#there r some that are on sale for like 40 but the reviews r so mixed

[tamagotchikgs]

i really wanted 2 try n get some new headphones w the money i got for christmas but a..a... it is so hard to find any w actual good reviews that arent like $100+

[atlanticcanada]

'Barbie' takes the box office crown and 'Oppenheimer' soars in a historic weekend

"Barbenheimer" didn't just work -- it spun box office gold. The social media-fuelled fusion of Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" and Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" brought moviegoers back to the theatres in record numbers this weekend, vastly outperforming projections and giving a glimmer of hope to the lagging exhibition business, amid the sobering backdrop of strikes.

Warner Bros.' "Barbie" claimed the top spot with a massive US$155 million in ticket sales from North American theaters from 4,243 locations, surpassing "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" (as well as every Marvel movie this year) as the biggest opening of the year and breaking the first weekend record for a film directed by a woman. Universal's "Oppenheimer" also soared past expectations, taking in US$80.5 million from 3,610 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, marking Nolan's biggest non-Batman debut and one of the best-ever starts for an R-rated biographical drama.

It's also the first time that one movie opened to more than US$100 million and another movie opened to more than US$80 million in the same weekend. When all is settled, it will likely turn out to be the fourth biggest box office weekend of all time with over US$300 million industrywide. And all this in a marketplace that increasingly curved towards intellectual property-driven winner takes all.

The "Barbenheimer" phenomenon may have started out as good-natured competition between two aesthetic opposites, but, as many hoped, both movies benefitted in the end. Internationally, "Barbie" earned US$182 million from 69 territories, fueling a US$337 million global weekend. "Oppenheimer" did US$93.7 million from 78 territories, ranking above "Barbie" in India, for a US$174.2 million global total.

The only real casualty was "Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I," which despite strong reviews and a healthy opening weekend fell 64 per cent in weekend two. Overshadowed by the "Barbenheimer" glow as well as the blow of losing its IMAX screens to "Oppenheimer," the Tom Cruise vehicle added US$19.5 million, bringing its domestic total to US$118.8 million.

"Barbenheimer" is not merely counterprogramming either. But while a certain section of enthusiastic moviegoers overlapped, in aggregate the audiences were distinct.

Women drove the historic "Barbie" opening, making up 65 per cent of the audience, according to PostTrak, and 40 per cent of ticket buyers were under the age of 25 for the PG-13 rated movie.

"It's just a joyous time in the world. This is history in so many ways," said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.' president of domestic distribution. "I think this marketing campaign is one for the ages that people will be talking about forever."

"Oppenheimer" audiences meanwhile were 62 per cent male and 63 per cent over the age of 25, with a somewhat surprising 32 per cent that were between the ages of 18 and 24.

Both "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" scored well with critics with 90 per cent and 94 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively, and audiences who gave both films an A CinemaScore. And social media has been awash with reactions and "takes" all weekend -- good, bad, problematic and everywhere in between -- the kind of organic, event cinema, watercooler debate that no marketing budget can buy.

"The `Barbenheimer' thing was a real boost for both movies," Goldstein said. "It is a crowning achievement for all of us."

"Oppenheimer" had the vast majority (80 per cent) of premium large format screens at its disposal. Some 25 theatres in North America boasted IMAX 70mm screenings ( Nolan's preferred format ), most of which were completely sold out all weekend -- accounting for 2 per cent of the total gross. Theaters even scrambled to add more to accommodate the demand including 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. screenings, which also sold out.

"Nolan's films are truly cinematic events," said Jim Orr, Universal's president of domestic distribution.

IMAX showings alone made up 26 per cent of the domestic gross (or US$21.1 million) from only 411 screens and 20 per cent of the global gross, and "Oppenheimer" will have at least a three-week run on those high-demand screens.

"This is a phenomenon beyond compare," said Rich Gelfond, the CEO of IMAX, in a statement. "Around the world, we've seen sellouts at 4:00 a.m. shows and people travelling hours across borders to see `Oppenheimer' in IMAX 70mm."

This is the comeback weekend Hollywood has been dreaming of since the pandemic. There have been big openings and successes -- "Spider-Man: No Way Home," "Top Gun: Maverick," "Avatar: The Way of Water" among them, but the fact that two movies are succeeding at the same time is notable.

"It was a truly historic weekend and continues the positive box office momentum of 2023," said Michael O'Leary, President & CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners. "People recognized that something special was happening and they wanted to be a part of it."

And yet in the background looms disaster as Hollywood studios continue to squabble with striking actors and writers over a fair contract.

"Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" were the last films on the 2023 calendar to get a massive, global press tour. Both went right up to the 11th hour, squeezing in every last moment with their movie stars. "Oppenheimer" even pushed up its London premiere by an hour, knowing that Emily Blunt, Matt Damon and Cillian Murphy would have to leave to symbolically join the picket lines by the time the movie began.

Without movie stars to promote their films, studios have started pushing some falls releases, including the high-profile Zendaya tennis drama "Challengers."

But for now, it's simply a positive story that could even continue for weeks to come.

"There could be a sequel next weekend," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. "The FOMO factor will rachet up because of this monumental box office event centred around the movie theater experience."

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

"Barbie," US$155 million.

"Oppenheimer," US$80.5 million.

"Sound of Freedom," US$20.1 million.

"Mission: Impossible-Dead Reckoning Part I," US$19.5 million.

"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," US$6.7 million.

"Insidious: The Red Door," US$6.5 million.

"Elemental," US$5.8 million.

"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," US$2.8 million.

"Transformers: Rise of the Beasts," 1.1 million.

 "No Hard Feelings," US$1.1 million.

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/LGWXz7a

[thisaintascenereviews]

Thriller Turns 40: A Retrospective

The highest selling album of all time is Michael Jackson's Thriller, but there's a huge chance you already knew that. Released November 30th, 1982, this was (and still is) a monumental album. Most of the highest sellings albums of all time are there for a reason, and despite being overexposed to the point that everyone knows about it, it's worth people knowing about. Thriller is one of those iconic albums that everyone just knows. Even if you don't listen to Michael Jackson, you know who he is, and at least a couple of songs from this record. This record has seven number one singles on it, and chances are, you know all of those songs, including "Billie Jean," "Beat It," the title track, and a few more. This album is considered one of the key staples of the 1980s, if not the quintessential 1980s album, regardless of the genre. Thriller is also just one of the best albums of all time, and its status as being the best selling album of all time is warranted. In fact, this is the first pop album I ever heard around a decade ago. This is the album that I would show people who think "pop music is bad" and/or "pop music is meaningless garbage," which can be true in a lot of respects, but as is the case with most genres, it's not all bad. There are a lot of great things to be found, and in the case of pop music, Thriller is the apex of where the genre lives. I was one of those people that thought pop music was vapid garbage, but I decided to pick up Thriller one day at FYE during Christmastime when it was on sale, and that's the moment where my love for pop music really began. The only other "pop" album I had really listened to at that time was Patrick Stump's solo debut album from 2011, Soul Punk, but in my mind, I didn't consider that a pop album, solely due to it being from my favorite singer of my favorite pop-punk / emo band. Fall Out Boy were my life back then, and I loved Patrick Stump, and those things are true today, but I didn't consider that record truthfully pop.

Thriller, on the other hand, is a pop record. It's okay to say it. It's not a bad word. Right from the album starts, you're hit with "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" and it's such a fun, catchy, and energetic jam that has Jackson doing a bit of a post-disco number. It starts the album off on a bang, so to speak; Quincy Jones' production is just as important to this record's success as Jackson himself, but let's be fair -- Jackson is the biggest reason why this record works so well. If that first song doesn't hook you in, which it should, the rest surely should hook you in. Just on the first half alone, we're treated to the slower-ish song "Baby Be Mine," the Paul McCartney duet "The Girl Is Mine," which is one of my favorite songs on the record, and the title track, and that's one of the most important Halloween songs of all time. The rest, however, we've got cuts like "Billie Jean," "Beat It," "Human Nature," and one of my other favorite cuts, "PYT (Pretty Young Thing)." Honestly, I could make this review very long by talking about each song, and why each song is very good, but it comes down to a lot of the same elements -- Jackson's voice, the production, the writing, the lyrics, and the overall timelessness of the record. This album has a very interesting place in the canon of pop music by being so timeless. It transcends its time, if anything at all. Jackson's vocals are some of the best I've ever heard in anything, regardless of genre or decade. He can pull off a very softer tune or a more energetic song. That's another thing I like about this album a lot, and what makes it work so well, is that it's an album with a lot of variety. "Beat It," for example, is a song that Jackson wanted to do to show off his more "rock" side, as Eddie Van Halen performs the solo on it. But you have some post-disco, R&B, soul, and a lot of pop on it, too, so there's a lot of facets to this record that are more than just a standard pop cut.

In short, Thriller is one of my all time favorite albums, and even though everyone knows about this, and everyone has heard about this album, it's worth revisiting on its 40th anniversary. I've been playing it a lot throughout the last couple of weeks, and it never gets old with me; this is definitely one of my "desert island" albums, where if I were stranded on a desert island and could only have five albums, this would be one of them. I don't know who I'm trying to convince here, either, because isn't even a review, per se, it's just a lookback on a record that I love and that I've loved for years. Thriller was the first true "pop" album I got into, all because I wanted to get into other kinds of music. I had been trapped in a bubble for so long, and I wanted to get out of it, but if you're in the same boat, and you feel as though pop music is bad, and it's always been bad, listen to Thriller. If you're up for more of a challenge, or you want more, check out 1987's Bad, too, which isn't quite as great of an album (not because it doesn't have any great songs, and that album does turn 35 this year, but I don't feel like reviewing it or talking about it, minus here, because it's not as important or monumental), but it has songs like "Dirty Diana," "Smooth Criminal," "Man In The Mirror," and the title track, just to name a few, so you'll probably recognize a lot of songs on there, too, but you can't go wrong with this one. Thriller is the album that put Michael Jackson on the map as a solo artist. He had already been popular with the Jackson 5 in the late 60s and throughout the 1970s, and his solo album, 1979's Off The Wall, kind of put him on the map, but it was Thriller that really did that. There's a good reason for that, too; this record is a monumental piece of music, and it's worth hearing no matter who you are, how old you are, or what kind of music you like. Even the most diehard metalheads have to admit that this album rules, and if they don't, they're lying to themselves to look cool, because this album is one of the best of all time.

[quiver-full-of-sims]

A family portrait. [L-R: Kathryn, Gabriella, Samuel, Ari, Garrett, Nathaniel]

This isn’t a fundie sims post, but I got Snowy Escape Wednesday night (because of the 50% sale! No way am I buying those things at full price, haha) and I wanted to share some cute screenshots I took! This is the Olive-Quintero family. They normally live in Willow Creek, but they’re taking a vacation to Mt. Komorebi.

They’re all snowboarders- I’m venturing out of my comfort zone! In real life, I am a skier, and I maintain a healthy imaginary rivalry with the snowboarders of the world. :) So if you’re a snowboarder, take this as a peace offering and an attempt to settle our imaginary, one-sided animosity xD

It’s all under the cut, so you can skip past if you’re not interested.

Samuel playing unattended in the lodge while the rest are out snowboarding. :))

Ari and Garrett meet a similar fate, despite taking it easy on the bunny slope.

Gabriella manages to make it down in one piece, but she’s a bit of a diva, so she heads off to the Onsen for relaxing spa time. [AN: Gabriella looked so unimpressed, it was pretty hilarious. I wish I could pull off her look of disdain!]

The kids have a blast, though- they’re naturals and quickly pick it up. No accidents here! 😂

To round out the day, the girls do some sisterly bonding as they fly down the mountain. It ends with a face full of snow, but hey, they’re having fun! Then they all head back to their rental for a delicious traditional meal of Suyiyaki. Tomorrow, they’re planning on doing some sightseeing.

--

I had so much fun during my first evening playing with this pack! The town is gorgeous, and the build items are phenomenal. I really love the CAS, and I honestly find the activities fairly engaging. I haven’t explored the full pack yet- just the B/B, CAS, and the activities featured in this post. It was a surprise, if I’m being honest, because from reviews I had read it had seemed mediocre. But then I got it on sale for the B/B and CAS and I am so glad I did! If you’re on the fence about buying it, I would recommend it. Snap it up now before the prices rise! It may not be worth the $40, but it’s definitely worth $20.

Also, would anyone be interested if I continued to post about the Olive-Quinteros? It’s a nice change from fundie sims- they know how to have fun, unlike my fundie families! It wouldn’t be a series like the fundie legacy, but I would love to make a few more posts similar to this one. The Rowans have left me feeling burned out, but I’d still like to post frequently, so this could be a good middle ground. And I promise the Rowans will return more consistently in the future! Right now I’m trying to sort out the storylines as we get ready to transition to the second generation.

[nerexchan666]

Why Tlou2 isn’t a good game

First I want to start with rants and opinions of gameplay channels (I had to type all these down while listening. They’re not in any way manipulated,if u want, u can watch the videos urself)

pewdiepie:

''everything was a mess''

''the game had a lot of potential to be good''

''would i play it again? no i wouldn’t.''

''they tried something different and i don’t think it really worked.''

''it didn’t fit the last of us''

''half the game was abby...its fucking crazy''

''give it a rating? uhhh...probably like a 6 out of 10. I’m not really passionate about this shit''

tyler1:

''joel's not stupid''

''okay i understand Ellie not killing Abby cuz she was in such a shitty spot,but why would the devs even do that?''

''no body gets a moment except for Abby''

''this entire game was such a waste of fucking time, don’t even make the third one.''

