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Why Understanding How a Salary Calculator Tool Works is Beneficial

In the complex landscape of personal and professional finance, having a clear understanding of your earnings is crucial. Salary calculator tools offer a simple way to estimate your income, whether you’re an employee, employer, or job seeker.

But beyond using these tools, knowing how they work can provide significant advantages. Here’s why understanding the mechanics of salary calculator tools is beneficial.

Accurate financial planning

Better budgeting

Understanding how a salary calculator works enables you to make more accurate financial plans. By knowing the factors that influence your salary calculation—such as hourly wages, overtime, benefits, and deductions—you can create a more precise budget. This helps in managing expenses, savings, and investments more effectively.

Realistic expectations

With a clear understanding of the salary calculation process, you can set realistic financial goals and expectations. You can anticipate your take-home pay more accurately and avoid unpleasant surprises related to taxes and deductions. This knowledge empowers you to plan for big expenses, investments, or savings with greater confidence.

Informed career decisions

Job offer evaluation

When considering job offers, knowing how salary calculators work allows you to accurately compare different compensation packages. You can input various scenarios, including bonuses and benefits, to see which offer provides the best overall value. This ensures you make well-informed career decisions that align with your financial goals.

Negotiation leverage

Understanding salary calculations gives you an edge in salary negotiations. You can confidently discuss compensation, knowing the components that contribute to your overall pay. This knowledge helps you negotiate for better terms, such as higher base pay, additional benefits, or bonuses, ensuring you receive fair compensation for your skills and experience.

Enhanced financial literacy

Understanding deductions and taxes

Salary calculators often factor in deductions and taxes, helping you see the impact on your net pay. By understanding these calculations, you gain insights into how different tax brackets and deductions affect your income. This enhances your overall financial literacy and helps you make informed decisions about tax planning and deductions.

Awareness of benefits and overtime

Knowing how salary calculators account for benefits and overtime can help you appreciate their value. For instance, understanding how paid time off, health insurance, or retirement contributions affect your salary can guide you in evaluating job offers or negotiating better benefits.

Business and payroll management

Accurate payroll budgeting

For employers, understanding salary calculators is crucial for accurate payroll budgeting. It helps in forecasting payroll expenses, considering various factors like overtime, benefits, and bonuses. Alongside a salary calculator, a payroll calculator can be a useful way of calculating other payroll costs such as taxes and compulsory contributions. Together, these ensure the business stays within budget and avoids unexpected payroll shortfalls.

Transparent employee communication

Employers who understand salary calculations can communicate more transparently with employees about their pay. This fosters trust and transparency, as employees appreciate clear explanations of how their salary is determined, including deductions and benefits. It also helps in addressing any payroll-related queries or concerns effectively.

Practical application in everyday life

Personal income estimations

Whether you’re a freelancer, part-time worker, or full-time employee, understanding how to use a salary calculator helps you estimate your personal income accurately. This is especially useful for planning major life decisions, such as buying a house, taking a loan, planning a vacation, or asking the simple question: 20 an hour is how much a year?

Side gigs and freelance work

For those with side gigs or freelance work, salary calculators help in estimating total earnings from multiple income streams. By understanding how to factor in different pay rates and working hours, you can better manage your finances and plan for taxes and expenses related to freelance work.

Choosing the right salary calculator

Identifying key features

Knowing how salary calculators work helps you identify the key features that are important for your needs. For instance, if you need detailed breakdowns of taxes and deductions, you can choose a calculator that provides these specifics. This ensures you get accurate and useful results tailored to your situation.

Avoiding pitfalls

Understanding the mechanics of salary calculators also helps you avoid common pitfalls, such as relying on inaccurate or outdated tools. You can critically evaluate the calculators you use and ensure they reflect current tax laws and accurately calculate net pay, leading to better financial decisions.

To wrap up

Understanding how a salary calculator tool works goes beyond simply knowing your income. It enhances your financial planning, informs your career decisions, and improves your overall financial literacy.

