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+A & B High Performance Firearms was a competition pistol manufacturer. Products included the "Limited Class" and "Open Class" semi-automatic pistols, both available in .40 S&W; and .45 ACP. A & B sold directly to consumers. ==References== ==External links== Category:Defunct firearms manufacturers Category:Defunct manufacturing companies based in California
+A & C Black is a British book publishing company, owned since 2002 by Bloomsbury Publishing. The company is noted for publishing Who's Who since 1849 and the Encyclopedia Britannica between 1827 and 1903. It offers a wide variety of books in fiction and nonfiction, and has published popular travel guides, novels, and science books. ==History== The firm was founded in 1807 by Charles and Adam Black in Edinburgh. In 1851, the company purchased the copyrights to Sir Walter Scott's Waverly novels for £27,000. The company moved to the Soho district of London in 1889. During the years 1827–1903 the firm published the seventh, eighth and ninth editions of the Encyclopædia Britannica. This was purchased from Archibald Constable after his company's failure to publish the seventh edition of the encyclopedia. Adam Black retired in 1870 due to his disapproval of his sons' extravagant plans for its ninth edition. This edition, however, would sell half a million sets and was released in 24 volumes from 1875 to 1889. Beginning in 1839, the firm published a series of travel guides known as Black's Guides. The company was the publisher of the annual Who's Who (since 1849) and also, since 2002, the Whitaker's Almanack. Other notable works include Black's Medical Dictionary and the Know The Game series of sports rules and laws reference books.Know The Game, archive.org. Retrieved 16 April 2017. The firm also published the A. & C. Black Colour Books: Twenty Shilling Series (1901–21),A. & C. Black Colour Books: Twenty Shilling Series, publishinghistory.com. Retrieved on 16 April 2017. a "range of high-quality colour collectable picture books"The History of A&C; Black Publishers, archive.org. Retrieved on 16 April 2017. which are still collected by bibliophiles.Cliff Tomaszewski, "A. & C. Black's 20/- Colour Books", Stella and Rose's Books. Retrieved 16 April 2017. In 1902 they published P. G. Wodehouse's first book, The Pothunters, and went on to produce many of his early works. In 1989 A & C Black purchased both Christopher Helm Publishers and later the Pica Press, publishers of the Helm Identification Guides, from Christopher Helm.FOB: Firms Out of Business, utexas.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2017. In 2000 A & C Black was purchased by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, which continued producing the former's range of reference works. In June 2002, T. & A. D. Poyser and their back-list of around 70 ornithology titles were acquired from Elsevier Science. A & C Black purchased Methuen Drama from Methuen Publishing in 2006, and acquired Arden Shakespeare from Cengage Learning in 2008. In 2016, A & C Black Music list moved to Collins Learning, a division of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. ==Notable books== thumb|World maps from A & C Black's 1854 General Atlas Of The World *Black's Medical Dictionary *Whitaker's Almanack *Who's Who *Wisden Cricketers' Almanack *Writers' & Artists' Yearbook ==Book series== * Artist's Sketch Book Series * Ballet Pocket Series (Newman Wolsey; then: A. & C. Black)Ballet Pocket Series (Newman Wolsey Ltd; then: A. & C. Black) - Book Series List, publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 31 January 2020. * Black's Guides * Black's Junior Reference Books * Black's Novel Librarybibliogroup:Black's Novel Library, Google Books. Retrieved 31 January 2020. * Black's Popular Series of Colour Books * Black's School History * Black's "Water-colour" series * Colour Books: The 7s. 6d. Net Series * Colour Books: The 6s. Net Series * Colour Books: The 10s. Net Series * Colour Books: The 20s. Net Series * Dancers of To-day * Ecclesiastical History of England (General Editor: J. C. Dickinson) * The Fascination of LondonSir Walter Besant and G. E. Mitton, The Fascination of London: Holburn and Bloomsbury, London: Adam & Charles Black, 1903 (The Fascination of London series), archive.org. Retrieved 31 January 2020. * Guild Text-books * How-and-Why Series * Know the Game * The Making of the NationsThe Making of the Nations (A. & C. Black) - Book Series List, publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 31 January 2020. * Peeps at Ancient Civilisations * Peeps at Great Cities * Peeps at Great Explorers * Peeps at Great Men * Peeps at Great Railways * Peeps at History * Peeps at Industries * Peeps at Many Lands * Peeps at Nature * Peeps at Nature for Little Children * Peeps for Little People * The Peeps Series (sometimes called: Miscellaneous Peeps series) * Social Life in England ==Imprints== * Adlard Coles Nautical * Arden Shakespeare * Andrew Brodie Publications * Featherstone * Methuen Drama * T. & A. D. Poyser * Reeds Almanac * John Wisden & Co ==References== ==Further reading== * Colin Inman, The A & C Black Colour Books: A Collector's Guide and Bibliography 1900-1930, London: Werner Shaw, 1990. ==External links== * A&C; Black - archive.org copy of the site as it was on 15 January 2010. * History of A&C; Black, acblack.com (archive.org copy). * Bloomsbury Publishing corporate structure * Bloomsbury Publishing corporate history * Whitaker's Almanack * A & C Black Colour Books: Twenty Shilling Series * Records of A. & C. Black Publishers Ltd, University of Reading * Recovering Publishing Histories: the Adam & Charles Black Letterbooks Category:Encyclopædia Britannica Category:Ornithological publishing companies Category:Publishing companies established in 1807 Category:1807 establishments in Scotland Category:1889 establishments in England Category:Companies based in Edinburgh Category:History of Edinburgh Category:Companies based in the City of Westminster Category:Book publishing companies of Scotland Category:2002 mergers and acquisitions
+A & F Harvey Brothers, first Spinning Cotton Mill, established by Scottish brothers Andrew Harvey and Frank Harvey, in the year 1880. ==Early history == A & F Harvey Brothers were born in the year 1850 and 1854, respectively, in a farmer family in Scotland. They traveled to India during 19th century and landed in Madras. They started the business of bailing cotton and established the first cotton press mill in Virudupatti, near Tuticorin. They started export business in cotton. In 1940's Andrew started a Hydro Electric project in Papanasam. Frank died in 1905 and Andrew died in the year 1915, and their memorial was inaugurated by Sir James Doak, the then Managing Director at Ambasamudram in 1949 ==List of mills== *1880 - A & F Harvey Cotton Press in Virudupatti *1885 - Tinnevelly Mills Ltd now called as Thirunelvelli *Coral Mills in Tuticorin, India *Madura Mills in Madurai ==References== Category:Cotton mills
+A & G Price Limited is an engineering firm and locomotive manufacturer in Thames, New Zealand founded in 1868. ==History== A & G Price was established in 1868 in Princes Street, Onehunga by Alfred Price and George Price, two brothers from Stroud, Gloucestershire. They built almost 100 flax-milling machines in their first year.Book Reviews Rails June 1983 page 22 The brothers also built machinery for gold miners. They moved to the Coromandel Gold Rushes in 1871 setting up premises in Beach Road, Thames and closing the Onehunga works in 1873 after building 10 coaches and 12 trucks there for the Public Works Department. The firm's ownership was transferred to a limited liability company in 1907. ===Ownership=== thumb|A & G Price, Thames, early 1900s A & G Price Limited remained under family management until November 1949 when it was bought by Wellington engineers, William Cable & Company. The two companies then exchanged board members but kept their separate identities. Cable bought Downer & Co in 1954 and in 1964 William Cable Holdings was renamed Cable, Price, Downer Limited. In 1974 the staff of A & G Price alone was in excess of 520 people. Its head office was in Fanshawe Street, Auckland. Beach Road Thames was described as a branch.The New Zealand Business Who's Who, 22nd Edition, FEP Productions, Wellington. undated ISSN 0077-9571 In 1988 corporate raider Brierley Investments obtained control of the group parent, Cable Price Downer, and broke the group back into its three separate businesses. A & G Price, Beach Road, Thames, was until liquidation part of the Tiri Group, based in Mount Wellington and controlled from Nelson by Tom Sturgess.History BloombergAbout Us - Tiri Group In July 2017, A & G Price was placed in administration with the loss of 100 jobs.New Zealand rail engineering firm closes after nearly 150 years The Railway Magazine issue 1398 September 2017 page 103 The business was bought from the administrator by Christopher Reeve in April 2018. Reeve had been unable to sell the land and buildings.A&G; Price foundry sold and to be restored. Teresa Ramsey, Stuff accessed 3 March 2019 The business now operates with a reduced workforce under Reeve's ownership. ==Products== A & G Price produced water turbines under the Pelton patent. Lester Allan Pelton invented and a highly efficient turbine patenting it in 1880. Initially, Pelton manufactured and sold the turbines to gold mine operators in the California goldfields, and later licensed the manufacturing to companies across the world. A small A & G Price turbine is on display at the Goldmine Experience in Thames, New Zealand. Abner Doble helped A & G Price develop a steam engine for buses at the Thames workshops.Thames News Auckland Star 25 February 1931 page 17 The first engine was trialled by the Auckland Transport Board in the early 1930s. A second bus was made in 1932 for White and Sons for the Auckland Thames route.Thames News Auckland Star 11 July 1932 page 5 In 2004 a precision-formed yacht keel division was set up to make the Maximus canting keel. ==A & G Price and railways== A & G Price was the largest private New Zealand railway locomotive manufacturer, both in terms of output and in terms of supply of rolling stock to the New Zealand Government Railways (NZGR or NZR) and other firms, mainly Bush tramways used for logging timber. Price manufactured 22 carriages and wagons in the early 1870s, and manufactured two locomotives in the 1880s for private industry, the first being a 0-4-0ST Saddle Tank type locomotive. The Thames Branch railway line opened in 1898, and Price won a tender to make locomotives for NZR in 1903 and 1906. Later in the 1950s and 1960s they manufactured a number of diesel shunting locomotives for the NZR, the TR class, and some for private users.New Diesel Shunting Locomotives Railway Gazette 25 January 1957 page 100 In the 1920s several petrol tanks were built for NZR and in 1964 for Mobil. 400 LC class wagons were built in 1960. In 1990 A & G Price regauged 24 of the 31 Silver Star carriages to metre gauge (1000 mm) for running in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand as the Eastern & Oriental Express.Silver Star Carriages Leave New Zealand New Zealand Railway Observer issue 208 Summer 1991 page 168 Six carriages from this train were stored at Price's Thames workshop in case any extra carriage conversions were required, with the remaining carriages shipped to South East Asia but not refurbished. These carriages were later sold by the Eastern & Oriental Express to private owners in New Zealand. ===Locomotive types built by A & G Price=== * 1885 0-4-0ST type (1), gauge, built originally for Waiorongomai Tramway, used 1886-1894 by Mander & Bradley at Pukekaroro, 1897-1908 by Messrs. Smyth Brothers' Tramway at Kennedy Bay, 1908 as PWD # 511 for railway construction Picton and Otira, and finally scrapped in 1917New Zealand Geared Locomotives. Locomotive Owners: A & G Price Ltd., Thames. * WF (15)Metamorphosis of the WF's New Zealand's first export of home-grown motive power Tasmanian Rail News issue 226 December 2004 pages 12-19 * A (50) thumb|Price 16-wheeler * 1912 16-wheeler 0-4-4-4-4-0T type (4), similar to the Johnston 16-wheeler * 1912 Price C 0-4-4-0T type (2), similar to the Climax A Type * 1912 Price D 0-4-4-0T type (1), a smaller lighter version of the Price C * AB (20) * BB (30) * WAB (8) * 1923 Price E 0-4-4-0T type (4), similar to the Climax B Type * 1924 Price Ca 0-4-4-0T type (1), a Price C but with Heisler style bogies *1924 0-4-0 petrol Fordson rail tractor, followed by similar TR type locos for NZR and PWD * 1925 Price Cb 0-4-4-0T type (4), an updated version of the Price C * 1926 Price Ar 0-4-4-0T type (1), a Meyer locomotive type * 1927 Price Cba 0-4-4-0T type (1), an improved development of the Ca and Cb types * 1937 Price E 0-4-4-0T type (1), an improved version of the previous E type * 1939 Price Rail Tractor (10), a small petrol-mechanical design * 1943 Price V 0-4-4-0T type (1), the last Heisler built in the world for Ogilvie & Co at Gladstone, near Greymouth. Moved from there in 1965. * 1951 Price Da 0-4-0 type (3), 2 ft gauge diesel mechanical design for Mines Department at Ohai coal mines *early 1950s 5 diesel and 7 battery-electric 3-ft gauge for Rimutaka Tunnel construction * Price Model 1 through Model 22, various diesel types, many of which were supplied to the NZR * 1971 Price Rail Tractor (1), last locomotive constructed, for yard use at A & G Price. It used a Fordson Major E1 as its base. ===Preserved locomotives=== thumb|200px|right|1951 built 2ft gauge Da type locomotive * A 423 - Glenbrook Vintage Railway * A 428 - Weka Pass Railway * AB 699 - Pleasant Point Railway * BB 144 - Mainline Steam * CB 108 - Tokomaru Steam Museum * CB 113 - Canterbury Railway Society * CB 117 - Bush Tramway Club * CBA 119 - Shantytown and Westland Heritage Park * E 111 - Bush Tramway Club * Price 149 - SteamRail Wanganui * Price 150 - Steam Scene * Price 151 - Goldfields Railway * Price 152 - Ormondville Rail Preservation Society * Price 166 and 168 - Blenheim Riverside Railway * Price 184 - Bay of Islands Vintage Railway, named Freddie * Price 185 - Ocean Beach Railway * Price 198 (now TR 119) - The Plains Railway * Price 199 - Main Trunk Rail Ohakune * Price 200 - Whangarei Steam & Model Railway Club * Price 212 - SteamRail Wanganui * Price 213 - Mainline Steam Heritage Trust * Price 218 - Putaruru Timber Museum. * Price 221 - Silver Stream Railway * Price 222 - KiwiRail * Price shunter - DoC Kaueranga Valley * Price Shunter - Bush Tramway Club * TR 38 - The Plains Railway * TR 103 (TR 344 TMS) - Morrinsville Kiwi Fertilizer (now on loan to the Rotorua Ngongotaha Railway Trust) * TR 107 (TR 396 TMS) - Shantytown * TR 108 (TR 407 TMS) - Waitara Railway Preservation Society * TR 111 (TR 442 TMS) - Taieri Gorge Railway * TR 113 (TR 465 TMS) - SteamRail Wanganui * TR 117 (TR 505 TMS) - Pahiatua Railcar Society * TR 118 (TR 511 TMS) - Waimea Plains Railway * TR 119 (formerly Price 198) - The Plains Railway * TR 160 (TR 632 TMS) - Pahiatua Railcar Society * TR 161 (TR 649 TMS) - Reefton Historic Trust Board * TR 163 (TR 661 TMS) - Bay of Islands Vintage Railway Named Timmy * TR 165 (TR 684 TMS) - Waitara Railway Preservation Society * TR 166 (TR 689 TMS) - Waitara Railway Preservation Society * TR 170 (TR 724 TMS) - Wairarapa Railway Restoration Society (Stored offsite) * TR 171 (TR 730 TMS) - Museum of Transport & Technology * V 148 - Canterbury Steam Preservation Society * WAB 800 -Glenbrook Vintage Railway * WF 392 - boiler preserved at Don River Railway, Tasmania * WF 393 - Canterbury Railway Society ==References== *Lloyd, W. G. Register of New Zealand Railways Steam Locomotives 1863-1971 (2nd edition 2002) *Vennell, C. W. Men of Metal: The story of A & G Price Ltd, Auckland and Thames 1868-1968 (1968, Wilson & Horton, Auckland) * ;Notes ==External links== *Company website *Jake McKee Cagney: A&G; Price 'a healthy business now' after being put into liquidation in 2017. 31 October 2018 * * Category:Locomotive manufacturers of New Zealand Category:Thames-Coromandel District Category:Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1868 Category:New Zealand companies established in 1868
+thumb|right|238px|A portion of the Karagheusian Rug Mill as it stood, long abandoned, in Freehold in 1990. The faded "Gulistan" name can be seen in the center. A. & M. Karagheusian, Inc. was a rug manufacturer headquartered at 295 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Manufacturing was located in Freehold Borough, New Jersey and operated for 60 years before closing in 1964. It employed 1,700 people at its peak operation in the 1930s. Bruce Springsteen wrote about the Karagheusian Rug Mill’s closing in his 1984 song "My Hometown". ==History== Arshag Karagheusian (1872-1963) and Miran Karagheusian (1874-1948), were Armenians and fled Turkey in 1896 to go to England and then to the United States. The family had been in the rug trade in Turkey since 1818, and they began in the United States in 1897 as rug importers, and then expanded into manufacturing in 1903. By 1927 they had 15 broadlooms, weighing 15 tons each, and 196 single looms. They developed, and were the only manufacturers of "Gulistan Rug" carpets. They made the carpet for Radio City Music Hall in 1932 and for the United States Supreme Court building in 1933. They stopped manufacturing oriental carpets in 1953. ==Miran Karagheusian== Miran Karagheusian (1874–1948) married Zabelle and had: Howard Karagheusian who died young, and a scholarship was set up in his name; and a daughter, Leila Karagheusian (c1910-1999). Miran Karagheusian died on October 7, 1948, at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, he lived in Oyster Bay, New York and he had attended Robert College in Turkey. ==Arshag Karagheusian== Arshag Karagheusian (1872–1963) had the following children: Jean Karagheusian Hallaure (1898–2000) aka Alice Hallaure; Charles Karagheusian (1903–1977) who married Artemis Tavshanjian (1904–1990) on April 30, 1927, and Marguerite Karagheusian Agathon (husband Oshin Agathon) (1904–1986). Arshag served as the head of the Armenian General Benevolent Union from 1943 to 1952. Arshag died on September 24, 1963, in Larchmont, New York. ==Renovation== In 2001, the mill reopened as a 202-unit affordable apartment complex, named The Continental at Freehold. The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and its affiliated New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) were major financiers of the project. Community Affairs Commissioner Jane M. Kenny said: "Nearly forty years after the looms were packed up and hauled away, the rug mill is a working building once again." ==Archive== The Monmouth County Historical Association at 70 Court Street in Freehold Borough, New Jersey, houses a collection of manuscripts, newsletters, newspaper clippings, photographs, negatives and other materials related to the A & M Karagheusian Rug Mill, which was located in Freehold, New Jersey. ==Roselle Park factory== The company had a factory in Roselle Park, New Jersey, from May 19, 1923 to 1962. ==References== ==External links== *Monmouth County Historical Association: Coll. 51 A & M Karagheusian, Inc. Records, 1914-2001 *NJ Department of Community Affairs: Karagheusian Rug Mill *About Gulistan: Current manufacturer website Category:1904 establishments in the United States Category:Armenian- American culture in New York City Category:Armenian-American history Category:Carpet manufacturing companies Category:Freehold Borough, New Jersey Category:Persian rugs and carpets Category:Turkic rugs and carpets Category:Textile companies of the United States
