1.) Pennywise

The History of Pennywise

Definition of the band´s name: If somebody is penny – wise, he is thrifty (sparsam) with the little things.

In 1988 a band, which is one of the most succesfull and best Punkbands of the world, was born – Pennywise

Pennywise  was originated in Hormosa Beach (California) by the Four bandmembers Jason Matthew Thirsk (bass), Fletcher Dragge (guitar), Jim Lindberg (vocals) and the drummer Byron McMackin. Right from the beginning Jason wanted to belong to a band which is only playing   a positive and a melodic music and brings the people to think.

So Pennywise became characterized by bands like “Cicle Jerks”, “Black Flag”, “The Descendents” or “Bad Religion”, but you can´t say that that Pennywise would have copied the style of these bands because Pennywise has got more speed and harder texts than bands

like “Circle Jerks”.

The first Cd of Pennywise which was available in the music stores was “Words from a Wise” – made by the label Theologian Records. After this Cd got published, the Singer Jim Lindberg left the band and the bass – player Jason became the new frontman. The position of Jason got took by Randy Bradbury which is regular Pennywise band –member today.

In 1991 Pennywise became asked by Brett Gurewitz if they want to play under his label Epitaph and offered a contract to them. Pennywise accepted and one year later they brought out their first album on Epitaph Records: “Pennywise – Self – Titled”. Jim Lindberg returned    

to the band for the recording of this album and the band was complete again. The albums “Unknown Road” (1993) and “About Time” (1995) followed and in 1996 Pennywise was on Tour (Warped Tour) with the worldwide known band  “NOFX”. Then in the end of 1996 Jason Matthew Thirsk made suicide while the work at the album “Full Circle”. The reason is unknown. After the death of Jason, Pennywise paused for half a year and in 1997 their fifth album “Full Circle” was published. Because the album “Full Circle” was very depressive, many people thought, that Pennywise possibly would stop making sound, but then the new album “Straight Ahead” came out in 1998 and was a big success. In October 2000 Pennywise´s first live album “Live @ the key club”  was recorded, like the name of the album says, in the legendary “Key Club” of Hollywood. The album “Live @ the Key Club” contains many old songs like new songs too. 

2.)Edward Albee:

”Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf”:

Author:

Edward Albee, the American dramatist was born March 12, 1928, in Washington D.C.. His plays include The Zoo Story, The death of Bessie Smith, The Sandbox, The American Dream, Tiny Alice and Malcolm. In 1967 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for a delicate Balance. His most recent works are two one act plays : Box and Quotations from chairman Mao Tse-tung and All over, a play.   

Plot:

George, an unsuccessful professor of history, and Martha, his wife, the daughter of the president of a small New England college, return home early in the morning from a party for new faculty members. George and Martha are drunk when they enter and continue drinking throughout the rest of the play.

Under vicious remarks upon him and his abilities she informs him that they now expect guests, a young and fresh lecturer and his wife. George gives way in a resigned realization of the inevitability and so he mixes the drinks. As the young people appear, Martha begins with the play of the emotional disassembly. With a slowly but constant increased intensity she discovers Nick and Honey, the weakness of her husband, his incompetence, his failed career, his ridiculous physical constitution – short, she degrades him on skin and bones. George is not able to defend himself, he only says that she should stop with her taunts. Honey must vomit because of the alcohol-consumption. In the drunken orgy that follows, Martha and George lead a hard battle of words to hurt each other. In the second act George strikes back and he uses Martha’s tactics on the guests, by expansions of intimate details, and so Honey collapses. After that Martha turns erotic toward Nick and they disappear in the back-rooms.

As George hears that Martha has spoken about their son, the resolution matures in him to make finally a clear table. In the third act George forces Martha in front of the guests to notice the truth. Martha so far was a really strong woman, but now she collapses, the guests go home and Martha and George stay back without hope, empty and exhausted.

Characteristics:

Martha: She is nasty-vicious, merciless and hungry after a strong reaction of George. As the reaction comes it destroys Martha.

George:  Because the father of George is president of the college, it makes him bigger  than the two guests and his wife Martha – he thinks at least.

Nick: He is a young lecturer and his career stands in the centre of his life. He seems to represent everything the American dream was about, he is good looking and ambitious.

Honey: She is a little stupid woman, she drinks too much, and she doesn’t understand any irony. Even as George makes jokes about her, she doesn’t recognize it for a long time. Her collapses stay temporary, because she doesn’t think really about it. After ten minutes in the bath-room she comes again naive along.

vicious – böshaft                                                       expansion – Zunahme

inevitability – unvermeidlichkeit                                 exhausted - erschöpft

emotional disassembly – emotionaler  Abbau           employer - Arbeitgeber

taunts – Verhöhnungen

lecturer – Hochschullehrer

increased – steigernd, wachsend

vomit – erbrechen