For both employees and employers, this knowledge provides practical benefits, from accurate budgeting to transparent communication. Embrace the power of understanding salary calculators to take control of your financial future and make informed decisions that benefit you in the long run.

Keeping Up Your Gaming Practice While You’re Away From Home

As passionate gamers, we know how important it is to keep up your skills and keep practicing as much as possible – and stay connected to your various gaming communities, come to that. Any little dip in your time spent gaming is fine because we all have lives to lead outside of the game, after all, but if you have to be away from gaming for a long time, that’s different, and it can really have a negative impact on the way you play and the skills you’ve worked so hard to achieve over time. 

There are loads of reasons why you might not by able to play your games for a while – you might be traveling for work, for example, or perhaps you’re on vacation, visiting family, or anything else, and as much as it might be fun to do whatever it is you’re doing, it can also be stressful and challenging to try to set up a full gaming system wherever you’ve gone to, just as it can be stressful and challenging if you have to leave everything at home. 

Now of course, taking a break from gaming is important, and you really shouldn’t be gaming all the time, especially when you’re meant to be spending time with friends and family, for example, but if you’ve got a competition coming up or it’s the gaming itself you find relaxing, then finding a way to practice when you’re away from home, even if it’s only a little, is a good idea. With that in mind, keep reading to find out more so you can put some measures in place to ensure you get the practice you need even when you’re not at home. 

Portable Gaming Solutions

One of the easiest, and therefore one of the solutions you might think of first, ideas to help you keep up with your gaming practice even while you’re away from home is to use portable gaming options – you can literally take your gaming with you, and although it might not be exactly the gaming setup you’re used to, you may well feel it’s better than nothing. 

Think of a high-quality laptop, for example. The fact is that in the past, playing games on a laptop was something you did if you had to, but it probably wouldn’t have been your first choice (if you’re a professional or very invested gamer, that is) because a proper gaming PC would give you more power, better graphics, better sound quality, and more memory to boot. So a laptop would probably have been seen as a last resort. However, these days laptops aren’t the desperate gaming measure they used to be, and you can find plenty that have all the powerful performance packages you could ask for – some laptops have been specifically designed for gaming, so you don’t even have to worry about using your work laptop or the laptop you watch videos on and so on. It’s true these pieces of equipment aren’t cheap, but when you think about the fact that you can use the laptop at home as well, you might even think it’s a worthwhile investment that can become your permanent way of gaming. 

Of course, laptops aren’t the only way to take your gaming with you wherever you go because you could also use handheld consoles, and there are a few to choose from, which is great – you can find one that allows you to play your favorite games on the go. The whole point of these devices is that they’re designed for portability and they can give you hours of entertainment without the need for the standard full setup, making it so much easier to game no matter where you go and to do it without having to pack a load of equipment too. 

And don’t forget you’ll also generally have your smartphone with you on your trip, and even if you’ve got no other equipment to hand, that can be an excellent way to play games, whether you like online puzzles like Minesweeper, community games like Roblox, or your own favorite game that just happens to have a mobile version. The only thing you’ll really need to think about is the battery because gaming can drain it quite quickly, especially if your smartphone (or tablet, come to that) is relatively old, but that issue can be solved by having portable chargers with you to top up the battery life when you need to. Of course, those chargers also need charging, so don’t forget to do that or you might not have the juice you need to play your games! 

Manage Your Gaming Time

If you’re not at home there’s going to be a reason – you’re not going to pack up and go away for a few days or weeks without there being something to go to and do once you’re there, are you? It could be a vacation, as we’ve said, in which case the aim is to relax and recharge and explore your destination. It could be a work trip, in which case the aim is to, well, work. It could be that you’re visiting friends and family, and once again, you probably know what the reason is – it’s not gaming, we can say that for sure. 

As hard as it might be, the fact is that if you’re going to be gaming all day every day while you’re away, you’re going to miss out on the reason for going – you might as well be at home. So if you don’t want to waste your time away and you want to do the fun things you’ve got lined up, then it’s wise to manage your gaming time properly and come up with a schedule. If you can do that, you’ll find you’ve got time to do everything and you’ll be able to keep up your gaming practice while you’re away from home. 

