find new connections and often was absent without any contact for days at a time; he was once randomly discovered as far away as Athens, Georgia.
Corgan went on record saying if the record didn't sell well, the band would break up. Siamese Dream sold four million copies in the US, and the videos for the songs "Today" and "Disarm" garnered the Pumpkins international attention through heavy rotation on MTV. The album is generally considered to be the band's finest work.
In 1994, Virgin released a B-sides/rarities compilation Pisces Iscariot and a concert video Vieuphoria. A CD version of Vieuphoria, entitled Earphoria was released to radio stations only. In 2002, Vieuphoria (on DVD) and Earphoria were released to the public.
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
2002 double CD.]]
Following relentless touring to support the recordings, the band took time off to write the follow up album. Corgan worked non-stop over the next year and wrote, according to statements in interviews, about 56 songs for the next album. Following this spell of concentrated creativity, the Pumpkins went back into the studio with producers Flood and Alan Moulder to work on what Corgan described as "The Wall of the '90s," a comparison with Pink Floyd's famous double concept album.
The result was Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, a double-disc (triple on vinyl) album release featuring 28 songs and lasting over 2 hours. While the idea of an overriding concept was dropped somewhere along the way, (although many would argue the arrangement of the tracks on the album depicts the story of a disenchanted youngster going through the motions; hence, the argument made that it is a concept album) Mellon Collie became even more successful than Siamese Dream, selling over sixteen million copies worldwide. It also garnered seven 1996 Grammy Award nominations, including Album of the Year. Its hit songs included "Bullet with Butterfly Wings", "Tonight, Tonight," "1979" and "Zero." Many of the remaining songs that, for one reason or another, did not make it onto Mellon Collie were released as B-sides to the singles, eventually compiled in the now out of print The Aeroplane Flies High box set.
In May 1996, the Smashing Pumpkins played a gig in The Point Depot in Dublin, Ireland. The venue was over-crowded and despite the band's repeated requests for moshing to stop, a 17-year-old fan from Cork, Bernadette O'Brien, was crushed to death. The concert ended early and the following night's performance in Belfast was cancelled out of respect for her. Corgan later said that he considered quitting show business for good after the event.
The band's fortunes changed significantly on July 12, 1996, when touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin and Chamberlin overdosed on heroin in a hotel room in New York City. Melvoin died, and Chamberlin was arrested for drug possession. Chamberlin was subsequently fired from the band (though later rehired).
Though the band finished the tour with another drummer and keyboardist, their profile had taken a marked downturn. Billy Corgan became something of a hate figure amongst the hard rock press following a statement in which he declared rock to be dead. He stated that Mellon Collie would be the last Pumpkins record of that type, and that rock was, for himself at least, becoming stale due to a lack of experimentation.
Adore
New York City]
:Main article: Adore
Recorded following the death of Corgan's mother, 1998's Adore represented a significant change of style from the Pumpkins' previous guitar based rock, veering into electronica, trimming much of the guitar-driven sonic underpinnings and infused with a slightly darker aesthetic. The record was cut using drum machines and was distinctly experimental in the vein of post-punk bands such as Depeche Mode, New Order, and The Cure (all of whom Corgan enjoyed in his youth). Corgan also modified his public image, shedding his alternative hipster look for a dark Gothic persona. In a rare interview on a Tokyo radio station, Corgan stated that his favorite song on the album was "Blank Page". Although Adore received quite favorable reviews and was nominated for Best Alternative Performance at the Grammys, the album sold only 3 million copies. In hindsight, Billy realized that Adore suffered from Jimmy's absence whom he considered as his most important influence (and best friend) when it comes to shaping each song during rehearsals; not to mention Jimmy's incredibly complex and jazzy drumming that no drum machine could reproduce. All in all, Adore was too much of a muted effort for many fans; the lukewarm reception was one factor contributing to their now dwindling audience.
Machina
The return of a rehabilitated Jimmy Chamberlin for 2000's MACHINA/The Machines of God signaled a return to a more familiar Pumpkins sound, but failed to widely connect with fans. MACHINA also brought Corgan's desire to write a concept album to fruition.
The band's lineup changed again at this point. Bass player Wretzky departed after the recording of MACHINA/The Machines of God, and former Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur was recruited for the "Sacred and Profane" tour in support of the album.
MACHINA was initially promoted as the Pumpkins' return to form, after the more gothic, electronic-sounding Adore; however, on its release, many reviewers and fans took issue with the album's "Wall of Sound" production, finding that what was intended to have been a reappearance of the band's signature rock sound had been overprocessed — in particular, stripping away the warmth and nuance for which Iha's and Corgan's guitar work had become known. In addition, many longtime fans became disenchanted with the conceptual nature of the album, and with its mystical and spiritual themes which Corgan in particular had begun to promulgate.
Machina II & Breakup
On May 23, 2000 in a live radio interview on KROQ (Los Angeles), Billy Corgan announced the band's decision to break up at the end of that year following additional touring and recording. In a first for an established band, the group's final album, MACHINA II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music, was released in September 2000 in a limited pressing on vinyl with permission and instructions for free redistribution on the Internet by fans. Only 25 copies were cut, each of which was hand numbered and given to friends of the band along with band members themselves. The album contained 2 LP's and 3 EP's released under the Constantinople Records label, created by Corgan. This is the only Smashing Pumpkins album released that is not under the Virgin Records label.
