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‘80s Techno-pop hits “Safety Dance” and “Pop Goes the World” will be added to the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame

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‘80s Techno-pop hits “Safety Dance” and “Pop Goes the World” will be added to the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame

The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame is pleased to announce the induction of two songs written by nostalgic synth-pop band, Men Without Hats. Their smash hits Safety Dance and Pop Goes the World catapulted the new wave band from Montreal to international fame in the 1980s, garnering commercial success and countless awards.

The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame will add both records to its permanent and interactive exhibition at the National Music Centre in Calgary, that features a celebrated catalogue of inducted songs that fans can listen to, as well as displays, exclusive artifacts, and one-of-a-kind memorabilia celebrating Canada’s greatest songwriters and Inductees. A virtual induction presentation is planned for a later date.

Lead vocalist Ivan Doroschuk who penned both songs still stands by the do-your-own thing principle behind Safety Dance, which was written after he was kicked out of a nightclub for pogo dancing, which as judged as being too unruly and unsafe. The lyrics “we can dance if we want to” is a rebellious anthem for being free spirited, independent, and standing up for your rights – even if it’s to dance.

The track skyrocketed to No. 3 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1983, propelling the album “Rhythm of Youth” to sell more than 2 million copies worldwide. Not only was it a commercial success, but industry accolades came rolling in, garnering three Félix Awards for Best-Selling Single, Group of the Year, and Rock Album of the Year; Grammy nomination for Best New Artist; JUNO nominations; and a 2008 SOCAN Award.

This past April, Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon performed Safety Dance with health care workers and The Roots with the added lyric, “Everybody’s washing their hands” as part of the One World: Together At Home benefit concert for COVID-19 relief. The song has also been covered by Weird Al Yankovic, Big Daddy, and others, and has been featured on such TV shows as “Glee,” “The Simpsons,” and “Family Guy.”

Following the success of Safety Dance and brief foray into rock, songwriter Ivan Doroschuk decided to take the band back to its electronic roots. Doroschuk originally wrote Pop Goes the World as an electronic instrumental, aiming for a sound similar to their 1972 hit Popcorn from the album “Hot Butter.” He then added his two-minute riff to the end of a demo recording which he submitted to Polygram’s A&R rep, Derek Shulman, who advised him to build a whole song from the riff. “So that’s what I did,” said Doroschuk. “I went back into the studio and spent quite a while building a song. It was one of the first songs that I actually sat down and worked on.

Doroschuk, brother Stefan and bandmate Lenny Pinkas recorded Pop Goes the World for the Mercury label at England’s Eden Studio, the result being a gold single and a JUNO nomination for Single of the Year. The song reached the No. 2 spot on RPM’s Top 100 singles chart in 1988 and was Billboard’s No. 20. The album went platinum in Canada and won a Félix Award and a PROCAN Award for the most-played English-language Canadian single on Canadian radio in 1988.

The video for Pop Goes the World contributed to the song’s popularity and heavy rotation on radio. Directed by Tim Pope (who also directed the Safety Dance video), the band incorporated comic references to their Quebec roots, such as Big Bonhomme (Quebec City’s winter carnival mascot).

Future Faith No More/Mr. Bungle Mike Patton performing “Detroit Rock City” live at Eureka High Talent Night in 1984

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Future Faith No More/Mr. Bungle Mike Patton performing “Detroit Rock City” live at Eureka High Talent Night in 1984

Everybody has to start somewhere.

That Time Fugazi Performed Live In Front of The White House in 1991

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That Time Fugazi Performed Live In Front of The White House in 1991

The band’s Gulf War protest show that was featured in the Instrument documentary.

Weird Al and Wendy Carlos with their version of ‘Peter and the Wolf’ from 1988

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Weird Al and Wendy Carlos with their version of ‘Peter and the Wolf’ from 1988

Peter & the Wolf/Carnival of the Animals – Part II by “Weird Al” Yankovic and composer and keyboardist Wendy Carlos, released in October, 1988. It features a comical adaptation of the orchestral works Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev and The Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns.