The best thing to do is to plan your gaming sessions around your travel itinerary and not the other way around, otherwise you’ll probably allocate too much time to gaming and miss out, so that by the time you get home, you’ll regret not seeing and doing as much as you could; you might even start to resent gaming, and that’s not the kind of situation you want to find yourself in. You can allocate specific times for gaming so that you don’t clash with anything else you’re doing and really get the best of both worlds without hurting your gaming scores or ability either. 

And don’t make your gaming sessions too long either – short and to the point is the answer otherwise you might feel guilty about spending too long playing, not to mention the fact that anyone you’re traveling with is going to get pretty bored waiting for you to finally finish and spend some time with them. 

Staying Connected With The Community 

There might be times when you really can’t play your usual games when you’re away from home (one good example is if you’re sick or injured and you have to go to hospital – it’s not a pleasant thought, but it’s going to be the best place for you to recover, only you may not get to do too much gaming while you’re there! Of course, there are other examples as well, and you might find yourself in one) but that doesn’t mean you have to disconnect altogether – you can still connect with the gaming community you more than likely play a part in.

You might choose to use social media, for example, and make comments on people’s feeds and profiles, send them messages, or hold discussions in various groups (Facebook is an excellent place to do exactly that) – just don’t get into any arguments or get too stressed, which is a problem that can often occur on social media, because you won’t enjoy your time away as much if you’re upset about something someone said or you’re searching for a witty comeback days later.

Another option is to use messaging apps, but again, don’t spend all your time on your phone when you’re meant to be enjoying new places and trying new things – there does need to be a balance in place, and when you’re scheduling your gaming time, you can schedule these chats in too. 

Staying Healthy While On The Go Gaming

It’s all very well making sure you balance things out and have all the equipment you might need, but you also need to stay healthy while you’re away from home and gaming on the go (or that hospital problem might raise its ugly head!) as well. 

Make sure you take regular breaks when you’re gaming, especially if you’re playing for a long time, and always stay hydrated. Plus, never skip meals just so you can fit everything in. Instead, make your meals (and maybe even snack time) a part of your schedule and make them a priority too – only once you’ve eaten should you do your gaming, your sightseeing, your work, or anything else you’re away from home to do. If you do that, you’ll have a lot more energy and stay healthier too.

Esports World Cup: Global Cyber Games Tournament 2024

The esports category is all set for one of the biggest spectacles in the gaming calendar: the Esports World Cup. Slated for August 19–25, this international event will see talents from various parts of the world showcased in an enthralling event of prowess, policymaking, and team craftsmanship. This event also gathers millions of viewers, and those who want to place bets on their favorite e-games can do so on platforms such as GGBet.

Overview of the Tournament

The 2024 edition of the Esports World Cup will be held in a very modern venue in Riyadh, complete with the most advanced gaming equipment and transmission systems in place. For the next two weeks, 30 teams from different countries will play popular games like League of Legends, Dota 2, and Overwatch. As per tradition, each game will have its separate bracket where teams will battle in groups, knock-out stages, and then the final of each game.

What’s at Stake

There is reportedly US$60 million up for grabs across all the games being played, with the winners of each game and stand-out special performances. This distribution of prizes clearly indicates the intention to foster the growth and development of different members of the esports family.

Teams to Watch

Several exciting teams have stood out for the year, including TSM which won seven of the total sixteen splits of North America’s League of Legends Championship Series (LCS). Another team that has been discussed is the G2 Esports, a Dota 2 team that delivers fresh tactics and great team synergy. Another popular team originating from USA Cloud9, which is also in Overwatch Considered; they recently claimed a few top online competitions.

Technological Innovations

The following is a list of some of the expectations for technological advancement post this year’s global cyber games. There will be an installation of high-definition image projection screens, commonly known as 4K, and ample sound systems for the pleasure of spectators. Furthermore, there will be constant development of streaming platforms to enable fans worldwide to access the matches in real-time without delay so that everyone feels involved.