+The A & P Food Stores Building in St. Louis, Missouri, is historically significant in part because it is rare in Saint Louis as a small commercial building having an Art Deco building design. Most others were either residential or larger commercial buildings. It also serves as an example of the work of Saum Architects, a not-well-known architectural firm of Saint Louis in the early 1900s. And it is also significant as having been one of the first supermarkets in St. Louis that was developed to serve automobile-owning customers, providing parking and convenient "one-stop shopping". including photos There were as many as 84 A & P stores in the city, 20 being supermarkets and the others being cash and carry stores; this building is one of the last surviving of these, and it was among those which kept operating up until A & P entirely left the city in 1979��1980. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. ==See also== * The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, food store chain ==References== Category:Art Deco architecture in Missouri Category:Buildings and structures in St. Louis Category:Commercial buildings completed in 1940 Category:Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Category:The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company Category:National Register of Historic Places in St. Louis Category:Grocery store buildings
+A & R Recording Inc. was a major American independent studio recording company founded in 1958 by Jack Arnold and Phil Ramone. == History == Before founding A & R Recording in 1958, Arnold and Ramone had been working at JAC Recording, Inc.; Arnold had been a partner at JAC. The "A" and "R" initials were derived from their surnames. But also, Arnold and Ramone relished the idea that their initials and company name matched the industry acronym for "artist and repertoire," an important avocation in the recording industry. Jack Arnold ended his association with A & R Recording shortly after co-founding it, due to health issues. ===Original A & R studio – 112 West 48th Street=== The original studio was in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on the fourth floor of Mogull's Film & TV building at 112 West 48th Street. The studio was named "Studio A1." Manny's—a music instrument retailer—was one-half of the first three floors; Mogull's Film & TV was the other half. Jim and Andy's Bar, an important hangout for studio musicians was next door at 116 West 48th Street. Ramone installed an intercom from the studio to Jim & Andy's to call for musicians if someone did not show-up. In the first studio, Ramone gained a reputation as a good sound engineer and music producer, in particular for his use of innovative technology. According to David Simons, author, the original studio at 112 West 48th St., which was started on a shoestring budget, remains Ramone's greatest legacy. The studio was designed for the purpose of doing demos. According to Ramone, the room, by , had an incredibly unique sound. He attributed much of it to the height of and before long clients were requesting to do their final tapes there and in no uncertain terms letting it be known that this was no mere demo studio. In a short period of time, Ramone felt the need to upgrade the equipment. ===Second studio, Studios A-1 and A-2 – 799 7th Avenue=== In October 1967, A & R purchased Columbia's Studio A on the seventh floor at 799 7th Avenue at 52nd Street and leased the space, which consisted of about Columbia had owned the studio since 1939. The building was demolished in 1983 to make way for Equitable Center West at 787 7th Avenue, currently the BNP Paribas Building. Toronto-born Donald C. Hahn (né Donald Clarence Hahn; 1939–2020), who had been with A & R since 1961, was – effective October 1, 1969 – promoted from Senior Engineer to Vice President of A & R Recording, in charge of supervising the 799 7th Avenue facilities. : Capacities, as published in 1974: : Studio A-1: 40 × 50 feet; height 30 feet – – accommodated 90 people : Studio A-2: 25 × 30 feet; height 12 feet – – accommodated 20 people === Third studio, Studios R-1 and R-2 – 322 West 48th Street === A & R added a third studio in the Leeds Music Corporation building at 322 West 48th Street. A & R became part owner of the building, a 6-story building, and designed recording studios on the first and second floors, named R1 and R2, respectively. The "R" stood for "Ramone." A & R also occupied the basement. 322 West 48th Street is currently the home of American Federation of Musicians Local 802, the New York City musicians' union and the Jazz Foundation of America. : Capacities, as published in 1974: : Studio R-1: 38 × 28 feet; height 13-3/4 feet – – accommodated 26 people : Studio R-2: 20 × 25 feet; height 13 feet – – accommodated 12 people === Launch of A & R Records === In February 1970, A & R Recording launched A & R Records, a company that produced albums of artists that included Paul Simon, Billy Joel, George Barnes (musician) and Bucky Pizzarelli. === Satellite studios === In 1970, A & R Recording formalized two partnerships to build two satellite studios, one with Brooks Arthur (né Arnold Brodsky; born 1936) in Blauvelt, New York, and one with Norman (Norm) Fuller Vincent (1930–2014) in Jacksonville, Florida. ==== 914 Sound Studios==== The partnership with Arthur was named "914 SRS" and was located at 34 NY Route 303 in Blauvelt. "SRS stood for "Sound Recording Studios." The legal structure of the partnership was in the form of a New York corporation operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of A & R Recording Inc. The entity name was "914 Sound Recording Studios, Inc." The studio, a converted gas station, opened October 1970. Arthur owned one-half; Ramone, Don Frey, and Arthur Downs Ward (1922–2002) owned the other half. They sold it in 1978 and the corporation—914 Sound Recording Studios, Inc.—dissolved in 1982. ====Vincent SRS ==== The partnership with Norman Vincent, et al. was named "Vincent SRS" and was located in Jacksonville, Florida, and opened November 1970. Vincent was the operator. ===Closing=== A & R Recording closed in 1989. == Selected artists == Artists produced by Ramone include * Clay Aiken * Burt Bacharach * The Band * Bono * Laura Branigan * Ray Charles * Karen Carpenter * Chicago * Peter Cincotti * Natalie Cole * Chick Corea * Bob Dylan * Sheena Easton * Melissa Errico * Gloria Estefan * Aretha Franklin * Billy Joel * Elton John * Quincy Jones * Patricia Kaas * B.B. King * Julian Lennon * Shelby Lynne * Madonna * Barry Manilow * Richard Marx * Paul McCartney * George Michael * Liza Minnelli * Anne Murray * Olivia Newton-John * Sinéad O'Connor * Fito Páez * Luciano Pavarotti * Peter, Paul, and Mary * June Pointer * André Previn * Diane Schuur * Michael Sembello * Carly Simon * Paul Simon * Frank Sinatra * Rod Stewart * James Taylor * The Guess Who * Frankie Valli * Dionne Warwick * Stevie Wonder * Nikki Yanofsky == Neighborhood == In a 10-block area of midtown Manhattan during the disco era, there was Media Recording, Hit Factory, Sony, and A&R; Recording had two buildings. And last but certainly not least, Record Plant Recording studios @ 321 W. 44th Street, with four studios, duplication room, two mobile recording trucks, and the master cutting room, and the Record Plant Shop. # A & R Recording Inc. 112 West 48th Street Opened by Jack Arnold and Phil Ramone 1959. Corner of 6th Avenue, next door to Jim & Andy's Bar (116 West 48th Street) and Manny's Music (156 West 48th Street), both famous musicians hangouts. Used regularly by Tom Dowd for Atlantic sessions and producer Creed Taylor for Verve. Van Morrison recorded "Brown Eyed Girl" there. # A & R Studio 2 (formerly Columbia Studio A) 799 7th Avenue Opened by Jack Arnold and Phil Ramone early 1968 # Associated Sound (now Quad Recording Studios) 723 7th Avenue Near corner of West 48th Street, a few doors down from Dick Charles. The Angels' "My Boyfriend's Back," the Raindrops' "What A Guy" and The McCoys' "Hang On Sloopy" were cut there # Bell Sound (later The Hit Factory) 237 West 54th Street Founded June 1950 by Allen Weintraub and Daniel Cronin (1929–1968), both classmates from Brooklyn Technical High School; studio was located at 135 West 54 beginning June 1959; Burt Bacharach's favorite studio. Bought by Jerry Ragovoy 1968 and reopened as The Hit Factory; sold 1975 to partner Eddie Germano (né Edward F. Germano; 1941–2003); now run by Troy George Germano (born 1962), his son # Capitol Studios, Studio A (Capitol Records, Inc.) (the studio operated under Capitol from 1949 to 1961) 151 West 46th Street First floor (one floor up) in the 14-story Eaves Building (built in 1928). The Eaves Costume Company – founded by Albert Grammer Eaves (1847–1900) in 1863 ( years ago), and still in existence – occupied the ground floor. # Century Sound 135 West 52nd Street One flight up. Former radio studio. Opened by Brooks Arthur in 1967 # Columbia 30th Street 207 East 30th Street Converted Armenian church. Opened 1949, closed mid-1982, torn-down, now an apartment building # Columbia Studio A (later A & R Studio R2) 799 7th Avenue Opened in the 1930s. Columbia's main facility prior to East 30th Street. Sold to A & R late 1967 # Columbia Studio B 49 East 52nd Street Former site of CBS Radio Network building, near Madison Avenue. Opened late 1967 # Dick Charles 729 7th Avenue Small demo studio, near corner of West 48th Street, a few doors up from Associated. Many of S'pop's favored songwriters recorded demos there # Mira Sound 145-155 West 47th Street On the ground floor of the Hotel America, now a Euro-style hotel. Recorded there: "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" by The Shangri-Las and "Society's Child" by Janis Ian # The Power Station (now Avatar Studios) 441 West 53rd Street Near 10th Avenue. Founded 1977 by Tony Bongiovi. Previously home to ConEdison (hence Power Station) # RCA 155 East 24th Street Near Lexington Avenue # RCA Webster Hall 125 11th Street In the East Village. Built late 1800s. Converted by RCA early 1950s. Now a nightclub # The Record Plant (later Streetlight) 321 West 44th Street Once home to Warner Brothers Pictures; opened by Gary Kellgren and Chris Stone in 1968 # Stea-Philips 7th Avenue Corner 51st Street, close to Columbia Studio A and 1650 Broadway. Owner: Lenny Stea (né Leonard J. Stea; born 1928). The Four Seasons cut "Sherry" there # Talentmasters Recording Studio 126 West 42nd Street Owners: Bob Gallo and Robert (Bob) Harvey. Later bought out by Atlantic The Who recorded there # World United 1595 Broadway Owner: Harry Lookofsky, aka Hash Brown, father of Michael Brown of The Left Banke, who recorded "Walk Away Renée" there # JAC Recording, Inc. 152 West 58th Street Owner: Charles Leighton This is where Phil Ramone got his start # Allegro Sound Studios 1650 Broadway Owner (original): Kama Sutra Records This was actually on the 51st Street side of the 1650 Broadway building, located in the basement, around the corner from the famous jazz club Birdland. Originally a demo studio for Kama Sutra, it was then purchased by Laurie Records, who gave it an extensive upgrade under chief engineer Bruce Staple. After several changes in ownership, it became known as Generation Sound Studios in the 1970s. Many of the Tommy James hits were recorded there, including I Think We're Alone Now and Crimson And Clover. After the departure of Bruce Staple, Tony May of A&R; became chief engineer. == Personnel == In 1972, management of A & R included Robert Gerics (general manager & studio manager), Nick Diminno (studio manager), and Irving Joel (chief engineer). The studio was located at 322 West 48th Street. Management and shareholders Recording Inc. * * * * * Records (subsidiary) * * * Engineers * Brooks Arthur, engineer * Roy Cicala, engineer * Ami Hadani * David Greene, engineer, producer * Roy Halley, engineer * Tom Hidley * * Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer * Tony May, engineer * * * * * Fred Weinberg, engineer, producer * * Shelly Yakus, engineer Studio managers * Nick Diminno, studio manager * Robert Gerics, general manager & studio manager * Mitch Plotkin, studio manager == Bibliography == === Annotations === ===Notes=== ===References=== * Note: Addey is a prolific recording studio audio engineer known for is work with The Beatles at Abbey Road Studios. * * * * * * * * * * * * ; . * * ; (pdf copy). * ; ; . * * * ; . * * * * ; ; . * ; ; . 1. 2. 3. * * ; , ; . * ; ; (Classic ed.); (Delux ed.); . * . Category:1958 establishments in New York City Category:1958 in New York City Category:1989 disestablishments in New York (state) Category:1989 in New York City Category:1980s in Manhattan Category:American companies established in 1958 Category:American companies disestablished in 1989 Category:Companies based in Manhattan Category:Defunct companies based in New York City Category:Entertainment companies based in New York City Category:New York (state) record labels Category:Record labels established in 1958 Category:Record labels disestablished in 1989 Category:Recording studios in Manhattan Category:Rhythm and blues record labels Category:Rock record labels Category:Pop record labels
+A is a 1965 short film animated by Jan Lenica. ==Summary== It involves a writer tormented by a giant letter "A". He frees himself from the "A" only to encounter a "B".MUBI ==Background== It began production in late 1965 and premiered at the Oberhausen Film Festival in February 1965. The film was considered lost until it was found as a part of a 1973 episode of Screening Room Screening Room: Jan Lenica (1973)|Documentary Educational ResourcesSaid episode of Screening Room on IMDb and uploaded to YouTube in 2016. ==References== ==External links== * * Category:1965 films Category:West German films Category:German animated short films Category:1960s French-language films Category:1965 animated films Category:1960s animated short films Category:1965 short films Category:1960s rediscovered films Category:Rediscovered German films Category:1960s German films Category:Rediscovered animated films
+A is a 1998 Japanese documentary film about the Aum Shinrikyo cult following the arrest of its leaders for instigating the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995. The film focuses on a young spokesman for the cult Hiroshi Araki, a troubled 28-year-old who had severed all family ties and rejected all forms of materialism before joining the sect. Director Tatsuya Mori was allowed exclusive access to Aum's offices for over a year as news media were continually kept out. However, despite the documentary's unique perspective on Aum's internal workings, it was not financially successful. Mori released the sequel A2 in 2001, which followed the dissolution of the cult in the absence of their leader, Shoko Asahara. ==Cast== *Hiroshi Araki - Himself ==References== ==External links== * *"A" review at Midnight Eye Category:1998 films Category:Japanese documentary films Category:1998 documentary films Category:Aum Shinrikyo Category:Documentary films about terrorism Category:1990s Japanese films