''this shit was so sad to play''

''there was no progress made anywhere,you’re just running back and forth''

''why did we play as abby for so long''

''why was i forced to beat the shit out of Ellie as Abby''

''this whole game is a fucking message''

''sex scenes were out of place,you just added it to add it''

''you should be ashamed of yourselves,devs''

''i don’t like how stupid the characters were, you develop characters and in the end they do something the opposite''

''(the part in aquarium when they forgot the map) you’re telling me TOMMY,okay i understand ellie might forget cuz it was her first time killing a pregnant woman, she MIGHT forget,lets give it a benefit of the doubt,Tommy is not a dumbass, never in the million years would he forget it (the map) and it was right by her feet''

''they’re not stupid''

''joel is almost 60 years old,he survived for 40+ or 30+ years,and he's that dumb? oh get the fuck out of here''

''same way when earlier in the game,when joel and tommy,again they were apparently biggest fucking idiots in the game, followed two random people into a trap, and joel dies. bullshit''

''you’re gonna throw all that away and have joel be a fucking r*t*rd?''

''and then tommy,who is his equal? absolutely not.''

''a second game in the series, from how good the first one was,to this game right here,this might be actually the worst game i ever played.''

''1 out of 10, simply because it ran''

''they literally shit all over ellie for no reason''

''(while playing as abby) literally fucked up my mood''

sodapoppin:

''the beginning of the game was god tier,because we had joel and ellie and other characters''

''and then we play as the fridge. Nothing in those 12 hours had anything to do with ellie or joel''

''it was just a bunch of i don’t give a fuck about whos and side quests''

''i really don’t give a fuck i’m sorry''

''they started with a 10 out of 10 game and converted to 2 out of 10''

''ellie and fridge have a fight,hype as fuck,NO ONE DIES,tommy who is a badass,,,THEY SHOT HIM IN THE HEAD''

''playing as fridge i cared so little,i literally tried to speedrun it''

''the ending was good,but i would’ve changed it a lot. Made it more about ellie''

theradbrad:

''i didn’t like when she was holding dina down,ellie told her she was pregnant and she said good,if lev wasn’t there..

i feel like,,,i don’t want a good ending for abby at all''

''i still feel no attachment to abby like i do with ellie''

''I feel like they were trying to make you feel bad for her (like manipulation)''

''we didn’t know Joel was going to die hours into the game in such a way that’s so unlike him''

''i felt like they wanted to make abby's portions of the game more memorable, by making them better. Doesn't mean the character's better''

''they put a lot of the most exciting parts of the game,the haven being burned down,the horse ride out of there,that alone was more exciting

than anything in ellie's portion''

''i personally didn’t like abby's character,i like some stuff she did besides killing joel''

''and i didn’t like any of her friends. I didn't care when owen died,i hated when pregnant girl had to die''

''i cared for jesse,he was probably the most underrated character in the entire game''

''i don’t like what happened to any character. One character i didn't feel bad for was abby's dad,like joel killing her dad.. good. And ellie should've at least appreciated that and i think she slowly realized towards the end of the game: Joel did this for me''

''but after everything is over,she let her (abby) live. We all wanted her to die,but i had a feeling something like that wasn't going to be the case''

''but i think she beat her down good''

''did i like it? i did like some events of the game,i didn’t like some characters,i didn't like abby, i liked her story,i didn't like the fact that she killed joel,like i didn't like her from the jump,but over time i like that she helped lev''

''how joel died was so uncharacteristic. He didn't trust anyone in the first game,he wouldn't even give out his name,he was driving over people with a truck''

''the game wanted me to feel bad for abby but i don't care about her. I cared more about what happened to lev''

''the game wasn't bad''

now, here are some videos that are worth watching:

also,AngryJoe has a good video about the last of us 2, check that out as well. My point is, people blatantly defending this game are in denial. ‘’You are manipulated to like joel!!!!’’ no. What they gave showed us about Joel in the first game served as a backstory as to why is Joel the way he is. He doesn’t trust anyone, isn’t attached to anyone simply because if they die and he cared about them,it would once again destroy him. The only person he trusted the most was Tess (and tommy),yet we see Tess sacrifice herself and we clearly see how upset Joel is over her death. It’s basic storytelling.The giraffe part of the game served as a small break from the dark stuff that keeps happening. It was a small moment of joy and peace for both Ellie and Joel (The giraffe symbolizes grace, peace, individuality, protection, communication). I’d say they’re manipulating us to like Abby,a very disliked character because of her actions. They’re showing her in a better light than Ellie (example below):

‘‘But that’s just some gaming channels, only the minority dislike the game!!!’‘ Nope.

these are just some comments out of thousands and thousands of other that voice their displeasure (last one was about the vaccine and how killing Ellie is pointless).

The sales have dropped by 80%, many MANY people are selling their copies on various sites,because they realized the leaks were true and the story is a complete mess. (It’s mostly japanese players that are selling their copies, so u could say they’re least satisfied).

Is the game bad? yes, in some ways. Is it complete trash? no. The graphics are out of this world, voice acting is absolutely amazing. 

This is not an attack to people who enjoyed this game, this serves as an example and explanation as to why people dislike this game.

It’s definitely not a 10/10 game. It has a lot of flaws. It’s more like 5/10 or weak 6/10. I personally didn’t enjoy 90% of the game. I was p stoked when it got announced. After i found out about the leaks (which was just joel’s death, nothing else) i still gave this game and the devs a benefit of the doubt. 

p.s. review bombing this game with positive scores doesn’t make u any better than those who review bombed it with negative scores. And don’t attack actors because of this game, especially Laura Bailey (Abby’s actor).

(if i made any mistakes, my bad, i’m not a native english speaker)

[melanymwende]

Employment Rate: Does it really affect alcohol consumption?

 Is employment rate associated with alcohol consumption?

Hypothesis: An increase in levels of unemployment can lead to increase in alcohol consumption Is suicide per 100th associated with income per person?

Hypothesis: Low income per person can cause an increase in suicidal deaths per 100th.

Having gone through the GapMinder study codebook, I am interested to study more about alcohol consumption and the different variables that can cause an upsurge in alcohol uptake. As a result, I chose employment rate as my variable to be included in my codebook. I also decided to study how suicide per 100th is associated with income per person in relation to the main topic.

Alcohol consumption may be affected by very many factors but my main focus is on how the employment rate affects it. In the long run, a negative employment rate may lead to low income per person and hence suicide. I have witnessed very many youths seeking solace in alcohol as a means of relieving their stress levels due to them being unemployed. They find themselves in situations where they cannot support themselves and their families due to lack of income. Therefore the little they get or have is used on alcohol as much term as a stress reliever.

Literature Review

OECD (2020) defines employment rate as ‘a measure of the extent to which available resources are being used’ and in this case the people available to work. It is usually determined based on the ratio of the employed to the working age population (OECD, 2020). UN (2019a), stated that the global working age population i.e. 15 years and above was estimated to be 5.7 billion people out of which 2.3 billion were not part of the labor force, 3.3 billion were in employment while 188 million were unemployed (ILO, 2020) due to various reasons. Alcohol consumption is an act of ingesting a beverage containing ethanol and is typically done orally (Collins S.E. & Kirouac M. 2013).

The consumption of alcoholic beverages has been there since prehistoric times. Presently, many people consume alcohol as a recreation activity that is however causing more health and social problems (Poli, A. et al, 2013).

Catalano et al (2011) states that unemployment could cause financial challenges that lead to increased uptake of alcohol and more so especially if it is over a prolonged period of time (Khan et al., 2002; Mossakowski,2008). Popovici I. & French M. (2013), conducted a research whose research findings were that unemployed men had a higher binge-drinking rate as compared to men who were employed and that unemployed men had a higher chance of being diagnosed with alcohol abuse and/or dependence. Alcohol consumption, in most cases, is not done on busy schedules and that is why (Arkes 2007; Dee 2001; Ettner 1997) found out that unemployed people have more leisure time and this may encourage social drinking.

It is quite evident that many people did lose their jobs in this Covid 19 pandemic. Some were lucky enough to retain their jobs but on a half pay salary and this meant that people had to adjust their way of living so as to survive. This, in the long run, caused a lot of stressful moments and many people may have turned to drinking alcohol to pass time and to relieve away their stress. Heid, M. (2020) wrote that according to data from Bloomberg News the sales of beer and wine went up by 32% and 47% respectively. This was attributed mainly to the stay-at-home restrictions that were imposed which could otherwise mean more leisure time for alcohol consumption as the Americans felt the need to stock their home bars.

The employment rate, as seen from research, affects alcohol consumption. It can also affect the income per person. Income per person which is also known as Per capita income is the measure of the amount of money earned per person in a specific region (Kenton W, 2019). When the employment rate is high therefore the income per person would also increase since this would mean that the economy can well cater for its citizens. However, low income per person can cause stress and depression which can in the long term affect the health of individuals.

A study conducted by (Aron, L. et al, 2015) found out various ways in which income can affect one’s health. They include people with limited money have less to spend on medicine, doctor visits or even healthy foods, Low income can cause stress that can lead to the development of other terminal diseases like heart disease and that those that earn high incomes are able to access more healthier resources. They also stated that adults who are poor are more likely to report being in fair or poor health as their counterparts with high income. A number of research studies show that there is a positive association between income per person and their health.

Case et al. (2002) did a research that focused on how income affect health right from childhood and the results were that children from low income households who suffer from chronic illnesses have worse health compared to those in high income households. Basically, this more or less develops to adulthood. With decreased levels of income therefore, chances of stress and depression are on the rise hence increase in alcohol consumption which can even cause cases of suicide. Breet E et al (2018) carried out a study on how the low and middle income countries are affected by substance abuse and suicidal ideation and the results were that there was a positive association between substance use, alcohol being one of them, and suicidal ideas. Xuan, Z et al. (2015) also identified that heavy alcohol consumption is associated with suicide.

From the researches above, it is quite evident that employment rate has much to do with alcohol consumption. This is because if more people are employed the rate of alcohol consumption is reduced and the vice versa is true. Increased cases of low income per person due to unemployment can affect people’s stress levels which can otherwise lead to suicide among the affected.

 References

Arkes J.(2007) Does the economy affect teenage substance use? Health Economics. 2007;Vol. 16(No. 1):19–36.

Breet, E., Goldstone, D., & Bantjes, J. (2018). Substance use and suicidal ideation and behaviour in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review. BMC public health, 18(1), 549. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5425-6

Case, Anne, Darren L., & Christina P.,( 2002). "Economic Status and Health in Childhood: The Origins of the Gradient ." American Economic Review, 92 (5): 1308-1334.DOI: 10.1257/000282802762024520

Catalano R. A, Goldman-Mellor S. J, Saxton K., Margerison-Zilko C. E, Subbarama M., Anderson E. (2011) .The Health Effects of Economic Decline. Annual Review of Public Health.2011;32:431–450.

Collins S.E., Kirouac M. (2013) Alcohol Consumption. In: Gellman M.D., Turner J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_626

Dee T. S (2001). Alcohol abuse and economic conditions: Evidence from repeated cross-sections of individual level data. Health Economics. 2001;Vol. 10:257–270. 

Ettner S.(1997), Measuring the human cost of a weak economy: Does unemployment lead to alcohol abuse? Social Science and Medicine. 1997;Vol. 44(No. 2):251–260. 

Heidi M. (2020). What alcohol does to a stressed out brain. https://elemental.medium.com/what-alcohol-does-to-a-stressed-out-brain-af3771a36dba

Khan S., Murray R P., Barnes G. E. (2002).A structural equation model of the effect of poverty and unemployment on alcohol abuse.Addict Behav. 2002 May-Jun; 27(3):405-23.

Mossakowski K.N. (2008),Is the duration of poverty and unemployment a risk factor for heavy drinking?

OECD (2020), Employment rate (indicator). doi: 10.1787/1de68a9b-en

Poli A, Marangoni F, Avogaro A, (2013). Moderate alcohol use and health: a consensus document. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2013; 23:487–504.

Popovici, I., & French, M. T. (2013). Does Unemployment Lead to Greater Alcohol Consumption?. Industrial relations, 52(2), 444–466. https://doi.org/10.1111/irel.12019

Soc Sci Med. 2008 Sep; 67(6):947-55.

UN (2019a). World Population Prospects 2019: Online edition. Rev. 1 (New York, Department of Economic and Social Affairs)

Will K. (2019). Per Capita Income. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/income-per-capita.asp

Xuan, Z., Naimi, T. S., Kaplan, M. S., Bagge, C. L., Few, L. R., Maisto, S., Saitz, R., & Freeman, R. (2016). Alcohol Policies and Suicide: A Review of the Literature. Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research, 40(10), 2043–2055. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.13203

[bccity]

FEBRUARY 2020 BC ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULES & REVIEW

Members may earn 3 points each (up to 6 points) for writing, by the end of March 7 KST:

A solo para of 400+ words based on their monthly schedule (does not count toward your monthly limit).

A thread of six posts (three per participant, including the starter) based on the monthly schedule.

Threads and solos do not have to take place directly during an important date listed on the schedule, but must be related to what the muse is mentioned to be doing in the paragraph explaining their schedule/the company’s schedule for the month and/or their thoughts on the mentioned activities or lack thereof.

These schedules may be updated throughout the month if new information needs to be added.

Reminder: January schedule posts are due by the end of February 7 KST.

Overall Company

While everything remains as usual on the professional side of the company, on the much more personal side, CEO Kim Byungchul and his fiance of four years, Ma Seri, are finally tying the knot at the very end of the month with a lavish wedding and reception, almost a year after the birth of their first child. All BC artists are required to attend the wedding as they will performers for the wedding reception. The dress code is black tie and plus ones will not be afforded to the artists. All BC artists will also perform acoustic versions of one of their songs during the reception: Decipher will perform “Man In Love (0:00-2:47)”, BEE will perform “Hug Me Once”, Knight will perform “My Lady/My Turn To Cry/Moonlight/Call Me Baby (0:00-5:40)”, Lipstick will perform “Like A Cat (all members)”, CHARM will perform “Pretty U”, WISH will perform “What Is Love?”, and BC Soloist 1 will perform “Cosmic Dust”. All BC artists will come together to perform a version of Ma Seri’s former group R.A.D’s song “Eternal Love”.

Important dates:

February 10: Kim Byungchul and Ma Seri’s wedding and reception at Le Méridien Seoul in Seoul, South Korea.