Hand That Helps to Build the Esports Industry

Thus, the Esports World Cup are not only a tournament but also an event that becomes decisive for the esports industry. An esports event receives extensive media coverage, which evokes sponsors’ and investors’ concerns about legitimizing esports and their economic contribution.

It also increases opportunities for more lucrative sponsorships for gamers. It opens the development of new proper job roles, including gamer, coach for gamers, game designer, and event organizer, among others, within the gaming segment.

Community and Cultural Impact

Aside from fierce competition and technological performance, the Esports World Cup is also the essence of togetherness and cultural exchange. It features ‘meet the fans’ sessions where industry insiders and fans interact, ‘meet the developers’ discussions, and ‘trade’ fairs where developers display their future games and innovative technologies. They also orient the fanbase to the gaming scene, where one may be able to interact with fellow players or developers of their favorite video games.

Health and Safety Measures

Considering the rising global health issues, the competent authorities take strict measures to ensure the health and safety of the participants, the working staff, and the viewers. These include forceful health checkups, improved hygiene protocols, and crowd control measures to observe social distance.

Looking Forward

True gamers and advanced computer users are eagerly anticipating the Esports World Cup. The event itself is not just a battle and a contest and attempts to reveal and include oneself in the complexity of esports’ culture and the industry’s diligence. Those who are innovative are an event that shall mark the beginning of new fun and excitement in competitive gaming.

Ekko Astral Release New Single ‘Holocaust Remembrance Day’

Ekko Astral have released a new standalone single called ‘Holocaust Remembrance Day’. It’s out exclusively through Bandcamp, with all proceeds towards GoFundMes for families fleeing an onslaught of Israeli military violence. Listen to it below.

Speaking about the track, vocalist Jael Holzman said in a statement:

This song reflects three experiences key to my life as an American Jew. The first verse is about a time I was asked by a police officer in the U.S. Capitol building if I was a Muslim because of my tichel. The third verse is about when Liam and I produced a podcast for our university’s Hillel about how Jewish students felt about Israel but were censored and disallowed from having any critical voices. And the cover is the site of a 1994 massacre of Palestinians during Ramadan at a holy site to both Jews and Muslims, the Cave of the Patriarchs. I visited this site during a monthlong trip to Israel in high school with a Jewish youth group. That trip also included military humvees, attempts at recruiting me and my fellow high school-aged Jews to the IDF, and lectures about how the Dome of the Rock was a reason to hold hate in our hearts for Arab Muslim people.

Criticizing the Israeli state for the violence it perpetrates against the Palestinian people is not antisemetic. I say that as someone whose family has stayed in kibbutzim just like those targeted on Oct. 7. The truth is there is more than one kind of Jew, and questioning what people tell you is a central Jewish moral. But the city I live in, Washington DC, definitely doesn’t talk about it that way very often. I’ve been struck by the hypocrisy of some news outlets talking about detained reporters in Russia, but there has been no bleeding heart for all the journalists being carried out on stretchers dead in Gaza. Where was the Dana Bash CNN segment about the Al-Jazeera reporter who was shot dead by the IDF multiple years ago? We don’t see that anywhere.

Check out our Artist Spotlight interview with Ekko Astral.

Artist Spotlight: Margaux

Margaux Bouchegnies, who records mononymously as Margaux, is a Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter who grew up in Seattle. After picking up guitar and then upright bass, she began writing songs and went on to study jazz at the New School in Manhattan, though she later switched to the writing program and graduated with a degree in poetry and non-fiction. Currently, Margaux plays in Katy Kirby‘s band for a headlining European tour in support of Blue Raspberry and has also played bass for Fenne Lily, Allegra Krieger, Dougie Poule, and others. She started performing her own material as Margaux in 2018, releasing her debut EP, More Brilliant Is the Hand That Throws the Coin, the following year. Her first full-length, Inside the Marble, not only navigates heartbreak and the anxieties of growing up with startling intimacy, but makes them feel proportional to the weight they hold over time: ballooning and making us feel small, trapping and sweeping us away. Aided by producer Sahil Ansari and collaborators who contribute trombone, violin, and clarinet, Margaux seems to take these swirling personal thoughts out into the wild, turning her debut into a gentle, layered, and beautifully dramatic affair.