The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Album for Children at the 31st awards.

Eddie Van Halen’s Isolated Guitar For “Eruption,” “Beat It,” “Panama,” “Unchained,” and “Hot For Teacher”

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Eddie Van Halen’s Isolated Guitar For “Eruption,” “Beat It,” “Panama,” “Unchained,” and “Hot For Teacher”

Want to know why Eddie Van Halen was voted number one in a Guitar World magazine reader’s poll for “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”?
These.
It’s not just a trip of his most famous work, but a walk down some of the greatest guitar parts in music history.

…and of course, the big one…

 

Saskatoon’s velours Cuts The “Summer Haze” With Release of New Single & Album, Identity

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Saskatoon’s velours Cuts The “Summer Haze” With Release of New Single & Album, Identity

At 10,000+ views and rising, alt-pop, electro-synth and velvet-voiced Saskatoon-based artist velours is cutting through the “Summer Haze” with the release of her new single and EP Identity — both available now.

“‘Summer Haze’ was the most intimate song I had written for Identity, and it’s meant to evoke a feeling of renewal… An escape from an internal cage,” she considers. “The afternoon I wrote it, I was inspired by the realization that it’s okay to not know the ending to the story of my life, and that I’m fine to still be messy. And that none of this makes me any less of a complex and strong person.

“I usually begin writing my songs with the first line,” she continues. “This one was ‘still think I’m messy and I’m intimate / with only myself to fit inside my home,’ and (it’s about) how I know who I am more than anyone else does. The term ‘Summer Haze’ sounds sweet and pleasant initially, but it paints a picture of how we sometimes ignore our feelings and get stuck in the haze of everyday life. The storm represents the harsh reality of experiencing hard times to come out the other side stronger.

“I hope this song shows you can overcome the hardest parts of your life, and that it’s better to face the storm than it is to stay in the haze.

“And that it’s okay to be ‘unfinished’ as long as you remember how capable you are.”

The song reflects the larger imprint of Identity, she adds. “The album is about finding yourself and knowing that that’s a constant journey. There’s a narrative that developed in these four songs, even though it wasn’t intentional when I was initially writing each song individually. I could spend literal hours talking about the lyrics…”

With features on CBC, velours has also been selected for a SaskMusic Songwriting Challenge, a semi-finalist for the Unsigned Only Music Competition, and has performed at the TSAR Showcase, in Yorkton as part of the International Women’s Day concert, and the SaskMusic Open House Livestream.

“velours channels a colourful range of textures and emotions to create earworms well beyond her years,” Versa Films’ Dylan Hryciuk says. “The Identity EP speaks to an artist who is unapologetically a work-in-progress, which is powerfully vulnerable and something we can all relate to.”

Produced by multi-Platinum JUNO Award-winning songwriter Ryan Stewart (Carly Rae Jepsen, Bif Naked, CARYS), Identity is available now.

Toronto, ON’s Folk Troubadour HOWARD GLADSTONE Releases New Single “Paradise, Passing Through”

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Toronto, ON’s Folk Troubadour HOWARD GLADSTONE Releases New Single “Paradise, Passing Through”

Toronto’s contemporary folk-rocker Howard Gladstone sings of “Paradise, Passing Through” in this, his newest single — available now.

The song is the first to arrive ahead of Gladstone’s forthcoming and sixth album, The Promise, set for release October 9th, 2020.

“Paradise, Passing Through” was composed during a marvelous trip through Polynesia that offered time for musical reflections on history, art, beauty, inspiration, colonization, religion, commerce, even the transitory nature of our time in the world, Gladstone shares. The song has a dreamy, lush tonality that drifts between major and minor coupled with haunting imagery reinforced by Kevin Laliberte’s precise guitar work.

The resonant collection of nine songs on The Promise are contemporary yet highly personal reflections of the singer/songwriter’s and feature some of his most thoughtful and heartfelt lyrics to date; rich with allusive language and poignant moments of pure poetry throughout, these layered lyrics are compellingly matched by Gladstone’s intimate and summoning vocal style.

