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1532_25 | The president of Switzerland is a current member of Switzerland’s executive branch, which is the seven-member Swiss Federal Council. Presidential power in Switzerland is limited, consistent with its commitment to direct democracy. Any Swiss citizen eligible to be a member of the National Council can be elected; candidates do not have to register for the election or to actually be members of the National Council. Unlike most countries, where the presidential term can be up to eight years (two four-year terms), the President of the Swiss Confederation is only appointed one year at a time. The President of the Confederation chairs the meetings of the Federal Council and undertakes special representational duties, while continuing to head their department. The Swiss president is not the Head of State of the country; the Federal Council administers both the Head of State and the Head of Government, which emphasizes that the executive power is not concentrated on only one person. |
1532_26 | Traditionally the duty of presidency rotates among the members in order of seniority and the previous year's vice president becomes president. |
1532_27 | Vice presidency
American vice presidency
In the United States, the vice president is the second in command of the country and also presides as the President of the Senate. The vice president may break tie votes in the Senate chamber and also may be assigned additional duties by the president. The vice president is sometimes chosen for election purposes, to help counterbalance the presidential candidate's weakness. For many vice presidents their duties have not been strenuous, but, more recently these duties have increased as more responsibilities are delegated by the president. In the case of the removal of the president from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the vice president. The vice president's salary, as of 2011, is $230,700. The vice president position of the United States is unique in that "it is the only office that participates in two of the three branches of government." |
1532_28 | Brazilian vice presidency
The vice president assumes the presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil in the event that the president can not carry out their duties. The vice president also becomes the "acting president" when the president is away or not available.
British Deputy Prime Minister
Like many parliamentary systems, the prime minister may appoint a deputy prime minister, who serves many of the duties of a traditional vice president. As the deputy prime minister possesses no de jure powers, they will not automatically assume the duties of the prime minister, in the event of their in-capitation or resignation. The position is often considered one of honor and hence holds many traditional vice presidency powers in a de facto manner.
German vice chancellor
The Vice Chancellor of Germany does not assume the position of chancellor, but rather the president chooses a minister to succeed the chancellor position. The vice chancellor is usually a member of the cabinet. |
1532_29 | Presidential transition in the United States |
1532_30 | In the United States, a presidential election is held every four years. While transitions between presidents are peaceful, they are highly complicated and expensive. After the president-elect is sworn in, one of his primary obligations is to build his administration. The most publicized of these duties is appointing members of his Cabinet (Secretary of State, Secretary of Treasury, Secretary of Defense, et cetera). In total, the president makes 6,000 to 9,000 appointments, although he has the right to appoint as many as 700,000 to the federal bureaucracy. Sometimes, a president will allow appointments from the previous administration to maintain their position. "Normally these appointments include: Cabinet Officers and heads of other executive branch agencies; Under Secretaries; Assistant Secretaries; Directors of Bureaus and Services; and Chairpersons and Members of Boards, Commissions, and Committees. Theses appointments are often authorized by specific provisions of law or |
1532_31 | approved by the Senate. " |
1532_32 | Until 1963, the president-elect paid for his own smooth transition. In 1963, Congress passed the Presidential Transition Act, which allocates up to $900,000.
There are three different types of positions that the president can delegate.
PA - Presidential appoint officials unilaterally.
PAS - President has the ability to appoint officials with the advice and assent of the Senate.
SES- Non-career Senior Executive Service- are appointed "based on their responsibility for advocating public policy.
confidential character. (Sometimes referred to as 'Schedule C' position)
The average age of a SES is 54 and serves for 23 years.
There are different pay levels for Executive employees, ranging from $114,500 to $157,000. Civilian Payroll for Executive Agencies is nearly 12 million a year. Executive Direct Compensation was $129,923 million and personal benefits were $47,596 million. (As of September 2006)
Impeachment or removal of a president |
1532_33 | A president may be removed or impeached from their position in a nation's government for breaking or disregarding various laws or procedures that are written by that nation. The removal or impeachment process varies depending on the nation and their specific form of government. For example, the impeachment process of the president of the United States is quite different from that of France. The president of France is granted what is called the power of immunity throughout their term as the president. This power of immunity states that the president cannot be prosecuted or requested to testify before any jurisdiction. However, they may still be impeached only by the High Court. The High Court is a court conveyed by both houses of Parliament. In the United States, the impeachment process begins in the House of Representatives, where the president is first accused of committing either bribery, treason, or other high crimes including misdemeanors. If the House passes a majority vote to |
1532_34 | impeach the president, the Senate then conducts the trial to remove them from office. If a president is found guilty, he is removed from office and replaced by the vice president for the remainder of the term. If the president is acquitted in court, he will continue to serve the rest of their term as president. |
1532_35 | Protection of the presidency |
1532_36 | Protection for former Presidents of the United States
For former presidents who had entered office before January 1, 1997 are entitled to lifetime protection carried out by The Secret Service. Protection of the president's spouse is also granted until death or in the case of remarriage. In 1984 the ability to decline Secret Service protection was enacted by legislation enacted. The costs of protecting former presidents and dependents are not publicized by the Secret Service due to security reasoning. Former presidents who entered office after January 1, 1997 are limited to ten years of protection for themselves and their spouses. A spouse’s protection ends upon divorce, remarriage, or the former president’s death. |
1532_37 | According to the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution, the death of a president still active in office is automatically entitles his or hers spouse to one year of protective services. However, authorization of protection can be issued by the Secretary of Homeland Security. Children of former presidents, up to the age of 16, are guaranteed the same services as long as the time period does not surpass 10 years. In addition to direct protection, the Secret Service was entitled to investigate any potential threats against the former presidents and their dependents by the Presidential Threat Protection Act passed in 2000. The act passed by the 106th Congress can be deciphered as so: To amend section 879 of title 18, United States Code, to provide clearer coverage over threats against former presidents and members of their families, and for other purposes. |
1532_38 | Presidential line of succession
United States
The original Constitution of the United States only provided for the vice president to succeed the president in the event that the president becomes incapacitated. In the case that both the president and vice president are incapacitated, Congress will appoint an acting president. In 1791, the founders of the United States provided for only the vice president to usurp the president and was in effect until 1885. In 1947, this changed with the passing of the Presidential Succession Act, which allows for the Speaker of the House, the President Pro Tempore, and the cabinet to succeed the president. Before the passage of the Presidential Succession Act, succession was set up to keep the Executive branch of the presidency separate from the Legislative branch.