We caught up with Margaux for the latest edition of our Artist Spotlight series to talk about her earliest musical memories, her lyrical process, her debut album, and more.


Do you mind sharing some of your earliest memories of connecting with music?

I think it was sometime in middle school when I started to pick up the guitar a little more. The neighborhood I grew up in had a thing over the summer called Beet Walk, which was just street musicians. I got to participate in that as a young person, and I think that’s where I started to build my connection to performance. And also, through the school I went to, we had a lot of ensembles and things that were student-driven where we could play songs we liked or experiment with writing songs. Those were definitely the spaces that I first built that connection.

When did writing songs become a real passion for you?

It really started to become a thing for me during my freshman year of college. I had written songs here and there, kind of privately or songs that were just instrumental. But during my freshman year, I was in a jazz program playing upright bass and doing music in a very academic way, and I think as a response to that, I started to find relief in creating my own compositions and lyric writing. I was taking more classes in the literary studies program, feeling more inspired by that than the jazz curriculum. That’s when I seriously began crafting songs in a way that ultimately made me feel that I want to share them with others.

You mentioned that the rigidity of studying music led you to shift your focus academically, but how did studying poetry and other kinds of writing in an academic context inspire you outside of that setting?

We would really catalyze things beyond classwork. Just taking in these writers that have really inspired me and got me into that headspace of wanting to create. That’s something I’m finding that I miss a lot about that experience, and I’m realizing that now that I’m out of school and have been out of school for a while now, it’s kind of on me to supply myself with that stimulation and the stuff that will get me reinspired to start writing more. It was really compelling – not just to me, but to a group of people, and that was really energizing for my own creative practice.

Do you feel that there’s a separation between how you use your voice in poetry and in songs, or do they inform each other?

I think they are coming from the same place. It’s just one of these things that you can feel you’re in that particular headspace where things are flowing out. I feel like, whether I’m free writing or writing a poem, it is kind of the same feeling I have when I’m writing a song. Although I will say there are some songs on this album where I feel like I didn’t quite achieve that space, and for me, I can really hear that in the lyricism. There are some songs where I can tell I was really in that poetic headspace, and others where the lyrics feel more straightforward. I definitely prefer the times when it feels like it’s coming from the same well as when I’m writing sans music.

On your debut album, ‘I Wouldn’t Want It Any Other Way’ feels like one of those more lyrically direct songs. But I love how there’s still a subtle ambiguity in how the beginning of the chorus alternates between “and” and “but.” It’s like there’s both a logical contradiction and continuity in not wanting to lose your friend in the context of a breakup. Did it feel like you wanted to write something simpler while still dealing with complicated feelings?

I remember feeling stuck at the time with songwriting, in particular with the direction I was going for the guitar. I generally start by writing the music first and then the lyrics, and I think I was feeling fed up with the blocks I was putting in front of myself – I was like, let me write a song that is not complicated, both musically and lyrically. I wanted to be clear about what I was saying. But it’s one of those feelings that is difficult to articulate, even using simple sentences. It’s like, how do you really explain the feeling of missing someone but not wanting to reconnect? There’s a sense of loss and grieving, but that person isn’t technically gone. I felt the best way to explore that was within this more straight-ahead song.

The first song, DNA’, struck me musically with its convergence of acoustic and electronic instrumentation, which feels like a way of complicating and layering those feelings.

Yeah, that definitely resonates. I was trying to illustrate the different shades of those emotions. Sometimes it can feel very simple and distilled, and with something like the first song, where it is pretty heavily arranged – that was definitely written during a time of a storm of feelings.

That brings me to Ships’. Another way you contend with big feelings is through metaphor, and you really explore that in this song. Does that figurative language feel useful to you in a different way?

