A lowrider (sometimes low rider) is an automobile or other vehicle modified so that its ground clearance is less than its design specification. This can be accomplished by substituting tires with a smaller outer diameter or through more extensive modifications based on desired aesthetics or performance, such as altering the vehicle's aerodynamics, lowering its center of gravity, or changing the effective gear ratios of the drivetrain. The term "lowrider" can refer to both the vehicle and its owner or operator; the verb form "lowriding" can likewise refer to the process of modifying a vehicle in this manner, or to its operation.

Description of the subculture

There is no definitive date or location for the origin of lowriders, but likely began in the Mexican-American Barrios of Los Angeles California in the mid-to-late 1940s and during the post-war prosperity of the 1950s. Initially, some youths would place sandbags in the trunk of their customized cars in order to create a lowered effect. This method was replaced by lowering blocks, cut spring coils, z’ed frames and drop spindles. The aim of the lowriders is to cruise as slowly as possible, "Low and Slow" being their motto. By redesigning these cars in ways that go against their intended purposes and in painting their cars so that they reflect and hold meanings from Latin culture, lowriders create cultural and political statements that go against the more prevalent Anglo culture. The design of the cars encouraged a "bi-focal perspective-they are made to be watched but only after adjustments have been made to provide ironic and playful commentary on prevailing standard of automobile design." However, this resulted in a backlash: The enactment of Section 24008 of the California Vehicle Code in January 1, 1958, which made it illegal to operate any car modified so that any part was lower than the bottoms of its wheel rims.

Lowrider is an American automobile magazine, focusing almost exclusively on the style known as a lowrider. It first appeared in 1977, produced out of San Jose, California, by a trio of San Jose State students. As of 2007, it is published out of Anaheim, California, and part of TEN: The Enthusiast Network (formerly Source Interlink Media).

Lowrider focuses on all aspects of lowrider culture, from cars to music and fashion. It also covers political and cultural issues related to Chicanos, and funds an annual scholarship program. The magazine has also released a series of music videos through their label, Thump Records.

Lowrider's monthly circulation is about 50,000, but the magazine sells more newsstand copies than any other U.S. car magazine — probably due in large part to the bikini-clad women featured on the cover every issue. (In 2000, the magazine's monthly circulation was more than 200,000.)

History

Lowrider was founded in the mid-1970s by San Jose State students Larry Gonzalez, Sonny Madrid, and David Nunez, "who sought to present a voice for the Chicano community in the Bay Area." The first issue debuted in January 1977. Essentially self-distributed, the magazine struggled until the November 1979 issue, when it began pairing bikini-clad women with lowriders on the cover each issue. During this time, it also featured cartoonist David Gonzales' monthly comic strip The Adventures of Hollywood, which eventually morphed into the Homies line of toy figurines. Even so, after being taken over by its printer, Lowrider folded in December 1985.

"Lowrider" is the second single by Cypress Hill from the album Stoned Raiders. The song is featured in the British TV series Soccer AM. The song was the second part of the double A-Side single it shared with "Trouble" in Europe. "Lowrider" was not released until February elsewhere.

On the album, there is a hidden track. The hidden track is rather ominous as it features a slow drum beat and a low pitched organ that only plays four notes. This lasts for around two minutes.

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References

Brave is the third studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Kate Ceberano, and was her first solo foray into pop after two previously more adult-oriented albums. The album was released in early 1989 by Regular Records. ARIA has certified the album for triple platinum sales in Australia.

Album history

A mix of contemporary pop and dance tracks and soul covers, Brave became a major success in the Australian charts, firmly establishing Ceberano as one of Australia's premier artists, and would become the most commercially successful album of her solo career.

Brave also established Ceberano's role as a chameleon of sorts, following on from successful jazz and adult oriented releases, Brave seemed to, in part, pay homage to her dance roots as a vocalist in Australian band I'm Talking, whilst also incorporating more adult oriented fare.

The album spawned a succession of four Top 40 singles; "Bedroom Eyes", "Love Dimension", "Brave"/"Young Boys Are My Weakness" and "That's What I Call Love", all of which achieved strong rotation on Australian radio and helped propel the album to triple platinum status.

"Brave" is a song performed by American recording artist Kelis, taken from her fifth studio album, Flesh Tone. The up-tempo electro-dance song was written by Kelis, will.i.am, Jean Baptiste and James Fauntleroy, and produced by Benny Benassi and Alle Benassi. It was released on 6 January 2011, as the album's fourth single by will.i.am music and Interscope Records. Kelis has also re-recorded the track in 'simlish' for video game The Sims 3: Late Night.

Music video

A music video, directed by Rankin, for the single was uploaded to YouTube on November 19, 2010. The video shows a still camera of Kelis, wearing a white top with a white background behind her with the camera moving while a large beat is being played.

Credits and personnel

Track listing

"Brave" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, taken from her fourth studio album, The Blessed Unrest (2013). The song was written by Bareilles and Jack Antonoff from the band fun., as the singer was inspired from the struggles that a close friend dealt with in regard to coming out. Bareilles requested Mark Endert to produce it with the explicit goal of radio airplay. "Brave" was released worldwide through digital download on April 23, 2013 as the lead single from the album, through Epic Records.

"Brave" received positive reviews from music critics, with one writing that Bareilles channels singers like Fiona Apple and Florence Welch. Some critics also compared pop singer Katy Perry's single "Roar" to the song. "Brave" became Bareilles' third top 40 hit in the United States, peaking at #23, while reaching the top 3 in Australia (#3), her highest charting single in the country to date, and also reaching the top 10 in New Zealand (#4), #26 in South Korea, #58 in Canada and #88 in Japan. The song was covered by Lea Michele and Naya Rivera on the 97th episode of the musical series Glee, which aired on February 25, 2014. It was featured in a commercial for the Nokia Lumia 1020 and has continued to be used in adverts for Lumia devices.