Soviet Union And The Cold War Essay - 1484 Words

The Cold War was a state of tension between the Soviet Union and the United States soon after WWII had ended. The war was deemed â€Å"cold’ because there was no direct fight between the two key countries. When World War II ended, there were only two super powers left and both had intentions of spreading their incompatible ideological system across the globe. Soviet’s Communism and the United States’ Capitalism were the different views that sparked the Cold War. Problems started when the USSR started its expansionism in Eastern Europe which went against the rules brought about in the Yalta Conference. The Yalta Conference was the meeting of the heads of governments of United States, United Kingdom and the Soviet Union (Brinkley p. 655). The conference was designed to prepare a post-war peace plan. The United States saw the Soviet’s expansion as a threat so they planned to contain the growth of communism. Under President Truman, the United States aided cou ntries in Europe to stop the spread of communism. This aid cost the United States approximately 400 million dollars which went to the Greek and Turkish governments. The Cold War had a massive impact on numerous countries around the world with proxy wars occurring in places like Korea and Vietnam. While the war was pulling other countries into conflict, the United States was being influenced as well. Fear and a shift in opinion of homosexuals were present in the time of the Cold War and even continued when the Cold War came to anShow MoreRelatedThe Cold War And The Soviet Union973 Words   |  4 PagesThe Cold War was a state of economic, diplomatic, and ideological discord among nations without armed conflict. The Cold War was between the United States and the USSR because these were the two major powers after WWII. Basically, the Cold War was a series of proxy wars that had taken place back in time involving surrounding countries. One of the main causes for Cold War was that the Soviet Union was spreading communism and the United States didn’t like that so they were trying to contain communismRead MoreThe Cold War And The Soviet Union1233 Words   |  5 PagesThe Cold War is unique among war’s to be not a war between states, but a war between ideologies. The United States and other allies defend social democracy capitalism, as the pinnacle of freedom and equality; and the Soviet Union though communism was the pinnacle of equality. These ideologies manifested themselves through the superpowers, which caused the conflict between them. Both the United States, and the Soviet Union are to blame for the outbreak of the Cold War. The United State’s missionRead MoreThe Cold War And The Soviet Union1697 Words   |  7 PagesThe Cold War, in fact didn’t take place in the winter season, but was just as dangerously cold and unwelcoming, as it focused on two contrasting powers: the U.S. and the Soviet Union. After World War 2, the Cold War influenced capitalist U.S. and communist Soviet Union to engage in disagreements causing many disputes having to use military, economic and humanitarian aid. With different goals, the contrasting powers prove through the Marshall Plan, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and SALT that communismRead MoreThe Cold War And Soviet Union840 Words   |  4 PagesThere are many theories and opinions of how the cold war started. Some believe that the cold war was the result of the belligerence of Joseph Stalin and the insecurity it caused in the United States and the West. Others believe the primary responsibility for the cold war derives from the hardline policies of the United States. (Viewpoints Article: the Soviet Union Start the Cold War) I believe The Cold War was triggered by the theory of two superpower countries in a race for dominance in the worldRead MoreCold War And The Soviet Union859 Words   |  4 PagesAMS2270 Cold War This essay will discuss about cold war, including the background, beginning, progress and ending. As we know, cold war is a struggle between U.S. with NATO and Soviet Union with WTO from 1947 to 1991. It is a significant event in history, and it influence the almost all of world, it directly lead to the radical change of eastern Europe and the breakup of the USSR. In 1946 February, George.F.Kennan wrote a â€Å"Long Telegram†, it clearly said the strategy of containing Soviets and itRead MoreThe Cold War On The Soviet Union1230 Words   |  5 PagesThe Cold War’s effect on the Soviet Union Shortly after the World War 2 ended, the United States and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies entered the cold war with the Soviet Union. Germany was divided in half and later, the Berlin Wall was constructed as a physical boundary between the Soviet controlled East Germany and NATO controlled West Germany. This standoff continued until the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. The cold war had a huge influence on the world stage, but also had a