I feel like there’s also a part of it for me that if I speak about this feeling in terms that are a bit removed from the specifics of what happened that made me feel this way, then there’s space for it to transform into being about other things as well. In a way, it feels like I’m not committing too closely to one specific incident. Even though it still feels personal to me and I feel that sense of closeness, it’s also freeing to not tie it too directly to something specific. Also, I think writing songs about heartbreak is so prevalent, and finding a way to not make it feel like it has been said before can be challenging. It can be easy for those things to feel trite.

It can obviously mean different things to other people, but I’m curious if you feel that emotion has transformed for you. 

Yeah, a little bit. I resonate with the sentiments I expressed in relation to other things I’ve since experienced. At the end of the day, it will always be about what it was initially, but it’s nice to have that freedom – there’s enough space between the words and the specifics of my experience that I feel like it can grow, or I can grow with it.

‘Ships’ also has one of the most wonderful and winding arrangements on the album. What was it like putting it together?

It was really fun. That song is particularly old; I had demoed it in different ways with different sounds and arrangements in the past, and it was fun to actually bring it into the studio and dream up all the different ways to bring it to its final form. Leaning into the drama of it I had a lot of fun with. The outro was a new addition written by Willem de Koch, who played trombone all over the album. That was a really fun day, hearing what he came up with. It fit so seamlessly with the song – I had never done that before, having someone else write an extra part to a song I had written. It was nice to see it have this new life, to have someone else’s perspective but stay so in line with the feeling of it.

How did that and other songs on the album take on a new life for you?

With ‘Ships’ specifically, it became a longer song, which I loved. We really leaned into that. The melody has moments where a note is held for a long time, and that was part of a feeling I was trying to express there, that weight, something drawn out and dragging on. When you’re going through some kind of breakup or letdown, you can’t really rush those feelings; sometimes it feels like they take up your whole world, and you feel like, “Oh, is this just going to be the foreseeable future?” I feel like adding that outro, the way it emphasized what the song was already about, made it feel more complete.

For other songs, ‘Sadie Something’ is one that definitely arrived at a place I hadn’t totally imagined before. It was fun to include instruments like the pedal steel and trombone. I remember there were moments with that song in particular where Sahil and I were trying things we weren’t sure would work, like some really crazy, abrasive trombone stuff happening at the end. I feel like some of these things were just more voices in the story.

I’m interested in how you describe your relationship to time on the album – it’s something that moves quickly, but you’ve also got nothing but time. When you’re writing, do you sense that you think about time in a particular way that’s not accessible when you’re not in that headspace? Is time something that feels blurry or conflicting?

I definitely feel this sense of time warping while I’m writing – that experience of being in a flow state where you’re not even paying attention to time. In terms of time as a theme and a point of inspiration, I do think a lot of that comes from anxiety – how much time is left, spending time wisely and efficiently. That works its way into my experience with songwriting, too, feeling like, “Is this something worth chasing or spending time on?” But it is nice when I can break through that. Even if I’m just talking about how I’m anxious about it, it still feels cathartic to have a song come out of it.

Do you feel like songwriting almost has to be an opportunity for pause? Are there times when you can rush through a song?

I don’t often feel that I can write a song quickly. It takes me a long time to complete a song. I feel like I’m one of those people that’s quite sensitive to the space. Fr a while, I felt I could only write songs when I went back home to Seattle. A lot of that had to do with the sense of privacy that I was able to have at the home I grew up in, and also all the memories and baggage that come with going to a place that is so part of your person that you don’t encounter as much anymore. That felt very rich as a space. But I don’t feel like I’m able to rush through writing a song, and anytime I do, especially with lyrics, I often end up feeling pretty unhappy with what comes out. It would be nice to find a way to feel a little less precious about these things, because I almost feel like the bulk of the time that I spend on writing is just overcoming these obstacles.

The title partly refers to the idea of losing one’s marbles. Could you share some processes or rituals that keep you grounded?