+A is an 1998 Indian Kannada-language romantic psychological thriller film written and directed by Upendra. It stars Upendra and Chandini in the lead roles.Article about the plot of A, and an interview with Chandni, the heroine. Rediff.com (11 December 1999). Retrieved on 2015-08-18. The film revolves around a love story between a film director and an actress which is narrated through multiple flashbacks within flashbacks and reverse screenplay. It also explores about the dark truths like casting couch in the film industry. The soundtrack and background score were handled by Gurukiran in his debut film.Kannada composer Gurukiran wants to do more reality shows. The Hindu. 12 January 2008 The opening sequence of the movie where a misanthropic man who is exhilarated by the sense of power he receives by carrying a revolver while walking on the streets was reported to be based on Jean-Paul Sartre's short story Erostratus found in his 1939 collection of short stories The Wall. A was released on 23 January 1998 and received praise for Upendra and Chandini's performances, soundtrack, cinematography and reverse screenplay, which made the audience to watch it multiple times in order to understand the story. The film collected more than 20 crore at the box office and gained a cult following.A sequel to A – Kannada Movie News. Indiaglitz.com (19 July 2010). Retrieved on 2015-08-18. The film was dubbed into Telugu under the same title and was released in Andhra Pradesh. It was remade in Tamil as Adavadi.Adavadi – Review. Entertainment.oneindia.in. Retrieved on 18 August 2015. Upendra won the Udaya Film Award for Best Male Actor (1998) and Gurukiran won the Udaya Film Award for Best Music Director (1998). ==Plot== Marina, a foreigner, wants to distribute the unreleased controversial film A written and directed by Soorya. However, the CBFC permits only 20 random minutes to be screened, and the climax is censored to such an extent that it no longer made any sense. She suggests its producers to re-shoot the film. However, Soorya is not able to participate in the film's shoot as he became a drunkard after actress Chandini, who debuted with his film, rejected his love. Soorya's family is unable to meet their ends after he stops directing films. Lost in her thoughts, he wanders near her house every night drunk, only to be expelled by her henchmen. Unable to bear Soorya's torture, Chandini asks him to jump from a building to prove his love. Soorya jumps without hesitation. While he survived the fall, he is badly wounded and admitted to the hospital by Marina and the team. One of Soorya's former assistant directors explains Soorya's past to Marina. Soorya was a successful director who had no feelings, especially for a woman's love. After his current female lead fails to act properly, he cast Chandini after a chain of events. Initially, Soorya rejects Chandini's love, but after frequent run-ins and days of pursuit, Soorya falls in love with her madly. Soorya later meets a rich and busy Chandini, who lives in a big bungalow and as the mistress of a wealthy married businessman. Chandini defends herself, saying that Soorya's views on the materialistic world influenced her to prioritize money over everything else after her father's death. He tries to explain to her that she is wrong, but is expelled. Due to this, Soorya gave up everything and became an alcoholic, wandering near her house every day, hoping that she would accept him. Soorya escapes from the hospital and is confronted by Marina, to whom Soorya explains his love for Chandini. He then saves a novice actress named Archana from a group of henchmen who are revealed to be Chandini. Archana reveals Chandini was used as bait by the politicians to trap Soorya and stop his A from release. In turn, Chandini exploited the weakness of those politicians by way of the casting couch. She proves this to Soorya, who, along with his father and Archana, are arrested on charges of prostitution. The police were bribed by Chandini, who abducts Archana while Soorya and his father are arrested. Soorya and his father are released on bail by Marina, and his family's plight makes Soorya swear revenge. He restarts the shoot of A and turns out to be a superstar due to the films' success starring him. The climax shoot is pending, and Soorya wants to shoot it realistically, which is the death of Chandini in a burning house. The camera rolls and Soorya kidnaps Chandini from her hen house where women are prostituted to influential politicians and people in business, where she kills the businessman she was engaged to. He brings her to the location and sets it on fire after rolling the camera. She knocks him out, who falls unconscious after hitting a rock. Archana, Marina, and the producers come to the spot to save him. Archana shows him the film footage that was shot after revealing that Chandini is a good woman who wanted to bring Soorya back to normal by acting as a ruthless criminal who is destroying many actresses' lives like Archana. The footage shows a naked Chandini dying and revealing the truth. Chandini says that the businessman was a friend of few corrupt politicians who wanted to have sex with her. They killed her father and sexually assaulted her and her minor sister. The businessman blackmails Chandini with a tape that captured the brutal assault. As per their directions, she had to cheat Soorya. However, Chandini brings Soorya back to normal with the help of Archana and gives A a perfect ending. Soorya tries to save her by entering the house, but she dies, asking him to live long and make films that expose the demons that haunt society. ==Cast== ==Production== Upendra and three others B. G. Manjunath, B. Jagannath, and B. V. Ramakrishna, founded the film production company Uppi Entertainers in October 1996, with the equal partnership. After Kannada film distributors refused to purchase the distribution rights following the producers themselves not being confident of the film doing well, it was purchased by a newcomer by the name Yash Raj. This was Upendra's debut film as a lead actor. ==Release== The film was given an U (Universal) certification from CBFC. ===Box-office response=== A was made at 1.25 crore and collected more than 20 crore at the box office. The film ran for 25 weeks in Karnataka and its Telugu version ran for 100 days in Andhra Pradesh. ===Critical reception=== It was described by a reviewer as "loud and disjointed, like the ramblings of a delirious mind, but made a lot of sense".Kumar, S. Shiva (11 November 2005) Uppi's hardly uppity, The Hindu Its design received some praise.Bhushan Geechi to direct. Entertainment.oneindia.in. Retrieved on 18 August 2015. The dialogues provoked controversy, due to their misogynistic and philosological nature. They also contained autobiographical elements.Subramanya, K.V. (24 July 2006) Triggering off a controversy once again, The Hindu ===Influences=== In an interview given to the Times of India on 24 May 2020, Malayalam director Lijo Jose Pellissery who is famous for nonlinear storylines and aestheticization of violence picked this movie as one of the five Indian movies which have managed to influence him at different levels. ==Soundtrack== Gurukiran composed the music for the film and the soundtracks which marked his debut. The album has five soundtracks. The daughter-in-law of Kannada poet G.P. Rajarathnam alleged that a song by the late poet, "Helkollakondooru thalemyagondhsooru," for which she held the copyright, had been used by Upendra in the film without her consent. Deva, the music director of the Tamil version, retained two songs from this movie - "Idhu One Day" was retained as "Idhu One Day" and "Sum Sumne" was retained as "En Anbea". ==Awards== * Udaya Film Award for Best Male Actor – Upendra * Udaya Film Award for Best Music Director – Gurukiran * Karnataka State Film Award for Best Sound Recording – Murali Rayasam * Karnataka State Film Award for Best Editor – T. Shashikumar ==References== ==External links== * Category:Films set in Bangalore Category:1998 films Category:1990s Kannada- language films Category:1990s psychological thriller films Category:Films about filmmaking Category:Films scored by Gurukiran Category:Kannada films remade in other languages Category:Indian nonlinear narrative films Category:Films directed by Upendra Category:Indian psychological thriller films
+{{Album ratings | MC = 62/100 | rev1 = Aftonbladet | rev1score = Aftonbladet review | rev2 = AllMusic | rev2score = [ AllMusic review] | rev3 = The Daily Telegraph | rev3score = link | rev4 = Evening Chronicle | rev4score = Evening Chronicle review | rev5 = Expressen | rev5score = Expressen | rev6 = The Independent | rev6score = The Independent review | rev7 = The Press | rev7score = The Press review | rev8 = Rolling Stone Germany | rev8score = link | rev9 = Svenska Dagbladet | rev9score = Svenska Dagbladet | rev10 = The Times | rev10score = The Times review }} A is the fifth English-language studio album by Swedish singer Agnetha Fältskog, a member of the group ABBA. It is her twelfth studio album overall. A is Fältskog's first album since 2004's My Colouring Book, an album of cover versions of her favourite songs from the 1960s, and the first original material she had recorded since I Stand Alone in 1987. It also includes her first self-penned track in nearly 30 years, "I Keep Them on the Floor Beside My Bed" . ==Album information== As Fältskog was not an active recording artist at the time, the album happened in a roundabout way. "The project came about through a good friend of mine", she explained. "She called me up and told me that Jörgen Elofsson and Peter Nordahl wanted to play me some music. They came to my house and played me three songs and I thought, 'Oh my God, I have to do this'. It felt like a challenge." Ten tracks were recorded for the album at Atlantis Studio (sv), Stockholm, all of which were written or co-written by Elofsson. Speaking with author Paul Stenning, Elofsson explained, "Agnetha is not just any artist, she is an icon with a rich heritage. We really felt the pressure of making something great, we didn't want to destroy anything for ABBA or Agnetha given the reputation they've built over the years. I'm really happy to say I think we pulled it off!" ===Song information=== The lead single from the album was "When You Really Loved Someone", which was released worldwide on 11 March 2013 as a digital download, with a CD single following on 15 April. A video clip for the song was filmed in late 2012, with Max Fowler and Camilla Rowling co-starring with Fältskog. In Germany and Austria the lead single was "The One Who Loves You Now", also released on 11 March 2013. The track "I Should've Followed You Home" is a duet recorded with Gary Barlow of the British group Take That. Both artists recorded their vocal parts separately, as Fältskog was on holiday at the time of Barlow's recording session. Nevertheless, Fältskog stated, "I think our voices work so well together." The song had its radio premiere on 21 April on a Dutch radio station.Home | Schiffers.fm | AVRO "I Was a Flower" is a string-attached piano ballad, produced and performed in a theatrical way. On 22 April, the song was made available for download only through Amazon. "I Keep Them on the Floor Beside My Bed" is the first track Fältskog has written herself that has been released since "I Won't Let You Go"—the lead single from her 1985 album Eyes of a Woman—and its B-side "You're There". Fältskog commented, "Jorgen kept saying 'You have to write a song for this record'. I hadn't written any music for a long, long time. But I sat at the piano and suddenly it was there. A friend of mine said a lovely thing: 'It's in your spine. Even if you feel tired, when it's time, it will be there'." Other tracks on the album include the contemplative "Bubble", the disco "Dance Your Pain Away", the pop "Back on Your Radio", and the piano-led "Past Forever". ==Promotion== ===Personal appearances=== Fältskog appeared on stage at G-A-Y in London on 4 May 2013 to promote the album. Although she did not perform, 10 fans had the chance to meet her backstage after the appearance. On 1 August 2013 she appeared on stage at Stockholm Gay Pride, where she was presented with her Gold record award for sales of the album in Sweden. In the same week of the announcement of her album release, Fältskog was a guest on the Norwegian-Swedish television talk show Skavlan. The show was filmed on 14 March 2013 and aired the next day.Skavlan.com - The SKAVLAN Talk show The Seven Network in Australia aired a special edition of the programme Sunday Night at 6:30pm on 5 May 2013 focusing on Fältskog and including new interview material shot in Sweden in late April. A television commercial for the album was shown as well. Due to popular demand, the programme showed other unaired portions of the interview on 12 May 2013. Fältskog filmed a documentary for the BBC in mid-April, titled Agnetha: Abba and After, which aired in the UK on 11 June.Agnetha has been filming an exclusive documentary for the BBC. - Agnetha Fältskog | Agnetha Fältskog Afterwards the album returned to the UK Top 40, w/e June 16, 2013, to its peak position of 6, and to a new high of number 9 on the UK Album Download Chart. This special was also aired on the Nine Network in Australia in prime time on 2 July 2013, sending the album back up to number 5 in Australia. Whilst in London in late April and early May, Fältskog was interviewed by Patricia Schäfer for the German television station ZDF. On 2 May, the interview was broadcast on several TV programs, most prominently the society report Leute Heute.Leute heute - ZDF.de ===Press and print media=== The May edition of UK gay publication Attitude magazine featured an extensive new interview with Fältskog. The German gay publication Exit also featured an interview in April. In the UK and Ireland The Big Issue featured Fältskog on the cover of their June edition along with an interview about her life. ===Internet and social media=== In order to promote the album and its singles, several social media web profiles for Fältskog were created, including pages on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. ==Reception== BBC News called A a "tasteful and sumptuous" mid-tempo album; the disco song "Dance Your Pain Away" was noted as the only exception to the general tempo, its bassline reminiscent of ABBA's "Voulez-Vous". In a review of the album, The Times gave the album four out of five stars, calling A "a triumphant return to form by a woman presumed lost to music forever". Helen Brown awarded the album three out of five stars in a review in The Daily Telegraph, dubbing the album "as beautifully boring as ever".Helen Brown: Agnetha Fältskog, A, album review . The Telegraph, 2013-5-10 Other publications, such as the German newspaper Die Zeit, highlighted Fältskog's voice, saying it sounds young and fresh and "like a young Agnetha would sound today". The album received Gold certifications two months after its release in Australia (35,000 copies), the United Kingdom (100,000 copies), Germany (100,000 copies) and Sweden (20,000 copies). ==Track listing== Notes * Commentary for each track by Fältskog and producer Jörgen Elofsson was made available with the release of A on Spotify. ==Personnel== Credits adapted from the liner notes of A. * Agnetha Fältskog – lead vocals, backing vocals * Gary Barlow – vocals * Gustaf Berg – engineering assistance * Michael Dahlvid – engineering assistance * Andy Earl – photography * Jörgen Elofsson – backing vocals, production, recording, recording engineering, vocal arrangements, vocal conducting * Janne Hansson – recording engineering * Micke Herrström – recording engineering * Jesper Jacobson – guitar, keyboards * Janet Leon – backing vocals * Per Lindvall – drums * Max Lorentz – organ * Bob Ludwig – mastering * Myrra Malmberg – backing vocals * Lasse Nilsson – recording engineering * Peter Nordahl – orchestra arrangements, orchestra conducting, piano, production * Gunnar Nordén – bass, guitar * Jeanette Ohlsson – backing vocals * Jeanette Olsson – guitar * Simon Petrén – keyboards, programming * Matt Read – art direction * Niklas Sundén – accordion * Jess Sutcliffe – mixing * Fredrik Thomander – backing vocals, guitar keyboards, programming * Mattias Torell – guitar * Linda Ulvaeus – backing vocals * Pär Westerlund – keyboards, programming ==Charts== ===Weekly charts=== 2013 weekly chart performance for A Chart (2013) Peak position 2018 weekly chart performance for A Chart (2018) Peak position ===Year-end charts=== Year-end chart performance for A Chart (2013) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 67 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 156 Danish Albums (Hitlisten) 92 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 90 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 12 UK Albums (OCC) 98 ==Certifications== ==Release history== Release history for A Region Date Label Australia 10 May 2013 Universal Germany France 13 May 2013 Sweden United Kingdom Polydor United States 14 May 2013 Verve Poland Universal Italy 21 May 2013 ==References== Category:2013 albums Category:Agnetha Fältskog albums Category:Polydor Records albums Category:Verve Records albums