The first Presidential Succession Act (valid 1886–1947):
Vice President
Secretary of State
Secretary of Treasury
Secretary of War |
1532_39 | Presidential line as of 1947
Vice President
Speaker of the House of Representatives
President Pro Tempore of the Senate
Members of Cabinet
Brazil
Vice-President of Brazil
President of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil
President of the Senate of Brazil
President of the Supreme Federal Court
In the event that the president and vice president become incapacitated, the line of succession falls sequentially to the president of the Chamber of Deputies, the President of the Senate, and the president of the Federal Supreme Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal—STF).
If less than half of the mandate has been completed, a supplementary election must be called within ninety days. If more than half the mandate has been completed, the Congress elects a new president and vice president within thirty days.
France |
1532_40 | President of the Republic (head of the state)/ Prime Minister (head of the government)
President of the Senate (France)
Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (France) (Cabinet member)
Minister of Defense (France) (Cabinet member)
Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing (Cabinet member)
Minister of Justice (France) (Cabinet member)
The French Cabinet is referred to as the Council of Ministers or Executive Council. President of the Senate acts as president when the president cannot carry out his duties.
Italy
President of the Italian Republic (head of state)
Prime Minister of Italy (President of the Council of Ministers) -Appointed by the President
Cabinet members
Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
Deputy Prime Minister (Always a member of the Cabinet)
Japan
Prime Minister of Japan
Deputy Prime Minister of Japan
Germany
Chancellor of Germany
Vice Chancellor of Germany |
1532_41 | The deputy chancellor acts as chancellor until Parliament can elect a new chancellor.
Austria
Chancellor of Austria
Vice Chancellor of Austria
Presidential, vice presidential, and legislative compensation
United States
Compensation of U.S President
The United States presidential salary cap is $400,000 per year. The current salary cap was set in 2001, designed to account for cost-of-living increases. George W. Bush was the first U.S. President to receive this amount. Previous to 2001, the salary cap was set at $200,000 per year. In addition to the base salary, in 1949, the president began receiving a $50,000 expense account. Details and rules for the compensation of the U.S presidency can be found in the United States Constitution under Article II, Section I and in the U.S Code under Title III, Chapter II. |
1532_42 | Additional Expense Accounts
In addition to the $50,000 expense account for the president implemented in 1949, he or she also receives numerous other expense reimbursements. These funds are set aside to cover expenses including official expenses of the White House office, entertainment expenses and traveling expenses for anyone who travels with the president. Also, there is an “Unanticipated Needs” account awarded. This account is not to exceed over $1 million per year and acts as a backup for an instance in which the president exceeds budgeting in other accounts.
Retirement for the presidency |
1532_43 | Once the president is no longer in office he or she receives an annual pension of at least $150,000. The pension is to be equal to that of a current cabinet member. Additional perks are given to the former presidents, including free postal service and up to $96,000 for office space. Also, after their term has expired, former presidents are allotted $150,000 per year to help with the transition from presidency to civilian life for the first 30 months after leaving office.
Vice president- $230,700
Receives similar protection benefits to the president
Does not automatically receives a pension as vice president. As President of the Senate, vice president receives pension as a member of Congress.
Senator- $174,000
A Leadership member's salary is higher.
Average Pension- $35,952---$60,972
House of Representatives member- $174,000
A Leadership member's salary is higher. |
1532_44 | Brazil
President of Brazil- $320,678 (R$347.400,69)
"Permanent security protection (by the Presidential Guard – Batalhão da Guarda Presidencial)
The use of two official vehicles (for life)
Repository funding for a presidential library
Lifelong monthly pension for widows and unmarried daughters of ex-presidents;
Pension for sons of ex-presidents until they come of age, should a president or former president die leaving an underage son."
France
President of France €178,923.72 (€14,910.31/month)
Singapore
President of Singapore - S$1.54 million
Prime Minister of Singapore - S$2.2 million
United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom- $309,394.64
Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom - $209,504.25 (£134,565)
Parliamentary Members - $101,826.24 (£65,738
Parliamentary Members receive allowances for, traveling expenses, stationery and postage
Italy
Prime Minister of Italy- $220,924.70 |
1532_45 | Australia
Prime Minister of Australia- $354,671
Deputy Prime Minister of Australia- $279,644
When acting Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister is paid the same rate of salary per annum payable to the Prime Minister.
Cabinet Minister- $235,310
Member of Parliament- $136,412
Japan
Prime Minister of Japan - $343,000
House of Representatives and House of Councilors - $211,000
Japan has the world highest paid legislators.
Germany
Chancellor of Germany (Prime Minister) - $381,198.40
See also
Campbell v. Clinton
First Presidency
Imperial Presidency
Presidencies of British India
Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Presidency of the Council of the European Union
Swiss Federal Council - a collective head of state
War Powers Resolution
References
Heads of government
Heads of state
Positions of authority
Presidents
Titles |
1533_0 | Trick 'r Treat is a 2007 American anthology horror comedy film written and directed by Michael Dougherty and produced by Bryan Singer. The film stars Dylan Baker, Rochelle Aytes, Anna Paquin and Brian Cox. It relates four Halloween horror stories with a common element in them: Sam, a trick-or-treater wearing orange footie pajamas with a burlap sack over his head. The character makes an appearance in each of the stories whenever one of the other characters breaks a Halloween tradition. |
1533_1 | Despite being delayed for two years and having only a limited amount of screenings at film festivals, the film received much critical acclaim and has since garnered a strong cult following. In October 2013, the filmmakers announced that a sequel, Trick 'r Treat 2, is in the works. In 2016, Michael Dougherty and Legendary Pictures teamed up with AtmosFX to create a series of digital Halloween decorations that feature Sam. In 2017, a Trick 'r Treat themed "scare zone" was added to Halloween Horror Nights, an annual event held at the Universal Orlando Resort, followed by a haunted house in 2018.
