The 1975 drummer George Daniel has dropped his debut single, ‘Screen Cleaner’. The track was co-written by Tove Lo and Tim Nelson. Check it out below.
‘Screen Cleaner’ is out via Daniel’s new Dirty Hit imprint, dh2, which will release Kelly Lee Owens’ new album Dreamstate in October. Reacting to the song’s announcement on Instagram, Daniel’s fiancée Charli XCX wrote in the comments section: “Sexy, hot, 1 of a kind, legendary, talented, tall.”
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Thank You Thank You – the project of Tyler Bussey, who has played with artists including the World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die, Greg Mendez, and Strange Ranger – has shared a new single. Listen to ‘Watching the Cyclones’ below.
The track features Bussey on guitars, Wurlitzer, and vocals; Kevin Basko on bass VI, 12-string electric guitar, and percussion; Jem Seidel on drums; Emily Moales on vocals and whistling; Andrew Stevens on baritone electric guitar; and Nick Levine on pedal steel. “I finished writing this song in 2022 or 2023,” Bussey wrote. “It’s sort of about a fictional Coney Island that exists only in my head. Thanks to all the beautiful musicians who helped bring it to life.”
Revisit our Artist Spotlight interview with Thank You Thank You.
The Offspring have put out ‘Light It Up’, the second single from their upcoming album SUPERCHARGED. It follows lead cut ‘Make It All Right’. Listen to it below.
“This song is a full speed ahead juggernaut,” bandleader Dexter Holland said in a statement. “This character in the song is fed up, he’s had enough, and he’s gonna light it up. He’s ready for a fight. And I definitely sense a lot of that around me. Growing up, some of my favorite songs were by punk bands that were just like, ‘I’m sick of your shit.’ And that was ok! It wasn’t like a negative thing to have those feelings and express that. And I think that’s kind of the vibe of where ‘Light It Up’ is: You’re fed up, you’ve had it and you want to do something about it. That’s one of things I’ve always loved about punk rock. It’s always been about letting out your aggressions, and I think that’s still true. I still love writing songs like that.”
SUPERCHARGED arrives on October 11 through Concord Records.
A$AP Rocky is back with a new single, ‘Highjack’, which features Jessica Pratt. (You read that right.) Greg Kurstin, Hitkidd, Jordan Patrick, and Zach Fogarty co-produced the track, which also has background vocals from Creed B Good and Jon Batiste. Check it out below.
“I just love alternative,” the rapper said in an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1. “I love just different sounds and whatnot. [Jessica Pratt] kind of gave me this kind of Portishead meets Stevie Nicks vibe a little bit. Right. So I always fucked with her as a artist, and so I figured it was necessary to get her, Jon Batiste on this one and kind of make it feel soulful to bring it on home in the outro.”
A$AP Rocky is gearing up for the release of his long-teased album Don’t Be Dumb, which is out August 30. Jessica Pratt released Here in the Pitch, her first album since 2019’s Quiet Signs, earlier this year.
Jack Antonoff’s Bleachers have announced a reimagined version of their debut album, A Strange Desire, to celebrate its tenth anniversary. Titled A Stranger Desired, the recorded will be out September 6 via Dirty Hit. Listen to the new version of ‘Wild Heart’ below.
Speaking about the release, Antonoff said in a press release: “on this anniversary that feels so sacred i have realised something: it wasn’t only a strange desire to write these songs, there was something unknown to me happening. i was looking for you: my people. i hadn’t been honest enough in my life and as result i let the wrong ones in. the only path was to tell the story comically unfiltered. my great loss, transcendent anxiety, and an unearned hope that would remain the thread in my writing to this day. it was more than a strange desire to make this album, it was a stranger desired.”
Bleachers released their self-titled album earlier this year.
In this segment, we showcase the most notable albums out each week. Here are the albums out on August 2, 2024:
Jack White has officially released No Name, his sixth studio album. Initially a surprise, vinyl-only release distributed in his Third Man Records stores in Nashville, Detroit, and London, the record was formally announced earlier this week. The guitar-heavy LP follows Fear of the Dawn and Entering Heaven Alive, which came out within months of each other in 2022.
