Jason Aldean Night Train Essay Example for Free

Jason Aldean Night Train Essay Jason Aldean is an American country music singer who since 2005, has recorded for Broken Bow Records. In his years as an artist he has released five albums and sixteen singles. His 2010 album My Kinda Party is certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His 2005 self-titled debut, 2007 album Relentless and 2009 album Wide Open are all certified platinum. Of his singles, eight have reached the number one position on the Hot Country Songs charts: Why, Shes Country, Big Green Tractor, The Truth, Dont You Wanna Stay (a duet with Kelly Clarkson), Dirt Road Anthem, Fly Over States, and Take a Little Ride. Seven more have reached top ten on the same chart. Aldean’s latest album titled Night Train debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 charts and number two for the year. Shortly before the release of the album Billboard writer/ reviewer Ray Waddell did a detailed track-by-track review of the album. In this he talked about how originality, pace, musical skill, lyrics, overall impact and production played a part in each of the songs. Overall his review of the album Night Train and Jason Aldean as an artist was very detailed and applauded Aldean on his new album. Before Ray Waddell the reviewer of Jason Aldean’s Night Train album does a track-by-track review he does an overall review and quotes from both Aldean and his producer Michael Knock about the album. In this overall review Waddell talks about the type of music that the album has the instruments used and what as a whole the album has to offer the listeners and fans. The part that stands out most from the Billboard review and that really shines a light on Waddell’s feelings of the album is when Waddell says that â€Å"In the end, the two ended up with a record that stays true to Aldeans sound and still manages to move that sound forward sonically, vocally and lyrically.† (Waddell) This shows that not only what Jason wanted and tried to get out of and across with this album but also what the producer wanted from this album came true. Both men and the many men and women that they work with put in many hard long hours and in the end it paid off. From Waddell’s review fans can read that Jason Aldean has put out another successful album that is moving into the future in all aspects but is what the fans have grown to love and expect. The first seven tracks on the Night Train album are â€Å"This Nothin’ Town†, â€Å"When She Says Baby†, â€Å"Feel That Again†, â€Å"Wheels Rollin’†, â€Å"Talk†, â€Å"The Only Way I Know†, and â€Å"Take A Little Ride†. Each of these tracks bring something new to the stage but they also contain bits and pieces of the old and the things that work. In the first track â€Å"This Nothin’ Town† review Waddell points out that in the song Jason says â€Å"Theres something to be said when you hear a song for the first time, those visions pop into your head, and you can see it. This is one of those songs† (Aldean) Each of these songs has something special about it and in the review Weddell points out the strong points of each song. Some of the comments that he had about these songs included â€Å"Despite the ringing guitars and an arena-rock sound, this ones harkens back to 70s rock bands like Kansas or Journey, blended in with a prominent vocal by Aldean and a strong sense of melody, and A great intro leads to a power ballad that sequences perfectly on the record. Add a blistering guitar solo and Aldeans ownership of the vocal and this one sounds like a hit.† (Weddell) These along with the many others show that this album is really something special and not just another country music album. Weddell looks at every aspect of a song and critiques each of those aspects individually and all together so for this album to have done so well it is really an accomplishment on the part of Aldean and his production crew and band. The last eight tracks of the album are â€Å"I Don’t Do Lonely Well, â€Å"Night Train, 1994, Staring at the Sun, Drink One for Me, Black Tears, â€Å"Walking Away, and Water Tower. Just like the first seven Weddell gives high marks for these tracks. He talks about what each track contains both vocal and instrumental wise but also talks to and about Aldean about his reaction to these tracks and the process that he went through when creating them. Some of the many positive review points include â€Å" One of the albums standout tracks, this funky hick-hop blockbuster is a tribute to Joe Diffie and the 90s, and The albums most notable ballad and powerful vocal, with the great line, She gets under your skin like a tattoo, a wah-wah guitar solo, and nostalgic feel.† (Waddell) In the last eight tracks are some of the most notable and powerful songs and Waddell points this out to further signify that this album and its tracks are good and have put together work for Aldean and the country music industry. Some may say that this was just another typical Jason Aldean album and that he is just wasting time recording other people’s songs. It is through this review anyone can see that although he may not write the song he makes it his own through the way that he sings performs and records the song. It is apparent that each of the songs means something to him. Included in this review Aldean says that â€Å"Night Train was a perfect example of just how far things have come the last few years, going from a bus pulling a trailer to now like a freight train with bus and tractor trailers. The title, more than the song, sums up where were at right now.(Aldean) This is what make the album good and what proves that the review is positive and effective. It does not matter what everyone out there thinks it is what the fans and supporters think. Night Train is an effective album both in that it has true meaning and influence but also in that it effectively show that Jason Aldean along with cou ntry music are moving forward in all aspects of the music.