Plot
The film is framed by Halloween night in the fictional town of Warren Valley, Ohio. The plot follows a nonlinear narrative, with characters crossing paths throughout the film. At the center of the story is Sam, a peculiar trick-or-treater in a burlap pajama costume, who appears to enforce the "rules" of Halloween. |
1533_2 | Opening
In the opening scene, Emma and her Halloween-loving husband Henry return home after a celebratory night. Emma, who hates Halloween, blows out their jack-o'-lantern before midnight, against Henry's superstitious advice. Emma begins tearing down the front lawn decorations and is ambushed and murdered by an unseen assailant. Hours later, Henry discovers her mutilated corpse on display with the decorations. |
1533_3 | Principal |
1533_4 | Charlie, an overweight child who vandalizes jack-o'-lanterns, is caught stealing candy from an unattended bowl left by his school principal, Steven Wilkins. Seemingly taking the offense in stride, Wilkins offers Charlie a candy bar while lecturing Charlie about the importance of Halloween traditions. Charlie gradually feels more unwell, until he begins to vomit chocolate and blood. As Charlie dies, Wilkins reveals that he laced the candy with cyanide. While clumsily attempting to hide the murder, he hands out candy to trick-or-treaters, including Sam. Wilkins attempts to bury Charlie in his backyard along with the body of another victim, but is continually interrupted by his young son Billy and his elderly neighbor, Mr. Kreeg. The other victim turns out to still be alive and struggles in his sack, forcing Wilkins to violently beat him to death with a shovel. When Wilkins returns indoors, he briefly notices Kreeg at the window, screaming for help before something seems to attack him. |
1533_5 | Wilkins guides Billy downstairs to carve a jack-o'-lantern, hiding a knife behind his back. After some hesitation, Wilkins appears to stab Billy. However, Billy is unharmed and it is revealed that the knife was plunged into Charlie's severed head, the "jack-o'-lantern" they are about to carve. |
1533_6 | Halloween School Bus Massacre |
1533_7 | A group of teenage trick-or-treaters, Macy, Chip, Schrader, and Sara, are collecting jack-o'-lanterns when they meet Rhonda, a Halloween traditionalist dressed as a witch. The group, led by Macy, visits a flooded quarry where she tells the urban legend of the "Halloween School Bus Massacre". In this legend, eight children with disabilities were killed by a school bus driver on Halloween. The children's ableist parents, weary of the burden that came with caring for them, resenting them for their disabilities out of embarrassment and wanting to be rid of them, had paid the driver to dispose of them. Given the nature of the crime and the way the legend is depicted, it can be assumed that it took place during a time when disabilities were not fully understood and those who had them were perceived as unhealthy and defective, likely sometime between the pre-1930s and the mid-1950s. However, before the driver could complete his plan, one child escaped his shackles and took control of the |
1533_8 | bus. The boy drove into the quarry, killing the children, though the driver survived. |
1533_9 | Macy leaves eight jack-o'-lanterns by the lake as tribute to the deceased. The group splits up, leaving Rhonda and Chip behind. Rhonda is pursued by horrifying figures, but once she is reduced to tears the other teens claim responsibility, revealing that they disguised themselves as the dead children in an attempt to prank her. Schrader realizes that the trick has gone too far and comforts the terrified Rhonda. The dead children emerge from the lake, attacking Macy and Sara. Sara is killed and Rhonda escapes, abandoning the other three teens to their gruesome fate as revenge for their evil prank they pulled on her. As she leaves, Rhonda encounters Sam and exchanges a nod of respect towards him. |
1533_10 | Surprise Party |
1533_11 | Laurie, a self-conscious 22-year-old, joins her sister (Danielle) and friends (Maria and Janet) for Halloween. She winds up with a "Little Red Riding Hood" costume that makes her "look like ['she's] five" in comparison to her friends' revealing outfits. A staunch traditionalist, Laurie misses just trick or treating which her sister and friends casually disregard. The other girls pick up dates, but Laurie declines in favor of staying to enjoy the town festival instead. She later encounters a hooded man dressed as a vampire who follows her into the woods and attacks her. She defeats the assailant, and Laurie's friends unmask the incapacitated man at a bonfire when she forcibly brings him along. He is Steven Wilkins, revealed to be a serial killer who had sought out victims at the festival. Laurie's female friends are then revealed werewolves, shedding their clothing and skin before feasting on their deceased dates. Laurie is the last to transform and kills Wilkins before devouring him. |
1533_12 | Sitting on a log nearby, Sam witnesses the werewolves feast. |
1533_13 | Sam
Kreeg, Wilkins' curmudgeonly Halloween-hating neighbor, scares trick-or-treaters off his doorstep. As the night proceeds, Kreeg encounters escalating phenomena: The house is egged, the lawn is filled with ornate jack-o'-lanterns, and the hallways and ceiling are scrawled with Halloween and Samhain greetings.
Kreeg is ambushed by Sam and manages to unmask his assailant, whose head resembles a gruesome hybrid of a skull and a jack-o' lantern. Kreeg shoots Sam several times with a shotgun, and pumpkin innards spray from the wounds. Sam proves difficult to kill, and after badly injuring Kreeg, he eventually has the old man cornered. Instead of killing Kreeg, Sam impales a candy bar in Kreeg's lap, completing the tradition of "handing out" candy on Halloween. Satisfied, Sam spares a confused Kreeg and ominously departs. Meanwhile, photographs burning in the fireplace reveal that Kreeg is the driver from the School Bus Massacre. |
1533_14 | Conclusion
A heavily-bandaged Kreeg gives candy to trick-or-treaters. While on his front porch, he observes the street, where other characters in the film mill about observing Halloween traditions. Billy sits on his father's porch, handing out candy to trick-or-treaters and enjoying himself. Rhonda crosses the street casually pulling her wagon filled with jack-o'-lanterns along, and is nearly run over by Laurie and the girls' van as they drive by laughing to each other. Emma and Henry arrive at home, Emma blows out the jack-o'-lantern, and Sam moves in for the kill for breaking a Halloween tradition. Kreeg retreats into his home, but immediately hears a knock on his door. These last trick-or-treaters are the children from the bus, they tear apart Kreeg and devour him as revenge for their murder.
Cast
Production |
1533_15 | Season's Greetings
Season's Greetings is an animated short created by Trick 'r Treat writer and director Michael Dougherty in 1996 and was the precursor of the film. The film featured Sam as a little boy dressed in orange footy pajamas with his burlap sack head covering, as he is being stalked by a stranger on Halloween night. The short was released as a DVD extra on the original release for Trick 'r Treat and was aired on FEARnet in October 2013 as part of a 24-hour Trick 'r Treat marathon on Halloween.
Filming location and delays
Trick r' Treat was filmed on location in Vancouver, British Columbia. Originally slated for an October 5, 2007, theatrical release, it was announced in September 2007 that the film had been pushed back. After many festival screenings, it was released on home media in 2009.