The Smashing Pumpkins have put out Aghori Mhori Mei, the follow-up to last year’s triple-album ATUM. The band didn’t release any advance singles to promote the LP. “In the writing of this new album I became intrigued with the well-worn axiom, ‘you can’t go home again,'” Billy Corgan said in a statement. “Which I have found personally to be true in form but thought well, what if we tried anyway? Not so much in looking backwards with sentimentality but rather as a means to move forward; to see if in the balance of success and failure that our ways of making music circa 1990-1996 would still inspire something revelatory.”
Chrystabell and David Lynch have joined forces for a new LP, Cellophane Memories, out now via Sacred Bones Records. The artists first worked together on the soundtrack for 2006’s Inland Empire, and Lynch worked on Chrystabell’s 2011 debut LP This Train as well as her 2016 effort Somewhere in the Nowhere. According to Chrystabell, Cellophane Memories contains “many doors that are left open to wonder, wander and get turned around in.” She added, “It’s like mood music, not that it creates mood, but more that it reflects your own.”
Sage Elsesser, the rapper, producer, skateboarder, artist, and model known as Navy Blue, is back with a new album. Out now via his own Freedom Sounds, Memoirs in Armour marks his first independent release since signing with Def Jam in 2021. The follow-up to last year’s Ways of Knowing spans 10 tracks, including the previously unveiled ‘Low Threshold’, and features guest production from Child Actor, Budgie, Chuck Strangers, Nicholas Craven, and more.
WHY? – the band led by Cincinnati songwriter Yoni Wolf – have dropped their eighth LP, The Well I Fell Into. The record features contributions from Gia Margaret, Finom’s Macie Stewart, Lala Lala’s Lillie West, Serengeti, and Ada Lea. “Making a WHY? album is an opportunity for me to button up a period of my life,” Wolf reflected. “I’m bad at realising how I feel or how something is affecting me in the moment. Things just sit inside me, but writing is a way to really take stock.” He added: “This is not a bitter kiss off. While the songwriting was cathartic, I can see my life beyond some story or mythology I’ve cornered myself into artistically. I’m not getting stuck in sentiment like I might have in my 20s.”
Orville Peck’s duets album Stampede has arrived via Warner Records. It includes the previously released ‘Midnight Ride’ with Kylie Minogue and Diplo and ‘Death Valley High’ with Beck, as well as collaborations with Margo Price, Mickey Guyton, Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway, Debbii Dawson, Teddy Swims, and more. The duets from Stampede Vol. 1 which came out in May and featured Elton John, Willie Nelson, Allison Russell, and Noah Cyrus, among others, are also collected here. “This project has always been something I’ve fantasized about, so to see it finally come to fruition really is a dream come true,” Peck said in a statement.
X, Smoke & Fiction; I Love Your Lifestyle, Summerland (Torpa Or Nothing); Meshell Ndegeocello, No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin; Pixey, Million Dollar Baby; G.O.O.N., God’s Only Option Now; Joe Ely, Driven to Drive; Anberlin, Vega; Blood, Loving You Backwards; Khalid, Sincere.
Maren Morris has released a new EP called Intermission. It features the Julia Michaels collab ‘cut!’ and ‘i hope i never fall in love’, as well as a new song, ‘push me over’, which was co-written with MUNA and Tobias Jesso Jr. and produced by MUNA. Take a listen below.
“Calling this project Intermission was intentional,” Morris wrote on Instagram earlier this week. “It’s obviously a lyric at the end of the song ‘cut!’, but it’s also meaning that there’s more to come. It’s a break in the act, and for me, it’s definitely an act break and new chapter of my life, and I’m so ready to see what’s on the other page. I just am so proud of this music. It wasn’t easy to write because I’m going through a lot, and this is the diary of that.”
Vaping has become the go-to alternative to smoking regular cigarettes, but this hobby’s reputation has been marred by many myths and misconceptions. While vaping is certainly less healthy than not vaping or smoking at all, people considering making the switch from traditional cigarettes to vapes should make this decision based on accurate information, not the misinformation that has been spread across much of the Internet, some by well-intentioned citizens.
In the hopes of providing clarity to those who want to make informed decisions about getting started with e-cigs, I’ve tackled some of the misleading myths you’re likely to encounter when researching vaping.