BC Soloist 1

After her debut, her first round of comeback promotions shouldn’t be anything new. She’ll be promoting on music shows and fan signs, as well as filming a choreography video for Dingo. Her new song is even more well-received than her debut, proving she has more to offer than the buzz around her for being an ex-Gold Star trainee turned BC soloist. Her efforts and BC’s resources put into the comeback pay off well, so finishing promotions without a music show win yet isn’t a problem. To help model the line of NBA clothing in next month’s issue of Dazed, she’ll team up for a photo shoot with Unity.

Important dates:

February 1: Dingo Dance Choreography video filming.

February 3: Fan sign in Gangnam, Seoul.

February 7: Fan sign in Mapo, Seoul.

February 13: Dazed Magazine March Issue photo shoot with Unity.

February 17: Fan sign in Goyang.

February 24: Fan sign in Busan.

February 29:  End of music show promotions.

Decipher

Their Japanese comeback has been recorded and there’s no choreography for the title track, so the time they would have spent learning that is instead spent rehearsing a song for an appearance on Two Yoo Project: Sugar Man. While they’ll lose the competition to their juniors, their performance is still well-received and they’re still considered reliable vocalists and performers as they near their twelfth anniversary. A special fan sign based on new Decipher merchandise released by BC has been organized, cliche pink and red decorations and expected fanservice for the special day included. Then, at the end of the month, they’ll shoot the music video for their Japanese comeback

Important dates:

February 7: Two Yoo Project: Sugar Man filming (also appearing: Knight, to be aired: February 21).

February 14: Valentine’s Day fan sign in Mapo, Seoul.

February 21: “LUV” MV filming.

              ↳ Decipher R & V

No schedules for the month.

Important dates:

N/A.

              ↳ CHAMPION

With the album all recorded, that means it’s time to learn the choreography for “Jopping” and “I Can’t Stand The Rain”, the main performance tracks, but the applicable members will need to learn choreography for “Super Car”, “2 Fast”, and “No Manners” as well. Dance rehearsals will be done at BC Entertainment’s building as the dance studios there are larger, and near the end of the month, BC will leak pictures and video of all of the CHAMPION members arriving at the building to spark discussion before the sub-unit is officially announced in a few months. For three days, all six members of CHAMPION will be sent on a bonding retreat in Jeonju to strengthen their bond as unit members. This is a genuine effort on the companies’ parts to create better group chemistry, so the will not be filmed during the retreat, although a manager from each group will accompany them on the trip.

Important dates:

February 22-24: Bonding retreat in Jeonju, South Korea.

BEE

Their contract as Mise En Scene ambassadors is coming to an end soon and it appears as though the brand won’t be offering a contract renewal as they seek out a younger group, so the BEE members will do some final fan signs for the brand and record a song for and film another CF. Besides that, they’ll continue practicing for their comeback this month and will attend fittings as well as the music video filming.

Important dates:

February 2: Mise En Scene fan sign in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul.

February 9: MV and stage outfit fittings.

February 16: Mise En Scene CF filming.

February 17: “I Like That” MV filming.

February 23: Mise En Scene fan sign in Gangnam, Seoul.

              ↳ 2BEE

Though they were already told about plans for the sub-unit last month, BEE’s leader/main vocal/rapper and main rapper/main dancer/sub vocal are called into a meeting with management at the beginning of the month where news of their sub-unit is officially announced to them. In a year filled with sub-unit attempts by the company, BC honestly wants a way to bring more of BEE’s digital power to their name without overexposing the full group with too many comebacks. The unit will debut with only a single, “Ma Boy”, which they’ll record and learn the choreography for this month.

Important dates:

N/A

Knight

Knight ends music show promotions without any wins and both a chart performance and physical sales that pale in comparison to their usual, something management is clearly not too happy about, but they’ll have a chance to make up for it with tour profits beginning again next month. At the end of the month, Knight will be required to refresh themselves on the set list for their tour in rehearsal, but until then, they have a photo shoot and interview for Singles Magazine and will be making an appearance on Two Yoo Project: Sugar Man (admin note: Wooseok’s lines will be split between the leader and the maknae, and the main dancer/vocal gets Shinwon lines), competing against Decipher. They’ll win their episode.

Important dates:

February 7: Two Yoo Project: Sugar Man filming (also appearing: Decipher, to be aired: February 21).

February 8: End of music show promotions.

February 9: Singles Magazine March issue photo shoot.

February 28: Release of Enough English Ver. Live Performance Video.

                ↳ White Knight

No schedules for the month.

Important dates:

N/A

              ↳ CHAMPION

With the album all recorded, that means it’s time to learn the choreography for “Jopping” and “I Can’t Stand The Rain”, the main performance tracks but the applicable members will need to learn choreography for “Super Car”, “2 Fast”, and “No Manners” as well. Dance rehearsals will be done at BC Entertainment’s building as the dance studios there are larger, and near the end of the month, BC will leak pictures and video of all of the CHAMPION members arriving at the building to spark discussion before the sub-unit is officially announced in a few months. For three days, all six members of CHAMPION will be sent on a bonding retreat in Jeonju to strengthen their bond as unit members. This is a genuine effort on the companies’ parts to create better group chemistry, so the will not be filmed during the retreat, although a manager from each group will accompany them on the trip.

Important dates:

February 22-24: Bonding retreat in Jeonju, South Korea.

Lipstick

Ahead of the release of their Japanese album next month and concerts in Japan following that, the Lipstick members will be in the dance practice studio to learn choreography for select b-sides off of the album, “Dress To Kill”, “Ms.Independent”, “Triangle”, and “In The Moonlight”. Members with a lower level of Japanese proficiency will also need to begin taking occasional lessons with a tutor to brush up their skills for potential interviews, show appearances, and fan interactions since it’s been a while since Lipstick promoted in Japan.

Important dates:

February 12: Release of “Shh” Japanese single.

              ↳ Lip Gloss

No schedules for the month.

Important dates:

N/A

CHARM

After coming back on the third, the month is filled with music show promotions and fan signs. They’ll also shoot some videos for Dingo and hold a mini-fanmeeting near the end of the month. The fan meeting will involve performances as well as talk sections. As far as their comeback, the physical sales are wildly impressive, eventually surpassing the sales of nearly every group in the industry other than Origin and Knight, but their last two singles have shown a noticeable decrease in digital performance, signaling to the members and the company that their maturing concept may not click with the public as much as it does their dedicated fans.

Important dates:

February 3: Release of “Fear” & An Ode showcase, promotions continue until March 3.

February 8: Fan sign in Gangnam, Seoul.

February 9: Fan sign in Yeouido, Seoul.

February 11: Dingo Move Rec video and Out Of Nowhere Interview video filming.

February 12: Fan sign in Sangam, Seoul.

February 14: Fan sign in Sangam, Seoul.

February 23: Ode To Youth mini fanmeeting at Mokdong Roun Hall in Yangcheon, Seoul.

              ↳ CHARM U

The members of CHARM U will continue to rehearse the song a few times this month, but the full group’s comeback takes priority over any schedules for them during February.

Important dates:

N/A

WISH

As major awards season comes to an end, WISH is pushed into comeback preparations. Other than an appearance at The Fact Music Awards on the last day of the month, they won’t have any public appearances in February while they work on preparing all of their music for the first half of the year. This means learning the choreography for their new Korean title track (admin note: this would be a version of the choreography that includes the lead vocal/lead dancer) and going back into the recording studio once again to record the new songs on their next Japanese album. They’ve also been chosen as faces of MLB Korea this year and will begin their duties this month with a CF.

Important dates:

February 9: MLB Korea S/S 2020 CF filming.

February 29: Performance at The Fact Music Awards at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea (also attending: Alien, 7ROPHY, Origin, Fuse).

[cindylouwho-2]

RECENT NEWS, RESOURCES & STUDIES, late February 2020

Welcome to my latest summary of recent ecommerce news, resources & studies including search, analytics, content marketing, social media & Etsy! This covers articles I came across since the early February report, although some may be older than that. I am a bit behind due to my trip last week and other events, but some things here are a bit time-sensitive so I wanted to release this now. 

I am still looking into setting up a new ecommerce business forum where we can discuss this sort of news, as well as any day-to-day issues we face. I need some good suggestions for a cheap or free forum space that has some editing tools, is fairly intuitive for inexperienced members, and is accessible. If you have any suggestions, please reply to this post, email me on my website, or send me a tweet. (I will put out a survey once we narrow this down to some good candidates, but if you have any other comments on what you want from such a forum, please include those too!)

As always, if you see any stories I might be interested in, please let me know!

TOP NEWS & ARTICLES 

Since we are seeing more shops closed due to Etsy’s customer service level standards, my blog post on ODR now has major revisions explaining what we have learned, and includes some tips for staying out of trouble and if necessary, appealing a suspension. Please circulate the info widely, as many sellers still haven’t heard about this, and some were closed without having any clue this was possible. 

Mobile continues to grow while desktop use is slowly shrinking. It should affect how we design web pages. “Mobile visitors also behave differently from their desktop web counterparts, staying on pages for shorter periods of time, for example.” Other interesting takeaways from this SimilarWeb report: “[Facebook] lost 8.6% of [web] traffic over the past year alone” but increased in app sessions. 

The price of domains ending in “.com” will almost certainly be going up soon, and will go up most years after that, unless something changes at the last minute. If you are absolutely certain that you will continue to use the same domain name for your website, blog, ecommerce forwarding etc., then you might consider paying a few years in advance to save a few bucks. 

Another article explaining how people are selling thrift store and vintage clothing on Instagram, without setting up a checkout/cart anywhere. (The article focusses on teenagers, but does reference other examples.)

ETSY NEWS 

Two weeks ago, Etsy Support posted on Twitter that they were no longer monitoring the account, and asked everyone to use the help page maze instead when they need support. Forum thread here.  

Another trend report for 2020 from Dayna Isom Johnson [podcast links & transcript] She leads off with tips on how to get featured: “ so it's incredibly important to see a bright representation that really clearly shows your product...Do be original. I'm always trying to find the latest and the greatest that isn’t already on the shelves...Do be inclusive. ... I'm talking about models of all ethnicities, all genders, all body types, all ages.” Etsy chose chartreuse as their colour of the year: “in the last three months, there's been a 12% increase in searches for green already, and a 55% increase in neon green.” The wedding trends part was mostly already covered in a blog post, but she does also answer a few seller questions. 

Website user experience (UX) is a big part of getting people to convert, and an outside group ranks Etsy’s as “acceptable”. Many will be unsurprised that search gets a score of “mediocre” and Accounts & Self-Service get a “poor” grade.  

The migration to Google Cloud services is complete, so now Etsy can run more experiments more often, including those involving AI. (Although the forum thread was laughing at the idea of bad reviews helping shops, there is actually some research supporting that, so it is a logical thing to test.)

Etsy sellers in the US, UK & Canada who use Instagram can apply to win a trip to Etsy HQ here, until March 1.

Etsy is launching an Etsy U program which just seems a bit sketchy. Forum thread here.

Reverb (owned by Etsy) named a new Chief Technology Officer on Feb. 18.

SEO: GOOGLE & OTHER SEARCH ENGINES 

Google does not confirm every large search update, so this one remains a mystery at the moment, since Google refused to give an answer. That means it’s not a core update. 

Another video (with subtitles in several languages) from the SEO for Beginners series from Google, on the basics you need for good website SEO. 

If you are interested in “searcher intent”, this 500 person survey asks about what people are really looking for, and what they think of the search results the end up with. Overwhelmingly, they say they prefer organic results to ads, and the majority see targeted ads that they can’t figure out the reason/s behind. “Sixty-eight percent responded that Google adding more ads to the search results would make them want to use the search engine less.” Also, a slight majority preferred text results to images, video, & audio. “When asked which factor had the most significant impact on their decision to click a result, 62.9% responded it was the description, followed by 24.2% who said the brand name, and 13% who said title.” That means that the first part of your Etsy listing description, or the coded meta description on a page on your website, has the most influence on people clicking on your link once they see it. 

I usually strongly suggest that people setting up their own websites make sure they do some SEO work & keyword research for their category/shop section pages, and it turns out that there is new research showing I am correct. “Specifically, e-commerce category pages – which include parent category, subcategory and product grid pages with faceted navigation – ranked for 19% more keywords on average than product detail pages ranked for. The additional keywords they ranked for drove an estimated 413% more traffic, based on the keywords’ search demand and the pages’ ranking position. With optimization, those ranking category pages also showed the potential to drive 32% more traffic.”

Semi-advanced: explaining the (seemingly endless) debate on whether subdomains or subdirectories are better for SEO. 

SEO study - do you really need to use H1 tags on a page? Maybe not, although some screen readers recognize them as the page title so they help with accessibility. (Etsy & many other marketplaces don’t let you make this coding choice, so don’t worry about it there.)

Confused about how to apply all of these SEO tips I post here to your Shopify site? Good news! Here’s a list of what is most important for Shopify SEO. Note the attention to setting up your category pages, which is something I completely agree with. (it’s by Ahrefs so of course it pushes their tools; you don’t need to pay for that.)

CONTENT MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA (includes blogging & emails) 

Some businesses say social media doesn’t work, but maybe they aren’t doing it right. See if you are making one or more of these three mistakes. “Understanding who your target audience is - what they want, what they need, where you fit in, etc. - is critical to maximizing your social media marketing performance.”

Email marketing also works better if you do it right, so here are 5 things you might be doing wrong. And if you like a quick read, here’s an infographic on the psychology of email marketing. 

8 ideas for getting more interactions on Facebook (detailed infographic).

More fourth quarter reports continue: Pinterest’s 4th quarter revenue was up 46% but they lost $1.36 billion, and they are introducing a verified merchant program. “Almost all (97%) of the top searches on Pinterest are unbranded, according to the company, giving merchants a chance to stand out.”

Want to tap into that Pinterest traffic? You should because “90% of weekly Pinterest users log in to make buying decisions.”  Here are 10 ways to get more attention, followers, and pins. 

Like almost all social media, Twitter has an algorithm that mediates what users see (although you can turn it off, or use apps such as Tweetdeck to get around it as a reader). Ranking factors include recency, engagement, media and activity. The article includes a few tips on how to make it work for you, but then slides into promoting its app as the solution - you can just skip that part. 