Salem Witch Trials Essay -- essays research papers

The Salem witch trials began with the accusation of people in Salem of being witches. But the concept of witchcraft started far before these trials and false accusations occurred. In the early Christian centuries, the church was relatively tolerant of magical practices. Those who were proved to have engaged in witchcraft were required only to do penance. But in the late Middle Ages (13th century to 14th century) opposition to alleged witchcraft hardened as a result of the growing belief that all magic and miracles that did not come unambiguously from God came from the Devil and were therefore manifestations of evil. Those who practiced simple sorcery, such as village wise women, were increasingly regarded as practitioners of diabolical witchcraft. They came to be viewed as individuals in league with Satan. Nearly all those who fell under suspicion of witchcraft were women, evidently regarded by witch-hunters as especially vulnerable to the Devil’s blandishments. A lurid picture of the activities of witches emerged in the popular mind, including covens, or gatherings over which Satan presided; pacts with the Devil; flying broomsticks; and animal accomplices, or familiars. Although a few of these elements may represent leftovers of pre-Christian religion, the old religion probably did not persist in any organized form beyond the 14th century. The popular image of witchcraft, perhaps inspired by features of occultism or ceremonial magic as well as by theology concerning the Devil and his works of darkness, was given shape by the inflamed imagination of inquisitors and was confirmed by statements obtained under torture. The late medieval and early modern picture of diabolical witchcraft can be attributed to several causes. First, the church’s experience with such dissident religious movements as the Albigenses and Cathari, who believed in a radical dualism of good and evil, led to the belief that certain people had allied themselves with Satan. As a result of confrontations with such heresy, the Inquisition was established by a series of papal decrees between 1227 and 1235. Pope Innocent IV authorized the use of torture in 1252, and Pope Alexander IV gave the Inquisition authority over all cases of sorcery involving heresy, although local courts carried out most actual prosecution of witches. At the same time, other developments created a climate in which alle... ...urse was accused as well, but found not guilty in the trial. Over 40 friends and neighbors testified in her favor, telling of her good faith and character. But the verdict from the jury caused such an outcry of fear, that the jury was asked to re-consider and she was then found guilty and hung. Mary Esty, Rebecca Nurses sister was also accused of being a witch, but she argued her case so well and in such a convincing manner, that the girls relented and she was found not guilty. She was released, a first in the witch-trials, but before long she was arrested once again on the claim that the girls had been haunted by her ghost. She was convicted and hung on September 22, 1692. Although all of the "witches" were hung, a certain man named Giles Cory was killed in a traditional English manner. He was pressed, pressing was where they would place heavy stones on a person till they died. Cory died two days later, crushed. 25 lives were taken during these Salem trials. 19 "w itches" were hung at Gallows hill. One was tortured to death by pressing. And five others died in prison, including an infant. The Salem witch trials were mainly caused by these two girls imagination.

