The New Pornographers have announced a new LP titled The Former Site Of. The follow-up to 2023’s Continue as a Guest is slated for release on March 27 through Merge Records. Today’s announcement comes with the release of the piercing, open-hearted jam ‘Votive’, which comes with a video animated by Michael Arthur. Check it out and find the album cover and tracklist below.
Frontperson A.C. Newman began crafting the band’s tenth studio album in his home studio before bringing it to the rest of the band – Kathryn Calder, Neko Case, John Collins, and Todd Fancey. “Having time in my studio really opened things up,” Newman shared in a press release. “I don’t like wasting my bandmates’ time, and always felt guilty when I’d give them a song, ask them to do something, then completely change the song and ask them to do it again. Now I can get the skeleton of a song together first – just a couple of elements, the key feeling, really as little as possible – before bringing it to the band and running from there.”
Last year, the band’s former drummer Joseph Seiders was arrested on child pornography charges and later sentenced to three years in state prison. On the new album, his drum parts were replaced by Charley Drayton (Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan), and Josh Wells (Destroyer, Black Mountain) will join as the touring drummer for their spring tour dates.
The day [we found out], we were all like, “Obviously we can’t call ourselves the New Pornographers anymore.” And then time passed. A few weeks later, I ran into my friend Zach Djanikian, who played on this record and Continue as a Guest, and I was talking about the band name possibly changing, and he had the first violent reaction, which was, “No! You can’t change your name. You worked too hard for that name.” And I thought, “Yeah, you’re right.”
The more I thought about it, it just seemed like a bad-faith argument [for changing the name]. I named it after a Japanese movie by Shōhei Imamura [1966’s The Pornographers], so, should we go to the estate of Shōhei Imamura and say, “You should change the name of that movie because there was a band that named themselves after your movie, and this happened”? And from a purely pragmatic point of view, if we changed our name, people would go, “Who is this new band? Oh, it’s the New Pornographers, they changed their name. Why did they change their name? Because of this.” Or, we were gonna change the spelling of the name. “Well, why did they change the spelling of the name? Because of this.” It seemed to me, if you don’t want to talk about it, the best thing you could do was just continue with our name. I’m sure I’m going to be saying this 50 times in the next year.
1. Great Princess Story
2. Pure Sticker Shock
3. Ballad Of The Last Payphone
4. Spooky Action
5. Wish You Could See Me I’m Killing It
6. Votive
7. The Wine Remembers The Water
8. Calligraphy
9. Bonus Mai Tais
10. The Former Site Of
Lime Garden have announced a new album called Maybe Not Tonight. It’s set for release on April 10 via So Young Records. Today’s announcement comes with the release of the infectious new single ’23’, which you can check out below.
“‘23’ the concept was born from a dream I had where I was talking to my younger self,” vocalist and guitarist Chloe Howard explained in a statement. “In the dream I was essentially ripping into my own personality and lack of success. ‘23’ the song was born on a rainy January afternoon, a Happy Mondays–inspired jam paved the way for the main bassline.”
Maybe Not Tonight follows Lime Garden’s 2024 debut One More Thing. “The album is about a night out, from start to finish,” Howard added. “As the night progresses, you’re having a great time, until your ex walks in with someone else. You hate the way you look but rather than going home, you press the big red button and get even more drunk. Eventually, you take yourself home full of melancholy, chaos and anger.”
1. 23
2. Cross My Heart
3. Downtown Lover
4. All Bad Parts
5. Maybe Not Tonight
6. Body
7. Lifestyle
8. Undressed
9. Always Talking About You
10. Do You Know What I’m Thinking
A progress meter looks like simple information: a bar filling, a ring closing, a number ticking upward. Yet it can shift your mood fast. This article explains why that happens, how progress cues steer attention, and a quick way to read them so they stay helpful instead of taking over the experience.
A “progress meter” is any visual cue that turns activity into a status update. It might be a download bar, an XP gauge in a game, a streak counter in a habit app, a “percent complete” ring on a list, or a live total that updates while you watch. These cues reduce uncertainty and make complicated systems feel legible at a glance. Progress meters can also take other forms, giving you information about what’s happening within the system as a whole.
A clear entertainment example of progress meters can be found in progressive slots online. Here, we’re not talking about a bar that fills up or a ring that completes: we’re talking about a number that shows you how the slot’s jackpot is progressing. This number usually grows in real time as people play the slot and add their percentage to the overall pot. It’s absolutely critical for understanding the game.
A progressive jackpot total typically grows from a starting amount as activity accumulates, then resets after the jackpot is triggered. It helps players see what is going on in the game’s overall network and maintain a sense of the potential prize they might be able to hit. Understanding this when you browse progressive slots online is key; you need to know what this number represents and how it works if you want to enjoy this kind of game.
It’s also worth taking some time to read the game’s rules page and ensuring you fully understand the mechanics. This kind of thing ensures that a progressive meter does its job well: if you don’t understand the game, you can’t understand the meter. Progressive slots offer one effective example of where progress bars are critically important to an overall experience – just imagine one of these games without that tantalizing number – but they aren’t the only example.