I feel like making my bed is a big thing that provides me with a sense of, like, “Okay, this is made.” Sometimes, to get that mental clarity, I need to see something that is put together right in front of me. Doing that consistently has been a good way of feeling grounded. I’ve been drawing more, which is something I have never really been into. It’s been nice to be playful, especially with how my relationship to music and songwriting has changed now that I’ve made it this thing that I’m trying to pursue as a career and sharing it with people in a very public way. A lot of those thoughts enter my mind when I write, so it’s nice to have something that’s very disconnected from that that is still a way of expressing myself creatively.

Does playing and being present in other people’s songs affect how you think about your own?

It’s interesting, I feel like it’s so separate in my head. When I’m on tour with an artist and I’m playing bass in their band, I feel like I’m totally just living in that music and I’m devoted to that in the moment, which I think is why maybe I haven’t even really been super tapped into this release yet. I feel like I’m doing something right now that I want to be 100% present for. That feels really important to me, although I’m definitely very inspired by a lot of these artists I’ve gotten the chance to tour with. They’re people that I was listening to before, and it’s really a huge treat to be able to play music that I love.


This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.

Margaux’s Inside the Marble is out now via Massif Records.

Washed Out Shares Video for New Single ‘Waking Up’

Washed Out has released ‘Waking Up’, the latest single off his upcoming album Notes From a Quiet Life. Following previous cuts ‘Running Away’ and ‘The Hardest Part’, the track comes with a live performance video directed by Jonah Haber and filmed in the path of full totality of the solar eclipse on location in Bandera, Texas, on April 8, 2024. Check it out below.

Notes From a Quiet Life is set to arrive on June 28 via Sub Pop.

Panda Bear Joins Avey Tare on New Song ‘Vampire Tongues’

Avey Tare has released a new single, ‘Vampire Tongues’, which features vocals from his Animal Collective bandmate Panda Bear. It marks his first new music since the release of his album 7s last year. Check it out below.

“Right now the basic process of making music is more important to me than any outcome,” Avey Tare, aka Dave Portner, explained in a statement. “It’s a process of learning. Collaboration is as much about learning from someone as it is creating something with someone. There’s a nice surprise element. I wonder, what is this person going to do with this idea? Where is this song going to go when someone else is guiding the ship? I’m doing the research. Here’s me attempting to learn something from my old friend Noah.”

Check out our interview with Avey Tarey about some of the inspirations behind 7s.

Air-Drying Wisdom: The Budget-Friendly Approach with Whirlpool Dryers

In today’s fast-paced world, household chores like laundry can be both time-consuming and energy-intensive. The quest for efficiency often leads families to seek reliable appliances that lighten their load while remaining cost-effective. 

Among the myriad of options available, Whirlpool dryers have carved a niche for themselves, offering a perfect blend of performance and affordability. This article explores the benefits of air-drying with Whirlpool dryers and why they present a budget-friendly solution for modern households.

The Efficiency Dilemma

Let’s face it: drying clothes can be a significant drain on both time and resources. Traditional methods like hanging clothes on a line can be unreliable due to weather conditions, whereas electric dryers can rack up considerable energy costs. Enter Whirlpool dryers. These appliances are designed to strike a balance by providing efficient drying in much less time than air-drying, yet doing so in an energy-efficient manner.

One of the common models, the Whirlpool Dryer WED4815EW1, has earned a reputation for being highly reliable. However, like all appliances, it may require maintenance over time to keep it running smoothly. The availability of Whirlpool Dryer WED4815EW1 Repair Parts ensures that users can inexpensively maintain their dryers, extending their life and running efficiency without burning a hole in their pocket.

Energy Efficiency and Cost Savings

Whirlpool dryers are renowned for their energy-efficient systems. Energy Star-rated models are especially beneficial as they consume significantly less electricity compared to non-certified options. This translates to reduced energy bills, which is a crucial factor for budget-conscious households.

Beyond the hardware, Whirlpool has incorporated intelligent features such as sensors that determine when clothes are dry, automatically shutting off to save power. This not only conserves energy but also extends the lifespan of your garments by preventing over-drying.