ONLINE ADVERTISING (SEARCH ENGINES, SOCIAL MEDIA, & OTHERS) 

Google search ads get more results than Facebook and Instagram, simply because more people who see them want to buy something. “Less expensive products tend to sell better than more expensive ones on Facebook and Instagram, per the study.”

If you are running ads where you can choose your keywords, don’t forget to examine your organic search results and impressions for new words to advertise. Google Search Console is a great source.

If you found Instagram ads too expensive, check out this post on how the ads are priced, which can help you make decisions on your spend. 

ECOMMERCE NEWS, IDEAS, TRENDS 

Amazon has nearly 40% of the US ecommerce market, according to a report by eMarketer. Etsy is not in the top 10; eBay is 3rd behind Walmart. 

Sales on Shopify sites during the Black Friday-Cyber Monday long weekend went up 61% to $3 billion in 2019. They claim that the “direct -to-consumer” approach can be successful for both big & small brands. 

Japanese authorities are going after Rakuten for the ecommerce company’s push to make its sellers offer free shipping. 

eCommerceBytes’ annual Sellers Choice survey placed eBay first out of the online marketplaces that were rate. Note that this is not a scientific survey and largely covers the site’s readership only. Bonanza was the most improved & Etsy showed the worst drop (from 1st to 5th place). 

A review of that article last month that says ecommerce sites should have info pages as well as product pages, if only for SEO reasons. The author approves. 

The CBC show Marketplace did a large test buying branded items on AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Walmart and Wish. It turns out that most were fake. 

Facebook’s cryptocurrency plans (Libra) finally have a partner: Shopify. The potential benefits include no credit card processing fees. 

BUSINESS & CONSUMER STUDIES, STATS & REPORTS; SOCIOLOGY & PSYCHOLOGY, CUSTOMER SERVICE 

Younger people (think Gen Z) expect to see gender treated expansively and beyond traditional stereotypes, and they expect this from companies and advertising. “Half of women and four in 10 men in the U.S. now believe that there is a spectrum of gender identities, according to a recent Ipsos poll titled "The Future of Gender is Increasingly Nonbinary." An additional 16% of those surveyed said they know a person who identifies as transgender”

MISCELLANEOUS (including humour) 

Google employees are pushing back against the sea change in the company’s culture and values - and some are being fired. 

Turns out that the “Peleton Wife” ad might not have hurt them as much as you might think. However, their stock dropped 12% after the fourth quarter report showed a 77% increase in revenue that still managed to be below market predictions. Interesting discussion around going viral in a negative fashion.

[fadedmixmagazine]

What is Wrong with Fast Fashion

Most of us had done it before. We've seen a nice designer piece, or a trendy garment and we absolutely needed it. But usually, a person can't drop a couple thousand dollars on a pair of ripped jeans.

So what would the regular person do? They'd go to Zara, H&M, or Topman and find the next best thing. And usually, it can't be beat. Okay, quality garments for low prices and all a quick car ride or click away. But it's never really that simple, and fast fashion costs way more than what you may see on the rack.

The term “fast fashion” refers to a phenomenon in the fashion industry whereby production processes are expedited in order to get new trends to the market as quickly and cheaply as possible. As a result of this trend, the tradition of introducing new fashion lines on a seasonal basis is being challenged. 

Today, it is not uncommon for fast-fashion retailers to introduce new products multiple times in a single week.” If you google the term “fast fashion,” then you’re likely to get a definition like the one posted above. Unfortunately, this doesn’t paint a clear picture of exactly what fast fashion entails, and it certainly doesn’t touch on why we at Socially Conscious Brands refuse to promote any product that was made this way.

https://youtu.be/tLfNUD0-8ts

In case you’re unfamiliar with this manufacturing process, here are a few key points:

Fashion Brands are part of a $3 Trillion dollar industries, but many of their products are made by workers who operate in dangerously unsafe conditions, making pennies a day.

Fast Fashion accounts for some of the highest levels of inequality and environmental destruction the world has ever seen.

There are over 40 million garment makers, and they are widely considered to be among the lowest paid workers in the world.

85% of those workers are women, many of whom have to abandon their families for long hours in the factory.

Because of the disposable nature of Fast Fashion garments, the world now consumes about 80 billion new pieces of clothing a year.

Creativity

https://straatosphere.com/zara-multi-piece-sneaker-copies-balenciaga/

Fast fashion isn’t known for its originality.

Up until the second half of the 20th century, the fashion cycle was structured around 2 collections per year, the Spring-Summer and the Fall-Winter collection. Each collection was conceived over a two-year period previous to its release during a fashion show. 

In this time, any element connected to a garment’s style, quality, material and heritage was discussed and reviewed in depth to provide not only a piece of clothing but a true societal statement.

It’s during these decades that luxury brands were able to identify their recognisable stylistic identity and create those iconic pieces that to this day have never gone out of fashion.

OK, so we have made it pretty clear that the speed of fashion today is having a negative impact on the creative ebb and flow of major fashion houses, but how and why did this need for speed arise in the first place?

One only has to look so far as the fast fashion cycle to see the answer unfold. Responsible for producing as many as 52 micro-seasons per year, fast fashion conglomerates are major money machines.

International in scope and dubious in practice, they are able to cut corners faster and cheaper than anyone else in order to deliver products to the consumer first. And so, naturally, the consumer has come to expect this kind of speed from all their clothing purchases.

The entire industry, which also happens to be one the world’s most wasteful, is built around the idea that trendy clothes should be available to consumers at accessible price points.

Sometimes that means altering a trend to make it a little more wearable for the average consumer ― but often, fast fashion brands produce garments that look like they were ripped straight from the catwalk.

Well, as we already mentioned fast fashion is an adaption by the retailers to mimic what is strut down the ramps in the form of catwalks. Converting ‘trendy pieces’ to make it wearable, the retailers are toning it down and basically creating a Walmart version of the big luxury brands.

Even cheaper options are springing up eventually on Instagram stores which are an advocate to fake and pirated goods; thus creating a bigger notorious market or being the thrust to ‘bootleg brush’.

Retail giants like H&M and Forever 21 are best known for low prices and on trend designer inspired designs. While the masses seem to be obsessed with fast fashion retailers, some wonder if the fast fashion model is ruining the industry’s creativity. While we’ve seen high end designers meet these mass retailers have way by doing collaborations like the Balmain and Alexander Wang for H&M there have also been all all court wars over designer copyright infringement.

What do you think? Has the consumers appetite for fashion increased far beyond designers creative ability just to keep up with how quickly mass retailers are able to turn around new styles? Are we all addicted to what’s new? At what point do we invest in our wardrobe piece by piece and savor each style moment?

https://www.reddit.com/r/malefashion/comments/4ilh29/how_to_be_a_designer_at_zara_learn_photoshop/

Quality

The need for speed when acts as a compromise on creative integrity, it is also bound to have an impact on the quality offered. This means that the reputation of the brand is also sacrificed in the race to offer the latest trends to consumers first. In the clout of fashion brands, there are often instances when consumers end up looking like twins walking down streets because it is the same kind of clothes sported on the hangers of most retail shops.

It Ends Up Costing You More

Think about sale. Sales are happening much more often

When I walk around the city or go online-shopping, I can see offers, vouchers and sales being on all year round.

What that does is that we tend to see reduced prices and we think that we are making a bargain – when in fact, these pieces were already calculated with that margin but that’s another additional topic I just wanted to touch upon.

The thing is, because the goods being so cheap, we buy more than what we need. This turns out to cost more if you think about the times you end up wearing it. Let’s say you buy 10 pieces for one Euro each, from which you each piece wear once. That’s 10 times wearing clothes. Instead you could have bought one piece for 10 Euro and wear it 20 times.

Of course it is not said, that more expensive results in better quality, but generally speaking a piece produced at such low cost is most likely to have poor quality.

Your clothes won’t last. — Most of the clothes we buy from fast fashion brands are most likely to never be worn out, simply because they won’t be used that often or for that long. The whole concept behind fast fashion is to make you swap your clothes for new ones on a regular basis as you know from the above points already.

However, even washing some of the clothes for one time, may result that you won’t be wearing them anymore. For example, how many times have you washed a T-shirt from H&M and the side stitches got all messed up?

In terms of durability most fast fashion items won’t either have a timeless design that you can wear in five years from now or they won’t even have the quality to stay in shape for many years to come.

Return of investment is low

Last but not least, the reason why you should seriously consider not buying your clothes from Fast Fashion retailers is the ROI. ROI is an acronym for Return on Investment.

Consider this: buying high quality products that will last you many years, will result in a higher ROI for you than buying cheap made fashion that will only last you one season. You are more likely to achieve a lower ROI with fast fashion items because their concept is to not last.

Therefore, increase the ROI for your clothes by buying sustainable brands, buying second-hand, buying more basics, or simply keep on wearing what your wardrobe has to give you.

https://www.thredup.com/resale

Overall, fast fashion brands know exactly their impact on our consumption and the environment, which is why they are greenwashing their brands with ‘recyclable’ clothing, shoes and jeans made out of ocean plastic or offering you to give your old clothes to them to recycle.

https://youtu.be/StQ-cvnYLlg

[omdaily10]

NEVER BEEN BETTER

Album: Fourth

Writers/Producers: Jason Evigan, Sean Douglas, Sam Hollander, Claude Kelly, Steve Robson, Martin Johnson, Peter Wallevik, Daniel Davidsen, Cutfather, Ryan Tedder, TMS, Steve Mac, Wayne Hector, Paul Weller, Jamie Scott, Matt Prime, FutureCut, John Newman

Release Date: 24/11/2014 (Original) / 20/11/2015 (Reissue)

Chart Positions: #1 (UK), #1 (Scotland), #7 (Ireland), #20 (Switzerland), #27 (Australia), #28 (Finland), #38 (Germany), #38 (Denmark), #40 (Austria), #42 (US), #50 (Sweden)

Sales: 861k (UK, 2x Platinum)

As we touched on with our 'Wrapped Up' review, anything longer than six months away in pop and people can start to ask questions about an artist’s future, such is the fickle nature of the beast. Olly was certainly in more of an interesting position than most, having now had two back to back million selling, chart slaying albums. He had quite literally confounded all expectations. ‘Never Been Better’ was a significant album for that reason, but it’s also a landmark album in other respects.

Back when work on the ‘Right Place Right Time’ album had only just got under way in the summer of 2012, a massive shift in personnel happened at Epic Records. Nick Raphael and Jo Charrington, who had overseen Olly from his launch, were poached by Universal Records to head up the relaunched Capitol label, in turn going onto launch the successful careers of 5 Seconds of Summer and Sam Smith.

Eighteen months on, and whilst Olly stayed under the Sony umbrella, he subsequently moved from Epic to the reactivated RCA label, headed up by former Island Records MD Nick Gatfield, meaning he had a new A&R man overseeing him and a new album for the first time since his debut. Now entering his fifth year in pop – which many cynics will tell you is the point popularity can either sustain itself or wane from a peak for an artist – Olly had a hell of a lot to prove. It certainly explains why he took as long as he did on it.

This album had to cement his position and popularity in the UK music scene and most importantly, have the songs to back it up. And it’s fair to say that for the vast majority of the album, that was the case. Certainly, you’d be hard pressed to find a more fitting song to kick off the album than the cheekily titled ‘Did You Miss Me?’

Initially touted as the first single before Olly got cold feet about a potential press backlash regarding misunderstanding of the title, and co-written with Los Angeles based hitmaker Jason Evigan (Maroon 5, Madonna, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears) this mischief making, horn drenched, Prince-esque strut was bold, brash and attention grabbing: ‘I can tell that you’ve missed me / Cause your eyes give it away / I know you can’t resist me / So show me, show me, show me that you missed me’. It’s a shame he didn’t go with his instincts, because really pop is built on those grand moments of statements of intent.

For that same reason, the title track, co-written with the TMS team, and a record that upped the epic grandeur of ‘Army of Two’ from the last album, was also a highlight. Recorded with a 60-piece orchestra and coming off as part Bond theme part McFly at their hardest, it was a soaring rocket of a track that Olly stretched his vocal chops on, hitting higher notes than he ever had before, and which he performed to devastatingly brilliant effect on the accompanying tour for the album (more on which in a second).

TMS also offered light and shade to Olly’s personality as an artist on the tracks ‘Why Do I Love You’ and ‘Nothing Without You’. The latter was a plaintive, simplistic piano ballad, stating to his then girlfriend of the time that life without her would be nothing. The former track, however, was possibly one of the most dark and experimental tracks he’d done to that point, an almost psychedelic, Northern soul leaning pop number on the agony of being in love with a non-committal partner. It was in many ways, like the renegade evil twin of ‘Oh My Goodness’.

British singer songwriter John Newman, who’d famously topped the charts with drum and bass outfit Rudimental on their 2012 single ‘Feel The Love’, as well as hitting the charts with songs like ‘Come and Get It’ and ‘Love Me Again’, co-wrote ‘Stick With Me’, a pulsing dance track with an eerie choir effect produced by Steve Mac and Wayne Hector. Immediately following it was the very lustful ‘Can’t Say No’, a stripped to the bone part acoustic funk pop number.

But closing off the album was possibly one of the biggest coups Olly could have hoped for in his career at that moment. Some two years previously, he had performed a cover of ‘Broken Stones’, a track from ‘Stanley Road’, the iconic 1995 album from British rock legend Paul Weller, first for The Sun Biz Sessions, and then at his headline slot for the annual iTunes Festival in Camden, North London. Olly had grown up around Paul’s music in his dad’s record collection and had stated what a fan he was of both his solo work and his work in The Jam (he also covered their 1982 chart topper ‘A Town Called Malice’ on the previous tour).

Fast forward to spring 2014, and he was fortunate to meet Paul at the annual Teenage Cancer Trust fundraiser gig at the Royal Albert Hall in London, who mentioned that he had written the bones of a song with Olly in mind. With some additional co-writing from Olly, that song became ‘Let Me In’, a genuinely moving acoustic number which showed off the more soulful, reflective tones in his voice and which you could almost picture being sung around a campfire at dusk.