Next, let’s figure out why progress bars are so effective.
Why Progress Cues Grab Attention
Progress cues do two jobs at once. They summarize complexity, and they pull your focus.
The summary part is useful. A messy activity becomes one clear indicator, which lowers mental load. The pull part is the one people underestimate. Movement signals meaning, so a meter often becomes a target. A rising number can feel like momentum. A nearly full bar can feel like a promise. That can help to motivate and enthuse those who interact with it.
Why Rising Numbers Feel Satisfying
Rising numbers are fast feedback. They say, “Your action has been registered.” That small confirmation is rewarding because it reduces doubt and gives your brain a clean cause-and-effect story.
Three patterns show up across apps and games:
Micro completion: A filling bar creates a miniature “done” moment, and your mind likes closure.
Momentum: Upward movement suggests continuity, which can make it easier to keep going than to restart.
Simple communication: A single number compresses effort into something easy to understand and compare over time.
The 60-Second Interface Audit
If you want to get better at reading progress meters and understanding how they affect you, treat the cues like a dashboard. You glance, interpret, and move on.
Name what is being counted. Time, tasks, points, streaks, percentages, live totals.
Find the update rule. Does it change because of your actions, many people’s actions, or a schedule?
Locate the explanation. Look for the small print, info icons, or help text that defines the meter.
Pick a check-in rhythm. Decide you will look at milestones, not every refresh. This helps you focus on things beyond the progress meter and keeps it in balance with the other elements.
Reading Progress Signals
Progress cue you see
What it usually means
A practical way to use it
Percentage bar
A defined path with milestones
Check at milestones, not constantly
Streak counter
Consistency over time
Protect the habit, ignore perfection
Live updating total
A number that changes as the system runs
Treat it as context
Progress meters are feedback loops. Once you understand what they track and how they pull attention, you can enjoy the lift they give without letting the number write the whole story.
Reset When the Meter Starts to Pull You In
When you notice yourself checking a bar or counter too often, do a short reset. Look away from the meter for 5 seconds and name the real task in one sentence. Take two slow breaths, then pick the next action that moves the task forward, not the number. If you still feel pulled, set a timer for three minutes and promise yourself you will not check again until it ends. Most of the tension fades, and your focus returns naturally.
The line between recklessness and pure chaos is thin when it comes to A$AP Rocky‘s music. The very lead-up to the rapper’s first album in eight years was marked by this tension, and given his last effort was the divisively experimental Testing, nobody expected Don’t Be Dumb to be totally mature and cohesive. For all its occasional – and often refreshing – silliness, the record mostly heeds its own titular advice, faltering when it tries too hard to offer a world of wisdom in proving its relevance. That effort borders on tired desperation over an hour’s worth of music, but Rocky zigzags between styles like he knows exactly where he’s going, giving the appearance of careful curation even as the record only gets weirder and messier. His energy may sometimes be misdirected, but it hardly wanes, and it’s easy to have fun with it when he seems to be doing the same.
1. ORDER OF PROTECTION
The opening track feels redundantly expository and overlong at less than three minutes, with the beat dropping around the halfway point – and it should hit a lot harder. Rocky’s bars are solid but generally forgettable, except for that one line about fans “still screamin’ encore when I’m long gone.” It’s true that his absence was never really felt.
2. HELICOPTER
The early single gets the adrenaline flowing way more than its predecessor ‘PUNK ROCKY’ – a rambunctious tune Rocky’s more than capable of owning, even as its sawing synths threaten to drown it all out.
3. INTERROGATION (SKIT)
“I ain’t gon’ put out no crystal clear garbage,” he declares, “I put out staticky good shit.” By his exhilaration alone you hope he delivers.
4. STOLE YA FLOW
Even at his most brazen, Rocky still fires out clunkers – I mean, “Hip-hop is my house, welcome to mi casa” – but that doesn’t negate the fact that he’s in peak form on ‘STOLE YA FLOW’. It’s a diss track all the more brutal for its ambivalence (Drake and Travis Scott are both possible targets), but Rocky’s resentment breeds knife-sharp precision.
5. STAY HERE 4 LIFE
There’s no world in which ‘STAY HERE 4 LIFE’ needs to be almost six minutes long, even if it speaks to the point of the song. The second part stultifies what’s already a pretty dull R&B tune, with a solid Brent Faiyaz feature and Hit Boy production that’s too placid to be hypnotic. If it’s to be a hit, I wish they didn’t have to play the whole thing.
6. PLAYA
The smoother, more mature side to Rocky’s newly unbothered attitude, ‘PLAYA’ glimmers with production from Cardo Got Wings, Johnny Juliano, Yung Exclusive, and Loukeman – not to mention a sneaky Thundercut feature. It’s a vibrant reintroduction to the rapper’s rulebook that’s easy to warm up to and instantly makes ‘STAY HERE 4 LIFE’ sound better.