Release |
1533_16 | Theatrical screenings
The first public screening took place at Harry Knowles' Butt-Numb-A-Thon film festival in Austin, Texas, on December 9, 2007. Subsequent screenings included the Sitges Film Festival on October 7, 2008, the 2008 Screamfest Horror Film Festival on October 10, 2008, a free screening in New York sponsored by Fangoria on October 13, 2008, and another free screening in Los Angeles co-sponsored by Ain't It Cool News and Legendary Pictures on October 23, 2008. The film was also screened at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International, the Fantasia Festival on July 29 and 30, 2009, the film festival Terror in the Aisles 2 in Chicago on August 15, 2009, and the After Dark film festival in Toronto on August 20, 2009, at The Bloor. |
1533_17 | Home media
Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures released the film direct-to-DVD and on Blu-ray in North America on October 6, 2009, in the UK on October 26, and in Australia on October 28. Shout! Factory released a "Collector's Edition" Blu-ray on October 9, 2018, with all extras from previous DVD/Blu-ray releases included as well as new extra content. |
1533_18 | Merchandise
Sideshow Collectibles created a 15-inch vinyl figure based on the film's scarecrow-like character Sam.
NECA created a -inch scale figure of Sam that has been released as part of NECA's "Cult Classics" line of movie figures; the figure includes a stand, pumpkins, "candybar", lollipop, sack, and interchangeable, uncovered head.
Palace Press and Insight Editions published a 108-page coffee table book entitled Trick 'r Treat: Tales of Mayhem, Mystery & Mischief. It documents the making of the film, and includes storyboards, concept art, cast and crew biographies, and behind-the-scenes photographs.
Funko created a deluxe POP! figurine of Sam sitting on a boulder, alongside a jack-o-lantern and a burlap sack; it was released as a Spirit Halloween exclusive September 24, 2020.
Spirit Halloween also released a line of "Trick 'r Treat" themed decor and props. They released a lollipop that mimics Sam's, and a Life-sized Sam animatronic that they used in their themes. |
1533_19 | Comic books
DC Comics partner Wildstorm Comics had planned to release a four-issue adaptation of Trick 'r Treat written by Marc Andreyko and illustrated by Fiona Staples, with covers by Michael Dougherty, Breehn Burns and Ragnar. The series was originally going to be released weekly in October 2007, ending on Halloween, but the series was pushed back due to the film's backlisting. The four comics were instead released as a graphic novel adaptation in October 2009. Legendary Comics set the second Trick 'r Treat comic book, titled Trick 'r Treat: Days of the Dead, for an October 2015 release date, and features Arts of Artist Fiona Staples and Stephen Byrne. The comic was released alongside the graphic novel tie-in of Dougherty's Krampus.
Reception |
1533_20 | Critical reaction
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 83% based on 29 reviews, with an average rating of 7.40/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "A deftly crafted tribute to Halloween legends, Trick 'r' Treat hits all the genre marks with gusto and old fashioned suspense." Dread Central gave it 5 out of 5 stars, stating, "Trick 'r Treat ranks alongside John Carpenter's Halloween as traditional October viewing and I can't imagine a single horror fan that won't fall head over heels in love with it." The film earned 10 out of 10 from Ryan Rotten of ShockTilYouDrop.com.
IGN called it a "very well-crafted Halloween horror tribute" and "a scary blast", rating it a score of 8 out of 10. Bloody Disgusting ranked the film ninth in their list of the "Top 20 Horror Films of the Decade", calling it "so good that its lack of a theatrical release borders on the criminal." |
1533_21 | Awards
2008 – Audience Choice Award, Screamfest Horror Film Festival
2009 – Silver Audience Award, Toronto After Dark Film Festival
Possible sequel
Michael Dougherty announced in October 2009 that he is planning a sequel, but later stated that there were "no active development nor an attempt at a pitch." A sequel was announced in October 2013, but there was a change in Legendary's management. Dougherty has continued to express interest in a sequel but said the film stands on its own.
See also
List of cult films
References
External links
Trick 'r Treat at The Numbers |
1533_22 | 2007 films
2007 direct-to-video films
2007 horror films
2007 black comedy films
2007 independent films
2000s serial killer films
2000s supernatural films
2000s monster movies
American films
American horror anthology films
American direct-to-video films
American supernatural horror films
American independent films
American zombie films
English-language films
Buses in fiction
Demons in film
Direct-to-video horror films
Features based on short films
Filicide in fiction
Films about contract killing
Films about educators
Films adapted into comics
Films based on Little Red Riding Hood
Films set in the 1970s
Films set in fictional populated places
Films set in Ohio
Films shot in Vancouver
Films about mass murder
American nonlinear narrative films
American serial killer films
American werewolf films
Bad Hat Harry Productions films
Legendary Pictures films
Films directed by Michael Dougherty
Films produced by Bryan Singer
Films scored by Douglas Pipes |
1533_23 | Films with screenplays by Michael Dougherty
Halloween horror films
2007 directorial debut films
2007 comedy films |
1534_0 | In molecular biology and genetics, transformation is the genetic alteration of a cell resulting from the direct uptake and incorporation of exogenous genetic material from its surroundings through the cell membrane(s). For transformation to take place, the recipient bacterium must be in a state of competence, which might occur in nature as a time-limited response to environmental conditions such as starvation and cell density, and may also be induced in a laboratory.
Transformation is one of three processes that lead to horizontal gene transfer, in which exogenous genetic material passes from one bacterium to another, the other two being conjugation (transfer of genetic material between two bacterial cells in direct contact) and transduction (injection of foreign DNA by a bacteriophage virus into the host bacterium). In transformation, the genetic material passes through the intervening medium, and uptake is completely dependent on the recipient bacterium. |
1534_1 | As of 2014 about 80 species of bacteria were known to be capable of transformation, about evenly divided between Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria; the number might be an overestimate since several of the reports are supported by single papers.