One of the most common myths is that vaping is as bad as smoking cigarettes. While vaping isn’t risk-free, studies have shown it’s much less harmful than smoking. Cigarettes contain thousands of harmful chemicals, tar, and carbon monoxide which are known to cause serious health issues like cancer, heart disease, and respiratory problems. Vaping involves inhaling vaporized e-liquid which usually contains far fewer harmful substances.
Public Health England has said vaping is 95% less harmful than smoking. The Royal College of Physicians also agrees, saying the long-term health risks of vaping will be much lower than smoking.
Another myth is that vaping is a gateway to smoking, especially for young people. While we need to stop non-smokers, especially teenagers, from starting to vape, evidence shows vaping is mostly used by current or former smokers to quit or reduce smoking. Surveys and studies have consistently shown that most vapers are people trying to quit smoking or cut down on cigarettes.
Also, countries with high adult vaping rates have seen big drops in smoking rates so vaping is more likely to replace smoking rather than lead to it.
Many people think the e-liquids used in vaping are as toxic as the chemicals in cigarette smoke. This is not true. E-liquids contain four main ingredients: propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, flavorings, and nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive substance but it’s not the cause of smoking-related diseases. The other ingredients in e-liquids are generally recognized as safe for consumption and use in food and pharmaceuticals.
Also, e-liquids don’t contain many of the harmful substances found in tobacco smoke such as tar, carbon monoxide, and many carcinogens. So vaping is a much safer alternative to smoking.
Another myth is that secondhand vapor is as harmful as secondhand smoke from cigarettes. While it’s true secondhand smoke from regular cigarettes is harmful, the same can’t be said for secondhand vapor. Studies have shown the levels of harmful chemicals in secondhand vapor are much lower than in secondhand smoke.
Public Health England and other health organizations have said the risks from secondhand vapor are minimal compared to secondhand smoke. This doesn’t mean secondhand vapor is risk-free but it’s much less dangerous than secondhand cigarette smoke.
There have been reports of vaping devices exploding or catching fire which has led to the belief that vaping devices are dangerous. While these incidents can and do happen, they are rare and often due to misuse or faulty equipment. Most modern vaping devices have safety features to prevent this from happening.
To reduce the risk of device malfunction users should follow the manufacturer’s instructions, use the correct batteries, don’t overcharge, and make sure their devices are in good working order. Using reputable devices and buying from trusted sources can also reduce the risk of accidents.
The many flavors of e-liquids have led to the belief that vaping is being marketed to children. While it’s true some flavors are more appealing to younger people, the main market for these products is adult smokers looking for a less harmful alternative to cigarettes. Many adult vapers find flavored e-liquids help them switch from smoking by making the experience more enjoyable than tobacco flavors.
In many regions it’s illegal to sell vaping products to minors and responsible vendors strictly enforce age verification to prevent underage access. Marketing vaping products to children is widely condemned within the industry and most manufacturers and retailers are helping adult smokers switch from cigarettes.
Vaping is often misunderstood due to all the myths around it. By busting these myths we can better understand the relative benefits and risks of vaping compared to smoking. Vaping is not risk-free but it’s a much safer option for current smokers. Educate the public about the facts of vaping and people can make more informed decisions about their health and wellbeing.
Let’s throw a statistic at you: online slots represent over 60% of the global online casino market. When you consider all the different games available via digital casinos, that stat is mind-blowing. It shows the sheer popularity of online slots – not just in one country, but all over the planet.
The funny thing is, online casinos have many other games that should provide a higher chance of winning money. Table games like Roulette still revolve around luck and chance yet you can narrow down your options to Red or Black. Then, you have Poker and Blackjack, both of which are widely provided at live casinos and include elements of skill rather than being purely lucky.
Slots aren’t the quickest and easiest way to win money from online casinos, so how have they become the most popular game? We think it’s largely down to these key features:
Welcome bonuses and ongoing promotions are two of the reasons online casinos have thrived in recent times. They give you (the player) extra things to use across these websites – sometimes without needing to deposit money at all.
Why has this caused slots to become so popular? Well, the majority of bonuses and offers are for “free spins” on different slot games. Casinos see this as the easiest way to draw new players in; you get some free spins to try and win money on a popular slot game and they earn your patronage.
