Wikipedia:Main Page history/2015 January 7

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From today's featured article

Song of Innocence (1968) is the debut album of American composer and producer David Axelrod. Inspired by the 1789 illustrated collection of poems of the same name by William Blake, it is an instrumental jazz fusion album presented as a suite of tone poems, incorporating elements of classical, rock, funk, pop, and theatre music. Arranged for bass, drums, and string instruments and recorded with an orchestra and studio musicians, it is written with rock-based tempos. Axelrod used contrast in his orchestral compositions, interspersing the album's euphoric psychedelic R&B form with dramatic, harrowing arrangements to reflect the supernatural themes found in Blake's poems. Song of Innocence was not commercially successful on its release, and it confounded music critics, who viewed it as innovative and ambitious but also as less than serious, a curiosity piece. In the 1990s, critics reassessed the album as a classic, while leading disc jockeys in hip hop and electronica rediscovered and sampled the album's music, including "Holy Thursday", the album's best-known song. The renewed interest in Axelrod's work prompted Stateside Records to reissue Song of Innocence in 2000. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

... that despite being located beside the Ghent ring road, the Bourgoyen-Ossemeersen nature reserve (pictured) contains a large colony of cormorants?
... that Karl Haitana has represented New Zealand in rugby union in three separate age groups?
... that School of Rock marks the first time since 1971 that an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical will receive its world premiere on Broadway rather than London's West End?
... that the Egyptian pharaoh Seti II was buried in tomb KV15 in the Valley of the Kings after a later pharaoh took over the tomb where he may originally have been buried?
... that the first roads and sawmills in Fairmount Township in Pennsylvania were built along Maple Run?
... that Swedish sports journalist Arne Hegerfors commentated at both the basketball final at the 1972 Olympic Games and the Heysel Stadium disaster for Sveriges Television?
... that flashes of light emitted by the sea snail Hinea brasiliana may act as a "burglar alarm"?

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In the news

Archaeologists announce the discovery of the tomb of the previously unknown ancient Egyptian queen Khentakawess III.
Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain, and Venezuela take their seats on the United Nations Security Council.
Lithuania becomes the 19th member of the Eurozone.
At least 36 people are killed as a result of a stampede at a New Year's Eve celebration in Shanghai.
Authorities confirm the discovery of debris and bodies from Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 (aircraft pictured), which crashed en route to Singapore with 162 people on board.
At least 83 people are killed in clashes between the Cameroonian military and Boko Haram militants.

Ongoing: Floods in Southeast and South Asia – Ebola outbreak – Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Recent deaths: Edward Brooke – Mario Cuomo – Luise Rainer

On this day...

January 7: Christmas (Julian calendar); Victory Day in Cambodia; Flag Day in Italy

1558 – Francis, Duke of Guise (pictured), retook Calais, England's last continental possession, for France.
1610 – Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei made his first observation of the four Galilean moons through his telescope: Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa, although he was not able to distinguish the latter two until the following day.
1797 – The first official Italian tricolour was adopted by the government of the Cispadane Republic.
1979 – The Vietnam People's Army captured the Cambodian capital city Phnom Penh, deposing Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, which marked the end of large-scale fighting in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War.
1993 – The Fourth Republic of Ghana was inaugurated with Jerry Rawlings as its president.

More anniversaries: January 6 – January 7 – January 8

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It is now January 7, 2015 (UTC) – Reload this page

Today's featured picture

The Papuan frogmouth (Podargus papuensis) is the longest bird in the frogmouth family. First described by Jean René Constant Quoy and Joseph Paul Gaimard in 1830, this species is found in subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. This nocturnal bird feeds by hunting for insects, lizards, frogs, and small rodents on the ground.

Photograph: JJ Harrison

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