Vamp

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In Jazz, a vamp is simply a repeating bass figure. The equivalent in Classical music would be an ostinato. A background vamp provides a performer, or perhaps the pianist's right hand, a harmonic framework upon which to improvise. A vamp often acts as a springboard at the opening of an improvisation.


Vamp is the name of a character from the game Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, a member of Dead Cell. He was born in Romania, and his family were killed when he was younger in a church bomb incident. He survived amongst the rubble by drinking his own family's blood and grew up to become an expert and wizard with knives. It seems however, that Vamp is a sort of supernatural being, as he survived being shot in the head and enjoys the taste of human blood. Raiden however, shot him a second time using a Sniper Rifle and for what it seemed, killed him. Whether Vamp is still living however, remains unknown.

Note: Vamp reappears in the ending when Solid Snake talks to Raiden. He is barely visible near a yellow car, which is, actually modeled after Yoji Shinkawa's car. Vamp is very hard to see, but is still there.


Vamp is a colloquial term applied to describe a particular type of femme fatale, popular in silent films. The term is a shortening of the word vampire, and is used to describe a woman who is glamorous in an exotic, stylised and usually overstated manner. She is usually noted for her striking features, dark clothing and hair, and cosmetics which darken and accentuate the eyes and lips. Her character is a heartless seductress, and the men she seduces are usually shown as helpless victims unable to resist her. From the perspective of American film audiences, she is often seen a foreign, usually of undetermined Eastern European or Asian ancestry. She was designed as the sexual counterpoint of the wholesome actresses such as Lillian Gish and Mary Pickford. Among the notable vamps of the silent screen were Theda Bara, Pola Negri, and in her earliest film appearances, Myrna Loy.


VAMP stands for Vesicle Associated Membrane Protein.