If ever he’d needed confirmation that he was more of a serious proposition than ever, then his work with such a respected legend was it. In fact, many reviewers subsequently highlighted it as such, with The Guardian proclaiming it to be “the best thing he’s done in his career” in their analysis of the album. Amy Davidson, reviewing the album for Digital Spy, was also full of praise, stating that with ‘Never Been Better’, “Olly isn't in the wallflower business, rather he fully intends on running with his title without a whiff of uncertainty.”

‘Never Been Better’ then, ultimately proved to be a prophetic title – it became his third consecutive UK number one album, once again taking just under a month to achieve its first platinum disc, as well as sailing into the top 10 or top 40 in seven other countries, eventually going onto be certified double platinum by the end of its chart run. It also showed that, far from being forgotten with a year away, Olly’s popularity was quite undiminished and had, well, never been better.

BONUS TRACKS, UNWRAPPED

As with his previous album, the original release of ‘Never Been Better’ came in a standard 13 track version, and a deluxe edition, once again in a digipak booklet format, and substituting the yellows and reds of the standard artwork for a mixture of creams and beiges, as well as four additional tracks.

Highlights among these extra four songs included ‘Ready for Love’, a folksy, rousing foot stomper that you could almost picture being sung by a 70s era Elton John (although no relation to his 1979 song and subsequent 2003 chart topper of the same name). The twilight strewn dreaminess of the ballad ‘History’ ensured that it quickly became a fan favourite, and was performed by Olly on that year’s telethon for ITV’s ‘Text Santa’ charity.

Internationally, fans in Germany and Japan were treated to two further bonus tracks. Only available on copies of the deluxe edition sold in the German entertainment store Mediamarkt, ‘Alone Tonight’ saw Olly team up once again with the Future Cut team on possibly the steamiest sounding song he’d recorded to that point: ‘Kiss me like a stranger / It’s time to misbehave, don’t leave me lonely / I can’t leave you alone tonight’. It’s still currently unavailable for streaming or digital download in any territory at time of writing.

'Alone Tonight’ was also on the deluxe edition in Japan, along with a very special track recorded with another music legend. ‘Sukiyaki’ (literally translated as ‘I Look Up As I Walk’) had been a phenomenally successful record for the Japanese crooner Kyu Sakamoto back in 1961, having sold something in excess of 13m copies worldwide. Olly was invited to re-record a version of the song with English lyrics, titled ‘Look at the Sky’, written by none other than Yoko Ono, who sung his praises highly of his performance of the song.

As of time of writing in May 2019, Olly is still yet to release a Christmas album despite much continual demand for him to do so. The ‘Unwrapped’ EP, a five-track acoustic EP given away free for download on Google Play during December 2014, and recorded at Google’s British headquarters in London, is thus the closest we’ve probably got to an official seasonal release of his. ‘Wrapped Up’ and ‘History’ were performed in his set, along with an additional cover of Wizzard’s ‘I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday’, in the same arrangement as his previous recording of the festive favourite for BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge in December 2012.

NEVER BEEN BETTER: SPECIAL EDITION

As in 2013, Olly spent much of 2015 touring (and pursuing other activities as we’ll come onto discuss in later entries for this era). Once again with no time to get a full new album ready, he decided to repeat the formula that had worked so well for the last album by repacking it as a special edition for reissue a year after it first came out. A new black and yellow colour scheme adorned the artwork, the original 13 tracks from the album remained. And joining them were seven brand new songs, including a further two singles which we’ll be discussing at a later stage.

Claude Kelly and Steve Robson bought the frenetic funk to ‘Sacrifice’, a lively up-tempo floor filler that hardly had time to pause for breath. Meanwhile, Sam Hollander, an American based songwriter and producer who had written for decidedly more punk pop orientated artists like Blink 182 and Good Charlotte, delivered the haunting, lighters aloft ballad ‘If I Stay’, an empowering song about wanting to not give up on a relationship until the last.

‘Love Shouldn’t Be This Hard’ marked Olly’s first collaboration with Toby Gad, the hitmaker for the likes of Beyoncé, Pixie Lott and JLS. A genuinely compelling, almost country leaning midtempo about that awkward first stages of dating when there’s a desperate but repressed need to fill the silences, it seems all but forgotten now but is a gem worth unearthing.

Rounding off the repacked album were two more recordings for BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge from December 2014: his then new single ‘Up’, performed acoustically with Ella Eyre, who subsequently performed it with him when she supported him on his UK and Ireland arena tour for the album in April 2015, and his version of Wham’s timeless festive favourite ‘Last Christmas’, gentle sleigh bells jingling in the background and all.

Ella also crops up on the second home video release of Olly’s, as the repack included the accompanying DVD of the fourth and final London O2 show of the ‘Never Been Better’ tour, recorded on 7th May 2015, as she performs ‘Up’ with him on there too. The DVD sadly had to omit the popular ‘Funk Medley’ section of the tour that year, owing to the failure of clearance for use of several of the songs in the medley for release. However, the performance of ‘Troublemaker’ with Robbie Williams as a surprise guest is retained and is well worth a watch even now.

The repacked ‘Never Been Better’ had the dual misfortune of coming out during one of the toughest weeks in Olly’s career (more on which in future entries), but also during one of the best for Adele, who released her third album ‘25’ that same week and which sold over 800,000 copies in its first week alone. However, it still returned the album to the top 10 for Christmas that year, ensuring that Olly notched up one of the year’s best-selling albums in the UK for a fifth year on the trot.

[westakoasta]

P-MINUS - 2019

Where are you from? And what’s your first memories linked to hip hop?

I’ve lived all over - Belgium, Germany, Ohio, Missouri, the Virgin Islands, San Francisco, and now Los Angeles.  But I spent the most years, including high school and college, in Missouri, so I feel like that’s where “I’m from.”  I first remember hearing hip hop while living on St. Thomas (in the Virgin Islands) and the three songs that started me on this journey were “I Need Love,” by LL Cool J, “You Be Illin’” by Run-DMC and “Fight For Your Right To Party” by the Beastie Boys.  I must have heard them on the radio, so that would have been 1987 - the year of my hip hop birth.  In 1988, I moved back to Missouri and a neighbor of mine had a ton of rap tapes so I’d borrow his tapes all the time or listen to them in his car on the drive to school.  I believe that the first tape I ever bought was Schooly D’s “Smoke Some Kill” (1988).

What got you started with Atak Distribution, how and when did it begin?

Fast forward to 1994 - I had graduated from college, where I had been the Hip Hop Director at the school’s radio station, and moved to San Francisco where I began an internship at Gavin, a music magazine that curated Top 40 lists for radio programmers.  Somehow through that job, I met DJ Stef (editor of the Vinyl Exchange) and started writing record reviews for her.  And on one fateful day, I received a copy of Sacred Hoop’s “Demo” tape for review and I thought it was the freshest thing in the world and in 1996 I officially became an underground hip hop junkie.

Were you a hardcore music collector before you started Atak?

Before Atak, I had a decent cd and record collection, full of ‘90s “golden era” major label releases, but hardly any tapes and barely anything considered “indie” or “underground.”  Back then I wasn’t a collector, just a music fan, because all this incredible music was just sitting at the record stores for $12.99.  I shopped a lot at Amoeba and Rasputin’s and a few other smaller stores in the Bay area, plus a few record labels and artists would send me promos for review.

How did you choose what would be in your catalog? How did you make contacts with the artists?

Starting with Sacred Hoop, I was certain that this amazing group wasn’t getting the exposure it deserved, so the seeds of Atak were first planted.  I then started soliciting for more submissions through the Vinyl Exchange and some other Bay area rap magazines, such as 4080.  I think that the Hoop started spreading the word, too, because I soon started getting tapes from the likes of FTA, Megabusive, San Francisco Street Music, Jedi Knights Circle, 99th Demention and others from the South Bay and SF.  Somewhere in there, I met up with the Mystic Journeymen, bought some tapes from them, and was eventually exposed to Berkeley and Oakland artists such as the Living Legends, Hobo Junction, Zion-I and Illa Dapted.  If I liked your tape, it would get in the Atak catalog.  The first printed mail-order catalog had 12 tapes in it and the very first tape sold was Mystik Journeymen’s “Escape Forever” on August 10th, 1996.

Was the mail-order a full time job or did you have other occupations (studies, other job?)?

During the first few years I had several jobs: the Gavin internship became a paid job, I worked at a grocery store and then later at a vegetarian cafe.  Eventually, since my rent was cheap and I was starting to sell more music, I was able to do Atak full-time.  All the storage and shipping was done out of my bedroom.

Did you have many overseas/international customers and what role did that play in the business?

It looks like I started getting my first international orders (from Finland!) in 1997.  I don’t know how they found out about Atak, but they were serious fans of West Coast underground so word spreads fast amongst those folks.  Fans in Finland, Australia, Canada and Japan were my strongest supporters, with a few folks in France and Germany, too.  This was before I started selling online, so these folks were trusting me with their cash and money orders and I will be forever indebted to them.  Through these customers, I was exposed to international hip hop and eventually started selling music from the likes of Ceebrolistics, the Sebutones, mcenroe, Mary Joy Recordings, Muphin and the Hilltop Hoods.

What was the « peak » year in terms of sales and in terms of quality of music?

After a year or so of mailing out catalogs and setting up tables of merchandise at shows, Atak finally got online with the help of one of my earliest customers, Todd (aka Vic aka Celph Titled), who was extremely active on hip hop message boards, and he really helped spread the word around the U.S. and the world, so Atak started getting more non-Bay area music in the catalog and I started getting  orders from everywhere.  I think that the music quality was strong start to finish.  I was listening to everything before I put it in the catalog, and if it wasn’t dope, it didn’t get in.

Did you ever wanted to make Atak a bigger thing, like UGHH or such?

There was a time in which I would have loved for Atak to get really big, because it was all so much fun - all the shows, meeting the artists, hearing a ton of new music, even the packing and shipping was fun for me.  But in hindsight, it is clear that I was better at being a huge fan of the music rather than being a savvy businessperson.  At the point in which digital music started taking off, I didn’t have the technical knowhow to adjust accordingly, and a big part of me still simply loved selling physical copies.  As a fan, I didn’t want everything to go digital, but as a businessperson I should have dived in headfirst to keep up with the other big websites.  I admired what the other sites were doing, and what friends like Shane (aka Kegs) was doing with Below the Surface - putting out records, putting on shows, opening a brick-and-mortar storefront.  But part of me liked keeping things small and simple, but that clearly pushed me into smaller and more obscure corner of the online hip hop biz and eventually bumped me out of it altogether.

You did some cd-r reissues as well as a couple of mix-cds. Any temptation of launching a proper record label (as in: « new release, no reissue ») at some point?

I’d been wanting FOREVER to start a label and put out records!  I made a feeble attempt to put out an Atak compilation in the late ‘90s, full of all the folks that were in my catalog at the time.  I was able to get maybe 7-10 crews over to my house one night to talk about it, but since I had no idea how to really put it all together, I ended up getting one original song, from Nitrous Ox, out of that great big idea.  More recently, I’ve been hoping to help folks put out releases but nothing has materialized just yet.  Nowadays almost everyone is really good at getting this stuff done themselves, so I’m happy that they are taking control of their destinies and getting their music out to the world.

Can you give us your personal Top 5 favorites in your sale catalog? Also one that you think was dope and didn’t have the recognition it deserved?

In no particular order, I’ll list a few of my favorites, but I’m obligated to mention Sacred Hoop’s “Demo” (aka “Sacred Hoop” aka “Runny Poop”) first since that tape inspired everything.  I was also thrilled to be able to pick up indie music from the Hieroglyphics (“Hiero Oldies”)and Saafir (Hobo Junction’s “Limited Edition Compilation”) since I was such a fan of their major label stuff.  I really liked Red Tide’s “Rogue MCs” tape.  Disflex6’s self-titled debut (aka “1984”) was great.  The Kracken’s “Abstract & Cognac” left me wanting much more.  The Sebutones’ “50/50 Where It Counts” blew my mind!  Early stuff Dose One and Why? showed me that hip hop had no boundaries.  This is an extremely abbreviated favorites list - as I look back through my old catalogs, I realize that I loved them all.  It was all so new and so fresh and I think these artists all deserved more recognition than they got.  I’m glad that I could help expose them a bit but I wish I could have done a lot more.

Did you developed friendship with artists/crews over those years and do you have interesting stories/ anecdotes linked to that?

My anecdotal memory is terrible so I’ve sadly forgotten a ton of great stories, fantastic show moments and hilarious conversations.  Looking back, I should have kept a journal or taken a million photographs, because we all had so much fun and did so much back then.  But, luckily for me, I’ve been able to keep in touch with a few of my very favorite people, emcees Luke Sick (Sacred Hoop/Grand Invincible) and Roughneck Jihad (Third Sight), and producer Deeskee (who has probably produced more songs in the Atak catalog than anyone else).  And luckily for everyone else, all three of these guys are still making incredible music, more than 20 years after giving me tapes to review.  A few weeks ago I got to hang out with The Grouch for a bit and he gave me a copy of his “F...the Dumb” double vinyl, 20 years after I first sold that tape in the catalog.

Why (and when) did you stopped Atak?

Atak started to slow down around 2004.  I had recently moved from the Bay area down to Los Angeles, gotten married, bought a house, and started another job that was able to pay the bills more reliably.  I was still getting orders and submissions from new artists, but wasn’t able to give Atak the focus it required to really push new artists and releases.  I didn’t have time to go to many shows anymore, and all my hip hop buddies were still up in the Bay.  I had ambitions to reboot the website, but then my web host got hacked and I had to shut down the site...and then I never got it back online.  I eventually moved my inventory onto some other online platforms and kept selling, but for the most part, Atak was done.  I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize to the artists who submitted music around this time.  I was getting some great music but just didn’t have juice to do anything with it.

