Meet Cassie Ellis?a young college graduate with the world on a string, a yen for screenwriting, and a need for fast cash to pay off her student loans. Eager to avoid the lucrative snooze-fest of a reliable consulting job, she shocks everyone she knows by opting for a sexier, more flexible job: mixing drinks. Never mind that she doesn’t know single-malt whiskey from Jack Daniel’s: she’s eager to learn. And under the tutelage of a sexy Soho bar owner, she’s soon cranking out three-olive martinis with the city’s glitterati fifteen-deep at the bar?all while angling for tips, fielding bad pick-up lines, and trying to keep up with the other bartenders who party as hard as their stylish clientele.When Cassie accepts a summer gig bartending in the Hamptons, New York’s most elite summer destination, she finds herself catapulted into a whirlwind of dazzling celebrity and over-the-top wealth unlike anything she’s ever seen. Life behind the velvet rope is hard to resist, especially when she finds herself falling for a Hamptons hottie named James. But as the summer progresses, and she finds herself surrounded by playboys, moguls, spoiled rich kids, and Paris Hilton clones in strappy stilettos, she soon wonders if playing the ersatz socialite?while actually trying to make a living?is more than she bargained for.Drawn from the authors’ own experiences as bartenders in the thick of New York’s party scene, The Perfect Manhattan is a perfect mix of sparkling social satire, romance, comedy, and scandal that provides a fast-paced, enormously entertaining look inside the life on the chichi side of the tracks.

More than 30 years in the making, but worth the wait?Monster Musicpresents George Benson and Al Jarreau’s first-ever HDS High Definition Surround SuperDisc Givin’ It Up High Definition Surround Sound with In Your Room and In The Studio surround experiences. Special guests artists include: Herbie Hancock, Jill Scott, Chris Botti, Paul McCartney and more. High Definition Digital Music Files encoded with Dolby Headphone Surround. High Definition Stereo (PCM 96/24), and audiophile mastered. Bonus video footage of The Making of Givin It Up. Each package will include hang tab attached to the product. Two Jazz Greats Finally Collaborate Jazz/crossover legends George Benson and Al Jarreau have been dazzling audiences with their live performances and studio work (13 Grammy Awards between them) for the last three decades. Slated to tour together in the summer of 2006, George and Al decided to take it one step further: record an album together of classic and original material. An all-star cast headed by Stanley Clarke, Chris Botti, Marcus Miller and even Paul McCartney, contributed their musical genius to Givin It Up. Soul divas Jill Scott and Patti Austin pair off for guest vocal duets with George and Al, respectively. Legends Sound Even Better on SuperDisc Besides the stereo disc included for your CD player or car stereo, Monster Music brings you Benson, Jarreau and company in full HDS High Definition Surround on a SuperDisc for your DVD player. Better than normal stereo, music in High Definition Surround puts you right in the middle of the music. Its exciting, moving, and the way the artists intended you to hear it. And for audiophiles, there are High Definition Stereo tracks in 96K/24-bit lossless audio. SuperDisc Delivers A Surround Experience From Your iPod Direct from the master recordings are High Definition Digital Music files ready to download to any computer or portable music player that supports WMA (Windows), or AAC (Apple, iPod). Even better are Dolby Headphone music files that simulate surround sound through any pair of headphones. Givin’ It Up SuperDisc Features: High Definition Surround – Mixed for today’s 5.1 home theater systems to bring out more detail and discreet instrumentation In the Studio and In the Room Surround Experiences – 1.54 Mbps DTS 96/24 and Dolby 448kbps 48/16, sounds like you’re there for the live session High Definition Stereo – Audiophile Mastered PCM Stereo Tracks Also includes the original 2-channel stereo CD High Definition Digital Music Files ready to Drag and Drop Dolby Headphone Surround for virtual surround sound from MP3 Players

This entertaining and innovative book focuses on vocal performance styles that developed in tandem with the sound technologies of the phonograph, radio, and sound film. Writing in a clear and lively style, Jacob Smith looks at these media technologies and industries through the lens of performance, bringing to light a fascinating nexus of performer, technology, and audience. Combining theories of film sound, cultural histories of sound technologies and industries, and theories of performance, Smith convincingly connects disparate and largely neglected performance niches to explore the development of a modern vocal performance. Vocal Tracks: Performance and Sound Media demonstrates the voice to be a vehicle of performance, identity, and culture and illustrates both the interconnection of all these categories and their relation to the media technologies of the past century.