"S&M;" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna (pictured) from her fifth
studio album, Loud (2010). The song was released in January 2011 as the
fourth single from the album. Written by the American songwriter Ester
Dean in collaboration with its producers StarGate and Sandy Vee, "S&M;"
borrows from Depeche Mode's 1984 song "Master and Servant". The lyrics
make reference to sadomasochism, bondage, and fetishes. The song reached
number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaked at number one in
Australia, Canada, and Poland, and reached the top five in France,
Germany, Ireland, Spain, and the UK. Critical response was mixed; some
praised its sound and composition while others criticized its overtly
sexual lyrics. An accompanying music video that portrays softcore
sadomasochistic acts and fetishes was banned in many countries and
restricted to nighttime television in others. Critics complimented
Rihanna's sensuality and the vibrant colors. Photographer David
LaChapelle filed a lawsuit alleging that the video incorporates ideas
from his photographs.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%26M_(song)>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
321:
Emperor Constantine I decreed that Sunday, the day honoring the
sun god Sol Invictus, would be the Roman day of rest.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Invictus>
1871:
José Paranhos, Viscount of Rio Branco, became Prime Minister
of the Empire of Brazil, starting a four-year rule, the longest in the
state's history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Paranhos,_Viscount_of_Rio_Branco>
1945:
World War II: In Operation Lumberjack, Allied forces seized the
Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine, enabling them to establish and expand
a lodgement on German soil that changed the entire nature of the
conflict on the Western Front.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludendorff_Bridge>
1965:
African-American Civil Rights Movement: Civil rights
demonstrators marching from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, were brutally
attacked by police on Bloody Sunday.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selma_to_Montgomery_marches>
1985:
The charity single "We Are the World" by the supergroup USA for
Africa was released, and would go on to sell over 20 million copies.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Are_the_World>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
phillumenist:
A person who collects match-related items, like matchbox labels,
matchboxes, matchbooks, or matchbook covers.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/phillumenist>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
One swallow does not make a summer, nor does one day; and so too
one day, or a short time, does not make a man blessed and happy.
--Aristotle
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aristotle>