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Caribou Speaks Out Against Companies Hiring DJs to Perform Virtually on New Year’s Eve

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With the COVID-19 pandemic significantly affecting the scale and scope of New Year’s Eve celebrations, Caribou‘s Dan Snaith has taken to Twitter to express his frustration at private companies trying to hire DJs to perform at their New Year’s Eve parties.

“I was just offered $40k to DJ virtually for a private company on NYE,” the electronic producer wrote yesterday (December 29). “Hey corporates – looking at the world RN, can’t think of a better use of your slush fund than pissing it up the wall so yr pampered staff can watch overpaid DJs prance around the lamest virtual party of all time?”

When Australian artist Ben Thomas suggested Snaith take the money and then donate it, he responded, “Yes, I do find this a compelling argument in some ways. And I have done this in the past (I’ve never done corporate gigs but with other money that I’ve received via usages of my music etc). I guess I’m suggesting that there’s a bigger problem than just this one absurd offer.”

Snaith released his most recent album as Caribou, Suddenly, in February, followed by an EP of remixes in October. Check out our year-end features The 50 Best Albums and 50 Best Album Covers of 2020, featuring Caribou’s Suddenly.

Andrea Turk and Virgo Verse Unveil New Single ‘Strawberry Wine’

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Two Los Angeles-based artists, Andrea Turk, a Jakarta-born singer-songwriter, and Virgo Verse, an experimental singer-songwriter, teamed up for their new single ‘Strawberry Wine’. The song describes the perspective of someone who believes that vengeance is the only way to fulfill their right to justice against the person who broke their heart.

The song follows on Andrea Turk’s last single, ‘Super Human,’ and Virgo Verse’s EP, ‘Roam.’

‘Strawberry Wine’ can now be streamed via Spotify.

Slash, Alice Cooper, and More Are Camp Counsellors in New ‘Rock Camp’ Trailer

Alice Cooper, Slash, Gene Simmons, Sammy Hagar, and more appear in the new trailer for the upcoming documentary Rock Camp. Check it out below.

The film details the story of Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp, the American camp started by David Fishof that for more than two decades has offered people the chance to jam with and learn from rock stars. “You would have a 15-year-old kid playing drums and a dentist on guitar,” Alice Cooper says in the clip. “If this band were a real band, it’d be the weirdest band ever, but cool.”

The film, which was directed and produced by Douglas Blush, follows four campers in particular and also features appearances from Steven Tyler, Dave Navarro, Paul Stanley, former Skid Row vocalist Sebastian Bach, Nancy Wilson, Jeff Beck, and members of Judas Priest, among others.

Rock Camp will receive a virtual cinema release on January 15 and will go on demand a month later on February 16.

Run The Jewels Become Action Figures in New ‘walking in the snow’ Video: Watch

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Run the Jewels have shared a new music video for their RTJ4 track ‘walking in the snow’. The stop-motion visual was directed by Chris Hopewell and sees action figure versions of Killer Mike and El-P leading a revolution. Check it out below.

“It was great to work with the RTJ guys again,” Hopewell, who also worked on the group’s ‘Don’t Get Captured’ video, said in a statement. “Everyone was very aware of the gravity of the subject matter and RTJ didn’t want to be too obvious or on the nail with the visuals, so we went with an ’80s style fantasy look with evil snow warriors and their icy king oppressing the bedroom toys. It was great to be involved with a project with a positive vibe to end a pretty fucked up year. Big thanks to the RTJ crew for their truth and for letting us work with their amazing music once again.”

RTJ4 dropped in early June. Check out where it landed on our 50 Best Albums of 2020 list.

A Record Number of Albums Reached Number One in the UK in 2020

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A record number of albums climbed to the number one spot in the UK albums chart across 2020, according to Official Charts Company. 43 different albums reached Number One, more than any other year in the history of the charts. The new data breaks the old record from 2015, when 39 records made it to the top spot. Last year saw 32 chart-toppers, while 2018 only had 19.

As NME points out, only three albums that topped the UK albums chart this year occupied the spot for more than a single week. These were Dua Lipa‘s Future Nostalgia, which stayed at the top spot for two weeks, as did Lady Gaga’s Chromatica, while Taylor Swift‘s folklore was the only album to occupy the spot for three weeks. One of the two most recent number ones also came from Swift with evermore, followed by Paul McCartney’s McCartney III.