majorRead MoreThe Cold War And The Soviet Union1391 Words   |  6 Pageswake of World War II as the decades-long force of Germany’s reign came to its conclusion, an extensive repositioning of authority among the world’s top powers began. The war wielded devastating consequences for most countries involved and effectively diminished the dominance Britain and France once employed across the globe. Out of this devastation rose the two new dominating forces of the world who were triumphant in the aftermath of the war: the U nited States and the Soviet Union. The United StatesRead MoreThe Cold War And The Soviet Union Essay965 Words   |  4 PagesThe Cold War was a period in world history marked with increased tensions primarily between the United States and the Soviet Union. Both countries desired to expand their ideologies across the globe, the U.S. urging capitalism and democratic elections and the Soviets promoting communism. After the allies had obtained victory in World War II, the Yalta Conference was held. Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, wanted to expand his sphere of influence into Eastern Europe and demanded thatRead MoreThe Cold War And The Soviet Union1343 Words   |  6 PagesAbstract: As one of the most important events in 20th century, the Cold War had a very deep influence for the human-being civilization and it changed the world structure . The United States and the Soviet Union ,the two poles, became enemies from friends after the World War II. They adopt hostile attitude towards each other and criticized the the opponents’ social systems. To find out who provoked the Cold War, the US, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdoms ,Roosevelt, Truman ,Stalin, and ChurchillRead MoreThe Soviet Union Of The Cold War1745 Words   |  7 Pages During the era of the Cold War, starting in 1947 and definitively ending in 1991, the United States and the Soviet Union faced off in conflicts with each other through smaller states. The United States and Soviet Union faced off to see who could spread their ideology the most in Europe. The Soviet Union used force and supported coups to spread communism while the United States installed democratic governments as a way to counter communism in Eastern Europe. These small conflicts that the two superpowers

Literary Reflection - 820 Words

Literary Reflection As literature has progressed throughout the centuries, one of the basic principles has remained the same and that is: for literature to be effective, the reader must establish a connection of some sort to the literary work. Looking at the story from a theological standpoint, Alice Walker’s short story, The Welcome Table (1970), makes the reader not only imagine the struggles colored people had to endure but also knowing that having faith in Jesus can bring about a sense of joy. This piece of literary work captured my interest because of its true soulfulness and also how the story was told. The text explains about a point-of-view called omniscient, which is used in this story. Omniscient, according to Clugston, is†¦show more content†¦The story was made even more powerful because the church, which was supposed to be a place of worship and a gathering place of God’s people, still had people that looked down on the old black woman as being from an inferior race. The descriptive talent of the author makes the reader not only connect with the story by initially feeling a sense of hopelessness for the woman, but completely turns it around and promotes a sense of victory. References Adolf, A. (2010). WHAT DOES PEACE LITERATURE DO? AN INTRODUCTION TO THE GENRE AND ITS CRITICISM. Peace Research , 42 (1/2), 9-21,177. Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey Into Literature. (E. Evans, Ed.) San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education,Show MoreRelatedReflections on Society in Literary Works865 Words   |  4 Pagesdehumanization through isolation from society. While some might believe that Marquez and Golding use the trapped characters’ actions to criticize society, it they are actually doing the opposite. All immoral behavior done by characters in these literary works are done in the absence of society, showing that the authors are actually portraying society as the stabilizing element of our morality, and the structure of our humanization. Without society, for characters like Maria, Jack, Roger and RalphRead MoreAnalysis Of `` Mirror `` By Sylvia Plath1231 Words   |  5 Pageswritten in free verse. However, the poem has a nice flow to it, as the words fluctuate gracefully through each line. Plath heavily uses imagery and symbolism in this lyric poem as this can be observed in the first stanza. In add ition to the types of literary devices Plath uses continually throughout her poem, she also has set her poem in two locations. In the first verse, the setting is in a bathroom, one can infer this through her use of imagery. The second known setting is a lake, but as a