6. NO TRESSPASSING
The album’s second best banger, frantic and dark enough to conjure the word “demon” out of the “Shut it down” refrain. Between gurgling synths and an ear-piercing one, Rocky steps it up in the second verse, having fun with lines like “Ghetto birds in the air, they tried to pigeonhole us.” It’s infectious.
7. STOP SNITCHING
Rocky immediately follows it up with the best one, a team-up with Houston underground rapper Sauce Walka that spirals on legal drama like it should be everyone’s business. Its paranoia makes every other song on Don’t Be Dumb sound timid by comparison.
8. STFU
Rocky’s experimental tendencies flare up on ‘STFU’, an absolutely feral collaboration with California’s Slay Squad, whose member Brahim Gousse delivers one of the album’s most killer lines: “They say Haitians eating cats, I make sure my dogs eat.” Rocky’s own sincerity goes hard: “I’m a grown man, on my wholesome shit.” You’d expect him to say stuff like this at this point – maybe not that it would go so hard.
9. PUNK ROCKY
I seem to like ‘PUNK ROCKY’, which would not sound out of place on an Yves Tumor record, more than the average fan; but it’s an admittedly odd choice for a lead single, and it halts the album’s momentum. There’s something about the hazier, psychedelic parts of the record that stand out on their own – especially when paired with that Winona Ryder-starring video like ‘PUNK ROCKY’ – but don’t quite gel with the rest of the LP.
10. AIR FORCE (BLACK DEMARCO)
Starting with ‘PUNK ROCKY’, the experimental final section of the album offers plenty to attract indie rock fans. Mac DeMarco is not actually featured here, but Rocky did confirm, on the New York Times Popcast, that he recorded music during COVID with him, Ariel Pink (ugh), and John Maus. The track’s production is way more dynamic than you’d expect from just listening to the chorus, a restlessness Rocky matches by deftly switching up his flow.
11. WHISKEY (RELEASE ME)
Once again keeping the rhythm fluid, ‘WHISKEY’ is too playful and catchy to slip through the cracks. Instead of doing a Gorillaz impression, Rocky actually gets Damon Albarn on the song and then adds Westside Gunn to the mix, just to flex. You can’t blame him when it manages to work.
12. ROBBERY [feat. Doechii]
Rocky introduces a wholly different side of his showmanship near the very end of the record, a cartoonishly theatrical performance aided by an even goofier Doechii. It’s charming if oddly out of place.
13. DON’T BE DUMB / TRIP BABY
The album’s edges are softened on the dreamy, even sleepy title track, the Clairo-sample first part of a song with a rather nondescript second half. Earning some more indie cred before easing us into ‘THE END’.
14. THE END [feat. will.i.am and Jessica Pratt]
It was disappointing to discover that Rocky’s 2024 Jessica Pratt collab ‘HIGHJACK’ wouldn’t be on the record, but the rapper does one better by ending it with another one, a hauntingly dystopian tune that manages to also fit in a will.i.am verse. Rocky has been hinting at its heavy-handed global warnings for the past few songs, so ‘THE END’ doesn’t feel entirely awkward – and corny as “Newsflash, we at war, a global warning” might sound, Pratt’s simplistic refrain, interpolating Nancy Priddy’s 1968 song ‘Ebony Glass’, makes up for it. After all, she has a wayof singing about the world as if holding it in her own palm. Here, all she urges is for us to take a better look at it.
15. SWAT TEAM
Relegated to bonus track status, ‘SWAT TEAM’ nevertheless boasts one of the album’s most kinetic beats (from Kelvin Krash, KayCyy, and SpaceGhostPurrp). It’s a shame that Rocky doesn’t do much with it lyrically.
16. FISH N STEAK [feat. Tyler, the Creator & Jozzy]
There may have been songs on the main record where Tyler, the Creator would be better suited, but it’s still exciting to hear him reunite with Rocky on ‘FISH N STEAK’. Their off-kilter dynamic accentuates the song’s woozy production, as Tyler mostly raps about riding around with your friends, “how that sunroof opened up like therapy.” At its warmest and most mature, Don’t Be Dumb can feel a little like that too. Other times you just hope it doesn’t crash.
A few decades ago, sending a message meant waiting for a reply, sometimes even for days. Today, communication happens instantly, yet many people still feel unsure about how to start, maintain, or deepen online conversations. The tools may be modern, but the challenge remains timeless: expressing yourself clearly and engaging with others in a meaningful way.
Platforms designed for digital interaction continue to grow because people are actively looking for structured, thoughtful ways to communicate online. One such platform that often comes up in discussion is Youmetalks, a service built around helping users explore new ways of interaction through messages, shared interests, and useful communication features.
The Role of Youmetalks in Online Communication
When people ask what is Youmetalks, they are usually looking for clarity about its purpose. At its core, the platform is used for online communication through profiles, messages, posts, and interactive tools that encourage dialogue. In other words, Youmetalks is used for structured digital interaction, i.e., meeting others, exchanging ideas, and discovering shared interests in a moderated environment.
