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Mac DeMarco Covers ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas’

Continuing his annual Christmas song series, Mac DeMarco has shared a cover of the holiday classic ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas’, which was first released by Bing Crosby in 1943. DeMarco’s rendition comes with an accompanying video in which a tree searches for a place to call home. “I hope your holiday season is full of love and tree,” DeMarco wrote in the video’s description. Check it out below.

Last year, Mac DeMarco offered his take on ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’. More recently, he teamed up with experimental pop artist Jean Dawson for the new song ‘MENTHOL*’, which landed on our Best New Songs segment.

This Week’s Best New Songs: Big Thief, FKA twigs, Waxahatchee, and More

Throughout the week, we update our Best New Songs playlist with the new releases that caught our attention the most, be it a single leading up to the release of an album or a newly unveiled deep cut. And each Monday, we round up the best new songs released over the past week (the eligibility period begins on Monday and ends Sunday night) in this best new music segment.

On this week’s list, we have FKA twigs’ booming and atmospheric new single with the Weeknd, ‘Tears in the Club’, which leans more towards straightforward pop but does so effectively; Waxahatchee’s uplifting new track ‘Tomorrow’, taken from her soundtrack to animated series El Deafo; similarly upbeat is the latest single from Big Thief’s upcoming double album, the playfully rootsy and inviting ‘Spud Infinity’; and ‘MENTHOL*’, the grungy and dynamic collaborative track from experimental pop artist Jean Dawson and Mac Demarco.

Best New Songs: December 20, 2021

FKA twigs feat. The Weeknd, ‘Tears in the Club’

Waxahatchee, ‘Tomorrow’

Song of the Week: Big Thief, ‘Spud Infinity’

Jean Dawson feat. Mac DeMarco, ‘MENTHOL*’

Drakeo the Ruler Dead at 28

The influential LA rapper Drakeo the Ruler has died at age 28. The Los Angeles Times reports that Drakeo, real name Darrell Caldwell, was stabbed on Saturday night at the Once Upon a Time in LA Festival at the Banc of California Stadium in Exposition Park, where he was scheduled to perform. Although authorities did not confirm the identity of the victim, a person with direct knowledge of the incident told the publication that it was Drakeo the Ruler. His death was confirmed by journalist Jeff Weiss, who heavily chronicled the rapper’s career.

Raised in South Central Los Angeles neighborhood by a single mother, Drakeo began shaping his distinctive style with help from his brother, who raps as Ralfy the Plug. In 2015, he caught the attention of DJ Mustard, who remixed his song ‘Mr. Get Dough’ and hosted his breakout mixtape I Am Mr. Mosely. Drakeo went on to start his own Stinc Team label and released multiple projects over the years, including a sequel to I Am Mr. Mosely and 2016’s Cold Devil, which featured the popular tracks ‘Impatient Freestyle’ and ‘Flu Flamming’.

In 2017, he was arrested along with members of his Stinc Team collective on a slew of charges ranging from gun possession to conspiracy to commit murder. He was acquitted in 2019 but soon faced a second trial due to a subsequent charge of gang conspiracy and shooting from a motor vehicle. While incarcerated, he recorded his 2020 project Thank You for Using GTL over the jailhouse phone. After striking a plea deal, Drakeo was released in November 2020 and issued his official debut album, The Truth Hurts, in February 2021. His most recent project, So Cold I Do Em 2, arrived less than two weeks ago.

Dropper Share New Single ‘Memoirs of Working in a Bowling Alley’

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Dropper, the Brooklyn-based band led by multi-instrumentalist Andrea Scanniello, have shared a new song called ‘Memoirs of Working in a Bowling Alley’. It’s taken from their debut album, Don’t Talk to Mewhich drops February 11 via the band’s own Dirt Dog label. Listen to the new single and check out the LP’s cover art and tracklist below.

“I’ve spent my entire adult life working in various service industry jobs- some more soul sucking than others. One of these jobs was spraying bowling shoes at the local lanes,” Scanniello explained in a statement. “‘Memoirs’ is about working these types of jobs and how at times it makes you question humanity and never want to speak to a soul ever again; that emotional drain that can only be experienced when you’re dealing with shitty drunk people night after night.”

Don’t Talk to Me Cover Artwork:

Don’t Talk to Me Tracklist:

1. Two Dollar Beer
2. Don’t Worry
3. Better
4. Signal
5. Memoirs
6. Drive Thru Jesus
7. Ok Ok Ok
8. Waste of Time
9. Telephone

Kangol Kid, UTFO Rapper, Dead at 55

Kangol Kid, the influential rapper who founded the Brooklyn hip-hop group UTFO, has died after being diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. He was 55. Veteran New York City promoter Van Silk confirmed the news to HipHopDX, writing, “RIP KANGOL KID. He passed at 3:02 a.m. My prayers go out to my brother who fought a battle of colon cancer at Stage 4.”

