No Rick Rolling here.
My Next Read: The Ox: The Last of the Great Rock Stars: The Authorised Biography of The Who’s John Entwistle
It is an unequivocal fact that in terms of rock bands, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Who represent Year Zero; the beginning of all things, ground-breakers all. To that incontrovertible end, John Entwistle, the Who’s beloved bassist, is also without question one of the most important and influential figures in the annals of rock.
John Entwistle was a rock star in most everything that he was seen to do and of the grand old school – all swagger, joie de vivre and boundless consumption.
With the full co-operation of the Entwistle family and the Who’s long-term management, Trinifold, The Ox: The Last of the Great Rock Stars: The Authorised Biography of The Who’s John Entwistle will shine a long overdue light on one of the single greatest, and most impactful, figures in rock history.
1-minute tip for artists: Record Store Day
The June 20 date for Record Store Day Canada, itself a replacement for the original April 18 event, has been cancelled due to ongoing store closures resulting from the pandemic. Instead, the titles originally slated for release are to be divided up over three Saturday “RSD Drops”: August 29, September 26, and October 24.
You can publish the info as is and let your fans know about the new dates or, this is also your opp to share about fun stuff on vinyl: YOUR release on vinyl, the first album you bought on vinyl, the oldest vinyl in your collection, why you love vinyl, a photo or video of you with your fave album or record player … anything, really!
Sultans of String Win Two Awards in the 18th Annual Independent Music Awards
With the world in lock-down, The 18th annual Independent Music Awards (The IMAs) canceled this year’s live ceremony, and instead today announced the year’s best self-released and indie label projects online. Sultans of String, Lucinda Williams, Jesse Malin, Jonatha Brooke, Heilung, Sofía Rei & JC Maillard, Kevin Hays & Chiara Izzi, Sawyer Fredericks, Jake La Botz, John Fields, The Dollyrots, Mary Fahl and Sekou Andrews are among the established and emerging artists from around the globe recognized by The 18th IMAs.
“We are so grateful that Sultans of String and our Refuge CD are among the year’s winning music projects in the The Independent Music Awards. This was truly a work of the heart, and we are so happy for these awards, to give this project and all our guest artists more visibility!” says bandleader, violinist and co-producer Chris McKhool, of Sultans of String. “Special shout out and thank you to co-producer John Bailey. Together, we travelled from Jukasa Media Group on Canadian First Nations land to New York, Istanbul and beyond to craft the sound of this epic culture-spanning album”.
Together they took home:
Instrumental Song Award
Sultans of String – The Grand Bazaar (feat. Béla Fleck & Robi Botos) – Instrumental Song
World Producer Award
Chris McKhool, John “Beetle” Bailey – Sultans of String – Refuge – World Producer
Sultans of String – The Power of the Land – feat. Duke Redbird and Twin Flames
The IMAs annual show and accompanying Indie Music Konference originally scheduled as 3-day June event in New York City, were cancelled as a result of the global pandemic. Instead, the winners in 104 Music, Video and Design categories, were announced this week on the The Independent Music Awards website and other online platforms. Branded playlists on YouTube, Facebook and Spotify feature award-winning music, artist interviews and other video content from honorees and Judges created from their quarantine hideaways around the world.
The winning projects were selected by influential judging panelists including: Tom Waits & Kathleen Brennan, Robert Smith, Ziggy Marley, KT Tunstall, Dee Snider, Drowning Pool, Roberta Flack, Jaci Velasquez, Coolio, Joshua Bell, Beth Gibbons, Joe Satriani and many more indie creatives, top recording artists and industry influencers.
“This project centres around the positive contributions of refugees and new immigrants,” Sultans of String’s Chris McKhool offers, recalling his own grandfather who stowed away on a Lebanese ship bound for North America a century ago. “Each one of us in the world has a remarkable story to tell…
“For this album, we brought in over 30 special guests who are newcomers to Canada and the U.S., as well as global talents that have been ambassadors for peace,” he continues of the dynamic selection of collaborators, many of whom are GRAMMY and JUNO Award winners. “Refuge shares the beauty of these collaborations that feature special guests from First Nations, Turkey, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Greece, Syria, Mexico, Portugal, Cuba, and Sudan.