"Transformation" may also be used to describe the insertion of new genetic material into nonbacterial cells, including animal and plant cells; however, because "transformation" has a special meaning in relation to animal cells, indicating progression to a cancerous state, the process is usually called "transfection". |
1534_2 | History |
1534_3 | Transformation in bacteria was first demonstrated in 1928 by the British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith. Griffith was interested in determining whether injections of heat-killed bacteria could be used to vaccinate mice against pneumonia. However, he discovered that a non-virulent strain of Streptococcus pneumoniae could be made virulent after being exposed to heat-killed virulent strains. Griffith hypothesized that some "transforming principle" from the heat-killed strain was responsible for making the harmless strain virulent. In 1944 this "transforming principle" was identified as being genetic by Oswald Avery, Colin MacLeod, and Maclyn McCarty. They isolated DNA from a virulent strain of S. pneumoniae and using just this DNA were able to make a harmless strain virulent. They called this uptake and incorporation of DNA by bacteria "transformation" (See Avery-MacLeod-McCarty experiment) The results of Avery et al.'s experiments were at first skeptically received by the scientific |
1534_4 | community and it was not until the development of genetic markers and the discovery of other methods of genetic transfer (conjugation in 1947 and transduction in 1953) by Joshua Lederberg that Avery's experiments were accepted. |
1534_5 | It was originally thought that Escherichia coli, a commonly used laboratory organism, was refractory to transformation. However, in 1970, Morton Mandel and Akiko Higa showed that E. coli may be induced to take up DNA from bacteriophage λ without the use of helper phage after treatment with calcium chloride solution. Two years later in 1972, Stanley Norman Cohen, Annie Chang and Leslie Hsu showed that treatment is also effective for transformation of plasmid DNA. The method of transformation by Mandel and Higa was later improved upon by Douglas Hanahan. The discovery of artificially induced competence in E. coli created an efficient and convenient procedure for transforming bacteria which allows for simpler molecular cloning methods in biotechnology and research, and it is now a routinely used laboratory procedure. |
1534_6 | Transformation using electroporation was developed in the late 1980s, increasing the efficiency of in-vitro transformation and increasing the number of bacterial strains that could be transformed. Transformation of animal and plant cells was also investigated with the first transgenic mouse being created by injecting a gene for a rat growth hormone into a mouse embryo in 1982. In 1897 a bacterium that caused plant tumors, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, was discovered and in the early 1970s the tumor-inducing agent was found to be a DNA plasmid called the Ti plasmid. By removing the genes in the plasmid that caused the tumor and adding in novel genes, researchers were able to infect plants with A. tumefaciens and let the bacteria insert their chosen DNA into the genomes of the plants. Not all plant cells are susceptible to infection by A. tumefaciens, so other methods were developed, including electroporation and micro-injection. Particle bombardment was made possible with the invention of |
1534_7 | the Biolistic Particle Delivery System (gene gun) by John Sanford in the 1980s. |
1534_8 | Definitions
Transformation is one of three forms of horizontal gene transfer that occur in nature among bacteria, in which DNA encoding for a trait passes from one bacterium to another and is integrated into the recipient genome by homologous recombination; the other two are transduction, carried out by means of a bacteriophage, and conjugation, in which a gene is passed through direct contact between bacteria. In transformation, the genetic material passes through the intervening medium, and uptake is completely dependent on the recipient bacterium.
Competence refers to a temporary state of being able to take up exogenous DNA from the environment; it may be induced in a laboratory. |
1534_9 | It appears to be an ancient process inherited from a common prokaryotic ancestor that is a beneficial adaptation for promoting recombinational repair of DNA damage, especially damage acquired under stressful conditions. Natural genetic transformation appears to be an adaptation for repair of DNA damage that also generates genetic diversity. |
1534_10 | Transformation has been studied in medically important Gram-negative bacteria species such as Helicobacter pylori, Legionella pneumophila, Neisseria meningitidis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Haemophilus influenzae and Vibrio cholerae. It has also been studied in Gram-negative species found in soil such as Pseudomonas stutzeri, Acinetobacter baylyi, and Gram-negative plant pathogens such as Ralstonia solanacearum and Xylella fastidiosa. Transformation among Gram-positive bacteria has been studied in medically important species such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus sanguinis and in Gram-positive soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis. It has also been reported in at least 30 species of Proteobacteria distributed in the classes alpha, beta, gamma and epsilon. The best studied Proteobacteria with respect to transformation are the medically important human pathogens Neisseria gonorrhoeae (class beta), Haemophilus influenzae (class gamma) and |
1534_11 | Helicobacter pylori (class epsilon) |
1534_12 | "Transformation" may also be used to describe the insertion of new genetic material into nonbacterial cells, including animal and plant cells; however, because "transformation" has a special meaning in relation to animal cells, indicating progression to a cancerous state, the process is usually called "transfection".
Natural competence and transformation
As of 2014 about 80 species of bacteria were known to be capable of transformation, about evenly divided between Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria; the number might be an overestimate since several of the reports are supported by single papers.
Naturally competent bacteria carry sets of genes that provide the protein machinery to bring DNA across the cell membrane(s). The transport of the exogenous DNA into the cells may require proteins that are involved in the assembly of type IV pili and type II secretion system, as well as DNA translocase complex at the cytoplasmic membrane. |
1534_13 | Due to the differences in structure of the cell envelope between Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, there are some differences in the mechanisms of DNA uptake in these cells, however most of them share common features that involve related proteins. The DNA first binds to the surface of the competent cells on a DNA receptor, and passes through the cytoplasmic membrane via DNA translocase. Only single-stranded DNA may pass through, the other strand being degraded by nucleases in the process. The translocated single-stranded DNA may then be integrated into the bacterial chromosomes by a RecA-dependent process. In Gram-negative cells, due to the presence of an extra membrane, the DNA requires the presence of a channel formed by secretins on the outer membrane. Pilin may be required for competence, but its role is uncertain. The uptake of DNA is generally non-sequence specific, although in some species the presence of specific DNA uptake sequences may facilitate efficient DNA |
1534_14 | uptake. |
1534_15 | Natural transformation
Natural transformation is a bacterial adaptation for DNA transfer that depends on the expression of numerous bacterial genes whose products appear to be responsible for this process. In general, transformation is a complex, energy-requiring developmental process. In order for a bacterium to bind, take up and recombine exogenous DNA into its chromosome, it must become competent, that is, enter a special physiological state. Competence development in Bacillus subtilis requires expression of about 40 genes. The DNA integrated into the host chromosome is usually (but with rare exceptions) derived from another bacterium of the same species, and is thus homologous to the resident chromosome. |
1534_16 | In B. subtilis the length of the transferred DNA is greater than 1271 kb (more than 1 million bases). The length transferred is likely double stranded DNA and is often more than a third of the total chromosome length of 4215 kb. It appears that about 7-9% of the recipient cells take up an entire chromosome.