reader,Read More Anatomy of Criticism Essay example1249 Words   |  5 PagesAnatomy of Criticism  Ã‚   Introduction In his Anatomy of Criticism, Northrop Frye offers a complex theory that aspires to describe a unifying system for literary criticism. It can be argued, however, that in attempting to delineate such an all-inclusive structure, Fryes system eliminates identity in literature. The present essay takes up this argument and offers examples of how identity is precluded by Fryes system as outlined in Anatomy of Criticism. Structure Vs. Identity In Fryes systemRead MoreEdward Hirsch Taught the World to Appreciate Poetry Essay772 Words   |  4 Pagesappreciate poetry to its greatest potential. Born in Chicago on January 20, 1950, he began writing at a young age and his traditional writing style of formal with a small creative twist. He strengthened America Poetry and gave a different view of literary criticism. Like any other eight year old boy, Hirsch loved sports, but he also fell in love with poetry. He found and read a copy of Emily Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s â€Å"Spellbound† and loved it. As a child, he did not read a lot or really enjoy it, but through hisRead MoreSummary : Professional Accomplishments Essay1637 Words   |  7 PagesSaramago. Thesis supervisor: dr. hab. BogusÅ‚aw Bednarek, University of WrocÅ‚aw. 1996-2001 – Doctoral Studies, Programme in Bibliology, Linguistics and Literary Science, University of WrocÅ‚aw, initially in the Culture Theory Research Unit, under the academic auspices of prof. dr. hab. Jerzy JastrzÄ™bski; from the second academic year – in the Literary Theory Research Unit. 2002 – PhD (doktor) in the humanities, based on the thesis: Gnosis and Literature. Motifs, threads, interpretative models. DoctoralRead MoreEssay about Grief from a Cross-Cultural Perspective1573 Words   |  7 Pagestextual. The story is divided into three sections: the first introduces the concept of insanity as experienced by the protagonist; the second, although still set in the stream of consciousness, focuses on the narrator’s grief rather than his reflection of self; the third concludes with the protagonist reentering reality, or the physical world. From the analysis of these sections, conclusions will be drawn through comparison to the Kà ¼bler-Ross model. In order to compare the human reactions to theRead MoreFive Theories in the Bedroom of the Dead Essay876 Words   |  4 PagesJames Joyce’s short story â€Å"The Dead† is used to portray this statement in Garrett’s article â€Å"Six Theories in the Bedroom of The Dead.† As noted by the title of the article, Garrett analyzes James Joyce’s story using more than one literary theory and a â€Å"general reflection† at the end to recap his work (Garrett 123). Garrett takes time to point out why each t heory can and cannot work for â€Å"The Dead† using historical and textual evidence to support his claims. The theories in question are: deconstructionRead MoreWilliam Wordsworth1477 Words   |  6 PagesWordsworth’s Use of Literary Devices Related to Nature William Wordsworth’s frequent references to nature in his poetry shows that he paid close attention to the details of the physical environment around him. His poetry relates to nature by focusing primarily on the relationship between inner life with the outer world. William Wordsworth uses literary devices such as personification, similes, and the impressions nature makes on him to show the importance of the relationship that man should haveRead MoreEssay on Finding Meaning in For Color Girls1232 Words   |  5 Pagesovercome them. Not much of that thinking has changed except now, with critical attitudes like the intrinsic and feminist literary theory analysis, the text has a broader meaning. For colored girls does not mean for black women only, it means for all women with beauty and different shades as they rise and take power. I am going to analyze this text using the intrinsic and feminist literary theory analysis. With the intrinsic analysis, I will brood mostly on the style and characterization of the text. AccordingRead MoreThe Death Of The Author1194 Words   |  5 Pagesthis in the first place. You would not get a paper of this theme of concept in the United States, during the time he wrote this and even now. The subject of his paper, literary theory, allows me to believe that during this time there was a spike in literature and higher education. The way Barthes wrote this essay is a reflection of who he is. The examples and comparison that he uses reflects not only where he is from but his interests. The first example he uses in his essay was about a writer Sarrasine

Sustainable Competitive Advantage of Walmart free essay sample