Many users mention reliable communication on Youmetalks when describing their experience, often pointing to the platform’s combination of messaging tools and moderation systems. For a broader context, research from the Pew Research Center shows that over 80% of U.S. adults use online platforms to stay socially connected, highlighting how central digital communication has become in everyday life.
Key Features That Support Everyday Interaction
Rather than overwhelming users, the design focuses on practical tools that can support both short exchanges and longer conversations.
Core interaction tools include:
Search and discovery pages that help users find profiles aligned with their interests.
Newsfeed posts where members share updates, photos, and captions to spark conversation.
Carousel suggestions that surface profiles you may want to explore or save.
These features on Youmetalks are supported by interaction options such as Like, Wink, and Follow, which allow users to show interest or stay updated on activity in a low-pressure way.
Messaging Tools Designed for Clarity
Communication styles vary, and Youmetalks reflects that by offering multiple messaging formats. Users may choose short chats for quick exchanges or longer mail-style messages when they want to share more detailed thoughts. The Chat + Let’s Talk features can be customized, which may be helpful if you’re unsure how to begin a conversation.
A common topic in any Youmetalks review is the platform’s toolkit. Additional Youmetalks tools, such as photo sharing and stickers, allow conversations to feel more expressive without relying solely on text. Drafts automatically save unfinished messages, so users can return to them later without losing their thoughts.
Free and Premium Options at a Glance
Like most modern platforms, Youmetalks provides both free and premium features. This structure allows users to explore the basics before deciding whether additional tools fit their needs.
Feature Type
Examples
Free features
Profile creation, browsing, and likes
Premium features
Messaging options, stickers, and sending photos
This balance helps users decide how deeply they want to engage, based on their preferences.
Safety, Moderation, and User Confidence
Questions such as is Youmetalks safe often arise when people consider joining a communication platform. Youmetalks addresses this by combining automated systems with a professional moderation team. According to internal data shared by the platform, moderation processes help identify and remove the majority of potentially harmful content, while keeping user profiles private from search engines.
Users on the platform can go through a verification process from an industry-leading verification vendor involving video submissions and documents. While no online space can eliminate all unwanted behavior, these measures are designed to reduce risk and provide users with reporting and blocking options.
Support and Platform Guidelines
Another point often raised in discussions like is Youmetalks legit or fake is customer support. The platform offers 24/7 assistance, with most initial responses arriving within 24 hours. More complex cases may take several days, but follow-up communication aims to keep users informed throughout the process.
Clear community guidelines outline acceptable content and interactions. Violations are reviewed by moderation teams, and repeated issues may result in restrictions or bans, reinforcing a consistent communication environment.
Common User Questions
People searching for answers often type phrases like is Youmetalks real or look for the login page to explore the service firsthand. These questions reflect natural curiosity about how a platform works and whether it aligns with personal expectations. The most effective way to evaluate any communication service is to review its features, read platform guidelines, and explore available tools at your own pace.
Why Communication Skills Still Matter
Digital platforms provide the tools, but the quality of interaction still depends on how users communicate. Studies from the U.S. Census Bureau and Pew Research indicate that people who actively engage online communities often report broader social exposure and idea-sharing. Platforms like Youmetalks may support this by offering structured spaces for conversation rather than leaving interactions entirely unfiltered.
Final Thoughts
Modern communication isn’t just about sending messages; it’s about choosing the right environment to express yourself. Youmetalks positions itself as a platform where users can explore conversations, follow shared interests, and use flexible tools that fit different communication styles. The Youmetalks platform can be seen as one option among many for people looking to practice and refine online interaction.
By approaching it thoughtfully, users can decide how Youmetalks fits into their broader digital communication habits: using it as a place to explore dialogue, learn from others, or engage in conversations that feel purposeful.
With support from Youmetalks. This content serves as general guidance and is not a substitute for professional consultation.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and editorial purposes only and does not constitute professional, legal, or technical advice. The features, policies, and user experiences described are based on publicly available information and general platform descriptions available at the time of writing.
Childhood trauma can be different. In fact, an event can be traumatic for a child if they feel insecure or scared enough for the brain to learn to adapt to these situations. That’s why childhood trauma can still haunt some people into their adult lives.
If you’ve ever wondered, “What made me the way I am? What childhood trauma might I have? Am I just overthinking?” you’re in the right place. Because music often reflects our experiences, even when we don’t consciously know they might be traumatic.
Do I Have Childhood Trauma? Checklist
Childhood trauma is highly subjective, and what’s considered traumatic or normal for some people might be totally unacceptable for others. Moreover, childhood trauma by definition is a state in which a child feels lonely, unsupported, in danger, or scared. So, many things fall within this category.
How to distinguish negative events in childhood from childhood trauma? According to the most reputable Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) online evaluation available herehttps://breeze-wellbeing.com/childhood/start/, trauma creates lasting neurological and psychological symptoms that disrupt a person’s independent living. Trauma can also compromise the child’s safety or identity.
The checklist below will help you sort whether your childhood experiences were traumatic or negative. It’s not a diagnosis, and if you disagree with the results, consult a mental health professional for more accurate results.