The capacity for natural transformation appears to occur in a number of prokaryotes, and thus far 67 prokaryotic species (in seven different phyla) are known to undergo this process. |
1534_17 | Competence for transformation is typically induced by high cell density and/or nutritional limitation, conditions associated with the stationary phase of bacterial growth. Transformation in Haemophilus influenzae occurs most efficiently at the end of exponential growth as bacterial growth approaches stationary phase. Transformation in Streptococcus mutans, as well as in many other streptococci, occurs at high cell density and is associated with biofilm formation. Competence in B. subtilis is induced toward the end of logarithmic growth, especially under conditions of amino acid limitation. Similarly, in Micrococcus luteus (a representative of the less well studied Actinobacteria phylum), competence develops during the mid-late exponential growth phase and is also triggered by amino acids starvation.
By releasing intact host and plasmid DNA, certain bacteriophages are thought to contribute to transformation.
Transformation, as an adaptation for DNA repair |
1534_18 | Competence is specifically induced by DNA damaging conditions. For instance, transformation is induced in Streptococcus pneumoniae by the DNA damaging agents mitomycin C (a DNA cross-linking agent) and fluoroquinolone (a topoisomerase inhibitor that causes double-strand breaks). In B. subtilis, transformation is increased by UV light, a DNA damaging agent. In Helicobacter pylori, ciprofloxacin, which interacts with DNA gyrase and introduces double-strand breaks, induces expression of competence genes, thus enhancing the frequency of transformation Using Legionella pneumophila, Charpentier et al. tested 64 toxic molecules to determine which of these induce competence. Of these, only six, all DNA damaging agents, caused strong induction. These DNA damaging agents were mitomycin C (which causes DNA inter-strand crosslinks), norfloxacin, ofloxacin and nalidixic acid (inhibitors of DNA gyrase that cause double-strand breaks), bicyclomycin (causes single- and double-strand breaks), and |
1534_19 | hydroxyurea (induces DNA base oxidation). UV light also induced competence in L. pneumophila. Charpentier et al. suggested that competence for transformation probably evolved as a DNA damage response. |
1534_20 | Logarithmically growing bacteria differ from stationary phase bacteria with respect to the number of genome copies present in the cell, and this has implications for the capability to carry out an important DNA repair process. During logarithmic growth, two or more copies of any particular region of the chromosome may be present in a bacterial cell, as cell division is not precisely matched with chromosome replication. The process of homologous recombinational repair (HRR) is a key DNA repair process that is especially effective for repairing double-strand damages, such as double-strand breaks. This process depends on a second homologous chromosome in addition to the damaged chromosome. During logarithmic growth, a DNA damage in one chromosome may be repaired by HRR using sequence information from the other homologous chromosome. Once cells approach stationary phase, however, they typically have just one copy of the chromosome, and HRR requires input of homologous template from |
1534_21 | outside the cell by transformation. |
1534_22 | To test whether the adaptive function of transformation is repair of DNA damages, a series of experiments were carried out using B. subtilis irradiated by UV light as the damaging agent (reviewed by Michod et al. and Bernstein et al.) The results of these experiments indicated that transforming DNA acts to repair potentially lethal DNA damages introduced by UV light in the recipient DNA. The particular process responsible for repair was likely HRR. Transformation in bacteria can be viewed as a primitive sexual process, since it involves interaction of homologous DNA from two individuals to form recombinant DNA that is passed on to succeeding generations. Bacterial transformation in prokaryotes may have been the ancestral process that gave rise to meiotic sexual reproduction in eukaryotes (see Evolution of sexual reproduction; Meiosis.) |
1534_23 | Methods and mechanisms of transformation in laboratory
Bacterial
Artificial competence can be induced in laboratory procedures that involve making the cell passively permeable to DNA by exposing it to conditions that do not normally occur in nature. Typically the cells are incubated in a solution containing divalent cations (often calcium chloride) under cold conditions, before being exposed to a heat pulse (heat shock). Calcium chloride partially disrupts the cell membrane, which allows the recombinant DNA to enter the host cell. Cells that are able to take up the DNA are called competent cells. |
1534_24 | It has been found that growth of Gram-negative bacteria in 20 mM Mg reduces the number of protein-to-lipopolysaccharide bonds by increasing the ratio of ionic to covalent bonds, which increases membrane fluidity, facilitating transformation. The role of lipopolysaccharides here are verified from the observation that shorter O-side chains are more effectively transformed – perhaps because of improved DNA accessibility.
The surface of bacteria such as E. coli is negatively charged due to phospholipids and lipopolysaccharides on its cell surface, and the DNA is also negatively charged. One function of the divalent cation therefore would be to shield the charges by coordinating the phosphate groups and other negative charges, thereby allowing a DNA molecule to adhere to the cell surface. |
1534_25 | DNA entry into E. coli cells is through channels known as zones of adhesion or Bayer's junction, with a typical cell carrying as many as 400 such zones. Their role was established when cobalamine (which also uses these channels) was found to competitively inhibit DNA uptake. Another type of channel implicated in DNA uptake consists of poly (HB):poly P:Ca. In this poly (HB) is envisioned to wrap around DNA (itself a polyphosphate), and is carried in a shield formed by Ca ions.
It is suggested that exposing the cells to divalent cations in cold condition may also change or weaken the cell surface structure, making it more permeable to DNA. The heat-pulse is thought to create a thermal imbalance across the cell membrane, which forces the DNA to enter the cells through either cell pores or the damaged cell wall. |
1534_26 | Electroporation is another method of promoting competence. In this method the cells are briefly shocked with an electric field of 10-20 kV/cm, which is thought to create holes in the cell membrane through which the plasmid DNA may enter. After the electric shock, the holes are rapidly closed by the cell's membrane-repair mechanisms. |
1534_27 | Yeast
Most species of yeast, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, may be transformed by exogenous DNA in the environment. Several methods have been developed to facilitate this transformation at high frequency in the lab.
Yeast cells may be treated with enzymes to degrade their cell walls, yielding spheroplasts. These cells are very fragile but take up foreign DNA at a high rate.
Exposing intact yeast cells to alkali cations such as those of caesium or lithium allows the cells to take up plasmid DNA. Later protocols adapted this transformation method, using lithium acetate, polyethylene glycol, and single-stranded DNA. In these protocols, the single-stranded DNA preferentially binds to the yeast cell wall, preventing plasmid DNA from doing so and leaving it available for transformation.