Vinyl Sales Hit Record High in the US

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Vinyl just had its best sales week in history in the US. As Billboard reports, there were 1.842 million LPs sold in the US during the week ending on Christmas Eve, which marks the biggest week the format has had since Nielsen/MRC Data began tracking music sales in 1991. The previous record was achieved just the week prior, with 1.445 million units sold between December 10th and December 17th.

Independent record stores also broke a new record of their own with 733,000 vinyl sales. The week’s biggest selling vinyl album was Paul McCartney’s McCartney III, which was released on December 18 and sold 32,000 units, making it the third-largest sales week for a vinyl record since 1991. The previous week’s top seller was Taylor Swift’s folklore, which sold 23,000 copies following a promotional boost from the artist’s webstore.

According to Billboard, vinyl sales also outpaced the week’s CD sales — only the fourth time that’s happened since 1991, and all four of them happened since September of this year. Experts had made that prediction last year after vinyl saw its 12th year of steady growth, reaching 18.84 million US vinyl sales compared to less than a million in 2007.

Watch Kevin Bacon Cover Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ For His Goats

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Kevin Bacon has shared an acoustic cover of Radiohead‘s ‘Creep’, performing the 1992 hit single while surrounded by pet goats. Watch it below.

“The goats were insisting, so I had to try,” Bacon wrote in the caption of the Instagram video, in which one baby goat can be seen repeatedly chewing on his sleeve. Introducing the song in the video, he added: “Well, the goats wanted me to play this. I don’t really think it’s appropriate, but…”

 

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

 

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Kevin Bacon (@kevinbacon)

Lauren Mayberry Discusess New Chvrches Album: “It’s Definitely Got the Chvrches DNA”

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Lauren Maybery spoke about the upcoming Chvrches album, which is slated for release in spring 2021, in a recent interview with The Guardian. She explained that the as-yet-untitled project has “definitely got the Chvrches DNA” but that the songs on it couldn’t “slot into any of the first three records.”

“You want it to be like your band, but you want it to be enough of an evolution that it’s not the same thing over and over again,” she added. “But how do you do that? Especially with modern-day pop music where there’s a pressure to take your sound and put it through the filter of what is popular. I think you can tell that it’s us – it’s not screamo or anything like that.”

When asked whether they felt pressured to keep up with the changes in pop music, the Chvrches frontwoman brought up Billie Eilish‘s debut album: “The vocal production on the Billie Eilish album is absolutely phenomenal – that is an advancement in pop music,” she said. “We want to be aware of it because there’s just awesome pop music and you can learn something from it. Learn the production tricks but don’t learn the other parts: I think that was the challenge of this album. We did two albums that existed in a certain space, and by the third record it felt like what we were doing had been popularised by other people. How do you run that race next to other people? Well, we’ve realised that we don’t have to run that race. You’re never going to win in a race that is saturated by people who are bigger, better and more popular, so you might as well pivot and go somewhere else.”

You can read the full interview here. Chvrches’ last album was 2018’s Love is Dead.

Netflix Unveils Trailer for ‘The Netflix Afterparty’

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Netflix is launching a new comedy series called ‘The Netflix Afterparty’, a weekly comedy show that delves deeper into some of our favorite shows. The show will be hosted by David Spade, Fortune Feimster and London Hughes.

The series premiere features legendary comedian Bill Burr and the cast of Cobra Kai, including: Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Mary Mouser, Xolo Maridueña, and Tanner Buchanan.

The show will feature comedians, actors, and creators discussing the hottest Netflix shows and movies.

‘The Netflix Afterparty’ will stream from the 2nd of January, 2021.

How Video Games Can Enhance Learning and Improve Memory

Playing video games has become one of the popular hobbies of today’s young adults. They are being played in almost every household. And, the harmful effects of gaming surround a huge debate. But, like every other thing in life, there is also a good side attached to them.

Video Games and Learning

You might be happy to know the fact that playing video games can actually improve your learning. Not only this, they can help you learn different skills and rewire your brain to deal with negative emotions. But this doesn’t give you a legit reason to ignore your school work and spend hours and hours playing games.  Moderation in everything is extremely crucial. So, keeping that in mind, let’s move forward to learn more advantages of playing games. You may also use these advantages and key points in your video game essay topics. You may also ask a professionals “who will write my essay” if you feel stuck.