“We wish to celebrate the successes of those who make the journey here, and bring their extraordinary talents with them. We hope the kinds of conversations we can have as musicians can provide a model for peace that our politicians and citizens find inspiration from.”
In addition to McKhool (Jesse Cook, Pavlo, and collaborations with Richard Bona, Béla Fleck), Sultans of String are Kevin Laliberté (Jesse Cook), Drew Birston (Chantal Kreviazuk), Eddie Paton, and Rosendo Chendy Leon (Alex Cuba).
The five-piece are coming up on their 13th anniversary as a band, and have amassed an impressive discography of albums following their 2007 debut, Luna, including Yalla Yalla! (2009), Move (2011), Symphony! (2013), Subcontinental Drift (2015) and Subcontinental Drift (Deluxe) (2016), 10 (Remastered) (2017), Christmas Caravan (2017), and now Refuge (2020).
Together, they create a musical synergy that strikes inimitable — which explains their more than 40 awards and nominations, including three JUNO Award nominations, four Canadian Folk Music Awards, first place in the International Songwriting Competition (out of 15,000 entries), plus many more. They’ve toured extensively internationally at notable venues and festivals, including JUNOFest, Glasgow’s Celtic Connections, NYC’s Birdland, and selling out Koerner Hall several times over, landed on the New York Times and Billboard Magazine charts, and enjoyed appearances on BBC, CBC, Irish National Radio, NPR, SiriusXM, and then some.
In addition to bringing awareness to the topics surrounding Refuge, Sultans of String have continued to raise funds in support of the UN Refugee Agency; the $8,000 raised so far in 2020 will help provide medical supplies and attention, as well as clean water and shelter to some of the 70 million displaced peoples around the globe.
Effects and Potential Solutions of Overpopulations
Today, we suffer from a “population explosion.” This means that the world’s population has been booming rapidly, rising to unwanted numbers. Looking back at history, the world’s population in 3,000 BC was an estimated 200 million, but now the world’s population has gone up to 7 billion. As we arrive at an environmental tipping position, we have to find solutions for this speedy growth. Overpopulation can contain a numeral of effects, the majority of which are negative as examined below.
- Lack of Water
- Lower Life Expectancy
- Extinction
- Resource Consumption
- Increased Intensive Farming
- Faster Climate Change
Lack of Water:
Overpopulation creates superior demand for the world’s freshwater supplies. As only approximately 1% of the world’s water is clean and accessible, this creates a key issue. Some estimates state that humans require freshwater will stand at approximately 70% of what is obtainable on the planet by 2025. This will position those living in poor areas that already have partial access to such water in great danger.
Lower Life Expectancy:
While higher life expectancy is leading to increases in population in developed countries, lower life expectancy may be caused by the booms in a population that less developed nations are experiencing. A large proportion of the world’s population growth occurs in less developed countries. These stretch the resources these countries have thinner resultant in less right to use to medical care, fresh water, food and jobs, all consequential in a fall in life expectancy.
Extinction:
The outcome of overpopulation on the world’s natural world is moreover a major issue. As demand for land grows, so too does the destruction of natural habitats, such as forests. Some scientists caution that if their trends continue, as many as 50% of the world’s wildlife species will be at hazard of death. Data has also been collected to show that there is a direct link between increases in the human population and decreases in the number of species on the planet.
Resource Consumption:
As the population grows, so too does the number of resources required to keep so many people alive. Food, water, and fossil fuels are all organisms consumed at record rates, placing superior demands on producers and the planet itself. Ironically, it is the discovery of many of these natural resources – particularly fossil fuels – that have contributed to conditions that are favorable to population growth. A study has shown that the world’s ecosystem changed more rapidly in the latter half of the twentieth century than at any other point in history because of the increased use of these resources.
Increased Intensive Farming:
As the population has full-grown over the years, farming practice has evolved to produce sufficient food to feed larger numbers of people. Still, intensive farming methods also reason spoil to local ecosystems and the land, which may fake problems in the future. Furthermore, intensive farming is also considered a major contributor to climate change due to the machinery required. This effect will likely make stronger if the population continues to produce at its existing rate.