Wal-MartCase 8: Sustaining Competitive advantage Question 1: What are the isolating mechanisms preserving Wal-Mart’s competitive advantage in the US market? (use readings case 7) Sam Walton was the founder of Wal-Mart. Sam had the idea of reaching small towns in rural areas where the people had to travel many miles to do their shopping. This was a big market that was initially ignored by the major players before Wal-Mart. Eventually Wal-Mart grew to become market leader among the US discount department stores. The core of their success was defined by their technological superiority and the way Wal-Mart treats her associates (customers, employees and suppliers). According to the resource-based theory of a firm, there are two characteristics that resources must have to maintain sustainability of the firm’s competitive advantage: 1 Scarcity 2 Imperfect mobility Concerning Wal-Mart, Imperfect mobility might be more obvious: During the years, Wal-Mart developed a technological superiority that provided the company with almost real-time information about inventory, suppliers and buyers. These capabilities and resources made it possible for Wal-Mart to apply the ‘everyday low prices’ strategy. This sophisticated technology in the sense of experience, know-how and mass investment made it very difficult for competitors to imitate or neutralize Wal-Mart’s competitive advantage. Sustaining this competitive advantage, Wal-Mart made use of several isolating mechanisms: Impediments to Imitation: 1 Legal restrictions: This implies the use patents or other IP means. This is not relevant to Wal-Mart’s story. Superior Access to inputs or Customers: Firms often achieve favorable access to inputs by controlling the sources of supply through ownership or long-term exclusive contracts. Given the fact that Wal-Mart was targeting rural areas, they didn’t have distributors falling over themselves to serve them like competitors in larger towns. Their only alternative: building their own warehouses. Wal-Mart used a two-step, hub-and-spoke distribution network. Wal-Mart trucks bring the merchandise to the distribution center, where it is sorted for delivery to the Wal-Mart stores.80% of the purchases for the Wal-Mart stores were shipped from its own 27 distribution centers. Also because of their Technological superiority, Wal-Mart has access to a lot of detailed, real-time information. This way, Wal-Mart store managers have full access to real-time inventory data. Suppliers have a direct communication with Wal-Mart concerning deliveries, etc. Employees and top management are in close contact through satellite technology. Many insights and opportunities can be discovered in the aggregated customer data. This superior management of information sets Wal-Mart apart from competitors in the US and gives Wal-Mart the competitive advantage to set very low prices. 3 Market size and scale economies: In the beginning, Wal-Mart was the underdog in the market. So it surely did not benefit from economies of scale. Now Wal-Mart is market leader in the US and definitely has economies of scale. But, in my opinion, this may be explained better through other isolation mechanisms. 4 Intangible Barriers to Imitation. Causal ambiguity: causal ambiguity can be explained in situations where the causes of a firm’s ability to create more value than its competitors are obscure and only imperfectly understood. F. e. Tacit knowledge. Employees over time develop certain skills that may be specific for a certain company. Explaining those specific skills to another company may be very hard. Wal-Mart puts a lot of effort in training their employees and motivating them by giving them more responsibility and recognition. F. e.giving their store managers more latitude in setting prices empowered their managers to sell at their optimal price instead of following a general price for every store. This way employees develop a certain expertise, know-how that is very specific to Wal-Mart and can’t be imitated easily by direct competitors. b Dependence on Historical Circumstances: A firm’s history of strategic action comprises its unique experiences in adapting to the business environment. These experiences can make the firm uniquely capable of pursuing its own strategy and incapable of imitating the  strategies of competitors. Wal-Mart started as the underdog in small towns in rural areas. This was a very tough position to start in, but with the dedication of Sam Walton and its associates, Wal-Mart became US leader in discount stores. With that, Wal-Mart cumulated a lot of experience. c Social Complexity: Socially complex phenomena include the interpersonal relations of managers in a firm and the relationship between the firm’s managers and those of its suppliers and customers. Wal-Mart has a very open culture regarding its associates. Employees are motivated to use the â€Å"YesWeCanSam† suggestion program give ideas to simplify, improve or eliminate work. Profit sharing accounts were available for employees after one year. Based on earnings growth, Wal-Mart contributed a percentage of every eligible employee’s wage to his or her profit sharing account, whose balance the employee could take upon leaving the company either in cash or Wal-Mart