How do 309 people not like this and give it a thumbs-down? Do they not like rainbows and puppies, too?
Google is launching a music festival called Good Fest to benefit us all
Google has launched its own music festival – GOODFest — a first-of-its-kind livestream festival for good — presented by Pixel, a phone by Google. GOODFest is a celebration of progress, positivity, and the power of people to push the world forward. In five livestreamed shows, they’re bringing together music, community, and technology to raise funds and connect people in the name of good.
The concerts will raise money for non-profits through ticket sales and online donations. 100% of the ticket sales for the Glass Animals gig, for example, will go to DonorsChoose.org. Future events as part of the festival are being billed as played for “humanity,” “earth,”equality,” and “love.” Upcoming concerts will include artists such as Gogol Bordello and D.R.A.M.
Universal U.K. chief: “New Songs Have To Compete With The Beatles”
Universal U.K. chieftain David Joseph is bang-on correct here.
There’s been talk this year about the lack of breakthrough U.K. acts and stagnancy of the charts. What’s your response to that, and how do we measure success going forward?
Looking at this at a macro level, since we’ve moved to on-air, on-sale and global release date, the market’s grown. We went with the technology and the immediacy, and as a result, fans are getting what they want, which is the whole of the world’s music library in their back pocket on their phone. It’s also created a time of arguably the biggest music-discovery journeys ever, and the democratization of music—by which I mean when a new song is released, it has to compete on a streaming platform with a song by The Beatles. That creates wonders and challenges but, all in all, is good for the fan. There has been a lack of breakthroughs, but it’s not something I’m concerned about long-term. It’s part of a cycle of creativity and the democratization I mentioned before. It’s also honest and transparent, because the system is real, and we mustn’t fight against that. We’ll measure success going forward in exactly the same way as we’ve always done, which is by artists and music that break in local markets and travel globally. That hasn’t changed, although it is possible for artists to travel globally more quickly now. Breaking artists has never been easy, nor could it be.
Bono Revived His MacPhisto Alter Ego with The Killers on ‘Jimmy Kimmel’
Jimmy Kimmel created a special song called“We’re Going to Hell for their special (RED) show to help the fight against AIDS. The song features Jimmy, Julia Roberts, Kristen Bell, DJ Khaled, The Killers, Channing Tatum, Neil Patrick Harris and Halsey. Some guy named Bono revived his long-dormant MacPhisto alter ego for the performance, too.
Mother Mother Announce 2017 Headlining Canadian Tour
Vancouver-based alt-rockers, Mother Mother, today announced their 2017 Canadian headlining tour, which will kick off in Moncton, NB on February 23. The tour will see Mother Mother hitting twenty-five cities and travelling from coast-to-coast before wrapping in their hometown of Vancouver, BC with four nights at the historic Commodore Ballroom. Joining the band on tour from March 3 – 26 is American alternative indie and hip hop singer-songwriter, K. Flay. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, December 2 at 10am local time.
The Juno and MMVA nominated Vancouver-based band, comprised of Ryan Guldemond, Molly Guldemond, Jasmin Parkin, Mike Young, and Ali Siadat, earned critical acclaim with their first two outings Touch Up (2007) and O My Heart (2008). Their next two releases Eureka (2011) and The Sticks (2012) delivered the top 5 radio hits “The Stand”, “Bit By Bit” and “Let’s Fall In Love”, making the band the second most aired alternative act in Canada in 2012 and 2013. In 2014 they racked up more hits with “Get Out The Way”, “Monkey Tree” and “Modern Love” from their much-lauded record Very Good Bad Thing. Since then, they’ve garnered over 5 top ten singles on the alt rock charts, over 1.5 million streams on Spotify and over 1.3 million views on Youtube.
VIP packages are available November 25 at 11am EST and include a meet and greet and acoustic performance by the band, as well as an exclusive T-shirt design by Molly Guldemond. Visit www.mothermothervip.com for details.
“We are so very excited to take this new music on the road. It’s in this realm where the connection with our songs, our fans, and ourselves as musicians truly deepens. It’s where the circle completes itself,” comments frontman and creative force Ryan Guldemond.
On February 10, 2017 via Universal Music Canada, Mother Mother will be releasing their sixth studio album NO CULTURE. Co-produced by Brian Howes, Ryan Guldemond and Jason “JVP” Van Poederooyen, the new album delivers a timely statement underpinned by the belief that love wins in a society continuously nurturing a fear-based culture.
The pre-order is available now for NO CULTURE and features two instant grat tracks – one is their current single “The Drugs” and the other “Love Stuck” which, until today, has not been available for public consumption. There will also be a special pre-order package that comes with a limited edition clear vinyl copy of the record, four lithograph prints as well as a limited edition poster. Tickets, VIP packages, and pre-orders can be purchased via Mother Mother’s website mothermothersite.com.