Electroporation: Formation of transient holes in the cell membranes using electric shock; this allows DNA to enter as described above for bacteria. |
1534_28 | Enzymatic digestion or agitation with glass beads may also be used to transform yeast cells. |
1534_29 | Efficiency – Different yeast genera and species take up foreign DNA with different efficiencies. Also, most transformation protocols have been developed for baker's yeast, S. cerevisiae, and thus may not be optimal for other species. Even within one species, different strains have different transformation efficiencies, sometimes different by three orders of magnitude. For instance, when S. cerevisiae strains were transformed with 10 ug of plasmid YEp13, the strain DKD-5D-H yielded between 550 and 3115 colonies while strain OS1 yielded fewer than five colonies.
Plants |
1534_30 | A number of methods are available to transfer DNA into plant cells. Some vector-mediated methods are: |
1534_31 | Agrobacterium-mediated transformation is the easiest and most simple plant transformation. Plant tissue (often leaves) are cut into small pieces, e.g. 10x10mm, and soaked for ten minutes in a fluid containing suspended Agrobacterium. The bacteria will attach to many of the plant cells exposed by the cut. The plant cells secrete wound-related phenolic compounds which in turn act to upregulate the virulence operon of the Agrobacterium. The virulence operon includes many genes that encode for proteins that are part of a Type IV secretion system that exports from the bacterium proteins and DNA (delineated by specific recognition motifs called border sequences and excised as a single strand from the virulence plasmid) into the plant cell through a structure called a pilus. The transferred DNA (called T-DNA) is piloted to the plant cell nucleus by nuclear localization signals present in the Agrobacterium protein VirD2, which is covalently attached to the end of the T-DNA at the Right border |
1534_32 | (RB). Exactly how the T-DNA is integrated into the host plant genomic DNA is an active area of plant biology research. Assuming that a selection marker (such as an antibiotic resistance gene) was included in the T-DNA, the transformed plant tissue can be cultured on selective media to produce shoots. The shoots are then transferred to a different medium to promote root formation. Once roots begin to grow from the transgenic shoot, the plants can be transferred to soil to complete a normal life cycle (make seeds). The seeds from this first plant (called the T1, for first transgenic generation) can be planted on a selective (containing an antibiotic), or if an herbicide resistance gene was used, could alternatively be planted in soil, then later treated with herbicide to kill wildtype segregants. Some plants species, such as Arabidopsis thaliana can be transformed by dipping the flowers or whole plant, into a suspension of Agrobacterium tumefaciens, typically strain C58 (C=Cherry, |
1534_33 | 58=1958, the year in which this particular strain of A. tumefaciens was isolated from a cherry tree in an orchard at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York). Though many plants remain recalcitrant to transformation by this method, research is ongoing that continues to add to the list the species that have been successfully modified in this manner. |
1534_34 | Viral transformation (transduction): Package the desired genetic material into a suitable plant virus and allow this modified virus to infect the plant. If the genetic material is DNA, it can recombine with the chromosomes to produce transformant cells. However, genomes of most plant viruses consist of single stranded RNA which replicates in the cytoplasm of infected cell. For such genomes this method is a form of transfection and not a real transformation, since the inserted genes never reach the nucleus of the cell and do not integrate into the host genome. The progeny of the infected plants is virus-free and also free of the inserted gene. |
1534_35 | Some vector-less methods include:
Gene gun: Also referred to as particle bombardment, microprojectile bombardment, or biolistics. Particles of gold or tungsten are coated with DNA and then shot into young plant cells or plant embryos. Some genetic material will stay in the cells and transform them. This method also allows transformation of plant plastids. The transformation efficiency is lower than in Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, but most plants can be transformed with this method.
Electroporation: Formation of transient holes in cell membranes using electric pulses of high field strength; this allows DNA to enter as described above for bacteria.
Fungi
There are some methods to produce transgenic fungi most of them being analogous to those used for plants. However, fungi have to be treated differently due to some of their microscopic and biochemical traits: |
1534_36 | A major issue is the dikaryotic state that parts of some fungi are in; dikaryotic cells contain two haploid nuclei, one of each parent fungus. If only one of these gets transformed, which is the rule, the percentage of transformed nuclei decreases after each sporulation.
Fungal cell walls are quite thick hindering DNA uptake so (partial) removal is often required; complete degradation, which is sometimes necessary, yields protoplasts.
Mycelial fungi consist of filamentous hyphae, which are, if at all, separated by internal cell walls interrupted by pores big enough to enable nutrients and organelles, sometimes even nuclei, to travel through each hypha. As a result, individual cells usually cannot be separated. This is problematic as neighbouring transformed cells may render untransformed ones immune to selection treatments, e.g. by delivering nutrients or proteins for antibiotic resistance. |
1534_37 | Additionally, growth (and thereby mitosis) of these fungi exclusively occurs at the tip of their hyphae which can also deliver issues. |
1534_38 | As stated earlier, an array of methods used for plant transformation do also work in fungi:
Agrobacterium is not only capable of infecting plants but also fungi, however, unlike plants, fungi do not secrete the phenolic compounds necessary to trigger Agrobacterium so that they have to be added, e.g. in the form of acetosyringone.
Thanks to development of an expression system for small RNAs in fungi the introduction of a CRISPR/CAS9-system in fungal cells became possible. In 2016 the USDA declared that it will not regulate a white button mushroom strain edited with CRISPR/CAS9 to prevent fruit body browning causing a broad discussion about placing CRISPR/CAS9-edited crops on the market.
Physical methods like electroporation, biolistics (“gene gun”), sonoporation that uses cavitation of gas bubbles produced by ultrasound to penetrate the cell membrane, etc. are also applicable to fungi. |
1534_39 | Animals
Introduction of DNA into animal cells is usually called transfection, and is discussed in the corresponding article.