Help Learn Personal Responsibility

Are you wondering what video games can teach us? Well, they have a lot to offer. Best of all, they can teach personal responsibility and perseverance. There are several challenges in the games that help players focus on their own actions. This eventually helps them control and enhance the situations around them. It may not seem obvious when playing the game, though. A little introspection on our part may help us utilize these gaming skills in the real world.

Enhance Problem-Solving Skills

Can playing video games make us smarter? According to some research studies, video games improve problem-solving skills. These research studies reveal that some parts of our brain may grow as a consequence of playing. These parts are associated with strategic planning, memory and spatial navigation. But again, it does need some introspection on our part. You simply don’t get smarter just by playing video games all day long. But rather you should use them as a tool to learn new skills and practice them in real life. Several games are designed for the same reasons: boost your reading understanding, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. But make sure you are playing age-appropriate games, and not neglecting your studies.

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Help You Beat Stress

Despite the downsides attached to video games, several studies have proven that they could help enhance life quality, especially those who are mentally disturbed or disabled. Such individuals have a harder time enjoying life to the fullest. Not everyone around them understands enough to comprehend their needs and feelings.

So, what does that mean? Video games in real life can be as effective as physical exercise when it comes to beating stress and anxiety. They help you forget your existing tensions for a while and give you a pleasurable experience. They help you connect with like-minded people. Hence, they can improve your quality of life.  Even playing a simple game of solitaire or a pool game can help to relieve stress and keep you relaxed. Especially if you do it for 15 minutes on your lunch break or in the evening.

Also, some a study German studies have revealed that they refine our hardwired and learned skills. Simply put, playing games have a positive impact on the brain parts that are associated with fine motor skills and muscle control.

Get Your Creative Juices Flowing

Playing them let your brain take a break and start fresh. Playing a game allows you to immerse yourself in it. This, in turn, helps you forget about the things that bother you. When you feel fresh and happy, you tend to be more creative. Another factor that boosts your creativity is that these games help you look at things from various angles. You try to be innovative to overcome the challenges in the game. If you carry these skills to real life, it will help you deal with real-life challenges too. Yes, playing certain video games is good for your memory and learning, but don’t go over the board.

Help Learn How to Start Over

Nothing in life remains the same. Sometimes, when certain relationships and friendships get over, it becomes extremely difficult to move on. But, gamers definitely know the sad feelings of completing a game they enjoyed playing. Also, sometimes they quit playing a game that no longer entertains them. This improves their self-control and helps them learn how to let go of things. They allow us to face our twisted emotions and walk away or embrace new beginnings. Therefore, playing such games can be a good practice to deal with similar situations in life.  The next time you choose a game to play, ensure it has something good to offer.

Enhance Multi-Tasking Skills

Some video games allow you to deal with auditory and visual distractions simultaneously. Doing so improves your multitasking skills which are great to increase productivity.

Are you already a multi-tasker? Playing such games is still good for you. You know there’s always room for improvement. So, why not get better at things you are already good at?

These multitasking skills also help you enjoy your favorite games while being a great student. Since reading gaming instructions and implementing them require good attention, it improves your reading comprehension too. This means you are more likely to understand your essay prompts and assignments instructions. But if you still find it difficult to do any of your schoolwork, you can look for help online, when you need movie review essay examples or video games review essay examples.

Boost Positivity

How do video games affect the brain positively? Well, do you know when you do something over and over again, it trains your brain to do it with less power? For instance, the players of the game Tetris also see shapes in real life that fit together. So, what does this convey? It’s simple. The positive effects of this game teach us to beat negativity around us. Also, it may help gamers avert food cravings or erase bad memories. Isn’t that amazing? Several other games help you rewire your brain for positivity. So, choose them wisely and let them have a positive impact on your life.

But wait! Learning about these advantages does not mean that you can pin yourself to a sofa all day long. It is still crucial to do physical and other fun activities. Watching movies with family, reading books, exercising, eating healthy – all of these play a vital role in keeping you healthy. So, don’t let a single hobby drain all of your energy.