American intervention in and post WWII Essay

Every society, religion and ethnicity always has within it capability for extreme violence. This is often manifested in the culture to consider other fractions of the society as inferior and go ahead with acts to exterminate or kill them.   This scenario is accelerated to greater heights when the faction considered remain silent even when their rights are violated. Benito Mussolini, the II Duce, was an avid writer and later became a journalist with the Milan socialist paper ‘Avanti’ He was famous amongst the supporters of a socialist idea and then began promoting his views on the support of war against Germany in World War I. After joining politics for sometime,  Ã‚   Mussolini went back to journalism as a career on which he spearheaded and promoted his ideas against Germany. This led to the birth of fascist party on March 23rd 1919 immediately after the end of World War I. The destruction and loss of lives led to the popularity of the National Fascist Party since many were disenchanted the leadership following the after effects of the war. Mussolini stood on time and seemed to offer solutions to the Italy’s ailing economy and bring back the lost glory after the World War I. The Roman Salute and the Black Shirt Militia which were later copied by Hitler were his creation. He was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies on March 15th, 1921. This provided more confidence and boost to his political ambitions. Several factors worked on Mussolini‘s favor in his rise to power. In August 1922, the ruling Leftist Party called for a nationwide strike. Mussolini saw this as an act that would destabilize the state and ordered the leftists to call off the strike or his Fascist Party would. King Vittorio Emmanuelle III saw the capability of Mussolini in handling the affairs of the nation and invited him to travel to Rome and form the government. Mussolini did not accept the invitation and instead insisted on a telegraph and soon it was wired. The desire by France to take control of mineral rich Ruhr Valley saw it take sides with Italy on the Conference of Ambassadors and this bolstered Italy’s position since most of its endorsements were accepted.   The government of Greek had nothing else to do and sensing defeat gave in to Italy’s demands thereby adding more confidence to Mussolini. The thirst for more power and expansionist ideas led Mussolini to annex the city of Fiume from Yugoslavia, a successful operation that earned him a British Knight of the Bath. He was unsatisfied with the treatment Italy was accorded for giving the necessary assistance in defeating the Germans in the World War I. His thirst for power never ended and he dreamt of the day the Mediterranean Sea would be under his control. Italy then invaded Ethiopia under Mussolini‘s commands as a revenge against their shameful defeat at the battle of Adwa in 1896. Such expansionist ideas led to Italy’s blacklisting by the League of Nations and as such forged a new close relationship with the Nazi Germany that harbored the same ideas. The League of Nations lacked the political mandate to reign on rogue nations such as Italy and Germany and Mussolini realizing this, continued with his expansionist ideas .Mussolini invaded Albania in 1939 and fully strengthened its alliance with Germany by forming the Pact of Steel.   His exploits in war were always unsuccessful and due to lack of organized military techniques, lost many of the regions it had annexed earlier. By 1943 Italy’s role in the war had seriously deteriorated and Mussolini was headed to a big loss in the war. Mussolini developed the culture of dismissing the king commands and made him a ceremonial leader. In July 1943, Mussolini met his end onto the hold on power. He was arrested and deposed by elements within the ranks of his own Fascist National Party and the King appointed Field Marshal Pietro Badoglio as the New Prime Minister. He was arrested but saved by Hitler who still regarded him as strong ally in the war. He made many unsuccessful attempts to return to power by forming the Italian Socialist Republic in regions that were under German control, imposing himself as the leader. Mussolini was finally arrested by on April 28, 1945 with his mistress Clara Petacci, this time by Italian forces near Lake Como. He remained under Italian custody but realizing that he was going to be killed ordered that he be shot immediately. His long time friend, Walter Audisio eventually shot him in his chest on Mussolini’s request.   American Intervention in and Post World War II The overall American intervention in World War II was as a result of the surprise   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  attack of Pearl Harbor the Japanese army and the Franklin D Roosevelt fear of an imminent attack of North America by the Germans. The allied forces continuously bombed the allied strongholds and military bases including the German and Japanese cities of Dresden and Tokyo respectively (Jackson and Gleave, pp 87-103). This was based on the belief that killing and destroying civilian areas would discourage more civilians in supporting the war and also put more pressure on their governments to bring an end to the war. While this idea was geared towards ending the war faster, it in turn brought about the opposite. Civilian support for their leaders and the war increased and the war took longer than was previously thought causing many deaths and further destruction of property. Another intention of America on intervening in World War II was done in the name of freedom and democracy to the oppressed.   It is true that freedom and democracy form fundamentals of human rights but these interventions have left behind more sufferings manifested in the loss of lives and the destruction of property. This is because it is always difficult to make a distinction between rebels or armed groups and civilians. Italy was the first of the axis to experience the nature of America’s military intervention when President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, and the combined Joint Chiefs of Staff decided to make the first island of Sicily their first target. According to the U.S. Army Center for Military History (para. 2), the allied forces conquered Messina, the capital Sicily on 17 August 1943, a feat that propelled the Allied forces to push forward with their agenda of freeing Europe of Nazi and fascist idea. The support in terms of humanitarian and relief services from the United States did not begin after the war but in fact began long before the war. This demanded full control of organizations and relief services. During the war, relief services to the Axis –countries was not permitted as in the case of world war I. President Franklin D. Roosevelt saw this as providing further support to German and its allies .This condition continued for long even after the entry of the United States into the war in support of the allied forces. 