Entertainment

Spotify put out a report this week offering lots of positive stats on how Australian music performs on its service in that country. However, another new report – published this morning by think-tank The Australia Institute – begs to differ. And it’s co-written by the former chief economist at Spotify, Will Page. The report studied the top 10,000 artists being streamed in Australia between 2021 and 2024, to analyse how many of them were local and how many international. “The presence of Australian artists has been declining, both in terms of the total number of artists, and the number of streams. In 2021, 932 in every 10,000 artists streamed were Australian, but by 2024 that had fallen to just 773 in 10,000,” is its main finding. “Over the same period, streamshare – the number ...

The yelling, the sweat, the thousand-yard stares — these movies either nailed the chaos or missed it.Every service member has a story about navigating boot camp — the sand, the blisters, the broken sleep, the recruit who couldn’t stop laughing during inspection. Hollywood’s chased that chaos of bootcamp training for decades, but only a few films get close to what real drill instructors see every cycle. We weighed the most iconic training sequences through the lens of actual cadre — Marine DIs, Army drill sergeants, Navy instructors, and the veterans who, thanks to drill, still flinch at a whistle. We listened to military experts and former service members to rate each scene on accuracy and emotional resonance. So let's dive in. ...

Classical music might be doing far more than setting a relaxing mood at home. According to the BBC, new reporting highlights a growing body of research showing that gentle instrumental sound can meaningfully soothe anxious animals and improve their wellbeing. The story follows Margot, a sweet but nervous pitbull mix whose stress eased only after her guardian played slow tempo classical pieces chosen specifically for her. Trainers recommended Through a Dogs Ear, a set of piano based compositions created by psychoacoustic expert Joshua Leeds and veterinary neurologist Susan Wagner. Their observations of more than one hundred and fifty dogs found that up to eighty percent showed reduced anxiety when the music played.The effect is not limited to pups on the sofa. Researchers at Queens Universi...

Refresh 2025-11-27T11:34:07.627Z Get a feature-packed 15.6-inch IPS portable monitor for just $49.99 ahead of the Black Friday rush What does a sub-$50 price tag get you these days in the tech space? If you’re in the market for a portable monitor, quite a lot, actually. The AOC 16T20 is a feature-packed 15.6-inch IPS panel with a 1920x1080 (FHD) resolution, a 60 Hz refresh rate, a typical brightness of 230 nits, a contrast ratio of 800:1, and a glossy finish. Best of all, it’s available now for just $49.99 at Amazon, down from a regular retail price of $79.99. The 16T20 features a mini-HDMI 2.0 port and two USB-C ports with DisplayPort Alt Mode support. It also includes dual 1-watt speakers and a smart cover that doubles as a multi-position stand. The portable monitor weighs 1.54 poun...

Two Marvel vampire movies, Blade and Blade II, with Wesley Snipes as the lead will soon start streaming on Prime Video. Blade was originally released in 1998 and proved to be a considerable success. This led to the development of Blade II, which debuted in 2022 and also performed well. Blade and Blade 2 begin streaming on Prime Video in December Blade and Blade II will start streaming on Prime Video on December 30, 2025 (via ComicBook.com). Both movies are adaptations of the namesake Marvel character. David S. Goyer penned the script for these movies, with Stephen Norrington helming the first one and Guillermo del Toro directing the second. A third movie in the series, Blade: Trinity, came out in 2004, with Goyer writing and directing it. The Blade films came out in a time when su...

Talent agency Wasserman Music has expanded its UK operation with a series of new hires across tour marketing, artist services and artist representation, as the agency continues to build out its global footprint.The company has appointed Paul Ryan as Senior Vice President and Agent. A veteran of the rock and metal sector, Ryan brings decades of experience across artist management, promotion and agency leadership.He will continue to represent Architects, Bring Me The Horizon, Cradle Of Filth, Lamb Of God, Malevolence and Sleep Token, alongside newly signed acts TesseracT and Currents.Wasserman has also hired Chris Lander as Vice President within its artist services division, expanding the team’s work in podcasts and broader non-touring opportunities. Lander has held senior roles across talen...

Argos has set a heavy discount for this 27-inch 1440p 200Hz Asus monitor, bringing it to just £124 versus £209 for the same model on Amazon. That makes it a great value pickup for PC or console gaming. This monitor is based around a 27-inch Fast IPS panel, which provides middling contrast but excellent motion clarity, viewing angles and colour reproduction. It's the panel type I recommend over any other in the budget to mid-range monitor space, as it's great for a wide range of gaming genres, plus watching SDR videos or doing colour-sensitive work. A 2560x1440 resolution is the current sweet spot for PC gaming, with a noticeable improvement in detail over 1920x1080 without being too challenging to run for mid-range gaming PCs and laptops. The resolution is also supported by consoles like...

1994’s The Ref, starring Denis Leary, Kevin Spacey, and Judy Davis, is a great way to kick off your Christmas movie schedule. Every year, I try to watch it, but I always try to watch it first. I wait for other classics like Elf, It’s A Wonderful Life, and Die Hard. It’s not because I love The Ref more, but because it’s so damn bleak. Of course, that bleakness is also what makes it brilliant. (Image credit: Touchstone)There Aren’t Many Dark Comedies Around The HolidaysI love a good dark comedy, and those are in short supply on the list of the best Christmas movies of all time. Sure, plenty of Christmas movies have dark elements, like Cousin Eddie kidnapping Clark’s boss in Christmas Vacation, and Santa Claus in A Christmas Story. There are also darker comedies like another of my favorite...

Central College’s music program invites the community to celebrate the holiday season with a series of performances. The annual Christmas Candlelight Concerts will be December 4th-6th in Des Moines and on Central’s campus. The A Cappella Choir, Chamber Singers, and College Community Orchestra will perform “On Our Way to Bethlehem.” The concert will be directed by Kris DeWild, orchestra director, adjunct instructor of music, and 1990 alumna and Mark Babcock, M. Joan Kuyper Farver Endowed Chair in Music, professor of music, and 1991 Central alumnus. The first performance will be at 7:30 pm on December 4th at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Des Moines (4114 Allison Ave.). In Pella, the concerts will be at 7:30 pm on December 5th and 6th in Douwstra Auditorium on the Hoekstra Family Stage. ...

Stuart Hunter, Managing Director of Clarion Gaming, previews the upcoming ICE Barcelona 2026 and explains some of the key enhancements implemented for the world’s largest annual gaming industry trade show as it returns to Spain for the second time. Stuart Hunter, Managing Director of Clarion Gaming IAG: How is ICE Barcelona 2026 shaping up compared to last year’s show, and what headline changes can attendees expect? Stuart Hunter: ICE Barcelona is set to be the biggest edition yet, with over 65,000 attendees expected across World Gaming Week in January. The move to Barcelona was monumental, but now we’re taking the event even further, not just in terms of size, but in terms of the overall event experience. The biggest change you’ll notice is that ICE has expanded into Hall 1, adding an add...