Air-Drying Settings: A Versatile Solution

For those who lean towards being more eco-friendly but still want the convenience of a dryer, the air-drying settings on Whirlpool dryers serve as an ideal solution. This mode utilizes unheated air to dry clothes, mimicking the natural air-drying process but in a reduced timeframe. It’s particularly useful for delicate fabrics that cannot withstand intense heat.

Moreover, the air-drying settings are perfect for items that are only slightly damp or need a quick refresh. This versatility ensures that you don’t always have to rely on the traditional heated cycle, thus conserving energy and prolonging the life of your machine.

Maintenance and Repair: Keeping Costs Down

A significant aspect of making a budget-friendly appliance even more economical is easy maintenance. Whirlpool dryers are designed for straightforward upkeep. Simple tasks like cleaning the lint filter and ensuring proper ventilation can enhance performance and prevent costly repairs.

If problems arise, Whirlpool offers a comprehensive collection of repair parts and guides. Owning a Whirlpool Dryer WED4815EW1 means you have readily accessible Whirlpool Dryer WED4815EW1 Repair Parts that allow you to replace worn-out components yourself. This do-it-yourself approach can save you from the hefty fees associated with professional repair services.

The Environmental Impact

While cost savings and efficiency are paramount, one cannot overlook the environmental benefits associated with using efficient dryers. Models like those offered by Whirlpool help reduce your carbon footprint. The less energy you consume, the fewer fossil fuels are burnt to generate electricity. By choosing energy-efficient appliances, you’re contributing to a more sustainable future.

Furthermore, the durability of Whirlpool dryers means fewer appliances end up in landfills. Continual maintenance using reliable repair parts ensures that your dryer can serve you well for many years, emphasizing the importance of a sustainable consumption pattern.

Concluding Thoughts

Air-drying wisdom is all about finding that sweet spot between eco-friendliness, cost-saving, and convenience. Whirlpool dryers exemplify this balance perfectly. With energy-efficient designs, versatile drying options, and easy maintenance supported by readily available repair parts, these appliances present a compelling case for any household looking to cut down on expenses without compromising on efficiency or environmental responsibility.

As we move towards more sustainable living practices, choosing the right home appliances plays a pivotal role. Embracing the budget-friendly and eco-conscious offerings of Whirlpool dryers can make a significant difference, both for your wallet and the planet. So, next time you consider upgrading your laundry setup, don’t overlook the practical and financial advantages that come with a Whirlpool dryer.

Hamish Hawk Shares Video for New Song ‘Nancy Dearest’

Hamish Hawk has unveiled a new single, ‘Nancy Dearest’, taken from from his forthcoming album A Firmer Hand. The LP, out August 16, was announced in April with the song ‘Big Cat Tattoos’. Listen to the new offering below.

Speaking about ‘Nancy Dearest’, Hawk shared in a statement:

Many of the songs on A Firmer Hand are marked by the presence of another: a lover, an authority figure, an enemy, or a confidante. Nancy Dearest is defined instead by an absence. On the one hand, it’s a bitterly defiant song, an ego trip, a narcissistic flight of fancy. On the other, it’s a song about sheer loneliness, isolation, and ultimate loss.

Either way, it’s a cry for help. We all tell ourselves stories about who we are and who we are not. On occasion something will cause our visions of ourselves to short-circuit. In Nancy Dearest, our hero is spiralling. “I’ve seen the well of emptiness and I have had my fill.” Tell me about it, stud.

Pom Poko Unveil New Song ‘Go’

Pom Poko have dropped another single from their upcoming record Champion – out August 16 via Bella Union. It follows the previously released ‘Growing Story’ and the title track. Listen to it below.

“This song is about the times when you feel like your life is just a never-ending messy to-do list, or like unorganised cleaning, you just do a lot of stuff and when you take a breath you don’t understand what you did or if you cleaned anything at all,” the band explained in a statement. “And you can’t think of any solution but to run away. Somehow we ended up writing an instrumental that ended up being nearly impossible to play. We ended up combining string harmonics in both guitar and bass with uneven musical periods at a breakneck speed, which is a daring choice to say the least. This will be a fun – and challenging! – song to play live.”