Any thoughts on the evolution of hip hop? What about the the come back of the cassette? Is it possible that Atak would make a comeback in the future, in some form or another?

Tough question, because I don’t keep up with much truly “underground” music anymore, so I really hope that there are a ton of dope kids putting out dope music out there, and I’m sure there are plenty of them.  I love 90’s hip hop so much, both major label and my Atak stuff, that that is what I still listen to the most, digging in my records, tapes and cds or bumping music in my car.  I agree with most true heads that a lot of today’s hip hop is junk, and though I’m happy to see rappers get big and make money, I’d much rather that it be good, original and compelling hip hop.  I’m stoked to see everyone buying and releasing tapes again, because of my love for the physical copy (though I agree that a free or cheap digital download is an essential part of that sale).  And in regards to Atak’s great big comeback, I don’t think it will happen - it would require too much time and energy to do it right.  But if I can still help out a few people, promote a few records, maybe even sell a few for my old pals, I’m happy to contribute.

A specific question from the homie Age: do you still want to reissue that Hi-State album?

I bugged my man Mr. E about that tape FOREVER and at least he finally put it up on Bandcamp (https://eightarrow.bandcamp.com/album/hi-state-project-demos-n-shit-vol-1) and we chatted about putting out a cassette reissue.  I’m sure he wouldn’t have much trouble selling a short run of 100 tapes, so I’ll remind him about it.  But I’m happy that fans can at least take a listen or buy it online.

What do you think was the most special in the 90's underground scene, and do you believe something like that would ever happen again?

I’ve never really tried to analyze that scene, but in retrospect, I bet that a lot of these emcees, producers and deejays were inspired by all the incredible major label releases that kept pouring out in that decade.  So much quality hip hop was coming out and it was easy to see on “Yo! MTV Raps” and BET and the good stuff was even getting on the radio!  It was everywhere and it was so damn good!  I’m sure that these kids just wanted to be a part of that magical time, and a lot of the underground music was super fresh, too, because it wasn’t easy to make beats and put out cds - they had to commit to it and create a whole scene and they had to be dope to do it.  Granted, I’m a old nostalgic rap dude now, but I don’t think the major or the underground scene will ever be that saturated with fantastically innovative, powerful, creative and inspired hip hop.  Nowadays there isn’t enough inspiration in the scene for there to be an onslaught of great new hip hop like there was for me back in the days.  There will always be a lucky few who can inspire themselves to be original and make great music, and hopefully these kids will get a chance to be heard.

Interview conducted by Kaliyuga Pro & Pseudzero with a bonus cameo by Age, february 2019.

[wp-yahoo-style-1042-yahoopa-blog]

Amazon's best-selling eye cream has over 14,000 reviews — and it's only $20

Target puffy eyes, dark circles and wrinkles with Amazon’s best-selling eye gel. (Photo: Getty Images)

Whether it’s lack of sleep, genetics or allergies, tackling puffy eyes and dark circles can be difficult. However, there’s one best-selling skin care product at Amazon that promises to erase any trace of those pesky under-eye bags, tired, dark circles and more.

For over 14,000 reviewers, Baebody Eye Gel is the answer to all the common skin care woes associated with eyes. While many eye creams promise to solve one specific concern, Baebody’s best-selling gel addresses dark circles, puffiness, wrinkles and bags. Dark circles are generally genetic, but enthusiastic Amazon shoppers swear by this skin care hero — and the thousands of reviews back up its effectiveness.

Baebody Eye Gel is an Amazon best-seller with over 14,000 reviews. (Photo: Amazon)

Shop it: $20, amazon.com

The ingredients

There’s no single magic ingredient in this formula — in fact, there’s not a whole lot of actives. In the case of Baebody’s eye gel, less is more.

The main ingredients are known hydrators, including jojoba oil, aloe vera, hyaluronic acid and cucumber extract. Licorice root extract diminishes dark under-eye circles while vitamin E, which amps up the formula with a dose of antioxidant properties. There’s also matrixyl 3000, which is an anti-aging peptide that likely contributes to those skin-firming results reviewers love so much.  Matrixyl 3000 is also known to reduce darkness, redness and inflammation. All in all, the formula is solid and at $24, the price can’t be beat.

Now, a look at the rave reviews.

The editors at Yahoo Lifestyle are committed to finding you the best products at the best prices. At times, we may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page.

View this post on Instagram

If you know what a furby is, it’s time for an eye cream🤷🏻‍♀️I’ve been using this eye gel for 2 years and have yet to find one I admire as much! Super hydrating, smells like cucumbers, helps with dark circles and is just all around eyemazing 😉 • • • • • • • • • #eyemazing #punny #hydration #hydrate #antiaging #seewhatididthere #baebody #products #review #skincare #happyskin #skincareproducts #glowing #skincareroutine #eyegel #eyecream

A post shared by A L E X A N D R A (@alexgrnr) on Sep 20, 2018 at 5:44pm PDT

Dark circles

Baebody eye gel has over 8,500 5-star reviews and when it comes to dark circles, many swear by this to obliterate the issue.

“I’m a guy approaching 40 who doesn’t look a day over 55. I’ve gone grey, I’ve got my wrinkles, and I can and do enjoy getting away with being “dignified,” but black circles around my eyes, caused by endocrine issues just make me look tired, which sucks,” explains a 5-star reviewer. “After looking over about a billion things, I decided to start here just because it was cheap, but this stuff has blown my mind. Within a few days I was looking better, and a few weeks in, I’m now thinking I might go from looking like a raccoon to looking like a regular human being who doesn’t have rings at all. A+ will be buying again (eventually, you don’t need much, and I expect this will last me at least a year).”

Another, who just turned 50 and bought her second jar adds, “I’m so completely amazed at the results. I’ve been using this for 6 months and the dark areas that have circled my eyes my entire life are all but GONE. Truly. I didn’t expect such dramatic results, so I didn’t bother doing before and after photos.”

Puffiness

One reviewer goes as far as to call the skin care hero “life-changing” for puffiness and is on their third jar.

“I have purchased three jars of this and can’t go a day without putting it on morning and night,” explains the enthusiastic fan. “It’s not an overnight fix, but with time and consistent use, I noticed a big difference. I have actually stopped having to wear heavy make up every day. Most days I just put this on with some mascara and lip color and go. Life changing.”

Another adds, “As a guy, I can be somewhat hesitant about trying out new beauty products, but after reading the reviews I thought it’d be worth a shot. Looking at some of my pictures I noticed how tired I was looking and I decided maybe I can reduce some of the puffiness around my eyes. After reading the reviews and seeing some of the photos of the results people have had I thought it’d be worth to give it a shot. After just one use my colleagues at work noticed and said it looks like I’ve finally gotten some rest or that it looks like maybe I’ve fallen in love. Yes, I have fallen in love, with Baebody eye gel.”

View this post on Instagram

Shout out to @baebodybeauty for creating an amazing eye gel! With a five year old at home sleep isnt really a priviledge I get much of anymore …so a good eye cream or gel is a must for me. 🐼 🖤 #Eyecream #skin #skincare #skincareblog #skincareblogger #beautyobssessed #makeupaddict #makeup #serums #art #photography #design #decor #flatlay #bblog #bae #pretty #glam #products #skincareaddict #beautyblog #makeupblog #cosmetics #instaglow #instabeauty #instablog

A post shared by Rashelle Monet (@chasingmonet) on Nov 8, 2018 at 2:31pm PST

Fine lines and wrinkles

Baebody eye gel also addresses fine lines and wrinkles. One reviewer explains, “I am 56 years old, beginning to get some serious under eye lines. I was skeptical when I purchased this product. I read that I could use it all over my face and not just under my eyes, that is exactly what I have been doing, and after only using for a few days, there is visible improvement in the fine lines and wrinkles. I would recommend this product 100 percent.”

Another happy customer adds, “I have seen a reduction in those little wrinkles that bunch up right under the eye, firmness in the whole undereye area and a reduction in the dark circles. I’m very pleased and will be buying this product again.”

Bottom line

“Believe the hype,” writes one skeptic turned fan. “Amazing product. Worked like magic on eyes dark circles and puffiness!” raves another.

It’s worth noting that the gel comes in an air-tight package and should be used twice a day — morning and night — for the best results. At 1.7-ounces for $20, it’s a decent amount of product to last a few months, and it’s sophisticated packaging helps prevent bacteria growth and helps the formula maintain its potency.

“I cannot live without this product anymore,” explains one reviewer. “I am a litigation attorney and stress and ours can certainly take a toll on my face. Mostly under my eyes. I love the actual consistency of this product and also the effect that it has and it has now become a staple in my daily facial regimen routine.”

Shop the Baebody Eye Gel, $20, amazon.com. 

Read More from Yahoo Lifestyle:

I tried the wildly popular $11 Amazon face mask that reviewers claim ‘works miracles’ — here’s what happened

Is this the best mascara ever? Why Amazon shoppers swear by this $5 find

Amazon’s under-$40 skincare line is here, and it’s free of all the ingredients you hate

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[izzyweber1]

Entry 5

Achievements and milestones (both technically and professionally, during the internship and personally). 

Throughout my time with SEN and Ballpark I reached a number of milestones and achievements both technically, professionally and personally.

Firstly, applying for internships and receiving interviews for all 5 of the ones I applied for made me feel like my work was up to standard and that I was capable of doing well for any company that I chose. Picking from my top two out of Ballpark and Aus Cycling, I felt that Ballpark and SEN was closer to my future career aspirations and would be a better fit for me. 

Some small milestones I achieved:

Completing my first 9-5 day in the SEN office

Getting my own laptop and swipe card

Creating my first ever piece of work for Ballpark

Sending an official work email

Although these are small, they were all important in my first 40 hours. Once I hit 40 hours, I was able to do my first evaluation with Sharyn and talk about my experiences so far. I could reflect on the start of my journey and also look ahead at what I wanted to achieve throughout my internship. I found it was nice to talk about the things I had done with someone else and really get an understanding of the opportunity I had.

Some milestones I achieved with my work outputs:

Creating proposals and budgets for major partner trips 

Creating itineraries for events, experiences and activations 

Creating sporting events and sales documents 

Helping run activations such as at the Macca’s kick 2 kick on grand final day 

These are the key outputs that I produced over my 228 hours and some of the work that I am very proud of, with my favourite being the activation on AFL Grand Final Day.

Lastly, the technical milestones:

Completing my 100-hour evaluation 

Completing my 200-hour evaluation 

Completing my 228 hours at Ballpark 

Presenting my internship showcase

It is essential to review progress at various stages, and millstones created by the outcome requirements. They are the critical checkpoints that assure yourself, your employer and your educator that in this instance are as per the plan (Saviom, 2021). Achieving goals has helped me grow professionally and personally as I have been able to show commitment, personal responsibility and resilience (Amanchukwu et al., 2015). I am very grateful to have been able to have this experience in my internship and I believe it will help me in good stead for my future career aspirations. 

References:

Amanchukwu, R., Stanley, G., & Olulube, N. (2015). A Review of Leadership Theories, Principles and Styles and Their Relevance to Educational Management. Management, 5(1), 6-14, Google Scholar.

Saviom. (2021). What are project millstones, and why is it important?. https://www.saviom.com/blog/what-are-project-milestones-and-why-is-it-important/.

[halloweencandles-blog]

Candy Corn Halloween Scented Candle - Yankee Candle Review

Yankee Candles offers some of the cutest Halloween themed candles around and that’s not even including their super cool “Boney Bunch” collection of candle accessories just for Halloween. SOOOOOOO freaking cute!! I want it all but really, how many Halloween candles and accessories can a person decorate with?Candy Corn is a classic Halloween treat and a fun scent to burn, especially this time of year. The Halloween design on this candle made it all the more alluring to purchase and in my cart it went…. What did my Candy Corn candle look like?This candle is adorable and another perfect choice for Halloween!! The glass and lid was a pumpkin orange with black silhouettes of kids dressed in various Halloween costumes wrapped all the way around the candle. Bats were flying above and cats prancing below. Very very cute! The wax color was orange and the candle had 1 wick perfectly centered.What did my Candy Corn candle smell like?The candle itself was adorable with the black silhouettes of costumed trick-r-treaters… I almost didn’t want to burn it and just display it instead but my desire to review it for Candlefind won out.Scent description from Yankee’s site:“The familiar, sweet scent of candy corn is a fond reminder of childhood Halloween fun. Those triangular shapes of orange, yellow and white have satisfied the sweet tooth of generations of trick-or-treaters with its creamy vanilla taste. That sweet vanilla fragrance is captured affectionately in this richly colored candle.”Initial sniff… I wasn’t sure what I thought. It smelled sweet but not what I imagined candy corn to smell like. It didn’t smell bad… it just didn’t wow me like other candy corn scents I’ve tried. Plugging along… I lit my candle in my “review room” and let it go….… I came back about 40 minutes later to a super light (almost non-existent) scent of – I still don’t know what. It didn’t smell anything like candy corn to me. It lacked that yummy vanilla sweetness and had no sugary goodness. It really hardly smelled like anything. I ended up moving the candle to a smaller bathroom but the scent was still really light.In the end, I was really disappointed with this candle. Other than how cute it was, it was a flop and not even worth what I paid for it on sale. Total bummer!!How did my Candy Corn candle burn?My candle burned fine. Super slow burn, no wasted wax.Overall opinion of my Candy Corn experience from Yankee Candle:Super cute Halloween candle, but no scent throw whatsoever. Total bummer! What I could smell was too light to distinguish. It wasn’t an authentic candy corn scent to me.So unless you want to buy this candle for its sheer Halloween cuteness… this isn’t a candle I would recommend.Happy Halloween!~ ChristinaVisit Yankee CandlePresentation: 5/5 Authenticity: 2/5 Burn Performance: 5/5 Strength: 1/5Overall Rating: 2/5Have you tried Candy Corn from Yankee Candle? Review it with us. In the comment section below, review and star rate your experience… it’s easy!'Tis the season for stocking up on Halloween candles and I love finding new companies that offer vegan and cruelty-free candles, like A to Z Candles. This woman-owned and operated company uses high-quality soy wax (from non-GMO soy grown in the USA) and premium fragrances to make all their candles. They just released their new 2018 Halloween collection and all the scents are to-die-for! They kindly sent me their five new Halloween candles for review and I'm so stoked to be able to share my thoughts on them below.