This is an album with a clear narrative arc; it begins at a place of shining hopes, dreams and memories in ‘Woodstock Fifty’ but, in the end, leaves at a crucial, critical juncture focusing attention on the climate crisis in ‘Crossroads’ where those dreams and hopes are in peril.

Between these, there are many interesting stops — both utopian and dystopian — along the way, including examining the fate of exiles in “Birds of Spain,” visiting the south seas in “Paradise, Passing Through,” or waltzing while the empire crumbles in “It All Falls Down.”

“The title song ‘The Promise’ lets us know that for every stormy sky, there’s one of blue, while ‘Someday’ hints at a better tomorrow,” Gladstone says.

Kevin Laliberte (guitar), Russ Boswell (bass), Marito Marques (drums) accompany Gladstone on “Paradise, Passing Through,” as well as six of the album’s nine songs. Laura Fernandez and Julie Gladstone add background vocals, and Bob Cohen plays guitar/bass on three of the folkier songs on The Promise.

How to Optimize Windows 10 for Gaming? Here Are Reliable Guides

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Nowadays, PC games have become one of the most popular entertainments. However, when playing games on PC, some users complain that the games on Windows 10 are slow, the computer lags and their game experiences are poor.

So, is it possible for you to make games run faster on Windows 10? Of course, you can optimize Windows 10 for gaming. In general, the PC game performance may be affected by the graphics card, CPU, memory, hard disk, network, etc. So, this post will show you how to optimize Windows 10 for gaming. To boost computer performance for gaming, you can choose to optimize Windows 10 game mode, disable Nagle’s Algorithm, upgrade hard drive to SSD via MiniTool ShadowMaker, tweak visual effects settings, perform high-performance power plan, update GPU drivers, etc.

Therefore, in this post, we will show you the detailed instructions for optimizing Windows 10 for gaming.

How to Optimize Windows 10 for Gaming?

Way 1. Optimize Windows 10 with Game Mode

As for how to improve gaming performance on Windows 10, you can choose to optimize Windows 10 with Game Mode.

Now, here is the tutorial.

  1. Press Windows key and I key together to open Settings.
  2. Then choose Gaming.
  3. In the pop-up window, click Game Mode on the left panel and then switch the button of Use Game Mode to on.

After that, reboot your computer and re-launch the games and check whether its performance has been improved.

Way 2. Disable Nagle’s Algorithm

Nagle’s Algorithm is a way to improve the efficiency of TCP/IP networks by decreasing the number of packets that need to be sent over the network.

So, in order to improve game performance on Windows 10, you can try disabling Nagle’s Algorithm.

Now, here is the tutorial.

  1. Press Windows key and R key together to open Run
  2. Then type regedit in the box and click OK to continue.
  3. Navigate to the path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces
  4. To access the file, match your IP address to the listed DhcpIPAddressin one of those folders.
  5. Right-click it and choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
  6. Create two new keys and name them as TcpAckFrequencyand TCPNoDelay.
  7. After that, double-click them and change their value data to 1.

Once all steps are finished, reboot your computer and run game again and check whether the performance has changed.

Way 3. Upgrade Hard Drive to SSD

As is well known, the performance of an SSD is better than HDD. So, in order to improve computer performance and game performance, you can try upgrading hard drive to SSD. You can choose to replace original system disk with a new SSD and reinstall the operating system, but, this way would lead to data loss. Hence, you can choose to clone OS from HDD to SSD without data loss with MiniTool ShadowMaker.

MiniTool Software company has been dedicated to developing reliable data backup and restore utility,  data recovery software, disk partition management software for users from 180+ countries and areas for over 10 years. Trusted by many industry experts, MiniTool  products have got featured authoritative technology sites such as TechRadar, PCWorld, CNET,  Softpedia, LifeHacker, FileHorse, and more.

Now, here is the tutorial.

  1. Connect the new SSD to your computer.
  2. Install MiniTool ShadowMaker and launch it.
  3. Then go to the Tools page, and choose Clone Disk.
  4. Click the Source module to choose a disk clone source. Here, you need to choose the original system disk.
  5. Then click the Destination module to choose a target disk. Here, you need to select the new SSD.
  6. Then click OK to start hard drive upgrading process.

