To salsa fans around the world, Cuban-born singer Celia Cruz is one of a kind. In the course of her career, which by now has yielded more than 60 albums, she has been elevated to an icon status on par with Aretha Franklin, Bessie Smith, or Edith Piaf. After decades as the reigning queen of the Latin

Bright, Ebullient, Lush, Salsa music, Sensual

Reluctant rock star and style-transcending musical pioneer, Beck burst onto the scene in 1994 with his critically acclaimed album "Mellow Gold." Its oddball folk-rap hit, "Loser," struck a chord with a Dylanesque slide guitar, psychedelic samples, a hip-hop beat, and the catchy refrain, "I'm a loser

Citational, Clean, Ebullient, Playful, Pop, Smarty arty pop

The poet Karl Shapiro, in his introduction to the 1961 American publication of Henry Miller's "Tropic of Cancer," said, "Morally I regard Miller as a holy man'Gandhi with a penis." This was Miller's first book, and its pages were rife with full, frontal descriptions of sexual joy and despair. He ha

Beats, Bombast, Ebullient, Ecstatic, Erotic, Improvised, In-your-face, Manic, Modernist literature, Overflowing, Perverse, Post-war literature, Sincere

Niece of larger-than-life movie director Cecil B. de Mille, Agnes had star quality of her own and talent to burn. Trained in England at the Ballet Rambert, de Mille returned to the United States to help form the American Ballet Theater, and served as both dancer and choreographer. Credited with intro

Ballet goes hollywood, Dramatic, Ebullient, Grand, Monumental, Sincere