I received five adorable mini candles for review in the scents All Hallows' Eve, Haunted Cemetery, Hocus Pocus, Pumpkin Patch, and Trick or Treat. All Hallows' Eve smells like blackened licorice, smoky cloves, and spicy cinnamon. I love burning this one in the kitchen and it is such a unique smell. Haunted Cemetery evokes the feeling of wandering around a graveyard at night and smells like fresh-tilled soil, mossy oaks, incense, and cedarwood. I love the earthy, woodsy scent of this one. Hocus Pocus is a bewitching mix of cinnamon bark, bergamot, cannabis flower, jasmine, rose, musk, black tea, and patchouli. I simply adore the mix of florals and spice and this scent is one-of-a-kind! Pumpkin Patch smells like taking a hayride at a countryside pumpkin patch and apple farm on a crisp fall day. Trick or Treat smells like a full bag of candy on Halloween night, sweet candy corn mixed with tart candy apple and a hint of rich chocolate.

I also received a larger size candle in Apple Cider Donut scent. This tart and sugary scent was so good and even in a large bedroom it managed to fill the space with its smell of apple cider, donuts, vanilla, tonka bean, and musk. This candle smelled good enough to eat!

As you can tell from the scintillating scent descriptions, the candles are absolutely intoxicating! They all have a subtle, natural scent that is not overpowering but still fill the space they are in with a lovely smell. Plus, even after the candle is blown out the scent lasts in the room for a few hours! Another bonus is that the candles have a very long burn time as well since they are made with soy wax, with the 4 ounce size burning for approximately 30 hours, the 9 ounce for 70 hours, the 16 ounce for 100 hours, and the 26 ounce for 200 hours! It's amazing how long these last, especially since I want to burn them all the time as they smell so incredibly good.

Besides candles, A to Z also offers wax melts, reed diffusers, room and body spray, car fresheners, and more! They also offer many more scents in an array of different smells to evoke different seasons and moods. Besides the Halloween candle collection, I would also love to try their autumn-inspired scents, including Pecan Pumpkin Waffles, Autumn Orchard, Falling Leaves, Caramel Apple, Autumn Wreath, and more! How amazing do those sound?

A to Z Candles not only makes incredible vegan candles, but also sponsors several animal sanctuaries and donates to them every month. When you purchase candles from A to Z, you aren't only supporting an independent business, but you are also helping to care for rescued farm animals.

I can't recommend A to Z Candles enough - their candles smell amazing, come in a variety of unique scents, are eco-friendly/vegan/cruelty-free, they donate to animal sanctuaries, and the owner really cares about her craft and is involved in every aspect of handcrafting the candles.

You can browse all the different candles and more that A to Z has to offer on their website! And don't forget to sign up for their email list while you're there so you get first dibs on candle releases and special offers (you get 15% off your next purchase just for signing up!).

Yankee Candles offers some of the cutest Halloween themed candles around and that’s not even including their super cool “Boney Bunch” collection of candle accessories just for Halloween. SOOOOOOO freaking cute!! I want it all but really, how many Halloween candles and accessories can a person decorate with?

Candy Corn is a classic Halloween treat and a fun scent to burn, especially this time of year. The Halloween design on this candle made it all the more alluring to purchase and in my cart it went….

What did my Candy Corn candle look like?

This candle is adorable and another perfect choice for Halloween!! The glass and lid was a pumpkin orange with black silhouettes of kids dressed in various Halloween costumes wrapped all the way around the candle. Bats were flying above and cats prancing below. Very very cute! The wax color was orange and the candle had 1 wick perfectly centered.

What did my Candy Corn candle smell like?

The candle itself was adorable with the black silhouettes of costumed trick-r-treaters… I almost didn’t want to burn it and just display it instead but my desire to review it for Candlefind won out.

Scent description from Yankee’s site:

“The familiar, sweet scent of candy corn is a fond reminder of childhood Halloween fun. Those triangular shapes of orange, yellow and white have satisfied the sweet tooth of generations of trick-or-treaters with its creamy vanilla taste. That sweet vanilla fragrance is captured affectionately in this richly colored candle.”

Initial sniff… I wasn’t sure what I thought. It smelled sweet but not what I imagined candy corn to smell like. It didn’t smell bad… it just didn’t wow me like other candy corn scents I’ve tried. Plugging along… I lit my candle in my “review room” and let it go….

… I came back about 40 minutes later to a super light (almost non-existent) scent of – I still don’t know what. It didn’t smell anything like candy corn to me. It lacked that yummy vanilla sweetness and had no sugary goodness. It really hardly smelled like anything. I ended up moving the candle to a smaller bathroom but the scent was still really light.

In the end, I was really disappointed with this candle. Other than how cute it was, it was a flop and not even worth what I paid for it on sale. Total bummer!!

How did my Candy Corn candle burn?

My candle burned fine. Super slow burn, no wasted wax.

Overall opinion of my Candy Corn experience from Yankee Candle:

Super cute Halloween candle, but no scent throw whatsoever. Total bummer! What I could smell was too light to distinguish. It wasn’t an authentic candy corn scent to me.

So unless you want to buy this candle for its sheer Halloween cuteness… this isn’t a candle I would recommend.

Happy Halloween!

~ Christina

Visit Yankee Candle

Presentation: 5/5 Authenticity: 2/5 Burn Performance: 5/5 Strength: 1/5

Overall Rating: 2/5

Have you tried Candy Corn from Yankee Candle? Review it with us. In the comment section below, review and star rate your experience… it’s easy!

[ammar12897]

Glorify App Review

What is Glorify App?

Glorify is a marketing layout platform with integrated gear and a multimedia library for all skill degrees to create professional visuals. Glorify lets you create stunning, high-changing e-commerce images, with only some clicks.

When it comes to developing visual property for advanced advertising, Glorify is easy enough for non-designers whilst packing all the punch that seasoned designers want.

The platform comprises all talent ranges, so pro designers are free first of all a clean canvas and create to their imagination.

The less tech-savvy can get a soar beginning with extraordinary templates from the close-to-endless library, sorted via niche and subject.

From there, bring your marketing campaign to the following degree and follow bundled templates that convey one constant fashion throughout distinctive layouts, use instances, and size ratios.Now, you may locate a few baseline equipments which provides basic features like upload shapes, text, stock photographs & pix, photograph filters, customize colours, logos, snapshots, select pre-made templates, resize canvas, crop, masks photographs, and so on. But they all are lacking essential equipment with a view to beautifying how any product is provided online that may improve the CTR(Click-thru-fee) and conversions.

Glorify App Honest Review. Get 40+ Exclusive & Special Bonuses inside for you, absolutely Free today. Create High Converting Ecom Product Images in just few clicks.

Glorify_graphic_design_reviewGlorify App (2.Zero)

Glorify, lets you create high-converting beautiful product snapshots with only some clicks. Well, not just pictures, you can also create advertising materials, eBooks, Logos, social media pix, and plenty extra, with no layout abilities or mastering curve!

A photograph is worth a thousand phrases! ~ Frederick R. Barnard

So, in this text, we’re going to dive into the currently launched Glorify app free download, Glorify app designing device. How this picture designing tool isn't like the existing gear like Canva, Crello, etc. We’ll also get to know how this tool can help e-trade sellers, Instagram influencers Funnel Hackers, and Drop-shippers in increasing income, sales, and conversions with the electricity of conversion-driven product pics.

First, have a look at the video to peer how without difficulty you can create a lovely product photograph using Glorify.

Best Features of Glorify App

Create Stunning Product Images Within mins

I’ve used Canva a variety of times however I must say with Glorify Glorify app download  I can create any kind of layout quite fast. I’ll inform you, how speedy it’s. Just pick your preferred template from the ever-developing library, upload your product, brand it with your very own shade palette, edit text and choose your desired font from their library, upload heritage or use outcomes to present it a first-rate look.

Glorify Honest Review. With Benefits, Features, Price, Pros & Cons, Discounts & 40+ Exclusive Bonuses inside for you. Is it the Best Graphic Designing Software for Ecommerce Images?

Quick Easy Effects for a Pro Look.

As of writing this, they have 3 necessary effects – One-Click Background Remover (a function that’s lacking from Canva), Shadows, and reflections. Have a take a look at the beneath gif(s) under to apprehend those results better.

Reflections Effect on Product Image in Glorify.

Annotate Tool to show Important Features of the Product

Now, I suppose this is a critical function for the product pix. Customers can effortlessly get to recognize approximately the essential product capabilities and that’s something which improves the CTR & conversions.

Annotate Tool Glorify

Inbuilt Logo Maker

Have to create a cool brand in your new Shopify Store? Use Glorify’s inbuilt brand maker. Now, glaringly, it is able to update a brand designed by way of an expert logo fashion designer however good day it’s ok to go together with an easy and exceptional emblem within the starting. To design an emblem, simply enter your logo call, and choose key phrases to explain your emblem in order that it can recommend colourings to go together. Once you pick out your preferred colourations, pick out your icons from hundreds of free icons and tweak a chunk to get your perfect logo.

Smart Resizer on your Design

A smart resizer is my favourite device which lets you resize the identical design to any social media format. Take an observation of the beneath gif to recognise how it works. Don’t worry, it's going to contend with all social media system's picture dimensions mechanically.

RESIZE-design_glorify

Smart Resizer function on Glorify

Looking for Design Inspiration?

In many instances, we don’t get the right layout concept. But not now, way to Glorify’s huge library of designs categorized consistent with the area of interest and themes.  For example, if you’re Instagram Influencer grows a cool design for the beauty product you’re promoting then just select the ‘beauty niche’  and you'll get hundreds of design ideas as templates.

Niche_glorify

Glorify is best for?

E-Commerce Sellers: Glorify app is the precise product picture designing device for all online dealers, no matter what you’re promoting and on which platform. It helps right from Amazon, Shopify, and Woo-commerce to all different online platforms. Using Glorify’s specific features and templates you may boom earnings, income, and conversions with the electricity of conversion-pushed product pictures.

Instagram Influencers: Instagram Influencers industry is booming and in case you’re one of the Influencers, attempt Glorify today in your product photos and improve your engagement and sales.

Funnel Hackers: Using Clickfunnels, Leadpages, Unbounce or Instapage to promote irresistibly gives through charming sales funnel? Glorify is for you.

Drop-Shippers: As drop-shipper are you continuously trying out distinct product opportunities. Create effective product advertising on steroids and the usage of Glorify.

And Everyone?: I, in my opinion, assume, Glorify Review, Glorify App Review Glorify app isn't always just for e-commerce but absolutely everyone can use this picture-designing device to create outstanding expert snapshots that may be used for their online campaigns, social media, blogs, ebooks, commercials and what now not?

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 12/02/2022 (ArrDee/Aitch, Liam Gallagher, Juice WRLD)

As you may have expected, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” by the Encanto cast spends its fourth week at #1 on the UK Singles Chart, with not that much competition in sight. Welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

Looking at the sales figures, it doesn’t seem like anything is beating “Bruno” for a while. With that said, we do have an interesting week so let’s start off as always with the notable dropouts, songs exiting the UK Top 75 – which is what I cover – after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. This week, we have some really big ones, of course, not including “Acapulco” by Jason Derulo but we do see the exits for all of The Weeknd songs – “One Right Now” with Post Malone, “Moth to a Flame” with Swedish House Mafia and “Take My Breath”. I suppose that the Official Charts Company has finally enforced that three-song rule on Abel – see “Blinding Lights” returning at #73. Other than those, we say farewell to Taylor Swift’s re-recorded version of “All Too Well”, “My Universe” by Coldplay and BTS, “Meet Me at Our Spot” by THE ANXIETY, “Tell Me Something Good” by Ewan McVicar, “Woman” by Doja Cat, and finally, “Drive” by Clean Bandit and Topic featuring Wes Nelson. All of these are pretty big hits, so it does seem that we’re starting to make room for the new tracks to flood in.

What are those new tracks? Well, we’ll get to the new arrivals later, and we can skip “Mr. Brightside” back at #74 (yes, seriously), but as for our notable gains, songs up five spots or more from their position last week, we see boosts for “Lost” by Frank Ocean at #64, “All for Us” by Labrinth with or without Zendaya at #57, “TO THE MOON” by Jnr Choi and Sam Topkins at #51, which is really growing me, “Numb Little Bug” by Em Beihold at #38, and that’s actually pretty much it. Hey, I said it was interesting, not particularly that busy.

Our top 5 from bottom to top goes as follows: “Where Are You Now”, “abcdefu”, “Surface Pressure”, “Peru” and of course, “Bruno”. Now let’s get into some new albums that I heard last week that were decidedly never going to chart.

Off the Charts

Requiem – Korn

Korn sound exactly like they did 20 years ago. Good to know – at least it’s not brostep. My favourite track is “Lost in the Grandeur”.

Time Skiffs – Animal Collective

The newest album from AnCo just feels dreadfully pointless, meandering into the least interesting and inventive sonic textures it could have gone from the first track onwards. It sounds pretty but not damn near pretty enough. My favourite track is “Prester John”.

Dope Don’t Sell Itself – 2 Chainz

It’s a 2 Chainz album, and therefore, is inconsistent in quality but consistent in just about everything else. He’s still a fun if increasingly disinterested presence on the mic, but I’d have preferred if the whole album was boom bap because I can kind of tell he’s losing interest in trap bangers. My favourite track is “10 Bracelets” with YoungBoy Never Broke Again.

Cognitive Dissonance2: or, It’ll work out in the end – VHS Midnight Style

I really hoped that I’d have loved this but the texture of this British producer’s wavy electropop doesn’t become nearly as atmospheric as it should be until the tail-end, and feels kind of unfinished but still a decent, sleek listen. My favourite track is “This World is Good and We Belong Here”.