Your emotions feel like “too much” or “not enough” compared to others.
Certain situations that others can dismiss or laugh about trigger shame, guilt, fear, numbness, or disproportionate anger.
You struggle with relationships. This can include fear of abandonment, difficulty trusting others, people-pleasing, emotional withdrawal, etc.
You have trouble remembering large parts of your childhood.
You are highly self-critical or perfectionistic.
You feel responsible for other people’s emotions. Calming others, avoiding conflict, or “being the strong one.”
You have certain somatic/physical symptoms. Chronic tension, gut issues, headaches, weak immune system, etc.
You minimize your experiences by saying “it wasn’t that bad,” while other people seem to be genuinely worried about you.
If you recognize yourself in several of these points, it doesn’t mean something is “wrong” with you. It suggests that you show a higher likelihood that something traumatic happened in your early life, or you lacked something for typical development.
What Childhood Trauma Do I Have?
This test is developed on a reputable and evidence-based framework for understanding childhood trauma, the ACE model (Adverse Childhood Experiences), which groups trauma into categories such as household dysfunction, neglect, and abuse. It also considers your music taste that isn’t diagnostic criteria, but reflects your inner world into conscious preferences.
Here are the instructions for testing yourself:
Read each statement.
Honestly reflect on each statement. Does it ring a bell? Can you immediately answer, or do you need to think? Both are okay.
Answer honestly: true if the statement corresponds to what happened in reality, and false if you can’t recall something or have memories opposite to the statement.
Important notes: There are no “right” answers. This checklist doesn’t show the quality of your childhood, whether your parents were good or bad, or whether you are a good or bad person. It also doesn’t diagnose you with anything.
Household Dysfunction
My parents were happily married during my childhood.
Songs about family conflict or instability (such as Family Portrait by Pink) feel exaggerated.
I always felt supported at home.
I didn’t feel financial pressure as a child.
I never had a close relative who was in jail.
I remember my childhood clearly.
My parents or caregivers weren’t addicted to substances or alcohol.
I strongly relate to songs about wanting to stay home and never leave the house.
People in my household were physically and mentally healthy.
There was no physical abuse in my childhood home.
I listened to music when I wanted to, not when I needed to block out noise, screams, or loudness.
My parents let me make independent choices, even if they weren’t the best.
I never “cringe” at music about happiness and “togetherness.”
I was happy to go back home after classes, school, or from friends.
Neglect
I don’t relate to Lana Del Rey’s lyrics.
My parents or caregivers always supported me emotionally.
I knew there was somebody at home who would listen to me and help no matter what.
When I needed to share something that seemed important to me, my caregivers listened carefully.
I went for comfort to people, not music or artists.
My emotions (sadness, anger, excitement) were accepted and validated.
I was given physical affection when I wanted it.
My parents taught me basic life skills like cooking, cleaning, and laundry.
I regularly had clean clothes, baths, and grooming taken care of.
My hobbies and interests were encouraged.
I got help with homework when I needed it.
My wishes and desires were taken seriously.
I did household chores to help out, not to keep the household functioning.
Abuse
Physical abuse
My parents or caregivers never threatened me.
I was never hit, rough-handled, or screamed at as a child.
I was never isolated or locked away to “teach me a lesson.”
I was never restricted from food as punishment.
I was never bullied (at home or at school).
I didn’t feel intimidated often in my childhood environment.
Sexual abuse
Songs that alternate between vulnerability and anger (e.g., You Oughta Know by Alanis Morissette) feel too intimate, as if someone were sharing personal details about their life.
I was never shown explicit content against my will.
Nobody made inappropriate comments about my body.
I never experienced sexual assault.
Adults didn’t discuss their sexual lives in my presence.
I wasn’t forced to keep secrets.
Emotional abuse
Songs that tell about emotional pain, rage, and fear seem overwhelming for me.
My parents or caregivers didn’t compare me to siblings or peers.
I stopped listening to Evanescence after adolescence.
When I asked adults something important, I usually got an answer.
I wasn’t involved in adult problems, such as finances or relationship conflicts.
I didn’t have to wait for adults to be in a “good mood” to ask for help.
I always felt like I belonged in my family.
My identity (sexuality, neurodivergence, mental health, gender) was accepted.
What Do My Results Mean?
If most statements in a section feel true, that area was likely relatively safe or supportive in your childhood.
If false statements dominate a specific section (Household Dysfunction, Neglect, or Abuse), it may point to a type of childhood trauma connected to that category.
If you answered false to multiple sections, it often means trauma was layered rather than isolated, which is very common.
What to Do If the Test Shows I Have Childhood Trauma?
If your results suggest childhood trauma, this is not a diagnosis or a verdict. It’s information that you can use to improve the quality of your life. Below are clear, supportive next steps you can take:
Learn about childhood trauma and its effects.
Psychoeducation shows how trauma influences your brain and body, and explains natural reactions due to these changes. So, certain “flaws” become understandable rather than “crazy.”