Practical aspects of transformation in molecular biology
The discovery of artificially induced competence in bacteria allow bacteria such as Escherichia coli to be used as a convenient host for the manipulation of DNA as well as expressing proteins. Typically plasmids are used for transformation in E. coli. In order to be stably maintained in the cell, a plasmid DNA molecule must contain an origin of replication, which allows it to be replicated in the cell independently of the replication of the cell's own chromosome. |
1534_40 | The efficiency with which a competent culture can take up exogenous DNA and express its genes is known as transformation efficiency and is measured in colony forming unit (cfu) per μg DNA used. A transformation efficiency of 1×108 cfu/μg for a small plasmid like pUC19 is roughly equivalent to 1 in 2000 molecules of the plasmid used being transformed. |
1534_41 | In calcium chloride transformation, the cells are prepared by chilling cells in the presence of (in solution), making the cell become permeable to plasmid DNA. The cells are incubated on ice with the DNA, and then briefly heat-shocked (e.g., at 42 °C for 30–120 seconds). This method works very well for circular plasmid DNA. Non-commercial preparations should normally give 106 to 107 transformants per microgram of plasmid; a poor preparation will be about 104/μg or less, but a good preparation of competent cells can give up to ~108 colonies per microgram of plasmid. Protocols, however, exist for making supercompetent cells that may yield a transformation efficiency of over 109. The chemical method, however, usually does not work well for linear DNA, such as fragments of chromosomal DNA, probably because the cell's native exonuclease enzymes rapidly degrade linear DNA. In contrast, cells that are naturally competent are usually transformed more efficiently with linear DNA than with |
1534_42 | plasmid DNA. |
1534_43 | The transformation efficiency using the method decreases with plasmid size, and electroporation therefore may be a more effective method for the uptake of large plasmid DNA. Cells used in electroporation should be prepared first by washing in cold double-distilled water to remove charged particles that may create sparks during the electroporation process. |
1534_44 | Selection and screening in plasmid transformation |
1534_45 | Because transformation usually produces a mixture of relatively few transformed cells and an abundance of non-transformed cells, a method is necessary to select for the cells that have acquired the plasmid. The plasmid therefore requires a selectable marker such that those cells without the plasmid may be killed or have their growth arrested. Antibiotic resistance is the most commonly used marker for prokaryotes. The transforming plasmid contains a gene that confers resistance to an antibiotic that the bacteria are otherwise sensitive to. The mixture of treated cells is cultured on media that contain the antibiotic so that only transformed cells are able to grow. Another method of selection is the use of certain auxotrophic markers that can compensate for an inability to metabolise certain amino acids, nucleotides, or sugars. This method requires the use of suitably mutated strains that are deficient in the synthesis or utility of a particular biomolecule, and the transformed cells |
1534_46 | are cultured in a medium that allows only cells containing the plasmid to grow. |
1534_47 | In a cloning experiment, a gene may be inserted into a plasmid used for transformation. However, in such experiment, not all the plasmids may contain a successfully inserted gene. Additional techniques may therefore be employed further to screen for transformed cells that contain plasmid with the insert. Reporter genes can be used as markers, such as the lacZ gene which codes for β-galactosidase used in blue-white screening. This method of screening relies on the principle of α-complementation, where a fragment of the lacZ gene (lacZα) in the plasmid can complement another mutant lacZ gene (lacZΔM15) in the cell. Both genes by themselves produce non-functional peptides, however, when expressed together, as when a plasmid containing lacZ-α is transformed into a lacZΔM15 cells, they form a functional β-galactosidase. The presence of an active β-galactosidase may be detected when cells are grown in plates containing X-gal, forming characteristic blue colonies. However, the multiple |
1534_48 | cloning site, where a gene of interest may be ligated into the plasmid vector, is located within the lacZα gene. Successful ligation therefore disrupts the lacZα gene, and no functional β-galactosidase can form, resulting in white colonies. Cells containing successfully ligated insert can then be easily identified by its white coloration from the unsuccessful blue ones. |
1534_49 | Other commonly used reporter genes are green fluorescent protein (GFP), which produces cells that glow green under blue light, and the enzyme luciferase, which catalyzes a reaction with luciferin to emit light. The recombinant DNA may also be detected using other methods such as nucleic acid hybridization with radioactive RNA probe, while cells that expressed the desired protein from the plasmid may also be detected using immunological methods.
References
External links
Bacterial Transformation (a Flash Animation)
"Ready, aim, fire!" At the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology in Potsdam-Golm plant cells are 'bombarded' using a particle gun
Gene delivery
Modification of genetic information
Molecular biology |
1535_0 | Playin' Me is the debut studio album of British UK funky musician Merissa Campbell, known by her stage name as Cooly G. It wasn't until more than a year before the release of Playin' Me that Campbell began work on a full-length debut album as suggested by Hyperdub founder Kode9. Previously-released cuts including "Up in My Head," "Landscapes," and "It's Serious" appeared on the album's final track listing. |
1535_1 | Playin' Me was produced with the programs Ableton Live, FL studio, and Logic Pro. While mostly written and produced by Campbell herself, the album also features collaborations with Arethis (Aaron Carr), producers P. L. Stanislas-Renouf, known by his stage name as Simbad, and Karizma. It maintains the same sparse structure and UK funky styles of Cooly G's previous records. In using minimal arrangements, the LP is focused on tension and testing the listener's patience through the use of certain sounds coming in and out of the mix at random. A Pitchfork critic categorized it as "music that knocks you over with a feather" where so much goes on despite its quiet, scarce, and understated structure. |
1535_2 | Playin' Me is a much more lyric-focused record than Campbell's previous DJ-set-suitable releases. The album is based on her feelings from a worsening relationship she was in since 2005 when her first son was born. It goes through different moods and the messages are often uninterpretable and contradict with the vibe of the music, indicating the main female character in the LP's relationship story feels disorientate. Playin' Me was also noted by some journalists to be about the culture and lifestyle of London. |
1535_3 | Released in July 2012 by Hyperdub, Playin' Me garnered critical acclaim; numerous reviewers praised Cooly G for being able to create a great and unique full-length record, a goal not many dance and dubstep producers were able to achieve. Common highlights in reviews were its lyrics and how the LP mixed together multiple genres. However, some writers also criticized the inclusion of Cooly G's cover of "Trouble," a song by English rock band Coldplay. Playin' Me was in the top 50 of numerous year-end lists by publications such as The Guardian, Gigwise, and The Wire. Time Out London and Fact put it in the top ten on their lists, Fact later ranking it at number 100 on their list of the best LPs of the first half of the 2010s.
History |
1535_4 | Merissa Campbell spent the first 15 years of her career releasing only singles and EPs. "Up in My Head" / "Phat Si" was issued by Hyperdub on 6 August 2010. Hyperdub then issued the single "Landscapes" / "It's Serious," on 3 November 2011. Music journalists gave the single favorable reviews upon its release, though they felt that the music took multiple plays for the listener to get into it. "Landscapes" also received an official music video that was summarized by XLR8R as "psychedlic video feedback of the producer's singing visage [that] fills the screen with pinks, purples, and other warm hues." It was until Hyperdub founder Kode9 gave Campbell the idea to produce and release an album that she started making an LP during her free time from touring. |
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