Few Good Things – Saba

The Chicago rapper’s highly-anticipated follow-up has an identity crisis between its heavy-hitting and clumsy trap, loose R&B stylings and at times kind of exhausting neo-soul production, with Saba not that exciting of a presence really to excuse it all. My favourite track is “Soldier” with the other members of Pivot Gang, especially Joseph Chilliams who kills his verse.

Give Me the Future – Bastille

Honestly, this album is freaking hilarious. Bastille come through with pretentious cyber-leftist bars on generic pop rock production that has just enough synth cheese to make it sound like simultaneously a success and complete failure of an 80s pastiche. I liked it overall, but it’s telling that my favourite song was the “Promises” interlude with Riz Ahmed.

Laurel Hell – Mitski

I’m not a Mitski fan, or at least I wasn’t until this album, but I was genuinely shocked with how much I loved this. Taking the 80s pop pastiche into dark wave territory is pretty inspired for this kind of crystallised cynicism that is especially crushing under this veil of outright perfect synthpop. My favourite tracks are “Heat Lightning” and “The Only Heartbreaker”.

Ants from Up There – Black Country, New Road

These guys debuted at #3 on the albums chart, and I’m so glad because this is a straight 10/10 record. Isaac Wood delivers some of the most devastatingly honest narratives, which sounds so much more stark when placed against some of the most massively symphonic indie rock instrumentation, masterful production and songs that have as much drive as they do melancholy. It’s hard to pick my favourite from this heart-wrenching experimental rock album that is the best of its year so far, but “The Place Where He Inserted the Blade” hits so damn hard. And now, the main attraction: songs that will likely not have much emotional resonance to speak of.

NEW ARRIVALS

#72 – “Notion” – The Rare Occasions

Produced by ???

You know, maybe I shouldn’t be so harsh. After all, at least five of our nine new arrivals here are honest to God rock songs, and if my heart lies in any genre, it’s going to be rock, and hell, the unreviewed Genius description for this song calls it “pretty much the coolest song ever”, so it’s got to be good, right? Well, yes, it actually kicks a lot more ass than I expected to, especially since the Rare Occasions are a band from Rhode Island who had essentially gone unnoticed until this song from 2018 blew up on TikTok. The slick orchestral sample that starts the song quickly dwindles into an afterthought for a pumping garage rock banger, for singer Brian McLaughlin to spray his nasal drawl onto, and whilst I do think that the impact of the... “chorus” is lessened by the lo-fi mixing, flattening the song to an extent and I do want to hear an updated mix, the drive is still absolutely there, especially in that constant slippery bassline and the borderline funky instrumental meanders between verses. I don’t know how an indie rock song from a no-name band with a heavy guitar riff instead of a repeating chorus got on TikTok in the first place, but I’m not complaining, especially not with that euphoric of a bridge where McLaughlin’s shaky falsetto feels at home on the summery almost 60s-esque percussion and sunshine guitars. If it reminds me of Weezer, it gets a positive review anyway, but I’m glad this one actually has some grit behind it, even if it has zero chance of actually sticking around.

#52 – “emo girl” – Machine Gun Kelly and WILLOW

Produced by Dark Waves and Travis Barker

Okay, so when I said “honest to God rock songs”, it was always with the caveat that this one in particular, whilst just as much rock, and arguably just as much of a song, is decidedly less honest, and hell, probably a lot less closer to God, unless perhaps you’re going by the Nine Inch Nails definition. There are things to like about this song – WILLOW’s over-singing always blasts pretty hard over this kind of pop-punk, it’s a catchy enough blink-182-sounding track, albeit a little too clean production wise for Travis Barker’s drums to hit that hard, and you know, I like emo girls too, Mr. Kelly and Ms. Smith. After all, one of my favourite albums of last year had “emo girl” in the title – shout out to Rat Jesu – yet there’s nothing here that feels appreciative of female-fronted emo-pop bands as you’d think. Instead, it’s just pure lust. Machine Gun Kelly, sounding as bored as ever, especially in the verses, and having zero chemistry with WILLOW, runs through the physical features of said young woman whom enjoys emotionally-charged derivatives of punk rock music, and it’s almost like you forget that this dude is 31 when he says that he loves “thigh highs”. Hey, if she knows all the words to the trap songs, then perhaps she knows all of the words to “RAP DEVIL”, and if so, it’s not great when your girl is telling you that your beard is weird. Maybe it’d be funnier if she knew all the words to “Killshot”, and God, I hope she does. Hey, WILLOW, ignoring the Tumblr depresso bars, if your girl thinks that you won’t understand the music she listens to because it’s the “next shit”, I highly doubt she’s wearing a blink T-shirt. Hey, maybe she’s a Jeromes Dream fan. I’m impressed that I got this far without mentioning the worst rock chorus that I’ve heard in years, but really, I’ve said way too much about a misguided if not just frankly gross song that really doesn’t offer anything but a riff and some fetishism. Please, Travis Barker, provide your talents elsewhere because I am not sure this guy deserves it.

#43 – “Black Summer” – Red Hot Chili Peppers

Produced by Rick Rubin

Have I ever admitted on this blog the grave sin that I am a Red Hot Chili Peppers fan? Yeah, it’s not exactly easy to admit given some of their more recent output and generally having a sort of negative reputation as washed up dad rock, but they just are one of my favourite rock bands. Anthony Kiedis’ unique delivery and predictably unpredictable songwriting combined with Flea’s slick basslines has never not worked for me at least a little bit, and it was exciting for me to see that John Frusciante, the guitarist for many of the “classic” RHCP albums, was back in the mix as lead guitarist once again. They plan to release their first album in six years this April, and whilst I was mixed on The Getaway, I do think it has some great moments (see “Goodbye Angels”) so I’m cautiously optimistic. When they first dropped “Black Summer” last week, I was pretty hesitant, especially considering the intro where Kiedis’ demo-like vocals sound manipulated and kind of surreal over a droning guitar lick... but then I realised that “Warped” starts the same way, and whilst this song is nowhere near as able to exemplify that crushing desperateness as One Hot Minute is (and that’s their best album, and I won’t hear anything to the contrary), I do think this is a pretty great track. Frusciante and Flea sound just as home as they always have, and Kiedis’ more alien approach to his vocal take, with the audible Auto-Tune, and what some have called a pirate voice, really works considering the content. Bassist Flea was born in Australia, so naturally the “Black Summer” of the bushfire season from 2019 to 2020 in Australia, hit closer to home, and whilst RHCP albums have sometimes been somewhat indebted to Australian roots before, this is their first song really tackling modern Australia as a topic of interest. The first verse is largely about these devastating bushfires, and there’s a really interesting cynical tinge to how Kiedis views the wider world here, seeing animals as pure victims of a lack of celestial involvement. The song changes focus from that specific Black Summer to the constant Black Summers of 2020 onwards thanks to the general chaos that the world has been in thanks in large part to the COVID-19 pandemic, and with the amount of time that they have had to write about this, it does show that pandemic-related music can have a real emotional resonance outside of just virus talk. There’s part of Kiedis that feels lost, and he can no longer see the sunlight as anything more than a facade, especially when those put in place to protect us are instead censoring us, and that we have to set our hopes on a headless horse to get anywhere. It’s that longing and exhausted cynicism that sets this apart from the recent discography, and makes the infectious chorus that bit more compelling and dramatic. Yes, of course, the fluttering psychedelic guitar solo from John Frusciante is absolutely killer and I’m honestly just so glad to have these guys back together in the classic line-up and making music that really shows promise and a hint of that emotional care that they kind of lost past, say, 2006. Hopefully the album continues on this level of quality.

#40 – “Where Did You Go?” – Jax Jones featuring MNEK

Produced by Jax Jones

What, did I get too happy for you, Official Charts Company? Welp, here’s the newest track from Jax Jones, featuring at least a charismatic pop star in the form of MNEK. This one samples “9PM” by ATB because, hey, that hasn’t been done, right? Sarcasm aside, this song is actually fine, with a nice nostalgic trance atmosphere that isn’t fully disrupted by the overly loud vocals and rote modern house percussion that sounds kind of awkward in this mix. It is disrupted, however, by the anti-climactic bass drop that is just always boring – I seriously don’t know how these slap house DJs get away with it all the time. I like the sampled cutesy 90s guitar, and the fact that that’s enough to separate songs for me in this landscape makes me really sick of pop-EDM. The more drum and bass tunes we seem to get in to take the dregs of “house-pop” out of the charts, the better.

#37 – “Cigarettes” – Juice WRLD

Produced by Nick Mira

You know, I’m getting really sick of doing the whole “Juice WRLD is dead and his label is exploiting his death but it’s a tricky ethical situation” pre-amble, especially since the songs they release from his vault seem more and more finished and even more haunting in lyrical content. I’m surprised that this debuted so high, but this new posthumous cut is actually pretty good. The emo guitar riff has a lot of drive, and whilst I’d obviously prefer the percussion to fit that intensity, this barebones trap beat works to display the dejectedness of the lyrical content, where Juice desperately tries to keep the relationship going with his partner because he can’t stabilise himself, especially considering his addictions. Some of the writing is really generic and I can tell that the sole verse was really a first draft, but there’s a really interesting dissonance between the almost sweet lyrics and the harmful dependencies that they represent. It has been leaked for close to three years, so I suppose this is a release for the fans more than anything, and it’s a damn good song, but it disheartens me to see any Juice WRLD in the charts, so I think I’ll move on.

#31 – “Do We Have a Problem?” – Nicki Minaj and Lil Baby

Produced by Papi Yerr

Speaking of people that I am tired of tip-toeing around, I am not even going to mention COVID-19 misinformation, Cardi B, Jesy Nelson and 6ix9ine in this entry. Oops. Drama aside, let’s just talk about this as a song because much like her friend Kanye West, it is tiring discussing the bigger picture when it comes to Ms. Minaj. I really love this intense beat, layering trap percussion over the string pads that sound really hard, but Nicki Minaj seems out of space as whilst her singing sounds nice, it sounds like it is on the wrong beat and at the wrong tempo, with her more basic flow in the verses sounding kind of stunted, especially in that messy, awkward “pre-chorus”. Lil Baby’s signature frog-throat delivery sounds really excellent on here, as you’d expect as this is essentially a Lil Baby type beat, but neither he nor Nicki have much to speak of when it comes to content. The final verse from Nicki also just seems really unnecessary and a result, the song just feels kind of malformed. Nicki and Baby released another collaboration this week that is a hell of a lot worse – or better, I can’t tell yet – so be prepared for that next week.

#24 – “she’s all i wanna be” – Tate McRae

Produced by Greg Kurstin

Canadian songstress Tate McRae is back with a new single and that’s all the pre-amble you’re getting because this is actually pretty good. I’m still not a fan of her overly smoky, stylised voice but it’s definitely a uniquely subtle delivery for this kind of melodramatic pop rock, with a really fast-paced guitar and bass loop acting as a foundation for Ms. McRae to lament her jealousy in a really petty yet understandably effective way. The partner here seems to have ridiculous expectations for Tate given the comparisons to the other girl in the narrative, and whilst she can’t exactly express that this well in the new wave-influenced chorus, which really could have benefitted in all its 80s synth glory from a more expressive vocalist. The song it reminds me of, if anything, is “Always” by blink-182, since that band seems to be a recurring theme this week, in how it blends punkish energy with the daft up-in-the-clouds energy of much of both the 80s synthpop from that era and its flattened 2010s derivatives. I’d have preferred a more developed song, particularly one with a bridge or even a guitar solo, but this is pretty damn good and a great surprise from McRae. We’re not done with surprising pop rock though...

#18 – “Everything’s Electric” – Liam Gallagher

Produced by Greg Kurstin

We are, however, done with actually good pop rock, although it’s quite interesting to see that Greg Kurstin’s behind the boards for this one also. The former Oasis member, the more likeable one compared to Noel yet still not a man of much quality solo output, or rather anything good in the past 20 years, debuted the song during the BRIT Awards this year and it should tell you all you need to know that it was the lowest viewer count for the awards show in years and even I found it terribly dull. Speaking of dull... okay, I should stop being harsh to the man as this is actually not that bad of a song. His attempt at being Kasabian is admirable, especially with Dave Grohl on his best drum performance in years, and the groove is mastered in this really nice, vintage mix that makes the acoustic chorus pop even more. The songwriting feels pretty mature for a Gallagher too, as he realises that a relationship has met its dead end, with Gallagher sounding so exhausted on that sing-a-long chorus. I’m never going to be a fan of his vocals, of course, but I’ll give this Feeder type beat its deserved flowers for now. I can actually see this lasting considering how immediate and recognisable that chorus is, and how sweeping the guitars seem on that outro, so maybe we can prepare for a Britpop revival... yet grebo seemed to have missed its chance.

#6 – “War” – ArrDee and Aitch

Produced by LiTek and WhYJay

And what better way to end this chart parade, with a lot more heavy guitars than I really expected, to the point where I’d describe about six of these songs as some form of “rock” – praying this isn’t a fluke week – than with identical twins making a drill song? The brass loop sounds practically mashed in there like a badly-made Central Cee type beat under the heavy-hitting drill percussion and sliding 808s that do sound good albeit perhaps too distorted. They flip between rags to riches flexing and violent threats, without being particularly interesting, although ArrDee’s flow is much more convincing than Aitch could ever be. Outside of the bombast, I don’t really enjoy this one, though it’s really not bad at all.

Conclusion

In fact, I like most of these songs a fair bit. Worst of the Week will obviously go to “emo girl” by Machine Gun Kelly and WILLOW, with a Dishonourable Mention to Nicki Minaj and Lil Baby for just being awkward in “Do We Have a Problem?”. Best of the Week is tougher but I think it ultimately has to go to the Red Hot Chili Peppers for “Black Summer”, with a tied Honourable Mention between “Notion” by the Rare Occasions and “Cigarettes” by the late Juice WRLD.

I felt oddly at home writing this episode, given the songs that actually debuted, and I’m pretty happy with their quality too. Next week, we can expect Kanye West, Doja Cat and Becky Hill so maybe say goodbye to all the “I like the guitars!” talk. Thank you for reading and I’ll see you next week!