stock. Basically having a small cut of Wal-Mart’s profit after leaving the company. This way, employees had a very tight bond with Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart also had an ‘open door’ policy: associates such as managers and suppliers were very well informed about the numbers of Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart was known as a no-nonsense negotiator among its suppliers. Very often suppliers evolved into ‘partnerships’. Installing EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) gave suppliers all the information they needed about Wal-Mart. In general, Wal-Mart focused on building loyalty among associates, customers and suppliers. Early-Mover Advantages:  Learning curve: A firm that has sold higher volumes of output that its competitors in earlier periods will move farther down the learning curve and achieve lower unit costs than its rivals. This is definitely true for Wal-Mart. 2 Reputation and buyer uncertainty: Once the firm’s reputation has been created, the firm will have an advantage competing for new customers, increasing the number of customers who have had success ful trials and thus further strengthening its reputation. Quality of services for customers and suppliers are very high at Wal-Mart. Buyer switching costs: Customers have low switching costs at discount stores. Although there might be some switching costs involved for small town folks where the next discount store, next to Wal-Mart, is many miles away. 4 Network effects: The more users in the actual network, the greater the opportunities for communication, and the greater the value of the network. This might not be very relevant for Wal-Mart. Maybe only relevant for its EDI platform for its suppliers. Summary of potential factors: 1 Build own warehouses2 locating stores in isolated rural areas which everyone ignored 3 Obsessed with keeping prices below everybody else’s 4 Workfloor: doing things different, unpredictable, interesting and fun. 5 Walton knew his competitors intimately and copied their best ideas. 6 Staying humble during Wal-Mart’s success. 7 Open-door policy 8 empowering associates, maintaining technological superiority and building loyalty among associates, customers and suppliers. 9 ev eryday-low prices, Wal-Mart had very few promotions. advertising was low. Gives store managers more latitude in setting prices centrally priced, direct competitors 11 Efforts to replace foreign-sourced goods with american-made ones. 12 Quick communication with managers to adjust inflow of products gt; avoid overstocking and deep discounting. 13 Hub-and-spoke distribution network 14 Cross-docking = no inventory gt; immediately shifting goods from the suppliers truck to the Wal-Mart truck. 15 EDI: very close connection with their suppliers 16 Close connection with employees

Pink Floyd Research Paper free essay sample

Then just as quickly as I was swept away, I was eerily back in my room where I was writing this paper. When I thought â€Å"what was roger waters thinking while writing the lyrics, and how did the unused sessions of the collaborated written music sound, did David Gilmour like a different guitar riff than waters, or were they unanimously in agreement? †. These were the strikes on my mental match that started the unstoppable Floyd fire which set my mind ablaze. Pink Floyd over the 48 years of its existence has had five members in the group(all of which have been inducted in the rock amp; roll hall of fame), with its founder being Syd Barrett (some argue roger waters had founder status as well, but I dont know because it wasn’t â€Å"Pink Floyd† until Barrett came up with the name). The four original members of Pink Floyd all met in London while going to school for their degrees. We will write a custom essay sample on Pink Floyd Research Paper or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Syd Barrett, the original lead guitarist, met up with three men who were studying at the London Technical College for Architecture. These three were Roger Waters, the bass player, Rick Wright the keyboardist and finally a drummer named Nick Mason. All of the members of the band were originally from Cambridge apart from Rick Wright, who was from London. In fact Waters and Mason were friends at school and had spent most of their teenage life together. Waters and Barrett were childhood friends. Waters had usually visited Barrett and watched him play guitar at Barretts mothers house. Mason said this regarding Barrett: In a period when everyone was being cool in a very adolescent, self-conscious way, Syd was unfashionably outgoing; my enduring memory of our first encounter is the fact that he bothered to come up and introduce himself to me. Starting in 1964, the band that would become Pink Floyd underwent various line-up and name changes such as The Abdabs, The Screaming Abdabs, Sigma 6, and The Meggadeaths. In 1965, Barrett joined them as The Tea Set (sometimes spelled as T-Set), Barrett created