+A (stylized as 15px) is an extended play (EP) by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released by Avex Trax in Japan and Hong Kong on August 11, 1999, in 10 different editions, and through Avex Entertainment Inc. worldwide in September 2008. It additionally served as a single from her second studio album Loveppears (1999), and is her first single marketed as an EP. The 12-track EP contains four new original songs: "Monochrome", "Too Late", "Trauma", and "End Roll", and eight remixes. All songs were written by Hamasaki, while production was handled by long-time collaborator Max Matsuura. Musically, like Loveppears, A is a pop rock album with dance music influences. Lyrically, the new songs are written from a third-person perspective, and deal with themes such as nostalgia, anxiety, and trauma. Upon release, A received favorable reviews from music critics for its individual tracks—some of which were highlighted as examples of Hamasaki's best work—and as a collection, with additional praise for the production quality of the EP versions of the original songs over that of their parent album counterparts. Some criticism was directed towards the number of remixes present on the EP. Commercially, the single peaked at number one in Japan, on the Oricon Singles Chart and TBS' Count Down TV chart. It became Hamasaki's second consecutive single to sell over one million copies domestically—it is also the singer's highest-selling single—and was certified Million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for shipments of one million units. Hamasaki did not film any music videos for the new songs, but appeared in several commercials broadcast in Japan that featured the new music. Each original song has subsequently been included on various greatest hits albums released by Hamasaki, including A Best (2001) and A Complete: All Singles (2008). ==Content and composition== A was Hamasaki's first extended play release, and was her first EP to be marketed as a single in Japan. The EP consists of four recordings: "Monochrome", "Too Late", "Trauma", and "End Roll", all written by Hamasaki herself and produced by Japanese musician and her long-time collaborator Max Matsuura. The three songs apart from "Monochrome" were composed by Japanese musician Dai Nagao, who used the alias D.A.I., whilst the latter track was composed by Japanese band HΛL. The tracks were arranged by Naoto Suzuki and Nagao, and eventually mixed by American engineer Dave Ford; the edited versions that appeared on Hamasaki's second studio album Loveppears (1999) were re-vised and mixed by Dave Way. Naoto played the keyboards and synthesizers in all four original tracks, whilst Jun Kajiwara, Naoki Hayashibe, both Hidetoshi Suzuki and Naoki Hayashibe, and Hayashibe played the electric guitar in "Trauma", "End Roll", "Too Late", and "Monochrome" respectively. Musically, A was described by staff members at AllMusic as a pop rock release. However, like a majority of the sounds throughout the parent album, the original tracks are also inspired by dance music. A staff member from Japanese magazine CD Journal commented that both "Trauma" and "Too Late" were dance tunes, whilst "Monochrome" was set at a medium tempo. Lyrically, the song was written in third person perspective, a trait that is shared with the rest of the album's tracks. The review at CD Journal noted that each track included different emotions and themes; Hamasaki talked about her anxiety in "Too Late", nostalgia in "Monochrome", and "transforming" trauma into positivity in "Trauma". ==Release== A was released by Avex Trax in Japan and Hong Kong on August 11, 1999, in 10 different editions, and through Avex Entertainment Inc. worldwide in September 2008. The EP included the four original recordings, plus four remixes, two bonus remix tracks through first press issues of the single, and an instrumental version for the original songs. To market each original track in Japan, Avex distributed four different editions of the single by changing the compact disc colors, these being blue, green, orange, and red.Each of the single's limited edition releases are noted below on the liner notes; * * * * For each color, the original recordings included on the track list is shifted down one and each variation were limited to 70,000 units. After the single sold over one million units in Japan, Avex Trax distributed a limited gold edition disc that was noted by the company through the liner notes as just a sticker. This edition was limited to 100,000 copies in Japan. However, after the first gold version sold over its limit, Avex published a second gold disc titled the Shining Gold CD to 150,000 copies in Japan. The disc was made of real gold, and the artwork of Hamasaki was tinted gold. Two promotional 12" vinyls were distributed in Japan by Rhythm Republic on October 16, 1999; the first vinyl featured a remix for both "Too Late" and "Monochrome", whilst the second vinyl included a remix for each original recording. The artwork was photographed by Toru Kumazawa, and features Hamasaki in a black dress in front of a black backdrop, holding onto a long piece of white string. The logo on the artwork was the first establishment of Hamasaki's logo/emblem, a staple she has used ever since. Although the original recordings were promoted together with the EP, each of them were distributed in Japan and worldwide as individual singles. "Monochrome" was remixed by American DJ Keith Litman, and released in North America in early 2001, whilst English electronic music group The Orb remixed the track and released it in the United Kingdom by Badorb.com on July 21, 2001; the latter release was limited to 486 vinyls. American duo Thunderpuss remixed the track "Trauma" and released it in North America through the offices of Avex USA in early 2001. "Too Late" was remixed by Soul Solution and was released in North America through Avex USA in mid-2001. ==Critical response== Upon its release, A received favorable reviews from music critics. In a review for Loveppears at CD Journal, a staff member selected "Trauma", "Too Late", "Monochrome", and another album track titled "And Then" as the best songs. In general, the review commended Hamasaki's songwriting and her vocal delivery. However, a separate review for the A at the same publication was mixed. The review complimented the original four recordings, but criticized the amount of remixes and felt the extra editions were not "convincing" for Hamasaki's fan base. In retrospect, AllMusic's Alexey Eremenko, whom contributed to writing Hamasaki's biography on the website, selected "End Roll", "Monochrome", and "Trauma" as an examples of her best work. In 2015, Japanese website Goo.ne.jp hosted a 24-hour only poll for audiences in Japan to vote for their favorite single released by Hamasaki. As a result, A ranked at number 12, with a rating of 32.1 average percent. ==Commercial performance== Commercially, the single was a success in Japan. It debuted at number one on the Oricon Singles Chart, selling 508,940 units in its first week of sales. A is the 78th single with the highest first week sales, a record that still holds as of July 2016. It stayed at number one of three non-consecutive weeks, and lasted 18 weeks on the top 200, one of Hamasaki's longest spanning singles on that chart. Likewise, it debuted at number one on the Count Down TV chart hosted by Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS). It stayed atop of the charts for two weeks, and lasted 17 weeks in the top 100. By the end of 1999, it had sold over 1,630,540 units in Japan and ranked at number three on Oricon's Annual 1999 chart. It resulted as the highest selling EP–single by any artist at the time, and was the highest selling single by a female artist. Similarly, it ranked at number six on TBS' Annual Chart, the third highest selling single by a female artist (behind two entries by Japanese recording artist Hikaru Utada), alongside being the highest selling EP–single. In July 2000, the single was certified Million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for shipments of one million units; this was her second consecutive single to sell over one million units, the first being the previous single from Loveppears "Boys & Girls". As of July 2016, it is Hamasaki's highest selling physical single of her entire career on Oricon Style's data base, and is the 57th best selling single in Japan of all time; it is the ninth highest selling single by a female artist. ==Promotion and live performances== No music videos were shot for the tracks on A, her first major release to not feature any visuals. However, in Japan, Hamasaki appeared in commercial endorsement videos that promoted each original track from A. "Trauma" and "Monochrome" were used as the official theme songs for two commercials of JT Peach Water drinks, whilst "Too Late" was the theme song for Honda Giorno Crea, and Hal's remix of "End Roll" was featured in commercial for Morinaga. The videos for each commercial appeared on several DVD compilations released by Hamasaki: A Clips (2000), a self-titled DVD, A Complete Box Set (2004), and the digital release of A Clips Complete (2014). "Trauma" and "End Roll" were included on her greatest hits compilation album A Best (2001), whilst "Monochrome" was added onto A Complete: All Singles (2008), To promote the EP, each original recording were performed on Hamasaki's first part and second part of her 2000 concert tour in Japan. ==Track listing== *Original CD single # "Monochrome" – 4:29 # "Too Late" – 4:20 # "Trauma" – 4:18 # "End Roll" – 4:49 # "Monochrome" (Keith Litman's Big City Vocal Mix) – 9:35 # "Too Late" (Razor 'N Guido Remix) – 8:12 # "Trauma" (Heavy Shuffle Mix) – 6:10 # "End Roll" (Hal's Mix) – 4:16 # "Monochrome" (Instrumental) – 4:29 # "Too Late" (Instrumental) – 4:20 # "Trauma" (Instrumental) – 4:18 # "End Roll" (Instrumental) – 4:49 # "End Roll" (Neuro- mantic Mix) [Bonus track] – 5:08 # "Monochrome" (Dub's full Color Remix) [Bonus track] – 6:43 *12" vinyl (titled A NYC) # "Monochrome" (Keith Litman's Big City Vocal Mix) – 9:35 # "Too Late" (Razor 'N Guido Remix) – 8:12 *Digital download # "Monochrome" – 4:29 # "Too Late" – 4:20 # "Trauma" – 4:18 # "End Roll" – 4:49 # "Monochrome" (Keith Litman's Big City Vocal Mix) – 9:35 # "Too Late" (Razor 'N Guido Remix) – 8:12 # "Trauma" (Heavy Shuffle Mix) – 6:10 # "End Roll" (Hal's Mix) – 4:16 # "Monochrome" (Instrumental) – 4:29 # "Too Late" (Instrumental) – 4:20 # "Trauma" (Instrumental) – 4:18 # "End Roll" (Instrumental) – 4:49 # "End Roll" (Neuro-mantic Mix) [Bonus track] – 5:08 # "Monochrome" (Dub's full Color Remix) [Bonus track] – 6:43 *12" vinyl (titled A TYO) # "Monochrome" (Keith Litman's Big City Vocal Mix) – 9:35 # "Too Late" (Razor 'N Guido Remix) – 8:12 # "Trauma" (Heavy Shuffle Mix) – 6:10 # "End Roll" (Hal's Mix) – 4:16 ==Personnel== Credits adapted from the CD liner notes of A; ;Recording *Recorded at Prime Sound Studio, Studio Sound Dali, Onkio Haus, Tokyo, Japan in 1999. ;Credits *Ayumi Hamasaki – vocals, songwriting, background vocals *Max Matsuura – production *Dai Nagao – composing, programming, mastering *HΛL – composing, synthesizers, keyboards *Naoto Suzuki – sound producing *Jun Kajiwara – electric guitar *Naoki Hayashibe – electric guitar *Hidetoshi Suzuki – electric guitar *Dave Ford – mixing *Dave Way – mixing ==Charts== ===Weekly charts=== Chart (1999) Peak position Japan Weekly Chart (Oricon) 1 Japan Weekly Count Down TV Chart (TBS) 1 ===Yearly chart=== Chart (1999) Peak position Japan (Oricon) 3 Japan Count Down TV (TBS) 6 ==Certifications and sales== ==Release history== Region Date Format Label Japan August 11, 1999 CD single + colored editions Hong Kong CD single Avex Trax Japan October 16, 2000 12" vinyl (titled NYC) Rhythm Republic 12" vinyl (titled TYO) Digital download September 2008 Avex Entertainment Inc. Australia New Zealand United Kingdom Ireland Germany Spain France Italy Taiwan ==See also== *List of Oricon number- one singles of 1999 *Ayumi Hamasaki discography ==Notes== ==References== ==External links== *A at Ayumi Hamasaki's official website. *A at Oricon. Category:Ayumi Hamasaki EPs Category:1999 EPs Category:Oricon Weekly number- one singles
+A is the debut studio album by Cass McCombs. It was released on May 20, 2003, via Monitor Records. ==Track listing== ==Personnel== *Cass McCombs (Composer, Primary Artist) *Chris Cohen (Guitar) *Anthony Lukens (Organ) *Matt Popieluch (Electric Piano) *Jason Quever (Drums, Engineering) *Luke Top (Bass) *Brian DeRan (Cover Art) *Dutch Germ (Artwork) *Trevor Shimizu (Artwork) *JJ Golding (Mastering) ==References== ==External links== *Cass McCombs (official site) Category:2003 debut albums Category:Cass McCombs albums
+А (А а; italics: А а) is a letter of the Cyrillic script. It commonly represents an open central unrounded vowel , halfway between the pronunciation of in "cat" and "father". The Cyrillic letter А is romanized using the Latin letter A. ==History== The Cyrillic letter А was derived directly from the Greek letter Alpha (). In the Early Cyrillic alphabet its name was (azǔ), meaning "I". In the Cyrillic numeral system, the Cyrillic letter А has a value of 1. ==Form== Throughout history, the Cyrillic letter А has had various shapes, but today is standardised on one that looks exactly like the Latin letter A, including the italic and lower case forms. ==Usage== In most languages that use the Cyrillic alphabet – such as Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Russian, Rusyn, Serbian, Macedonian and Montenegrin – the Cyrillic letter А represents the open central unrounded vowel . In Ingush and Chechen the Cyrillic letter А represents both the open back unrounded vowel and the mid-central vowel . In Tuvan the letter can be written as a double vowel. ==Related letters and other similar characters== *A a : Latin letter A *Á á : Latin letter Á *Α α : Greek letter Alpha *Ă ă : Latin letter A with Breve *Â â : Latin letter A with Circumflex *Ā ā : Latin letter A with Macron *Æ æ : Latin letter Æ ==Computing codes== ==See also== *Cyrillic characters in Unicode ==References== ==External links== * * Category:Vowel letters
+A [For 100 Cars] is a minimalist composition by Ryoji Ikeda. It was written in 2017 and performed on 15 October as part of a Red Bull Music Academy festival held in Los Angeles. The piece is written for an "orchestra" of 100 cars, which produce sound using sine wave synthesisers. Each synthesiser is tuned to a different pitch that has been associated with the note A throughout history. The synthesisers were created by Tatsuya Takahashi and Masimillian Rest. == Composition == Ryoji Ikeda is a Japanese audiovisual artist and composer. He composed A [For 100 Cars] for part of a Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) festival held in Los Angeles. The idea behind A [For 100 Cars] springs from Ikeda's curiosity with the various frequencies associated to the note A. Throughout history, A been associated with many different frequencies, before being standardised to 440 Hz in 1975 by the International Organization for Standardization. The use of cars in the composition was conceptualised six months prior to its performance, during a conversation between Ikeda and the co-founder of the RBMA, Torsten Schmidt. While talking about cars, they considered making an "automobile orchestra". They decided to use synthesisers to create the sounds emitted by the cars. The synthesisers used for the performance at the festival were designed by Tatsuya Takahashi, the synthesiser designer who formerly worked as chief engineer at Korg. The project was the first design Takahashi had made since leaving Korg. Takahashi partnered with Masimillian Rest of E-RM, a Berlin-based musical instrument maker, to create the synthesisers over a period of around three months. Ikeda views the composition as a collaboration between himself and the car drivers. When asked by LA Weekly, he was reluctant to take credit for the piece, saying: == Music == thumb|A [For 100 Cars] is scored for a group of 100 cars. A [For 100 Cars] is performed by a group of 100 cars. This arrangement was called "the world's largest synth orchestra" by Mixmag and Vice. A full performance of the piece lasts for around 27–28 minutes. Each car has a synthesiser connected to its sound system which constantly outputs a sine wave drone at a frequency that has been associated with the note A at some point in history, from 1361 to 1936. The frequencies range from 376.3 – 506.9 Hz. Some frequencies chosen by Ikeda include: * 376.3 Hz – A used by the organ of l'Hospice Comtesse (dated ) in Lille * 419.6 Hz – A used by the organ of Seville Cathedral * 422.7 Hz – A used by the tuning fork of John Broadwood and Sons, London (17th century) * 427 Hz – A used by the Paris Grand Opera (1811) * 430 Hz – A used by the tuning fork of Henry Lemoine (1810) * 457.2 Hz – A used by the tuning fork of Steinway and Sons (1879) == Performance == thumb|The premiere of A [For 100 Cars] took place opposite the Walt Disney Concert Hall.As the piece is loud (reaching almost 160dB), a safety test was completed in Cologne before the performance in Los Angeles. To make sure that it was a safe experience for the driver, Ikeda personally took part in the test. In the performance, all drivers were given a pair of headphones. The performance of A [For 100 Cars] took place on 15 October 2017 at a multi- storey car park at 131 South Olive Street, Los Angeles. This location is opposite the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The 100 cars used for the performance were lined up in rows on top of the car park. The performance began at dusk at 6:17pm in front of an audience of around 1000 people. At the start of the performance, the drivers started their engines and created a grumbling sound by revving them: a sound some likened to an orchestra tuning. The performers were from Los Angeles and were chosen by Ikeda for their car's modified stereos; no performer was a professional musician. The car's designs were varied and included sedans, SUVs and Los Angeles' signature lowriders. Each performer was given a score to read which dictated when to play the synthesiser, as well as the volume and octave (from A1 to A8). To better emit the sounds created by Takahashi's synthesisers, some drivers opted to open their car's doors. The performers included some notable residents of the area such as the photographer Estevan Oriol, who was driving his Chevrolet Impala SS. == Reception == A [For 100 Cars] received a mixed reception from reporters and audiences. It was widely seen as unusual: Selim Bulut of Dazed commented that the sound produced was an "unusual but calming ambient tone". Writing in Vice, Emily Manning agreed, saying that "the A notes sounded a bit like what you might expect to hear when UFOs land, but more peaceful, almost like a field of humming June bugs". In the Los Angeles Times, Randall Roberts wrote that the performance "felt like a feat not only of bringing imagination to life, but of organization and community". Jon Caramanica wrote in The New York Times that A [For 100 Cars] "turned negative space in the center of downtown Los Angeles into a sublime womb [and] felt like a meditation". Mixmag put the performance on their list of the best performances from the festival, and praised the "depth of thinking and originality behind the piece [which] made it a breathtaking experience for those in attendance". Other listeners were not as impressed. In Autoweek, Mark Vaughn wrote that "most of it sounded, frankly, kind of bland" but conceded that "it was kind of cool to experience". == References == === Sources === * == External links == * YouTube video explaining the project Category:2017 compositions Category:Minimalistic compositions Category:Music of Los Angeles