Studies also show that psychoeducation increases a person’s belief that mental health problems are changeable, which supports hope and active engagement in healing.
Take online quizzes.
Mental health services might not be available to everyone, but mental health quizzes are free of charge and are addressed to a wide audience. Evaluations about one’s attachment styles, neurodivergence, childhood, etc., are part of psychoeducation and self-exploration.
Disclaimer: Take the results of online evaluations with a pinch of salt. They cannot diagnose you, but they can be used in the diagnostic process with a trained medical specialist.
Set boundaries with triggering people or environments.
Limiting contact with those who repeat patterns of neglect, criticism, or control is a form of protection and an important part of the healing process. If certain people repeatedly trigger your childhood trauma, there’s no room to be a people-pleaser. Being honest with you and self-care are priorities here.
Avoid rushing into “fixing yourself.”
Healing is not about erasing the past or becoming someone else. It’s vice versa. Letting the inner you thrive without the weight of protective mechanisms that bring more harm than good now.
Try a healthy lifestyle to regulate the nervous system first.
Predictable routines, delicate movement, grounding exercises, and consistent sleep help your body feel safer and lay the ground for deeper emotional work.
Use self-reflection tools intentionally.
Journal, track your mood, write one thing to be grateful about today, or create a dump place for all your thoughts. Such self-reflection helps to reconnect with your real needs and identity.
Reach out for professional help.
Trauma symptoms might interfere with daily life, relationships, or safety. If so, it’s time to get a licensed mental health professional to help you build a structured, supportive path forward.
Even if symptoms of childhood trauma are limited just to negative self-thinking, problems in relationships, etc., you can try talking to a counselor. Especially, if you want to.
Spring 2026 is loud. Like, really loud. Don’t get fooled by Pantone’s Cloud Dancer, this season is all vivids and brights. Your closet might resist at first, muscle memory is a thing, I know, but it’ll eventually get over it, neutrals have a special place in the dust this time. And these aren’t random choices, every color carries history, science, or just pure obsession.
Blue, But Nowhere Near Navy
This is Klein Blue. Exactly the same shade of blue that swallowed entire canvases in museums. Yves Klein made it his own in the 1950s, chasing a color that was almost impossible, true ultramarine, electric. The only natural source of a similar tone was lapis lazuli, basically gold in rock form, saved for Virgin Mary Renaissance paintings and French aristocracy’s stitches. Klein called in chemists, locked in the saturation, and suddenly the blue was his. Models smeared in it, balloons floating over Paris, fashion leaning in, everything became blue.
Grown-Up Red
For this season specifically, think Prada’s new red. Red has always been about status and attention. It has been part of human life forever, the deepest reds came from crushed insects and rare roots, difficult, slow, and expensive processes. That’s why it belonged to rulers, religious figures, and anyone who wanted to mark territory. It actually dominates the spectrum, the longest visible wavelength. It’s the first color we notice, which is why it’s been a signal for danger, authority, and everything that needed attention. In other words, it’s intentional, and that’s exactly why it’ll never stop coming back.
Teal With Teeth
Teal doesn’t come with a legend. No saints, no royalty, no crushed gemstones. It’s a modern color built, born from mixing, industry, and control, blue calmed down, green sharpened up. Teal has corporate DNA, it’s the color of boardrooms, tech branding, hospital uniforms, systems that need to look calm and trustworthy. That’s why it feels urban, clean, a little cold, and modern enough to read as unemotional, until you wear it.
The Green You Won’t Find in a Forest
Emerald comes from extraction, not landscapes. Mined, traded, guarded. It showed up where wealth needed to look untouchable and permanent. That’s the energy it carries forward, deep, dense, almost excessive. You don’t wear emerald to blend in, you wear it to hold ground. And it surely doesn’t shine the way other vivid colors do, it’s saturated to the point of depth, not brightness, and the effect is weight.
Serious Yellow
Yellow has always been difficult. It was one of the hardest colors to control, hard to make, hard to keep stable, often poisonous in its earliest forms. Think saffron, think orpiment, pigments that came with risk. That’s why yellow often worked as a signal rather than decoration, worn by emperors, flagged as a warning, avoided as much as it was desired. Deep yellow doesn’t brighten a room, it tightens it.
There’s so much music coming out all the time that it’s hard to keep track. On those days when the influx of new tracks is particularly overwhelming, we sift through the noise to bring you a curated list of the most interesting new releases (the best of which will be added to our Best New Songs playlist). Below, check out our track roundup for Tuesday, January 20, 2026.
Snail Mail – ‘Dead End’
Snail Mail’s first album since 2021’s Valentine is on the way. Ricochet was recorded with Momma’s Aron Kobayashi Ritch at Fidelitorium Recordings, and the producer/bassist’s fingerprints are all over the lead single ‘Dead End’. That guitar riff shoots for the stars before the “nah nah nahs” rush in; the whole song is a blast. “We shot the video for ‘Dead End’ in random places all around rural North Carolina between the hours of 5pm and 4am on one of the coldest nights of my life,” Lindsey Jordan said of the accompanying music video she made with Elsie Richter. “The goal was to be inconspicuous with the fireworks, but someone called the cops on us.”