There’s been a particular surge in no deposit free spins not on GamStop for UK players in recent times, further boosting the popularity of slots. Most international sites are resorting to bonuses like this instead of the classic welcome packages. Forcing players to use their bonuses on slots means more people try these games and fall in love with them. They’re more inclined to play them again, so the overall player count goes up.
What’s more, the sites offering regular matched deposit bonuses often have T&Cs restricting the wagering benefits of your bonus. While you can use your bonus funds across every game, slots normally carry the most weight towards wagering the funds. In other words, people are encouraged to play slots even with “normal” bonuses, so the cycle of popularity increases!
Anyone involved in gaming will know that competition is the key to creating popularity within a genre. It’s why Battle Royale games became so well-played a few years ago – you had the likes of Fortnite, DayZ, H1Z1, Warzone, PUBG and Apex Legends all battling it out with one another. It gave games more variety to deal with, so they could try lots of similar games and settle on the best ones.
We’ve seen a similar thing happen in the online slot industry. Gone are the days of simple 3-reel slots, replaced by massive games with tonnes of features and new ways to play. Each casino holds thousands of slots compared to dozens or hundreds of table games. Variety is what keeps people interested as they can play loads of different slot varieties, such as:
Different developers incorporate their twists on things to further broaden the variety. It’s part of the reason Roulette and Blackjack have fallen in popularity across online sites. There are only a couple of ways to enjoy games like these, so you don’t have a huge collection of titles to pick from. It makes them very boring, very quickly. Slots stay entertaining and “fresh” because there’s so much competition to stand out.
We spoke about online slots not being one of the quickest or easiest ways of winning money at online casinos. That’s down to their randomness – though we believe their popularity is more closely linked to the jackpot potential of these games.
When you play table games or any other type of online casino game, there’s usually a limit to what you’ll win based on your stake. That’s not strictly true with online slots. They can come with progressive jackpots that keep getting bigger and bigger until someone wins – and the winnings are absolutely absurd.
For context, the Guinness World Record for the largest jackpot payout in an online slot machine game is £13,209,300. This was achieved in 2015 via the popular Mega Hoolah game by Microgaming. A jackpot this size is rare, but for even more context you’ll find ones starting at £100,000+ at most online casinos these days.
You’re never winning anywhere close to this amount of money through any other online casino game. The closest you’ll maybe get is through a live game show – but most of these are just live versions of online slots anyway! The jackpot potential makes slots more rewarding, especially when you consider the low stakes needed to achieve a possible payout.
As well as getting bonuses encouraging players to use online slots, the games themselves come with different bonus rounds and features. Once more, this is something mainly unique to online slots when compared with other casino games.
You have the slot game itself – spinning the reels and matching symbols – but matching certain symbols triggers different features. Loads of the best games have bonus rounds where you’re almost taken out of the main game and can play a mini-game to try and win more money. Or, you get free spins to use in the slot – some even include bonus multipliers where your winnings drastically multiply!
Features like these keep slots fun and always install an element of “what if?”. What if I’m the lucky one who triggers a bonus round and then gets an insane multiplier? Other games are unable to incorporate this level of excitement and randomness, which is why slots succeed.
The stats speak for themselves and holding a 60% share of the online casino market proves slots are the most popular game out there. We think it’s down to the variety on display, all the great free spins bonuses you can claim, the fun features and the potential to win massive jackpots.
Charli XCX has teamed up with Billie Eilish for a remix of ‘Guess’, one of three additional tracks on Brat and it’s the same but there’s three more songs so it’s not. “This was like, too much fun to make,” Eilish’s brother and producer Finneas, who worked on the remix, wrote on Instagram. Eilish also appears in Aidan Zamiri’s video for the remix. Check it out below.
All bras and underwear featured in the ‘Guess’ music video have been donated to I Support the Girls, which “collects and distributes essential items, including bras, underwear and menstrual hygiene products, allowing people experiencing homelessness, impoverishment or distress to stand tall with dignity.”
‘Guess’ is the latest BRAT track to get the remix treatment, following ‘Girl, so confusing’ with Lorde, ‘360’ with Yung Lean and Robyn, and ‘Von dutch’ with Addison Rae.
Guess ? pic.twitter.com/navFSQUAym
— Charli (@charli_xcx) July 31, 2024
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