+A is a vowel of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, A is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter 13px|ng after having gone through the Gupta letter 13px. Bare consonants without a modifying vowel sign have the "A" vowel inherently, and thus there is no modifier sign for "A" in Indic scripts. ==Āryabhaṭa numeration== Aryabhata used Devanagari letters for numbers, very similar to the Greek numerals, even after the invention of Indian numerals. The letter अ was not used in the Aryabhata number system, and consonants with the inherent "a" vowel retained their base value. ==Historic A== There are three different general early historic scripts - Brahmi and its variants, Kharoṣṭhī, and Tocharian, the so-called slanting Brahmi. A as found in standard Brahmi, 13px|A was a simple geometric shape, with variations toward more flowing forms by the Gupta 13px|A. Like all Brahmic scripts, the Tocharian A 18px|A is the inherent vowel for all consonant characters, apart from the alternate Fremdzeichen forms, which have the inherent vowel "Ä". In Kharoṣṭhī, the only independent vowel letter is for the inherent A, with all other independent vowels built from vowel marks added to A. ===Brahmi A=== The Brahmi letter 13px|A, A, is probably derived from the Aramaic Alef 13px, and is thus related to the modern Latin A and Greek Alpha. Several identifiable styles of writing the Brahmi A can be found, most associated with a specific set of inscriptions from an artifact or diverse records from an historic period.Evolutionary chart, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Vol 7, 1838 As the earliest and most geometric style of Brahmi, the letters found on the Edicts of Ashoka and other records from around that time are normally the reference form for Brahmi letters, with vowel marks not attested until later forms of Brahmi back-formed to match the geometric writing style. Brahmi A historic forms Ashoka (3rd-1st c. BCE) Girnar (~150 BCE) Kushana (~150-250 CE) Gujarat (~250 CE) Gupta (~350 CE) 37px 37px 37px 37px 37px ===Tocharian A=== The Tocharian letter 25px|A is derived from the Brahmi 13px|A. A is the inherent vowel of all non- Fremdzeichen consonants in Tocharian Ka Kha Ga Gha Ca Cha Ja Jha Nya Ṭa Ṭha Ḍa Ḍha Ṇa 37px 37px 37px 37px 37px 37px 37px 37px 37px 37px 37px 37px 37px 37px Ta Tha Da Dha Na Pa Pha Ba Bha Ma Ya Ra La Va 37px 37px 37px 37px 37px 37px 37px 37px 37px 37px 37px 37px 37px 37px Śa Ṣa Sa Ha 37px 37px 37px 37px ===Kharoṣṭhī A=== The Kharoṣṭhī letter A is the only independent vowel in Kharosthi. It is derived from the Aramaic Alef 13px, and is thus related to A and Alpha, as well as the Brahmi A. ==Devanagari A== 100px|thumb|right|Devanagari A vowel A (अ) is a vowel of the Devanagari abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter 13px|A, after having gone through the Gupta letter 13px|A. Letters that derive from it are the Gujarati letter અ, and the Modi letter 𑘀. ===Devanagari Using Languages=== The Devanagari script is used to write the Hindi language, Sanskrit and the majority of Indo-Aryan languages. In most of these languages, अ is pronounced as . Like all Indic scripts, Devanagari vowels come in two forms: an independent vowel form for syllables that begin with a vowel sound. However, since /ə/ is the inherent vowel of all consonants, there is no need for an A vowel sign. ==Bengali A== 100px|thumb|right|Bengali A vowel A (অ) is a vowel of the Bengali abugida. It is derived from the Siddhaṃ letter 13px|A, and is marked by a similar horizontal head line, but less geometric shape, than its Devanagari counterpart, अ. ===Bengali Script Using Languages=== The Bengali script is used to write several languages of eastern India, notably the Bengali language and Assamese. In most languages, অ is pronounced as . Like all Indic scripts, Bengali vowels come in two forms: an independent vowel form for syllables that begin with a vowel sound. However, Bengali A represents the /ɔ/ vowel inherent in all consonants, and is thus indicated by the lack of any modifying vowel sign. ==Gujarati A== thumb|right|100px|Guajarati independent A vowel. A (અ) is a vowel of the Gujarati abugida. It is derived from the Devanagari A 13px|a, and ultimately the Brahmi letter 13px|a. ===Gujarati- using Languages=== The Gujarati script is used to write the Gujarati and Kutchi languages. In both languages, અ is pronounced as . Like all Indic scripts, Gujarati vowels come in two forms: an independent vowel form for syllables that begin with a vowel sound. However, since A is the inherent vowel in unmarked consonants, there is no A vowel sign in Gujarati. ==Javanese A== ==Telugu A== thumb|100px|Telugu independent vowel A A (అ) is a vowel of the Telugu abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter 13px|A. It is closely related to the Kannada letter ಅ. Like in other Indic scripts, "A" in Telugu is inherent in all consonants, and there is no vowel sign for the "A" vowel. ==Malayalam A== thumb|left|100px|Malayalam independent vowel A A (അ) is a vowel of the Malayalam abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter 13px|A, via the Grantha letter x15px|A a. Like in other Indic scripts, "A" is the inherent vowel of Malayalam consonants, so there is no modifying vowel sign for A. As in most Indic scripts, independent Malayalam vowels do not decompose into A with a vowel sign attached, but rather are unique characters themselves. Independent vowel letters in Malayalam are used when a word begins with a vowel, rather than a consonant sound. ==Odia A== thumb|100px|Odia A vowel A (ଅ) is a vowel of the Odia abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter 13px|A, via the Siddhaṃ letter x15px|A a. Like in other Indic scripts, Odia consonants inherently contain the "a" vowel, so there is no modifying sign for indicating that vowel. == Thai script == O ang (อ) and Ho nokhuk (ฮ) are the forty-third and forty-fourth letters of the Thai script. Unlike many Indic scripts, Thai consonants do not form conjunct ligatures, and use the pinthu—an explicit virama with a dot shape—to indicate bare consonants. === O ang === In IPA, O ang is pronounced as [ʔ] at the beginning of a syllable and not be used to close a syllable. It falls under the middle class of Thai consonants. In the acrophony of the Thai script, ang (อ่าง) means 'basin'. O ang corresponds to the Sanskrit character 'अ'. === Ho nokhuk === In IPA, Ho nokhuk is pronounced as [h] at the beginning of a syllable and not be used to close a syllable. It falls under the low class of Thai consonants. In the acrophony of the Thai script, nokhuk (นกฮูก) means 'owl'. ==Kaithi A== A (𑂃) is a vowel of the Kaithi abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter 13px|, via the Siddhaṃ letter x15px| A. Like in other Indic scripts, the Kaithi vowel A is an independent letter and lacks a vowel sign, as "a" is inherent to the consonant letters. ==Comparison of A== The various Indic scripts are generally related to each other through adaptation and borrowing, and as such the glyphs for cognate letters, including A, are related as well. ==Character encodings of A== Most Indic scripts are encoded in the Unicode Standard, and as such the letter A in those scripts can be represented in plain text with unique codepoint. A from several modern-use scripts can also be found in legacy encodings, such as ISCII. ==References== Category:Indic letters
+A is the 13th studio album by British rock band Jethro Tull. It was released on 29 August 1980 in the UK and 1 September of the same year in the United States. The album was initially written and recorded with the intention of being frontman Ian Anderson's debut solo album (hence the album's title: the master tapes were marked "A" for Anderson during recording), however the album was eventually released as a Jethro Tull album after pressure from Chrysalis Records. Anderson has since stated that he regrets allowing the album to be released under the Jethro Tull name. Musically, the album was a departure from prior Tull works, adopting more of an electronic rock sound with heavy use of synthesizers, although still retaining the band's trademark folk influence and Anderson's flute playing. Lyrically, the album saw a similar departure from the fantasy and folklore themes of previous Tull work, instead emphasizing contemporary matters such as the Cold War. The album was the first Tull album released following a large lineup change which saw drummer Barrie "Barriemore" Barlow and keyboardists John Evan and Dee Palmer departing the band in 1980 while bassist John Glascock had died from heart complications the previous year. The album instead features Glascock's touring replacement Dave Pegg on bass in his first recorded appearance with the band, Mark Craney on drums and Eddie Jobson on keyboards (with Jobson credited as a "special guest") and electric violin. == Overview == A was recorded as an intended Ian Anderson solo album before Tull's record label, Chrysalis, asked that it become credited to the group. This is the reason for the album's title, as the tapes were marked "A" for "Anderson". It is noted for its more synthesiser-based sound, a fact which created controversy among many of the band's fans. On the other hand, it features a folk-influenced piece, "The Pine Marten's Jig". A features a dramatically different line-up of Tull from the band's previous album, Stormwatch (1979). Former keyboardist John Evan and organist Dee Palmer were fired from the group, while drummer Barriemore Barlow left the band due to depression over the death of John Glascock as well as plans to start his own band. The only members of Tull to appear on both Stormwatch (1979) and A (1980) are Ian Anderson and Martin Barre. This is also bassist Dave Pegg's first appearance on a Tull studio recording, but he had become a member of the band during the Stormwatch tour in 1979, replacing the deceased Glascock. Conflicting reasons have been given for the line-up change. Anderson has stated that he wanted to take the band in a different direction from the folk rock and progressive rock of the 1970s.A New Day Yesterday: The 25th Anniversary Collection, 1969–1994 Barriemore Barlow was unhappy with the direction the band was taking and later stated that he would have left anyway. However, biographer David Rees reports in his book Minstrels in the Gallery: A History of Jethro Tull (2001) that Anderson had never intended to replace Jethro Tull's previous line-up with the musicians who recorded A, but was forced by Chrysalis Records, which had decided to release his 'solo' album under the name Jethro Tull. This claim was further evidenced by Anderson's note in the 2003 re-release of the album. A 40th anniversary box set was released in April 2021, featuring the album remixed by Steven Wilson. It includes some bonus tracks, a DVD of Slipstream, and audio of a concert in Los Angeles. == Track listing == *The 2004 remastered two-disc edition includes Slipstream as a bonus DVD. === 2021 40th Anniversary A La Mode Edition === == Personnel == Jethro Tull * Ian Anderson – vocals, flute * Martin Barre – guitar * Dave Pegg – bass guitar, mandolin * Mark Craney – drums Additional personnel * Eddie Jobson – keyboards, synthesizer, electric violin on The Pine Marten's Jig technical staff * Robin Black – sound engineer * John Shaw – photography * Peter Wagg – art direction ==Charts== 1980 chart performance for A Chart (1980) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) 47 2021 chart performance for A Chart (2021) Peak position == References == == External links == * * (Bonus DVD) Category:Jethro Tull (band) albums Category:1980 albums Category:Chrysalis Records albums Category:Island Records albums Category:Albums produced by Ian Anderson
+A is an album by guitarist Jimmy Raney recorded at three separate sessions between 1954 and 1955 and released on the Prestige label.Prestige Records discography accessed January 30, 2013 ==Reception== Ken Dryden of Allmusic reviewed the album, stating "This CD contains some of Jimmy Raney's finest work as a leader and is highly recommended".Dryden, K. Allmusic Review, January 30, 2013 == Track listing == All compositions by Jimmy Raney, except where noted. # "Minor" – 4:31 # "Some Other Spring" (Arthur Herzog, Jr., Irene Kitchings) – 5:01 # "Double Image" – 4:28 # "On the Square" – 4:27 # "Spring Is Here" (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) – 2:53 # "One More for the Mode" – 3:49 # "What's New?" (Johnny Burke, Bob Haggart) – 2:42 # "Tomorrow Fairly Cloudy" – 3:28 # "A Foggy Day" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 4:07 # "Someone to Watch over Me" (Gershwin, Gershwin) – 3:12 # "Cross Your Heart" (Buddy DeSylva, Lewis Gensler Jimmy Raney) – 3:53 # "You Don't Know What Love Is" (Gene de Paul, Don Raye) – 3:39 Note *Tracks 5-12 were initially released on a Prestige 10" LP titled Jimmy Raney 1955 (PRLP199.) == Personnel == *Jimmy Raney – guitar *John Wilson – trumpet (tracks 5-12) *Hall Overton – piano *Teddy Kotick – bass *Art Mardigan (tracks 1-4), Nick Stabulas (tracks 5-12) – drums ===Production=== *Bob Weinstock – supervisor *Rudy Van Gelder – engineer == References == Category:Jimmy Raney albums Category:1957 albums Category:Prestige Records albums Category:Albums produced by Bob Weinstock Category:Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio Category:Albums recorded in a home studio
+A refers to several streetcar routes in Los Angeles, California. The lines were operated by the Los Angeles Railway and its successor, Los Angeles Transit Lines, from 1920 to 1946. ==History== ;1920–1932 Los Angeles Railway rerouted many lines on May 9, 1920, assigning them letter designations the following year. The A line ran along Adams; Normandie Avenue; 24th; Hoover; Burlington; 16th; Hill; 1st; Spring; North Main; Sunset; North Broadway; Lincoln Park Avenue; looping back via Nort Main to Plaza; thence to west terminal over above route. In 1924, the lines was split in two and was given numeric designations. The 2 West Adams and North Main Street Line operated on those streets as well as a portion of the former C Griffith and Griffin Avenue Line. The 3 West Adams and Lincoln Park Line also ran on Main Street. In 1926, the A-2 was rerouted to Griffin Park. The two routes were recombined in 1930 as a single A line. ;1932–1939 A new A line started service on June 12, 1932. It was formed by the Adams Avenue segment of the former service and the Angeleno Heights segment of the G Griffith and Angeleno Heights Line. A branch at Edgeware Road opened in 1934, and the main service was rerouted on this line starting in 1938. ;1939–46 The final and longest lived routing of the A began service on September 25, 1939. It was predominantly formed from the old A line as well as Temple Street taken from the L West 11th and West Temple Street Line. Tracks on Fountain were removed from service in 1942, and the line ceased to operate on June 30, 1946. ==Sources== ==External links== * A Line Archives — Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society * Category:Los Angeles Railway routes Category:Railway services introduced in 1895 Category:1895 establishments in California Category:Railway services discontinued in 1946 Category:1946 disestablishments in California
+A is a letter of related and vertically oriented alphabets used to write Mongolic and Tungusic languages. == Mongolian language == Letter Transliteration — Alone upright=0.12 Initial Medial Connected final — Separated final Ligatures Transliteration Alone Initial Medial Final Separated suffixes Transliteration Initial Whole * Transcribes Chakhar ; Khalkha , , and . Transliterated into Cyrillic with the letter . * Medial and final forms may be distinguished from those of other tooth-shaped letters through: vowel harmony (), the shape of adjacent consonants ( and ), and position in syllable sequence (, , , , ). * The final tail extends to the left after bow-shaped consonants (such as , and ), and to the right in all other cases. * = medial form used after the junction in a proper name compound. * = connected galik final. * Derived from Old Uyghur aleph (), written twice for isolate and initial forms. * Produced with using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout. * In the Mongolian Unicode block, comes before . == Notes == == References == Category:Articles containing Mongolian script text Category:Mongolic letters Category:Mongolic languages Category:Tungusic languages