Courtney Barnett – ‘Site Unseen’ [feat. Waxahatchee]
Courtney Barnett has returned with news of her next album, Creature of Habit, which will land on March 27. Today’s announcement comes with the release of the new single ‘Site Unseen’, which features harmony vocals from Katie Crutchfield, aka Waxahatchee. “I tried three separate times over two years to track this song, and each time it either wasn’t finished or didn’t sound right, and each time we had to start again,” Barnett explained. “I kept hearing this really high harmony in my head, so for the fourth and final version, I asked Katie if she’d be into singing it with me. I’m a big Waxahatchee fan. I really love Katie’s songwriting and her voice, so it was an honour to have her sing on Site Unseen.”
Bill Callahan – ‘Stepping Out for Air’
Stepping out for air: a good thing. You should probably take this moment to do it. ‘Stepping Out for Air’: good song. Really good, in fact. It’s the third single from Bill Callahan’s new album My Days of 58, following ‘The Man I’m Supposed to Be’ and ‘Lonely City’. In a statement, the singer-songwriter explained: “This is the song with the oldest origins on the album, tho it was never fully finished until just before the 58 sessions. It existed in some form about 15 years ago when it was intended as part of a record I planned to make with Jim White and Warren Ellis. Logistics seemed impossible because Warren was on endless Nick Cave tours so that project evaporated. Maybe it’ll form as a rain cloud and rain down on us someday. I held on to the song and it finally found a home on this record as the world cycled back into it having relevance. I like this song. It feels good.”
Cat Clyde – ‘Another Time’
Canadian singer-songwriter Cat Clyde has announced a new album, Mud Blood Bone, which is out March 13 via Concord Records. Produced with Drew Vandenberg (Toro Y Moi, Faye Webster, S.G. Goodman) and featuring a co-write with Courtney Marie Andrews, the record is led by the swaying ‘Another Time’. “While writing this song, I was pondering my experience of connection and intimacy, alongside the reality that life is constantly moving and changing,” Clyde reflected. “Thinking about the power to bottle up and lean into meaningful moments and memories. Considering how bittersweet it is for beautiful moments to be, knowing they all become a ripple in time. Wondering about different timelines – time is not linear. Having the power to shift myself and my reality into new timelines, and different selves. This song speaks to the grief and the joy of evolving constantly.”
Cardinals – ‘I Like You’
Cardinals are gearing up for the release of their debut album Masquerade, which is out in less than a month. Today, the Cork, Ireland outfit has shared the stirring ‘I Like You’, about which frontman Euan Manning said: “This is the first song we wrote with the album in mind. After a very long period of not working on anything we started and finished this some bright morning last February in our practice studio. It felt cathartic, a completely grounding moment after feeling slightly lost for months.” He added, “The first lyric is stripped/paraphrased from the tune ‘My Funny Valentine’. I don’t think it was written by Chet Baker but that’s the version we know.”
Horsepower – ‘Force Quit’
Horsepower, the project of Brooklyn-based musician Charlotte Weinman, has shared a new song co-produced by Model/Actriz’s Ruben Radlauer. Don’t expect ‘Force Quit’ to sound anything like Ralauer’s band, though; it hews a lot closer to the hushed folk Charlotte’s brother Noah Weinman makes as Runnner – hushed, that is, until it explodes. It follows previous single ‘Flute’. “If ‘Flute’ is about an effortful quest for peace, ‘Force Quit’ is the exhausted surrender,” Weinman explained. “I wanted the song to first unfold cautiously and then completely unravel. When it comes time to unravel, we had a lot of fun making this behemoth wall of guitars. I screamed into the pickups, into the mic we had set up at the amp, and into the vocal mic, and we tucked those all throughout the last section.”
Liz Cooper – ‘Baby Steps’
‘Baby Steps’ is “the beginning of my new day,” Liz Cooper said of her lovely new single from her forthcoming album New Day. “I was falling in love while simultaneously going through heartbreak over and over again and I really wanted this to be the last song on the record as sort of a hopeful send off. All of the songs and the stories lead up to this one.”
Immaterialize – ‘Everything But Myself’ [feat. Fire-Toolz]
Immaterialize, the Chicago-based dream-pop duo of Lipsticism (aka Alana Schachtel) and DJ Immaterial (aka Erik Fure), are releasing their debut album Perfect this Friday. Its final single, the mesmerizing ‘Everything But Myself’, features Fire-Toolz, who mastered the LP. “I shared everything but myself” is the kind of hook that lodges itself into your head.
Telescreens – ‘Preacher’
NYC’s Telescreens have dropped a driving new single, ‘Preacher’, alongside a Jack Cohen-directed video. “‘Preacher’ is about the debaucherous things we worship as a society,” frontman Jackson Hamm said in a statement. “We build people up as hero’s, icons, rulers of our culture, only to relish in the sight of their fall. This song is about being a dancing monkey, the dark natures of addiction, the highs that come from the spotlight and the lows that follow. And all the while they call you a preacher.”
