A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure that encompasses a star and captures a large percentage of its solar power output. The concept is a thought experiment that attempts to imagine how a spacefaring civilization would meet its energy requirements once those requirements exceed what can be generated from the home planet's resources alone. Because only a tiny fraction of a star's energy emissions reaches the surface of any orbiting planet, building structures encircling a star would enable a civilization to harvest far more energy.
Spacemen 3 were an English rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce, known respectively under their pseudonyms Sonic Boom and J Spaceman. Their music is known for its brand of "trance-like neo-psychedelia" consisting of heavily distorted guitar, synthesizers, and minimal chord or tempo changes.
Pedro the Lion is an American indie rock band from Seattle, Washington, United States. David Bazan formed the band in 1995 and represented its main creative force, backed by a varying rotation of collaborating musicians. In 2006 Pedro the Lion was dissolved as Bazan went solo; Bazan reformed the band and resumed performing under the Pedro the Lion moniker in late 2017. Releasing seven full-length albums and five EPs since 1997, the band is known for its first person narrative lyrics.
Secret Shine are a British indie band formed in the early 1990s, who were signed to Sarah Records. Their early releases with Sarah and A Turntable Friend followed a pop style, before the band went in a more shoegaze direction with the 1992 release Untouched, triggering comparisons with Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine.
Why Should The Fire Die? is the third major album release and fifth album overall by progressive acoustic trio Nickel Creek. The album was released on Sugar Hill on August 9, 2005, in the United States, and on August 8 in the United Kingdom. Why Should the Fire Die? is the first Nickel Creek album to feature string bassist Mark Schatz. It would be their last album before their hiatus between 2007 and 2014, after which they released their album A Dotted Line.
Living with the Past is a live album by Jethro Tull. The first half contains material from the Hammersmith Apollo performance on 25 November 2001 and features songs from different eras of Tull's history as well as some pieces from Ian Anderson's solo albums: "The Habanero Reel", "The Water Carrier" from The Secret Language of Birds and the instrumental "In the Grip of Stronger Stuff" from Divinities: Twelve Dances with God. Aside from "Cheerio", other recordings are collected in the second half.
Controlled by Hatred / Feel Like Shit… Déjà Vu is the fourth album by American crossover thrash band Suicidal Tendencies, released on October 17, 1989, by Epic Records. Despite containing re-recorded songs of previously released material, Controlled by Hatred / Feel Like Shit… Déjà Vu is still considered a studio album rather than an EP or a compilation album. It includes four covers of No Mercy, a cover of Los Cycos, two never-before released tracks and two different versions of "How Will I Laugh Tomorrow" : the "video edited" version and the "heavy emotion" version. Controlled by Hatred is the first of two Suicidal Tendencies albums to go gold.
The House of Love is the eponymous debut album by the British alternative rock band the House of Love. Released on 16 May 1988 by Creation Records, the album was a critical success. It appeared in many 1988 critics' lists in NME, Melody Maker and Sounds.
Velvet Crush is an American power pop band from Providence, Rhode Island, United States, that achieved prominence in indie-rock circles in the early- and mid-1990s. The band broke up in 1996 but re-formed in 1998 and have continued to record, releasing their most recent album in 2004. Vocalist/bassist Paul Chastain and drummer Ric Menck are the band's core members, having previously worked together as Choo Choo Train, Bag-O-Shells, and The Springfields, and they share singing and songwriting duties. Guitarist Jeffrey Underhill played on the band's first three albums, In the Presence of Greatness, Teenage Symphonies to God, and Heavy Changes. In the Presence of Greatness was produced by Matthew Sweet, while the second and third albums were produced by Mitch Easter.
Arise and Ruin was a Canadian metalcore band from Guelph, Ontario. Its members were Ryan Bauchman (vocals), Ben Alexis (bass), Derek Prince-Cox (drums), and guitarists Brent Munger, Sam Pattison, and Greg Richmond.
Amberian Dawn is a Finnish symphonic power metal band, formed in 2006 by Tuomas Seppälä and Tommi Kuri. As of 2023, Amberian Dawn has released nine studio albums, four singles and twelve music videos.
"Song to the Siren" is a song written by Tim Buckley and Larry Beckett, first released by Buckley on his 1970 album Starsailor. It was also later released on Morning Glory: The Tim Buckley Anthology, the album featuring a performance of the song taken from the final episode of The Monkees.
"Kiss and Make Up" is a song by Saint Etienne, released as a single in 1990. It is a cover version of "Let's Kiss and Make Up", a song by The Field Mice from their 1989 album, Snowball.
"The Race Is On" is a song written by Don Rollins and made a hit on the country music charts by George Jones and on the pop and easy listening charts by the unrelated Jack Jones. George's version was the first single released from his 1965 album of the same name. Released as a single in September 1964, it peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and at number 96 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1965. Jack's version topped Billboard's Easy Listening chart and reached number 15 on the Hot 100 the same year. The two recordings combined to reach number 12 on the Cashbox charts, which combined all covers of the same song in one listing and thus gave George Jones his only top-40 hit. The song uses thoroughbred horse racing as the metaphor for the singer's romantic relationships.
"Big River" is a song written and originally recorded by Johnny Cash. Released as a single by Sun Records in 1958, it went as high as #4 on the Billboard country music charts and stayed on the charts for 14 weeks. The song tells a story of the chase of a lost love along the course of Mississippi River from Saint Paul, Minnesota to New Orleans, Louisiana.
Big Bang are a British electronic music duo formed in 1988 by the founder of Trade nightclub, Laurence Malice, and writer Iain Williams. Based in London, the duo were signed to Swanyard Records and spearheaded the music genre known as big beat.
The Canadian alternative rock band Barenaked Ladies released five demo tapes before being signed to Reprise Records.
"Waiting Room" is a song by the American post-hardcore band Fugazi. The song was first released as the opening track to their debut EP, and was later compiled on their commercially successful 1989 compilation 13 Songs. Featuring stylistic influences from funk, hip-hop and reggae, the song typifies Fugazi's signature style of post-hardcore and would go on to become one of their most popular and widely covered songs despite never being released as a single.
Bruce Bouton is an American guitarist, session musician, producer, and songwriter. His pedal steel guitar has been featured on many country music recordings, and he helped reintroduce the pedal steel guitar to the forefront of the Nashville sound. Bouton is also a member of The G-Men, the group of session musicians who has played on the vast majority of Garth Brooks albums.