+"A" is a fictional character in the Pretty Little Liars franchise. Created by author Sara Shepard in 2006, the character serves as the main antagonist in both the television and book series. "A" has also appeared in the web series Pretty Dirty Secrets (2012). Working as an anonymous figure, “A” is a stalker who blackmails, manipulates and tortures the main characters of the franchise. In the novel series, the first and original "A" was revealed to be Mona Vanderwaal. The second, and final, "A" is revealed as Alison Dilaurentis and her helper as Nick Maxwell. In the television series, the first and original “A” was revealed to be Mona Vanderwaal. Mona later builds “The A-Team” with the help of the second “Big A,” Charlotte DiLaurentis. The series concluded with the third and final “Uber A” being revealed as Alex Drake, the twin sister of Spencer Hastings. In the fourth Pretty Little Liars series, Original Sin, Archie Waters takes the identity of "A", working together with his father, Marshall Clanton. == Development == === Characterization === In the original television series, all three characters who take up the identity of "A" are mentally ill women seeking revenge for something that has negatively altered their lives. “A” frequently manipulates, blackmails, and tortures. “A” has a love for riddles and dolls, usually referring to the Liars as their own living dolls. In Original Sin and the novels, "A" kills multiple people in order to achieve their goals. == Novels storylines == === The first "A" === * Real identity: Mona Vanderwaal. Three years after the disappearance of Alison DiLaurentis, her four friends, Aria Montgomery, Spencer Hastings, Emily Fields, and Hanna Marin each receive messages from someone calling themselves "A". The girls had drifted apart over the years, so they had no idea that other people were getting texts as well. Additionally, the texts were about secrets only Alison knew about. At first, the messages were simply teasing and all of the girls wonder if their missing friend was the one who sent them. Though they knew she was most likely dead, she was still the only one who knew their darkest secrets. Once Alison's body is discovered in her old backyard, the girls are even more baffled when they continue to receive threats. At Alison's funeral, the girls are reunited and they find out that they've all been receiving weird messages. As the girls stand outside after the funeral ends, they all get a text saying, "I'm still here, bitches. And I know everything. –A". From that point on, the messages take on a distinctly more threatening tone. Aria is given an ultimatum to tell her mother about her father's affair by midnight after the Foxy event, or A will do it for her. A continues to play life-altering games with the girls, from encouraging suspicion of Spencer's involvement in Alison's death to outing Emily's sexuality to her conservative mother. However, A makes a serious mistake in texting Hanna on the night of Mona's birthday party. Instead of using the plain Blackberry she bought just for tormenting the girls, A accidentally uses his/her own phone. Hanna, who has a new phone without all of her contacts recognizes the number, compelling A to act before Hanna can reveal A's true identity to the others. A hits Hanna with an SUV, successfully destroying Hanna's phone and putting her into a coma that eventually leads to a temporary loss of memory. A knew that there was a very good chance Hanna would regain her memory. Hanna's best friend, Mona Vanderwaal, informs the girls that she has also received texts from A, drawing the five closer together in trying to figure out who their tormentor is. Mona subtly encourages Spencer's fears that her sister, Melissa, might be A as well as Alison's killer. During Hanna's recovery masquerade celebration, she suddenly regains her memory, revealing that Mona is A. However, she, Emily, and Aria can't do much about it, because Spencer and Mona are on their way to the police station. After Spencer is warned about Mona by text, she tries to escape Mona's car, but Mona catches on rather quickly and diverts to a path in a more remote area of Rosewood. She tells Spencer everything, from seeing Alison launch a firework into Toby Cavanaugh's garage that blinded her friend Jenna, to finding Alison's diary of secrets among a pile of old DiLaurentis junk the St. Germains left at the curb, discovering the girls' secrets that only Alison knew. Her motivation was to get revenge for her friend's blindness, even though Jenna and Alison had planned together to launch the firework. Mona didn't know this and got a scar on her stomach from the ordeal. Mona also drops the bombshell that Ian Thomas killed Alison, due to Alison's last diary entry about giving him an ultimatum to break up with Melissa. She then offers Spencer to become A with her and tells Hanna that she must not be remembering correctly, but she refuses. The two fight at Floating Man's Quarry and Spencer accidentally pushes Mona, who falls and has her neck caught between rocks. === The second "A" === *Real Identity Alison DiLaurentis. Alison DiLaurentis lived a life that she felt was ruined by her twin sister, Courtney DiLaurentis who was smarter and kinder. Alison began emotionally manipulating Courtney into pretending to be Alison until she eventually tricked Courtney into pretending to strangle her. Courtney is sent to a mental hospital as a result and the ashamed DiLaurentis' erase all trace of her, Alison becomes Queen Bee at her new school. Courtney is allowed a short trip home to meet with her family, but whilst there sees Spencer, Hannah, Aria and Emily arguing outside and goes out to talk to them. Because of this, her parents believe she is Alison, the real Alison insists she's Alison, but because of her manipulating Courtney into pretending to be her, they think she is lying. A vengeful Alison is taken away to the Mental Hospital. The girls began receiving messages from 'A' again, scaring them greatly. First believing it to be a cruel joke, they then discover Ian Thomas's body which the second 'A' had murdered. 'A' then steals Ian's body convincing everyone else that it was a hoax. 'A' mocks the girls over text and pretends to be Ian on an online account, giving the girls information such as Spencer being the product of an affair between her father and Alison's father. 'A' allows Spencer to be scammed out of $2000, taunts Aria with photos, manipulates Hanna so she is sent to a mental hospital and forces Emily to go to Lancaster to look into Wilden. 'A' sends the girls on many searches to try and find who 'A' could be and murders Jenna. They eventually plant all the evidence of a random person. The girls are fooled by this, happy it is over. The town is introduced to Courtney DiLaurentis who is Alison's ill twin sister who was kept in many clinics and hidden from the world. Courtney reveals herself to the girls as actually being Alison and that Courtney was pretending to be her and that she was the one who ran into the random person and died. Aria is suspicious, along with Wilden and Melissa. Melissa knew about the twins for a while because Jason and Alison's stories didn't match up with what Jason told her. The suspected murderer has an alibi and people begin digging up suspicious things about Alison. Alison kidnaps Melissa and traps her in a cupboard next to Ian's dead body. At Alison's house, all of the girls get drunk and re-enact the day Alison went missing, they wake up to find a letter revealing that Courtney took Alison's place when they were young and the person the girls were friends with was actually Courtney whilst Alison was sent to a mental hospital in her place. When she came back, Alison killed Courtney. Alison sets the house on fire with the girls in it, but they manage to turn the tables on her and escape with Melissa. The girls hope she was killed in the explosion, but Emily left the door open for her. After the third 'A', Nick, has been arrested in her escape, Alison escapes to a house even Nick had no clue about and uses all of Nick's money for plastic surgery. Then, under a new alias, she begins tormenting the girls again. An obsessed fan group starts harassing the girls and she hires one, named Greg, to infiltrate the Liars. He starts dating Spencer in hopes to do this, which works. She also pretends to be a famous artist's secretary to ruin Aria's potential career. She attempts to drown Emily in a pool for rejecting her and then murders her girlfriend Jordan which drives Emily to depression. Alison then frames the girls for her torture and murder by covering a house they broke into with her blood and weapons, and the girls are arrested. Alison is able to avoid the girls as they attempt to find her before they are inevitably imprisoned. Alison is elated to discover she has driven Emily to drown herself and made Aria flee the country. Little did she know, Emily faked her death and managed to track Alison to her mother's house where she was hiding out. Alison confronts Emily with a gun and the two fight, with Emily holding off Alison long enough for the police to arrive. Alison is then arrested and the girls are exonerated. === The third "A" === *Real Identity Nick Maxwell. A third "A" begins tormenting the girls. Emily hopes it's Alison, and the rest of the girls hope it's not, though it is likely she survived the explosion regardless. The new "A" torments them about the Jamaica incident, Spencer's framing of Kelsey, Hanna's framing of Madison, and Emily's baby. "A" reveals that they killed Tabitha, which means they have killed four people total - the other three being Gayle, Kyla, and Graham - and have injured many more, which makes this "A" the most violent yet. The girls suspect this "A" isn't just Alison, as she would not be strong enough to kill and hurt so many people by herself and begin to consider she has an accomplice. The girls are lured to a basement where Alison reveals that she is alive and that the third "A" is not her, but Nick Maxwell. Nick was Courtney's older boyfriend who met the real Alison at their shared mental clinic and has introduced himself to the girls as different people throughout their lives. Phineas, who sold Spencer drugs and got her addicted to them, eventually causing her to frame Kelsey for drugs; Jackson, a bartender who refused to help Hanna, causing her to get into a car crash with Madison; Olaf, Aria's Icelandic friend who stole a painting with her; Derrick, Emily's colleague who she would regularly gossip to. Nick and Alison have put a shrine to Alison in the basement and are going to make it seem as if the girls have killed themselves in honor of Alison. They leave and flood the basement with poisonous gas, but Nick is found and arrested by the police and the girls are saved. Alison escapes and abandons Nick to prison. Nick is later visited in prison by the girls and tells them Alison may be at his grandma's house or something connecting to her may be there. == Television storylines == === Pretty Little Liars === ==== Original "A" ==== Original A was the first "A" and was revealed to be Mona Vanderwaal. Mona began torturing Alison by sending her gifts, threats and soon attacking her while wearing a zombie costume. "A" continued to mess with Ali and her mother Jessica DiLaurentis, whom she believed it to be Spencer Hastings. After Alison's disappearance, "A" went away for a year but after the corpse of Bethany Young (believed to be Alison at the time) was found, she reemerged. "A" began sending the Liars messages about things only Alison knew about them and soon even began messing with their parents. Doctor Anne Sullivan had previously dealt with the person behind the hoodie and when "A" trashed her office she immediately recognized the person. She almost exposes her identity to the Liars but "A" kidnaps her and went as far as to threaten her son's life. But the Liars are still close to figuring it out and during the second half of season two they manage to get a hold of "A's" phone. They hatch a plan to catch her with this and it works. They find out that "A" had a lair at the Lost woods resort and Spencer and Mona ("A's" newest victim) head over there and find a room full of pictures of Alison and the girls along with a sketch of "A's" costume to the ball, The Black Swan. However, Spencer begins to notice other clues and soon realizes "A" is right there with her. She turns around to see Mona in a black hoodie, who reveals herself as "A". She kidnaps Spencer and gives her an opportunity to join the "A" team but Spencer declines and the two get into a fight, where Mona is pushed off of a cliff. Though Mona survives, she is sent to Radley Sanitarium for medical assistance. While in the psychiatric hospital, Mona takes up a partnership suggested by the then unknown CeCe Drake that starts off the second game. After this, Mona became another henchman in the "A" hierarchy, obeying the orders of CeCe, whom she knew as Red Coat. Mona was kicked off of the A-Team in the season three finale. However, Mona joins the new "A.D." team in Season 7, after "A.D." sends Wren to kill her and she offers to help instead. She helps them kidnap Spencer and wears a Melissa mask, but ultimately turns on them and brings the Liars to them, as well as a cop. However, this turns out to be a ruse and the "cop" is actually Mona's French boyfriend, who helps her take Mary and Alex (the two remaining members) to France to live in her own personal Dollhouse. Mona is the final "A" of the series, being the "winner" of the game... ==== Big "A" ==== Big A was the person who took over the "A" game from Mona Vanderwaal after she was admitted to Radley Sanitarium and revealed to be CeCe Drake (A.K.A. Charlotte DiLaurentis or Charles Dilaurentis). She had visited Mona in Radley and used her to get information about the Liars before taking over the game herself and had used the A-Team, which consisted of her ally Sara, Jenna, Noel, Wren, Wilden, Mona, Toby, Lucas, Melissa, and Spencer, to do her dirty work and sometimes went under the Red Coat disguise. Big A often hid out at a lair situated in Room A at an apartment building at Mayflower Hill and a mobile RV which was stolen but Toby gave it back to "A" in exchange for information about his mother's death. It is revealed that Charlotte had been hiding out in the basement of the DiLaurentis house and drilled holes through the floor to spy on the family in her Red Coat disguise and shared the identity with Alison. Her disguise as Red Coat was exposed in the fourth season mid finale when Emily was trapped on a saw at Ravenswood and later got into a fight with Aria who discovered her identity and Charlotte later fell off a platform and escaped. In A' Is for Answers", the Liars are under attack by "A" who shoots Ezra Fitz on the rooftop. However, in the fifth-season premiere, the shooter is revealed to be Shana Fring who attempted to kill Alison but was later shoved off a stage by Aria and died from the impact. After all of this, Charlotte fled to France under the Vivian Darkbloom identity to escape custody for Wilden's death but returned. In the series' 100th episode, Charlotte planted a bomb in the Cavanaugh house which detonated, signaling her triumphant return to Rosewood. In season five, CeCe breaks into the Vanderwaal home and kidnaps Mona just as she is about to tell the Liars that Alison is "A" and covers up her kidnapping as a homicide. She then brings Mona to the Dollhouse and tortures her and forces her to dress up and act like Alison. Just as the Liars are being brought to jail, CeCe kidnaps them and tortures them inside the Dollhouse. Inside, the liars discover that Big "A" is named Charlotte DiLaurentis. CeCe/Charlotte reveals herself as "A" and tells her story; saying that she is transgender, was formerly known as Charles DiLaurentis, and became "A" because the Liars were happy that Alison was gone. She worked with Sara Harvey, who was the Black Widow and a decoy Red Coat, and was also responsible for the "death" of Alison and the death of Wilden, and after telling her story, she attempts suicide by jumping off Radley but is stopped. She is admitted to Welby State and her reign as "A" finally ends and stays in the psychiatric hospital for five years. When she is released, Charlotte is murdered by Mona Vanderwaal and her death causes the birth of "A.D.", the new Uber A. After her death, it is revealed that Noel Kahn and Jenna Marshall were also working for Charlotte. It is also revealed that her birth mother is Jessica's twin, Mary Drake, and her birth father is Ted Wilson, while Spencer is her sister. The series finale reveals that "A.D." is her sister and Spencer's twin, Alex Drake, whom Charlotte met after boarding the plane to France. She and Alex become very close after meeting, until Charlotte returned to Rosewood to play the game some more. Alex reveals that Charlotte never returned to her in London and the next time she saw her was when she visited her grave. ====Uber "A"==== Uber A, also known as A.D., is the third person to take over the identity of "A". In the show's series finale, Uber A's identity is revealed to be Alex Drake, Spencer's twin sister who was put up for adoption at birth. She desperately craves vengeance over the tragic passing of Charlotte DiLaurentis, who was her half-sister, and is trying to seek out the person responsible. Unlike Mona or Charlotte, Alex does not use any nicknames at first but instead signs their messages with emojis, which differentiates her from the A-Team. This causes Caleb to nickname her Amoji. However, in the sixth-season finale, she begins using the alias "A.D." and kidnaps Hanna, whom she believes is accountable for her sister's homicide. Hanna manages to escape Uber A's clutches and Alex goes after Alison, who the Liars suggested as guilty for her own cousin's murder. Uber A eventually finds out that Alison is innocent after searching her jacket. While Uber A does work on their own, she also works through a new "A-Team" of helpers, known to consist of Jenna Marshall, Sydney Driscoll, and Aria Montgomery, who are assisting them in completing the endgame. The series finale explains that Alex Drake was put up for adoption in exchange for a sum of money (for Mary), but then left at an orphanage by her adopted parents who were concerned for their image. She ran away from the orphanage at ten years old and eventually started working in a bar in London, where Wren Kingston mistook her for Spencer, revealing the existence of Alex's twin and Charlotte. Wren introduces Charlotte and Alex in an airport (just after Charlotte met Archer Dunhill) and they immediately connect, becoming very close in a short amount of time. After Charlotte is released from Welby, she tells Alex that she wishes to return to Rosewood and resume the game, but Alex says she shouldn't go unless she gets to come too, since she wants to meet Spencer. Charlotte says no and describes the Hastings as "toxic people" before leaving for Rosewood, where she was murdered by Mona. Alex is enraged and forces Wren to shoot her so that she looks exactly like Spencer and can successfully impersonate her. She then goes to Rosewood and picks up the game as "Uber A". Alex has made several appearances where she impersonates Spencer, including, but not limited to: The run in with Ezra at the airport where she introduced Wren, the kiss between "Spencer" and Toby just before the latter planned to leave Rosewood with Yvonne, and Hanna's "dream" where she "hallucinated" Spencer while A.D held her hostage. The latter was done so that Alex could find out whether Hanna was telling the truth about killing Charlotte. === Original Sin === In Original Sin, A is revealed to be Archie Waters. Archie is the illegitimate son of Rose Waters and Marshall Clanton, whose clandestine affair during high school resulted in Rose's pregnancy with Archie and his twin sister, Angela. Rose never let Archie out of the house and keep his existence a secret because he has a disfigured face. Later, Clanton became the vice-principal of Millwood High School and Rose returned so Angela can attend the school and have proper education. He and Rose decided to not tell Angela his identity as her father. In high school, Angela desperately wanted to fit in and joined Davie Adams's popular group. The group often did their best to embarrass, humiliate, and degrade Angela. When Angela was raped by Davie's boyfriend, Tom Beasley, Davie forced the group to turn their backs on her. Davie made sure everyone in the school treated her as invisible and worthless. During a New Year's Eve party in 1999, Angela committed suicide in public after her pleas for help was ignored by everyone. 