After the disk cloning process is finished, disconnect the original system hard drive and boot your computer to enter BIOS. Then set the target SSD as the default first boot sequence. Then reboot your computer to check whether your Windows 10 runs faster and check whether the gaming performance is boosted.

Way 4. Tweak Visual Effects Settings

In order to optimize Windows 10 for gaming, you can try tweaking visual effects settings.

Now, here is the tutorial.

  1. Type view advanced system settings in the search box of Windows and choose the best-matched one.
  2. In the pop-up window, navigate to the Advanced
  3. Then click Settings under Performance
  4. Next, switch to the Visual Effects
  5. Check the option Adjust for best performance.
  6. At last, click Apply and OK to save the changes.

Once all steps are finished, reboot your computer to make these settings take effect and run game again and check whether the game performance is improved.

Way 5. Use High-Performance Power Plan

Changing power plan may help you to optimize Windows 10 for gaming since power plans are designed to better manage battery use on portable devices.

Now, here is the tutorial.

  1. Press Windows key and I key together to open Settings.
  2. Then System.
  3. In the pop-up window, choose Power & sleep in the left panel.
  4. Then click Additional power settings on the right panel.
  5. Next, click Show additional plans and check the option High performance.

After all steps are finished, reboot your computer and check whether the game performance is improved.

Way 6. Update GPU Driver

The Graphic Processor Unit is the core of your PC gaming experiences and it requires the latest Windows driver to keep games run faster and better.

So, in order to optimize Windows 10 for gaming and improve the game performance, you can choose to update GPU driver.

Now, here is the tutorial.

  1. Press Windows key and R key together to open Run
  2. Type msc in the box and click OK to continue.
  3. In the Device Manager window, expand the Display adapter and select the driver on your computer.
  4. Right-click it and choose Update driver.
  5. Then select Search automatically for updated driver software and follow the on-screen wizard to continue.

Besides this way to update GPU driver, you can also download it from the official site and install it on your computer.

After all steps are finished, reboot your computer and run games again to check whether the gaming performance is improved.

As for how to optimize Windows 10 for gaming, this post has shown 6 reliable solutions. Apart from these, you can also try to manage active hours on PC, prevent Steam from auto-updating games, disable mouse acceleration, install DirectX 12, etc. So, try these ways to optimize Windows 10 for gaming and improve game performance.

Toronto Alt-Folk Singer/Songwriter, Poet & Producer IMOGEN JOY Summons a Muse All Her Own in New Single “My Marianne”

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Toronto Alt-Folk Singer/Songwriter, Poet & Producer IMOGEN JOY Summons a Muse All Her Own in New Single “My Marianne”

Canadian alt-folk pop singer/songwriter, poet and producer Imogen Joy summons a muse all her own with the release of her new single, “My Marianne” — available now.

“This song is about dipping into different memories,” Joy says. “I say ‘do our little moments blur?’ and that’s exactly what the song is doing: blurring together the highs and lows of having a connection with someone, as well as the simultaneous burden and privilege it is to love someone.

“I’d read this letter Leonard Cohen wrote to Marianne Ihlen as she was passing away,” the Toronto-based artist adds, recalling the song’s inspiration. “It was basically an ode to his muse and friend, and said he wasn’t far behind her.

“After reading that letter, I immediately thought of the person I write all my songs about. I’ve always developed really intense relationships with people and knew I’d be writing a letter like that one day to ‘my’ Marianne.”

Known for captivating and heartbreakingly honest lyrics laden with a dark humour, and with music features on CBC Radio2, Toronto New Wave — plus poetry printed in various publications, including Toronto’s Young Voices — Imogen Joy’s dynamic portfolio gleans inspiration from many facets. “If you could see my tattoos, you would know I’m a big Beat Writers fan. I grew up reading Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, and there was something about the way they approached life that I admired and wanted to emulate.