Born Shaun Shiller Fequiere in Brooklyn, New York, Kangol Kid earned his nickname as a child due to his fondness for Kangol hats. He began his career as a breakdancer working with Doctor Ice, and the two danced for the hip-hop group Whodini before forming UTFO, which stood for “Untouchable Force Organization.” Along with members Mix Master Ice and Educated Rapper, who passed away in 2017, the group was best known for the 1984 hit ‘Roxanne, Roxanne’. The track fuelled what came to be known as the “Roxanne Wars” after rapper Roxanne Shanté responded with her diss track ‘Roxanne’s Revenge’, which led to a series of response tracks and rivalries. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, UTFO put out five studio albums, including their 1985 self-titled debut, Skeezer PleezerLethal, Doin’ It!, and Bag It & Bone It.

When to Turn to Legal Professionals for Immigration Issues

There are many online magazines that give you information about the latest news and reviews having to do with fashion, travel, and lifestyle, but what about the latest news and reviews for immigration laws? You can use resources like https://iasservices.org.uk/ to find a good immigration attorney for issues like a work visa or married visa

How do I find an attorney?

You can find attorneys by using resources like the AILA, getting recommendations from friends or family who have also used legal professionals for immigration issues, or simply by finding registered attorneys in your state that come highly recommended.

What will it cost me?

The cost of working with an immigration attorney will vary based on your case. Most immigration attorneys, because it is a complicated Federal matter, will charge you a flat fee based on the type of help you need. Work visas might come in a flat fee of a few thousand dollars while marriage visas or spouse visas might come at $5,000 or higher depending on the situation. You can expect to pay a few hundred dollars for the initial consultation during which time you can figure out what the charges will be for your situation moving forward.

What laws impact my case?

Immigration law takes place at a federal level so that means that no matter which state you live in or work in or want to move to, an immigration attorney handles all documents for federal court. That said, there are many federal laws and state laws that can impact your case even if you already got approval for a work visa or are currently living on a green card.

Criminal charges

Criminal charges can have the biggest impact on your case. Generally speaking, if you are not a citizen and you get convicted of a crime, that conviction might be grounds for deportation. This is entirely based on your situation and the type of crime. If you were convicted of a DUI, for example, but you have no other history of criminal Behavior, you might be able to continue with your work visa and live in the United States. By comparison if you were convicted of murder, chances are you will be deported and you may not be allowed back into the United States for a specific amount of time.

If you find yourself facing criminal charges, even if you have yet to be convicted, you should absolutely reach out to an immigration attorney to see what impact those charges or convictions may or may not have on your situation.

Marriage or Divorce

Family is another area that impacts your case. Even if you already have a Visa, changes to your marital status might require you to submit another application for a different type of Visa. Most people only think of spousal visas for married couples, but in the United States you might also get a Visa just when you’re engaged. There are also plenty of cases where getting a divorce might have an impact on your situation especially if you were the person who had the spousal visa and your now ex is the person who has citizenship. These are also situations where you should consider speaking with a qualified immigration attorney to figure out whether you need to change your status and if so what document you have to submit as a result.

There are other family matters which can change the status of your immigration benefits or your current visa and that includes children. If you have children, you might have to update your status or update their status. These are all situations where an attorney can give you advice on what to do next.

Illegal Stays

If you are currently staying in a country undocumented, and you want to transition to a legal status, good attorneys can review your situation and let you know what the chances are of doing so successfully, whether you have to leave that country before you come back, and what prohibitions you might face with reentry.

How attorneys can help

No matter what your circumstances immigration attorneys can help you mitigate the risk of filling out the wrong form, failing to include the right documentation, or otherwise making a mistake. They can also help you expedite the efficiency of your case, reducing how long it takes your application to be processed by an average of 6 weeks. Highly trained professionals can give you a mediate advice, help you fill out the right application, prepare you for interviews, and ensure you know what to expect next.

Must Have Shaving Products for Men in 2022

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Shaving has always been an art form, an obsession for many men. However, many newer, quicker products that help make life more accessible have been produced recently, taking out the fun and enjoyment of shaving. Much like electric cars, this new wave of quick and lack of risk shaving has destroyed a task that can create a great source of satisfaction for those who get truly immersed in the entire experience.

To help those looking to get started in this proper art form or simply add to the arsenal of shaving products they already have, we have made a list of types of shaving products you must have in 2022.

