The Lonely Island is an American comedy trio, formed by Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg, and Jorma Taccone in Berkeley, California, in 2001. They have written for and starred in the American TV program Saturday Night Live (SNL).

MGMT () is an American indie rock band formed in 2002 in Middletown, Connecticut. It was founded by multi-instrumentalists Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser. Alongside VanWyngarden and Goldwasser, MGMT's live lineup currently consists of drummer Will Berman, bassist Simon O'Connor, and guitarist and keyboard James Richardson.

Originally signed to Cantora Records by the nascent label's co-founder, NYU undergrad Will Griggs, MGMT later signed with Columbia and RED Ink in 2006 and released their debut album Oracular Spectacular the next year. After the release of Oracular Spectacular Richardson, Berman and Matthew Asti joined the core band in the studio for Congratulations, which was released on April 13, 2010. In January 2011 they began work on their eponymous third studio album. It was released on September 17, 2013, and was released as an early exclusive on Rdio on September 9, 2013. The group's fourth studio album, titled Little Dark Age, was released in February 2018 and marked the end of their contract with Columbia. Beginning in 2019, the duo began producing music independent of a label for the first time since 2006. In late 2019, the two released a new song called "In the Afternoon" as their first fully self-produced single.

Clinton Darryl Mansell is an English musician, singer, and composer. He served as the lead vocalist of alt-rock band Pop Will Eat Itself. After the band's dissolution, Mansell moved to the United States and embarked on a career as a film score composer.

The National is an American rock band of Cincinnati, Ohio natives, formed in Brooklyn, New York City in 1999. The band consists of Matt Berninger (vocals), twin brothers Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner, as well as brothers Scott Devendorf (bass) and Bryan Devendorf (drums). Carin Besser, the wife of Matt Berninger, is not a band member but has written lyrics for the band alongside her husband since its 2007 album Boxer.

The Dandy Warhols are an American alternative rock band, formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1994 by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström. They were later joined by keyboardist Zia McCabe and drummer Eric Hedford. Hedford left in 1998 and was replaced by Taylor-Taylor's cousin Brent DeBoer. The band's name is a play on the name of American pop artist Andy Warhol.

Bombay Bicycle Club are an English indie rock band from Crouch End, London, consisting of Jack Steadman, Jamie MacColl, Suren de Saram, and Ed Nash. They are guitar-fronted and have experimented with different genres, including folk, electronica, world music and indie rock.

The band were given the opening slot on 2006's V Festival after winning a competition. They subsequently released two EPs and their debut single "Evening/Morning". Since then, the band has released five albums including So Long, See You Tomorrow which topped the album charts in February 2014. The band has toured worldwide as a headlining act, playing North America, Australia, Europe and Asia.

In January 2016, the four members announced that they would pursue solo projects. Ed Nash recorded music under the name Toothless, and released his debut album in early 2017. Frontman Jack Steadman, under the name Mr Jukes, released his debut album in 2017.

Sleater-Kinney is an American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1994. The band's current lineup features Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein, following the departure of longtime member Janet Weiss in 2019. Sleater-Kinney originated as part of the riot grrrl movement and has become a key part of the American indie rock scene. The band is also known for its feminist and liberal politics.

Flight of the Conchords is a New Zealand musical comedy duo formed in Wellington in 1998. The band consists of multi-instrumentalists Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Beginning as a popular live comedy act in the early 2000s, the duo's comedy and music became the basis of the self-titled BBC radio series (2005) and, subsequently, the HBO American television series (2007–2009). Most recently, they released the HBO comedy special Live in London in 2018. The special was concurrently released by Sub Pop as their fifth album.

Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, known by her stage name M.I.A., is a British rapper and singer. Her music combines elements of alternative, dance, electronic, hip hop and world music with electronic instruments and samples.

Björk Guðmundsdóttir is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has developed an eclectic musical style over her four-decade career that has drawn on electronic, pop, experimental, trip hop, classical, and avant-garde music.

Charlyn Marie "Chan" Marshall, better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and model. Cat Power was originally the name of her first band, but has become her stage name as a solo artist.