Mother Mother Tour Dates:
02/23 – Moncton, NB @ Tide & Boar Ballroom
02/24 – Halifax, NS @ The Marquee Ballroom
02/25 – Halifax, NS @ The Marquee Ballroom
02/28 – Peterborough, ON @ The Venue
03/02 – Kingston, ON @ The Ale House
03/03 – Ottawa, ON @ The National Arts Centre, Southam Hall*
03/04 – Montreal, QC @ L’Astral*
03/06 – Oshawa, ON @ The Music Hall*
03/07 – Waterloo, ON @ Maxwell’s Concerts & Events*
03/09 – Hamilton, ON @ Hamilton Place Theatre*
03/10 – London, ON @ London Music Hall*
03/11 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall*
03/14 – Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre*
03/15 – Saskatoon, SK @ O’Brians Event Centre*
03/16 – Edmonton, AB @ Shaw Conference Centre*
03/17 – Grande Prairie, AB @ Better Than Fred’s*
03/18 – Red Deer, AB @ Bo’s Bar & Grill*
03/20 – Calgary, AB @ Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium*
03/21 – Nelson, BC @ Spiritbar At The Hume Hotel*
03/22 – Kelowna, BC @ Kelowna Community Theatre*
03/24 – Victoria, BC @ Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre*
03/25 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom*
03/26 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom* All Ages Afternoon Rock Show
03/28 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
03/29 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
*With special guest K. Flay
Security departments can turn headphones into microphones
Security researchers at Israel’s Ben Gurion University have created a proof-of-concept exploit that lets them turn headphones into microphones to secretly record conversations. The PoC, called “Speake(a)r,” first turned headphones connected to a PC into microphones and then tested the quality of sound recorded by a microphone vs. headphones on a target PC. In short, the headphones were nearly as good as an unpowered microphone at picking up audio in a room.
The hack is fairly ingenious. It essentially “retasks” the RealTek audio codec chip output found in many desktop computers into an input channel. This means you can plug your headphones into a seemingly output-only jack and hackers can still listen in. “Our experiments demonstrate that intelligible audio can be acquired through earphones and can then be transmitted distances up to several meters away,” wrote researcher Mordecai Guri. “In addition, we showed that the same setup achieves channel capacity rates close to 1 Kbps in a wide range of frequencies.”
Infographic: How Social Media Influences Online Shoppers
The rise of social media over the past decade has not only changed the way people communicate, it has undoubtedly also had an impact on how they shop, be it online or at a boutique around the corner.
Before making a purchase, consumers now have the chance to scroll through thousands of product photos on Instagram or Pinterest, look for promotions on a retailer’s Facebook page or scroll through comments in a brand’s Twitter feed.
According to PwC’s Total Retail 2016, a global survey of nearly 23,000 people, 78 percent of consumers are influenced by social media when shopping online. The following chart sums up in which ways social media affects online shopping behavior.
You will find more statistics at Statista
The Story of Rubber Duckies and How They Came to Make Bathtime Lots Of Fun
In 1970, everyone’s favorite orange roommate sang a song to his bathtime buddy. “Oh, rubber duckie, you’re the one. You make bathtime lots of fun,” cooed Ernie to his squeaky yellow friend. While the rubber duckie had been around for at least a century prior to Ernie and his mellow melody, this Sesame Street tune shoved the bathtime toy into the popular culture lexicon where it has remained ever since. From a chew toy to a piece of art to Ernie’s best friend (sorry, Bert), here’s the story of how the world got into the bath with the rubber duckie.
Duran Duran bassist John Taylor and Roger Taylor release song created with at-risk youth
Check out “No Rewind”, a new track written & recorded by Road Recovery’s youth band Type II with some help from Duran Duran’s John Taylor & Roger Taylor!
Road Recovery helps young people battle addiction and other adversities by harnessing the influence of entertainment industry professionals who have confronted similar crises and now wish to share their experience, knowledge and resources. With support from the mental health field, Road Recovery provides hands-on mentorship training, educational/performance workshops, peer-support networking and “all access” to real-life opportunities by collaborating with young people to create and present live-concert events.
Malcolm McLaren’s Son Burns Original Sex Pistols Record
Joe Corré, the son of Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren and fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, burnt his original acetate of the Sex Pistols’ classic single “Anarchy in the U.K.” on Tuesday evening after it failed to sell on eBay.
Corré, who is the co-founder of lingerie brand Agent Provocateur, made headlines in March when he announced his plans to torch his entire extensive lot of punk memorabilia, citing disgust with how punk has been appropriated by the commercial sector and the state.
The single was placed on eBay last week, and reached a high bid of nearly $78,000 by Nov. 17. Corré took it down for failing to reach the reserve price, which he’d set at a million British pounds (around $1,243,000 USD), and proceeded to light the disc up in flames.