Shaving Brush

Traditional shaving brushes are a tad controversial for vegan-friendly product lovers due to their nature, as many contain badger hair. However, a great brush can enhance your shaving experience vastly. For example, when you soften a brush with hot water and shave with it, you create a rich lather that lifts the beard for a better shaving experience. In addition, an excellent artisan brush will beat any knock-off that can irritate your skin rather than prepare it for a clean and safe shave.

Shaving Cream

Shaving cream is designed to soften beard hairs for leisurely cutting whilst lubricating and protecting the skin from razor burn for an extraordinarily close and comfortable shave. Many forms of shaving cream are available, and most of them require a prominent shaving brush to accompany them. Many great shaving creams will include some of the finest ingredients and offer properties that will help moisturise and anti-age your skin. We’d recommend looking around and finding a cream that suits your skin and smells divine.

Safety Razor

If you haven’t used a safety razor before, you might just be missing out on the whole experience of shaving. This tool will make you feel legendary amongst men, from carefully replacing the blade to slowly shaving and shaping your new fresh beard. It certainly brings the art of shaving back and beats any of its adversaries, promoting a more tedious, more immediate experience that simply doesn’t fit into a gentleman’s lifestyle.

Shaving Oil

One of the key ingredients in keeping safe from ingrown hairs and ugly cuts when shaving is shaving oil. This incredible invention has helped many men to keep their shaved up beards looking clean and ideal for fancy parties and important work interviews. There is plenty to choose from brands like Baxter to Jack Black if you like to keep your beard trim and eye-pleasing for yourself and others.

Shaving Bowls

There are a ton of well-designed shaving bowls that will make your shaving collection funner and your shave more effortless. Shaving bowls are an awesome tool for traditional shaving soaps and creams that require whipping up. Bowls can come with handles and be made out of plastic or simple metal; the design choice will be up to you and your aesthetic.

Beard Comb

If you’re growing a more giant James Harden-Esque beard, then it’s worth considering getting a beard and moustache comb. These combs can come in various sizes and colours, from Tortoiseshell to plain black; you’ll have a superb range of combs to choose from to upgrade your shaving kit.

Stands

Whilst not always necessary, a shaving stand can undoubtedly make your life easier. Stands come in various complexities and can hold your complete shaving kit, your bowl, or simply your razor — depending on your requirements. Moreover, you can match your bowl with the look of your comb and your brush to match your overall shaving kit look.

Face Cloths

Tired of getting spots whilst shaving? Well, one of the few reasons that can happen is due to bad hygiene. If you’re using a used face cloth, you are doing it wrong. Therefore, it’s essential to have a cloth used solely for shaving, always clean and unused. Cloths generally come in cotton, but some are made from materials such as bamboo, silk, and microfiber. 

Fragrances

There is a lot of talk on using fragrances straight away after shaving. However, we’d highly recommend only using a fragrance after your skin has settled, as it may irritate it and cause unrepairable damage. This point really stands strong with people with susceptible skin, as an applied fragrance can make your skin red and irritated within an instance, which can cause headaches and itchiness. Nevertheless, fragrances are a great addition to a shaving set; in fact, many fragrances can make and break your shave, as the smell is a prominent factor in how people observe you.

Manicure Sets

Whilst not always associated with shaving, a manicure kit can help keep your beard trim, especially if it is on the longer side. Most importantly, whilst shaving is vital to look pleasing, a manicure set can help enhance your all-around professional look by taking care of your nails.

How gaming has improved over the years

Older gamers sometimes get misty-eyed when they recall some vague ‘golden age of gaming’ that seems to be located whenever it was that they were teenagers first discovering the hobby. However, those same gamers, if they’re being honest, will also recall that playing in years gone by was fraught with hassles, annoying glitches, and often miles and miles of tangled cables.

The golden age of gaming, whenever it was, was often slow, complicated and unnecessarily frustrating. As technology has improved, not only have games got better, but the actual experience of setting up and playing is also much more user-friendly. Sure, there are still mistakes and bugs in modern games, but many typical gaming problems are now thankfully behind us.

Typing in games by hand

Back in the last century, you would often buy magazines that promised a free game inside, only to find that this meant several pages of code that you would have to type into your Amstrad or ZX Spectrum by hand before pressing ‘Run’ and being able to play. If you typed just one character wrong, you would get the dreaded error message, and have to go through the whole thing again.

Dodgy cartridges

The problem with buying, or worse, renting games on physical media such as cartridges or CDs is that they could get damaged or just dirty and refuse to play. Happily, we can now stream or download games online from a variety of sources, including High Roller Casinos. Older gamers may even remember buying games on cassette tapes, which took a minimum of five minutes to load at best and usually crashed several times before you got them to work.