“I always wanted my songs to paint a portrait of my life that was beautiful to look at, and I also want my music to sound like Leonard Cohen walked through a forest, and then went to a rave.

“That said, I hope others find glimpses of themselves in my words, as well. I recently lost someone very close to me and, as I was writing a song about her, I came up with ‘she wouldn’t have thought it was depressing, she would’ve known you’re meant to laugh.’

“I think about this a lot as I write,” she considers. “Just like when I cook, sweet, salty, spicy and sour elements must be perfectly balanced, I try to write ‘balanced’ as well; sadness balanced with comedy, self-indulgence balanced with the bigger picture.”

How Many Miles are Too Many for a Used Car?

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Most of the people prefer to buy a used car instead of a new car for the sake of saving money. However, if you visit the market for buying a used car then you probably think that how many miles are too many for purchasing a used car.

Vehicle maintenance is the most important feature in this regard because the engine lifetime is dependent on this factor. If the car is incorporated with proper maintenance, then the total miles covered by the car doesn’t leave any harsh damage to the engine and its lifetime.

If you are looking to buy a used car, then besides its total mileage it is important to check its online car History check  to identify whether the car has clean financial and damage records or not.

Here are some details for how many miles are too many for the used cars:

How to analyze the car total miles covered?

Comparing two cars having everything equal except the total mileage i.e. one vehicle has covered 25,000 miles and the other vehicle has covered 50,000 miles, it is obvious that the car with low mileage is more appropriate to purchase.

To analyze the condition based on the mileage is sometimes not a better option to rely on. For example, the car having high mileage has been driven on the clean roads of the highway and is in better shape than the car with low mileage that was involved in a rental business or is driven on bad condition roads.

A car with multiple owners with poor maintenance having low mileage is considered to be less likely as compared to the car having a single owner with proper maintenance and high mileage.

According to the Environmental protection agency in the USA, 15,000 miles per year is considered to be an industry average for every vehicle.  If a car is 10 years old and has a mileage of around 100,000 miles, then it’s a reasonable mileage for the car. However, if the car has covered more than 100,000 miles in ten years, then it needs proper investigation before buying it.

Maintenance records

Mileage is not the only indicator to look for while purchasing a used car. The condition of the car also matters whether the car is favorable to buy or not.

Examine the condition of the vehicle by looking at its interior and exterior parts. If the interior and exterior parts are not properly maintained, then it indicates that the car is not properly maintained by the owner.

On the other hand, a car with clean and properly maintained interior and exterior parts indicates that the owner has put a dedicated effort to maintain the car in a good shape. These used cars are reliable to buy regardless of the mileage history.

Total miles left  

Every car brand encompasses an average mile mark which represents the total lifetime of the car engine concerning the mileage covered by the vehicle.  If a car has covered a mileage of 150,000 miles and the average mile mark of that car is 250,000 miles, then it indicates that the buyer has 100,00 miles left on the vehicle.

If the buyer drives 15,000 miles a year, then the vehicle can be used for the next 7 years with 100,000 left in its lifetime. This is not a bad option to opt as these are enough miles to cover for a used car.

All high mileage cars are not equal

Many car brands hold their repute for a high number of miles’ coverage by the car. For instance, brands like Toyota, Honda, Audi, and Mercedes are well reputed for their extraordinary performance in terms of mileage. These brands are preferred by most of the buyers regarding mileage.

If you consult with the Honda or Toyota company agents regarding the total mileage of their cars, then they will answer that 100,000 miles have a negligible effect on their car engines if they are well maintained.

These above points are important to consider in terms of considering the mileage for the used car.

 

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That Eric Alper

Eric Alper is a 6-time nominee for Publicist of the Year during Canadian Music Week and has overseen the publicity campaigns for over 183 JUNO Award-nominated albums (and 16 in 2025), 45 Grammy-nominated albums, including 47 JUNO Award, 58 Canadian Folk Music Award, 126 Maple Blues Award-winning albums and is also truly honoured to work with some of the biggest and most important artists of our time.

Contact me: eric@thatericalper.com

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