Faster Climate Change:
Overpopulation straight correlates to the type of weather change, mostly as larger nations, like China and India, keep on to develop their industrial capacities. They now rank as two of the three largest contributors to emissions in the world, alongside the United States. 97% of the scientific community agrees that human activities are changing global temperatures. Higher populations may rate these changes up, particularly if more is not complete to decrease individual carbon footprints on a large scale.
So now we know more about overpopulation and the effects it can have, but what can be done about it? There are a number of proposed solutions.
- Better sex education
- Access to Contraceptives
- Changes in Policy
- Education on the Subject
Better sex education:
A lack of sex education – or poorly-implemented education – has led to overpopulation issues in many countries. The issue is so pronounced that the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is calling for improvements to be made, particularly in poorer areas of the world.
Better education https://heatfeed.com/education/ will help people understand more about the potential consequences of having sex as they relate to childbirth. It will moreover do away with a lot of the myths that surround the sexual do something and bring in scientifically-proven methods of birth control.
Access to Contraceptives:
Access to birth control must go hand-in-hand with better sex education. After all, lacking it people cannot set what they have educated into put into practice. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that 225 million women who are living in developing countries would prefer to postpone giving birth but are not using any form of contraception. Many organizations, such as the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), also support improving access to contraceptives.
Changes in Policy:
Many nations offer rewards, whether in the form of financial incentives or increased benefits, to those who have more children. This may lead to some couples having more children than they otherwise would if they needed to worry about the financial consequences. This is a difficult issue to confront.
Education on the Subject:
While a number of organizations exist to provide schools with curricula and teaching materials to cover the subject of overpopulation, it is still a subject that is not covered in schools as well as it should be. This education is supposed to expand beyond a discussion about sex and into the global consequences of overpopulation. Dialog about the subject needs to be more open, with sites like debate.org offering useful resources that allow the issue to be confronted rationally.
Overpopulation is a disaster that potentially stands besides climate change as one of the major challenges facing humanity nowadays. Regardless of this, there is little in the means of education or dialog relating to the issue, mostly in schools. If this doesn’t change, the issues highlighted in this article may carry on to rise unabated. If that happens, this one matter could have a knock-on effect that will show the way to untold harms in the future. If you wish to share your own opinions about overpopulation, please do continue the debate in the comments section below. Alternatively, share this article on social media to encourage a conversation in your own community.
Ignite TV brings you XITE: The ultimate music video streaming experience
While Canadians have been catching up on their favourite TV shows and movies, we’ve partnered with XITE, an interactive music video streaming app, to give Ignite TV customers access to a comprehensive music experience so they can immerse themselves in the videos they love, and discover new videos to fall in love with.
From the latest music videos, to emerging artists and classic throwbacks, XITE has it all! With up to 100 curated music video channels in an array of genres, decades, moods, themes, activities, and more, XITE has something for everyone. Customize your experience by liking and skipping music videos; the more you interact with the XITE app, the more personalized the experience will be.
XITE features to discover:
- New videos added daily
- Up to 100 themed channels
- Like and skip music videos
- Save your liked music videos to create your own channel of favourites
- Create your own channel with the Mixer feature
XITE is available as a free, ad-supported app or via XITE Premium, an ad-free experience for $7.99/month with features such as unlimited skips, personalized dynamic playlists and more.
Discover by saying “XITE (‘excite’)” into the Ignite TV voice remote or find it in the app section – then turn it up!
Gwar ‘s Over/Under is just as bizarre as you would expect
Watch GWAR rate Kittens, Premarital Sex, and Elon Musk. They also rate toilet paper, Rihanna, God and more in this episode of “Over/Under.”
Jeff Tweedy Rates Stuffed Crust Pizza, Men’s Jewelry and High School Reunions
Jeff Tweedy also rates bread bowls, metal drummers, and more in this episode of Over/Under.
‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ For The Cornoavirus-Era
Daniel Matarrazo clearly enjoyed making Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious to address the current status of the worldwide health situation, and you will, too. Here’s Super Bad Transmittable Contagious Awful Virus!