22 years later, Archie take the identity of "A" to help his father avenge Angela and begins killing people who are considered bullies. ==The A-Team == The A-Team is a group of anonymous characters that worked together as "A". The team would work under the orders of the "A" in charge, who has been Mona Vanderwaal, the original leader and founder, CeCe Drake, the second leader, and Alex Drake, the final leader. Alex's team is also referred to as the "A.D.-Team". === Members === ==== Sara Harvey ==== Sara was the right-hand woman to Charlotte and also revealed as an A-Team member halfway throughout the sixth season. She has also been a Red Coat and was revealed as the Black Widow. She then became Charlotte's friend and ally in the "A" game and assisted her in most of her schemes. Sara was allegedly diagnosed with Stockholm syndrome following Charlotte's arrest but later discloses to Alison that she lied under oath, also admitting that she and Charlotte were, in fact, close friends and she felt as though they were sisters. Later, Sara was possibly enlisted by Jenna Marshall and Noel Kahn (and possibly "A.D.") to work with them. However, Sara was killed by Noel after she tried to reveal more than she should to Emily._ ==== Sydney Driscoll ==== Sydney was Uber A's helper for a brief period of time. She is first seen communicating with them through text messages when she makes a donation under their name at the Vogel Vision Institute. When Aria and Emily confront her, Driscoll claims that she is simply representing a client who prefers to remain anonymous. However, she returns in the following episode and reveals herself to be "A.D.". She offers Aria the chance to join their team, but Aria realizes that Sydney is communicating with someone through an earpiece, revealing that she's just a minion. Aria asks her why she would join their tormentor and Driscoll replies that she wants to be part of the "winning team". However, Uber A, who reveals herself as Spencer's twin sister Alex Drake, reveals in the series finale that Sydney wasn't involved in the Blind School shooting and joined the A-Team because Alex found out she had been stealing from a bank and she fit the hoodie. ==== Toby Cavanaugh ==== Toby was recruited by Mona to join the A-Team when he got a job in Bucks County. When this happened, Spencer found out on the night she was planning their anniversary dinner. His participation in the team was revealed in the finale of Season 3A. He worked hand in hand with Mona and did most of the dirty work for the team, like running down Lucas and attacking Hanna. However, like Mona, he didn't know the identity of Red Coat. Spencer finds out about his betrayal and goes off the deep end, especially after discovering his corpse. However, it is revealed that he is alive and well, with the corpse being a trick by Mona and Red Coat that he says he didn't know about until after. He is also revealed to be a double agent and gets kicked off the team. ==== Spencer Hastings ==== Spencer joined the A-Team briefly near the ending of the third season after being told Toby joined previously she thought this was a way to keep close to him. Initially, Spencer was extremely determined to be part of the team. However, she later unfolds the truth behind the disappearance of Toby and became a double agent as well. Like Toby, she got kicked off from the team. She is the "A" who kidnapped Malcolm, causing a break up between Ezra and Aria. ==== Lucas Gottesman ==== Lucas was the personal assistant to Mona. He was blackmailed by Mona and the A-Team into sending texts and doing their dirty work. Lucas claims his blackmail began after Mona discovered he was selling test answers. However, Mona later discloses that Lucas was the "A" who gave Emily a massage back in the second season while Mona was off riding with Hanna. During the seventh- season episode "Hold Your Piece", Pastor Ted Wilson reveals to Hanna that he used to run a summer camp for troubled boys, and Charlotte was a camper there prior to her transition. Wilson is disheartened when describing that he interacted with his offspring without awareness they were related. Ted then showcases Hanna a picture of himself back when he worked at the camp, chaperoning Charles and Lucas, whom he described as his son's "only friend". ==== Melissa Hastings ==== Melissa was blackmailed by Mona into wearing the Black Swan disguise to the Masquerade Ball in order to distract Jenna. Mona threatened to reveal her fake pregnancy if she didn't obey her orders. Later, Melissa got onto the Halloween Train dressed as the Queen of Hearts and drugged Aria. Melissa and Wilden then attempted to push her off of the train in a box with Garrett's dead body. It is implied that she was once again blackmailed. It is implied in "A Dark Ali" that Melissa is once again working for "A", as she is seen handing a recording (presumed stolen by "A") to a man resembling Cyrus Petrillo and later implies to Spencer that "A" has something in store for Ali and the Liars. ==== Darren Wilden ==== Wilden was also part of the team as he was the Queens of Hearts responsible for trying to kill Aria. He also murdered Garrett Reynolds, fearing he'd expose him as a crooked cop and placed his corpse in a box beside a fainted Aria. Wilden's reasoning for helping the team is unknown but implied to be blackmail. ==== Jenna Marshall ==== Jenna was a member of the A-Team during the reign of Big A and was also working anonymously for Uber A. She returns to Rosewood in Season 7 and in "Along Comes Mary" and befriends Sara Harvey. Meanwhile, Aria Montgomery and Emily Fields discover that Jenna was on Archer's payroll for unknown reasons. On the episode's closing scene, Jenna and Sara are having drinks at The Radley when an unknown figure approaches the two and reveals themselves to be Noel Kahn, who proceeds to join the duo. When confronted by Emily in regards to her involvement with Archer during "Wanted: Dead or Alive", Jenna admits she befriended Charlotte DiLaurentis after reading about her stay at Welby and reached out. In a flashback, Charlotte enlists Jenna's help to track down the whereabouts of her birth mother and come up with an alias for Archer. The pseudonym "Elliott Rollins" was later created so Archer could deliberately meet Alison and take advantage of her good intentions to benefit Charlotte's eventual release from the psychiatric hospital. In "The DArkest Knight", all of the Liars get a text message, ordering them to head over to 1465, Elm Street. After being lured to an abandoned school for blind students, they're held hostage by Noel and Jenna, tracking them down at gunpoint. During the cat-and-mouse chase, Jenna takes aim at the Liars only to backfire, until a second gunshot is heard and it injures Spencer. As Marshall prepares to finish her off, Mary Drake suddenly emerges from behind and knocks her out. While Drake attempts to help Spencer, an unknown figure drags Jenna away from the building. On the closing scene of the episode, the anonymous entity places her in the back of a van, while she questions them if they were responsible for the gunshot that hit Spencer. As the mysterious figure proceeds to rip off an old man's mask and toss it over to Jenna's side, Marshall feels it up and realizes that A.D. was the one who rescued her. At the end of "Playtime", Jenna is seated in A.D.'s lair, sipping tea. She thanks the unidentified individual for the drink and reminds them of their promise to update her on the "game". Dressed in a nurse's uniform, A.D. drops a binder on Marshall's lap with pages of information written in braille. After Jenna reads a paragraph, she mutters the word "endgame" and grins in delight. During "These Boots Were Made for Stalking", Jenna walks into the police station in order to come clean about her actions and interrupts a conversation between Spencer and detective Marco Furey. Marshall reports that she kept a low profile after the events that took place at the abandoned school for blind students to avoid being harmed by Noel. According to Jenna, Noel was accountable for Sara Harvey's homicide and she feared to be his ensuing victim. Kahn recruited Jenna with the assertion that Charlotte left enough money in her will to afford Marshall another eye surgery. Nevertheless, Jenna suspected Noel of stealthily plotting to steal the cash all to himself since his parents had financially cut him off. In an attempt to spare her life, Marshall brought a gun to the deserted sight school as an act of self-defense and pretended to hold a grudge against the Liars. After Jenna describes her side of the story, Furey orders one of his associates to escort Marshall to a conference room so she can make an official statement. As Jenna exits the room, Spencer claims that she's an unreliable narrator. However, Furey informs Spencer that the authorities don't have enough evidence against Marshall because the bullet that injured Spencer didn't match the gun found at the location. Later in the episode, Caleb confronts Jenna stating that the authorities were already detecting holes in her allegations. However, Marshall assures Caleb they won't be able to prosecute her since Noel was the only person who could contradict her statement. In the series finale, Spencer's twin, Alex Drake, is revealed to be "A.D.". She reveals that Jenna was looking for her and recruited Noel to help. However, Jenna was desperate for another chance to see and offered to help her in the game. ==== Noel Kahn ==== Noel Kahn served as one of Big A/Charlotte's former minions and worked for her at the Dollhouse, having been responsible for placing blood all over Spencer Hastings to convince she had hurt someone. Noel became the prime suspect for Uber A, particularly after Alison reveals that he was the one who pushed the girl down a flight of stairs during the UPenn frat party. Hanna abducts him at the end of "The Wrath of Kahn" in an attempt to obtain a video confession that proves he's "A.D."/Uber A. In the following episode "The DArkest Knight", she instead ends up slashing his leg with a knife in order to test his DNA and see if it matches Mary Drake's. The results later come back negative and Kahn ends up escaping. Noel and Jenna later lure the Liars to an abandoned school for blind students so they could be held hostage and eventually murdered. During a cat-and-mouse chase, Kahn ends up stumbling upon an axe that decapitates his head after failing to fight Emily and Hanna. In the following episode, "Playtime", Detective Marco Furey informs Spencer that Jenna and Noel frequently visited Archer Dunhill at Welby. During "These Boots Were Made for Stalking", Jenna walks into the police station in order to come clean about her actions and interrupts a conversation between Spencer and detective Marco Furey. Marshall reports that she kept a low profile after the events that took place at the abandoned school for blind students to avoid being harmed by Noel. According to Jenna, Noel was accountable for Sara Harvey's homicide and she feared to be his ensuing victim. Kahn recruited Jenna with the assertion that Charlotte left enough money in her will to afford Marshall another eye surgery. Nevertheless, Jenna suspected Noel of stealthily plotting to steal the cash all to himself since his parents had financially cut him off. In an attempt to spare her life, Marshall brought a gun to the deserted sight school as an act of self-defense and pretended to hold a grudge against the Liars. However, when Caleb later confronts Jenna about the authorities detecting holes in her allegations, she informs him that the only person who could contradict her side of the story was Noel. It is unknown if Noel knew Jenna was working for "A.D." and was also working for them or if Jenna was working for "A.D." separately from their operation. ==== Aria Montgomery ==== Aria is "A.D.'s" helper. Aria is given the offer to join the team in "Power Play". She accepts in the following episode and begins supplying information to Uber A. After the Liars discover Lucas' graphic novel, Aria is sent by Uber A to retrieve it. Once she delivers it, she is given an "A" hoodie in return. She breaks into Alison's house sporting the disguise and trashes the nursery for her baby. In the next episode, Aria is sent by "A.D." to deliver a "gift" to the Hastings family. She connects to their Bluetooth and leaves a burner phone there to play a video recording of Peter and Mary discussing Jessica's murder. She later gets back into her "A" disguise and breaks into Alison's house to put the puzzle piece onto the game board and retrieve her file. "A.D." contacts Aria again and gives her a phone to communicate on. "A.D." asks Aria to meet them and to wear the uniform to do so. Mona overhears the call and tells the Liars of Aria's involvement with the A-Team. Aria gets into her "A" hoodie and goes to meet "A.D.", only to be confronted by the Liars. She then officially defects from the team and rejoins the Liars. ==== Mary Drake ==== Mary joins the A.D.-Team after the time jump, when Mona breaks her out of prison for Alex and she then helps Alex with kidnapping Spencer and keeping her locked away in the bunker. When Alex tries to kill Spencer, Mary tries to convince her to just keep her locked up, but Alex refuses and punches her to keep her from interfering. Mary and Alex are then kidnapped by Mona and kept as her dolls in her own personal dollhouse. Mary is also Jessica DiLaurentis' killer and implied to be the "A" who buried her. It is unknown if Mary was on the A-Team prior to the series finale or was simply forced into joining to keep Spencer locked up. ==== Wren Kingston ==== Wren was a member of the A-Team and is one of the helpers to Alex/Uber A. He helped CeCe/Charlotte sneak into Radley with fake visitors passes to visit Mona and later informs her of Alex's existence. When Alex takes over, he shoots her so that she will have the same scar as Spencer and then later comes to Welby to kill Mona as "A.D." for Alex, only stopping once Mona says she can help get Mary out. Alex kills Wren so that she doesn't have to break up with him in order to get her endgame wishes. Despite Wren being the only person to know almost everything about Alex's game, he doesn't participate much during the actual game, only doing a few things for Alex. == Other "A's" == === Shana Fring === Shana pretended to be "A" to attack the Liars in New York. She donned a black hoodie and attacked them at the coffee shop, only to end up shooting Ezra instead, who had found out her identity. In the following episode, she continued to hunt down the Liars, and sent a group of black hoodies to trick them. The black hoodies used the alias "A" during their taunting of the Liars. Shana revealed herself to the girls and revealed that she wanted justice for Jenna. The Liars falsely believed that Shana was Big A. == Disguises == Although typically wearing a signature black hoodie and gloves, “A” has worn a variety of disguises in the television series to spy on the Liars at various parties and events. === Red Coat === Red Coat is a disguise used by two members of the A-Team. Consisting of a knee length red trench coat, black skinny jeans and black heeled ankle boots, CeCe Drake took on the disguise to lead the A-Team and go out in public. Drake also hired Sara Harvey to act as a decoy whenever she couldn't sport the disguise in her assignments. Alison DiLaurentis occasionally used the disguise to protect her friends without revealing she was alive. === The Black Widow === The Black Widow is a previously anonymous character who attended detective Darren Wilden's funeral in 'A' Is for A-l-i- v-e". The disguise is all black clothing, with her face concealed by a black veil. The Black Widow is later shown to be a part of the A-Team, when she is seen inside the "A" R.V. placing a Mona doll with the rest of the "A" doll collection. She then lifts up her veil to reveal a burned Ali mask underneath, revealing that she was the Red Coat at the Lodge. In the fifth season, the disguise is seen inside one of "A's" lairs. In "Game Over, Charles", it is revealed that Sara Harvey was the Black Widow. Charlotte sent her to Wilden's funeral to make sure he was deceased. In "Of Late I Think of Rosewood", Sara shows up to Charlotte's funeral in a variation of the disguise, though this time revealing her face. In a nightmare that Alison had during "How the 'A' Stole Christmas", her mom, Jessica DiLaurentis shows up as the Black Widow. === The Queen of Hearts === The Queen of Hearts is a previously anonymous character that made an appearance during the third season's Halloween special, "This Is a Dark Ride". In the fourth season's premiere, it is revealed that there were actually two of them in the Halloween train, Melissa Hastings and Darren Wilden. Wilden attacked Spencer and fought Paige, while Melissa drugged Aria and took her body. Wilden also murdered Garrett Reynolds fearing he'd expose his corrupt activities and Melissa later admits to Spencer that she was blackmailed into doing his bidding. However, in Mona's footage, evidence shows that Wilden tried to abandon the train and Melissa is heard ordering him to stay. Wilden would later place a fainted Aria in a box beside Garrett's corpse and then gathered with Melissa in an attempt to push them off the train. They fled the scene once Aria regained her consciousness and stabbed Wilden. === The Black Swan === The Black Swan is a previously anonymous character that made an appearance during the Masquerade Ball. Melissa was revealed to be the person behind the disguise in "Birds of a Feather". She claimed that "A" (Mona) threatened her, stating that her false pregnancy would've been exposed if she did not distract Jenna during the event. The disguise is inspired by Odile from Swan Lake. == References == Category:Pretty Little Liars characters Category:Literary characters introduced in 2006 Category:Fictional murderers Category:Fictional kidnappers Category:Fictional hackers Category:Fictional stalkers Category:Fictional blackmailers Category:Female literary villains Category:American female characters in television