Die Antwoord is a South African alternative hip hop group formed in Cape Town in 2008.

Sleigh Bells is an American musical duo based in Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2008 and consisting of vocalist Alexis Krauss and guitarist/producer Derek E. Miller. They became known for their overdriven style of noise pop, which incorporates elements from various genres including pop, hip hop, metal, and punk.

Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent references to contemporary pop culture and 1950s–1960s Americana. She is the recipient of various accolades, including two Brit Awards, two MTV Europe Music Awards, and a Satellite Award, in addition to nominations for six Grammy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. Variety honored her at their Hitmakers Awards for being "one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the 21st century."

Raised in upstate New York, Del Rey moved to New York City in 2005 to pursue a music career. After numerous projects, including her self-titled debut studio album, Del Rey's breakthrough came in 2011 with the viral success of her single "Video Games"; she subsequently signed a recording contract with Polydor and Interscope. She achieved critical and commercial success with her second album, Born to Die (2012), which contained the sleeper hit "Summertime Sadness". Del Rey's third album, Ultraviolence (2014), featured greater use of guitar-driven instrumentation and debuted atop the U.S. Billboard 200. Her fourth and fifth albums, Honeymoon (2015) and Lust for Life (2017), saw a return to the stylistic traditions of her earlier releases, while her critically acclaimed sixth album, Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019), explored soft rock. Her next studio albums, Chemtrails over the Country Club and Blue Banisters, followed in 2021.

Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky (stylized as A$AP Rocky; , AY-sap), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of the hip hop collective A$AP Mob, from which he adopted his moniker.

In August 2011, Rocky's single "Peso" was leaked online and within weeks received radio airplay. Rocky released his debut mixtape Live. Love. A$AP later that year to widespread critical acclaim. The success of his mixtape led to a record deal with Polo Grounds Music, RCA Records, and Sony Music Entertainment. His debut studio album Long. Live. A$AP (2013) debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and became certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album was preceded by Rocky's breakout single, "Fuckin' Problems" (featuring Drake, 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar), which was nominated for Best Rap Song at the 2014 Grammy Awards. In 2015, Rocky released his second album, titled At. Long. Last. A$AP. The album was Rocky's second consecutive album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 and received mostly positive reviews from music critics. The album's single, "L$D", was nominated for Best Music Video at the 2016 Grammy Awards. In 2018, Rocky released his third album, Testing, which peaked in the top five of seven countries.

Joshua Michael Tillman, better known by his stage name Father John Misty, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has also performed and released studio albums under the name J. Tillman.

Marina Lambrini Diamandis, known mononymously as Marina, and previously by the stage name Marina and the Diamonds, is a Welsh singer and songwriter.

Nineteen Eighty-Four is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale by English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final book completed in his lifetime. Thematically, it centres on the consequences of totalitarianism, mass surveillance and repressive regimentation of people and behaviours within society. Orwell, a democratic socialist, modelled the authoritarian state in the novel on Stalinist Russia and Nazi Germany. More broadly, the novel examines the role of truth and facts within societies and the ways in which they can be manipulated.

Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death is a 1969 semi-autobiographic science fiction-infused anti-war novel by Kurt Vonnegut. It follows the life and experiences of Billy Pilgrim, from his early years, to his time as an American soldier and chaplain's assistant during World War II, to the post-war years, with Billy occasionally traveling through time. The text centers on Billy's capture by the German Army and his survival of the Allied firebombing of Dresden as a prisoner of war, an experience which Vonnegut himself lived through as an American serviceman. The work has been called an example of "unmatched moral clarity" and "one of the most enduring anti-war novels of all time".

The Lorax is a children's book written by Dr. Seuss and first published in 1971. It chronicles the plight of the environment and the Lorax is the titular character, who "speaks for the trees" and confronts the Once-ler, who causes environmental destruction. As in most Dr. Seuss books, the creatures mentioned are typically unique to the story.

The story is commonly recognized as a fable concerning the danger of human destruction of the natural environment, using the literary element of personification to create relateable characters for industry (as the Once-ler), the environment (the Truffula trees) and activism (as the Lorax). The story encourages personal care and involvement in making the situation better: "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."