the name The Pink Floyd Sound on the spur of the moment when he discovered that another band, also called the Tea Set, were to perform at one of their gigs. The final name is derived from the given names of two Georgia blues musicians whose records Barrett had in his collection, Pink Anderson and Floyd â€Å"flipper boy† Council. Pink Floyd (as they are called now) originally consisted of students Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, Roger Waters, and Richard Wright. Pioneering the Pink Floyd’s sound was Syd Barrett. Pink Floyd first gained popularity performing in Londons underground music scene during the late 1960s. In early 1967, Norman Smith began working with a new group, Pink Floyd, producing their first, second, and fourth studio albums The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, A Saucerful of Secrets, and Ummagumma. By mid-1967, they had developed an unmistakably psychedelic sound, performing long, loud compositions that boasted accents of hard rock, blues, country, folk, and experimental electronic music. Adding a slide-and-light show (one of the first in British rock), they became a sensation among Londons underground as a featured attraction at the UFO Club. Under Barretts creative leadership they released two charting singles called â€Å"See Emily Play†, And â€Å"Arnold Layne†; Another success is â€Å"The Piper at the Gates of Dawn†, the debut album by Pink Floyd, and the only one made under founding member Syd Barretts leadership. David Gilmour joined as a fifth member in December 1967. After two albums (The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, A Saucerful of Secrets), Barrett self-destructed due to mental instability aggravated by drug use, Barrett left the band 4 months later in April 1968; Gilmour filled the musical void left by Barrett. First a brief stop off in 1969 with music from the Film †more† which is the first full-length soundtrack album, and third studio album by Pink Floyd (Released on 13 June 1969 in the UK and 9 August in the US). More contains some acoustic folk ballads, a genre that appeared by a hair on later works. It also contains some of the bands heaviest recordings, such as The Nile Song and Ibiza Bar, as well as several instrumental tracks, featuring their experimental and ground breaking visionary approach. This is Pink Floyds first full album without founding member Syd Barrett, who was ousted from the group in early 1968 during the recording of their previous album, A Saucerful of Secrets. It is one of the two Pink Floyd albums to feat ure David Gilmour as the sole lead vocalist (the other being 1987s A Momentary Lapse of Reason), and it is also the first album to be produced by Pink Floyd without assistance from Norman Smith. Now into the Seventies, with bassist Roger Waters providing more of the songwriting and direction, Pink Floyd became one of the most influential rock bands of all time. It was a preoccupation of Pink Floyd’s interest in space that would later surface in songs like â€Å"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun† (from A Saucerful of Secrets) and the group’s masterwork, Dark Side of the Moon. With guitarist David Gilmour on-board as Barrett’s replacement, Pink Floyd’s lineup remained constant for the next 15 years. In the wake of Piper, they recorded psychedelic soundscapes such as â€Å"A Saucerful of Secrets† and the double album â€Å"Ummagumma†, which had one disc of live performances and one of individual works by each band member. Laid-back but experimental, Pink Floyd kicked off the Seventies with the, albums â€Å"Atom Heart Mother† (1970) and â€Å"Meddle† (1971). Waters became their primary songwriter and lyricist. Pink Floyd achieved critical and commercial success with the concept albums The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977), The Wall (1979) and The Final Cut (1983). The times were ever changing as were the feelings and emotions within the band. Richard Wright left Pink Floyd in 1979, during the sessions for The Wall. Wright was basically forced out of Pink Floyd. One story holds that Waters had even gone so far as to threaten to destroy all the working tapes if Wright didn’t leave. Another quotes David Gilmour as saying that Wright wasn’t contributing much of anything, and hadn’t been for a couple years, partially due to â€Å"a bad cocaine habit. † Wright himself has stated that he â€Å"left† the band, but that’s almost definitely him putting his own spin on the situation. Then again, just about everybody seems to put their own spin on Wright’s leave. In 1985 following not far behind Wright and Barrett’s lead was Roger Waters. After recording of â€Å"The Final Cut† was finished Waters was pretty much gone, and by the time â€Å"The Final Cut† was released he was very distant from the rest of the band. David Gilmour and Nick Mason continued as Pink Floyd and Wright subsequently joined them as a paid musician. September 19, 1987: A reunited Pink Floyd (also referred to