+"A" is a song by the South Korean girl group Rainbow. It was released on August 12, 2010, and was later included on their second mini album So Girls. == Background == A teaser photo with the concept of the song was released on August 4. A teaser of the music video was released on August 10 and the full music video on August 12, along with the release of the single. == Composition == The song was produced by Han Jae Ho and Kim Seung Soo (also known as Sweetune), who also produced the songs "Rock U", "Pretty Girl", "Honey", "Wanna", "Mister" and "Lupin" for their label-mate KARA. == Promotions == The promotions of the song started on August 13 in the KBS's Music Bank. It was also promoted on MBC's Music Core, SBS's Inkigayo and Mnet's M! Countdown. == Track listing == == Chart performance == In the first week, the song was at number 50 and climbed to the number 11 the following week. The peak position was 9, in the week of September 4. The song ranked number 80 in Gaon's yearly chart with 337,665,388 points and with 1,617,074 digital copies sold. == Charts == Chart (2010) Peak position Gaon Weekly singles 9 Gaon Monthly singles 13 Gaon Yearly singles 80 ==Japanese version== The song was re-record in Japanese as the group's first single in Japan. It was released digitally on September 7, 2011, and physically on September 14 in four different versions: three limited editions (CD+DVD, CD + 32-pages photobook and CD only with a bonus track) and a regular edition. ===Composition=== The Japanese version remains some lyrics written by Song Soo Yoon and was translated by Yu Shimoji and nice73. The B-side is a Japanese version of the song "Gossip Girl", previously recorded in Korean. The song is the lead single from their first EP Gossip Girl. ===Promotions=== In Japan, Rainbow performed the song on the shows Happy Music, Hey!Hey!Hey! Music Champ and Music Japan. The group held their first event in the Ikebukuro district of Tokyo with a crowd of 2,000 fans. They performed "A" and had a 15-minute talk session. ===Track listing=== ===Chart performance=== The physical single began at number 3 in Oricon's daily chart and also number 3 in Oricon's weekly chart with 24,082 copies sold in the first week. After hearing about their position in Japan, the girls said, "When we first heard that we were ranked in third, we were all surprised because we had no idea that they’d take such an interest in us. There were even some members who cried. There’s also a lot of pressure in that we have to work harder and do better. We’re still very grateful and thankful for our position on the charts. Since we’re already receiving so much love, we’re really not anticipating a rise in the weekly charts. For the remainder of our stay here, we’re just going to do our best." ===Charts=== ====Oricon==== Oricon Chart Peak Debut sales Sales total Daily Singles Chart 3 24,082 44,858 Weekly Singles Chart 3 Monthly Singles Chart 18 Yearly Singles Chart 172 ====Other charts==== Chart Peak position Billboard Japan Hot 100 4 RIAJ Digital Track Chart weekly top 100 15 ==Ab dance controversy== The "ab dance" in Rainbow's choreography was banned from broadcasting on September 8, 2010, because it was "too sexually suggestive". The dance move involves the group lifting their shirts up to the point where their abdomen or stomach can be seen before taking them down again which was deemed similar to a strip tease. The music video was also age restricted on YouTube, but DSP retired the restriction. They started promoting the song without the "ab dance" on September 11. However, when the group promoted the song in Japan they were allowed to perform the dance, and referred to it as the "belly dance". ==Release history== Country Date Format Label South Korea August 12, 2010 Digital download, Promotional single DSP Media Japan September 7, 2011 Digital download Universal Sigma September 14, 2011 CD single ==References== ==External links== * "A" (Japanese) music video teaser (DSP version) on YouTube * "A" (Japanese) music video teaser (Universal Music Japan version) on YouTube * "A" (Korean) music video on YouTube * "A" (Korean) music video teaser on YouTube Category:2010 songs Category:2010 singles Category:2011 singles Category:Rainbow (girl group) songs Category:Korean-language songs Category:Japanese-language songs
+A is a service on the S-train network in Copenhagen. It is one of the base services on the network, running every 20 minutes from about 5:00 to 0:30 every day, and every 10 minutes from about 6:15 to 19:00. It runs between Hundige and Hillerød, serving all stations on the inner part of the Køge radial. During daytime on weekdays, every second train continues from Hundige station to Solrød Strand station. On Friday and Saturday nights there is also a 30 minutes service throughout the night. ==History== Since the first part of the Køge radial opened in 1972, letter A has been used for the principal service on its inner part. Before that time the most constant characteristic of service A was that it ran on the Klampenborg radial in the northern end of the system. Name Southern end Years Northern end 1a all stops to Valby 1934–1940 Klampenborgbanen: all stops to Klampenborg 1a terminated at København H 1940–1950 Klampenborgbanen: all stops to Klampenborg A Frederikssundbanen: all stops to Vanløse 1950–1952 Klampenborgbanen: all stops to Klampenborg A as above, extended to Herlev in rush hours 1952–1972 Klampenborgbanen: all stops to Klampenborg A Køgebugtbanen: all stops to Vallensbæk 1972–1976 Klampenborgbanen: all stops to Klampenborg A all stops to Hundige 1976–1979 Klampenborgbanen: all stops to Klampenborg A all stops to Hundige; extended to Solrød Strand evenings and weekends 1979–1983 Nordbanen: all stops to Holte A all stops to Hundige 1983–1989 Nordbanen: all stops to Holte A all stops to Hundige 1989–1999 Nordbanen: to Hillerød, non-stop Østerport-Hellerup-Lyngby-Holte A all stops to Hundige 1999–2007 as above except all stops until Hellerup A all stops to Hundige 2007–2009 Hareskovbanen: all stops to Farum A all stops to Hundige; some daytime trains to Solrød Strand Dec 2009–2014 Hareskovbanen: all stops to Farum A all stops to Hundige; some daytime trains to Solrød Strand 2014– Nordbanen: non-stop Hellerup-Jægersborg, all stops to Hillerød ===Ax, K, A+=== Until 2007, separate service designations were used for trains that reinforced the basic service on the Køge radial in high-traffic periods. This was in part because they had their own stopping patterns, and in part due to the then-current doctrine that a service letter such as A must not be used for more than exactly 3 trains an hour. The first supplementary service was the rush-hour Ax which started running when the first phase of the Køge radial opened in 1972. It was upgraded to the daytime K service in 1992 and quickly renamed to A+ in 1993. Name Southern end Years Northern end Ax Køgebugtbanen: all stops to Vallensbæk 1972–1976 terminated at Hellerup Ax all stops to Hundige 1976–1979 terminated at Hellerup Ax to Hundige but stopping where? 1979–1983 terminated at Hellerup or Østerport? Ax to Hundige, non-stop København H - Friheden 1983–1992 terminated at Østerport K to Hundige, non- stop København H - Friheden 1992–1993 terminated at Østerport A+ to Hundige, non-stop København H - Friheden 1993–1995 terminated at Østerport A+ to Køge, non-stop København H - Sjælør - Friheden 1995–1998 terminated at Østerport A+ as above, plus stop at Sydhavn 1998–2002 terminated at Østerport A+ as above, plus stop at Dybbølsbro 2002–2005 terminated at Østerport A+ as above, plus stop at Dybbølsbro 2006–2007 Hareskovbanen: to Buddinge Mon-Fri Joined into A from September 2007 Joined into A from September 2007 Joined into A from September 2007 Joined into A from September 2007 == References == Category:S-train (Copenhagen)
+"A" is the sixteenth and final episode of the fourth season of the post- apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on March 30, 2014. The episode was written by Scott M. Gimple and Angela Kang, and directed by Michelle MacLaren. As multiple paths collide on each group's travels, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) remembers the past and comes face to face with sheer brutality. As the so-called sanctuary, "Terminus", begins to reveal its true face, the group struggles to survive. Themes explored in this episode include preparedness and the extremities of living in a lawless world. The latter is explored through Rick's guilt and trauma after being forced to brutally murder two men to protect his son, Carl (Chandler Riggs). ==Plot== Flashbacks through the episode take place during the groups' time at the prison. Over an undetermined period, Hershel helps Rick to recognize that he has taken a violent, callous attitude toward protecting his group, and reminds him of how this has impressed on his son Carl, nor allowed himself to spend time with his infant daughter Judith. Rick comes to take Hershel's advice, deciding to put down his gun, take up farming alongside Carl, and enjoy time with the members of his group. In the present, Rick, Carl, and Michonne follow signs along the tracks to Terminus. They hear cries for help and find a lone survivor surrounded by walkers. Rick warns them about conserving their ammunition and determines there is too much to risk in saving the man, and they watch him get killed by the walkers. That night, they are ambushed by Joe and his gang of Claimers, whose number also includes the reluctant Daryl. Joe had been tracking Rick's group for some time, seeking revenge on Rick for killing one of his own. Joe holds Rick at gunpoint, and Daryl (who was unaware it was Rick's group being tracked) tries to convince Joe to not harm his friends. Joe refuses Daryl and has two of his men secure him before turning his attention back to Rick. Joe says that the Claimers are "reasonable men", but in revenge, he will have Daryl beaten to death, sexually assault Michonne, then Carl, and then kill Rick after he is forced to witness this. One Claimer, Dan, prepares to rape Carl. Instinctively, Rick headbutts Joe, who fires his gun but misses, but the shot leaves Rick temporarily deaf. Joe wrestles and secures Rick, but Rick then bites into Joe's carotid artery and rips out his jugular vein, killing him and shocking the other Claimers. Daryl and Michonne use the moment to break free of their captors, killing the rest of the Claimers except Dan. Dan pleads for his life, but Rick stabs him with Joe's pocketknife and disembowels him, and then continues to stab him to death repeatedly, as Carl watches. Rick makes sure the others are safe, and he and Daryl reconcile, and Daryl explains that he got separated from Beth and is unaware of her fate. Later, the four continue toward Terminus and soon come in sight of the train yard. Rick is concerned and decides to bury most of their weapons nearby before they enter. They are greeted at Terminus by brothers Gareth (Andrew J. West) and Alex (Tate Ellington), and they check their weapons before returning them to the group. Alex provides them with a tour of Terminus, providing them with food from their mother Mary. Rick notices inside Alex’s cargo pants pocket the silver chain of the pocketwatch that Hershel had given to Glenn as his sign of approval for marrying his daughter Maggie. Rick takes Alex at gunpoint and demands to know where he found the pocket watch. Gareth, observing from a distance, orders his men to attack, starting a large firefight. Rick uses Alex as a bullet shield, before he and the others are forced into a series of alleyways, and eventually into a closed-in area, where they have nowhere to hide from snipers. Gareth demands they drop their weapons, and the group is escorted into a boxcar where they find that the Terminus residents have already captured Glenn, Maggie, Bob, and Sasha, along with new allies Abraham, Rosita, Eugene, and Tara. When they are locked in, Rick tells the others "they're screwing with the wrong people." ==Production== "A" was co-written by executive producer and showrunner Scott M. Gimple and producer Angela Kang; it was each their third writing credit for the season. It was directed by Michelle MacLaren, who previously directed season two's "Pretty Much Dead Already" and season one's "Guts". It marks the final episode to feature Hershel Greene, although in a flashback sequence, following the character's death in "Too Far Gone". For this episode, Scott Wilson is readded to the opening credits after being removed after the ninth episode of the season. The episode marks the final appearance of recurring character Joe (played by Jeff Kober) as he was killed by Rick Grimes by biting out his jugular vein. The scene where Rick, Michonne and Carl are captured by Joe's gang was intentionally shot and produced to follow a certain portion of the plotline in "Volume 10", "Issue #57" of the comic book series. The main difference is in the comics, Rick, Carl, and Abraham are captured by three bandits, whereas in the show, Rick, Carl, and Michonne are captured by Joe's gang of five men. During filming of the final scene, Andrew Lincoln remarked that he delivered the final line which was very close to the one found in "Volume #11", "Issue #64" of the comic book series. Scott Gimple noted that this would never have passed the network censors, so they had to re-take another version of the final scene without the swearing. Despite this, the scene with the swearing is considered the canonical version. The home video release of the episode shows the uncensored version of the final line of the season, "They're fucking with the wrong people." ==Reception== ===Viewership=== Upon airing, the episode was watched by 15.68 million American viewers, and received an 18–49 rating of 8.0. This marks a rise in total viewers and ratings from the previous episode, which received an 18–49 rating of 6.7 and 13.47 million viewers. This rating represents the season finale high to date, but below the all-time high of the season four premiere episode. Overall, season four's average viewership of 13.3 million viewers was an increase of 20% over season three. ===Critical reception=== The episode received critical acclaim. Writing for Forbes, Allen St. John, commented the finale positively, saying, "This episode, directed masterfully by Michelle McLaren of Breaking Bad fame, puts The Walking Dead in an interesting place. The story line takes our heroes into a dark place—and what can be darker than a locked railroad car?" IGN's Roth Cornet rated the episode a "Great" 8.0, writing, "The Walking Dead Season 4 finale served as a response to a question Rick has been asking himself nearly since the start of the series: What kind of man am I? The answer, at least to some degree, is whatever kind of man the moment demands of him; which is exactly what he’d need to be in order to make a strong and viable leader in this world. While I do feel that the conclusion could have been stronger, this was one of the most well-directed and executed episodes of the latter half of this season." ==References== ==External links== *"A" at AMC * Category:2014 American television episodes Category:The Walking Dead (season 4) episodes Category:Television episodes directed by Michelle MacLaren
+A is a collaborative studio album by American singer Usher and record producer Zaytoven, the latter of which entirely handling the albums production. Released on October 12, 2018, the album is an homage to the city of Atlanta, where Usher and Zaytoven grew up, featuring guest appearances from fellow Atlanta-based musicians Future and Gunna. ==Background and recording== On July 25, 2018, Mark Pitts, President of Urban Music at RCA, posted a photo on Instagram of him and Usher working in the studio. Pitts posted another image in September on his Instagram of him, Zaytoven, and Usher in the studio. Zaytoven and Usher previously collaborated on the 2009 single "Papers" from Usher's 2010 album Raymond v. Raymond. In an interview Usher conducted the Thursday before the album release with The Fader, he said "Zaytoven and I were working on my project, my future album, actually. And we started working on songs, had great combinations between the first two, three, and we kept going." The album was recorded at Westlake Recording Studios in West Hollywood, California. == Music and lyrics == The album features songwriters Elliott Trent, Dimitri McDowell, and American gospel singer Deitrick Haddon. According to Pitchfork writer Briana Younger, "A is a solid homage to the duo's beloved Atlanta roots and the city's sound that has permeated just about every corner of popular music." Elias Leight of Rolling Stone wrote that "catching pop's waves has always been one of Usher's greatest strengths, whether that means collaborating with Lil Jon when crunk was going mainstream or charging into EDM". ==Promotion== Usher announced the project on October 11, 2018, with a trailer showing himself and Zaytoven driving around Atlanta and visiting various locations. The trailer also featured various portions of the tracks; alongside this, Usher also posted snippets of the tracks separately on Instagram. ==Artwork and packaging== The cover art for the album is designed by American fashion designer Virgil Abloh. The artwork is Abloh's album-themed take of his own signature Off-White branding. ==Commercial performance== A debuted at number 31 on the US Billboard 200 with 15,000 album-equivalent units, which included 4,000 pure album sales. ==Track listing== ==Personnel== Credits for A adapted from AllMusic. *Usher Raymond IV – vocals *Zaytoven – production *Future – vocals *Gunna – vocals ==Charts== Chart performance for A Chart (2018) Peak position Australian Digital Albums (ARIA) 35 ==References== Category:2018 albums Category:Usher (musician) albums Category:Zaytoven albums Category:Collaborative albums Category:Albums produced by Zaytoven Category:RCA Records albums