1939 Neutrality Legislation demanded whole openness and full background details regarding relief agencies as some organizations could be sympathetic to the warring factions. In 1941, Joseph E Davis took over as the head of war relief agencies and brought in much needed reforms that included reducing the number of licensed relief organization from 300 to only 67 by the end of the war immediately after the war the relief control board formally known as the war relief agencies took over the advisory role on voluntary foreign aid. The relief services provided by the American government in World War I had many differences with that of world II, these included regulations regarding the provision of relief services to the prisoners of war and the additional statute on the Geneva Convention regarding the role of the Red Cross. All countries that took part in World War II with exception of Japan and the Soviet Union, were signatory to the 1929 Geneva Convention regarding the overall treatment of prisoners of war. Relief suppliers that included clothing toiletries and medicine were taken to prisoners in the prisons. Continuous inspections by the international Red Cross made sure that term of the Geneva Convention were fully complied with and all prisoners of war receive humane and fair treatment. Due to the different standards for treatments of war prisoners, the Geneva Convention strived to achieve an even state of treatment. Prisoners of war from countries that were not signatories to the Geneva Convention were badly treated by the Geneva Authorities. The overall performance of the Italians in World War II has had different opinions on whether it was a success or a failure.   The general idea that the  Ã‚   Italians military gave a poor show of there strength and surrendered early is not very true.   There are standing examples in very successful war exploits that Italian military achieved Italian military poor ratings from the world war11 seemed too have cropped up due to failed annexing of Greek Island and the unsuccessful take over of North Africa. Describing Italian soldiers as numerous were other factors that definitely contributed to such military mistakes.   Lack of modern weapon, poor leadership and division amongst the rank of Mussolini’s senior advisors that led to lack of will in the objective to accomplish his major war exploits. In 1939, Germany invaded Poland and took control of it; Italy at this point was not in a military position to launch and offensive. Hitler and Mussolini both wanted a redrawing of Europe’s map and in harboring this kind of vision; Mussolini ignored the state of Italy’s military strength and the inability of its war industrial complex to produce modern weapons that were capable of  Ã‚   sustaining a full scale war. Other neighboring nation such as Britain, Germany and France had put a lot in the development and   production of military weapons and had supplicated tanks, guns ammunition and trucks at there disposal(Evan, pp 743-756). In fact at the time of joining the Second World War, Italy’s position in terms of equipment was only at the same level with the First World War.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Its war artillery included the remnants from the First World War that were in ineffective and outdated. It lacked industrial capacity to produce new military equipment and those that were made were always out numbered by the demand. Beretta Pistols and automatic rifles were considered very efficient war machines but were always short in supply while the dreaded machine and sub standard qualities. The shipyard at their disposal was properly designed but lacked the strength in armor and lacked radar. This made it difficult for the Italy military to perform effective in comparison to other nations. Mussolini invented the art of propaganda and as such projected an image of effective air power but was in reality non existent. The whole military had only a few thousands of air crafts, most of which were bi-plane. The modern creations were of no match to those in the possession of the Allied forces. The command of Italy at the beginning of World War II was considered the poorest of all the nations that took active military exploits. Mussolini depended on loyalty as the main basis of selecting officers in various military ranks at the expense of experience. In fact Italy had the least number of experienced generals by the time of joining the war. The commanders and generals who had taken part in World War I were considered as sympathetic to the King and as such were taken to Africa and specifically in Somalia to do away with opposition in homeland. Other tactics involved the demotion of officers who were loyal to the King to lower ranks and replacing them with those that were considered loyal to the II duce. Mussolini asserted full control of the media and all organs of the state and those who criticized him were exiled in the wastelands of Italy such as Somalia. The remainder was composed of loyal military commanders and generals who were loyal to Mussolini and acted as his own stooges. This consisted of a class in the military that lacked the experience to handle a full scale war. Italy’s navy had very limited number of ships that were capable of defending its territorial waters (Gregory, pp 86-99). Poor leadership in the military and the lack of will to fully implement Mussolini’s objectives were main contributors to Italy’s unsuccessful conquests. Italy could not come out the war victorious. The Italian command sensing loss after the Axis evacuated their strongholds in Italy such as the Island of Sicily and the loss of Messina (Atkinson, pp 201-220). The high army command then opened secret negotiations with the Allied forces behind Mussolini’s back with the full support of the King who felt betrayed by Mussolini and undermined his position. He in fact blamed Mussolini on political problems that befell Italy. This almost marked the end of Italy’s active military involvement in the war. The unrelenting Germans disarmed Italian soldiers and rushed in to take up their positions upon realizing that they were about to surrender to the Allied forces.   Conclusion In conclusion, it is obvious that Italian military under the command of Mussolini was headed to a big failure in the war as they got involved into a war the least prepared for and lack of political will to fight Mussolini’s personal war. The whole military at that time lacked both the material and human resource and everything was undertaken to please Mussolini’s desire to gain a greater control of Europe. Questions as to why Mussolini’s would drive an ill equipped army into a full scale war remain baffling to date. The terming of Italian soldiers as cowards was utterly baseless as they fought so well under the experienced guidance of German soldiers led to defeat in Greece and the continuous successful offensive along the Russian borders. It was therefore a multiple number of factors that led to Italy’s early surrender but not cowardice. Mussolini’s inability to learn and change tactics was the major contributor to the progressive loss of war. Lastly it can be said that Italy bravely fought and lost.