Impossible games

The earliest video games were ported directly from the arcades, where the aim was to take your money and then get you off the machine as quickly as possible. As such, the developers had no qualms in making outwardly simple games such as Donkey Kong fiendishly difficult to complete.

As the games became more sophisticated, players would still often be left stranded three quarters of the way through, with no idea of how to progress further. Sometimes, the only option was to track down a how-to guide (as a physical book) and pay good money for it so that you could figure out how to finish the game.

No autosave

It’s a simple thing that immeasurably improves the experience of playing a game: being able to autosave when you’ve reached a certain point in the game and continue from there the next time you play. Yet not so long ago, this wasn’t an option. You had to go back to the beginning and start again. Every time.

The cables

Finally, wireless technology, and standardized connections, are one of the great boons of the modern world. No longer when trying to connect your console to the TV do you have to sort through a mismatched mess of coaxial cables, proprietary cables, and more, untangling them, checking the ends, and plugging them in in the right order. Life without cables, or at least without so many cables, is so much more fun.

It’s not just the games that have improved, but also everything around them.

Guide: How to create an art website that aims at different cultures

Culture is a big topic of conversation in general. Throughout the last decade, we are experiencing more of a cross-cultural environment. We are mixing different cultures and finding an interest in wanting to know more about our differences. What is appropriate in some cultures may not be in others, which is why the understanding of culture is important. If you are planning on getting into art, then cultural diversity is a good starting point. Art can be very expressive and powerful. It can carry any message, so why not make it a good one?  To create an art website that aims at different cultures, the first step that needs to be taken is to celebrate and accept our differences instead of fighting them.

How to get the recognition that your artwork deserves?

Around the world there are a lot of different cultures. If you want to express yourself through art and be recognized as an artist, understanding the values of different cultures is a good start. Even though art is subjective, it can actually be an important way of expressing and strengthening the identity of certain subcultures and societies. It can help show your support for diversity, but also allow others to be inspired and learn something that they didn’t already know about culture. If you are interested in making and showing art, then you will need an audience for starters. It can be difficult to find a specific targeted audience, since art isn’t necessarily something that speaks to a certain group of people, so much so as an individual person. Being a successful artist varies, depending on what your goal for your art is. However, getting recognition for your art pieces is something that can be achieved with the right strategy. A new artist needs to show people his artwork and the best way of doing so is to share it on social media, where plenty of people interact on a daily basis and are able to discover your art. Once you have hopefully gained a following, then you can move on to creating an actual website that displays your art for people to look at and perhaps even buy. It is a good idea to start thinking of a decent name for your art website. It must be something that interests people and something that is worth remembering. You can get all the help you need from sites like this one: https://businessnamegenerator.com/artist-art-business-name-generator-ideas/.

Why global thinking is crucial when running an art business

As a new business, it can be tough to make a living at first. To actually get a breakthrough in terms of business, you should focus on the cultural understanding and global thinking in business. If you are a new business, expertise from other businesses and artists is a good idea, especially if you want to expand at some point. The article states that “Globally expanding businesses require a wide range of expertise and knowledge that operates under a variety of managers coming from different cultures’ ‘. By asking for help and expertise from other artists or businesses, you gain insight into the world of global thinking and how to dominate the local markets. But why is global thinking that important? Global thinking allows us to fully understand how businesses around the world work and think. When we know this, we suddenly know how to market and sell our own products into specific cultures. Once you understand how global thinking works, then you can boost the productivity and efficiency in your business.

Barack Obama’s Favorite Songs of 2021: Mitski, The War on Drugs, Adia Victoria, and More

Former President Barack Obama has released his annual playlist highlighting his favorite songs of the year. These include songs by Mitski, The War on Drugs, Mdou Moctar, Brandi Carlile, Parquet Courts, Courtney Barnett, Adia Victoria, Wye Oak, Little Simz, Lil Nas X, Lizzo & Cardi B, and more. Listen to ‘Barack Obama’s Favorite Music of 2021’ via Spotify below.

“Art always sustains and nourishes the soul. But for me, music and storytelling felt especially urgent during this pandemic year,” President Obama wrote. “I’ve always enjoyed listening to a wide variety of music, so it’s no surprise that I listened to a little bit of everything this year. I hope you find a new artist or song to add to your own playlist.”

Earlier this year, Obama shared his annual summer playlist, which featured tracks by Jazmine Sullivan, Arooj Aftab, Erykah Badu, Jay-Z, and more.