Freak Out! (1966) is the debut studio album by the American rock band
the Mothers of Invention. One of rock music's first concept albums, it
is a satirical expression of frontman Frank Zappa's perception of
American pop culture. It was also one of the earliest double albums in
rock music. It features Zappa on vocals and guitar, along with lead
vocalist and tambourine player Ray Collins, bass player and vocalist Roy
Estrada, drummer-vocalist Jimmy Carl Black and guitar player Elliot
Ingber, who later joined Captain Beefheart's Magic Band under the name
Winged Eel Fingerling. The musical content of Freak Out! ranges from
rhythm and blues, doo-wop and standard blues-influenced rock to
orchestral arrangements and avant-garde sound collages. The album was a
success in Europe; in the United States, it was poorly received at
first, but gradually gained a cult following. In 1999, the album was
honored with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award, and in 2003, Rolling Stone
ranked it among the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freak_Out!>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1794:
The United States and Great Britain signed the Jay Treaty, the
basis for ten years of peaceful trade between the two nations.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Treaty>
1863:
American Civil War: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered
the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Soldiers' National
Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gettysburg_Address>
1942:
World War II: Soviet troops launched Operation Uranus at the
Battle of Stalingrad, with the goal of encircling Axis forces, turning
the tide of the battle in the Soviet Union's favour.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Uranus>
1969:
Playing for Santos against Vasco da Gama in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazilian footballer Pelé scored his one thousandth goal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pel%C3%A9>
2010:
The first of four explosions occurred at the Pike River Mine in
the West Coast region of New Zealand in the nation's worst mining
disaster in nearly a century.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pike_River_Mine_disaster>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
ruff:
1. A circular frill or ruffle on a garment, especially a starched, fluted
frill at the neck in Elizabethan and Jacobean England (1560s–1620s).
2. Anything formed with plaits or flutings like a frill.
3. Senses relating to animals.
4. Philomachus pugnax (syn. Calidris pugnax), a gregarious, medium-sized
wading bird of Eurasia; specifically, a male of the species which
develops a distinctive ruff of feathers and ear tufts during mating
season (the female is called a reeve).
5. (ornithology) A set of lengthened or otherwise modified feathers on or
around the neck of a bird.
6. (zoology) A collar of lengthened or distinctively coloured fur on or
around the neck of an animal.
7. (engineering) A collar on a shaft or other piece to prevent endwise
motion.
8. (obsolete) An exhibition of haughtiness or pride.
9. (obsolete) Tumultuous or wanton conduct or procedure.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ruff>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Sections and races should be forgotten and partisanship should be
unknown. Let our people find a new meaning in the divine oracle which
declares that "a little child shall lead them", for our own little
children will soon control the destinies of the Republic.
--James A. Garfield
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_A._Garfield>