Who Was Yuri Gagarin

Every April, people around the world celebrate the life and works of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. He was the first person to travel into outer space and the first to orbit our planet. He accomplished all this in an 108-minute flight on April 12, 1961. During his mission, he commented on the feeling of weightlessness that everyone who ever goes into space experiences. In many ways, he was a pioneer of spaceflight, putting his life on the line not just for his country, but for the human exploration of outer space.   For Americans who remember his flight, Yuri Gagarins space feat was something they watched with mixed feelings: yes, it was great that he was the first man to go to space, which was exciting. His was a much-sought-after achievement by the Soviet space agency at a time when his country and the United States were very much at odds with each other. However, they also had bittersweet feelings about it because NASA hadnt done it first for the U.S.A. Many felt the agency had somehow failed or  was being left behind in the race for space. The flight of Vostok 1 was a milestone in human spaceflight, and Yuri Gagarin put a face on the exploration of stars.   The Life and Times of Yuri Gagarin Gagarin was born on March 9, 1934. As a young adult, he took flight training at a local aviation club, and his flying career continued in the military. He was selected for the Soviet space program in 1960, part of a group of 20 cosmonauts who were in training for a series of missions that were planned to take them to the Moon and beyond. On April 12, 1961, Gagarin climbed into his Vostok capsule and launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome—which remains today as Russias premier launch site. The pad he launched from is now called Gagarins Start. Its also the same pad that the Soviet space agency launched the famous Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957. A month after Yuri Gagarins flight to space, U.S. astronaut Alan Shephard, Jr., made HIS first flight to and the race to space went into high gear. Yuri was named Hero of the Soviet Union, traveled the world talking of his accomplishments, and rose quickly through the ranks of Soviet Air Forces. He was never allowed to fly to space again, and became the deputy training director for the Star City cosmonaut training base. He continued flying as a fighter pilot while working on his aerospace engineering studies and writing his thesis about future space planes. Yuri Gagarin died on a routine training flight on March 27, 1968, one of many astronauts to die in space flight accidents ranging from the Apollo 1 disaster to the Challenger and Columbia shuttle mishaps. There has been much speculation (never proven) that some nefarious activities led to his crash. Its far more likely that erroneous weather reports or an air vent failure led to the deaths of Gagarin and his flight instructor, Vladimir Seryogin.   Yuris Night Since 1962, there has always been a celebration in Russia (Former Soviet Union) called Cosmonautics Day, to commemorate Gagarins flight to space. Yuris Night began in 2001 as a way to celebrate his achievements and those of other astronauts in space. Many planetariums and science centers hold events, and there are celebrations at bars, restaurants, universities, Discovery Centers, observatories (such as Griffith Observatory), private homes and many other venues where space enthusiasts gather. To find more about Yuris Night, simply Google the term for activities.   Today, astronauts on the International Space Station are the latest to follow him into space and live in Earth orbit. In the future of space exploration, people may well start living and working on the Moon, studying its geology and mining its resources, and preparing for trips to an asteroid or to Mars. Perhaps they, too, will celebrate Yuris Night and tip their helmets in memory of the first man to head to space.