YMO

"Technopolis"
"Solid State Survivor" was the second album by Japanese electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra, released in 1979. Solid State Survivor was never released in the United States, but many of the songs from this album were compiled for release in the States as the US pressing of ×∞Multiplies (1980), including the tracks "Behind the Mask", "Rydeen", "Day Tripper", and "Technopolis".^[1] Solid State Survivor is only one of a handful of YMO albums in which the track titles do not have a Japanese equivalent.
The album was an early example of synthpop, a genre that the band helped pioneer,^[2] alongside their earlier album Yellow Magic Orchestra (1978),^[3] and it also contributed to the development of techno.^[4] Solid State Survivor won the Best Album Award at the 22nd Japan Record Awards,^[5] and it sold two million records.^[6] Several songs from the album have continued to be widely covered and sampled.^[7][8]



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Prince

"Little Red Corvette" is a song by the American musician Prince. Released as a single from the album 1999 in 1983, the song was his biggest hit at the time, and his first to reach top-10 status in the U.S., peaking at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. It was also his first single to perform better on the pop chart than the R&B chart, due to the pop/rock format of the song.
The song combines a drum machine beat and slow synth buildup for the verses and a full rock chorus. Backing vocals were done by Lisa Coleman and the classic guitar solo was played by Dez Dickerson. In the song, Prince narrates a one-night stand with a beautiful but promiscuous woman (the "Little Red Corvette" of the title); although he enjoys the experience, he urges her to "slow down" and "find a love that's gonna last" before she destroys herself. In addition to the title, he uses several other automobile metaphors, for example comparing their lovemaking to a ride in a limousine.
A 12" dance remix of the song was released to accompany the single, and it continues where the album version fades out. The U.S. single was originally released with the album track "All the Critics Love U in New York" as the B-side, while in the UK two separate single releases had it backed with "Lady Cab Driver" or "Horny Toad". Separate UK 12" releases had the song paired with "Automatic" and "International Lover", or "Horny Toad" and "D.M.S.R.". Later, it was released as a double A-side with "1999".
The single was released with another 1999 track, "Let's Pretend We're Married".
On Prince's 2006 compilation album, Ultimate, the dance remix of "Little Red Corvette" was a featured track.

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Rihanna featuring Jay-Z

"Umbrella" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna, featuring a rap verse by Jay-Z. The song was written by The-Dream, Christopher Stewart, Kuk Harrell and Jay-Z, and was produced by Stewart for Rihanna's third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007). The song was originally written for recording artist Britney Spears, whose label rejected it. "Umbrella" is a pop and R&B song and lyrically it refers to a romantic and platonic relationship and the strength of that relationship. It is generally considered Rihanna's signature song.
"Umbrella" was well received by music critics, many of whom appreciated the "ella, ella" hook as well as the covincing vocals with which she delivered the chorus. Entertainment Weekly ranked the song number one on the 10 Best Singles of 2007, while Rolling Stone and Time listed the song at number three on the 100 Best Songs of 2007. The song has earned Rihanna several awards and nominations. In 2007, the song won two awards at the MTV Video Music Awards, when it was nominated for four. At the 50th Grammy Awards, "Umbrella" also earned Rihanna and Jay-Z a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration in addition to receiving nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
The song serves as the lead single to the album, and was released worldwide on March 29, 2007 through Def Jam Recordings. "Umbrella" was a commercial success, topping the charts in Australia, Canada, Germany, France, the Republic of Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In the United Kingdom, where the song's chart performance generated controversy when the country was experiencing excessive flooding and large amounts of rain at the time, it is deemed an iconic song and was one of the most played songs on radio in the 2000s (decade). It managed to stay at number one on the UK Singles Chart for ten consecutive weeks, the longest run at number one for any single of that decade. The single was one of the highest digital debuts in the United States and remained at the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 for seven consecutive weeks.
The single's accompanying music video was directed by Chris Applebaum and features Rihanna's nude body covered in silver paint. The video earned Rihanna a Video of the Year at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards and Most Watched Video on MuchMusic.com at MuchMusic Video Awards. Along with countless amateurs, "Umbrella" has been covered by several notable performers from a variety of musical genres, including Taylor Swift, OneRepublic, Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park, Vanilla Sky and The Baseballs. Rihanna performed the song at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards, 2008 BRIT Awards and was the closing song of the Good Girl Gone Bad, Last Girl on Earth, and Loud Tours.



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The Art of Noise

"Moments in love"

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Art of Noise (also The Art of Noise) were an avant-garde synthpop group formed in 1983 by engineer/producer Gary Langan, programmer J. J. Jeczalik, along with arranger Anne Dudley, producer Trevor Horn and music journalist Paul Morley.^[1] The group's mostly instrumental compositions were novel melodic sound collages based on digital sampler technology, which was new at the time. Inspired by turn-of-the-20th-century revolutions in music, the Art of Noise were initially packaged as a faceless anti- or non-group, blurring the distinction between the art and its creators. The band is noted for innovative use of electronics and computers in pop music and particularly for innovative use of sampling.

The name of the group alludes to the essay "The Art of Noises" by noted futurist Luigi Russolo. From the earliest releases on ZTT, the band referred to itself as both Art of Noise and The Art of Noise. Official and unofficial releases and press material use both versions.