as Dehydrated Floyd, because of the absent Roger Waters), releases ‘A Momentary Lapse of Reason,’ their first studio album since 1983? ‘The Final Cut. Then in 1994 The Division Bell is released, the fourteenth and last studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in the UK by EMI Records on 28 March 1994 and in the US by Columbia Records on 4 April. Two years later in 1996 Pink Floyd (including all 5 members) was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005, After nearly two decades of bitterness, the band reunited in 2005 for a performance at the global awareness event Live 8. Barrett died in 2006 and Wright in 2008. In 2011, surviving members Gilmour and Mason joined Waters at one of his The Wall Tour shows at The O2 Arena in London. As of 2013 they have sold more than 250 million records worldwide, including 74. 5 million certified units in the United States. Now onto my favorite part of this research paper, this is listening. I was supposed to pick 5 songs and I did, but not without problems in choosing which 5 songs. I felt at first, that the songs had to communicate the different years of Pink Floyd you know? I wanted to demonstrate and define hippie/psychedelic rock and discuss how Pink Floyd embodies hippie values. I also wanted to track Pink Floyds shift from hippie/psychedelic rock group to progressive rock group. I finally wanted to discuss in depth the progressive rock movement and how Pink Floyd fits the definition of a progressive rock group. But ultimately I thought, keep it simple josh. So I will give you differentiating styles in explaining their music, my top five Floyd. At my number five is â€Å"Welcome To The Machine†. This song starts off with a buzzing completion sound, which becomes constant alongside a chugging motor or washing machine murmur. Then in simultaneous synchronicity a guitar (acoustic) with steel strings strums a pattern of four chords before I hear â€Å"Welcome my son, welcome, to the machine† being belted out. The sound of a press and depress steam machine sounds off in this time as well. Then the lyrics start following a question and answer scheme. They begin answering their own questions, as if they can picture who their talking with and know what they’re going to say. In the context of my life and the song, I believe the phrase â€Å"Welcome to the machine† simply put means welcome to life, to the day in day out grind. The song demonstrates (like most of Floyd work), that melody can be achieved and maintained with guitar, bass, erratic synthesizers, and even industrial tool samples. Coming in at a prestigious number four is â€Å"Nobody Home†. â€Å"Nobody Home† follows Is There Anybody Out There? on â€Å"The Wall† album answering the question first and foremost on your mind. â€Å"Nobody Home† is on the groups concept album turned movie â€Å"The Wall†. The song was written after an argument between Gilmour, Waters, and co-producer Bob Ezrin during production of â€Å"The Wall†. In which Gilmour and Ezrin challenged Waters to come up with one more song for the album. Waters then wrote Nobody Home and returned to the studio two days later to present it to the band. It was the last song written for The Wall. On the 30th anniversary of The Wall episode of the US radio show In the Studio with Redbeard, Gilmour revealed that Nobody Home was one of his favorite songs from the album making waters triumph over their challenge all the more sweeter. Nobody Home enters with (to me) a sorrowful feel to the piano chords after the sounds of a T. V. a lone murmur heart beat wanders in the foreground and we hear the first vocals which echo slightly and float on â€Å"Ive got a little black book with my poems in. Got a bag with a toothbrush and a comb in When Im a good dog, they sometimes throw me a bone in. † saying he has little then waters deepens it later with a sense of achieving these and better things but still, nobody’s home. The vocals touch on different aspects of being on tour says waters and others speculate that the lyrics: â€Å"I got nicotine stains on my fingers I got a silver spoon on a chain Got a grand piano to prop up my mortal remains†. Are said to have been written specifically about Floyds pianist Richard Wright, who was allegedly struggling with cocaine addiction at the time. Even more say they are reminiscent of Syd Barrrett and his fragile mental state during 1967. This is one of my personal favorite songs and was hard to rate at four because the way it’s helped me throughout hardships. To me â€Å"Nobody Home† is played when feeling lonely and reclusive is king. Coming up on the peak we have number three, â€Å"Comfortably Numb†. Bass, crash, and drum bass all start in a rhythmic splash. Rising outta thin air is this cosmic feeling synth followed by an echoing â€Å"hello† and with that the song takes shape. With light sax in the foreground its smoky emergence settles and a one sided conversation with a doctor ensues. There are inner questions of personal