Jackie West – ‘Course of Action’
Jackie West has unveiled ‘Course of Action’, a heartfelt, sneakily propulsive new single from her forthcoming album Silent Century. The record comes out February 27 via Ruination Record Co.
Hen Ogledd – ‘Clara’
Hen Ogledd have released ‘Clara’, the second single from their forthcoming album DISCOMBOBULATED. The track, pastoral and off-kilter, features Will Guthrie (drums, percussion), Faye MacCalman (saxophone, clarinet), Chris Watson (recording of horse snorts) and Laura Phillips (recording of projector), and sleigh bells coming courtesy of Dawn Bothwell.
In the perennial arms race for Super Bowl ad supremacy, where brands typically rely on Hollywood A-listers to move the needle, Taco Bell took a decidedly different approach for its 2025 Big Game return.
Rather than leaning on its history of celebrity-filled spots (they’ve previously worked with Doja Cat), the fast-food giant put its “Live Más” philosophy to the test by featuring several hundred die-hard fans—derisively termed “a bunch of randos”—in a 30-second commercial airing during the third quarter of Super Bowl LIX.
But these aren’t just stock photos. These customers earned their screen time by pulling through the drive-thru. The campaign, which leveraged a custom-built, roaming photo booth called the “Live Más Drive-Thru Cam,” combined large-scale logistics, experiential design, and artificial intelligence to turn a routine fast-food run into a broadcast-quality production set.
From Drive-Thru to the Big Game
The concept was rooted in authenticity. According to Taylor Montgomery, Taco Bell’s Chief Marketing Officer, the brand wanted to spotlight the “incredible Live Más spirit” fans bring to the restaurant every day.
“So we’re putting them in the spotlight as a reminder that the most authentic representation of our brand isn’t staged—it’s lived,” Montgomery said in a statement.
To execute this, Taco Bell partnered with Deeplocal, an experience design and creative technology agency based in Pittsburgh, to build a tech-enabled installation that integrated directly into drive-thru lanes. Over the course of the activation, more than 3,000 customers across five states opted in simply by pulling through designated drive-thru locations, transforming routine food runs into spontaneous casting calls for one of the most-watched broadcasts in the world.
The initiative wasn’t entirely devoid of star power, however. In a meta-twist, longtime collaborators LeBron James and Doja Cat make brief cameos in the final spot. Their role, however, is to stand off to the side and complain about being relegated to the background, serving as a punchline that reinforces the campaign’s focus on the everyday fans.
Engineering the “Live Más” Experience
Hong Hua, an experience designer at Deeplocal, led the physical and experiential design of the Live Más Drive-Thru Cam. His challenge was to reimagine the drive-thru as a scalable, repeatable capture environment capable of delivering footage suitable for national broadcast.
“The core strategy was to replace celebrities with real Taco Bell fans as the stars of its Super Bowl commercial,” Hua explained. “That required designing a system that could integrate seamlessly into existing drive-thru infrastructure while operating at broadcast standards.”
The system was designed to be frictionless. After receiving their orders, customers drove into the arch, where they were met with two giant cameras and guided prompts. The structure needed to be visually iconic, adaptable to different vehicle sizes, fast enough to avoid disrupting operations, and robust enough to withstand a multi-state tour across locations in Los Angeles, Middleburg Heights (Ohio), Cookeville (Tennessee), Houston, and Wauchula (Florida).
The activation’s success was later recognized by industry peers, earning an Adweek Experiential Award for Best Use of Drive-Up Experience, a Silver at the Event Marketer Ex Awards, and a Silver at The Drum Awards.
The Role of AI in Interactive Design
While the concept was analog, the execution relied heavily on modern technology. Hua noted that AI played a pivotal role in both the user-facing experience and the internal workflow. From a user perspective, the installation utilized AI-driven technologies, including vehicle detection to automatically trigger the experience and facial recognition to intelligently crop wide-angle images into optimal compositions. These technologies eliminated interaction hurdles, allowing customers to remain fully present in the moment rather than navigating instructions or interfaces.
On the backend, AI tools accelerated the concepting phase in the design process. “An AI-generated reference from our agency partner provided an initial visualization of scale, structure, and intent, which helped accelerate alignment across teams,” Hua said.
However, Hua emphasizes that AI remains a tool for augmentation rather than a replacement for the designer. “My value as a multidisciplinary designer lies in integrating physical design, interaction design, technology, and storytelling into cohesive systems—an approach that remains fundamentally human-driven,” he said.
A Record-Breaking Moment
The stakes for the campaign are high. Super Bowl LIX, airing in February 2025, is expected to draw a record average of 127.7 million viewers in the U.S.—roughly one-third of the country.
By swapping out scripts for spontaneity and celebrities for everyday fans, Taco Bell is making a high-stakes bet: that the most compelling story on television could emerge from a drive-thru lane—where technology, design, and cultural insight align.
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