On August 5, 2005 the estimated value of Machina II was discovered as the Q101 copy (#19) was put up for sale on eBay. The seller decided to end the auction four days early when the bidding had reached $10,000 from a bidder in France. This bidder has since disclosed that there was a mutual agreement after the auction was ended to cancel the sale transaction. It remains to be seen if this copy (or any other) will go up for sale again publicly in the near future, but clearly the whole incident shows that an original vinyl copy could easily fetch upwards of five-figure sums given the current market.
On December 2, 2000, the Smashing Pumpkins played their final concert at The Metro, the same Chicago club where their career had effectively started twelve years earlier. The Smashing Pumpkins' final commercial recording was a single, "Untitled" released to coincide with the final show. A DVD of the 4 hour concert (3 main sets and 4 encores in total) is rumored to be released in the future.
Post Breakup
2001 saw the release of a greatest hits compilation, Rotten Apples (Greatest Hits), which included various singles spanning their decade-long career. The now rare double disc version of the album, released as a limited edition, included a B-sides/rarities collection called Judas 0. A greatest hits DVD was also released around the same time. It compiled all of the Pumpkins promo videos from Gish to MACHINA, the rare promo for "I Am One", a 15 minute short film called "Try" as well as a TV performance of "Geek U.S.A.". It also features the performance of "Fuck You (An Ode To No One)" from their final gig at the Metro. (There is one notable omission, "The End Is the Beginning Is the End", used in the Batman and Robin soundtrack. This is excluded because the rights are owned by Warner Brothers, who loaned out the band from their regular label, Virgin Records.)
Corgan and Chamberlin would reunite in 2001 as members of Corgan's next project, the shortlived Zwan. Their only album, Mary Star of the Sea, was released to mixed reviews, and after cancelling a few festival appearances Corgan announced the demise of the band in 2003 under cloudy circumstances.
On February 17, 2004, Billy Corgan posted a bitter message on his personal blog calling Wretzky a "mean-spirited drug addict" and blaming Iha for the breakup of The Smashing Pumpkins. On June 3, 2004, he added that "the depth of my hurt [from Iha] is only matched with the depth of my gratitude". In October, 2004, Corgan released his first book, a book of poetry entitled Blinking with Fists. He has also released a solo album, entitled TheFutureEmbrace. At the same time, Jimmy Chamberlin pursued a hobby in car-racing in Florida. Currently, Jimmy Chamberlin is touring with his new band The Jimmy Chamberlin Complex whose first album, entitled Life Begins Again, features Billy Corgan singing a track entitled "Lokicat". James Iha has completed his work as a guitarist in A Perfect Circle and is currently appearing with other acts such as Chino Moreno's Team Sleep, and Vanessa and the O's. He continues to work with his own record label as well, Scratchie Records. D'arcy Wretzky has not made any statements or appearances since leaving the band in 1999.
Possible Reunion
On June 21 2005, the day of the release of Corgan's album TheFutureEmbrace, Billy took out a full-page advertisement in the Chicago Tribune newspaper to announce that he planned to reunite the band. "For a year now," Corgan wrote, "I have walked around with a secret, a secret I chose to keep. But now I want you to be among the first to know that I have made plans to renew and revive the Smashing Pumpkins. I want my band back, and my songs, and my dreams."
Corgan appeared on Chicago morning television to discuss the advertisement and his new album, but gave little elaboration to the actual newspaper advertisement.
No other information was given as to the lineup or possible releases from the group, and he did not say when he would try to reform the Pumpkins. He signed the message off with the Pumpkins traditional logo. Jimmy Chamberlin is the only member that has publicly confirmed interest in joining up with former Smashing Pumpkins band members. Within the first few days after the publication of his ad, Chamberlin gave a press interview where in he said he had not heard from D'arcy in years but still remained in e-mail contact with James Iha. D'arcy is currently living in Rockford, Michigan on her farm breeding horses. James is currently living in New York. He has been spotted near several delis and small clubs.
Discography
Studio Albums
| Year |
Title |
Label |
Other information |
US Chart Position |
US Sales |
UK Chart Position |
| 1991 |
Gish |
Caroline |
CD |
195 |
1,100,000 |
- |
| 1993 |
Siamese Dream |
Virgin |
CD, released on vinyl as two red EPs |
10 |
4,600,000 |
4 |
| 1994 |
Gish |
Virgin |
Rerelease, remaster, CD, LP |
- |
- |
- |
| 1995 |
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness |
Virgin |
double CD - triple LP, released on vinyl as six 5 track EPs with revisited tracklisting and two bonus tracks |
1 (1 week) |
4,700,000 |
4 |
| 1998 |
Adore |
Virgin |
CD |
2 |
1,100,000 |
5 |
| 2000 |
MACHINA/The Machines of God |
Virgin |
CD |
3 |
583,000 |
7 |
| 2000 |
MACHINA II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music |
Constantinople |
3 EPs of b-sides & 1 LP; only 25 made - the band encouraged free online distribution |
- |
- |
- |
Sales listed are as of May 2005.
EPs and B-sides
Live and compilations
Bootlegs
In addition to official releases, there are a | | |