reflection with similar feeling experiences and an overwhelming feeling that can only be described as â€Å"Comfortably Numb†. The song is one of Pink Floyds most famous, and is renowned especially for its guitar solos. In 2004, the song was ranked number 314 on Rolling Stone magazines list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2005, it was the last song ever to be performed by Waters, Gilmour, Wright, and Mason together. â€Å"Comfortably Numb† can best be enjoyed at night in a dark room, so you imagination can run wild, Or in moments of great stress, as to paint a vivid picture of your situation. What’s that I hear (hear, hear, hear†¦)? Its number two, â€Å"Echoes†. Now there is the original â€Å"echoes† from â€Å"Meddle† and a shortened version from a compilation album entitled â€Å"Echoes: The Best Of Pink Floyd†; I will be referring to the shortened version, as the 23:31 running time on the original seemed a little steep. So I wrote what the music evoked in my mind what I pictured is what I’m writing. The beginning and throughout I get the feel of a cave scene with stalactites’ hanging down. Condensation is slowly dripping one at a time off of them into a sparkling clear spring. I’m walking through this cavern and there is only natural light, its shining at the end of my tunnel. As I get closer the drips get faster, the music gets more triumphant and the beat drives on. Just as you approach it the Horns are set ablaze and sound off N’sync with each other (like â€Å"bye, bye, bye† haha jk). You finally see where the light comes from and it’s beautiful. A cavern of crystal that sparkles, as it carries the echoes of the chiming horns and built up drums. As you look left and right, the distorted guitar holds swaying chords as you navigate left and right. As the rhythmic beat starts to resonate. You bask in the vocals of a futuristic voice accompanied by an experimental rock chord scale with a western overtone; then like a dream you’re swept away in the wind effects and ascend back where you came from with a slowly rising string and key outro. That is the way I experienced â€Å"Echoes†. My number one is without a doubt â€Å"Wot’s†¦ Uh the Deal? †. This is a song from Pink Floyds 1972 album, Obscured by Clouds and features multi-tracked vocals by David Gilmour, and lyrics by Roger Waters. It was never performed live by the band. However, David Gilmour, along with Richard Wright, performed it at several shows on his 2006 On an Island tour and it appears on the 2007 live DVD, Remember That Night. In the beginning it’s the picking pattern that automatically sets the entire mood to low tone Floyd with a trailing piano being played as backup. To me the lyrics depict someone who is not yet welcomed into this â€Å"promised land† that he can so visibly see an yet throughout the song he tries to ask to be let in â€Å"show me where the key is kept†, but no entry. It isn’t until he finds a girl and a great girl that is worth settling down with â€Å"With her by my side; and if she prefers we will never stir again† That someone says â€Å"The Promsiedland† that he finally is the man on the inside. But through all this the Promised Land is offered by welcoming them in â€Å"Cause theres no wind left in my soul and Ive grown old†. This to me means if I discovered how to solve this big puzzle of lifetime proportions; and I wasted most my life doing it, then I want to share my knowledge so maybe you don’t have to waste your life. Such was Pink Floyds songs and ideals; they have given me more than I could ever measure. Pink Floyd has given us all timeless music that I will later describe as the soundtrack to my life. Music, it’s what I’ll pass on. Pink Floyd it’s at the beginning of all my experiences and the will serenade the end†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Works Cited http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Wots _Uh_the_Deal%3F http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Comfortably_Numb http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Nobody_Home http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Pink_Floyd#Discography http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Soundtrack_from_the_Film_More http://listverse. com/2012/02/06/10-facts-and-fibs-about-pink-floyd/ http://en. wikipedia. rg/wiki/The_Piper_at_the_Gates_of_Dawn http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Pink_Floyd#Formation http://classicrock. about. com/od/bandsandartists/p/pink_floyd. htm http://www. rollingstone. com/music/artists/pink-floyd/biography http://www. keno. org/classic_rock/pink_floyd_bio. htm http://pinkfloyd. htmlplanet. com/History/index. htm http://musicnmusician. blogspot. com/2012/12/the-fam ous-pink-floyd. html http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Peter_Jenner http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Pink_Floyd http://classicrock. about. com/od/bandsandartists/p/pink_floyd. htm http://rockhall. com/inductees/pink-floyd/bio/